Bangurda -- the holy place of Jainism

Tatanagar, April 8, 1984

Today Baba visited a village named Bangurda, 35 kilometers from Tatanagar.

It is an ancient village with an ancient cultural heritage. Baba made the following observations about the area.

About 3 miles from the village, the river makes a sharp turn producing a fast and dangerous undercurrent which is known as ‘Daha’ in Ba’m’la.

Consequently, the village is called Bangurdah in old Ba’m’la, but presently it is known as Bang- urda. Near the Pattamada the river also makes a sharp turn.

Pattam means a large rock; hence, a village situated near Pattam beside a river taking a sharp turn was named Pattamdah in old Ba’m’la, Later it became known as Patamda.

The soil around the village is mixed with stones.

The Jambuni and Sona rivers flow near Bangurda. The Sona river flows from the southwest to the northeast. The Jam- buni river flows from the southwest to the northeast and meets the Sona river two kilometers northeast of Ba’ngurda. The con- fluence of these two rivers is known as the Dhalkishor river.

Further down the Gandheshvari river flows from Susunja hills and meets the Dhalkishor river near Bankura and there after it is called the Dwarakeshvara river.

The latter flows through Visnupur and Aramabag where it meets the Silavati. river. Further down the river the Silávati meets the Jayacandi river and the confluence of these two rivers is known as the Rupanarain river, which flows into the Hoogli (Ganga’) near Tamluk in the district of Midnapore.

The land around the How- rah-Hooghli represents the Rupanarain Valley Civilization. The Kanaval Valley civilization also has a significant place in the history of Hach and the civilization.

In the ions Ag people lived in eaves in hilly country near river. They covered the entrance to their caves with rocks for protection aim wild animals.

Primitive people were hunters and food gathers but they had no knowledge of bronze and iron. The Hans Age smired after the Stone Age; in the Bone Age people ward hunes as well as rocks as implements and weapons. The people living in the Hangorda area were more civilized than the people of other ass and experienced both the Stone Age and Bane Ass Hitary makes virtually no mention of the Bone Age but in this ancient village, the remnants of both the ages can be ound. Weapons made of both stone and bone have been found by the villages on the banks of the river near the village.

The surrounding of Bangurda is gradually becoming flat and and for agriculture. Towards the northeast, the land is more fetite. Throughout its histry Hangurda has been a cultured, civi- Heed and proper village. Patamda had also been a cultured And commumically developed village, and remnants of the Stone Age, Hons Age and Bronze Age can also be found near Patamda.

Four toes hundred years ago the tribal people of this area learned in premals dead bodies from the Aryans. Before that they hurted the dead and a tribal graveyard can be found near Bangurds. The oily tillagers were very superstitious and believed that the cremated dead would become ghosts and return to haunt and torture that who burnt their bodies. To avoid this fate, the village kipit the tones of the dead in an earthen pot which they buried in the und Graves of this kind can be found mear river in the freton Eater the bones from these graves

During the Bongs Age the people in this region invented agriculture: They murd bong bronze rods to dig up the soft soil on the river bank and then put seeds into the soil.

Those who invented seculture were called Mahatmas, great personalities and later beam on at Mahatos. Many Mahatos can be found around Hangurds because this area has an ancient tradi- tion of culture The Mahato belt includes the following areas

(raii) can also be grown by scattering them in the fields three weeks before harvesting the paddy, when the fields are still muddy. Red mustard is ready for harvesting in five months, and should be harvested in the month of Phalguna. At this time the soil is still soft and after ploughing it is suitable for growing soyabeans or sunflowers.

Soyabeans ripen in ninety days and sunflowers in eighty days Oil can be extracted from sunflowers and if oil is extracted after removing the black cover from the seed, the remaing sheath can be used for preparing bread. Black oil cake can be used as a food for animals or as a fertilizer.

The powdered-down cover of the paddy can be mixed with limestone to produce cement.

A cement industry could also be established in this area. Milk, butter and cheese could be made out of soyabeans. Grape, papaya, pears, fig can also be grown in laterite soil while in the fertile lowlands four crops can be easily grown annually.

Bangurda has a rich cultural heritage. It was once the holy place of Jainism and the place where agriculture was first invented.

Remnants of an ancient lines can still be found here- Chattopadhyaya, Ganguli, Bandopadhyaya, Mukhopadhyaya and Ghosal are Rarhii Brahmans. The Kiattriyas of Rarh were using Verman title like Chandraketu Verman.

Late in the afternoon, we were privileged to hear from Baba comments on special characteristics of the Rarh river valley civilization.

He said I Rivers in Magadh flow from south to north because the southern portion of Magadh is highland and the northern portion is lowland. The area from the natural park of Hazaribag to the Reserve Forest of Palamu is the water barrier of Magadh. The Ganga valley lies to the north of the water barrier and the Koyal Valley lies to the south. The Sona and Phalgu rivers flow into The the Ganga while the Koyal River flows towards Orissa. dialects of these two river valley civilizations differ from each other,

With the exception of Rarh, Bengal is plain land comprised of black soil from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers. The soil is up to three million years old, although the soil at Gapalgainj

and Madanpur of Faridpur district. Noakhali, is only half a million years old. At places, fire breaks out in the soil itself. The sull in Bengal except Harh, Uttar Pradesh except Garhwal, Kumayun and Mirzapur and northern India other than Gond- Avána land is made by rivers which originate in the Himalayas. These places, including the Himalayas, were once under the sea. The rivers in Rach Row from the northwest to the southeast. The Kantavati river flows in the northernmost part of Rarha and passes through Bankura, Murshidabad, Jangipur and merges into the Gangs The Brahmani River flows from the east to the sou- theast, with its direction tending more and more southeasterly. The Ajaya river flows from the Chakai hills to Khairasula, Gala- pur and moves southwards and merges in the river Ganga. Damo- dar river coming out from Ramgarh hills moves towards Santhal Parganas and it moves southeast to Asansol, Maithan, Bara- kar, Raniganj and Durgapur. It then moves still further south east and meets the Ganga near Amta in the district of Howrah. The Roopnarain river flows southeast from Purulia, passing through Vishnupur, Arambag and Medinipur, and meets the Gangs near Tamluk. The Gandeshvari river comes from the Shushunia hills and merges with the Roopnarain. The Dhaval- kishore also merges in the Roopnarain. The Kansavati river starts from the Filabani hill in the district of Manbhum and con- tinues to Row southeast. The Damodar river also flows south- Hear Purulia city the Damodar and Kansavati rivers move apart from each other and create their own valleys with their own specife characteristics. In certain portions of Ranchi and Hazaribag they speak Panch pargnia and Nagpuria. A blending of Magahi and Karki Bengali is evident in the district of Ranchi, but further northwest people speak pure Magahi. The people living in the precincts of Bokaro, Ramgarh and Petarwad speak Rarhi Bam’la’ while Golabari Bam’la’ is spoken by the people living to the north of the Damodar river And to the south of the Ramgarh river. Golabani Bam’la is an offshoot of Rarhi Bam’la’. The people of some Pancha- yats speak Hagpuria and those of thirteen Panchayats speak

Rarhi Bam’la About 300 million years ago Rarh had a big snow-covered mountain. Gradually it became smaller and now snow-covered mountain is not found in the region. In the past this area was full of dense forests. The Santhals, who came to Rarh about 250 years ago, cut the forests down. After a famine befell Chattisgarh the Santhals moved east. Aboriginal tribes other than the Santhals are the local inhabitants of the area. These tribes deified the Ayodhya Hills. However the Santhal population is the highest population of any group in the Some between south Manabhu’ın and Mayurbhanj. Santhals have also settled around Purulia, Dumka and Hod’ is their mother tongue and not Bengali. People began to call the Santhals Hadda, although Santhals speak Bengali with people outside their tribe. They use ‘Tu’ for you and ‘Apa’ for your; addressing someone with respect does not exist in their vocabulary. area The Kansa’vati river starts from Ka’smar, and passes through Medinipur via Jhargram. The Kaliaghai river meets. the Kansavati river at Jinshahar, where a famous Jain temple. stands. The Kumari river meets the Kansavati river and they merge with the Ganga. The Haldi river is also so-called because its water is of haldi or turmeric colour, also meets Ganga. The Suvarnarekha river starts from the Ranchi hills, passes through Namkum and Muri, and then flows southeast to Singh bhum and reaches Kalimati (Tatanagar). The Kharkaya and and Sanjaya rivers meet the Suvarnarekha river which then flow southeast and pass through Medinipur and Jhargram. The Dulang river comes from Chitligarh, the capital of Dhavala bhum, and merges with the Suvararekha river. The land around Dhavalbhum is elevated and the Bombay Mail takes three hours to pass through this area. The Suvarnarekha river also passes through Nayagram. Datan (in Medinipur) crosses the border of Bengal and Orissa and then enters into the the sea near Kaksa. Usually the water from one river valley does not enter di rectly into the water of another valley. Kashipur is the water, barrier between the Damodar and Roopnarain valleys, while

Patamda is the water barrier between the Suvarnarekha and Kansavati valleys. The water to the west of Patamda flows into the Survanarekha river while the water to the east of it flows into Kansavati river. The water from the east of Patamda can- not flow into the Suvarnarekha and Roopnarain rivers, while the water from Bangurda cannot flow into the Suvarnarekha river, The Rarh river valley civilization was a highly developed and accomplished river valley civilization. Murshidabad, Nadia, Khulna and the 24 Parganas are all part of the Ganga Valley civi- lization. The valleys of the Icchamati, Bhagirathi, Madhumati and Jalangi rivers constitute part of the Ganga Valley civiliza- tion. The Brahmaputra flows through Meymansingh and meets Ganga near Gwalanda. Previously it met the Ganga near Chand- pur. This entire area covered by the Ganga-Brahmaputra valleys, is part of the Ganga-Brahmaputra river valley civilization. In the ancient past the Ganga valley was under the sea, while Rarh was above the sea, so Rarh is a natural reserve of flora and fauna from ancient rimes. The people of Rarh are a blending of the Austrico-Negroid and Mongol races, although Mongolian influence is less signi- ficant. Mongolian influence was dominant in the Brahmaputra valley and the people of southeastern part of Rarh have fair com- plexions and flat noses, while Austrico-Negroid influence was dominant throughout Rarh and the people are dark in colour with high noses. Originally the people of Rarh belonged to the Austrico-Negroid race. but when the Ganga-Brahmaputra valley rose above the sea, people migrated from the west to the east and the Austrico-Negroids gradually blended with the Mongo- loids.

The people of Kansavati valley are fairer than the people of the Suvarnarekha valley. There are also marked differences be- tween the complexions of the people of Bangurda on the one hand. and those of Bhula, Pavanpur, Tata and Jharagram villa ges on the other. The local culture and tradition of the people also differs in different valleys.

The people of Bangurda have more cultural affinity with the people of Manbajar, Bank ra, Mednipur and Patamda, and have a close affinity with the Kansavati valley civilization, while the people of Bhula, Pavanpur, Tata and Jharagrama have a cultural affinity with the people of the Suvarnarekha valley civilization, in the Kansavati valley people say ‘Ami nai paribo’, meaning. I can’t do’, while the people of the middle Suvarnarekha sivilization say ‘Ami lairbo’, when saying the same thing.

Because the entire population of Rarh has undergone exten- sive racial blending, it would be correct to say that Rarh com- prises one race, that is, the Austrice-Negro-Mongoloid race with local variations. Brahmans, Kayasthas and Kurmi Mohatos have similar nasal features while Bauris differ. The nasal index differs with the difference in the race. Santhals and Mundas are pure Austrik, Uraons are Austrico-Negroid. Throughout India many differences exist. For example, the people of Gujrat are round headed and Caucasian Aryan, while the people of Maharashira exhibit a Scythian influence. Al- though there is much racial diversity in the world from the view point of fundamental human values, humanity is one and indi visible.

Rarh civilization has a very rich history and exhibits the rem- nants of the Stone, Bone, and Bronze Ages. A museum should be established at some central place in Harh to make the people aware of their cultural heritage. Bankura is the cultural place. If the people in this region become conscious of their rich his- tory, it will help them break free of the psychic, economic and psycho-economic bondages,

Tatanagar, # April, 1984

Baha made the following observations. He was walking at night at the place where He was staying in Tatanagar. The Chattisgarh and Kaushal civilizations are located in the upper part of the Mahanadi river valley, while the Utkala civilization is located in the lower part of the Mahanadi river Valley, Because of the close proximity of these two civilizations, the Oriya of Sambhalpur and Chattisgarhi have similarity. People have a common cultural heritage. For example, the women of both the regions wear the sarees in a similar style, a style having similarity with the style of Bengal.

The intonation and pro- nunciation of Rengli and Chattisgarhi are also similar, while the Halvil dialect is a blending of Chattisgarhi and Bengali

The people from Rarh migrated to this area during the 12th century. A blending of races, cultures and languages occured which led to the emergence of the Halavi dialect. In Bastar people speak Gaudi dialect, which is a blending of Chattisgarhi, Oriya and Telugu. The influence of Oriya on the Modia caste, who speak Gaudi dialect, is more significant than the influence of Telugu and Chattisgarhi. The Halvi-speaking people are a bit more cultured than Modis.

Halvi speaking people originally lived in Rarh, hence their facial features resemble those of Bengali people. Halvi-speaking people do not like to live at places over 1500 feet high because of their food habits.

Attempts to rehabilitate Bengalis at Dandaka- ranya failed miserably because of this peculiar characteristic of the Bengall ancial psychology. The Bengalees live at Siliguri, but not near the ten gardens which are located at a height of 1700 feet. Lepas and Bhutias live at this height, but not Bengalees.

Bhumila Bengalis live at an elevation of less than 1500 feet, while Ranthal tribals can live above 1500 feet. Santhals were the original inhabitants of the Champu valley of Chattisgarh, and migrated to Harh about 250 years ago. Arrangement for reloca- tion and settling people should always be made according to their social psychology and food habits.

9 April, 1984

Baba visited today Dalma hill, which is situated 35 kilometers from Tata.

A Shiva temple with Shiva linga made of stone is situated here. Several Brahmans reside in the nearby village.

Water is offered to this deity during the month of Shravana (August). But the priest is ignorant of the rituals observed in the temple.

The temple is not ancient and so there is nothing historical in it.

Lying below a banyan tree we found a small nude idol with 5 faces in the form of a person sitting in cross-legged posture.

The idol had caps on its heads and long ears, but there were no ornaments on its body. A type of Shiva-linga and a correspon- ding Gauri Pittha were also found nearby.

Baba observed:

The small nude idol was an idol of Panchaphana Tirthankara, a Jain deity.

The idol could not have been a Kartika deity because they are 6-faced deities.

It could not be Hindu-Shiva because the 5-faced Hindu-Shiva has 3 eyes, wears a tiger skin and is never depicted nude.

Hindu Shiva is also accompanied by an idol of Parvati.

If Parvati is not present the idol could be of Ardha Narishvara Shiva, half male and half female idol.

None of the characteristics were in the small nude idol of Panchaphana Tirthankar. The presence of a large Shiva linga and Gauri Pitha in the viscinity confirms that it was a Jain deity and that the region had a long period of Jain influence.

There was no a sacred thread around the idol. This:

• indicated that it was against Vedaism
• is further evidence that it was a Jain deity of Panchaphan Tirthankara.

People belonging to the Singh munda (Bhaumika), Majhii (Santhal), Mahato, Sudu (Mundle) Naga (Kayastha) Saraka and and Garaih communities live in this region.

People of the Doma caste also live here and make things from bamboo.

They some times act as priests and call themselves Kalindis, Kalindis are Jains and Buddhists who still worship at Jain and Buddhist tem ples and hold the title ‘pundita’.

At some places breasts have been put on the Panchaphana idol and people started worshipping it as Manasa devi (goddess).

However, Shankaracarya converted Joytirlinga or Jain Shiva into a Hindu-Shiva and named the twelve lingas or Dvadasha liunga, as in Somnatha, Mallikanatha, Mandales har, Vishvanatha, Tarake shwara and Rameshvara, who were all Jain Jyotilinga.

The civilization around the place dates back 2500 years and old Kali temple should be located somewhere in the near vici nity. The Singh munda tribe speaks Bengali while other tribes speak their own tribal dialects.

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The staple food here is horse gram and cooked rice. Horse “gram is a valuable food and is good for the liver and kidneys. There are three varieties of horse gram-while, black and red The red one is the most nutritious. Harsh gram does not dissolve tf it is cooked into pulse, and sometimes it is cooked with rice.

Tea contains tanic acid, which is static and bad for the mind and body. Family persons may drink in small quantities. How ever if it ia taken in larger quanlity it is detrimental for medi tation. Cannabis Indica or Ganja also adversely affects the mind because it creates a disturbing stir in the brain.

The same night (9-4-84) whili walking at the place where He was staying, Baba made the following comments:

Tribals live in different parts of India, like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Meghalaya and other northeastern areas gions. and have distinct, ethnological and linguistic characteri- tics. Many tribals know their own dialect and language spoken most widely in their region.

The people living in the Rohtas district of the Bhojapuri area belong to the Austric tribe. They speak their own dialect but they also speak Bhojpuri as their second mother tongue. Tharus, who reside in [the Bhojpur area of Nepal speak a non Aryan dialect and Bhojpuri.

In Bengal the Munda, Homunda and Uraon speak Bengali as their second mother tongue. In Tripura and Mizoram the people of Jamatia and Chakma tribe speak Bengali as their second mother tongue.

The use of a second mother tongue changes from tribe to tribc and varies according to the language spoken in the region in which the tribe lives.