Burdwan — My Town
Bardhaman also called Burdwan, or Barddhaman - a major communications centre located on the banks of the Damodar River, the town of Bardhaman is the district headquarters. It was named after the 24th Jain monk, Tirthankar Mahavir Bardhaman. During the Mughal rule, its name used to be Sharifabad.
In the 17th-18th century, Krishnaram Ray, belonging to a merchant family from Punjab, established the zamindari of Bardhaman on a farman issued by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The Rays went on to rule Bardhaman till 1955.
Various relics of Stone Age have been found in this district, and they are similar to the finds of the stone weapons and other relics discovered in Singhbhum, Purulia, Dhanbad and Bankura districts. This will suggest that portions of this entire zone had been in one and the same culture zone.The very name Bardhaman suggests a close association with Mahavira Bardha- man, the twenty-fourth and the last Jain Tirthankar (pathfinder). There is a theory that the name Bardhaman is based on the contact this area had with Mahavira Bardhaman and Jainism.
Parasnath hill in Dhanbad district so very important and holy to the Jains is close to the border of Burdwan. Parasnath is associated with most of the Tirthankar. It is quite likely that in the course of his preaching in the Rarh Desha, which comprises portions of this district as well, Mahavira may have visited this district. It is said that the rude inhabitants of Rarh Desha had even assaulted Mahavira Bardhaman and let loose dogs against him.
