Architectural Heritage of Barishal: Baradakanta Mitra Math
Baradakanta Mitra Math (monastery), an architectural heritage, is located at Babur’s house on the west side of the Kauria-Harinathpur road about 500 meters north of Kauria Bazar of the village namely east Koralia located at Guabariya Union under Hijla upazila of Barisal district.
Map: Location of Baradakanta Mitra Math.
Baradakanta Mitra Math is also known locally as Pancharatna. In Bengali ‘san 1306’ is inscribed on the front wall of the math. According to the Bengali inscription, the math was built in 1899 AD. Speaking to the local people, it is known that a Jamindar (landlord) named Baradakanta Mitra built the math. It is to be noted that according to the Bangladesh Gazette published on November 1, 2018, this math is a protected archaeological heritage declared by the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
The south-faced math is built in a rectangular ground plan. The east-west of the math is 13.2 meters long and 12.15 meters wide in the north-south. The walls of the two-storied math is 60 cm wide. There are three entrances in the east wall, the west wall, and the south wall of the ground floor. The north wall has five windows and two windows in the east wall, the west wall, and the south wall. The entrances and the windows are flat-arched.
There are two square cells in the middle of the ground floor and one long chamber of the east-west in the northern part of the floor. Each of the square cells has one entrance and two windows. The northern chamber has an entrance and seven windows. The ground floor of this math made of bricks and lime concrete has now been renovated with cement and painted in yellow color.
To reach the second floor, there is a 22-step stairway on the south side of the math. The stairway stands on two semicircular arches. Just on the two cells of the ground floor, there are two square cells on the second floor. In the same style, each of these cells has an entrance and two small windows on the southern walls and an entrance on the east wall and the west wall. The entrance and the windows are almost segmental-arched. In front of the southern wall, there are cylinder-shaped couple column designs and flowers & leaves ornaments on the top panel.
There is a large dome on each of the two cells. There are four small domes at the four corners of the large domes. There is an ornamental finial on the large domes with the hexagonal pyramid design. Each of the small domes with the square-based pyramid on the four corners also has an ornamental finial.
There is a niche in the north wall of the interior of the two cells on the second floor. The interior of the large domes is semi-circular. There is a flower decoration in the middle of the interior of these domes. The interior drum of these domes is octagonal. Many visitors come to visit this math built during the British colonial rule. [Md. Shahin Alam]
Follow Us on Our YouTube channel: GEONATCUL
Architectural Heritage of Barishal