Dhorail Inscription of the Reign of Mahmud Shah: Saka 1455
Summary
This study presents the discovery and analysis of a Sanskrit inscription found at Dhorail in Dinajpur district. Carved on a sandstone slab measuring roughly 39 inches by 15 inches, the inscription is dated to Śaka 1455 (AD 1533) during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Bengal. The raised Bengali characters, which range from 1½ to 2 inches, show a transitional script between proto‑Bengali and fully developed Bengali. The article records the shapes of letters and notes how certain forms changed after the Muslim conquest, offering an epigraphic landmark for the Bengali alphabet. The text, composed in Sanskrit, states that a bridge was built by Pharasa Khan, son of Nrravaja Khan, who served as a minister under Mahmud Shah. The author provides a transliteration and translation of the inscription and situates it within the political context of Mahmud Shah’s reign, outlining his accession and status as the last independent Sultan of Bengal. The study emphasises the rarity of a Sanskrit epigraph from a Muslim ruler and compares it with two Arabic inscriptions from the same reign. It concludes that the Dhorail inscription demonstrates continued patronage of Sanskrit and provides valuable data on administration and palaeography in sixteenth‑century Bengal.
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Conclusion
The Dhorail inscription shows that Sanskrit remained a respected language for public records even under Muslim rule. Its palaeographic details illuminate the evolution of the Bengali script, while its content—commemorating a bridge built by a minister—reveals practical aspects of medieval administration. This inscription thus exemplifies the cultural synthesis characteristic of early sixteenth‑century Bengal.