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KARATOYA
North Bengal University Journal of History

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International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSN) - 2229 4880

KARATOYA

Karatoya: North Bengal University Journal of History publishes research ARTICLES and SHORT NOTES in English on History and its allied sub-disciplines and is published annually. It is a blinded peer-reviewed journal. It considers original research articles based on interpretation of freshly retrieved information or re-interpretation of existing database on the subjects. Review articles based on critical assessment of published database on specific themes are also accepted.

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ISSN : 2229-4880

E-ISSN : NA

Language : English

Frequency : Annual

Medium : Print Only

Published since : 2007

Discipline : Arts and Humanities

Broad Subject : History

Subject Focus : History

     

 From editor's desk

The new volume of the journal will be out very soon and we are inviting research articles from the academician. Call for papers for the upcoming publication has given in the link below.
Call for Papers
Deadline: 30th October 2022

Dr. Dahlia Bhattacharya  (Editor)
Dr. Amrita Mondal           (Editor)

The Name Karatoya:

The title name of the North Bengal University Journal of History is 'Karatoya' – the ancient sacred river of North Bengal. Its name is associated with myth tradition, and cultural history of North Bengal. Even to-day, the Karatoya with her narrow flow reminds the sweet memories of the bygone days, the tales of ups and downs in the life of the people of the soil. Ancient Pundranagara was situated beside the Karatoya. There is a legend about the naming of the Shila devir Ghat on the Karatoya which was so named after Shila devi, a princess of the last ruling Hindu family of Mahasthangarh (identified with Pundranagara). The united flow of the Tista- Karatoya once brought material prosperity to the inhabitants of the valley. The vast river crossed by Xuan Zang on his way to Kamarupa was no other than the Karatoya or Ka-lo-tu of T’sang-shu. Karatoya is described as a holy river in the tirthayatra section of Vanaparva of the Mahabharata. "Karatoya mahatmya has found its expression time and again in the Puranas. The ancient manuscript named ‘Karatova Mahatmya’ by Pandita Parasurama (twelfth-thirteenth centuries CE) announces her height of glory as a sacred river for pilgrimage. The mazar of Hazrat Fateh Ali Askali on the bank of the Karatoya in Bogura is a sacred place to the Muslims. The river Karatoya carrying the full flow of the Tista from the upper stream never suffered from any physical delicacy. Swelling with the nutrient flow of water at variant stages, the Karatoya continued to exist as an exceedingly strong- flowing river till the devastating flood of 1777 at the Himalayan plateau from whence the vast water of the Tista found its way to flow through an older channel to be emptied in the Brahmaputra Yet evidence proves that the Karatoya was regarded as the river of greatest celebrity in Hindu fable even in 1810. Even today during the dry days of Chaitra, one can witness the amazing beauty of the ever-flowing Karatoya though not vibrant and broad-bosomed. The chanting of the following hymns at the time of taking holy bath in the Karatoya portrays the actual reverence the people had for this serene flow:

  • Karatove sadanire
  • Saricchresthe subisrute
  • Paundran plabayase nityam
  • Papamhara karodbhabe

(The Karatoya, you are ever filled with water; you are the excellent and well You are always inundating the Paundra country. May your grace release me from all my sins). Hence, the name is borrowed with a view to expressing a deep sense of adoration to the great heritage of North Bengal.

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Last Updated on : June 29, 2022