Abstract
This essay engages with two large themes in order to address the social and intellectual practices of nyāya scholars in early colonial Bengal. First, I examine networks that connected scholars with each other and, to a lesser extent, students and households. Exemplified in historical documents of the period, these networks demonstrate that nyāya scholars were part of larger scholar communities in Bengal and across India during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I map these networks and examine their relevance for how nyāya scholars were organized in early colonial Bengal. Second, I examine circulation patterns of manuscripts of nyāya texts composed in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Bengal. I argue that a contraction in the distribution of nyāya manuscripts of works written in Bengal during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries took place, especially into southern India. The essay concludes by situating nyāya scholars within the context of colonialism and drawing larger conclusions about nyāya intellectual practices in Bengal during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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Notes
Hatcher (2012, p. 46): “There is a real need to ask new questions and to frame new accounts that can help us consider just how individuals negotiated life under the conditions of colonial rule. … [T]he local intellectual did not simply redirect colonial agendas but also actively shaped (and was shaped by) other existing or emerging vectors of practice and ideology.” See also Dodson (2007) and Rocher (1983).
Ganeri (2011, p. 249).
I choose Bengal primarily due to my familiarity with the archive. Similar endeavors could be undertaken with respect to Banaras and Tanjavur, for example.
Though this phrase is not widely used, others have spoken about the ‘manuscript economy,’ see Johnston and van Dussen (2015, p. 8).
Bhattacharya (1952, p. 212): …godāvarīparisarālaṅkārapunyastambha….”
Ibid: udantas tu māghakr̥ṣṇāṣṭambhyāṃ budhe tārakodayavelāyāṃ huglīgrāme sukhenāgato ’smi. kintu śenapahāḍīpradeśe jagacchreṣṭhasevakajagu[read: jaga]paṇḍito gatas tu pañca vā ṣaḍ dinamadhye parāvr̥ttya āyāsyati. tatas samavāyikāraṇalābhānantaraṃ mayā sarvathaivāgamyate. The compound samavāyikāraṇalābhānantaraṃ might literally be rendered, “after realizing the inherent cause [of which my travel was an effect]….” The back of the document includes a signature of one Bālakr̥ṣṇa Bhaṭṭa, perhaps Gaṇeśa’s teacher.
Ibid, p. 209–210: …bikrampurer śrībhairab bidyālaṅkār o śrīrāmajīban nyāẏālaṅkār kahilen nabadvīper śrīyuta śaṅkar tarkabāgīśabhaṭṭācāryer nikaṭ tarkaśāstrādhyadhan karitechen bāsā kharacer yotra nāhi bhaṭṭācāryer chātra bikrampurer śrībiśvanāth tarkālaṅkār o śrīrāmajaẏ tarkabhūṣaṇ kr̥tavidya haiẏā deśe giẏāchen tām̐hārdiger udbr̥tta vr̥tti āche ata eb sei udbr̥tta br̥tti dāmāsahīmata im̐hārdiger bāsākharacer nimitta māha ba māha dibā yāban-nabadvīpe thākhiẏā bhaṭṭācāryer nikaṭ adhyaẏan karen iti san 1210. tārikh 3 pouṣasya sahī.
Dutta (1974, p. 49).
Chatterjee (2010, pp. 449–452).
Sen (1297 [1891], p. 56): atha vaidyakulojjvalakaraśrīmanmahārājādhirājarājavalla[bha]nimantritamahārāṣṭrādinānādigdeśīyapaṇḍitair vyavasthāpatrikā. The entire document is preserved in Sen (Ibid, pp. 56–61). A longer study of this document is required.
These quotations contain variations from the published texts, see Setlur (1912, p. 65).
On the Dravida classification, see Deshpande (2010).
Rāmakr̥ṣṇa was the great-great-great grandson of Jagadīśa Tarkālaṅkāra (Bhattacharya 1952, pp. 169–170); Śivarāma was the author of a well-known commentary on Gadādhara Bhaṭṭācārya’s Navamuktivāda (Sastri 1968, p. 518); Viśvanātha was an innovative scholar whose works are not available (Bhattacharya 1952, pp. 200–202); and I have already discussed Śaṅkara. I return to each of these scholars in the next section when surveying their works.
The full list of names and towns (in bold with diacritics) in the document are (Sen (1297 [1891], pp. 58–61): Rājnagar: Nīlakaṇṭha Śarman, Kr̥ṣṇadāsa Śarman, Kr̥ṣṇadeva Śarman; Navadvīp: Gopāla Nyāyālaṅkāra, Titurāma Tarkapañcānana, Haradeva Tarkasiddhānta, Rāmakr̥ṣṇa Nyāyālaṅkāra, Śivarāma Vācaspati, Kr̥ṣṇakānta Vidyālaṅkāra, Śrīrāma Nyāyavāgīśa, Kālīśaṅkara Nyāyavāgīśa, Smaraṇa Tarkālaṅkāra, Rāmahari Vidyālaṅkāra, Viśvanātha Nyāyālaṅkāra, Sadāśiva Nyāyālaṅkāra, Kr̥pārāma Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Viśveśvara Pañcānana, Rāmakānta Nyāyālaṅkāra, Rāmacandra Vidyāvāgīśa, Rāmanātha Tarkavāgīśa, Śaṅkara Tarkavāgīśa; Śrīkṣetra: Binduharaṇa Miśra, Dāmodara Miśra, Prabhākara Miśra, Durgādāsa Miśra, Kālikāprasāda Miśra; Mahārāṣṭra: Bhāskara Paṇḍita; Drāviḍa: Halāyudha Brahmacārin; Kāśīkṣetra: Manirāma Dikṣita, Śrīkr̥ṣṇa Dikṣita, Govindarāma Dikṣita, Gaura Dikṣita; Kanaj: Rasāla Śukra; Mithilā: Jīvanatārā Trivedin, Kr̥ṣṇadāsa Upādhyāya, Girijānātha Pāṭhaka; Puṭhiẏā: Ratinātha Nyāyavācaspati; Bām̐sabāṛiẏā: Rāmabhadra Siddhānta, Rāmanātha Vācaspati, Ātmyarāma Nyāyālaṅkāra; Māṭiṣāri [read: Māṭiẏāri]: Jagannātha Tarkapañcānana, Gaṅgādhara Tarkālaṅkāra, Muhara Vidyālaṅkāra, Rāmakānta Vidyālaṅkāra; Ambikā: Ayodhyārāma Vidyāvāgīśa, Kr̥ṣṇarāma Vidyālaṅkāra; Pāṭuligrām: Vāsudeva Vidyāvāgīśa, Prāṇakr̥ṣṇa Pañcānana; Bāklīgrām: Kr̥pārāma Tarkasiddhānta; Sāikuli: Balarāma Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmaśaṅkara Vācaspati, Haragovinda Vidyāvāgīśa; Louhajaṅga: Udayarāma Vidyābhūṣaṇa; Cakgrām: Rāmapati Tarkapañcānana; Damdamā: Dulāla Vidyālaṅkāra, Pañcānana Nyāyālaṅkāra; Barddhaman: Jagannātha Pañcānana, Śambhurāma Vidyālaṅkāra, Madhusūdana Vācaspati, Rudranārāyaṇa Vidyāvāgīśa, Rādhākānta Nyāyālaṅkāra; Bīrbhūm: Śrīkaṇṭha Tarkavāgīśa, Rāmagovinda Nyāyālaṅkāra, Senbhūm: Harihara Tarkabhūṣaṇa; Laṅgaṭākhāli: Ānandacandra Nyāyavāgīśa, Trilocana Nyāyavāgīśa; Rājabāṭi: Narasiṃha Vidyālaṅkāra, Rājendra Vidyāvāgīśa, Bhūṣṇā: Haranātha Śiromaṇi; Saṣedābād: Cirañjīva Pañcānana, Halāyudha Tarkapañcānana, Govindarāma Nyāyālaṅkāra, Pītāmbara Nyāyavāgīśa; Tribeṇī: Jagannātha Tarkapañcānana, Rāmānanda Nyāyavāgīśa, Rāmaśaṅkara Vācaspati, Kr̥ṣṇacandra Tarkasiddhānta; Kāmānpur [read: Kāmālpur]: Balarāma Tarkabhūṣaṇa; Mānakargobrā: Raghunātha Nyāyālaṅkāra; Caragrām: Rāmakiśora Nyāyālaṅkāra, Rādhākānta Nyāyavāgīśa; Māmudpur: Ghanaśyāma Tarkālaṅkāra, Govindarāma Sārvabhauma, Durgāprasāda Tarkasiddhānta; Bāiṭakāmāri: Rāmarāma Tarkasiddhānta, Rādhākānta Tarkasiddhānta, Śivaprasāda Tarkapañcāna, Raghunandana Vācaspati; Bāklā: Śrīkānta Vidyālaṅkāra, Rāmaratna Vidyāvāgīśa, Kālīprasāda Tarkasiddhānta, Kālīśaṅkara Vidyāvāgīśa, Lakmṣīnārāyaṇa Siddhānta, Kamalākānta Vidyābhūṣaṇa, Jagannātha Pañcānana, Hariprasāda Nyāyālaṅkāra, Puruṣ[o]ttama Nyāyālaṅkāra, Candrasekhara Tarkasiddhānta, Mādhava Siddhānta; Bikrampur Nattahāṭā: Rāmadāsa Siddhāntapañcānana; Dharagrām: Rāmakiośra Nyāyavāgīśa; Senāṭi Bhagilahāṭ: Rūparāma Bhaṭṭācārya, Viṣṇurāma Bhaṭṭācārya, Kāmadeva Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmamohana Bhaṭṭācārya, Gaṅgāprasāda Bhaṭṭācārya, Rājāvallabha Bhaṭṭācārya, Rādhākānta Bhaṭṭācārya, Nandarāma Bhaṭṭācārya, Jayarāma Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmakiśora Bhaṭṭācārya, Vīrevśara Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmaśaṅkara Bhaṭṭācārya, Kr̥ṣṇadeva Bhaṭṭācārya, Rukminīkānta Bhaṭṭācārya, Rājārāma Bhaṭṭācārya, Vāṇeśvara Bhaṭṭācārya, Bhavānīprasāda Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmaprasāda Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmeśvara Bhaṭṭācārya, Prāṇavallabha Bhaṭṭācārya, Devīprasāda Bhaṭṭācārya, Mr̥tyuñjaya Bhaṭṭācārya, Gaṅgāprasāda Bhaṭṭācārya; Kāṛhādiẏā: Rāmacandra Siddhāntapañcānana, Rūparāma Nyāyavāgiśa; Som Koṭ: Kr̥ṣṇadāsa Sārvabhauma, Raghunātha Siddhānta; Dhanukā: Kr̥ṣṇadāsa Sārvabhauma, Kr̥ṣṇanātha Tarkabhūṣaṇa; Khāgaṭiẏa: Śrīrāma Vācaspati, Kr̥ṣṇadāsa Nyāyālaṅkāra; Purāṇīẏā: Ratinātha Vācaspati; Kāñci: Kālīprasāda Dovedin, Prabhākara Cauvedin.
There may be something significant about the fact that both lists provide the names of 131 scholars. However, I am not able to determine what this might be.
Mandal (1953, pp. 443–446 no. 588). Although not edited as such by Mandal, I have read this heading as a compound. The term jāy is Persian, which means ‘account,’ ‘list,’ or ‘catalog’; it is used extensively in financial records of this period in Bengal.
While the list does not include a date, it was most likely compiled between 1807 and 1817: Jagannātha Tarkapañcānana of Tribeni (d. 1807) has not signed, despite the fact that others from Tribeni have signed it; and, it is signed by Śaṅkara Tarkavāgīśa (d. 1817). Mandal suggests a date of 1235 San in brackets in his reproduction of the document, but does not indicate why he posits this date.
McLean (1998, p. 38).
This is tentative because Hatcher (2005, p. 704) states that he is from Halisahar. Of course, Gaṅgādhara may have identified with another town for a variety of reasons.
The full list of names with the town name provided (in bold) are given here (Mandal 1953, pp. 443–446 no. 588): Navadvīp: Śankara Tarkavāgīśa, Śivanātha Nyāyavācaspati; Kamārhaṭṭa: Balarāma Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Śiśurāma Tarkapañcānana; Tribeṇī: Ramacā[n̐]da Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Kānāñi Nyāyavācaspati; Bām̐sabeṛyā: Vraja Vidyāvāgīśa, Rāmakiśora Tarkapañcānana, Bhairava Tarkavācaspati, Rāghava Tarkabhūṣaṇa; Śāntipur: Mohana Vidyāvācaspati; Kalikātā: Caturbhuja Nyāyaratna, Anantarāma Vidyāvāgīśa; Śālikā: Jagamohana Tarkasiddhānta; Janāñi: Abhayacaraṇa Tarkālaṅkāra; Cātrā: Rāmahari Tarkavāgīśa; Garakgāchā: Ramamohana Vidyālaṅkāra; Pān̐ḍṛā: Rāmahari Nyāyavācaspati; Haripāl: Ramadulāla Tarkapañcānana, Rāmacandra Tarkālaṅkāra, Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa Nyāyabhūṣaṇa, Kamala Tarkālaṅkāra, Durgāprasāda Vācaspati; Ān̐ṭpur: Rāmacaraṇa Nyāyālaṅkāra, Rāmānanda Nyāyalaṅkāra; Kaikālā: Śrīrāma Tarkabhūaṣaṇa; Bandipur: Kr̥ṣṇakānta Nyāyabhūṣaṇa; Sin̐gur: Vanamāli Tarkapañcānana; Paspur: Rāma Tarkālaṅkāra; Belmuṛi: Rāmahari Vidālaṅkāra, Kr̥ṣṇamohana Nyāyabhūṣaṇa; Bas: Rāmagovinda Nyāyavāgi[śa]; Jāmtāṛā: Rāmalocana Tarkapañcā[nana], Gorācān̐da Nyāyabhūṣaṇa, Kāśinātha Nyāyālaṅkāra; Copā: Ramalocana Śiromaṇi, Sadānanda Tarkavāgīśa, Kāmadeva Siddhānta; Vidyābatpur: Sarvānanda Nyāyavāgīaśa; Daśagharā: Ramacandra Tarkavāgīśa, Rāmanandana Śiromaṇi, Rāmamohana Vidyāvācaspati, Rāmanidhi Vidyālaṅkāra, Nandanandana Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Pañcānana Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Ānanda Śiromaṇi; Gopīnagar: Kālidāsa Tarkasiddhānta, Gadādhara Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Viśvanātha Nyāyālaṅkāra, Durgācaraṇa Nyāyālaṅkāra, Kr̥ṣṇa Tarkālaṅkāra, Gaurī Nyāyavāgīśa; Bāligaṛi: Kamala Tarkālaṅkāra, Gaṅgādhara Tarkavāgīśa, Kāśinātha Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Rāmacandra Tarkasiddhānta; Tārakeśvar: Ramākānta Tarkavāgīśa, Jagannātha Tarkabhūṣaṇa; Cautārā: Harekr̥ṣṇa Vācaspati; Malaẏpur: Rāmamohana Cūḍāmaṇi, Gayārāma Nyāyavāgīśa, Śaṅkara Śiromaṇi; Keśabpur: Vraja Siddhānta; Basantapur: Rāmamohana Tarkālaṅkāra, Rāmakānta Vidyāla[ṅkāra]; Balarāmpur: Nārāyaṇa Vidyāla[ṅkāra]; Hāṭbasantapur: Rāmānanda Nyāyālaṅkāra, Nr̥simha Vācaspati, Rāmasundara Tarkapañcānana; Mādhabpur: Rāmalocana Vidyāl[aṅkāra], Dulāla Pañcā[nana], Śobhārāma Vācaspati; Pratāpnagar: Sambhu Vidyāla[ṅkāra]; Rasulpur: Śrīkānta Śiro[maṇi], Umākānta Cuḍāmaṇi, Tinakaḍi Nyāyaratna, Muktārāma Vidyāsāgara; Ben̐gāi: Dayārāma Tarkacūḍāma[ṇi], Vecārāma Nyāyabhūṣaṇa, Rāmatanu Vidyābhūṣaṇa; Benepāṛa: Śrīrāma Nyāyālaṅkāra; Dharmapotā: Rāmatanu Nyāyālaṅkāra; Kr̥ṣṇanagar: Śivarāma Nyā[-], Bhavānīśaṇkara Śiroma[ṇi], Rājendra Tarkavāgīśa, Rāmamohana Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Rāmajaya Śiro[maṇi], Śiśurmāa Vācaspati, Śyāmānanda Tarkapañcānana, Rāghava Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Rāmaji Tarkālaṅkāra, Vraja Siddhānta; Khāmārgaci: Kāliprasāda Śiromaṇi, Rāmasundara Siddhāntavāgīśa; Beto: Ānandirāma Vidyālaṅkāra; Garoṭī: Rāmajaya Nyāyavāgīśa; Nanad: Rājīva Vidyābhūṣaṇa; Bākharcak: Rāmajaya Śiromaṇi, Rāmadayāla Tarkabhūṣaṇa, Rāmakiṅkara Tarkapañcānana; Tegaṛā: Dāmodara Tarkavāgīśa; Rāmnagar: Harṣarāma Nyāyā[laṅkāra]; Pāśaṇḍā: Rāmadāsa Nyāyapañcāna, Rāma Siddhānta; Rāmabāṭī: Harivaṃśa Nyāyabhūṣaṇa, Rāmavaṃśa Tarkālaṅkāra; Āngunā: Mānikyarāma Nyāyālaṅkāra; Śrīkr̥ṣṇapur: Rāmakānāñi Nyāyālaṅkāra, Jayanārāyaṇa Tarkabhūṣaṇa; Hariharpur: Viśvantāha Sārvabhauma; Sāknāṛā: Naśirāma Tarkapañcāna; Pān̐cṛā: Kamala Vidyāla[ṅkāra], Pañcānana Tarkasiddhānta, Rāmamohan Nyāyālaṅkā[ra]; Śrīrāmpur: Jan[ma]jaya Vidyālaṅkāra; Dīrghagrām: Vaikuṇṭharāma Vidyālaṅkāra; Doẏāṛi Gā[o̐?]: Yadu Sārvabhauma; Mirjāpur: Mānik Vidyālaṅkāra; Kāiti: Ratana Tarkapañcānana; Śādipur: Rāmadidhi Nyāyālaṅkāra, Yādava Tarkavāgīśa; Jyāṛā: Kāliprasāda Tarkasiddhānta, Rāmasundara Vidyabhūṣaṇa; Duẏārhāṭā: Gaṇeśa Vidyālaṅkāra; Govindacak: Hirārāma Tarkasarasvatī; Śyākhālā: Kr̥ṣṇamohana Nyāyālaṅkāra; Ben̐chi: Candra Vācaspati; Gon̐dolapāṛā: Rādhākr̥ṣṇa Tarkavāgīśa, Śaṅkara Tarkabhūṣaṇa; Bhadreśvar: Kāliśaṅkara Nyāyavāgīśa, Sambhu Vidyāsāgara, Tāriṇīcaraṇa Vidyālaṅkāra; Chaṭ Bainān: Gadādhara Vācaspati; Dāminyā: Rādhākānta Sārvabhau[ma].
I have retained the original spelling of the document’s title.
Mandal (1953, pp. 94–95). The names (along with their place of origin when given) listed in this document are: Bharatha Tarkavāgīśa, Rāmacandra Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmagopāla Bhaṭṭācārya, Nilakamala Mukhopādhyāya (of Bator), [Ś]ivacandra Vācaspati (of Kaikālā), Rāma Nyāyālaṅkāra, Madanamohana Tarkālaṅkāra, the son of Muktārāma Nyāyabhū[ṣ]aṇa (of Bālīgaṛi), Kamalakānta Vidyālaṅkāra (of Haripāl), Rāmamohana Nyāyavācaspati (of Bandīpur), Śivu Tarkavāgīśa (of Jeṣure), Haracandra Tarkavāgīśa (of Gaṛā), Rāma[ś]undara Vidyāsāgara, Harama[ṇ]i Śir[o]ma[ṇ]i (of Mohanbāṭi), Ṭhākuradā[ś]a Śir[o]ma[ṇ]i (of Somaspur), Bilvamaṅgala Tarkavāgīśa, Kāliprasāda Sidhyānta, Rāmamohana Nyāyavācaspati (of Haripāl), Rāmakamala Vidyāratna (of Haripāla), Śyāmācaraṇa Tarkabhūṣaṇa (of Haṛā), Govinda Nyāyavāgīśa (of Bandipur), [Ś]ivacandra Tarkavāgīśa, Madhusūdana Śiromaṇi, Rāmasundara Vidyāsāgara, Harama[ṇ]i Vidyālaṅkāra, Haracandra Tarkavāgīśa (of Kain̐kālā), Śrīrāma Nyāyālaṅkāra, Madana Tarkālaṅkāra, Haracandra Cūḍāmaṇi (of Bāligaṛi), Kamalākānta Tarkālaṅkāra (of Mohanbāṭī), Ṭhākuradāsa Tarkaśiroma[ṇ]i (of Somaspur), Viśvanātha Tarkavāgīśa, Kālinātha Tarkasiddhānta, Śivacandra Nyāyavācaspati.
Ibid, p. 351, no. 479. The three scholars are: Golokanātha Nyāyaratna (of Navadvip), Rāmajaya Tarkālaṅkāra (of Bahrā), and Rājanārāyaṇa Vidyālaṅkāra (of Cahtā).
Ibid: śrīman-navadvīpa-nivāsī golokanātha-nyāyaratna supaṇḍita….
See Raja (1971, p. 181), where thirty-three works are listed.
For some scholars, especially of the nineteenth century, their work may have been published in print. I remain sensitive to this possibility below.
Apte (2006, p. 382).
Dash (2013b, p. 241).
Bhattacharya (1952, p. 206).
Bhattacharya (1952, p. 194).
Raja (1973, p. 177) lists two scholars with this name with one work each, but I remain unsure if this is the same person as the nyāya scholar.
Raja and Veezhinathan (1983, pp. 103–104).
Raghavan (1968, p. 328).
Rocher (1995, p. 62).
Raja (1973, p. 135).
Following the spelling of Kumbhaghonam (Kumbhaghoṇam) given in Oppert (1880, p. vi).
For the manuscript in Mithila, see Dash (2013b, p. 228).
Raja and Veezhinathan (1983, p. 105).
Raja (1978, p. 278).
Mitra (1874, p. 50, no. 602).
Bhattacharya (1952, p. 217).
Dash (2011, p. 75).
Ibid, p. 73.
Bhattacharya (1952, pp. 220–221).
Ibid, p. 220.
Raja (1971, p. 181).
The date and location are based on Bhattacharya (1952, pp. 246–247).
Obviously, I am relying on the accuracy of Hultzsch and Oppert’s description of a manuscript.
Bhattacharya (1952, p. 201).
Unfortunately, the names of the villages are not given in the letter. Mandal (1953, p. 93, no. 135): …āmīh rāmāẏan [k]irttan pāṭh ārambha kariāchi kīntu laṅkākāṇḍa pustak ekhāne arpāpta [read: apāpta] haiāche ẏateb ṣunilām je āpkāder grāme ei pustak āche āpani mama piti[-]anugraha pikās kariñā [read: nikāś kariẏā] ei pustak ei lok samībhāri [read: samabhivyāhāre] pāṭhāiñe dibo āmī nakal kariñā mahāsae nikaṭ pāṭhāiñā dibo…. The term piti for ‘father’ is used in the Kamrup region (Goswami 1970: 80).
Ibid, pp. 100–101 no. 145): …san 1215 pandra sāl likhanaṃ kāryanañca āge san 1205 pāc sāl āmār śrīyuta pitā ṭhākur āpankār sthāne haite śrīśrībhāgavat puthi laiẏā āsīẏāchilen san 1213 sāle sehi puthi natubājār mokāme pāṭ [read: pāṭh] kariẏā ekhāne chilo sehi saṇe se puthi laiẏā saharer sebak bāṭīte rākhiẏāchi prabāṣ kariẏā jāibār kale saha[r] haite puthi laiẏā apaṇkār nikaṭ dībo … etad-arthe ekbār patra dīlām iti tārikh 20 baiśākh—.The five witnesses to Mānikcandra’s letter are: Guruprasāda Devaśarman (of Sāmukh); Gauramohana Devaśarman (of Nāsigām); Jayadeva Dāsa (of Sāmukh); Vadana candra Dāṣa (of Sāmukh); and Nilācala Bahaṛa (of Sāmukh). Religious texts were often read in public settings. A document written by a Kāśīnātha Vidyāvāgīśa mentions that someone came to his home in Shimulia (Pabna district) in order to invite him to a reading of the Purāṇa (purān pāṭh). This may be short-hand for the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. This letter is dated to approximately 1825 (Miya 1991, p. 134 no. 116).
I have retained the original spelling from the document.
Mandal (1953, pp. 118–119, no. 158)
Ibid, p. 87, no. 125.
Ibid: 121–122, nos. 160, 161.
Mandal (1953, p. 117, no. 157): nānādigdeśīyad[v]ijakulasantatipratipālakātiprabalapracaṇḍārisamūhasamulaghātak[o] daśarathopama śrīlaśrīyuktamahārājādhirājarājā pratāpacandrarāẏabāhādur doradaṇḍapratāpanbitayūdhiṣṭīravat mahākāntīprakā[ś]ak[o] barābareṣu. ambikā sākīmer śrīrāmalocaṇanyāẏabāgīśer āraj nibedan. mahārājādhirājarājār kī[r]ttī naba kailāṣ nikaṭ ṭol caupāṛi kariẏā katak[k]ulin brārhmaṇ [sic] santāṇdirge nyāẏaśāstra adhyāpanā karitechi kintu ṅihādige nirbbāha ebaṃ ātma paribār nirbbāha atisaẏ dvārtha haiteche mahārājādhirājarājā bāhādurer pūrbba pursuer dartta [read: datta] bhūmi sakal kompānite baje-āpte kariyāche ihāte param dukhī haiẏachi ata eb kāṅk[ṣ]ita anugraha dvārā āmi pratipālita hai ei nibedanam iti san 1243 sāl—tārikh—6 caitra—[on right side] śrīrāmalocanadevaśarmanaḥ. [on left side] bād molāhejā hukum hailo je—barddhamāner rājadhāni pouchiẏa caupāṛir tarttvābadhāne [sic] monajog haibek iti san 1243 | tārikh—7—caitra—.
This imposter was first arrested in January 1836 and sentenced in August of the same year for six months. After release, he agitated again in April 1838 but was subsequently arrested and convicted in 1838–39, see McLane (1993, pp. 320–322).
Ibid, pp. 313–317.
Hatcher (2005, pp. 705–706).
For larger reflections on the “genre” of the petition in colonial India, see Balachandan and Raman (2018, p. 11).
For an overview of the phrase ‘Sanskrit knowledge-systems,’ see Pollock (2008).
Ganeri (2011, pp. 52–56).
Wright (2017).
Ganeri (2011, pp. 88, 249).
Krishna (1997a).
Ganeri (2011, p. 10).
Kālīśaṅkara refers to the Tattvacintāmaṇi as the root text (ity mūlam). And, he refers to Raghunātha as ‘Śiromaṇi’ and to Gadādhara as ‘Bhaṭṭācārya.’ The passage from Gaṅgeśa’s Tattvacintāmaṇi is found in Tatacharya (1985, pp. 7, 11). Raghunātha and Gadādhara’s passages are found in Tatacharya (1985, pp. 7–8). Kālīśaṅkara’s text reads (Dvivedin 1921, p. 55): na ca yasya saṃśayavyatirekaniścayau pravr̥ttipratibandhakau tanniścayas taddhetur anumitau vyāpter iveti mūlam. yasya saṃśayavyatirekaniścayau yad vyatirekasaṃśayaniścayau iti śiromaṇiḥ. atra pare tv ityādinā ghaṭasya saṃśaya ityādau svāvacchinnapratibadhyatānirūpitapratibandhakatāvacchedakatvasāmānādhikaraṇyobhayasambandhena viṣayitāviśiṣṭaviṣayitāśālijñānaṃ saṃśayapadārthaḥ caramaviṣayitāyām eva ṣaṣṭhyarthasya nirūpakatvasya nirūpyatvasya vānvaya ity uktam bhaṭṭācāryeṇa.
Misra and Shastri (1933, p. 25): viṣayatā ca svarūpasambandhaviśeṣo jñānādīnāṃ viṣayeṇa na tv atiriktā mānābhāvād iti prāñcaḥ. tad asat.
The phrase is from Ganeri (2011, p. 249). Unfortunately, much work needs to be undertaken again in order to recover the painstakingly detailed work of Dineshchandra Bhattacharya in the 1940s (see Bhattacharya 1952). A new survey of manuscripts held in private libraries of Navadvip and Bikrampur is critical to the start of such a project.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Hugo David and Jonathan Duquette for their critical readings of this essay. Any remaining shortcomings are my own. I would also like to thank TGISLAB Ahmedabad for the splendid maps they created for this essay. Finally, thanks to the British Library for digitizing a rare book.
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Appendix
Appendix
See Maps 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Source Data points based on Sen (1297 [c. 1891 CE], pp. 58–61)
Towns and cities listed in the legal judgement issued from Rajnagar c. 1750.
Source See Map 1
Place-names of Bengal listed in the legal judgement issued from Rajnagar c. 1750. I am unable to locate: Bakligram, Sasedabad, Manakargobra, Caragram, Karhadiya, Som Kot, Khagatiya, and Puraniya.
Source Data points from Mandal (1953, pp. 443–446 no. 588)
Place-names given in ‘List of Brahman Pandits’ c. 1807–1817. I am not able to locate a number of small towns (districts unknown): Bamsaberya, Pandra, Bas, Vidyabatpur, Beto, Garoti, Nanad, Tegara, Doyari Gao, Mirjapur, Jyara, Govindacak, Benchi, and Gondolapara.
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Wright, S. Scholar Networks and the Manuscript Economy in Nyāya-śāstra in Early Colonial Bengal. J Indian Philos 49, 323–359 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-020-09449-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-020-09449-8