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The Bengali Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the country of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. When the British left India in 1947, carving out separate nations, many Brahmins, whose original homes were in the newly created Islamic republic of Pakistan, migrated en masse to be within the borders of the newly defined Republic of India, and continued to migrate for several decades thereafter to escape Islamist persecution.
History[edit]
The earliest historically verifiable presence of Brahmins in Bengal can be ascertained from Dhanaidaha copper-plate inscription of Kumargupta 1 of the Gupta Year 113 (433 C.E.) which records the grant of land to a Brahmin named Varahasvamin of the Samavedi school.[citation needed]
Traditionally, Bengali Brahmins are divided into the following categories:[1][full citation needed]
- Rādhi from Radh (region south-west of the Ganges)
- Varendra, from Vārendra region (North-East) or Puṇḍra. Vārendra originally meant rain-maker magicians.
- Vaidika (migrants, originally experts of Vedic knowledge)
- Paschatya Vaidika (Vedic Brahmins from west of Bengal)
- Dakshinatya Vaidika (Vedic Brahmins from south of Bengal)
- Saptaśati
Traditional accounts[edit]
The different Brahmin communities of Bengal have their own traditional accounts of origin, which are generally found in various genealogical texts known as kulagranthas or kulapanjikas. Other details may also be obtained from court chronicles of various kings of Bengal. Important writers are Harimishra (13th century C.E), Edu Mishra (13th century C.E), Devivara Ghatak (15th century C.E), Dhruvananda Mishra (post 15th century C.E), Vachaspati Mishra, Rajendralal Mitra among others.[citation needed]
Radhi and Varendra[edit]
The traditional origin of both Radhi and Varendra Brahmins has been attributed to a king named Adi Sura who is said to have invited five Brahmins from Kolancha (as per Edu Mishra and Hari Mishra[2]) and/or from Kanyakubja (as per Bromley[3]), so that he could conduct a yajña, because he could not find Vedic experts locally.[3] These migrant brahmins were termed as Kulin Brahmins and were supposed to have nine gunas (favoured attributes).[3][4] Some traditional texts mention that Ādiśūra was ancestor of Ballāl Sena from maternal side and five Brahmins had been invited in 1077 C.E. Other texts like Varendrakulapanjika, Vachaspati Mishra's account and Edu Mishra's account attribute a date of 732 C.E for the migration. Additionally, other sources like Sambandhanirnaya, Kularnaba and others attribute various dates like 942 C.E, 932 C.E and others.[citation needed]
Historians have located a ruler named Ādiśūra ruling in north Bihar, but not in Bengal[citation needed]. But Ballāl Sena and his predecessors ruled over both Bengal and Mithila (i.e., North Bihar). It is unlikely that the Brahmins from Kānyakubja may have been invited to Mithila for performing a yajña, because Mithila was a strong base of Brahmins since Vedic age.[5] However some scholars have identified Ādiśūra with Jayanta, a vassal chief of the Gauda king around middle of 8th century C.E. and is also referred to as a contemporary of Jayapida (779 to 812 C.E) of Kashmir (grandson of Lalitaditya) in Kalhana's Rajatarangini.[citation needed]
Paschatya Vaidikas[edit]
Traditionally they are believed to have migrated from Kanyakubja (or Kanauj), the traditional origin of both Radhi and Varendra Brahmins, to Bengal during the commencement of Muslim rule in India. Most of the vaidikas were invited by Hindu chiefs and rajas like Shyamal Barman, who used to rule in various parts of Bengal during the Muslim ascendancy.[6]
Dakshinatya Vaidikas[edit]
Traditionally it is believed that during his reign, Vijaya Sena (1097 − 1160 C.E), brought Brahmins from regions south of Bengal (most likely, Odisha), who integrated themselves with the varendra brahmins and came to be known as Dakshinatya vaidika barahmins.[citation needed]
Notable Bengali Brahmins[edit]
- Maharshi Kapila, founder of the Samkhya Darshana.
- Raja Ganesha, founder of the Ganesha dynasty of Bengal
- Rudranarayan, ruler of Bhurishrestha[7]
- Bhavashankari, ruler of Bhurishrestha[8]
- Surendranath Banerjee, first Indian to pass the Indian civil service examination[9]
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Indian Bengali-language novelist, poet and journalist.[10]
- Ashok Kumar, Indian film actor[11]
- Kishore Kumar, Indian playback singer, actor, music director, lyricist, writer, director, producer and screenwriter[11]
- Pranab Mukherjee, 13th President of India and a veteran leader of the Indian National Congress[12]
- Dwarkanath Tagore, one of the first Indian industrialists to form an enterprise with British partners[13]
- Rabindranath Tagore, poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature
- Haraprasad Shastri, founder of the Charyapada.
- Bagha Jatin, the great rebel of Bengal who leaded the Battle of Buribalam.
- Sourav Ganguly, President of BCCI and former captain of Indian National Cricket Team.
- Abhijit Banerjee, Nobel Prize winner on Economics.
Notes[edit]
- ^ cf. Samaj Biplab ba Brahman Andalon, Dinabandhu Acharya Vedashastri
- ^ cf. Harimishra, कोलांचदेशतः पंचविपरा ज्ञानतपोयुताः। महाराजादिशूरेण समानीताः सपत्नीकाः॥
- ^ a b c Hopkins, Thomas J. (1989). "The Social and Religious Background for Transmission of Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West". In Bromley, David G.; Shinn, Larry D. (eds.). Krishna consciousness in the West. Bucknell University Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-8387-5144-2. Retrieved 31 October 2011. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Reflections on Kulin Polygamy, p2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ cf. D.D. kosambi, p. 123.
- ^ "The Paschatya Vaidik Brahmans of West Bengal : a bio-anthropological study / Sikha Chatterjee".
- ^ Bhattacharya, "Raybaghini o Bhurishrestha Rajkahini"
- ^ Bhattacharya, "Raybaghini o Bhurishrestha Rajkahini"
- ^ Dutt, Ajanta (6 July 2016). "Book review 'A Nation in Making': Banerjea's nation-A man and his history". The Asian Age. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ Khan, Fatima (8 April 2019). "Bankim Chandra — the man who wrote Vande Mataram, capturing colonial India's imagination". The Print. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Kishore Kumar birthday: His favourite songs". India Today. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- ^ "Protocol to keep President Pranab off Puja customs". Hindustan Times. 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ Littrup, Lisbeth (28 October 2013). Identity In Asian Literature. Routledge. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-136-10426-8.
References[edit]
- An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, by Damodar Dharmanand Kosāmbi, Popular Prakasan,35c Tadeo Road, Popular Press Building, Bombay-400034, First Edition: 1956, Revised Second Edition: 1975.
- Atul Sur, Banglar Samajik Itihas (Bengali), Calcutta, 1976
- NN Bhattacharyya, Bharatiya Jati Varna Pratha (Bengali), Calcutta, 1987
- RC Majumdar, Vangiya Kulashastra (Bengali), 2nd ed, Calcutta, 1989.
- Dutta, K; Robinson, A (1995), Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-14030-4
