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Mainamati, an ancient seat of Buddhism in South Asia, is about 114 km. south-east of capital Dhaka and 8 km. to the west of Comilla town. It takes its name from the low hills known as Mainamati - Lalmai where Buddhist civilization had flourished between 8th and 12th centuries AD over a stretch of hilly land ver!n$,.,,l9 km. long (north to south) and 3 km. wide (east to west).
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of that Buddhist culture including artifacts, coins and pottery that testify the rich historical heritage of the area. On the slopes of the hills scattered treasure troves were found which belonged to the early Buddhist civilization in this part of the world. At Salban in the middte of the hills, excavations laid bare a large Buddhist Vihara (monastery) with imposing central shrine.
It reveals valuable The whole range of hillocks run for about 18 km. and is studded with more than 50 sites. Of the thirteen copper plates recovered from Mainamati excavations, no less than 8 were from Salban Vihara, 4 from Charpatra Mura and 1 probably from Ananda Vihara. Of the nearly 400 coins found at Mainamati, 350 were collected from Salban Vihara, which included a few gold coins of the Guptas, the Devas and the Khadgas. In contrast to Paharpur where the largest number of stone-sculptures and terracotta plaques were found, in Mainamati an astounding number of inscriptions, coins and miniature bronzes have been hauled.
What is the most important is that the findings at Mainamati are not only greater in number but also rich and unparalleled. These excavations have revealed several kinds of Buddhist religious architecture including the cruciflorm type, like the Ananda Vihara itself. If the Vihara was named after the 3rd Deva King, who, it now seems, had ruled sometime in the middle of the 8th century. Among the cruciform temples, it was the earliest, and perhaps it was even earlier than the ones in Paharpur.
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