A tale of lost glory

The 600-year-old Mayurbhatta’s Dhanuka Manasha Bari in Shariatpur, recognised as an archaeological landmark, has almost lost its glory due to lack of renovation and preservation.

The house is located at Dhanuka village just behind the office of Shariatpur Superintendent of Police.

According to historic descriptions, the descendants of Mayurbhatta came to reside in Manasha Bari from Kannauj to present-day Dhanuka in Shariatpur.

Lakshman Mishra has been shown as the descendant of Mayurbhatta in their family tree.

After Shyamol Sen — second son of the King of Sen Dynasty — conquered Kotalipara, he brought a Brahmin named Yashdhar Mishra with him.

Meanwhile, a sorceress died in Bikrampur, befalling an inauspicious haze over the kingdom.

The king decided to call his priest to sacrifice all other sorceresses. Yashdhar pointed out the fault in the idea. The king then asked the priest to carry out the sacrifice. When he concluded it successfully, Yashdhar was rewarded heartily by the king.

The priest started to live in the land awarded to him by the king, and the king brought more Brahmins from Kannauj so that Yashdhar felt at ease living there.

Lakshman Mishra is a successor of these Brahmins, but he left Bikrampur because of river erosion and moved to Dhanuka.

Meanwhile, it is believed that Mayurbhatta and Lakshman Mishra together built the structures of Manasha Bari at the end of the 15th century.

At present, there are a total of five structures standing, Kali Mandir, Durga Mandir, Manasha Mandir, a Nahabat Khana and a Sanskrit school.

Mayurbhatta’s last successor, Shyamapada Chakrabarty has preserved around five buildings.

A large pond is situated at the entrance of the landmark structure. The borders to the main house began from the west bank of the pond.

Near the west border of the house, facing east is a monument with a bungalow style two-way sloping roof, which was once used as the Manasha Mandir.

Another bigger edifice is situated on the northern border, facing south, which also has a two-way sloping roof. This monument has been marked as Durga Mandir. There is another two-storey building facing the temple—that is mostly in ruins—known as the Nahabat Khana.

There is a two-storey temple for the Goddess Kali, adjacent to the west side of the manor’s courtyard. A lot of the second floor and parts of the first floor of the temple have collapsed.

Another two-storey building, that has survived, on the southwest part, used to house a Sanskrit school. Next to it was the residence of Acharya family, however, there is no way to excavate it at present.

The architectural excellence of Manasha Bari proves that there is a rich past and culture in this region. With the existence of the educational institution in Manasha Bari, it appears that during the contemporary period, a cultural circle came into being in this region.

The flower and sapling designs on a flower vase—situated on a pillar near the main entrance of the Durga temple, and under its rooftop panel—are simply remarkable.

Colored tiles were used on the walls of the eastern side of this temple. The use of these motifs was commonplace during the Mughal era.

Shyamapada Chakrabarty said: “Manasha Bari was established on a property of almost seven acres. Some influential people have occasionally pressured me to knock down these buildings.”

“I have preserved these medieval institutions even in the face of immense pressure.”

Deputy Commissioner Parvez Hasan said a letter has been sent to the Department of Archeology regarding renovation and maintenance of Manasha Bari.

According to archeologist Dr AKM Shahnawaz, if the government provides incentives, then Manasha Bari can become a historical tourist spot for visitors.

In 1977, Aminur Rahman, then Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) of Shariatpur excavated some portions of the site.

On March 15, 2019 education minister and state minister of water resources visited Manasha Bari when both assured the local administration of financial allocation for the upkeep of the site.

Language movement hero Jalal Uddin Ahmed said, “We urged the government to take steps to save the archaeological landmark.”