Jagannath Tarka Panchanan (23 September 1695 – 1806) was a legendary

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

scholar and pundit of ancient Hindu Laws.

Biography

Statue of Jagannath Tarka Panchanan at Tribeni 03

Tarka Panchanan was born in Tribeni in 1695. He was the son of Rudradeva Bhattacharji, a poor

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

of Tribeni,

Hooghly district Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsura (''C ...

. He obtained great respect by the highest Hindu nobles and the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

community. Tarka Panchanan had a wonderful memory and became a remarkable logician and unrivaled in his knowledge of Hindu law. He was a great teacher and had immense knowledge on all branches of the Dharmasastras. Tarka panchanan assisted Sir William Jones in his endeavor to compile ''Vivadabhangarnava'' that literally means 'a break wave on the ocean of disputes' and reconcile the schools of Hindu jurisprudence. He assisted judges to familiarize with the Indian culture as a consequence of a parliamentary mandate to perform judicial duties. The text was first published in 1801 under the title – A Digest of

Hindu Law Hindu law, as a historical term, refers to the code of laws applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in British India. Hindu law, in modern scholarship, also refers to the legal theory, jurisprudence and philosophical reflections on the nat ...

, which tried to legitimize the transformation of the prescriptive guidelines enshrined in the Sastras into legal rules to be directly administered through court by using terminologies like Digest. Tarka Panchanan taught Sanskrit to

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...

. He supposedly introduced

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

in Tribeni.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarka Panchanan, Jagannath 1695 births 1806 deaths Bengali Hindus Sanskrit writers Indian Sanskrit scholars 17th-century Indian linguists People from Hooghly district Sanskrit scholars from Bengal