All Topics  
Sopara

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Sopara
 
 
  Topics Sopara Topic Home

Sopara (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
: ) (mentioned in the Hebrew texts as Ophir
Ophir

Ophir is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon is supposed to have received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, apes and peacocks from Ophir, every three years....
) was an ancient port town and the capital of the ancient Aparanta
Aparanta

Aparanta, or Aparantaka was a geographical region of ancient India, variously corresponding to the northern Konkan, northern Gujarat, Kathiawar, Kachch and Sindh....
. The site of this ancient town is located near the present day Nala Sopara
Nala Sopara

Nala Sopara is a city and a municipal council in Thane district in the Indian States and territories of India of Maharashtra. It is a town within the Mumbai Conurbation....
 town in the Thane district
Thane District

Thane is a Districts of Maharashtra in northern Maharashtra state in western India. The headquarters of the district is the city of Thane. Other major cities in the district are Navi Mumbai , Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar,Ambarnath, Kulgaon-Badlapur, Dahanu, Shahapur, Vada, Thane and Vasai-Virar....
 of the state Maharashtra
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
. In ancient times, it was the largest township on India's west coast, trading with Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
, Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin

The Kingdom of Cochin or Kochi was a former state that included much of Thrissur district, Chittoor Taluk of Palakkad district and Kanayannur & Fort Kochi Taluks of Ernakulam district in what is now the Indian state of Kerala....
, Arabia and Eastern Africa.

Mahabharata
Mahabharata

The is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetrys of History of India, the other being the '. The epic is part of the Hindu itihasa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
 and the Puranas state that the was reclaimed from the sea for the dwelling place of Parashurama
Parashurama

Parashurama , a Brahmin, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, belongs to the Treta yuga, and is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-of-the-axe....
 and it became a tirtha
Tirtha

A tirtha is a pilgrimage site. Literally, the Sanskrit term tirtha means a Ford , a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed....
 for this reason.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Sopara'
Start a new discussion about 'Sopara'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Sopara (Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
: ) (mentioned in the Hebrew texts as Ophir
Ophir

Ophir is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon is supposed to have received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, apes and peacocks from Ophir, every three years....
) was an ancient port town and the capital of the ancient Aparanta
Aparanta

Aparanta, or Aparantaka was a geographical region of ancient India, variously corresponding to the northern Konkan, northern Gujarat, Kathiawar, Kachch and Sindh....
. The site of this ancient town is located near the present day Nala Sopara
Nala Sopara

Nala Sopara is a city and a municipal council in Thane district in the Indian States and territories of India of Maharashtra. It is a town within the Mumbai Conurbation....
 town in the Thane district
Thane District

Thane is a Districts of Maharashtra in northern Maharashtra state in western India. The headquarters of the district is the city of Thane. Other major cities in the district are Navi Mumbai , Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar,Ambarnath, Kulgaon-Badlapur, Dahanu, Shahapur, Vada, Thane and Vasai-Virar....
 of the state Maharashtra
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
. In ancient times, it was the largest township on India's west coast, trading with Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
, Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin

The Kingdom of Cochin or Kochi was a former state that included much of Thrissur district, Chittoor Taluk of Palakkad district and Kanayannur & Fort Kochi Taluks of Ernakulam district in what is now the Indian state of Kerala....
, Arabia and Eastern Africa.

History

The Mahabharata
Mahabharata

The is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetrys of History of India, the other being the '. The epic is part of the Hindu itihasa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
 and the Puranas state that the was reclaimed from the sea for the dwelling place of Parashurama
Parashurama

Parashurama , a Brahmin, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, belongs to the Treta yuga, and is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-of-the-axe....
 and it became a tirtha
Tirtha

A tirtha is a pilgrimage site. Literally, the Sanskrit term tirtha means a Ford , a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed....
 for this reason. The finding of the relics in a stupa and the rock edicts (the fragments of the 8th and 9th major rock edicts) of Ashoka
Ashoka

Ashoka was an Indian emperor, of the Maurya Empire who ruled from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. Often cited as one of India's as well as world's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests....
 in 1882 prove the importance of this port town from the 3rd century BCE to the 9th century CE. The Buddhist text Mahavamsa
Mahavamsa

The Mahavamsa, is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the monarch of Sri Lanka. It covers the period from the coming of King Vijaya of Kalinga in 543 BCE to the reign of King Mahasena ....
 (VI, 46,47) states that the first king of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
, Vijaya
Vijaya

Vijaya was the first king of Sri Lanka mentioned in the ancient Sri Lankan Pali chronicles, but he is also a figure in medieval Sri Lankan Tamil literature....
 sailed from Supparaka (Sopara) to Sri Lanka. Ptolemy
Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
 mentioned this town as Soupara, and it was a major commercial centre during his time

Excavations at Sopara

In April 1882, Bhagvanlal Indraji, a noted archaeologist, numismatist and epigraphist excavated at the Burud Rajache Kot mound in Nirmal
Nirmal

Nirmal is a 1000 years old Town, mandal headquarters and a municipality in Adilabad district in the Indian States and territories of India of Andhra Pradesh .It is a political headquarter of the district....
. The ruins of a Buddhist Stupa was found. From the center of the stupa (inside a brick built chamber) a large stone coffer was excavated which contained eight bronze images of Maitreya Buddha which belong to the c. 8th-9th century CE. This coffer also enclosed relic caskets of copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
, silver
Silver

Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal....
, stone
Stone

Stone may refer to:...
, crystal
Crystal

A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions....
 and gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
, along with numerous gold flowers and fragments of a begging bowl. A silver coin of Gautamiputra Satakarni (Satvahans
Satavahana

The Satavahanas also known as Andhras , were a dynasty which ruled from Junnar , Prathisthan in Maharashtra and Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh in Andhra Pradesh over Southern and Central India from around 230 BCE onward....
) was also found from the mound. The Bombay Provincial Government presented the Sopara relics to the Asiatic Society of Bombay. The coins and the artifacts found during the excavations at the site of this ancient town can still be viewed in the The Asiatic Society, Mumbai
Asiatic Society of Bombay

The Asiatic Society of Bombay is based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on November 26, 1804, and was founded by Sir James Mackintosh....
 museum. In an old muslim graveyard near Ramkund, the fragments of VIIth and IXth major rock edicts were found. These rock edicts can be viewed in the Chhatrapati Sivaji Maharaj
Shivaji

Shivaji Bhosle , commonly known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundations of the Maratha Empire. Shivaji was younger of the two sons of Shahaji and Jijabai....
 Vaastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. In 1956, a fragment of XIth major rock edict was found from a coastal village, Bhui. During 1993 excavation, a ring well, fragments of Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 amphorae red polished ware and glass (all belong to the early centuries of the Common Era) were found.

See also

  • Indian maritime history
    Indian maritime history

    Indian maritime history begins during the 3rd millennium BCE when the inhabitants of the Indus Valley initiate trading with Mesopotamia....
  • Surparaka Kingdom
    Surparaka Kingdom

    The country of Surparaka was founded by Bhargava Rama near the Western sea, close to the mouth of river Narmada River. This kingdom is mentioned in the epic Mahabharata....


External links