The Origin of Bengali Brahmins

The Origin of Bengali Brahmins
Ancient Bengal did not have any Brahmins in its community. It is popularly believed that Brahmins were brought in to preach Hindutva, though really not the Vedic Hinduism as it is commonly believed, but more of the Pouranik Hinduism type, which evolved after Buddhism flourished. This Pouranik Hinduism is what we know as Brahmanism.
It was circa 686 BC when Bengalee society was under the direct influence of the Buddhists and the Jains. The then king of Bengal, Aadishoor, son of Shashanka, started the procedure of luring Brahmins into the delta. King Shashanka never liked the Buddhists and Jains, and his son followed in his father's way of thinking. Aadishoor is the first king of Bengal, who planned to spread Brahminism into the delta area to curb the increasing influences of the Buddhists and Jains of that time.
It was he who took the initiative and brought in five families or group of families from the area called Brahambartya, specifically Kanauj and generally from the area between the Ganges and the Yamuna, which includes present-day Haryana and a good chunk of Western Uttar Pradesh.
He brought in those five families or caste groups and helped them to settle down in five villages of the Rahr Bhoomi, i.e. the land south of the confluence of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra in Bengal. The five villages were :
Chatto
Mukhoti
Bandoghati
Gango
Ghoshan
The families which migrated became the pundits of the local villages under the auspices and support of the King. These pundits were known as Upadhyay's. From the names of the villages they worked in, these families got their titles over a period of time. These titles, later on, were adopted as the surnames of modern Bengalee Brahmins.
Thus the Upadhayay from Chatto village came to take on the title of Chattopadhyay and similarly the others came to be known as Mukhopadhyay, Bandopadhyay, Gangopadhyay and Ghoshal. These brahmins came to be known also as the Rahri Brahmins.
Barendra Bhumi, i.e. modern-day North Bengal, similarly had its Brahminism awakening soon after the south got its share. Many years after Adishoor, Shyamal Varma, a Kshatriya King also brought five Brahmanas from Kanouj----
Sanaka; Bhardwaja; Savarna; Sandilya; Vasistha.
The Bhatariya,
Maitreya,
Satar,
Baghshree and
Laheria
villages soon gave birth to the Brahmin clans of Bhaduri, Moitra, Sanyal, Bagchi and Lahiri. These came to be known as the Barendra Brahmins.
Apart from the above two classes of Brahmins, there is another one called the Vedic Brahmins. They came in much later into the fold of the Bengalee society. They mainly dealt in performance of religious activities. These were the Bhattacharya and the Chakraborty. The Bhattacharyas became both the pujari and religious Gurus to the common people. The Chakrabortys restricted themselves to perform religious ritualistic activities only.

কোথায় আছি আমরা -- ভারতীয় বাঙালি

(সর্বপ্রথমেএখানে স্পষ্ট করে দয়া উচিত যে এই লেখার পার্শ্বে কোনো রাজনৈতিক কিংবা ধর্মীয় পূর্বাগ্রহ নেই, অতএব ব্যক্তিগত আঘাত প্রতিঘাতের কোনো প্রশ্ন উঠে না )
১৯৪৭ সনে ভারতীয় উপমহাদ্বীপের ধর্মভিত্তিক বিভাজন সর্ব সাধারণ মানুষ ভালই ভাবে জানে, পুনরাবর্তির প্রয়োজন নাই.প্রশ্ন হলো স্বাধীনতার ৬৪ বত্সরের পরে আজ ভারতীয় বাঙালি দেশের মানচিত্রে কোথায় অর্থাত উন্নতির সোপানে কোথায় দাড়ায়ে আছে ? বাঙালিদের স্বাধীনতার প্রাপ্তির জন্য অবদানের অন্তহীন তালিকা থাকার সত্তেও আমরা কেন ফিছিয়ে গেলাম, কংগ্রেসের প্রথম ভারতীয় সভাপতি বি. সি. বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় হইতে প্রণব মুখোপাধ্যায় পর্য্যন্ত, অনেক গুনি জ্ঞানী বাঙালিদের দেশের জন্য নানা ক্ষেত্রে অবদানের পরে ও পশ্চিম বঙ্গ অনন্য রাজ্যের তুলনায় কেন পিছিয়ে? আর এই উন্নতির গতি তে থেমে যাওয়ার জন্য কে দায়ী ?শিক্ষার ক্ষেত্রে কিংবা উদ্যোগ দিগে রাজ্যের অবস্থা গোপন নাই? ক একটা মল অথবা ক একটা আই. টি. সেক্টরে কে দেখিয়ে রাজ্যের উন্নতির আঙ্কলন কী করা যায় ?বিভাজনের ক্রন্দন কিংবা সমাজবাদের দুহাই দিয়ে কি আমরা বৃহত ৯-১০ কোটি লোক সংখ্যা কে এই ভাবে বহু কাল ঘাত দিতে পারি.
কোথায় আছে সেই সোনার বাংলা, কেন অনন্য রাজ্যে পলোয়নের জন্য আমরা বাধ্য, সীমান্তে লোক সংখ্যার বিলোমতার সৃষ্টি, সাম্প্রদায়িকতার বদনাম দিয়ে কি ভবিষ্যতে , নব প্রজন্মের জন্য আমরা বাসভূমি বাঁচিয়ে রাখতে পারব, নিজদের কে নাস্তিকবাদের দর্শনে জড়িয়ে কত দিন আমরা সংস্কৃতি বাঁচিয়ে রাখব? বাংলার স্বর্ণিম যুগ কি কোনো দিন ফিরে আসবে ?আমাদের এই দীনহীন অবস্থা কি কোনো দিন বদলাবে ?গোখলে বলেছিলেন - বাংলা যা আজ ভাবে, শেষ ভারত সে কাল ভাববে, সেরা বাঙালির পদবি কি কোনো দিন খুঁজে পাওয়া যাবে? ভূমি সুধারে অবশ্যই আমূল পরিবর্তন ঘটেছে কিন্তু কি রাজ্য খাদ্য আত্ম নির্ভর ,বাঙালিরা কলা ও শিল্পে চিরদিনই অগ্রগনীয় , আজ ও আছে কিন্তু আমরা শিল্প পতিই শুধু রয়েগেলাম, উদ্যোগপতি হলাম না, কলকাতা কি কোনো দিন বাঙ্গালোর, মুম্বাই, গুরগাঁও, নয়েডা, পুণে, হবে না, কোথায় আছি আমরা, যেখান ৬০ বত্সর আগে ছিলাম ওখানেই , এই দৃশ্য কি কোনো দিন বদলাবে ?
-- শান্তনু সান্যাল

Sachindra Nath Sanyal

Sachindra Nath Sanyal (Hindi: सचिन्द्र नाथ सान्याल, Urdu: سچندر ناتھ سانیال; b. 1893 Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh - d. 7 February 1942, Gorakhpur Jail, Uttar Pradesh) a famous Indian revolutionary and the founder of Hindustan Republican Association (HRA, which after 1928 became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association or HSRA) that was created to carry out armed resistance against the British Empire in India. He was the mentor for revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh. Several of his brothers and cousins were also active participants in the country's freedom struggle.

Sanyal was extensively involved in the plans for the Ghadar conspiracy and went underground after it was exposed in February 1915. He was a close associate of Rash Behari Bose. After Bose escaped to Japan, Sachindranath Sanyal was considered the senior-most leader of India's revolutionary movement. He and Mahatma Gandhi engaged in a famous debate published in Young India between 1920 and 1924. Sanyal argued against Gandhi's gradualist approach.

He was sentenced for the Kakori train robbery and was tried and sentenced to life for the same. He was sent to the dreaded Cellular Jail in the Andamans and in jail he wrote the famous book "Bandi Jeevan" (A Life of Captivity). This book would become the bible for a generation of revolutionaries fighting British rule. Sanyal was briefly released from jail but when he continued to engage in anti-British activities, he was sent back to jail and his ancestral family home in Varanasi was confiscated. Thus, Sachindranath Sanyal has the unique distinction of having been sent to the Cellular Jail in Port Blair twice. He contracted TB in jail, probably deliberately infected, and was sent to Gorakhpur Jail for his final months. He died in 1942.

Some of Sanyal's followers were Marxists but Sanyal was well known for his firm Hindu beliefs. Bhagat Singh discusses Sanyal's firm religious beliefs in his famous tract "Why I am an Atheist".

Kulin Bengali Brahmins

Kulin Brahmins are those Brahmins in Bengal who can trace themselves to the five families of Kanauj (Kanyakubja), Uttar Pradesh who migrated to Bengal. The five families were of the five different gotras (Shandilya, Bharadwaj, Kashyap, Vatsya and Swavarna). They are widely believed to be at the apex of Bengal's caste hierarchy.[who?]

The kulin families are further divided into two sections:

* Barendra : Belonging to those families who settled at the north or north east region of Ganges or Padma river.

* Rarhi : Belonging to those families who settled at the south or southwest region of the Ganges aka Padma river.

The common surnames of Barendra brahmin families are (ranked equally):

* Lahiri (Shandilya)
* Bagchi (Shandilya)
* Sanyal (Vatsa)
* Bhaduri (Kashyap)
* Maitra (Kashyap)

The common surnames of Rarhi brahmin family are (ranked equally):

* Mukherjee (Bharadwaja)
* Banerjee (Shandilya)
* Chatterjee (Kashyap)
* Bhattacharya(Shandilya)
* Ghoshal (Vatsa)
* Ganguly (Shavarna)

Apart from these many others like Chakroborty, Bhattacharya, Ray/Roy, Roy Choudhury, Majumdar, etc., which are, indeed, titles conferred on certain privileged families from among the above-mentioned surnames, could also be Kulin if they are either Barendra or Rarhi Brahmins.

Kulin Pratha (Kulin System) was initiated by the Sena Kings in Bengal whereby the kings gave land and power to the Brahmins to promote Vedic principles in the society, leading to a strict and disciplined lifestyle. Simultaneously they also enforced strict rules on family and marriage rules on Brahmins, leading to the birth of Kulin Brahmins, an apex section/class/caste of the society. It was said that a person is Kulin if and only if all the 14 generations on his father's and mother's side were Kulin. This created a very problematic divide in society. This was also opposed by many Brahmins. Yet it became a norm, probably because the Kulin Brahmins got lured by the newly acquired power in the society.

Kulin Pratha was a very strict practice leading to many problems in Bengali society. If a daughter of a Kulin family doesn't wed in a Kulin family then the parent family loses their Kulin identity. These led to several problems like young girls getting married to old Kulin married men out of desperation of finding a Kulin groom. It was not uncommon for Kulin grooms to have several wives, most of which stayed at their parents' home, just to be wed (for the sake of the ritual) to a Kulin and hence maintain their Kulin status.

Nowadays many Brahmins have shunned their Kulin identity and have mixed equally with all the Brahmins in Bengal and other parts of India. It is hard to state the current stand of these families on Kulin Pratha. It may surface during the marriage process, but the young are not concerned.
[edit] Marriages and gotras

Marriages within the gotra ("swagotra" marriages) are banned under the rule of exogamy in the traditional matrimonial system. People within the gotra are regarded as kin and marrying such a person would be thought of as incest.

A much more common characteristic of south Indian Hindu society is permission for marriage between cross-cousins (children of brother and sister). Thus, a man is allowed to marry his maternal uncle's daughter or his paternal aunt's daughter but is not allowed to marry his father's brother's daughter. She would be considered a parallel cousin who is treated as a sister.

According to strict Hindu tradition, the term gotra is used only for the lineages of Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya varnas. Brahminical Gotra relates directly to the original seven or eight Rishis of the Vedas. Later, the term "gotra" was associated with broader meanings of any lineage, Brahmin or otherwise.

A common mistake is to consider gotra to be synonymous with clan or kula. A kula is basically a set of people following similar cultural rituals, often worshipping the same God (the Kula-Devata - the God of the clan). Kula has nothing to do with lineage or caste. In fact, it is possible to change one's kula, based on one's faith or Ishta-deva.

It is common practice in preparation for Hindu marriage to inquire about the Kula-Gotra (meaning Clan-Lineage) of the bride and bridegroom before approving the marriage. In almost all Hindu families, marriages within the same gotra are prohibited, since people with same gotra are considered to be siblings. But marriage within the kula is allowed and even preferred.

Reference: "Hindu Castes and Sects", Jogendranath Bhattacharya, Thacker, Spink & Company, Calcutta, 1896.

Freedom Struggle Back to History Page Unsung Heroes of the Freedom Struggle

While much has been written on the Indian Freedom Movement as led by the Congress and Gandhi, little is known of the numerous uprisings by peasants, tribal communities, princely states and other isolated revolutionary acts of resistance against the British. Heroic acts of resistance against the British during 1763 to 1857 are particularly unknown. The following is a listing of armed revolts that were brutally suppressed by the British as the East India Company consolidated it's rule in the century preceding the 1857 revolt:-

1763-1800 Sanyal Revolt includes:
1763 Dhaka
1763-64 Rajshahi
1766 Cooch Bihar
1767 Patna
1766-69, 71, 76 Jalpaiguri, Rangpur and surroundings
1770-71 Purnea
1773 Mymensingh
1766-67 Midnapur
1766-67 Dhalbhum Rajas
1766-68 Peasant's Revolt, Tripura (led by Shamsher Ghazi in Roshanabad)
1769-70 Sandip Islands (S. of Noakhali)
1769-99 Moamarias, Jorhat/Rangpur
1776-89 Chakmas, Chittagong
1781 Gorakhpur, Basti and Bahraich
1783 Rangpur Peasants
1787-99 Sylhet includes:
1787 Radharam
1788 Khasi revolt
1799 Agha Muhammad Reza
1788-89 Birbhum, Bishnupur
1792 Bakarganj Peasants
1794 Vizianagram
1795-1805 Poligars Uprising includes Tinnevelly, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Sivagiri, Madurai, N. Arcot
1797, 1800-05 Raja Kerala Verma, Kottayam
1799 Chuar Peasants, Midnapur
1799-1800 Bednur
1799 Vaji Ali, Awadh
1800, 1835-37 Ganjam, Gumsur
1800-02 Palamau
1806 Vellore Mutiny
1809 Bhiwani
1810-16 Naik Revolt (in Bhograi, Midnapur)
1808-09 Travancore (under Velu Thambi)
1808-12 Bundelkhand Chiefs
1810 Abdul Rahman, Surat
1810-11 Benaras Hartal/Agitation
1813-34 Parlakimedi, W. Ganjam
1815-32 Kutch
1816 Rohilla Revolt included Bareilly, Pilbhit, Shahjahanpur, Rampur
1817 Hathras
1817-18 Paiks included Cuttack, Khurda, Pipli, Puri
1817-31,46,52 Bhils included Khandesh, Dhar, Malwa
1820-37 Kols included Sighbhum, Chota Nagpur, Sambhalpur, Ranchi, Hazari Bagh, Palamau, Chaibasa
1819-21 Mers, Marwar
1824 Gujars, Kunja
1824 Sindgi, Bijapur
1824-26 Bhiwani, Rewari, Hissar, Rohtak
1824 Kalpi
1824-29 Kittur, Belgaum
1828-30,39,44-48 Kolis
1826-29 Ramosis, Pune
1825-27,32-34 Garos. Also known as the Pagal Panthis Revolt - in Sherpur, Mymensigh distt.
1828-30 Assam included Gadadhar Singh 1828-30, Kumar Rupchand 1830
1829-30 Khasis led by Tirot Singh
1830-31,43 Sighphos (Assam/Burma border)
1929, 35-42 Akas (Assam)
1830-61 Wahabis (spread from Bengal, Bihar to Punjab and NWFP)
1831 Titu-Mir, 24-Parganas
1830-31 Mysore Peasants
1830-33 Vishakapatnam
1832 Bhumij, Manbhum
1833-34 Coorg
1833 Gonds, Sambhalpur
1838 Naikda, Rewa, Kantha
1838-47 Farazis, Faripur
1839 Khamtas, Sadiya-Assam
1839-62 Surendra Sai, Sambhalpur
1840 Badami
1842 Bundelas, Sagar
1844 Salt Riots, Surat
1844 Gadkari, Kolhapur
1844-59 Savantvadi, N. Konkan
1846-47 Narasimha Reddy, Kurnool
1848 Khonds, Orissa
1848 Nagpur
1848-66 Garos, Garo Hills
1848-1900 Abors, NE Hills
1840-92 Lushais, Lushai Hills
1849-78 Nagas: Naga Hills
1850-52 Umarzais: Bannu
1852 Survey Riots: Khandesh
1852 Saiyads of Hazara
1853 Nadir Khan, Rawalpindi
1855-56 Santhals included Rajmahal, Bhagalpur, Birbhum

These revolts show the range and spread of the opposition to British consolidation. However, the fragmented nature of the opposition and British Military superiority gave the British a decided edge. Although the resistance was often very heroic, the lack of coordination and disadvantageous timing led to brutal defeats. Nevertheless, some of these struggles raged for many years and culminated in the far more widespread revolt of 1857.

Bengali Quick Facts

Bengali
Quick Facts
Type Syllabic Alphabetic
Genealogy Brahmi
Location South Asia
Time 11th century CE to Present
Direction Left to right


Bengali is a Nagari-derived script that appeared in eastern South Asia around the 11th century CE. It is still currently used in Bangladesh, as well as the state of West Bengal in India (hence the script's name) on the eastern part of India. The old Bengali script (11th century CE) is also the parent to many other scripts of eastern India, such as #a @oriya#, Manipuri, and Maithili. The Bengali script is used to writer languages in eastern India such as Bengali, Assamese, and Manipuri.



Once again, like other South Asian writing systems, vowels following a consonant other than the default /a/ is written with extra strokes, as in the following example:

Prakrit

The meaning of ‘Prakrit’ is ‘Natural’. The word Prakrit is used for the group of languages spoken in ancient India.

Jainism has a great relation with Prakrit Languages. In ancient India, Sanskrit was spoken only by Vedic Brahmins, while common people’s language was Prakrit. Jains always promoted their religion through people’s languages. So most of the ancient Jain literature was written in various Prakrit Languages.

Some of the Prakrit Languages:

a)Ardhmagadhi :
Ardhmagadhi was the language of people in Magadh, Bihar. This language are spoken between 600 BCE to 100 CE. Vardhman Mahavir and his Ganadhars gave sermons in Ardhmagadhi. Mahavir’s teachings were transmitted to the next generation through the oral tradition. Later the teachings were compiled by Shrideverdhigani in 454CE. Of course, the language was affected by time & Jain Maharashtri Language. So the compiled verses are closer to Jain Maharashtri Language.
The famous & popular Namokar-Mantra is in Ardhmagadhi language.

b)Shourseni :
Shourseni was being spoken at Shoorsen (Mathura)region of North India between 100BCE to 500CE.
Digamber Jains wrote their philosophical literature in Shourseni language. The Shatkhandagam and Acharya Kundkund’s works are in Shourseni.
In Sanskrit dramas of Bhas, Kalidas etc. Shourseni is used for dialogues of servants, jokers,
Labours etc.

c)Jain Maharashtri :
This was the language of non-agamic Jain literature. Biographies of Teerthankars, Monks, Stories, Puorans like paumchariya were written in this language.
Jain Maharashtri was a language closer to Ardhmagdhi on one hand and to Maharashtri on the other hand.

d) Maharashtri : This language was used for Jain epics and songs. Modern Marathi language is next step language in the evolution of Maharashtri.

e) Apbhransh : The meaning of Apbhransh is ‘Vulgar’ or ‘Impure’. Apbhransh is not a single language but there are many Apbhransh languages which were born from various Prakrit Languages. Apbhransh languages were spoken between 500CE to 1000CE. There is a lot off Jain literature written in Apbhransh languages in the medieval period.

Most of the modern Indian languages have been roods in Prakrit Languages. Following tables show the details :

Modern Indian Language Roots in


Western Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi Shourseni Apbhransh
Eastern Hindi Ardhmagdhi Apbhransh
Marathi, Konkani Maharastri Apbhransh
Bangla,Udia,Assamese,Bhojpuri Magdhi Apbhransh
Gujrathi, Rajasthani Nagar Apbhransh
Kashmiri Paishachi Apbhransh

The classic Sanskrit language also has its roots in old Prakrit language spoken in North-India in Vedic & Prevedic period.