1875.] C. J. O'Donnell — Note on ILaMstlidn, Bagurd. 185 



On the top of the Mahasthan mound there lies a figure made seemingly 

 of limestone, which I was informed by one of the fakirs of the Muham- 

 madan shrine had been found in a neighbouring marsh. It is the figure of 

 a woman, very bike what is usually said to be of Buddhist production, but 

 is perfectly nude, and it is hard to find any distinguishing sign. The 

 back is quite undressed and the lower legs which have no feet are square, as 

 if they were intended to fit into holes in some larger piece of stone, probably 

 some part of the front of a temple. 



After this time, Mahasthan became a seat of orthodox Hin- 

 duism, and the worship of S'iva was celebrated with much fervour. 

 Within a radius of a mile, a hundred thousand lingas are said to have 

 been set up in honour of that god. About the end of the thirteenth 

 century, according to the most generally accepted traditions, Mahasthan 

 was the capital of a minor Kshatriya prince, named Paras 'urama. At that 

 time the Muhammadans had conquered Gaur, and driven the last Hindu 

 dynasty out of Nadiya, and their arms were beginning to be pushed to 

 Eastern Bengal. It was then that a humble fakir or religious mendi- 

 cant appeared before Paras 'urama, and begged for as much ground as he might 

 cover with his chamrd, or skin, kneeling on which he might say his prayers. 

 The Hindu prince granted his request, and the fakir, turning towards the 

 west, began to pray. Scarcely had he done so when the skin began to 

 expand, and before he had done, it covered nearly the whole principality. 

 Paras' urama called his troops together and attacked the fakir, but to no pur- 

 pose, as he and they perished in the battle. Paras'urama had one daughter, 

 the beautiful S'ila Devi, whom the conqueror, who bore the name of Shah 

 Sultan Hazrat Auliya, now claimed as his prize. The Hindu princess pre- 

 tending to accept her fate, found an opportunity of stabbing him, and then 

 threw herself into the Karatoya. A steep part of the bank, where there is 

 now a flight of stairs, still bears the name of S'ila Devi's Ghat, and in 

 Hindu hymns the favourite name for Mahasthan is ' S'ila Dvipa', or the 

 Island of S'ila. The word 'island' draws attention to a change which has 

 taken place in the river Karatoya. It at one time divided into two branch- 

 es near Mahasthan, re-uniting again about a mile north of the present 

 town of Bagura. The western branch is now the little stream Subil. 



There is a title very frequently appended to Shah Sultan's name, viz. : 

 ' mahi-suwar', or ' riding on a fish', which is variously explained. The most 

 generally given, though not very satisfactory, reason is, that he came in a boat 

 shaped like a fish, or with the figure-head of a fish. A very strange figure 

 is still found on the top of the Mahasthan mound, which may be connected 

 with this name. There is the figure of a girl with a long fish's tail, 

 altogether presenting the recognized semblance of the mermaid of English 

 story. The tail is curved up under the right arm, and is covered with 





