More Light on Sanskrit Literature of Bengal (Hindu Period)

Summary

This paper supplements earlier surveys of Sanskrit literature in Bengal during the Hindu period by focusing on Brahmanic institutions and overlooked centres of learning. While Buddhist institutions of Bengal have received extensive study, the author notes that Brahmanic schools—often simple cottage schools—have been neglected. These schools, practising ‘plain living and high thinking,’ preserved Sanskrit learning during times of turmoil when Buddhist monasteries vanished under Muslim incursions. The article rescues the names of long‑forgotten institutions: in Bengal proper the Gaṅgāsāgara‑saṅgama is cited in the Mahābhārata and Purāṇas; other sacred sites include the Śāligrāma‑Kṣetra, the Madhu‑sūdan temple near Mandara Hill and villages associated with Vaiṣṇavism. The article suggests that large Brahmanic universities headed by a kulapati with thousands of students existed alongside monastic Vihāras. It surveys intellectual trends, noting that Bengal was a centre for the Pūrva Mīmāṃsā schools and produced scholars such as Bhavadeva and Cakrapāṇidatta. The author highlights contributions to law, astronomy and tantra and traces the survival of Advaita and Vaiṣṇava traditions through later scholars like Raghunātha Śiromaṇi and Gadādhara Bhaṭṭācārya. Textual evidence, inscriptions and local traditions are used to build a richer picture of Bengal’s Sanskrit heritage. The paper concludes that the region’s literary culture was diverse, with influences from Kashmir, Mithila and South India, and urges scholars to investigate local archives and temple libraries.