MOYNAMOTI (Comilla)

Moynamoti,

the most attractive tourist spot in Comilla.It is closer with Mainamati Cantonment and about eight (8) kilometers west of the town among the range of low hills known as Mainamati-Lalmai ridge. It is famous as an important centre of Buddhist culture from the 7th to 12th centuries, the buildings excavated here were made wholly of baked bricks. There are more than 50 scattered Buddhist sites, but the three most important are Salban Vihara, Kotila Mura and Charpatra Mura. Salban Vihara was a well-planned, 170 sq metre monastery facing a temple in the centre of the courtyard. Nearby is a museum housing the finds excavated here, which include terracotta Plaques, bronze statues, a bronze casket, coins, jewellery and votive stupas embossed with Buddhist inscriptions. Kotila Mura comprises three large stupas representing Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, the `Three Jewels of Buddhism'. The most important discovery at Charpatra Mura were the four royal copper-plate decrees, three belonging to Chandra rulers, the other to Sri Viradhara Deva, a later Hindu king.