Dibar Dighi
Historic site in Naogaon District, Bangladesh From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dibar Dighi (Bengali: দিবর দীঘি) is a tank in Bangladesh. An octagonal granite pillar, associated with Kaivarta (later identified as Mahishya), chief Dibya, who usurped the Pala throne, stands in the centre of the tank.[1][2][3]
| Dibar Dighi | |
|---|---|
| Native name Bengali: দিবর দীঘি | |
 View of Dibor Dighi | |
| Location | Patnitala Upazila, Naogaon District, Bangladesh |
| Coordinates | 25.1225°N 88.6202°E |
The site is located in Dibar village, on the northern side of Nazipur-Sapahar highway in Patnitala Upazila of Naogaon District.[1][4]
Dibar Dighi
Alexander Cunningham, whose "servant" visited the site in 1879–80, noted the lake to spread about 1200 square ft.[5][lower-alpha 1] Average depth was about 12 ft.[5] The tank currently occupies about 20 acres of land and sits atop a mound, spread over 100 acres.[1][6]
Kaivarta Stambha
The tank is primarily famed for housing a semi-submerged granite pillar — locally known as Kaivarta Stambha — in its center.[1][6][2] The apex of the pillar is crown shaped and decorated with three inflated circular rings.[1] The pillar does not have any inscriptions.[6] Francis Buchanon-Hamilton's survey of Bengal (1807–08) measured the net height to be 22.5 cubits (33 ft, 75 in) and the diameter to be 6.5 cubits (9 ft, 9 in).[5][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] He had deemed it to be octagonal in shape.[5]
Cunningham's expedition revised the height to be approximately 30 ft — the visible portion spanned 10 ft, the submerged portion 12 ft, and the rest, underground foundation.[5] From the logged data, he determined the pillar to be nonagonal having side-length of 12 in. each; diameter came out to be 29 in.[5] Cunningham regretted that he did not personally visit the site, noting that such a large single-shaft stone pillar was yet to be recorded in Indian subcontinent, after Ashoka's reign.[5]
A Bangladeshi archaeologist confirmed Cunningham's approximation but changed the distribution; 12 ft was above water level, 8 ft was submerged, and 10 ft was below ground.[7]
The site is yet to be accurately dated.[8][3] The name of the village as 'Dibar' may be derived after the name of king Dibyak or Dibya.[1][4][8] Local legends construct a mythological origin, wherein the lake was dug within one night by a jinn.[3]
From an etymological perspective and literary history, it is currently argued that the tank and the pillar were commissioned to commemorate the victory of a local Kaivarta (Mahishya) vassal, Dibyak (var. Dibya) over his 11th century overlord, Mahipala II.[1][9][7][lower-alpha 4][11] The cause of the war between Dibyak and Mahipala II can not be ascertained — R. C. Majumdar interpreted it to be a rebellion by a local samanta, strategically timed to the weakening of Pala authority whilst Ram Sharan Sharma took it to be a peasant rebellion against feudal suppression.[12][13] The construction might have been executed in the reign of Dibyak himself or his successors — brother Rudak, and nephew Bhim.[1][lower-alpha 5]
In 1939, the Central Government declared Dibar Dighi to be a heritage site.[15] Rajshahi Social Forestry Division has created an artificial forest (alongside a mini-zoo) around the tank; boating trips seem to be allowed.[3][16][17]
- On the role played by these "servants", see Raj, Kapil (2007). "When Human Travellers become Instruments: The Indo-British Exploration of Central Asia in the Nineteenth Century". Relocating Modern Science: Circulation and the Construction of Knowledge in South Asia and Europe, 1650–1900. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 181–222. doi:10.1057/9780230625310_7. ISBN 978-0-230-62531-0.
- For a critical perspective on Hamilton's survey of Bengal, see Vicziany, Marika (October 1986). "Imperialism, Botany and Statistics in early Nineteenth-Century India: The Surveys of Francis Buchanan (1762–1829)". Modern Asian Studies. 20 (4): 625–660. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00013676. ISSN 1469-8099. For an overview of British surveys and their roles in colonial knowledge production, see Edney, Matthew H. (1997). Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765-1843. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-18486-2.
- The main source for historical reconstruction is Ramacharitam by Sandhyakar Nandi. There are three other epigraphical records exist of Dibyak.[10]
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