Shankara, Purulia
a census town and a gram panchayat in the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India
Shankara (also spelled Shankra, Sankra) is a census town and a gram panchayat in the Para CD block in the Raghunathpur subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India.
Geography
Location
Shankara is located at 23.4824°N 86.5258°E / 23.4824; 86.5258.
Area overview
Purulia district forms the lowest step of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills. Raghunathpur subdivision occupies the northern part of the district. 83.80% of the population of the subdivision lives in rural areas. However, there are pockets of urbanization and 16.20% of the population lives in urban areas. There are 14 census towns in the subdivision. It is presented in the map given alongside. There is a coal mining area around Parbelia and two thermal power plants are there – the 500 MW Santaldih Thermal Power Station and the 1200 MW Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station.
The public source identifies “Shankara, Purulia” as a census town and a gram panchayat in the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Shankara, Purulia and census.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Shankara, Purulia”, the useful work is to connect “a census town and a gram panchayat in the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q63940580. The first chronological checks are 1200.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Shankara, Purulia”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Shankara, Purulia primary sources, Shankara, Purulia archive and Shankara research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Shankara, Purulia”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Shankara, Purulia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.