This book is a collection of some of the published papers of the author, published mostly abroad, and unravels some significant yet hitherto neglected aspects of history, culture and religion of Bihar and Bengal: two areas that were connected through an intricate network of rivers. Themes looked into are: early historic urbanisation in the Mithilā plains of North Bihar; the social history of Brahmanical religious institutions (temples and Mathas) in early medieval Bihar and Bengal; the social history of Buddhist monasticism in early medieval Bihar and Bengal; the integration of a local goddess into the institutional fabric of Mahayana Buddhism; the survival of Buddhism in the thirteenth and fourteenth century AD; pilgrimage from Central India and Deccan to a Hindu pil grimage centre of Bihar in the medieval period; and the debate on the Islamisation of medieval eastern Bengal. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
In the religious landscape of early medieval (c. AD 600-1200) Bihar and Bengal, poly-religiosity was generally the norm than an exception, which entailed the evolution of complex patterns of inter-religious equations. Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jainism not only coexisted but also competed for social patronage, forcing them to enter into complex interactions with social institutions and processes. Through an analysis of the published archaeological data, this work explores some aspects of the social history of Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina temples and shrines, and Buddhist stūpas and monasteries in early medieval Bihar and Bengal. This archaeological history of religions questions many ‘established’ textual reconstructions, and enriches our understanding of the complex issue of the decline of Buddhism in this area. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Struggles are inbuilt in the system of human life and they automatically start the moment anyone takes birth. On the other side, life is precious and only a one-time gift of God with no provision for ‘Retake’ or ‘Once More’. Hence, whatever any individual wants to do, has to be done in this short life only. In order to achieve anything, one has to properly plan one’s goals or dreams and has to work hard and struggle continuously with rock-like strong determinations and be ready to accept all challenges and threats of life. Failures are bound to come in the way, but one should not be upset by that, rather try to learn lessons from those failures. Moreover, one has to continuously reset one’s goals, re-channelize energy levels, boost up moral strengths and confidence and fight back until success is achieved. Struggles that people normally undertake could be of any of the following kind: i. Struggle for Existence ii. Struggle for Survival iii. Struggle for Success iv. Struggle for Excellence They depend on the results one expects out of one’s struggles. This book revolves around the themes of “Struggle for Success” and “Struggle for Excellence” and makes sincere attempts to provide readers with necessary guidelines and time-tested principles with the help of numerous interesting and real-life incidents, examples and heart-melting stories of a young man who, under all adverse circumstances, decides to struggle hard to be successful and ultimately to achieve excellence in life…
Sautar is an indigenous tribe residing mainly in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. Sautars belong to the Proto-Australoid racial group. Both men and women of the Sautar community are masters in archery. They are often considered a martial community by the masses. Since they are skilled fighters, they were often hired by the commoners during fights. Due to this practice, several Sautars were killed. In Bihar, Sautar is one of the major communities, forming a majority of the state's tribal population. The Sautar mostly speak Sautari, a member of the Munda language family. In Bihar, the Sautars are mostly landless. Though, some people from the tribe engage themselves in agriculture. This community has fallen prey to ignorance in the process of socialisation. The ignorance of the Sautar community developed gradually when most of their people were converted to Christianity. Some also became followers of Chauvinism. Due to this religious conversion, their original beliefs and culture got destroyed. In the cultural structure of India, the cultural identity and values of Sautars were ignored. This book is an attempt by the author to present the few aspects and facts behind the problems being faced by this community.
This book is a collection of some of the published papers of the author, published mostly abroad, and unravels some significant yet hitherto neglected aspects of history, culture and religion of Bihar and Bengal: two areas that were connected through an intricate network of rivers. Themes looked into are: early historic urbanisation in the Mithilā plains of North Bihar; the social history of Brahmanical religious institutions (temples and Mathas) in early medieval Bihar and Bengal; the social history of Buddhist monasticism in early medieval Bihar and Bengal; the integration of a local goddess into the institutional fabric of Mahayana Buddhism; the survival of Buddhism in the thirteenth and fourteenth century AD; pilgrimage from Central India and Deccan to a Hindu pil grimage centre of Bihar in the medieval period; and the debate on the Islamisation of medieval eastern Bengal. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
In the religious landscape of early medieval (c. AD 600-1200) Bihar and Bengal, poly-religiosity was generally the norm than an exception, which entailed the evolution of complex patterns of inter-religious equations. Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jainism not only coexisted but also competed for social patronage, forcing them to enter into complex interactions with social institutions and processes. Through an analysis of the published archaeological data, this work explores some aspects of the social history of Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina temples and shrines, and Buddhist stūpas and monasteries in early medieval Bihar and Bengal. This archaeological history of religions questions many ‘established’ textual reconstructions, and enriches our understanding of the complex issue of the decline of Buddhism in this area. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
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