Abstract:
Birbhum , the northernmost district of the Burdwan Division,
is situated between 23° 33' and 24° 35' north latitude and between
87° 10' and 88° 2' east longitude. It extends over 1,752 square TI0N’
miles, and has a population, according to the census of 1901, of
902,280 persons. One of the smallest districts in Bengal, it has
a larger area than the county of Lancaster, and its population is
nearly as great as that of Kent. The principal town, which is
also the administrative head-quarters of the distriot, is SurJ, situated
two miles south of the Mor river.
Several theories have been put forward regarding the derivation
of the name Birbhum. According to Sir William Hunter, name!* °?
it means the land of heroes ( Virbhumi) * and another suggestion
is that it signifies forest land, bir in Santali meaning jungle.t A
third derivation is connected with the traditional history of the
district. I t is said that one upon a time the Raja of Bishnupur
went out hawking'in this part of his kingdom. He threw off
one of the birds in pursuit of a heron, which turned upon its
pursuer with great fury and came off victorious. This unusual
occurrence excited the surprise of the king, who imagined that it
must have been due to some mysterious quality in the soil: that
the soil was, in fact, Timati (i.e., vigorous soil), and that whatever
might be brought forth by that soil would be endowed with
heroic energy and power. Thereupon he named it Virbhumi.
