रविवार, 30 जनवरी 2011

Migration of Maithil Brahmins in the region of Santal Pragnas and its surroundings

Anusandhanika / Vol. VIlI / No. II / July 2010 / pp. 184-189 ISSN 0974 - 200X


-184-

Migration of Maithil Brahmanas to

Santal Parganas

Amar Nath Jha

Associate professor in History

S. S. N. College

University of Delhi, Delhi

Abstract

As far as the migration of Maithil Brahmanas in the area of our concern, Santal Parganas, is concerned we do

not have any source to establish as when did they come to this area. During Pala period a large number of

Brahmanas migrated to Bengal where, they received gifts of land and were offered high posts in the

administration of the state. Similarly, the migration of Brahmanas also took place from Mithila in different

directions. As far as the migration of the Maithil Brahman Panditas is concerned, we find that they migrated to

Bengal in good numbers. The story of Adisura, a legendry king of Bengal is being credited for the migration of

Maithil Panditas to Bengal. we can conclude that both D. C. Sircar and R. C. Majumdar are wrong when they

declare Adisura a mythical character, as he was a historical personality and ruler of the region of Santal

Parganas. We would also like to correct the readings of Swati Sen Gupta and assert that Adi Sura was a king

of East Bihar, not of North Bihar, as opined by her. Therefore, by all probable explanations it is safe to

conclude that the migration of the Maithil Brahmanas in the region of Santal Parganas started taking place

since 10th-11th century AD.

Keywords: Migration, Indo-Europeans, Indo-Aryans, Brahmanas, Dakshin Radha

Introduction

Migration of people from one part to

another of the world has been a fact of history.

Great changes have taken place in history due

to the great migration of several races, groups

and nationalities the would over.

After 2500 B.C. it is found that the

movement and displacement of various tribes,

including the Indo-Europeans. From this point

of time to for nearly 1500 years, West Asia and

Eastern Mediterranean witnessed a constant

traffic of innumerable tribes.1 The history of

many of these tribes is obscure but their

interaction and conflict with settled agrarian

socities of the region was occasionally

recorded in some form or the other. These

records provide vital clues for understanding

these tribal movements.2 Scholars have

grouped these tribals on the basis of their

language. The languages of these tribes fall

into two broad divisions: Indo-Europeans and

Semitic. Among the Indo- Europeans Indo-

Aryans were one of the prominent groups.

They worshipped Indra, Mitra and Varun.3

(Early Social Formations, pp.128-29.) In the

early parts of the 2nd millennium, whether from

pressure of population, desiccation of pasture

lands, or from both causes these people were

on the move. They migrated in bands

westward, southwards and eastwards,

conquering local populations and intermarrying

with them to form a ruling class.4 They brought

with them their patrilinear family system, their

worship of sky gods, and their horses and

chariots. In most of the lands in which they

settled their original language gradually

adapted itself to the tongues of the conquered

people. Some invaded Europe, to become the

ancesters of the Greeks, Latins, Celts and

Teutons. Others appeared in Anatolia, and

from the mixture of these with the original

inhabitants there arose the great empire of the

Hittites. Yet others remained in their old home,

the ancesters of the later Baltic and Slavonic

people. And yet others moved southwards to

the Caucasus and the Iranian tableland, when

they made many attacks on the Middle Eastern

civilizations. The Kassites, who conquered

Babylone, were led by men of this stock.5 In the

14th century B.C. there appeared in N.E. Syria

a people called Mitanni, whose kings had Indo-

Iranian names, and a few of whose gods are

familiar to every student of Indian religion:

Indra, Uruvna(the Vedic god Varun), Mitra, and

Nasatiya6. Hence the migration of these tribes

changed the course of history of a great part of

the world including that of India.

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Materials and Methods

The migration of Brahmanas has been

studied by several scholars. J. C. Jha’s

Migration and Achievements of Maithila

Panditas is a very important study of this field.

However no book is available to throw any light

on the theme of our study. Therefore, while

taking clue from the great scholars like

Basudeva Upadhyay and J. C. Jha, it has been

tried to re-read the interpretations of various

scholars and reach to conclusions. In this

sense this article claims to be a pioneer

attempt for the study of the migration of Maithil

Brahmanas in the region of Santal Parganas.

However it must be admitted that this study is

based on secondary literature to a great

extent.

It is a R & D fact that the original homeland

of the Indo-Europeans and Indo-Aryans is the

subject of constant debate among scholars.

However, one need not indulge in this kind of

debate here because that does not fall under

the area of this dissertation. But at the same

time it can certainly be said that this also

signifies the importance of the issue of

migration in history.

Results and Discussions

Migration of various groups of people from

one part of the Indian sub- continent to its other

part has also been a historical reality. We find

numerous references of this in the vast corpus

of the religious as well as secular literature.

The migration of people, specially of

Brahmanas, from north to south and from west

to east and its impact have been studied by

scholars in detail in order to understand the

process of Sanskritization and acculturation

through the ages. The Brahmanas have been

on the forefront of this. The study of grants of

the Midland (Madyadesha) reveals that the

Brahmanas’ movement in northern India was a

unique feature of ancient Indian society. “It

may be stated that the migration of the

Brahmanas from the midland cannot be taken

as mere hypothesis but a factum based on true

and correct interpretation of the dynamic

epigraphs of early mediaeval India” observes

Basudeva Upadhyay.7

During Pala period a large number of

Brahmanas migrated to Bengal where, they

received gifts of land and were offered high

posts in the administration of the state.

Amagachhi grant and Badal pillar inscription

contain the story of a Brahmana named Garga

who became the minister of Dharmapala and

many others received grants from the Pala

king.8 The, son of the minister namely

Darbhapani was offered the post of a minister

in the reign of Dvapala, the son and

succesesor of Dharmapala.9 It is difficult to say

whether ministry was hereditary during Pala

regime but such appointments were also made

in the Gupta period. On the authority of

Karmadanda Shiva linga inscription it is learnt

that the Kumargupta’s minister Prithavisena

succeeded his father Sikhara Swami, the

minister of Chandragupta II in the same

office.10 However, it is clear from the Pala

records that the minister Garga migrated to

Gaud from Panchaladesha situated in

Madhyadesha (E.I.Vol.II p. 180. E.I.Vol.XIV

P.166 and E.I. Vol. XXI P. 97).11 Even from Lata

(Gujarata) Brahmapas came to Bengal and

acted as priest in the temple of Nara Narayana,

while Dharmapala was ruling (E.I. Vol. 4 No.

34).12 This type of movement is described in

Banagaon copper plate record of Vigrahapala

that Kanyakubja Brahmanas came to settle in

Bengal.13 Hence the examination of Pala

inscriptions shows that the Brahrnapas from

the Midland left the area for good and settled in

Bengal.14 This migration effected the cultural

life of Bengal and the first king of Sena family

viz Samantasena was called Brahma-

Kshatriya because being a Karanata Kshatriya

he cultivated the Brahmanical culture and was

a famous Brahmavadi.15 In the reign of

Lakshamapa Sena a large number of grants

were bestowed upon to Brahmanas migrating

from the Madhyadesha (Madhyadesha

Vinirgatdya). Almost all Sena documents

(Bairakaur, Naihati, Govindapur, Tarpandihi,

Anulia Madhainagar and Sundrabana) contain

the similar descriptions.16 Besides dynastic

epigraphs, the Kulapanjika throws some light

on “Kulinism” in Bengal and probably it rests on

the arrival of immigrant Brahmanas from

Kanauj.17

It is difficult to point out a particular reason

for the migration of Brahmatias, but the entire

data gives two principal causes of this

behaviour. The social reason, occupies the

first place and the migration was initiated in the

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search of their occupation. The social position

given to the immigrants by the ruling chiefs was

not less attractive for their stay in the far off

area and the Agrahara was allurement for the

Brahmapas migrated to that particular locality.

Among the other causes the political changes

in the post-Harsha period produced a

psychological impression on the minds of

Brahmanas regarding their insecurity in

Madhyadesha where Islamic flow was high at a

later stage of early mediaeval period of Indian

history.18

Similarly, the migration of Brahmanas also

took place from Mithila in different directions.

The Migration of Maithil Panditas has been

studied by several scholars. J. C. Jha has

made a detailed study of this subject. “The

migration of many panditas from that area of

North Bihar which had been called Mithila

(Tirhut) is a saga of adventure. They were

respected where ever they went and made

their mark in several fields—administration,

scholarship, priesthood, tantra, etc.” writes J.

C. Jha.19 The history of Mithila or Tirhut in the

early mediaeval period is the history of

constant warfare and invasions from outside,

which led only to a chaotic situation20. In the

face of rapidly changing political scene, the

Palas ruled Mithila for the longest period and

left their impact on the life and culture of the

society to some extent.21 The Bhagalpur grand,

Bangaon C.P. and the Naulagarh inscription

tell us that Tirbhukti was one of the important

administrative centres during the Pala rule22.

The period from the early 8th century to

the beginning of the 11th century AD. in the

history of Mithila can aptly be termed as the

period of instability and turbulence. It proved to

be the hunting or grazing ground for the

political powers growing all around23. The

Panditas in general lived from hand to mouth.

Therefore we have evidences of migration of

Maithila Panditas in different parts of the world,

like, Vietnam, Burma, Combodia, Tibet and

other places.24 But these migrations were

basically the migration of Buddhist Panditas.

As far as the migration of the Maithil

Brahman Panditas are concerned, we find that

they migrated to Bengal in good numbers. The

story of Adisura, a legendry king of Bengal is

being credited for the migration of Maithil

Panditas to Bengal. But the historicity of

Adisura is not yet proven. Some identify

Adisura with Gurjar-Pratihar Bhoja. There are

others who hold that Vallalsena may be a

descendant of Adisura from the mother’s side

who flourished in 1060 A.D.25 “It is also

suggested that Adisura could well have been a

son or a grandson of Ranasura of Dakshina

Radha reffered to in Tirumalai Rock

inscriptions of Rajendra Cola.”26 But D. C.

Sircar has different views about Adisura. He

holds Adisura legend totally unreliable.

According to him Sura royal family in ancient

Bengal is known but no genuine ruler named

Adisura is found in Bengal sources. The only

Adisura known to the East Indian history is a

petty chief who is mentioned by Vacaspatimisra

in his Nyayakanika.27 In this context J. C. Jha

opines “Hence Adisura, his contemporary

must have flourished in the middle of the ninth

century A.D.”28 Swati Sen Gupta also opines

“He may have been a petty chief of North Bihar,

and a vassal of the Palas of Bengal and

Bihar.”29

D. C. Sircar believes that the Kulajis and

the Kulapanjikas were composed and

compiled not earlier than the 12th century A.D.

because it mentions dates in Saka era which

became popular in Bengal as late as the 12th

century A. D. Hence D. C. Sircar believes that it

was not the Brahmanas from Kanyakubja, but

those who migrated from Mithila who, may

have brought the institution of Kulinism to

Bengal.30 R. C. Majumdar also disproves the

story of Adisura and is of the view that Kulinism

was probably imported in Bengal from Mithila.31

Hence, it becomes clear that during the Pala

period Maithil Brahmans migrated to Bengal in

large numbers.

As far as the migration of Maithil

Brahmanas in the area of Santal Parganas is

concerned, there is lack to establish as to when

did they come to this area. J. C. Jha nowhere

does mentions any thing about this. May be J.

C. Jha perceives this ‘Region’ too as part of

that of Mithila. This can be inferred by his

several quotes. Mentioning about the Tibetan

students in India he writes at one place “A large

number of Tibetan students flocked at Nalanda

in Magadh and Vikramshila in Mithila'32.

Similarly this is again evident from his

identification of Siddhas with Maithilas,

“Whatever the birthplace of Bauddhas and the

Siddhas, there is no dispute on the fact that

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most of them lived for long in the monastery of

Vikramasila which stood in the eastern part of

Mithila, spoke the language of Mithila and used

the then script of Mithila. And as such it is safe

to call them Maithila.”33 Similarly in another

context also he displays the same idea “A

majority of the manuscripts found in Tibet are in

early Maithili script differently called by

different scholars as proto-Magadhi or proto-

Bengali. This clearly proves that the vast

majority of these refugee panditas came from

Mithila i.e. Campa and Tirbhukti. This was

perhaps the largest group migration of the

Maithila Panditas.”34 As we all know that Both

Campa and Vikramasila was definitely not

within the boundry of Mithila, which J. C. Jha

would like us to believe. Hence, there is no

wonder why does he not describe the

migration of Maithil Brahmanas in the area of

Santal Parganas.

We do not have much reference about the

mula grama of the Maithils of this area in the

Panji Prabandh also. Ratneshwar Mishra in his

book written in Hindi entitled ‘Bihar Vibhuti Pt.

Binodanand Jha’ tells us that it is not possible

to trace the mula of Maithil Brahmanas living in

the area of Deoghar. Therefore, it becomes

very difficult for us to trace the time period

when the migration of Maithil Brahmanas to

this area might have started.

There can be three explanations in order

to understand the absence of any record of the

Maithil Brahmanas of Santal Parganas in Panji

Prabandh, which ultimately suggests about the

probable period of their migration from Mithila.

As per the Panji-Prabandh the Maithilas who

performed the Agnihotra sacrifices and who

devoted their time from sunrise to sunset to

religious worship, were given the first place

and called Srotriyas. Next to the Srotriyas were

the Yogyas (diserving) who got the second

class and next to the Yogyas came the

Panjibadhas who were placed in the third class

and Jaibaras composed the fourth class.35 As

per the version of Ramanath Jha, the Panji-

Prabandh was finally compiled in Saka 1248

(1327 A.D.), three years after the end of

Harisimha’s reign, though the work of

compilation was started much earlier.36 But

despite all its claim that it contains all

information about all Maithil Brahmanas we

find that many families of the Maithil

Brahmanas migrated to Bengal and other parts

of the country, whose genealogical records

could not find a place in the celebrated Panji for

want of positive information and as such the

Panji-Prabandh, in spite of its enormous size

and inexplicable complicity, can not be claimed

to be a comprehensive document of the Maithil

Brahmanas for all practical purposes.37

Secondly, since the migration of Mathil

Brahmanas to this area along with Bengal

might have started long before the time of King

Hari Singh Deo, therefore, naturally we donot

have any such records for this in the Panji-

Prabandh. Prof. Ratneshwar Mishra also

seems to be in agreement with this proposition.

Thirdly, if it is tried to reinterpret the story

of Adisura, we may reach to some valid

conclusion. As suggested by Swati Sen Gupta

Adisura might be a small king of North Bihar.38

Again as stated earlier, it is also suggested that

Adisura could well have been a son or a

grandson of Ranasura of Dakshina Radha

reffered to in Tirumalai Rock inscriptions of

Rajendra Cola.39 And since Ranasura himself

might have been an ancestor of Laksmishura,

the ruler of Aparmandar, mentioned in the

Ramcharita,40 we can safely conclude that the

said Adisura, a descendent of Ranasura, was

the ancestor of Laksmansura of Apar Mandar.

As shown earlier the area of Apar Mandar/

Sumha/ Uttar Radha/ Dakshin Radha are interchangeable

and overlapping and correspond

to the modern Santal Parganas, therefore,

Maithil Brahmanas must have started to come

to this area during the reign of Adisura who was

the king of the region of the modern Santal

Parganas during 10th-11th centuries. Thus we

can conclude that both D. C. Sircar and R. C.

Majumdar are wrong when they declare

Adisura a mythical character, whereas as he

was a historical personality and ruler of the

region of Santal Parganas. We would also like

to correct the readings of Swati Sen Gupta that

Adi Sura was a king of East Bihar, not of North

Bihar. By all probale explainations it is safe to

conclude that the migration of the Maithil

Brahmanas in the region of Santal Paraganas

started taking place since 10th-11th century

AD.

However S. Narayan is of the opinion that

“on the basis of their Bahi, they can’t be older

than 350 years. A very few have Bahi, of more

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than 350 years, counting the declaration letter

of their Jajman”.41 He further informs us “local

historians hold three views regarding their

origin at Deoghar. According to the first opinion

Maithils came in the 17th century to seek

assistance from the king of Gidhaur and

secured his favour on condition that they will

act as Pujaris (Shrine priests) of Baidyanath

temple. The second view is that the Maithiis

came here in search of employment. They

found Baidyanath temple and ample land for

agriculture. They started cultivation and

worship of Baidyanath Jee. Even to this day

some of the Maithils of Athganwa are

cultivators and the Maithil Pandas either have

kinsmen or landed propery in these eight

villages. But it is not unlikely that they decided

to become its custodians after seeing good

prospects from the temple. The third view is

that once King Narendra Deo Singh of Mithila

(1743-1760 A.D.) Wanted to feed Brahmins to

be freed from Brahmhatya (sin incurred by

killing of a Brahmin) but could not get them in

adequate numbers in Mithila as many of them

had migrated to Dcoghar”.42 But S. Narayan is

certainly not correct for two simple reasons.

Firstly, he does not study the historical pattern

of the migration of Maithil Brahmnas to reach to

any logical conclusion and secondly, he relies

upon the version of a so called local historian

with whom no professional historian is known

to. Hence, the view regarding the historicity of

the pandas of Deoghar expressed by Narayan

need not be taken seriously and the conclusion

that the migration of the Maithil Brahmanas in

the region of Santal Paraganas started taking

place since 10th-11th century A D, stands

correct.

Conclusion

The migration of Mathil Brahmanas in this

region started a new era for this land. The

process of acculturation and Sanskritisation

left deep impact on both the Maithila

Brahmanas and the local traditions of this area

which ultimately gave rise to the distinct

character of a religious sect of this area to be

known as ‘The Baidyanath Cult’. The

Baidyanath Cult and the cultural horizon of the

region is deeply influenced by the migration of

Maithil Brahmanas in this area to a great

extent.as a whole. Thus in this sense the study

of this migration becomes very important in

order to study the process of Sanskritisation of

this region.

References

1. Farooqui Amar, Early Social Formations

(Revised Second Edition), Manak

Publication Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2002,

pp. 128-129

2. Ibid

3. Ibid

4. Basham A. L., The Wonder that was India,

Rupa & Co., New Delhi, Reprint, 1986

p. 30

5. Ibid

6. Ibid

7. Upadhyay Basudeva, Migration of

Bramanas from Madhya Desha, JBRS,

Vol. XLV, 1959, pp. 308-311

8. Ibid

9. Ibid

10. Ibid

11. E.I. Vol. II, p. 180, E.I. Vol. XIV, p. 166 and

E.I. Vol. XXI, p. 97, cf. Upadhyay

Basudeva, op. cit.

12. E.I. Vol. IV, No. 34, cf. Upadhyay

Basudeva , op. cit.

13. Ibid

14. Ibid

15. Ibid

16. Ibid

17. Ibid

18. Ibid

19. Jha J. C., Migration and Achievements of

Maithila Panditas, Janki Prakashan, New

Delhi, 1991, Preface.

20. Ibid, p. 8

21. Ibid, p. 9

22. Ibid

23. Ibid

24. Ibid, p. 22

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25. Chanda R., Gauda-Rajmala, p.p. 69-71,

cf. Jha J. C., op. cit.

26. op.cit.

27. cf. Jha J. C., p. 30

28. Ibid

29. cf. Jha J. C., p. 31

30. Ibid.

31. J.B.O.R.F., XVII, 1, 1930-31, p. 9

32. Jha J. C., op. cit. pp. 22-23

33. Ibid. p.25

34. Ibid. p. 27

35. Thakur Upendra, History of Mithila (2nd

ed.), Mithila Institute, Dabhanga, 1988,

p.367

36. Ibid. pp. 373-374

37. Ibid. pp. 376-377

38. Cf. J. C. Jha, op. cit.

39. Ghosh Amartya, PIHC: 53 Session, 1992-

93, pp.79-81. Also see J. N. Sarkar,

History of Bengal, Vol.II, Calcutta, 2003

(reprint), P. 459.

40. Sinha C. P. N., Sectional Presidential

Address (Ancient India), Proceedings,

IHC: 55th Session, 1994, p.19.

41. Narayan S., op. cit. p.26

42. Ibid