Mainamati–Lalmai

The Mainamati-Lalmai Buddhist archaeological zone in Comilla district, Bangladesh, 100 kilometres east of Dhaka — the largest surviving Pala-period Buddhist monastic complex in Bangladesh, with over 50 excavated sites across a 11-kilometre ridge. The main complexes — Shalvan Vihara, Kutila Mura, Charpatra Mura and Ananda Vihara — were built during the Deva and Chandra dynasties (7-13th centuries) and the subsequent Pala period. Excavations by the Pakistan Archaeology Department (1955-70) and Bangladesh Archaeology Department (1971-present) have yielded over 200 bronze and stone Buddhist sculptures, Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions, and the terracotta plaques of the Shalvan Vihara. The Buddhist universe here extended eastward from Nalanda-Vikramashila through to Mainamati and onward to Southeast Asia.