Sripur is
now extinct being washed away by the padma. Situated
on the bank of the Padma in the present Munshiganj
district, it was the capital city of chand rai and
kedar rai. According to Ralph fitch (1586) it was
six leagues below sonargaon. Though De Barros (1496-1573
AD), Blaev (1571-1638 AD) and Von den Broucke differ
in showing its exact location, yet all of them agree
in placing it to the south of Sonargaon. They mark
Sripur as a 'Bunder' (port).
It appears that ship industry developed in this
city as portuguese sailors used to come to repair
their ships there. Von den Broucke calls it Sherpur
Feringhi, which implies that it was an important
Portuguese settlement. Ralph Fitch describes Sripur
as an emporium of trade and commerce and mentions
that he went from Sripur to Pegu in a Portuguese
ship belonging to Alberto Carvalho. In 1612 the
Augustinian Christians erected churches in Sripur
and by 1616 the city became the official missionary
centre.
Sripur, a centre of Hindu culture, had big temples
with images of gods and goddesses and played an
important part in the history of Bengal. mansingh
is said to have carried the famous Shilamayee image
of Sripur to Ambar in 1595 after the defeat of Kedar
Rai. |
| Rajabari Math, eroded
by river Padma at least a century ago was
built by Raja Kedar Rai. |
|
