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42-574: The Kayasthas are regarded in Bengal, along with the Brahmins and Baidyas , as being the "highest Hindu castes". The Bengali Kayasthas are subdivided into numerous clans in that region, of which the Kulin is a high-ranking example. The social and religious patterns of Bengal had historically been distinctively different from those in the orthodox Hindu heartland of North India and this impacted on how

84-460: A Vaishya would start a trade apprenticeship. The premise of the Dvija concept was that a person is born physically through his parents at home, spiritually through his teacher at school ( gurukul ) who helps the student form the mind and realize the self. The word Dvija , and its equivalent such as Dvijati , is neither found in any Vedas , any Upanishad , nor in any Vedanga literature such as

126-654: A conflicting view of whether access to guru and education was limited to men and to certain varna (social classes or castes). The Vedas and the Upanishads never mention any restrictions based either on gender or on varna . The Upanishads assert that one's birth does not determine one's eligibility for spiritual knowledge, only one's effort and sincerity matters. Some Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras, such as Paraskara Grhyasutra, Gautama Smriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti, state all four varnas are eligible to all fields of knowledge; while verses of Manusmriti state that Vedic study

168-401: A large number of modern Bengali Kayastha cognomens in several early epigraphs discovered in Bengal, some scholars have suggested that there is a considerable brahmana element in the present day Kayastha community of Bengal. Originally the professions of Kayastha (scribe) and Vaidya (physician) were not restricted and could be followed by people of different varnas including the brahmanas. So there

210-595: A non-dvija child may also be inducted into the Dvija category, if he wishes to pursue the duties associated with these varnas. The initiation ceremony (upanayana) invests the male initiates with a sacred thread, a loop worn next to the skin over the left shoulder and across the right hip. This Dvija-ceremony was recommended in medieval era texts for the Brahmins (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors), and Vaishyas (merchants) before they began their schools. In contrast,

252-480: A school for Vedic studies. The term also refers to members of the three varnas in the traditional Hindu social system, or social classes — the Brahmins (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors), and Vaishyas (farmers, herders and merchants) — whose samskara of the Upanayana initiation was regarded as a second or spiritual birth. The word Dvija is neither found in any Vedas and Upanishads , nor

294-481: Is available only to men of three varnas, unavailable to Shudra and women. The Brahmanical centres of learning were open to all the Dvija castes, states Romila Thapar, and they "appear to have attracted mainly the Brahmin students". The Dvija restrictions may be theoretical, because most students learnt their economically useful skills through apprenticeship within their family or at guilds. Other scholars also treat

336-461: Is every probability that a number of brahmana families were mixed up with members of other varnas in forming the present Kayastha and Vaidya communities of Bengal. A period of rule by various Muslim dynasties began in Bengal from the thirteenth century and lasted until 1765, when the British gained control. Many of the population converted to Islam and the lack of a Hindu king as a focal point caused

378-586: Is it found in any Vedanga literature such as the Shrauta-sutras or Grihya-sutras. The word scarcely appears in Dharmasutras literature. Increasing mentions of it appear in Dharmasastras text of mid to late 1st-millennium CE texts. The presence of the word Dvija is a marker that the text is likely a medieval era Indian text. "Dvija" means "twice-born": the first birth is physical, while

420-564: Is traditionally believed that at this point, after the decline of the Pala Empire , 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. Multiple accounts of this legend exist, and historians generally consider this to be nothing more than myth or folklore lacking historical authenticity. Likewise,

462-891: The Guhas  - later moved to the east of the region, leaving three clans to become the main Kulin Kayastha communities in "Bengal proper" - the Boses , the Mitras and the Ghoshes . During the Gupta Empire, the Kayasthas had not developed into a distinct caste, although the office of the Kayasthas (scribes) had been instituted before the beginning of the period, as evidenced from the contemporary smritis . Tej Ram Sharma, an Indian historian, says that Noticing brahmanic names with

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504-580: The Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh . The Bengali Brahmins, along with Baidyas and Kayasthas , are regarded among the three traditional higher castes of Bengal. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks of Bengal were primarily, but not exclusively, drawn from these three castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal. For a long period, Bengal

546-510: The Kulin Brahmins . According to Sengupta, multiple accounts of this legend exist, and historians generally consider this to be nothing more than myth or folklore lacking historical authenticity. Identical stories of migration of Orissan Brahmins exist under the legendary king of Yayati Kesari . According to Sayantani Pal, D.C Sircar opines that, the desideration of Bengali Brahmins to gain more prestige by connecting themselves with

588-471: The Vyakarana , Shiksha , Nirukta , Chandas , Shrauta-sutras or Grihya-sutras. Words such as Dvijanman appear in chapter 1.60 of Rigveda, but the context is not human beings, but "fire" once born in the heaven and then brought and born again on the earth. The term is missing in all theological and rituals-related text preceding the 2nd-century BCE, as well as the earliest Dharmasutras texts. It makes

630-575: The caste system developed there. Bengal, being located east of the traditional Aryavarta region between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, remained insulated from the full impact of Brahminical orthodoxy for many centuries, and the impact of Buddhism remained strong there. The influence of Buddhism continued under the Buddhist rulers of the Pala dynasty from the eighth through the eleventh century CE. It

672-481: The Brahmins from the west, 'could have contributed' to the establishment of the system of ' kulinism '. Referring to the linkages between class and caste in Bengal, Bandyopadhyay mentions that the Brahmins, along with the other two upper castes, refrained from physical labour but controlled land, and as such represented "the three traditional higher castes of Bengal". Apart from the common classification as Kulina, Srotriya and Vangaja, Bengali Brahmins are divided into

714-424: The Dvija concept as theory, because in reality ancient and medieval India had artisan schools where all social classes including Shudras learnt skills, and these artisans and workers built sophisticated artwork, products and large temples. In practice, state Stella Kramrisch and others, the guru tradition and availability of education extended to all segments of ancient and medieval society. Lise McKean states

756-482: The Kayasthas considered them as Dvija or twice-born. However, the claims of Kayasthas of Bengal of having Dvija status is not supported by many other Indian observers. The Bengali Brahmins were most active in refuting these claims. Bengali Brahmins Bengali Brahmins are the community of Hindu Brahmins , who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent , currently comprising

798-527: The Kulin Brahmins are Mukherjee , Banerjee , Chatterjee , Ganguly , Bhattacharjee . According to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar , there were fifty-six Kulin Brahmin surnames, out of which eight were popular, including Ghosal , Putitunda, Kanjilal and Kundagrami. When the British left India in 1947, carving out separate nations , many Brahmins, whose original homes were in the newly created Islamic Republic of Pakistan , migrated en masse to be within

840-686: The Pundravardhana region. The Damodarpur copper inscriptions, discovered in the Dinajpur area of Bengal's Rajshahi division, describe a century of the Gupta period, from 443–44 C.E. to 533–34 C.E., also revealing the presence of the Brahmanical group in Bengal; Sircar, however, finds this interpretation doubtful. During the Gupta period, many Brahmins arrived in Bengal from various parts of India. Archaeologists found three copper plate grants in

882-740: The Shudras were considered ineligible for Dvija-ceremony and formal schooling in these texts. Some Sanskrit texts present a different view. The Mahabharata, for example, states that a Shudra who is self-restrained and pure conduct is like a Dvija , and suggests that Shudras can possess Vedic knowledge. Since the 19th century, the concept of Dvija has been increasingly questioned. Women have become students of Sanskrit and Vedic subjects, notably in India’s public institutions of higher learning, have chanted Vedic verses, and have even offered their services as specialists in Brahmanical rituals. The Hindu texts offer

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924-555: The Vedas) belonging to 56 gotras and different Vedic schools. After the Hun invasion in the fifth century, Bengal had been ruled by several independent rulers. Most of these independent kings between the middle of the sixth and seventh centuries were Hindu Brahmanists. Shashanka, a king of Gauda at the beginning of the seventh century, notably stood out as being opposed to Buddhism. Evidence indicates Brahmanism's continuous growth in Bengal during

966-522: The area and eventually took it over. The British were non-Hindu and so they, like the Muslims before them, were unable to satisfy the Kulin need for roles befitting their ritual status. Other Hindu communities, however, did co-operate with the British and by the early years of the nineteenth century some had become substantial landowners and wealthy people as a consequence. These non-Kulin communities also were

1008-416: The borders of the newly defined Republic of India , and continued to migrate for several decades thereafter to escape Islamist persecution. Dvija Dvija ( Sanskrit : द्विज) means "twice-born". The concept is premised on the belief that a person is first born physically and at a later date is born for a second time spiritually, usually when he undergoes the rite of passage that initiates him into

1050-460: The district of Faridpur in East Bengal, with the first two attributed to Dharmaditya and the last to Gopacandra. Among the recipients of these grants were Brahmins, implying the existence of Brahmins at that time. The 7th-century Nidhanpur copperplate inscription mentions that a marshy land tract adjacent to an existing settlement was given to more than 208 Vaidika Brahmins (Brahmins versed in

1092-657: The first appearance in Gautama Dharmasutra but not in the context later understood. The first significant appearance of the word Dvija occurs in the Manu Smriti (166 mentions) composed between 2nd to 3rd century CE. The Yajnavalkya Smriti , composed in 4th or 5th-century CE mentions the word less often (40 times). The massive Hindu epics, the Valmiki Ramayana and the Mahabharata mention

1134-505: The first to take steps towards Westernisation, in part because they realised that alignment with Western ideas would provide a route by which they could advance their social status, and that was something which could never occur under the Hindu ritual system as they would always be ranked lower than the Kulins. A survey of Indian writers and observers suggests that many of those acquainted with

1176-562: The following clans or divisions: Kulin Brahmins trace their ancestry to five families of Kanyakubja Brahmins who migrated to Bengal . In the 11th century CE, after the decline of the Pala dynasty , a Hindu king, Adi Sura, brought in five Brahmins and their five attendants from Kannauj , his purpose being to provide education for the Brahmins already in the area, whom he thought to be ignorant, and to revive traditional orthodox Brahminical Hinduism. These Vedic Brahmins were supposed to have nine gunas (favoured attributes), among which

1218-546: The fourth century C.E. The later Gupta kings of Magadha promoted the growth of Brahmanism in the region while also showing support for Jainism and Buddhism. Multiple land-grants to Brahmins have been observed since the Gupta Era . The Dhanaidaha copper-plate inscription, dated to 433 C.E., is the earliest of them and records a grantee Brahmin named Varahasvamin The Vaigram edict (447–48) mentions land grants to Brahmans in

1260-479: The isolation of those Hindu communities which remained. The Kulin communities suffered particularly badly because their ritual role was to serve a Hindu king via appointments to high state and religious offices, which were denied to them by Muslim rule. Those Hindus, including some Kulins, who did assist, co-operate or mingle with the Muslim rulers were often shunned by the increasingly conservative Hindu community, which

1302-556: The migrant Brahmins might mingle with the existing Brahmins of Bengal. The epigraphic evidence indicates that although the Palas were a great patron of Buddhism, they supported and endowed Brahmins too. The land grants made by Palas to Brahmins were carried out with orthodox Hindu rituals as described in the inscriptions of Palas. This evidence shows that even in the period of the Pala dynasty, Brahminic practices prevailed. The Varman kings were

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1344-584: The more established local Brahmins. Four of the Kayastha clans were similarly designated. The fifth was refused the status because they would not accept that they were servants or attendants and hence inferior, and instead proclaimed themselves to be superior even to the Brahmins. While this fifth clan remained in Bengal and became the Datta (or Dutta), one of the four which were granted the Kulina nomenclature -

1386-428: The original varna status of the five attendants, accompanying the Brahmins, according to the legend, is also a subject matter of debate. Many sources mention them as Shudra servants, many others refer to them as Kayastha attendants, and very few as Aryan Kshatriya consorts. The tradition continues by saying that these incomers settled and each became the founder of a clan. In the case of the five attendants, each clan

1428-564: The reign of these autonomous kings. During Harshavardhan's reign, Huyen-tsang visited Bengal. His records suggest that certain Bengali Brahmins had become monarchs. The ruler of Samatata, whose reign covered the first part of the 7th century C.E., was a Brahmin. Several Brahmins gradually came from central India beginning in the eighth century, and epigraphs of the time provide numerous examples of Brahmin families coming from various parts of India to settle in Bengal. According to Roy,

1470-608: The rulers of eastern Bengal from 1050 to 1150 C.E., while the Sena kings gained influence in Gauda. Eventually, the Senas became the rulers of all of Bengal. The Sena and Varman kings were followers of Brahmanism and were considered orthodox in their beliefs. Historians believe that these rulers introduced certain aspects of Brahmanism to Bengal, which had a more adaptable society compared to the southern and western parts of India where Brahmanism

1512-402: The second birth is a 'spiritual' one. The second 'birth' occurs when one takes up fulfilling a role in society, at the time of Upanayana initiation ceremony. For example, a Brahmin is initiated into school to study and pursue Brahmopadesha (preach, counsel) in the matter of the nature of Brahman , the ultimate reality . Traditionally, a Kshatriya would start learning the use of arms, while

1554-483: The word Dvija 214 and 1535 times respectively. This, states Patrick Olivelle , suggest that Dvija is not a Vedic or ancient tradition of Hinduism, but an innovation that appeared sometime in the 1st millennium CE. This word is a significant scholarly marker to identify a text as likely from medieval India. Dvija, in medieval Indian texts, refers to a member of the first three varnas – Brahmins , Kshatriyas , and Vaishyas . The Asvalayana sutra indicates that

1596-453: Was insistence on same-rank marriages. Multiple accounts of this legend exist; historians generally consider it 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. These Brahmins were designated as Kulina ("superior") in order to differentiate them from the more established local Brahmins. The surnames commonly used by

1638-403: Was intent on self-preservation and withdrew into its own cultural norms in order to achieve that. Thomas J. Hopkins has said that In relations with Muslims, it was clear that high-caste Hindus played a zero-sum game in which the degree of involvement with non-Hindu rulers meant a corresponding loss in Hindu social ranking. Similarly, the Kulin castes generally ignored the British who came into

1680-442: Was more strict. It is traditionally believed that much later, in the 11th century CE, after the decline of the Pala dynasty , a Hindu king, Adisura brought in five Brahmins 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. As per tradition, these five immigrant Brahmins and their descendants went on to become

1722-666: Was not part of Vedic culture. However, North Bengal was a part of the Aryan acculturation during the Mauryan era, as depicted in the Mahasthan inscription. By the end of the 3rd century C.E., the region came under the rule of the Magadha Empire under Samudragupta and remained within this empire until the mid-6th century C.E. According to contemporary historians, Brahmanism was found to have gained prominence in Bengal as early as

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1764-465: Was of the Kayastha caste, and these founders are sometimes referred to as the five legendary Kayasthas. According to Swarupa Gupta, "this legend was fitted into a quasi-historical, sociological narrative of Bengal and deployed to explain the realities of caste and sub-caste origins and connections during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century". The four Brahmin clans were each designated as Kulina ("superior") in order to differentiate them from

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