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Vaidya (caste)
Baidya or Vaidya is a Hindu community located in Bengal. Baidyas, a caste (''jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, but not exclusively, from these three upper castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal. Etymology The terms ''Baidya'' means a physician in the Bengali and Sanskrit languages. Bengal is the only place where they formed a caste or rather, a ''jati''. Origins The origins of Baidyas remain surrounded by a wide variety of overlapping and sometimes contradictory myths, and are heavily contested. Aside from Upapuraṇas and two genealogies(Kulajis), premodern Bengali literature does not discuss details of the caste's origins; no literature from outside the region discuss them either. The semi-legendary Ambastha connection of Baidyas who mostly held to be of a Kshatriya origin in Hindu scriptures is tenuous. It is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengali Language
Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken of the 22 scheduled languages of India. With approximately 300 million native speakers and another 37 million as second language speakers, Bengali is the List of languages by number of native speakers, fifth most-spoken native language and the List of languages by total number of speakers, seventh most spoken language by total number of speakers in the world. Bengali is the fifth most spoken Indo-European language. Bengali is the official language, official and national language of Bangladesh, with 98% of Bangladeshis using Bengali as their first language. Within India, Bengali is the official language of the states of West Bengal, Tripura and the Barak Valley region of the state of Assam. It is also a second official lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brihaddharma Purana
The Brihaddharma Purana ( sa, बृहद्धर्म पुराण, ) is a Hindu religious text, which classified itself (I.25.26) as the last of the 18 Upapuranas. The extant text comprises three ''khaņḑa''s (parts): ''pūrvakhaņḑa'', ''madhyakhaņḑa'' and ''uttarakhaņḑa''. On the basis of its usage of Sanskrit words with unusual meaning and Sanskrit proverbs popular in Bengal, a number of modern scholars believe that this text was written in Bengal. According to R. C. Hazra, a modern scholar, this text was composed in the second half of the 13th century. He classified it as a non-sectarian ''Upapurana''. Content The ''pūrvakhaņḑa'' and ''madhyakhaņḑa'' of both the Asiatic Society and the Vangavasi edition have 30 chapters. While the ''uttarakhaņḑa'' of the Asiatic Society edition comprises 14 chapters, the Vangavasi edition comprises 21 chapters and R. C. Hazra considers these additional 7 chapters (15-21) as the essential part of the text. ''Pūr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Sura
Kulin Brahmins are the Bengali Brahmins belonging to Hindu religion. They trace their ancestry to five families of Kannauj who migrated to Bengal. History In the 11th century AD, after the decline of the Pala dynasty, a Hindu king, Adi Sura brought in five Brahmins and their five attendants from Kanauj, his purpose being to provide education for the Brahmins already in the area whom he thought to be ignorant, and revive traditional orthodox Brahminical Hinduism. These Vedic Brahmins were supposed to have nine ''gunas'' (favoured attributes), among which was insistence on same rank marriages. Multiple accounts of this legend exist, and historians generally consider this to be nothing more than myth or folklore lacking historical authenticity. The tradition continues by saying that these incomers settled and each became the founder of a clan. The five Brahmin clans, which later became known as Mukherjees, Chatterjees, Banerjees, Gangulys and Bhattacharjees, were each designated a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambashtha
Ambashtha or Ambastha is a caste or sub-caste or a community of Hindus in India. According to Hindu scriptures, the term Ambastha refers to the offspring of a Brahmin father and a Vaishya mother, whose traditional occupation was the practice of medicine. The term Ambastha also refers to a sub-caste of Kayasthas, now found mainly in South-Bihar, who may be connected with the old Ambashtha caste, as suggested by Crooke, and who were involved in the practice of medicine & surgery. The name ''Ambastha'' may also come from the Ameth region of Oudh or their patron deity Ambaji. Mythology and varna status Ridgeon mentions about the myth related to the origin of the four varnas in the Rigveda, and says that in order to explain "the great number of castes, a theory was developed that unions between men and women of different varnas produced offspring of various castes". Regarding the varna status of the offspring of a Brahmin father and a Vaishya mother, J. Muir (1868) cites the Mahabh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Thread
''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindus, Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional Samskara (rite of passage), saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' or ''acharya'', and an individual's initiation into a school in Hinduism. Some traditions consider the ceremony as a spiritual rebirth for the child or future ''dvija'', twice born. It signifies the acquisition of the knowledge of Brahman, God and the start of a new and disciplined life as a brahmachari. According to the given community and region, it is also known by numerous terms such as ''janai'' or ''janea'', ''poita/paita'', ''logun/nagun'', y''agnopavita'', ''bratabandha'', ''bratopanayan.'' The ''Upanayanam'' ceremony is arguably the most important rite for the Brahmin male, ensuring his rights and responsibilities as a Brahmin and signifying his advent into adulthood. The tradition is widely dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varendra Research Society
Varendra Research Society (1910–1963) was established in Rajshahi in 1910 for the promotion of studies and research into the History of Bengal in general, and in particular of the Varendra area History Some of the leading and enlightened citizens of Rajshahi felt the necessity and justification of establishing such an institution that would explore the precious past of this region. Henceforth, The Varendra Research Society was established in 1910, and the founder of the Society Kumar Sarat Kumar Ray, the scion of Dighapatiya Royal family accompanied by Aksaya Kumar Maitreya, a leading lawyer and renowned historian; Ramaprasad Chanda, a reputed scholar in history, art and archeology Organization Founding directors * Kumar Sarat Kumar Ray * Aksaya Kumar Maitreya * Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay Major contributions Organization The Varendra Research Museum was founded with a standing tribute to the princely generosity of Kumar Sarat Kumar Ray as a president; the great scholarsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramaprasad Chanda
Ramaprasad Chanda (15 August 1873 – 28 May 1942) was an Indian anthropologist, historian and archaeologist from Bengal. A pioneer in his field in South Asia, Chanda's lasting legacy is the Varendra Research Museum, he established in Rajshahi (located in present-day Bangladesh), a leading institute for research on the history of Bengal.He was the first head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Calcutta from 1920- 1921.He was also a professional archaeologist and worked in the Archaeological Survey of India. Chanda was one of the founders the Indian Anthropological Institute and was its president during 1938–1942. He represented India in the first International Congress of Anthropology held in London in 1934.He had done original research on the somatic characters of Indian populations by using ancient Indian literature and challenged H.H.Risley's (the first Census Commissioner of India) theory on Indian races. Publications * ''Gaudarajmala'', Rajshahi: Varen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dāyabhāga
The ''Dāyabhāga'' is a Hindu law treatise written by Jīmūtavāhana which primarily focuses on inheritance procedure. The ''Dāyabhāga'' was the strongest authority in Modern British Indian courts in the Bengal region of India, although this has changed due to the passage of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 and subsequent revisions to the act. Based on Jīmūtavāhana's criticisms of the ''Mitākṣarā'', it is thought that his work is precluded by the '. This has led many scholars to conclude that the ' represents the orthodox doctrine of Hindu law, while the ''Dāyabhāga'' represents the reformed version. The central difference between the texts is based upon when one becomes the owner of property. The ''Dāyabhāga'' does not give the sons a right to their father's ancestral property until after his death, unlike ', which gives the sons the right to ancestral property upon their birth. The digest has been commented on more than a dozen times.Kane, P. V., ''History of Dharm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma Vaivarta Purana
The ''Brahmavaivarta Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्मवैवर्त पुराण; ) is a voluminous Sanskrit text and a major Purana (''Maha-purana'') of Hinduism. It is an important Vaishnavism text. This Purana majorly centers around the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. Although a version may have existed in late 1st millennium CE, its extant version was likely composed in the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent. Later, it was likely revised somewhere in South India. Numerous versions of this Purana exist and are claimed to be the part of manuscripts of the ''Brahmavaivarta Purana'' or the ''Brahmakaivarta Purana''. The text is notable for identifying Krishna as the supreme reality and asserting that all gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Ganesha are one and the same and in fact, all are the incarnations of Krishna. Goddesses like Radha, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Savitri are asserted to be equivalent and are mentioned as the incarnations of Prakruti in thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashvins
The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu deities, Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthful divine twin horsemen, travelling in a chariot drawn by horses that are never weary, and portrayed as guardian deities that safeguard and rescue people by aiding them in various situations. There are varying accounts, but Ashvins are generally mentioned as the sons of the sun god Surya and his wife Sanjna. In the epic ''Mahabharata,'' the Pandava twins Nakula and Sahadeva were the children of the Ashvins. Etymology and epithets The Sanskrit name ' (अश्विन्) derives from the Proto-Indo-Iranian language, Indo-Iranian stem ''*Haćwa-'' (cf. Avestan ''aspā''), itself from the Proto-Indo-European language, Indo-European word for the horse, ''*H1éḱwos'', from which also descends the Lithuanian name ''Ašvieniai'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sudras
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class serving other three classes. The word caste comes from the Portuguese word casta. The word ''Shudra'' appears in the ''Rig Veda'' and it is found in other Hindu texts such as the ''Manusmriti'', ''Arthashastra'', '' Dharmashastras'' and '' Jyotishshastra''. In some cases, shudras participated in the coronation of kings, or were ministers and kings according to early Indian texts. History Vedas The term ''śūdra'' appears only once in the ''Rigveda''. This mention is found in the mythical story of creation embodied in the ''Purusha Sukta ("The Hymn of Man").'' It describes the formation of the four varnas from the body of a primeval man. It states that the brahmin emerged from his mouth, the kshatriya from his arms, the vaishya from his t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prthu
Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, ''Pṛthu'', lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign ( chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called Prithu, Prithi and Prithvi Vainya, literally, "Prithu — the son of Vena". Prithu is "celebrated as the first consecrated king, from whom the earth received her (Sanskrit) name, Prithvi." He is mainly associated with the legend of his chasing the earth goddess, Prithvi, who fled in the form of a cow and eventually agreed to yield her milk as the world's grain and vegetation. The epic Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana, matsya puran and the Bhagavata Purana describe him as a part-avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.Singh p.1713 Legends Birth The birth of Prithu is without female reproduction. Thus being a ''ayonija'' ("born without (the participation) of the yoni"), Prithu is untouched by desire and ego and can thus control his senses to ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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