Bankura (Bengali: ) is a city and a municipality in Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura District. In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word Larh or Rarh (in nagari: rh) was introduced after 6th century A.D. It comes from the old Austric word rh or rho which means land of red soil; it is worth noting that in ancient times "China called Rh by the name of Lti". In Santali, lar means thread, rarh means tune and larh means snake. Perhaps the Jain and Greek scholars used this original Austric word Larh to indicate this dry forest region which was very difficult to access that time. The popularity of Manasa Puja, the worship of Snake-Goddess Manasa, proves this opinion might have some relevance. According to Nilkantha, a famous commentator of the Mahabharata, both the words Suhmo[bhumi] (sanskrit: suhma-bhmi) and Rarh, are synonymous. Scholars differs in their opinion about the etymology of...
