Bankura

Bankura stands in the Rarh country of western Bengal, where the plains rise towards the wooded hills of the Chota Nagpur plateau. Its red laterite soil and clay distinguish it from the riverine delta to the east. Local tradition connects the town’s name to Bir Bankura, a son of the Malla ruler Bir Hambir, who received the district of Jaybelia when his father divided his lands.

The history of the surrounding country is closely bound to the Malla rulers of Bishnupur. Bir Hambir, a contemporary of the Mughal emperor Akbar, ruled in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Vaishnava accounts tell how he encountered the teacher Srinivasa and became a devotee after hearing him explain the Bhagavata. Under Hambir and his successors, royal patronage made nearby Bishnupur a notable centre of temples, music and terracotta work.