Pandua

Pandua, a ruined city in Malda district of Eastern Bengal and Assam, once a Mahommedan capital. It is situated 7 m. N.E. of Malda, and about 20 m. from the other great ruined city of Gaur, from which it was largely built. It was probably originally an outpost of Gaur, and grew in importance as Gaur became unhealthy. In A.D. 1 353 Haji Shamsuddin Ilyas, the first independent king of Bengal, transferred his capital from Gaur to Pandua; but the time of its prosperity was short, and in A.D. 1 453 the capital was transferred back to Gaur. Its only celebrated building is the Adina Mosque, which was described by James Fergusson as the finest example of Pathan architecture in existence. This great mosque was built by Sikandar Shah in 1369 (see Indian Architecture). Pandua now, like Gaur, is almost entirely given over to the jungle.