Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
Year : 2019, Volume : 10, Issue : 1
First page : ( 235) Last page : ( 240)
Print ISSN : 0975-6795. Online ISSN : 2321-5828.
Article DOI : 10.5958/2321-5828.2019.00043.3

The Brahmans of Mithila before the PañjiPrabandha

Thakur Nisha*

Assistant Professor, Department of History, Adamas University, Barasat, Kolkata, West Bengal

*Corresponding Author Email: nishathakur.jnu@gmail.com

Online published on 15 May, 2019.

Abstract

Genealogies are composed in order to validate the present by confirming the past. The panji Prabandha introduced during the fourteenth century was a landmark in the history of the north Bihar. They contain details on the ancestry of an individual in order to establish his relationship with another person, his association with a lineage, or membership in a particular social group. If we presuppose that Brahmins by registering the ancestries and understanding their past to establish a future plan then how was their condition before its promulgation. The Brahmins of Mithila (Cultural zone in the north Bihar) are one of the five Brahmins in north India (Panca-Gaudas). They are presently the most powerful class in north Bihar and the majority of land is under their possessions. It is also said that it is only in Mithila, the Bhudevas(land owners) and the Bhupalas(land protectors) have combined their power. They were the rulers as well as the priestly class. It is also worth mentioning that till the nineteenth century, Sanskrit continued to be the official language in the courts of Maithili rulers in which these rulers were experts. My paper aims to seek the origin of Brahmins in Mithila before the promulgation of genealogies (the Pañji Prabandha).

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Keywords

Pañji, Mithila, North Bihar, Migration, Assimilation, Contestations.

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