We have scant records about Buddhism in Bengal from the 1200s to the 1700s, due to the reality of foreign invasions and the large-scale vandalization of Buddhist institutions. After plunderers occupied the territories of modern-day Bangladesh and Indian Bengal in the thirteenth century, Buddhism on Bengali soil declined significantly. Various occupiers forced local Buddhists to convert to other faiths. Massive numbers of Buddhists also fled to neighboring regions. Even though the 1400s to 1700s are known as a “dark age” of Bengali Buddhism, the contributions of Buddhist monks like Ven. Chandrajyoti Mahasthabir helped Buddhism to endure these dark times. Chandrajyoti was a visionary monk who dedicated his lifespan to propagating Buddhist teachings. He contributed to establishing several Buddhist artifacts in the Bengal territory in the 15th century.

In the 15th century, a Buddhist monk named Chandrajyoti Mahasthabir lived in the Chakaria subdistrict of Cox’s Bazar District of Chattogram, Bangladesh. From his biography, we know that Kheyokachu was Chandrajyoti’s lay name. His uncle was ordained as Ven. Rajmangal, and Kheyokachu decided to follow in his footsteps, becoming ordained as a Buddhist monk under the preceptorship of Ven. Sarabhu Mahasthabir. Sarabhu Mahastabir was a disciple of the eminent Buddhist monk Dipankar Mahasthabir, who lived in Magadha, Bihar State, in present-day India. After Kheyokachu’s ordination as a Buddhist monk, his preceptor gave him a new name, Chandrajyoti Bhikkhu.

Chandrajyoti then moved to Moulmein, a city located southeast of Yangon in present-day Myanmar. He lived in Moulmein for 20 years, studying Buddhism, then returned to Bengal to spread Buddhism, accompanied by ten Buddhist monks from Myanmar. They helped Chandrajyoti move a chakrasan (a stone on which the Buddha’s 32 marks are carved), three Buddha statues, and several Buddhist relics from Moulmein to Bengal territory. The three statues were too big and heavy to carry, so Chandrajyoti asked the artists to divide them into three parts for each statue. These Buddha statues that Chandrajyoti brought from Myanmar subsequently became important Buddha images that demonstrated the presence of Buddhism in Bangladesh from the 1400s to the 1700s.

Accompanied by his ten fellow monks, Chandrajyoti arrived at Lalmai Hill Area (which is located in the area of Cumilla District of present-day Bangladesh and the city of Agartala in present-day India). During that time, a royal personality named Bolibhim Adhitya lived in Agartala. After Chandrajyoti met with Bolibhim Adhitya, the latter requested that the monk reside in Lalmai Hill for the sake of local Buddhist devotees and seekers. Understanding the long-term benefit for local Buddhists, Chandrajyoti founded a Buddhist monastery on Lalmai Hill, which Bolibhim Adhitya supported. Chandrajyoti stayed at Lalmai Hill for five years and inspired Bolibhim Adhitya to help build an ordination hall (bhikkhu sima) and a fourteen-foot reclining Buddha (a statue of Buddha in the reclining Mahaparinibbana pose) at the monastery. According to local legend, one hundred Buddhist monks were ordained under the preceptorship of Chandrajyoti.

After a five-year stay at Lalmai Hill, Chandrajyoti and his disciples embarked on their next pilgrimage to Sitakunda in Chattogram. Chandrajyoti had aimed to establish a Buddha state on Sitakunda Hill, which involved placing one of the three Buddha images he had brought from Moulamein into a new structure. The area was subsequently renamed “Chandrajyoti Pahar” or “Chandrashekar Pahar,” a testament to his influence in the region.

Having successfully established one Buddha image at Sitakunda Hill, Chandrajyoti and his disciples headed to the southern part of Chattogram. They arrived in a mango garden belonging to Haidmaja, which is located on the bank of the River Srimati. Haidmaja was a generous, wealthy merchant. When Haidmaja learned about the family and spiritual background of Chandrajyoti, he arranged a teaching program that lasted three days. Bengali legend says that when Haidmaja saw the chakrasan, he asked Chandrajyoti. After observing the deep faith of Haidmaja, Chandrajyoti offered the chakrasan to him. Haidmaja established the chakrasan in his birthplace, Haidgao, and constructed a monument (cetiya), which was subsequently renowned as “Chakrashala Phratara Cetiya of Haidgao.” Bengali legends posit that the Buddha visited Haidgao while returning from Yangoon in Myanmar to Magadha in India. The people of Bangladesh have since acknowledged Chakrashala as a sacred site for pilgrims. This might explain why Haidmaja established the Chakrashala Phratara Cetiya in the 15th century. This cetiya was repaired by Jagatchandra Mahastabir and Nabin Chandra Barua in the 20th century.

News of the arrival of Chandrajyoti in Haidgao and the three-day Buddhist event spread throughout southern Chattogram, reaching even Chendi, Chandrajyoti’s father. Chendi invited Chandrajyoti and his disciples to Cox’s Bazar District, and Chandrajyoti happily accepted the heartfelt invitation. When he arrived, Chandrajyoti offered Chendi the Buddha’s relics, which he had brought from Moulmein. The Buddha relics were stored in a monument (cetiya) in Satkania, Chattogram District, present-day Bangladesh. This memorial was in turn placed on the bank of a giant pond, which was subsequently known as “Chendi’r Pukur.” In commemoration of the Buddha’s holy relic donation from Chandrajyoti to Chendi, local Buddhists today gather on the day of “Chaitra Sankranti,” the last day of the Bengali calendar. The Bengali community celebrates as auspicious the first and final days of the Bengali year.

The second Buddha statue that Chandrajyoti brought over from Myanmar was given to the uncle who initially inspired him to be ordained, Ven. Rajmangal Mahasthabir. This statue was placed at the monastery in Tegarpuni, Patiya. The Buddha statue subsequently disappeared from the monastery and was only rediscovered in the 20th century by Nila Kumari Barua. Since then, the Buddha statue has been called “Bura Gosai.”

Chandrajyoti offered the third Buddha statue to his contemporary Ural Sthabir, who put it in a Buddhist monastery on Rongmahal Hill. Later, when invaders attacked Chattogram, they destroyed this monastery, prompting the locals to whisk the Buddha statue away to safety. The head part of this Buddha statue was rediscovered in the 20th century, when the Assam Bengal Railway began building in Chattogram. Upon discovery, the company handed the head over to local Buddhist monks.

Despite the centuries-long, problematic era for Buddhist practitioners due to colonial invasion and vandalism, surviving Buddhists faithfully practiced and protected their ancient Buddhist tradition. The establishment of chakrasans at Haidmaja (Chakrashala Phratara Cetiya), and the offering of three Buddha statues and relics were events that were important for Bengali Buddhists in the 15th century and beyond. Needless to say, Chandrajyoti Mahasthabir’s spiritual journey was keenly supported by local Buddhists in the name of preserving Buddhist traditions.

The legacy of Venerable Chandrajyoti Mahasthabir and his related incidents proved that the culture and Buddhist practices was practised among surviving Buddhists in Bangladesh from the 1400s to the 1700s, despite the hard times that had befallen Buddhism.

* There were also monks like Ven. Chaingya Sthabir, as well as unwavering support from lay Buddhists like Krusna Dhamai, Kheyoz Chai Chowdhury, Chendi, and Haidmaja.

References

Barua, Shimul. 2012. Banglar Baud’dha: Itihas-Aitihya O Sanskriti. Chattogram: Anoma Sanskriti Ghosti.

Chowdhury, Sanjoy Barua. 2024. “A Forgotten Inscription on the Narrative Study of Buddhist Transmissions in Boṅgabhūmi: From the Buddhaʼs Time to the Modern Period.” Studia Orientalia Slovaca 23 (2): 95–119.

Chowdhury, Sanjoy Barua, ‘Historical Legends of the Buddha in the Region of Bongabhumi’, in Courtney Bruntz, and Brooke Schedneck (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Lived Buddhism (online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Feb. 2024), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197658697.013.34, accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

Dipankar Srijnan, Barua. 2007. Bangali Bouddhode’r Itihash Dharma O Sanskriti. Chattogram: Bangladesh Pali Sahitya Saminti.

Mahasthabir, Dharmatilok. 1936. Sadharma Ratnakar. Yangon: Buddhist Mission Press.

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