At that time, the capital of ancient Bengal was Gaur. And a vast architecture was built on the outskirts of Gaur city. And that architecture still gives us an idea of the exquisite craftsmanship of Sultani architecture in our current generation.
I was talking about the Chota Sona Mosque located in the Shahbazpur Union of Shibganj Upazila in the district of Chapainawabganj.
The mosque is one of the historical monuments of Bangladesh. Two names beautifully call the mosque.
“Gem of Sultanate” and “Gem of Gaur”
But really, this is precisely what I felt after watching it-
“Jewels are the only adjectives that match the mosque’s beauty.”
Construction of the mosque
To know about the mosque’s construction, we must reach from 1994 to 1519 AD. At that time, the reign was the reign of Sultan Ala Uddin Hussain Shah. Although the exact date of construction is not known from the inscription found on the middle door of the mosque, it is known that a person named Wali Mohammad. He built this small gold mosque.
The exterior of the mosque and its functions.
The mosque is 82 feet long from north to south and 52.5 feet wide from east to west. Height 20 feet.
It is worth noting that nowadays, we don’t usually build a 6 feet wall or think about it because of the cost. However, this mosque’s division was about 6 feet thick then! The thick wall that was made may have been slightly eroded by the evolution of time. But the walls are still standing in glory even after hundreds of years.
The arches and domes of the mosque are made of brick. The mosque has four rectangular minarets. There are five entrances to the east and 3 to the south and north of the mosque. The arches are divided into many parts and are rich in beautiful craftsmanship and decoration.
However, the thing to note is that there are stairs on the westernmost door on the right side of the mosque. Although now, if you go up the stairs, only the inside of the mosque can be seen through a small hut or a window-like place.
Historians have different opinions about this staircase. However, it is believed that it was a staircase leading to a particular room above, and that room was used as a “Jenna mahal”, according to the mosque’s structure.
However, according to many historians, it was not a zenana mahal. It was a separate room for the sultan or ruler to perform prayers in safety - known as Badshah-ka-Takht.
Dome and Door (Entrance)-
When talking about all the historical mosques, the dome comes first. And this mosque is no exception. The total number of crowns on the roof of the mosque is 15. Among them, 12 are semi-circular domes, and the remaining three are square-shaped. Five domes are visible from backwards and frontward, and three are visible from the other two sides. The rest are not visible. All the crowns are visible only from above or from high places.
Interior of the mosque-
Fifteen domes of the mosque are built on eight pillars inside the mosque. The lower part of the dome is hollow and round. It can be seen from inside the mosque. It looks stunning. Inside the east wall, all the designs are semi-circular. The pulpits are decorated with precious stones.
Some more information-
- The mausoleum of the great martyr Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir is located in the courtyard outside the mosque.
- Outside the mosque area, there are several stone tombs. Although there is no information about who they are.
- Tahakhana Masjid, Darasbari Madrasa Masjid and Khaniyadighi Masjid are far from the mosque. All these are historical monuments.
- There is no entrance fee to visit the mosque. However, the mosque is still used for prayers, and there is a donation box.
- There is a huge pond in front of the mosque and a garden next to it.
How to go?
It is easy to go from Dhaka using various bus services and trains. The distance from Gabtali Bus Terminal to Dhaka by road is about 328 km (Info-Google Map).
Travel Advice (Own Opinion)-
If you want, you can see the whole Chapainawabganj district in one day. In that case, you have to plan a little.
When I went, I took the Hanif Paribahan bus. That bus goes to Kansas Bazar in Shibganj Upazila. (Note that Kansat Bazar is the biggest mango market in Bangladesh. When there are mangoes on the trees, Chapainawabganj mangoes go all over the country from this Kansat Bazar! )
However, the small mosque is a few kilometres from Kansat Bazar. You can reach Kansat Bazar at 10 am if you catch a night bus. From there, auto rickshaws can be hired. If you pay around 500 takas, the autos there will show you everything. In this case, there is no problem with time.
First, see the Coto sona mosque, Mugal Taha Khana, far from it. If you see there, then if you want, you can see that there is a park there. The little ones will like the park.
Then you will see Daras Bari Madrasah and Mosque nearby. Near the land port, Sona masjid land port. You will see while visiting that land port. On the other side of the border in India, Kautayali Darvaja. Katwali Darwaza is also a historical monument.
Then you will see the big Khania Dighi while visiting the khaniadighi masjid near Land port.
After seeing everything, you will return to Chapainawabganj city. There are CNG and minibuses from Kansat Bazar. There is always an E bus from Chapainawabganj district headquarters.
- This article was part of my Chapainawabganj district series. This article’s information has been collected and compiled from many websites incl, using various newspapers, online, Wikipedia, Banglapedia, and travel guides.
I captured all the images used here. Different devices were used while taking the photos and videos.
And for this post, a short video was uploaded on YouTube. If you want, you can get an idea by watching it.
A Glimpse of Coto Sona Masjid and others historical placeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=091yn6ODHvc&list=PLQe_TCsW0fGQ2Vy-HV08Xxl3fkUqEUmCz
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