Bengali Brahmins

The Bengali Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal, Tripura and Bangladesh and parts of Assam. When the British left India in 1947, carving out separate nations, a number of families moved from the Muslim-majority East Bengal (now Bangladesh) to be within the borders of the newly defined Republic of India, and continued to migrate for several decades thereafter.

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Hinduism

The Bengali Brahmins are categorised as Pancha-Gauda Brahmins (the Brahmins who traditionally lived towards the north of the Vindhyas) and belong to the Kanyakubja clan.

History

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.

Traditionally, Bengali Brahmins are divided into the following categories:[1]

  • 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

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.

  • Radhi and Varendra

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 Dhruvananda Mishra) so that he could conduct a yajña, because he could not find Vedic experts locally. 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.

Historians have located a ruler named Ādiśūra ruling in north Bihar, but not in Bengal . 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.[3] 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.

  • Paschatya Vaidikas

Traditionally they are believed to have migrated from Kanyakubja (or Kanauj), the traditional origin of both Radhi and Varendra Brahmins, to Bengal via Tirhoot, 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.

  • Dakshinatya Vaidikas

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.

Divisions

Both Brahmins and Kayasthas in Bengal have followed a system that ranks the clans hierarchically. The Kulinas formed the higher ranking clans.

Rādhi (also Rāṭhi in some old texts) is the major branch of Western Bengali Brahmins. The descendants of these five Pancyājñika Brahmins were hierarchically organised into three categories:

  • The Kulin Brahmins form the first rank amongst the Bengali Brahmins.
  • Śrotriya is the second rank among the descendants of these five Brahmins because they were deft in Vedic knowledge but were considered to be somewhat inferior to the Kulina Brahmins (possessing 8 out of 9 noble qualities).
  • Vamśaja is the third rank which was a result of kulinas marrying outside kulinas.

Jāti-Bhāṣkar mentions that those who were given grants along the Ganges by Ballāl Sena were called Gangopādhyāya (literally 'the Vedic teachers in the regions around the Ganges'). Mukhopādhyāya means chief Vedic teacher. Bandopādhyāya is a Sanskritized form of 'Banodha + upādhyāya', Banodha being the ancient name of Raebareli-Unnāva whence their ancestors had come from.

Notable Bengali Brahmins

(In alphabetical order)

Notes
  1. cf. Samaj Biplab ba Brahman Andalon, Dinabandhu Acharya Vedashastri
  2. cf. Harimishra, कोलांचदेशतः पंचविपरा ज्ञानतपोयुताः। महाराजादिशूरेण समानीताः सपत्नीकाः॥
  3. cf. D.D. kosambi, p. 123.
  4. "Kishore Kumar birthday: His favourite songs". India Today. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
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References
  • 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
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