20 Asutosh Gupta — Buins and Antiquities of Edmpdl, [No. 1, 



was the founder of Kulinisni and the most distinguished prince of the 

 Sen dynasty. 



The next object of importance is the Rampal Dighi* or the artificial 

 lake of Rampal. Formerly it was about a mile long and about 500 

 yards broad. It is now fast silting up and remains dry for nearly half 

 the year. Cultivators have now broken up parts of the lake and 

 grow boro paddy in it. The following is the traditional account of tho 

 origin of the lake. Raja Ballal Sen once promised to excavate a lake, 

 as long as his mother would be able to walk in one direction without 

 stopping, and this be undertook to do in one night, namely, the night 

 immediately following the pedestrian performance of his mother. So 

 one afternoon the queen-mother walked out of the palace and proceeded 

 towards the south. After she bad walked some distance, the idea suddenly 

 crossed the king's mind, that if she walked much further, be would be 

 unable to cut such a large lake in one night and keep his word, and if 

 ho once broke the promise ho made to his mother, ho would be doomed 

 to eternal hell. After a short reflection he hit upon a dexterous device. 

 He asked his servants to suddenly touch his mother's feet and paint 

 them with red pigment (alaktaka), giving out that a leech bit bel- 

 aud was sucking blood. The servants did so, and the stratagem had tho 

 desired effect. The queen-mother stopped, and the point whence she re- 

 turned homewards became the southernmost boundary of the lake. On 

 that very night the king collected innumerable men and excavated tho 

 whole lake. It was so large that one bank was not visible from the 

 other. But for a long time the lake remained dry. Guided by a dream, 

 Rampal, an intimate friend and, according to another account, maternal 

 uncle of Ballal Sen, one day rode into the lake, and assembling a large 

 number of men on its banks, asked them to call it after his name, when 

 it was filled with water. As soon as he entered into the lake, water 

 streamed up from beneath and filled it in a moment. But Rampal 

 vanished. Everybody cried : ' Rampal, Rampal,' but he could no more 

 bo seen. Since that time the lake is called Rampal Dighi. 



This explanation of the genesis of the lake's name never satisfied 

 me. Rampal is also the name of Ballal Sen's city. Is it not very 

 strange that Ballal's city and the largest lake ho excavated should be 

 named after an obscure person unknown to history ? Rampal is certain- 

 ly the name of a person and is analogous to the names of Bhim Pal 

 and other Pal kings of Bengal. I conjecture that he was a king of the 

 Pal dynasty which reigned at Ratnpal after the death of Ballal Sen, 

 and that it was he and not Ballal who excavated the lake, and the city 

 and the lake have been named after him. To tho north of tho Burhi- 

 * Rampal Dighi or tho artificial lake of llampal. 



