Gaudapedia

The historical meeting of the Brahmin Acharya & the Kshatriya Nripati at Madhavpasha Katyayani temple, art by Trisha Majumder   Baṅgādhipati Mahārājā Śrī DanujamardanaDēva takes a vow to establish Dharm'marājya after seeking blessings from Acharya Chandrashekhar, Madhavpasha Katyayani Mandir  __________________________________________ The rise of military Hindu power in Bengal in the fifteenth century was inspired by the countrymen of the Bandyavamśīẏa Brāhmaṇa Achāryya Śrī Chandrasekhara Chakrabarttī, historically known as " Chandracharya ". He was the kulguru of Bāṅgālādhīśwara Mahārājā Śrī Danujamardan Ramnath Deva as well as the learned chief member of the Chandradwip Royal Court.  A portrait of Maharaja Sri Danujamarddana Ramanatha Deva, by Ritingkar Datta Choudhury The traditional Aryan culture of India was endangered due to the continuous anti-religious persecution of Delhi Sultanate and Jaunpur Sultanate. He realized that all the H...

Sekhmet (Ⲥⲁⲭⲙⲓ) was an ancient Egyptian war-goddess who was undoubtedly one of the most important goddesses in the Egyptian pantheon. As the deity of the ancient Egyptian pagan culture, he bears a remarkable resemblance to the deity of the Bengalis, Chō̂ndi. The Coptic Egyptians described the goddess Sekhmet as 'Mutaitis Lydima' (Sekhmet - the Bloodthirsty). Debi Chō̂ndi is always called "Rudhirapriya" in the Shakta culture of Bengal. Sekhmet was mainly idolized as a legion of lions, but in the sycamore forest of the Sinai Peninsula (سينا, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ) in northern Egypt, she was deified as a tiger goddess, protecting the forest's inhabitants from tiger attacks.  In Bengal Goddess Chō̂ndi is always worshiped riding a lion, but in the Sundarbans forest of the Gangetic Delta in South Bengal she is worshiped as the tiger goddess Bō̂nō̂chō̂ndi. She is worshiped to protect the forest dwellers from tiger attacks. Due to the violent and demoni...

In his 1931 Sir Ashutosh Memorial Lecture titled "Swaraj in Ideas," Indian philosopher KC Bhattacharya lamented the impact of colonialism on India. He was extremely worried about two outcomes;  The first was the enslavement of the mind, which he considered worse than political subjection, which merely restricted the "outer life of the people," whereas in the case of mind, "slavery begins when one ceases to feel the evil, & it deepens when the evil is accepted as good." The second harmful consequence for him was the replacement of the real mind with the shadow mind, "that functions like a real mind except in the manner of genuine creativeness." ~ KC Bhattacharya, Swaraj in Ideas, published in Visvabharati Quarterly (1954). Some excerpts from KC Bhattacharya's 1928(!!) essay, "Swaraj in Ideas." Mandatory reading. "There is no gainsaying the fact that this Western culture-- which means an entire system of ideas and...

⛵ Saptagram was an ancient port of India, located in Hooghly district of West Bengal. By 4th century, the town was a great trading centre. The name 'Saptagram' means seven villages and they are identified as: Kristapur, Basudebpur, Nityanandapur, Sibpur, Sambachora and Baladghati, and Bansberia. The port city was called 'Tcharitrapura' by Fa-Hien, it was called "a royal city of immense size" by Ptolemy in 2nd century. During the Pālā and Sena eras, the city must have had trade relations with SE Asia, China, Japan, Korea. It is also quite possible that the earliest Bengali merchants & missionaries have travelled from this port to as far as Japan to promote their trade & missionary activities. In the contemporary Portuguese chronicles Saptagram is mentioned as "Porto de Pequeno". The way Vasco da Gama reached India, a microroute of the same can be seen how Portuguese settlers came from Goa to Bengal. Especially when they...

Arjuna battles RajaTamradhvaja, Folio via Razmnama. ca. 1616-17 During the Mahabharata era, in the south-western region of Bengal there existed a wealthy powerful kingdom named Tamralipta, whose capital was Ratnanagar. The kingdom was ruled a great and pious Mahishya-Kshatriya king called Mayurdhwaja. The king was indeed a great warrior. He had a valiant son called prince Tamradhwaja. The king was also performing a horse sacrifice and Tamradhwaja was guarding the horse. Arjuna's horse happened to stray into the kingdom. Tamradhwaja saw the new horse and caught it. He asked his warriors to capture the horse and then he would face the son of Pandu. Arjuna hearing this got ready for a fight. Vrishaketu entered the battlefield. He said This horse belongs to Yudhistira and has the blessing of Krishna. Who dared to capture this? Tamradhwaja said Krishna blesses all who seek his protection. My father Maharaja Sri Mayurdhwaja is performing the horse sacrifice and I ...

|| Phanindra Nath Banerjee aka Nath Babu - The Trainer of Muktibahinis of East Bengal and annexor of Sikkim to the Indian mainland|| CSB Phanindra Nath Banerjee The legendary Indian Police Service officer serving as Commissioner (Eastern Zone) of the Special Bureau (field formation of the Research and Analysis Wing) in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the period 1968-1974. He took big part in Bangladesh Liberation War, training the Mukti Bahini, he was the main man behind the connection between Indira Gandhi and Sk Mujib. He also took part in Sikkim's annexation to India. Sadly only this picture of him is available. Born in a Kulin Rarhiya Bramhan family in Kolkata, PN Banerjee had his MA and BL degree from the Presidency College and University Law College, Calcutta, respectively. He got appointed into the IPS through the Emergency Recruitment Scheme on 15 August 1949.Thereafter he served as S.P. of Bankura and in Tripura. He joined central deputation on 4 February...

Traditional attire of Warriors of Bengal/Gauda. From ancient period to medieval period , Gauda warriors used to have 16 types of weapons . (There is more than 16 types of weapon, usually a set contains 16 types which also includes warrior ornaments). Some of the ornaments are:  - Hoda - Ghonta mala (bell)  - Bagha-pati  - Bala (bracelet)  - Bahuti (armlet)  Apart from these many weapons included in the set of Gauda warriors. Eg: Kharpara , Dhaal (shield) , Ulotadhaar Tarabari (reverse edged sword). Ten God and Goddess were Kshetra-pala of ten directions during the expedition of Gauda warriors. Simply each direction is dedicated to one God .  Eg: During expedition to Aishanya direction, the Dhali-s worship Maa Chamunda and she provides them power to focus on the battle. ( ● )   Bengali Infantry Army : In the Gauda Empire the infantrymen mainly served as foot soldiers from peasant & pastoral backgrounds. Soldiers from Kaibarttya, Mahishya...

In the list of Military castes cited in the 1891 census general report, the Aguris (Ugra Kshatriyas), Poliyas (Pundra Kshatriyas) & Koches (Vanga Kshatriyas) were selected as the Martial castes of Bengal.  * 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐲𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 * The Mahishyas (Chandravamsha) are the early noted Bengali martial caste in the British chronicles. The combined army of Tamaluk & Mahishadal Estates formed the Mahishya regiment in British Indian Bengal Army. They were trained in advanced western military training. Ruins of the Tamaluk Rajbari The Mahishya Regiment was charged to suppress the mutiny of tyrant Tipu Sultan in Mysore where the brave soldiers of Bengali Mahishya regiment showed excellent dexterity in battlefield. British General John Shore thankfully honoured the Maharaja of Tamaluk for this military favour. The Royal Palace of Mahishadal Estate   ● Bengali Kshatriya (martial caste) surnames - * Singha * Aditya   *...

Reconstruction of the Royal Palace of Maharaja Sitaram Ray [1658-1714], the Hindu ruler of Bhushana kingdom. The palace is situated in Magura, Khulna, BD. He battled & defeated the Mughal forces of Aurangzeb 3 times & established independent Hindu rule in Bengal.  Raja Sitaram annexed all the zamindars in the north up to the Padma, and even some portions to the north of Padma in the district of Pabna. To the north of Satair lay the jagir of a Pathan named Daulat Khan. After the demise of Daulat Khan Pathan, the estate broke into four parganas – Nasibshahi, Nusratshahi, Mahimshahi & Belgachhi. Portrait of Maharaja Sitaram Ray made by @Gandaberunda4 Raja Sitaram invaded Nasibshahi when the battle for succession was taking place among the sons of Daulat Khan. Sitaram defeated Nasibshahi in the battle of Malanchigram and the battle of Kalikapur.  After defeating the other sons of Daulat Khan, Sitaram annexed all four parg...

Hotee Vidyalankar was a Bengali Hindu Brahmin widow who established a School in Varanasi for ALL women. She taught Poetry, Law, Mathematics and Ayurveda. She was awarded the title "Vidyalankar" by Kashi Pandits. ● "Another Brahmana lady Hoti Vidyalankar was so erudite that like other eminent male scholars, she appeared in the meeting of Pandits and discussed Shastric matters". Source: Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar,a story of his life and work ( Subal Chandra Mitra 1902) ● William ward, a contemporary Englishman, writes about Hoti Vidyalankar in his book published in 1811. He says-"At length Hoti began to teach others, & obtained a number of pupils from all over the country. She is now universally known as Vidyalankara" (learning is her ornament). ● "Hoti Vidyalankar, an 18th century Child widow of Kulin Hindu brahmana family, was proficient in Sanskrit literature, philosophy and law. She ran a chatuspathi (center of learning) in Benares...