Baidya

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Baidya[1] or Vaidya[2] is a Hindu community of Bengal. A caste/jāti of Ayurvedic physicians, Baidyas have long occupied a place of pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn from these three castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal.

Origins[edit]

A wide variety of overlapping and contradictory myths surround their origins in Bengal — local literature apart from two genealogies and Upapuraṇas don't discuss details concerning the origin of Baidyas in an original manner.[3] The details contained therein were referred to and rehashed in medieval literature on society and law. Inscriptions are sparse and does not provide much help either.

The terms Baidya literally means a physician in the Bengali as well as Sanskrit; they were (probably) an occupational group of Ayurveds and drew people from various varnas including Brahmins.[4][5][6][7] Bengal is the only place where they went on to form a caste-group.[8] Kumkum Chatterjee feels that they had (likely) crystallized into a caste-community (jati) long before the Sultanate rule.[9][3] R. C. Majumdar and R. C. Hazra disagree; they note that a karana family used to serve as the royal physicians in 11th and 12th century Bengal.[10]

Upapuraṇas[edit]

The Upapuranas played a significant role in the history of Bengal — they propagated and established Brahminic ideals, at a time when , but also accommodated elements of the vernacular culture, to gain acceptance among masses.[11][lower-alpha 1] No other Hindu scriptures mentions the Baidya as a caste group.[10][lower-alpha 2]

Bṛhaddharma Puraṇa (Brh. P.; c. 13th century[lower-alpha 3]) is the earliest document to chronicle a hierarchy of castes in Bengal.[3][12][lower-alpha 4] It would become the standard text based on which further negotiations of caste/jati status would manifest.[13] The Brahma Vaivarta Purana (Bv. P.) — notable for a very late Bengali recension (c. 14/15th c.) — names a hierarchy of castes but varies in details from Brh. P.[14][15][12]

Bṛhaddharma Puraṇa[edit]

Brh. P. does not mention Baidyas separately but the Ambasthas, deriving from the Venu-Prthu myth.[12][14][lower-alpha 5] Products of forbidden union among Brahmin fathers and Vaishya mothers, during the reign of Venu, they were classified as Uttama Saṃkaras (highest of mixed classes).[17][14][15][lower-alpha 6] After Venu was deposed by the Gods, Prthu was installed as a Vishnu reincarnate and upon a request to restore dharma, proposed to integrate the Saṃkaras into four varnas.[14]

Ambasthas were brought under Sudras, purposed (and synonymised) to Baidyas (physicians) in light of preexisting capacities, and conferred a solitary right to Ayurveda with help from Ashvin.[14][15][lower-alpha 7] Alongside, they had to undergo a second birth to penance for bearing the Svarnakaras from Vaishya mothers - this rebirth is noted to be their identifying characteristic.[14][15] They were then noted as one of the Satsudras (higher Sudras) and endowed with the right of inviting Srotriya Brahmins for rituals as well as accepting service from lower Sudras; one stanza even notes them to be Saṃkarottama (best of Saṃkaras).[14]

Brahma Vaivarta Puran[edit]

Bv. P. treats the Baidyas as separate to Ambasthas but note them to be Satsudras.[7][12]

Ashvin, a Kshatriya had raped a Brahmin pilgrim, and she (along with the illegitimate son) were driven out by her husband.[7][10] This son — who was brought up by Ashvin and trained in Ayurveda — went on to become the progenitor of Baidyas.[10] Here, the Baidyas went on to bear the Vyalagrahins of a Sudra woman; Svarnakaras were granted a different origin-story.[18]

Interpretation[edit]

Ryosuke Furui feels that the varṇasaṃkara myth and the subsequent ordaining of Saṃkaras in Brh. P. merely reflected and reinforced the existing social hierarchy of ancient Bengal while allowing the Brahmin authors to understand an alien society and get themselves established at the top — that is, the Ambasthas held a preeminent position in pre-Brahminic Bengal and practiced medicine.[14][lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 9] Ramaprasad Chanda had supported such a reading as early as 1916.[19] Nripendra Kumar Dutt, who had equated the Baidyas to Ambasthas, hypothesized that these Upapuranas were tools for Brahmin law-makers to reify the Parshuram myth and deprive Vaidyas of its mixed-caste privileges (sacred thread etc).[4]

Kulanjis[edit]

A form of literature endemic to Bengal, Kulanjis served multiple functions in society — not only were they genealogical registers but also texts in flux, that reflected contemporary society and served to establish hierarchy in society vis à vis others.[3][lower-alpha 10]

Among the only two extant pre-modern Baidya genealogies, Chandraprabha (CP; c. late 17th century) constructs a descent from the semi-legendary Ambasthas.[6] These claims of equivalence were not present in the slightly older Sadvaidyakulapnjika (SV).[12][lower-alpha 11] It is doubtful if the Ambasthas — mostly held to be of a Kshatriya origin in Hindu scriptures[lower-alpha 12] — had any connection with the Baidyas of Bengal (or even the Vaidyas of South India).[7][lower-alpha 13] Both the genealogies claim Adi Sura and Ballāla Sena as their own; this is agreed upon by some Brahmin genealogies but rejected by Kayastha ones.[10][9][21] The particulars of appropriation vary — CP claimed that the Baidyas had gained Kulin status for their sadachara (good conduct) while SV reiterated the popular myth of Ballāla Sena conferring kulin status.[2][7]

Inscriptions[edit]

The Gunaighar inscriptions — dated to Vainyagupta (507 C.E.) — mention of demarcated agricultural tracts owned by Baidyas (profession).[13][lower-alpha 14] The Bhatera Copper Plates mention the ākṣapaṭalika of King Isandeva (c. 1050) to be of Baidya vamsa (lineage), on whose advice a parcel of land was granted towards the family of a dead prince.[13][lower-alpha 15][lower-alpha 16]

Outside Bengal, the earliest reference to Vaidya occurs in three South Indian inscriptions of Nedunjeliyan I: a Vaidya chief served in the dual roles of War-General and Prime Minister and the Vaidya-kula (translatable to Vaidya clan or Vaidya family) was famed for expertise in music and Sastras.[lower-alpha 17] They were classed as Brahmins.[10] It is plausible that these people had some link with the Baidyas of Bengal; inscriptions of the Senas mentions migrations from Karnat etc.[7]

History[edit]

Overview[edit]

Located far away from North India, Bengal exhibits a convoluted caste-hierarchy where discrimination persists but the praxis of varna significantly deviates from Brahminical theory. The Baidyas, despite being classed as Satsudras across a vast spectrum of pre-modern literature from Bengal[lower-alpha 18], have been a part of the elites since long. Over the course of centuries, they staked claim to Brahmin status and successfully mobilized its way up the ladder of social hierarchy to occupy a place right below Brahmins. Projit Bihari Mukharji (2017) notes that a detailed history of Baidyas' upward mobility is yet to be produced.[3]

Medieval Bengal[edit]

In medieval Bengal, Baidyas often branched out into fields other than medicine and composed a significant percentage of the elites in Sultanate, Mughal, and Nawabi Bengal.[9][22][23] They were very reputed for their proficiency in Sanskrit, courtesy the need to read treatises of medicine.[9] By the end of sixteenth century, Baidyas probably occupied the second tier in the local social hierarchy alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas of Bengal; marriages with Bengali Kayasthas were commonplace.[9][3][24][6]

Around the late fifteenth century, Baidyas became intricately associated with the Caitanya Cult alongside Brahmins.[3] Murari Gupta, a childhood friend of Caitanya was a famed physician of Navadwip by profession and went on to composed his oldest extant biography in Sanskrit (Krsna Caitanya Caritamrta).[25] Narahari Sarkara, another among his closest devotees composed Krsna Bhajanamrta, a theological commentary.[25] Sivananda Sena, an immensely wealthy Baidya, used to organize the annual trip of Caitanya devotees to Puri, and his son had written several Sanskrit works of the devotional genre.[25][26] As the cult shunned doctrines of equality after Caitanya's death, these associated Baidyas began enjoying a quasi-Brahminic status as Gaudiya Vasihnava gurus.[3][lower-alpha 19]

Multiple Baidya authors partook in the Mangalkavya tradition — Bijaya Gupta (late 15th c.) being the foremost among them.[27][lower-alpha 20] In 1653 C.E., Ramakanta Dasa Kavikantahara wrote the oldest available Baidya kulanji — Sadvaidyakulapnjika.[7][20] Around the same time, Bharatamallika (c. 1650) — a physician by profession but also instructor of a tol — wrote numerous commentaries on Sanskrit texts like Amarakosha, and produced miscellaneous works on grammar and lexicography.[20][lower-alpha 21] He would also write Chandraprabha (1675 C.E.), a commissioned kulanji of the Baidyas and Ratnaprabha, a summary of the former.[20][lower-alpha 22]

Bharata had claimed a mixed-caste/Vaishya status for the Baidyas.[2][7] However, in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta of Krishnadasa Kaviraja, a Baidya himself, one Candrasekhara is variably referred to as a Baidya and a Sudra.[28][lower-alpha 23] The Vallal Charita of Ānanda Bhaṭṭa[lower-alpha 24] classed the Baidyas among Satsudras, of whom Kayasthas were held to be the highest. The Chandimangal of Mukundaram Chakrabarti (c. mid 16th century CE) places the Baidyas — famed for their medicines and interpretation of relevant texts — below Vaisyas, possibly indicating a Sudra status (but above Kayasthas).[17][29][lower-alpha 25][lower-alpha 26] Works by Raghunandana (c. mid 16th century) hold Baidyas to be Sudras too.[6]

Colonial Bengal[edit]

The eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries would witness acrimonious debates about their caste status.[3][20][30] C. 1750, Raja Rajballabh wished to have Brahmins officiate at his rituals; he sought Vaishya status for the Baidyas and claimed a right of wearing sacred thread.[6][31][32][33] On facing opposition from other Baidya zamindars (who thought this to be an attempt at gaining trans-samaj acceptance as a Baidya leader) and Brahmin scholars of Vikrampur, he invited 131 Brahmins from Benaras, Kanauj, Navadwip and other regions with expertise in Nyaya Shastra.[31][32] All of them adjudicated in his favor.[31][32]

However, with more lower castes infiltrating into the order of Vaishyas, Baidyas now sought equality with the Brahmins and claimed themselves to be "Gauna (secondary) Brahmins" leveraging the recently conferred right to upanayana.[6][9][3][lower-alpha 27] Beginning 1822, Brahmin and Baidya scholars produced a series of polemical pamphlets against one another and in 1831, the Baidya Samaj was formed by Khudiram Bisharad, a teacher at the Native Medical Institution to defend class interests.[3] Gangadhar Ray produced voluminous literature to put forward partisan claims on Baidyas descending from Brahmins.[3] Soon, Binodlal Sen would publish Bharatamallika's genealogies in print.[3][20] A rivalry with the Kayasthas (who are considered as inferior since these times) would now be an integral part of this discourse and matrimonial alliances were discouraged, fomenting the rise of a rigid endogamous caste-group.[6][7][lower-alpha 28]

In 1893, Jnanendramohan Sengupta wrote Baidyajatir Baisista in an attempt to prove that the Ambasthas had scriptural sanction of being ordained into sannyasa — Sengupta would remain a prolific author for the Baidya cause across the first quarter of twentieth century.[34] In 1901, colonial ethnographer Herbert Hope Risley noted the Baidyas to be above Sudras but below the Brahmins.[35] Baidya social historians like Umesh Chandra Gupta and Dinesh Chandra Sen would support Risley's observation with a measured skepticism and forge a glorious Baidya past, in their quest of writing a history of Bengal from kulanjis — Gupta, in particular, rebuked the Kayasthas for fabricating evidence to malign the Vaidyas as a low caste.[36][lower-alpha 29]

In early twentieth century, Gananath Sen, the first dean of the Faculty of Ayurveda at the Banaras Hindu University opened a "Baidya Brahman Samiti" in Kolkata; the Baidyas were not merely equal to Brahmins but identical.[3] It was also suggested that all Baidyas change their surnames to Sharma, a Brahmin patronymic.[3] In 1915/16, Kuladakinkara Ray published Vaidyakulapanjika to advocate that not only were the Baidyas same as Brahmins but the highest of them.[20][lower-alpha 31] In 1922, Basantakumar Sen wrote Baidya Jatir Itihas on the same themes.[34] Pascale Haag notes that these efforts to gain mobility won't have succeeded (in parts) without acceptance by the Brahmin society, whose responses remain yet to be studied.[20]

Notwithstanding these contestations, the dominance of Baidyas continued unabated into the colonial rule when they took to Western forms of education proactively and held a disproportionate share of government jobs, elite professions, and landholding.[3][lower-alpha 32] A letter by William Jones c. 1785 noted of one Ramalocana Kanthavarna to be "a perfect grammarian and excellent moralist" who also ran a tol but being a Baidya, lacked the "priestly pride" of his Brahmin students.[38][lower-alpha 33] In the smallpox epidemic of 1840s in Dhaka, Baidyas had refused to inoculate the masses and relegated such menial tasks to lower-ranked barbers and garland makers.[40]

Also, all these maneuvers at attaining mobility were enmeshed with another nineteenth-century Baidya project of modernizing Ayurveda.[3] Binodlal Sen had declared the genealogical works to be free for anyone who purchased above a certain value of medications and Baidya medicine distributors were frequently found to sell revisionist caste-histories.[3] Elements of colonial modernity — Western notions of physiology and medical instruments — were "braided" with Ayurveda to aid in their mobility.[41]

Unquestionably established as among the "upper castes" by mid nineteenth century, they would be the building block of Bhadralok Samaj (alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas), and serve as the eyes and ears of the British Government.[1][42][43][44][lower-alpha 34] The Bhadraloks would be eventually instrumental in demanding democratic reforms across the early twentieth century; a majority of "revolutionary terrorists" from Bengal who partook in the Indian independence movement came from this class.[43][45][46]

Modern Bengal[edit]

A report produced by the Government of West Bengal for the 1951 census found Baidyas' claims of Brahmin origin to lay on "slender" grounds.[35] These claims continue to persist in the twenty first century.[47] Their current place in social hierarchy comes right after Brahmins[lower-alpha 35] — Baidyas wear the sacred thread, have access to scriptures and use the surname of Sharma (among others) but cannot conduct priestly services.[48][49] As of 1960, inter-marriages between Brahmins, Baidyas and Kayasthas were quite common and increasing.[50]

Baidyas continue to wield immense socio-economic power in modern Bengal as part of Bhadraloks — in absence of rigorous data, the precise extents are difficult to determine.[51] Parimal Ghosh notes this hegemony to be so complete, that Bengali and Bhadralok eventually became synonymous disenfranchising the rest of Bengal.[52]

Notes[edit]

  1. Refer Chakrabarti, Kunal (2001). Religious Process: The Puranas and the Making of a Regional Tradition. Oxford University Press. for an overview. The conclusion is worth noting: "The Brahmanization of Bengal [...] seems to have engulfed most of the indigenous local cultures by the time the last redactions to the Puranas were made, and succeeded in forging a common religious cultural tradition, flexible enough to accommodate sub-regional variations and indifference to the emerging consensus on the dominant cultural mode among some social groups, and strong enough to take dissent in its stride."
  2. Baidya authors of 19th and 20th century claimed Skanda Purana to have a description of the Baidya caste. They can't be located in currently available manuscripts.
  3. Ludo Rocher however notes the text to contain multiple layers (like all other Puranas) making any dating impossible. However, he agrees with R. C. Hazra that a significant part was composed as a response to the Islamic conquest of Bengal.
  4. Older sources on social setup include inscriptions of the Gupta and the Pala periods but Baidyas don't find a mention.[12]
  5. The myth is very popular across a large set of Indian scriptures.[16] It probably has Indo-European origins.[16]
  6. Prthu had these mixed-castes further reproduce with other mixed-castes and four pure varnas. Those offspring were classed under Madhyama Saṃkaras and Saṃkaras.
  7. All the Saṃkaras were classed under Sudras, true to the tradition of Bengal having only two varnas: Brahmins and Sudras.
  8. Furui senses the express prohibitions on Ambastha/Baidyas to read the Puranas (despite granting them the Ayurveda) as indicative of a fear of encroachment upon Brahmin intellectual domain and a tacit acknowledgement of groups trained in alternate forms of knowledge; the deeming of Ambastha/Baidyas as Saṃkarottamawere concessional transactions where Brahmins entered into co operational agreements with other groups but commanded nominal authority.[14]
  9. In any case, whether the Bṛhaddharma Puraṇa succeeded in materializing and sustaining the Brahminical visions of Bengali society is doubtful; the medieval law commentary Dāyabhāga shares few things in common with Bṛhaddharma Purana.[14]
  10. For a detailed discussion on Kulanji literature see Chatterjee, Kumkum (2009). The Cultures of History in Early Modern India: Persianization and Mughal Culture in Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195698800.
  11. Sadvaidyakulapnjika does not invoke any such connection.[6] Chandraprabha mentions Bharatamallika's father to be a Vaidya as well as an Ambastha; additionally, it quotes from Hindu scriptures to prove why Ambasthas and Baidyas are equable.[20] Annapurna Chattopadhyaya noted the "genuineness and historical bearing" of these passages to be "questionable".[3] R. C. Majumdar, D. C. Ganguly, and R. C. Hazra reiterate concerns of genuineness but note that Bharatamallika must have reflected contemporary views.
  12. The Puranas as well as Mahabharata hold them to be Kshatriyas.[3] Smriti and Shastra texts regard them as a mixed caste - of a Brahmin father and a lower caste wife.[3] The Jatakas mention them as Vaishyas. Ambastha Sutta, a Buddhist text regards them as Brahmins.[3] Also, see the next section on Upapuranas.
  13. Nripendra K. Dutt, Pascale Haag as well as Poonam Bala concur that the terms were synonymous.[20] Jyotirmoyee Sarma hypothesizes that both the groups might have followed the same profession and eventually merged into one.[12] Dineshchandra Sircar as well as Annapurna Chattopadhyay express skepticism on the connection but considers Sarma's hypothesis to be plausible.[6] In contrast, Projit Bihari Mukharji downright rejects such an equivalence and notes that "Ambastha" had meant different things in different contexts across the history of India; it was always a ''post-facto'' label claimed by different groups in their reinvention of themselves.[3] R. C. Majumdar rejected such an identification, too.[3]
  14. The translation to Baidya is doubtful.
  15. See Mitra, Rajendralal (August 1880). "Copper-Plate Inscriptions from Sylhet". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. LIV: 141–151. for more details. No information exists about this dynasty (?) except what can be gleaned from these two plates; they were probably a lineage of the Devas.[13]
  16. The Gaya Narasimha Temple Inscription was composed by one "Vaidya Bajrapani" during the reign of Nayapala, as was the Gaya Akshaybata Temple Inscription by "Vaidya Dharmapani" during the reign of Vigrahapala III. It is not wise to speculate on whether they were (B)Vaidyas — the Nalanda Stone Pillar inscription of Rajyapala explicitly notes one Vaidyanatha to be from the Vanik-kula (mercantile community).
  17. The oldest inscription might have been the Talamanchi grant.
  18. Saswati Sengupta writes, "The perspective is Brāhmaṇical but masquerades as a universal norm ostensibly outside of sectarian politics and historical maneuverings."
  19. However, it must be borne in mind that the Baidya jati was not a homogeneous unit.[3] The community was divided into numerous endogamous samajes (societies) who exhibited strict conformation in rituals and social behavior.[3] There were Shaivite Baidya samajes, with a marked antipathy for Vaishnava cult.[3] Often these samajes were further divided into sthans (places) which had variable degree of autonomy.[3]
  20. Saswati Sengupta cites four other texts by Baidyas in a non-exhaustive list: two Chandi Mangalkavyas by Jaynārāyaṇa Sen (c. 1750) and Muktarāma Sen (Saradāmaṅgala, 1774), and two Manasa Mangalkavyas by Ṣaṣṭhībara Datta (late 17th c.) and Dbārikādāsa (prob. 18th c.)
  21. See Meulenbeld, G. Jan (2000). "Seventeenth-Century authors and works". A History of Indian Medical Literature. Vol. II A. Egbert Forsten. p. 278. ISBN 9069801248. for an overview of his works.
  22. Both Kavikantahara and Bharatamallika mentioned of several older genealogies, which are now-lost or (unlikely) yet to be retrieved.
  23. This Candrasekhara was based in Banaras and might have been the court poet of Rao Surjan Singh.
  24. The text reiterates a different version of the Brh. P. myth, where Vaidyas are held to be the son of an Ambastha father and a Vaisya mother. Ambastha was born of a Maula father and a Vaisya mother. Maula was created of a Brahmin father and a Kshatriya mother.
  25. The social hierarchy, as described in the Mangalkavyas by Baidya authors (if at all), is not described in any source.
  26. Kunal Chakrabarti as well as Sudipta Kuvairaj note Ch. M. to demonstrate a confluence of Brahminical and local folk traditions; their views of caste-society differed from traditional Brahmanic literature.[29]
  27. Mukharji notes that movements to gain social mobility actively sought to safeguard their earned dominance by making sure that lower ranked castes remained lower. Vaidyas were no exception.
  28. Kayasthas would however reject the mobility claims by Baidyas (to the extent of bribing Brahmins) and instead choose to assert themselves as Kshatriyas.[7]
  29. These efforts met with stiff resistance from positivist historians. Jadunath Sarkar, R. C. Majumdar and multiple other historians rejected that kulanjis were acceptable as evidences of history.
  30. Alongside, it was highlighted how Baidyas even taught the Vedas unlike Brahmins who were apparently allowed to only recite them. Also, Baidyas exhibited sacrificatory values in the preparation of pakayajna and utterance of mantras during the making of a medical remedy.
  31. The text proposed that the word Vaidya was constructed either from Veda or Vidya, redefined the word Ambastha as meaning the father (of patients incl. Brahmins), quoted from the Dharmaśāstra cannon about caste-groups exhibiting social mobility as a result of virtuous deeds[lower-alpha 30], and highlighted from Veda as well as Smritis about products of mixed marriages being entitled to carry their paternal caste.[20]
  32. In the 1921 census, they were the most literate community in Bengal. To quote David L. Curley, Baidyas were "serving in local revenue administrations, managing rent and revenue collections for zamindars, obtaining or providing short-term agrarian and mercantile credit, engaging in trade as agents or partners of the English and French East India Companies and acquiring zamindari estates."[37]
  33. For an instance, Calcutta Sanskrit College barred Shudras from admission, initially allowing only Brahmins and Baidyas to enroll until Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar introduced admission for Kayasthas.[39]
  34. Jyotirmoyee Sarma notes that the Baidyas already had the highest of "secular rank" (bhadralok) but yet strove (to the fascination of external observers) for the highest of "ceremonial/scriptural rank" (brahmin).
  35. In 1960, Chattopdhyay noted that Baidyas were still treated as Sudras in all orthodox religious occasions.[7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dutt, Nripendra Kumar (1968). Origin and growth of caste in India, Volume 2. Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay. p. 69-70.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 Mukharji, Projit Bihari (2016-10-14). "A Baidya-Bourgeois World: The Sociology of Braided Sciences". Doctoring Traditions: Ayurveda, Small Technologies, and Braided Sciences. University of Chicago Press. doi:10.7208/9780226381824-003. ISBN 978-0-226-38182-4.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Nripendra Kumar Dutt (1965). Origin and Growth of Caste in India: Vol. II: Castes in Bengal. Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay.
  5. Sharma, Tej Ram (1978). Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Empire. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 115.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Sircar, D. C. (1959). Studies in the Society and Administration of Ancient and Medieval India. Vol. 1. Firma KLM. pp. 108, 113–122.
  7. 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 Chattopadhyaya, Annapurna (1960). The People And Culture Of Bengal: A Study In Origins. Vol. 2. Kolkata: Firma KLM. pp. 868–908.
  8. Seal, Anil (1968), "Glossary", The Emergence of Indian Nationalism: Competition and Collaboration in the Later Nineteenth Century, Cambridge University Press, p. 374, ISBN 978-0-521-09652-2, retrieved 2021-07-30
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Chatterjee, Kumkum (2010-10-01). "Scribal elites in Sultanate and Mughal Bengal". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 47 (4): 445–472. doi:10.1177/001946461004700402. ISSN 0019-4646.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Majumdar, R. C.; Ganguly, D. C.; Hazra, R. C. (1943). Majumdar, R. C. (ed.). History Of Bengal. The University of Dacca. pp. 571, 589–591.
  11. Sengupta, Saswati (2021). "Invoking the Goddesses". Mutating Goddesses: Bengal's Laukika Hinduism and Gender Rights. Oxford University Press.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Sarma, Jyotirmoyee (1987). Caste Dynamics Among the Bengali Hindus. Firma KLM. pp. 14, 20.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Furui, Ryosuke (2019-07-04). Land and Society In Early South Asia: Eastern India 400-1250 AD. Routledge. pp. 73, 199, 236, 256. ISBN 978-1-138-49843-3.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.9 Furui, Ryosuke (2013). "Finding Tensions in the Social Order: a Reading of the Varṇasaṃkara Section of the Bṛhaddharmapurāṇa". In Ghosh, Suchandra; Bandyopadhyay, Sudipa Ray; Majumdar, Sushmita Basu; Pal, Sayantani (eds.). Revisiting Early India: Essays in Honour of D. C. Sircar. Kolkata: R. N. Bhattacharya.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Nicholas, Ralph W. (1995). "The Effectiveness of the Hindu Sacrament (Samskara): Caste, Marriage, and Divorce in Bengali Culture". In Harlan, Lindsey; Courtright, Paul B. (eds.). From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and Culture. Oxford University Press. pp. 145–152.
  16. 16.0 16.1 O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger (1976). "THE SPLIT CHILD: Good and Evil Within Men". The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology. Hermeneutics: Studies in the History of Religions. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 321–369.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Sanyal, Hitesranjan (1971). "Continuities of Social Mobility in Traditional and Modern Society in India: Two Case Studies of Caste Mobility in Bengal". The Journal of Asian Studies. 30 (2): 315–339. doi:10.2307/2942917. ISSN 0021-9118.
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