Adina Mosque

The Adina Mosque ruins are the ruins of the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent, located in the Indian state of West Bengal, near the border with Bangladesh. The site, dating from the 14th century, hosted the imperial mosque of the Sultanate of Bengal.LocationThe ruins of Adina Mosque are located in Pandua of Maldah district, West Bengal, India. It is located close to the Bangladesh-India border and twenty kilometers north of the town of English Bazar along a major highway to North Bengal.HistoryThe mosque was built during the reign of Sikandar Shah, the second sultan of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty in the Bengal Sultanate. The mosque was designed to project the kingdom's imperial ambitions after its two victories against the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century. The mosque was probably constructed on the ruins of Hindu-Buddhist temples and monasteries. Its exterior wall contains defaced Indian sculptures. According to Encyclopedia Iranica, its construction material included stone from Bengali temples.Inscriptions on the mosque proclaimed Sikandar Shah as "the exalted Sultan" and the "Caliph of the faithful". The Sultan was buried in a tomb chamber attached to the wall facing the direction of Mecca. The mosque was located in the now ruined city of Pandua, a former capital of the Bengal Sultanate.