The Bengali Brahmins are those Hindu Brahmins who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Bangladesh. When the British left India in 1947, carving out separate nations (see partition), a number of families moved from the Muslim-majority East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to be within the borders of the newly defined Republic of India, and continued to migrate for several decades thereafter.
In the 19th (held at Prayag) and 20th (held at Lucknow) national convention of Kanyakubja Brahmins by Kanyakubja Mahati Sabha, in 1926 and 1927 respectively, it appealed for unity among Kanyakubja Brahmins whose different branches included Sanadhya, Pahadi, Jujhoutia, Saryupareen, Chattisgarhi, Bhumihar Brahmins and different Bengali Brahmins. Historically, the Bengali Brahmins have been the standard bearers of Madhyadeshiya culture in Bengal (Madhyadesh is the historic-cultural region of the upper Ganges–Yamuna doab which was the seat of Panch-Gauda brahmins).
Bengali Brahmins are categorized as Pancha-Gauda Brahmins (the Brahmins who traditionally lived to the north of the Vindhyas).
The earliest historically verifiable presence of brahmins in Bengal can be ascertained from Dhanaidaha copper-plate inscription of Kumargupta 1 of the Gupta Year 113 (433 C.E.) which records the grant of land to a brahmin named Varahasvamin of the Samavedi school. A copper-plate grant from the Gupta period found in the vicinity of Somapura mentions a Brahmin donating land to a Jain vihara at Vatagohali. Literary sources like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Jain and Buddhist works, however record the presence of brahmins in various parts of Bengal during earlier periods. Historical evidence also attests significant presence of Brahmins in Bengal during the Maurya period. The Jain Acharya Bhadrabahu, regarded to be the preceptor of Chandragupta Maurya is said to have been born in Brahmin family of Pundravardhana ( or Puṇḍra, the region north of the Ganges and west of Brahmaputra in Bengal, later known as Vārendra). Such evidences suggest Puṇḍra or Vārendra and regions west of Bhagirathi (called Radha in ancient age) to be seats of brahmins from ancient times; Rādhi and Varendra are still chief branches of Bengali brahmins settled in these regions. Medium to large scale migrations of Brahmins from various parts of India like Mithila, Kanyakubja region, Kolancha, southern India and Pushkar in Rajasthan, among other places, occurred from time to time, especially during Palaand Sena periods.
Traditionally, Bengali brahmins are divided into the following categories:
- Rādhi from Radh (region south-west of the Ganges)
- Varendra, from Vārendra region (North-East) or Puṇḍra. Vārendra originally meant rain-maker magicians.
- Vaidika (migrants, originally experts of Vedic knowledge)
- Paschatya Vaidika (Vedic brahmins from west of Bengal)
- Dakshinatya Vaidika (Vedic brahmins from south of Bengal)
- Vaidyas (Saraswats who practiced and taught medicine )
- Madhya Sreni (brahmins of the midland country)
- Shakdvipi/ Grahavipra (migrant brahmins of Shakdvipa in Central Asia)
- Saptaśati
The different brahmin communities of Bengal have their own traditional accounts of origin, which are generally found in various genealogical texts known as kulagranthas or kulapanjikas. Other details may also be obtained from court chronicles of various kings of Bengal. Important writers are Harimishra (13th century C.E), Edu Mishra (13th century C.E), Devivara Ghatak (15th century C.E), Dhruvananda Mishra (post 15th century C.E), Vachaspati Mishra, Rajendralal Mitra among others.
- Radhi and Varendra
The traditional origin of both Radhi and Varendra brahmins has been attributed to a king named Ādiśūra who is said to have invited five Brahmins from Kolancha (as per Edu Mishra and Hari Mishra ) and/or from Kanyakubja, (as per Dhruvananda Mishra) so that he could conduct a yajña, because he could not find Vedic experts locally. Some traditional texts mention that Ādiśūra was ancestor of Ballāl Sena from maternal side and five brahmins had been invited in 1077 C.E. Other texts like Varendrakulapanjika, Vachaspati Mishra's account and Edu Mishra's account attribute a date of 732 C.E for the migration. Additionally, other sources like Sambandhanirnaya, Kulanrava and others attribute various dates like 942 C.E, 932 C.E and others.
Historians have located a ruler named Ādiśūra ruling in north Bihar, but not in Bengal . But Ballāl Sena and his predecessors ruled over both Bengal and Mithila (i.e., North Bihar). It is unlikely that the brahmins from Kānyakubja may have been invited to Mithila for performing a yajña, because Mithila was a strong base of brahmins since Vedic age. However some scholars have identified Ādiśūra with Jayanta, a vassal chief of the Gauda king around middle of 8th century C.E. and is also referred to as a contemporary of Jayapida (779 to 812 C.E) of Kashmir (grandson of Lalitaditya) in Kalhana's Rajatarangini.
- Paschatya Vaidikas
Traditionally they are believed to have migrated from Kanyakubja (or Kanauj), the traditional origin of both Radhi and Varendra brahmins, to Bengal via Tirhoot, during the commencement of Muslim rule in India. Most of the vaidikas were invited by Hindu chiefs and rajas who used to rule in various parts of Bengal during the Muslim ascendancy. As per one account, a king called Shyamal Varma, invited five Brahmins from Kānyakubja who became the progenitors of the Paschatya Vaidika Brahmins. They have gotras found in the Brahmin community of Kanyakubj (Bharadwaj, Garga, Gautam, Katatayan, Kaushik, Kashyap, Krishnatreya, Rathitara, Parashar, Sankrityayan, Shandilya, Savarna, Srivats, Shaunak, Vashista, Valmiki, Upmanyu).
- Dakshinatya Vaidikas
Traditionally it is believed that during his reign, Vijaya Sena (1097 to 1160 C.E), brought brahmins from South India to Bengal, who integrated themselves with the varendra barhmins and came to be known as Dakshinatya vaidika barahmins. Other texts say that it was during the Chalukya invasion of Gauda under Vikramaditya VI (1076–1126 CE) that brahmins from south came and settled in Bengal.
Kulin Brahmins are those Brahmins in Bengal who can trace themselves to the five families of Kanauj (Kanyakubja), Uttar Pradesh who migrated to Bengal. The five families were of the five different gotras (Shandilya, Bharadwaj, Kashyap, Vatsya and Saavarna). They are widely believed to be at the apex of Bengal's caste hierarchy.
The kulin families are further divided into two sections:
Barendra : Belonging to those families who settled at the north or north east region of the Ganges or Padma river. Rarhi : Belonging to those families who settled at the south or southwest region of the Ganges or Padma river.
- Varendra, from Varendra region (NE&E Bengal (Bangladesh))
- Rādhi' from Radh (SE Bengal, approximately modern West Bengal SW of the Ganges.
- Vaidika, migrant brahmins from other parts of India.
Other minor divisions are :
- Saptaśati
- Pirāli
- Patita
It is believed that the Brahmins of Bengal adapted kulinism from a similar hierarchical system used by the Brahmins of Mithilā, although Kānyakubja and more especially Saryupāriya were also highly scrupulous. The five original Brahmins belonged to five gotras : Śāndilya, Kāśyapa, Vatsa, Bhārdvāja, Sāvarṇa Both Brahmins and Kayasthas in Bengal have followed a system that ranks the clans hierarchically. The Kulinas formed the higher ranking clans.
- Rādhi Rādhi (also Rāṭhi in some old texts) is the major branch of Western Bengali brahmins . The descendants of these five Pancyājñika brahmins were hierarchically organised into three categories :
- Śrotriya is the second rank among the descendants of these five brahmins because they were deft in Vedic knowledge but were considered to be somewhat inferior to the Kulina brahmins (possessing 8 out of 9 noble qualities).
- Vamśaja is the third rank which was a result of kulinas marrying outside kulinas.
Major titles adopted by the high Rādhi brahmins :
- Mukhopādhyāya and its adaptation Mukherjee a Kulin brahmin
- Bandopādhyāya and its adaptation Banerjee a Kulin brahmin
- Chattopādhyāya and its adaptation Chatterjee a Kulin brahmin
- Gangopādhyāya and its adaptation Ganguli / Ganguly a Kulin brahmin
- Bhattāchārya and its adaptation Bhattacharya/ Bhattacharjee a Kulin brahmin
- Goswami and its adaptation Swami of ones own Gow / further Gow stands for 5 Sense of human body, so sanyasins are those who can master their own senses. a Kulinbrahmin
Jāti-Bhāṣkar mentions that those who were given grants along the Ganges by Ballāl Sena were called Gangopādhyāya (literally 'the Vedic teachers in the regions around the Ganges').
Mukhopādhyāya means chief Vedic teacher. Bandopādhyāya is a Sanskritized form of 'Banodha + upādhyāya', Banodha being the ancient name of Raebareli-Unnāva whence their ancestors had come from.
Bhattāchārya meant 'expert of Vedic rituals'. This was an honorary title awarded to a Rādhi, Vārendra or Vaidika brahmin who excelled in spiritual and vedic matters. The Bhattāchārya's are generally referred to as the Hindu Priests in Bengal.
Goswami is a typically a title bestowed on people who choose the path of Sannyasa. The sanyasins or disciples of Adi Shankaracharya are also called "Dash Nam" as the Title Goswami is further divided into ten groups viz. Giri, Puri, Bharti, Ban, Aranya, Sagar, Aashram, Saraswati, Tirth, Yogi and Parwat. These all dashnam Goswamis are associated with four Math in four corners of India, established by Adi Shankaracharya. Initially all the disciples were Sanyasins who embraced sanyas either after marriage or without getting married. Since, sanyasins are considered as Brahmin therefore during the course of time, those who embraced married life on the order of their guru and their decedents are considered Brahmins with the surname Goswami. Being a Goswami Sanyasin includes a vow of celibacy. Some religious traditions use the title Swami for those who had never married, and Goswami for those who had been married in that life and vow not to marry again. This is also the source of the surname Gosain. Goswami can also refer to an individual from the Brahmin caste of the Hindu religion.
These brahmins also claim descent from five original brahmins, although four out of five names are different, and they are also hierarchically organised into three groups :
(1) Śri Kulin comprising Bāgchi, Chākrāborty (Chākrāvārti), Lāhiri, Māitra, Bhāduri, Sānyal, etc.
(2) Śrotriya have Nanda, Bhato Shāstri, Karanja, Laduli, Navasi, etc.
(3) Kaṣṭa Kulin comprising 85 gains (villages given in grant by Sena kings).
Another intermediate order is called Kāpa (originally Kulin but negligent in duty) which is between first two.
Other famous titles of Bengali Kulin brahmins are Bhattāchārya,Roy, Choudhary, Roy Chowdhury,Mishra,etc. There were many big landlords among Vārendra and Rādhi brahmins alike, bearing titles such as Roy and Roy Chowdhury. While Bhattāchārya literally meant 'experts of Vedic rituals', the Rāi/Roy, Choudhary, and Roy Chowdhury were administrative titles, conferred not only on the Brahmin landlords, Rajas and/or zamindars, but also to landlords from other castes who owned and administered vast landed properties.
These are of two types :
- Dākṣiṇātyas, coming from Orissa & Andhra originally but now part and parcel of Bengali brahmins.
- Pāschātyas, coming from western and northern India originally but now part of Bengali brahmins.
These were experts of Vaidika knowledge who were invited to Bengal in different ages, later than the original five brahmins from which Rādhi brahmins originated.
Before the coming of Five Brahmins, there were 700 houses of brahmins in Bengal, but now they are few. They were less learned than the migrants and therefore were deprived of patronage Some of them mixed with the immigrants, which explains their decline in relative population. Many Saptaśatis became priests of lower castes and were labelled as Agradāni and grahavipra Main titles are Arath, Bālkhāvi, Jagāye, Pikhoori, Mulkajoori, Bhagāye, Gāi, etc.
- Pirāli : literally, boycotted Brahmins. Some kulin Brahmins mixed with Muslims in eating and other activities and were therefore boycotted by the orthodox sections. Prominent among these were Thākurs, anglicised as Tagores. Thākurs literally meant lords and were big landowners.
- Patita : Some Bengali Brahmins were publicly declared to be fallen Brahmins.
- Chakraborty (Chakravarti) is a title suitable for emperors granted to some Bengali Brahmins.
Another peculiar title is Chir Kori or Chir Koḍi.
Bengali Brahmins showed positive results for only three Y-Haplogroups R1a1, R2a and H1. Y-Haplogroups and their respective percentages are shown in the following table.
| R1a1 | R2a | H1 |
|---|---|---|
| 72.22% | 22.22% | 5.56% |
Haplogroup R1a1, which has originated either in South Asia or Central Asia or Eastern Europe is the most prevalent haplogroup amongst the Bengali Brahmins. The haplogroup is associated with the spread of the Indo-European culture in Indian sub-continent. A very high percentage of 72.22% among Bengali Brahmins which is also one of the highest found frequencies within world groups hints at its presence as a founder lineage for this caste group.
The kulinist system degenerated during the 18-19th century and is no longer popular. The British occupation of Bengal radically transformed the Bengali culture. Bengal has now gone through two centuries of Christian missionary efforts and a quarter century of a Marxist government in the state of West Bengal. Bengal was divided by the British colonial rulers. Eastern Bengal was a Muslim majority region which resulted in the first partition of Bengal in 1905, and then final partition in 1947. Although the interaction with the British resulting in what is termed the Bengal Renaissance (almost wholly Brahmin) it altered the hold of traditional mainstream Hinduism in the region.
Many Bengali Brahmin family names are written in two different ways. For example, Chattopadhyay (compound of village name "Chaṭṭa" and "upādhyāya" denoting "priest, teacher" originally granted with the village named Chaṭṭa) is the Sanskritized form of the local Prakrit word "chaturjye", anglicized to Chatterjee.
Similar analyses may be performed on Mukhurjye/Mukherjee/Mukhopādhyāya, Banurjye/Banerjee/Bandyopādhyāya, and Ganguli/Ganguly/Ganggopādhyāya. Bhattāchārya which is made by two words Bhatta and Achārya which means teacher also called as Bhattāchārjee. Tagore is the anglicized form of Thakur, meaning "lord". Other Bengali Brahmin family names are anglicized in particular ways that have become the standard English spellings over time. Other Bengali Brahmin surnames are Goswami, Chakraborty, Sanyal, Ghoshal etc.
The most famous Bengali Brahmin family which originally belonged to Calcutta (Kolkata) are the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family (originally Ganggopādhyāyas,who later adopted the zamindari title Roy Choudhury and Sabarna, implying their gotra, which is also the gotra of Ganggopādhyāyas), which had transferred the tenancy rights of Sutanuti, Gobindapur and Kolikata to the East India Company at the behest of the Mughal Emperor.
The bulk of Bengali Brahmin gotras are:
- Bharadwaja
- Vatsya Gotra
- Kashyapa
- Sabarna or Savarna
- Shandilya
Besides the above mentioned, other gotras can also be found at low frequencies within the Bengali Brahmin community.