Maner: The social and historical significance of a little known medieval Monument of Bihar.

The medieval site of Maner is located about 25 KM from Patna and has for a very long time invited visitors of all sorts. The Archaeological Survey of India, has at this site,put up a placard,which says that this site was so important,in terms of its social and historical significance, that in its time, it had been visited by Babur, Sikandar Lodi and Tansen. I myself remember seeing it first as a very small kid. It was completely grown over with bush and jungle and we were, in the 1960s, told that it was a hang-out for criminals, and such like. The central tank was very dirty, so one might have enjoyed it only from a great distance. Even so, as far back as the 1960s, it was known to Patna-wallas, that this site, Maner, held a special significance; and it is thus that it was visited on occassions like New Year and such holidays, and local tourists, would, in day time, set up campfires, and cook their mutton curry and rice, as they do to this day, not too far away from the site.

It has been, only from about 2007, that I have been visiting this site, now that it is cleaned-up, and transformed into a sparkling monument, by the no doubt very strenuous efforts of the conservationists of the Archaeological Survey of India, for purposes of research and study.

It seems to me that just as anthropologists write biographies and ethnographies of peoples and cultures, it ought to be possible, to write such biographies and ethnographies of monuments as well. what would such an enterprise include? well, just the observations on, what was happening at the site, at the time of a researcher's periodic visits. Since 2007, I must have visited the site about ten times and on each occassion newer things are happening there and I tend to notice newer aspects of this very fine monument. Let me speak of its historical and architectural significance first. This site was built in 1617, under the orders of Emperor Jehangir, and executed by Ibrahim Khan, the then governor of the province of Bihar. Jehangir himself was born to Akbar, from Jodhabai, after many years of Akbar's ministrations at a Sufi Dargah of western india.

It is thus, we may expect, that Jehangir himself, came to respect the Sufi shrines, doctrines and the faith. The contemporary shrine of Maner is named after Sheikh Yahya Maneri, who had migrated from western India, to the subah of Bihar, and was the first Sufi cleric, or, saint here, and, after whom the town Maner Sharief, and the site, take their name. Sheikh Yahya Maneri has been commemorated in a shrine on top of a small hillock near this site and his shrine is called the Bari Dargah.

The monument, seen in the accompanying pictures, is actually that of of one of his descendants, Sheik Makhdoom Daulat, and is called, therefore, the Choti Dargah, even if it is, in physical shape and size, bigger. Ibrahim khan and his wife, are also buried, inside the sanctum sanctorum, of the Choti Dargah, perhaps for their favours of building this dargah.

At a slight remove from the southern face of the Choti dargah, and on a small hillock beside the water-tank, is the bari dargah, where Sheik Yahya Maneri is buried. An old-painting, by the company artist Thomas Daniell (in 1780), has captured the choti dargah, in all its beauty and splendour, as it existed at that time. The painting shows some devotees lounging in the hallway (as shown below), the northern perimeter-wall along the main entrance to the choti dargah, the river Son (Soane) flowing to the north of the monument.

However, as we drove our car through the maze of streets, lanes and by lanes, of the maner village, and then the Chaldi-hapra village, and then reached the river Ganga's banks, we had covered nearly Ten (10) KM. For our purposes, we concluded that, while the river Ganga, would have serviced the needs of those villages situated quite near its banks, where agriculture thrives to the day, it could not, possibly have, the residents of the villages, immediately neighbouring, the choti and bari dargahs. A quick conclusion then, and based on such field facts, is that, the enormous water-tank at the site of Maner, was built by Ibrahim Khan, to act as a permanent source of water-supply, and succour, to the visitors to the monument in the medieval period and natives living near the monument.

The architectural style in which the choti dargah (built in chunar santstone that varies from a light pink to creamish) and has been brought here in patias, and the neighbouring masjid (built also in chunar sandstone in 1697 also by Ibrahim Khan), enclosed within the perimeter walls of the choti dargah, the perimeter walls, the prayer halls, and the most grand and ornately sculptured and engineered, main entrance, to say nothing, of the main dargah itself, which is built in a square-shape with one dome and two floors, one containg the shrine, and the other the dome, its marvellously sculptured pillars, ornate designs on walls and cielings, the delicate jalees, the cupolas for diyas and incense, and the inner part of the dome overhead the shrine all speak of a certain care and finesse in its execution.

it is thus that the archaeological survey of india plate bearing information on this site proclaims this as the finest example of indo-mughal architecture in bihar. it also claims that this site was visited by babur, sikarndar lodi, and tansen.

however, the rajput elements in its structure are most prominent - both at the chchattrees near the water-tank and in the galleries of the front-entrance to the choti-dargah.

on the literary side, we have a reference in Naseem Hines's recent book, The Chandayan by Maulana Daud, that the Maner Khankah was repository to one folio of an early indo-sufi masnavi by the name of Chandayan. and herein lies an interesting bit of history, that of the cross-breeding of indian indian folk tradition, from which the protagonist Lorik is taken, and which is a folktale of Patna District to this day, with the indo-sufi poetry tradition, that yields, eventually, this masnavi, by the name of chandayan. However, it must be noted here, that while Naseem Hine's book even bears a photographic plate or two of this same Maner Dargah,of which I have here provided several pictures, she has nowhere,in her otherwise very erudite book, indicated,what historical bearing Maulana Daud's Chandayan has on either the founding of this shrine or its subsequent life. The story of chandyan,interestingly rendered, as it is,in Hines's book, is is here worth recounting, the brief account of which is presented here as possible to glean from the awadhi rendering of it given in Hines's book.

Chanda was a princess of great beauty born to a local raja. when she was but three years of age the stories of her beauty had already spread far and wide in india. and then another local raja asked her father for her hand in marriage. Chanda's father, seeing his royal lineage, agreed to marry-off his daughter, at the young age of three, to this local raja, who was very much older to her in years. Chanda departed her father's home and lived with this husband of hers for 13 years. However, when she was sixteen she realised how disastrous her marriage had been as her husband was deficient in every possible respect. So, without further ado, she upped and left her husband's abode, and, returned to her father's, and, in the process, inciting the ire of her husband. Her husband then made an alliance with another king to attack her father's dominions and reclaim her. Her father was militarily quite outmatched. At this time, Lorik, a local nobleman, enters her father's kingdom, and catches site of Chanda standing in the balcony of her royal house, and swoons. he is treated my local mendicants and recovers only to tell the hakeem that it was chanda's beauty that had caused it and that he must meet her again if he is to really regain his senses. when he does he returns to Chanda's village and meets with her and swears his love for her. Chanda asks if he is prepared to marry him. at which point lorik tells her that he already has a wife called maina. chanda then says how would a second marriage then be possible? Lorik is then called upon by Chanda's father to help him fight the invaders, which he does, and routs the enemy completely, killing most of Chanda's father's foes. Now Lorik is ready to elope with chanda and they meet in a temple to discuss the plans. Here, Maina, who has been informed by her friends, of the goings on between Chanda and Lorik, comes to the temple simultaneously, and engages in a bitter physical and verbal fight with Chanda. Both retire bruised and this firms Lorik resolve further to elope with Chanda.

this they do and flee very far from their native places, deep inside various jungles, to serve such purposes as for which elopement is done. however, quite tragically, Chanda, is bitten by a very very poisnous snake and is breathing her last, with a very distraught lorik by her side wailing and weeping and calling for help hither and thither in a very very deep forest. at last as Chanda's energies are all but fading comes by a Hakeem and pacifies Lorik saying that he would be able to cure her of the effects of the snake-bite, however, this he would do, only if he were rewarded handsomely. Lorik agrees at once to part with all the fineries and jewellery that he is wearing, the mendicant keeps his word, and Chanda recovers.

And then, as Lorik and Chanda venture further into the forest, their elopement not as yet complete, yet again, Chanda is bitten by another very venomous snake. Lorik sets up a wail again and not one soul comes to his aid or counsel. At last he builds a funeral pyre for her and ligting it he resolves to consign himself to the flames too. However, as chance would have it, yet another very accomplished hakeem chances upon them in the middle of this very compromising setting and asks him what his problem is. Lorik recounts his story, and, yet again, this Hakeem too, says, that he would cure Chanda, but for a price. The price, as Chanda and Lorik, are both, now, in a very weak pecuniary status, is bondage and slavery for the Hakeem. This price agreed, the Hakeem, sets to work, and, at once, cures, Chanda, who is all but dead. Chanda recovers and the couple in love now descend into slavery. As with other things, even slavery is short-lived, thus when their labours are over, Lorik and Chanda, return to Chanda's father's kingdom. Here they are feted and felicitated upon their return. Maina,who is Lorik's first wife,has also but wasted away in this long period of parting from her husband,however, as she is still deeply in love with her husband,Lorik,she makes peace with the idea that Chanda would be her co-wife. They alllive happily everafter.