chapter-v education and literary...
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CHAPTER-V
EDUCATION AND LITERARY ACTIVITY
EDUCATION AND LEARNING
The texts and tradition speak of Mithilā as the centre of education and
learning since ancient times. It is said that in the court of Janaka the learned
philosophical discussions took place and intellectual giants like Uddālaka
Āruṇi, Aśvala, Jāratkārava, Bhujyu Lāhyāyani, Uṣasta Cākrāyaṇa, Kahoḍa
Kauṣitakeya, Vidagdha Śākalya and Gārgī Vācaknavī participated in the
discussion and all of them were defeated by yājñavalkya.1 If tradition is to be
relied upon, Goutama and Kapila Muṇī also belonged to Mithilā.
The tradition of scholarship seems to continue even in the medieval
Mithilā. Many branches of Sanskrit learning were cultivated and developed in
the domain of Nyāya (logic), Dharmaśāstras and Mīmāṁsā (disputations).
Books, commentaries and digests on almost all branches of literature and
science were written and compiled.
The rulers of Karṇāta, Oinawāra and Khandavāla dynasties patronized
learning and art in their courts. Abul Fazl also refers to this when he says:
"Tirhut (Mithilā) has been from the time immemorial a centre of Hindu
learning."2 Mithilā prior to the establishment of the Nadiā University was the
foremost centre of the study of logic and Sanskrit in the eastern part of India.
The reputation of some of its scholars was so high that even the Delhi court
patronized them for their extraordinary intellect of knowledge.3
1 Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣada, III, p.5. 2 Ain, II, (Jarret), p.152. 3 In the Pādaśāhanāma; (Persian text, Bib. Inc.) by Abdul Hamid Lāhōrī, ed. by Kabiruddin
Ahmad, Calcutta, 1867, Vol.1, pp.268-69 We find a reference to two Brāhmaṇa scholars of Mithilā who had been rewarded by the Emperor Shahjahan for their profound scholarship.
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According to J.C. Jha, the Dharmaśāstras ordained the Brāhmaṇa to
study and teach. Had it been cultivated with a mercenary motive, a scholar
after completing his studies must have selected some rich locality for
reopening of his school where he could have got more emoluments. Instead,
the pandits are found in the majority of cases returning to their homes and
starting schools to impart the knowledge which they themselves had acquired
at famous centres of learning.4 This view, however, does not hold much water
as some serious researches have shown that Brāhmaṇas of northern India
(including that of Mithilā) migrated to other parts of the country and were
endowed with lands and villages.5
The aim of education was the acquisition of knowledge and formation
of character. In Mithilā education among the Hindus during the period under
review was imparted mainly through the agencies like tolas6 and pāthśālas.
The Sanskrit school or college was called Chatuspathi (or popularly called as
Chauparī) which signified a place where the four Śāstras viz. grammar, law,
purāṇa and darśana were studied.
Besides these, there were private tutors also who used to teach
students in their own ways. Most of the institutions were managed by the
'Gurus' themselves. Students studied at the feet of their teachers in humble
cottages thatched with straw.7
Boys generally began their first academic lessons in life after attaining
the age of five years by writing the word Om and Hari with chalk (Khari) on
earth.8 The 'Upanayana' ceremony has had also a great importance. Hindu
4 Jha, J.S., Education in Bihar, p.3. 5 Datta, Swati, Migrants Brāhmaṇas in Northern India, Delhi, 1989, pp.1-73. 6 Ibid., p.1 7 Choudhary, R.K., Mithilā in the Age of Vidyāpati, pp.224-225. 8 Numerous reference to this ceremony of 'Hathekari' are found scattered in the contemporary
literary work. This ceremony was performed usually after 'Karnavedh'. For details Ojha, P.N., Op. Cit., p.102.
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child specially the Brāhmaṇas started their education generally after this
ceremony.
We get the reference to this custom from Tuzuk-I-Jahangiri which runs
thus: "After he (a Brāhmaṇa boy) has arrived at the age of eight years, they
(Brāhmaṇas) have a meeting with other Brāhmaṇas. They make a cord of
munj grass, which they call munji, in length 2¼ gaz, and having caused
prayers and incantations to be repeated over it and having had it made into
three strands, which they call Sihtan by one, in whom they have confidence,
they fasten it on his waist. Having woven a zunar (girdle or thread) out of the
loose threads, they hang it over his right shoulder. Having given in to his hand
a stick of the length of the little over 1 gaz to defend himself with from hurtful
things and a copper vessel for drinking water, they hand him over to a learned
Brāhmaṇa himself reading the Vedas which they believe in as God's book."9
First, a student in the elementary school was required to practice the
art of writing on the floor, covered with sand and dust. When he qualified
himself thus, then he was taught to write on palmleaves or Bhojpatra with
pieces of reeds or bambootwigs or with quills of birds.10 But in the purely
Sanskrit pāthaśālās the courses of studies were somewhat different. A novice
in such school was, first of all required to acquire the knowledge of alphabet.
Then he was given some lessons in attaining proficiency in spelling, reading
and writing followed by working knowledge of practical arithmetic. When they
had acquired sound knowledge of Sanskrit and its grammar, the Purāṇas
constituted their next subject of study.11
Sanskrit language and literature formed the chief subject of study in the
chatuṣpāthis. The curriculum consisted of Kāvya (poetry) Vyākaraṇa
9 Tuzuk-I-Jahangiri, Vol. I, (R & B), p. 357. 10 Haribaṁsa by Achyutanand Das, Cuttak, 4th Canto, p.577. Also T.C. Dasgupta's Aspects of
Bengali Society, C.U., 1935, pp.168-169. 11 Bernier's Travels in the Mughal Empire, (ed.), Archbald Constable, 1891, p.334.
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(grammar); Jyotiṣa (astronomy or astrology), Chhanda (rhetoric), Nirukta
(lexicon) and Nyāya Darśana (philosophy).12 In Mithilā, Brāhmaṇa students
were to receive education in all the four Vedas, history, purāṇa, kośa
chhanda, vyākaraṇa, six vedāngas, analysis of dreams, study of earthquakes,
solar eclipse, lunar eclipse and language of the animals and birds. The
Kṣatriya13 students were to be trained in the knowledge relating to elephants,
horses, chariots, bows and arrows, military science and currency. Vidyāpati
also advocates compulsory military education. The Vaiśya and Śūdra
students used to learn agriculture, commerce and animal husbandry. The
study of tantra was also pursued.14 Harinagara (near Madhubani) was a
famous centre of tantric studies.
In all the districts of Bihar the study and practice of medicine was in
vogue. But there was no public school for giving instruction in medicine. It had
to be learnt privately from the physicians. The Sakaldwipi Brāhmaṇas had
almost monopolized the profession of medicine. Unānī system was also
studied. Surgery was practiced by persons of the barber caste. They were
called 'Jurra'. However, they did not enjoy the prestige of the man of
medicine.15
Of all these, the study of Mīmāmsā and Navyanyāya made Mithilā
internationally famous. Under the auspices of the University of Mithilā16, an
important school of grammar was started by Padmanābha Dutta (Śaka 1297
i.e. 1374 A.D.). His Supadma and its other supplements laid the foundation of
new school. Thus, literature, science, logic, Nyāya, Mīmāmsā, erotics, 12 Gupta, T.C. Das, Aspects of Bengali Society, p.177. 13 Jha, Ramnath, Lectures on Bharatiya Shiksha, pp.9-10. 14 Jha, J.S., Education in Bihar, Pat., p.9. 15 Jha, J.S., Op. cit., p.30. 16 R.K. Chaudhary writes that the prominence of Mithilā as a famous centre of education and
learning grew more and more after the expansion of Muslim power in south Bihar. This centre of learning grew as University of Mithilā which became the shelter of refugee scholars from different parts of the country. For details, refer to R.K. Chaudhary, Mithilā in the Age of Vidyāpati, p.224.
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astronomy, etc. were studied along with a specialized study of the Smṛtis and
the Dharmaśāstra. Vernacular literature was also getting proper impetus.
Jyotiriśvara and Vidyāpati were two notable scholars of the vernacular
literature.
Learned discussions (Goṣthis) between the preceptor and his pupils,
and among the pupils themselves, formed an important aspect of the
educational method during the period under review.17 It must have played a
very significant role in assessing the merit of the pupils. Debates and
discussions in the society of the learned men were thus common in those
days. Such discussions have an old tradition in Mithilā. Yājñavalkya
participated in such learned discussions in the court of Janaka and the
discussion held between Śankara and Maṇḍana Miśra has become a legend
in Mithilā. In Mithilā we get reference to Kavya-Goṣthi (learned discussion on
poetry) arranged by the king in which scholars from different parts of the
country used to participate. Maharāja Lakśmeśwara Singh of Darbhanga Raj
used to organise such learned discussions of poets and scholars. It seems
that a kind of Goṣthi was also arranged between the scholars of the land and
foreign scholars and those who qualified at the test were rewarded with prize
or post in royal services, whatever they desired.
In Mithilā we get reference to altogether three types of examinations
during the period under review:
(i) Śalākā Parīkṣā,
(ii) Dhaut Parīkṣa, and
(iii) Ṣadyantra Parīkṣā.
17 Dasgupta, T.C., Aspects of Bengali Society, pp.184-85. Also Jha, Ganga Nath, Kavirahsya,
p.73.
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R.K. Mukherji18 suggests that a special type of examination was
conducted by Mithilā University in medieval times which was known as Śalākā
Parīkṣā. U. Thākura observes, "It is indeed interesting to note that
corresponding to the system of admission at Nalanda and Vikramshila by
difficult examinations by the learned pandits. Mithilā instituted a peculiar
examination for graduation and completion in studies. It was known as Śalākā
Parīkṣā."19 At such an examination a candidate was required to examine a
manuscript very minutely and then a needle was passed through the whole
book.20 Then the candidate had to explain that page of a manuscript which
was pierced last by the needle run through it. The experts took his vivavoce.
This was the test of the capacity of the candidate to explain extempore any
part of the text he had studied so as to demonstrate his mastery of the subject
in all its parts. Only then the diploma of Mithilā University was conferred on
the successful candidate.21
J. S. Jha has also suggested two factors which might have
necessitated the system of Śalākā Parīkṣā in Mithilā during the period
concerned. Firstly, the paucity of books because of non-availability of press
might have encouraged the importance of memory tests in the Śalākā
Parīkṣā. Secondly, as Rājaśekhara (10th century A.D.) in his book
Kāvyamīmāmsā has mentioned, a form of examination used to be held at
Ujjain and Pataliputra where many scholars like Kālidāsa, Amarasena, etc.
had to appear at such examinations. These forms of examinations at these
places might have eclouraged the system of śalākā Parīkṣā in Mithilā. Some
important features of the system of examination mentioned above may also
18 Mukherji, R.K., Ancient Indian Education, p.598. 19 Thākura, U., History of Mithilā, p.379. 20 Vidyabhushan, History of Logic, p.554. 21 Mukherji, R.K., Ancient Indian Education, 2nd Edn., London, 1921, p.599. Also T.C.
Dasgupta's Aspects of Bengali Society, C.U., 1935, p.184.
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be seen in Dhaut Parīkṣā (another form of examination) introduced by the
Khandavāla rulers of Mithilā (C. 1556 A.D. onwards).22
Dhout Parīkṣā23 which the Maharāja of Darbhanga used to hold in his
court was also much in vogue till very recently.24 At the examination, the court
pandits used to examine the candidates; and those who qualified themselves
had to participate in literary debates and discussions in the presence of the
Maharāja. As a mark of honour and distinction, a pair of dhotī was given to
the successful pandit candidates and whenever an invitation was extended to
pandits by the Maharāja or wealthy persons of Mithilā, preference was given
to those who were Dhoutparīkṣottiṇna (passes the loincloth examination).
Duśālā was presented to candidates topping in each subject.
Thus Naiyāyikas were honoured with a pair of red dhotī and the
Vaidikas, the Vaiyākarṇas and others with pairs of yellow dhotī. Scholars
coming from outside Mithilā also took part in these examinations to qualify for
the royal honour. The scholars thus honoured, were invariably invited by the
Maharājas on the occasions of the Upanayana, marriage and Śrāddha (last
rites) and were given handsome presents.25
The third system of examination which was prevalent during the period
under review was Ṣadyantra Parīkṣā. The method of test was like this: first of
all, the scholars from all over the country used to ask the most abstruse
questions on all śāstras. All the questions must be properly answered in the
assembly to the satisfaction of all present. When the scholars were thus
satisfied the public used to put questions. When everyone present was
22 Mithilā Bharati, Anka-1, Bhag-3-4, 1969, Art. "Mithilāk Prāchīna Parīkṣā Pranali". 23 Jha, Ganga Nath, Kavirashya, pp.74-75. 24 Jha, Parameśwara, Mithilā Tattva Vimarśa, Pat., p.198. 25 JBRS, Vol. XLVIII, 1962, Parts I-IV, p.91.
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satisfied with the answer then only the honour of Śadayantree' was conferred
upon him.26
Besides these examinations the system of conferring titles of
Upādhyāya, Mahōpādhyāya and Mahāmahōpādhyāya on scholars was very
much popular in Mithilā during the period under review.27 For the award of
such titles of honours a candidate had to appear before pandits; and if found
qualified, the title of Upādhyāya was conferred on him. He was now qualified
to teach. When a student of an Upādhyāya succeeded in the same test and
won the titles his teacher got the title of Maho-pādhyāya. In the same manner
when a Maho-pādhyāya's pupils succeeded in the said examination the
Maho-pādhyāya became Mahāmahōpādhyāya. Hence, it appears that the
institution of Upādhyāya, Mahōpādhyāya and Mahāmahopā-dhyāya was
established as graded degree of seniority among professors.28
The teacher-student relationship was very cordial. Students were very
particular about keeping their teachers satisfied by their conduct and personal
services. The relation between the preceptor and the disciple was considered
similar to that of the father and the son.29 Disciples used to present small bells
to their preceptors as mark of their respect at the time of taking farewell.
Generally teachers took great pride in supporting students even at their own
cost.
It seems that political stability and comparative peace and tranquility
along with a strong cultural tradition in the kingdom of Mithilā gave spread of
learning and scholarship. The social and economic condition also provided a
firm ground for the emergence of scholars and authors of eminence in Mithilā
26 Ibid., p.69. 27 JBRS, Vol. XLV, p.271. Mithila Bharati, Anka-1, 1969, Art. "Mithilā Prāchīna Parīkṣā Pranali". 28 Jha, Ganganath, Foreword to Kesari Miśra's edition of M.M. Sakala Miśra's Commentary,
Arya Saptasati, p.11. Also, Thākura, U., History of Mithilā, p.380. 29 Roerich, G., Biography of Dharmaswāmin, Roerch, G., Pat., p.64. Also, Jha, Parameśwara,
Mithilā Tattvavimarśa, Pat., p.120.
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during the period under review. Vedānta, Nyāya, Mīmāmsā, Dharmaśāstra,
sciences and other branches of learning had their beginnings in Mithilā.
However, in the field of Navyanyāya and Mīmāmsā Mithilā made remarkable
contribution. It was a great seat of learning for centuries. Here students
flocked from different parts of the country for satisfying their intellectual
curiosities. It also provided shelter to scholars who were compelled by the
circumstances to leave Nālandā and Vikramśilā, mainly on account of Muslim
invasions.30
According to D.C. Sen, the civilization of Bengal came from Mithilā
when Magadh ceased to give light to the eastern world.31 In the 16th century
A.D. Mithilā emerged as the acknowledged head both secular and religious of
all the regions to the north of the river Saryu.32 As a matter of fact the rulers of
Mithilā such as Karṇātas, Oinwāras, and Khandavālas were all great lovers of
education and learning and encouraged Sanskrit studies.33
MITHILĀ SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY AND NAVYA NYĀYA
Mithilā's contribution to the realm of philosophy such as Nyāya and
Mimāmsa has been remarkable. According to the Naiyāyikas, the stress on
concentrated contemplation and meditation as a step towards true knowledge
is not at all possible for a man until he has shed his defects. These defects
are34 :
(i) Desire (Rāga) as expressed in lust, selfishness, greed and a wish to
possess other's property;
30 For details refer to D.C. Sen's History of Bengali Language and Literature. Also Sinha,
C.P.N., Mithilā Under the Karṇātas, p.167. 31 Ibid., for details. 32 Jayaswal, K.P., Intro., Cat. Mithilā Mss,Vol. I, p.3. 33 Ibid. 34 Choudhary, R.K., op. cit., p.221.
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(ii) Hatred, (dveṣa) expressed as anger, jealousy, malice and
impatience;
(iii) Moha, defective outlook in its different forms like error, doubt,
egoism of inattentiveness.
All these defects are rooted in ignorance and can be dispelled only by
true knowledge arising out of meditation. The Maithila Naiyāyikas recommend
(i) continuous study of philosophy, (ii) discussion with learned persons
especially between the teacher and the taught, and (iii) disputations as aids to
learning. The controversy succeeded in thrashing out the truth.35
In Mithilā, religion and philosophy have been inseparable and in the
days of Upaniṣadas Mithilā was at the apex of her philosophical glory. The
Upaniṣadas lay stress upon the fact that knowledge is the real means of
salvation. The message of the Upaniṣadas is crystal clear, but the great
Maithila philosopher, Yājñavalkya, in his famous dialogue with Maitreyī and
Gārgī, has given birth to a critical analysis of knowledge. The unknowable self
has been made more and more complex. The seed of philosophical learning
was, thus, sown by Yājñavalkya and was carried further by a host of other
scholars, viz. Gārgī, Maitreyī, Janaka, Ajātaśatru, Gotama, Kapila, and others.
Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣada36 reflected the views of these philosophers. The
Maithila philosophers envisaged a synthesis of knowledge (Jñāna) with action
(Karma) and household life (Gārhastya) with ascetic life (Sanyās).
Gotama, who, according to Skandapurāṇa, was the resident of Mithilā
laid the foundations of Nyāya-Sūtra which constitutes one of the foremost
schools of logic in Mithilā. The three main props of the Mimāṁsā school were
Prabhākara Miśrā, Kumārila (founder of Bhṭṭamata) and Murārī Miśrā
(founder of Miśra-mata). The earliest expositor of the Bhaṭṭa mata was
35 Ibid., p.221. 36 Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣada, III, 5.1.
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Maṇḍana Miśra of Mithilā who wrote a commentary on Kumārila's
Tantravārtika. He was an eminent scholar of Pūrva-Mimāṁsā.37 Another great
Mimāṁsaka of Mithilā was Vācaspatimiśra (9th A.D.) who wrote Nyāyakaṇikā
and Nyāyasūci. Other Mimāṁsakas were Pārthasārathi Miśra, Candra and
Murārī Miśra.
Mithilā's contribution to the history of Indian thought is noticeable and
especially in the field of navyanyāya it has made great contribution.38 In the
words of D.C. Bhattacharya, "Mithilā's literary history has no parallel for its
antiquity, diversity and continuity…. Mithilā has shed luster right from the
Vedic times in all phases of human knowledge".39
Udayanācārya was the first great founder of the navya-nyāya system in
Mithilā. His Kusumānjali is the most authoritative work on the subject. His
other works include Lakṣaṇāvalī (a manual of Vaiśeṣika), Lakṣaṇamālā,
Ātmataṭṭvaviveka, Nyāyapariśiṣṭa, Kirṇāvalī, etc.40 He was the greatest critic
of the Buddhist philosophers of the time. The greatest target of his attack was
Jnānaśrimitra41 famous of the Vikramaśilā University. He also refuted the
views of another Buddhist scholar, Ratnakīrti. Vācaspati's contributions to the
development of navya-nyāya raise him to the position of supreme authority in
all the five systems (except vaiśeṣika, as it was ignored by him) of Indian
philosophy. He aligns himself to the school of Maṇḍaṇa both in Mīmāmsā and
Vedānta.42
Gangeśa Upādhyāya (A.D. 1200) stands out as the unique figure in the
history of the philosophy of Mithilā, especially in the realm of navyanyāya. His
37 Kane, P.V., History of Darmaśāstras, I, pp.252-64. 38 Bhattacharya, D.C., History of Navyanyāya in Mithilā, Dar., 1958, p.1. Also JASB, Vol. XI,
pp.259-60. 39 Bhattacharya, D.C., op. cit. 40 Ibid. 41 JBRS, Vol. XXXVI (Buddha Jayanti Issue), pts. 1-2. 42 Choudhary, R.K., op. cit., p.272.
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Taṭṭvacintāmaṇi constitutes the bedrock of Indian dialectics and he has been
rightly described as the presiding professor of the philosophical conclusions.43
Taṭṭvacintāmaṇi is an important landmark in the realm of thought.44 The style
of writing of this work is new and it is a primary scholarly work on navyanyāya.
Gangeśa diverted the current of nyāya philosophy into a fresh channel.
He emphasized upon pramāṇa-vivecana in place of padārtha-vivecana
(ontology).45 The four pramāṇa viz. pratyakśa, Anumāna, Upamāna and
śabda were made the subject of a thorough going scrutiny. D.C. Bhattacharya
has rightly observed – "This well-knit marshalling of all relevant dissertations
(Vādas) into a single comprehensive treatise took the learned world by
storm."46 Gangeśa made a valuable contribution to the theory of knowledge.
Since all objects are knowable, our knowledge of these objects is of two kinds
– Nirvikalpa (indeterminate) and Savikalpa (determinate) knowledge. The
savikalpa knowledge is a knowledge the object of which is distinguished from
other things.
Gangeśa's dissertation on the problem of truth and validity of
knowledge is regarded as his most outstanding contribution to the theory of
Navyā Nyāya. He criticized the mīmamsā theory of self-validity of knowledge
and established the nyāya position of the correspondence of theory of truth
and ascertainment of truth by verification. The truth is defined and the
problem is then bifurcated into utpatti (origin and source of validity) and Jñapti
(ascertainment of the same).47
Gangeśa's son Vardhamāna Upādhyāya (13th century) was also a
great logician. He tried to bridge the gulf between two schools of orthodox
43 Refer to A. Weber's History of Indian Literature, London, 1876, p.246. Also, Bhattacharya,
D.C., Bange Navya-Nyāyaearea, pp.15-19. 44 Tattva Cintāmaṇi of Gangeśa, Choukhamba Sanskrit Series, Banaras, for details. 45 Bhattacharya, D.C., op. cit., pp.15-19. 46 Ibid., p.96. 47 Ibid., p.97.
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logic, old and new. Līlawatī Prakāśa is a famous work in the realm of
navyanyāya.48
The most important naiyāyika after Gangeśa who flourished in Mithilā
was Pakśadhara Miśra.49 Formally he was known as Jaideva. He lived in the
court of Raja Bhairava Simha (A.D. 1475-89) of the Oinwāra dynasty.50 A
number of works have been attributed to him. The most important works
composed by him are 'Āloka', 'Dravya Padārtha', and Līlāwatī Viveka.
Raghunāth Śiromaṇi of Bengal was the most important pupil of Pakśadhara.
His influence in Bengal was immense and it may be noted here that his
'Āloka' survived as the text book at Nadia for over a century after it had
disappeared from Mithilā and all its three parts were commented upon by a
17th century Bengali scholar, namely Gadādhara Bhattacharya.51
Vāsudeva Miśra and Ruchidatta Miśra of the 16th century have also
composed scholarly works on navyanyāya. Vāsudeva's nyāyasiddhānta
Śastra and latter's Prakāśa are most important works in this field. Another
scholar of navyānyāya of the period concerned was Śankara Miśra. There are
eight works of his known to the scholars. The important works attributed to
Śankara are Taṭṭvacintāmaṇi Māyukha, Vaiseśika Upaskara, Bheda
Ratnākara Prakāśa and Ahedādhikāra.52
Jayantha Miśra popularly known as Jivanāth Miśra (15th century) was
also a great digest writer like several Mithilā nyāya scholars of our period.53
Vācaspati Miśra II holds, however, eminent place in the history of navyanyāya
48 Leelawati Prakash, Vardhamāna Upādhyāya, Choukhamba Sanskrit Series, Banaras for
details. 49 Mithilā Taṭṭva Vimarśa by Jha, Parameśwara, Pat., pp.123-124. M.M. Vidya Bhushana, A
History of Indian Logic, p.455. 50 Jha, Parameśwara, Mithilā Taṭṭva Vimarśa, Pat., p.122. 51 Jha, Parameśwara, Op. cit., p.122ff. 52 Ibid., p.119ff. His first work 'Maṇimayukh' in MSS is now in Jammu (MSS Folios) of Steens
Jammu Catalogue, p.144, No. 1537. also Miśra, V., op. cit., p.142. 53 Miśra, V., op. cit., p.142.
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in Mithilā. He wrote commentaries on nyāya sutras of Goutama known as
Taṭṭvaloka.54 It may be noted here that Taṭṭvaloka is one of the earliest
attempts to explain the nyāyasutras in the light of Gangeśa's epoch making
work. Other important works by him on this subject are: (i) Pratyakśanirṇaya,
(ii) Anumānanirṇaya, and (iii) Khandanoddhāra.55 Vācaspati II also
commented on Taṭṭvacintāmaṇi and wrote 'Sahaśādhikaraṇa' on the
Purvamīmāmsā rules of interpretation. Though a digest writer of repute,
Vācaspati II also has been one of the few luminaries of the navyanyāya
scholarship.
Mahamahopādhyāya Yajñapti Upādhyāya (c. 15th century A.D.) wrote a
commentary called Prabhā on the Cintāmaṇi.56 The manuscripts of this book
in Maithili character are kept in Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.57 It is said that
Prabha superseded all previous commentaries on Gangeśa's work and laid
the solid foundations upon which the latest phase of navya nyāya studies on
Gangeśa's lines flourished.58 Another noted scholar of navyanyāya was
Vateśvara. He is famous as Darpaṇakāra both in Nyāya and in Smṛiti.
Vateśwara is said to have been the critic of the school of philosophy of
Gangeśa. He wrote 'Nyāyanibandhadarpaṇa' and 'Nyāyalīlāvatīdarpaṇa'.
The tradition of nyāya and mīmāmsā was also patronized by some
women scholars during the period under review. Some of them were Lakhimā
Devī and Viśvāsa Devī who contributed in raising the status of the
philosophical Mithilā.59
The study of navyanyāya and mīmāmsā continued during the reign of
the Khandavālas also. Mahesha Thākura, the founder of this dynasty in 54 Indian Office Catalogue I (ed. By Eggeling), pp.610-11. 55 Choudhary, R.K., op. cit., p.281. 56 Bhattacharya, D.C., History of Navyanyāya in Mithilā, p.160. 57 A. Cabation's Catalogue of MSS, 1907, p.150, No. 904. 58 Bhattacharya, D.C., A History of Navyanyāya in Mithilā, p.16. 59 Miśra, V., Cultural Heritage of Mithilā, pp.146.147.
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Mithilā, was himself a great scholar who made a significant contribution to the
field of navyanyāya. His celebrated works are Āloka Pradīpa, a commentary
on Pakśadhara Miśra's Nyayālopa, Darpaṇa, a commentary on Gangeśa
Upādhyāya's Nyāya Cintāmaṇi. The family of Mahesha Thākura was, in fact,
the family of celebrated scholars and philosophers. One of his elder brothers,
Megha Thākura, was a disciple of Pakśadhara Miśra II. He wrote the famous
book Jalada, a commentary on Vardhamāna's Līlāwati Prakāśa which is itself
a commentary on Gangeśa's Makranda. Another borther of Maheśa Thākura,
Damodara Thākura, was also well versed in nyāya and darśaṇa.60
Raghudeva Miśra was yet another great philosopher of this period.
However, this was the age of Pandit Gokulanātha Upādhyāya who by his
achievements in the realm of philosophy of nyāya made Mithilā famous in the
eastern India.61 Thus, the old tradition of the philosophy of Mithilā was
cultivated and patronized by the ruling dynasties of Mithilā and several
scholars of repute made Mithilā the centre of studies in navyanyāya in the
eastern India before the rise of Nadia.
Mīmāṁsā was also studied in Mithilā and as late as the age of
Vidyāpati its study appears to have been very popular. When there was a
tremendous attack on Veda and the Vedic culture by the Buddhists, the
growth of mīmāṁsā was rapid in Mithilā.62
Recently a praśasti (citation) of the 15th century A.D. has been
discovered in which it is stated that Raja Bhairav Simha performed a
Puṣkarini yajna in which not less than 1400 mīmāmsākaras participated.63
From the congregation of the mīmāṁsākaras referred to above it is clear that
the study of this subject was very popular in Mithilā. In this field Kumaril’s
60 JBRS, XLVIII, Part I-IV, 1962, p.92ff. 61 Ibid., p.93ff. Also, Jha, M., Mithilā Bhasha Maya Itihasa, pp.139-147. 62 Jha, G.N., Purva Mimāmsā, pp.1-3. 63 Thākura, U., History of Mithilā, p.378.
210
contribution is unique. He was the founder of the Bhātmatha. Mandana,
Vācaspati Miśra, Sucharitā Miśra and others carried the task further. It has
been rightly observed that every stream of philosophy in India owes a deep
debt to Vācaspati.64
Govind Thākura65 was a great scholar of mīmāṁsā during the period
under review. His important contribution is the Adhikaraṇa Mālā. Mādhava
Miśra, Ruchidatta Miśra, Raghupati Miśra66 also made notable contribution in
the field of mīmāṁsā during this period.
Thus Mithilā prior to the establishment of Nadia University was the
foremost centre of the study of logic and Sanskrit in the eastern part of India.
It appears that Gokulanāth (c. 1650-1750) was the last great light of this
period in Mithilā and after him the centre of gravity shifted to Navadvipa,
which had established its own school of logic.67 Some of the Mithilā scholars
even visited Navadvipa and Banaras to complete their studies.68
It is said that prior to the establishment of Navyanyāya School at Nadia
students from all parts of the country used to go to Mithilā for the study of
nyāya. The pride of Mithilā scholars did not allow any of their students to take
away the books from the school, nor even the notes of the lectures
delivered.69 This fostered a sincere desire among the scholars of Navadvipa
to establish an institution of their own for the study of nyāya. If tradition is to
be believed Vāsudeva Sarvabhauma (c. 1450-1525 A.D.) who was born in
Nadia, brought from Mithilā to Navadvipa, Gangeśa's Taṭṭva Cintāmaṇi
towards the close of the 15th century, and established the first great academy
64 Thākura, U. Studies in Jainism and Buddhism in Mithilā, p.69. 65 Miśra, V., Cultural Heritage of Mithilā, p.151. 66 Ibid., p.151. 67 JBRS, Vol. XLV, p.266. 68 Mukherji, R.K., Ancient Indian Education, 1951, p.266. 69 Sahaya, B.K., Education and Learning under the Great Mugals, p.73.
211
of logic there.70 It has been observed that the civilization of Bengal came from
Mithilā when Magadha ceased to give light to the eastern world.71
DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF LEARNING:
There are references to different branches of learning and learned
persons in PuruṣParīkṣā of Vidyāpati.72 These included science, astronomy,
mathematics, dharmaśāstras, smṛtis, etc. The study of science was cultivated
in Mithilā during the period under review. It has been suggested that Alchemy
is closely associated with the religious cult of the tantras.73 The tāntric cult is
characterized by a curious admixture of alchemical process on the one hand
grotesque, obscene and something revolting rites on the other. Since Mithilā
was one of the important centres of tāntricism it may be said that the people
here were adept in the art of alchemy associated with it.74 Vācaspati,
Udayana, Shridhara and Raghunatha deal with the problems relating to the
atom,75 and its movements. Gangeśa conjectures that even gold can be
evaporated or made to disappear by the application of intense heat.
There is reference to the oils derived from vegetables, butter from milk
and fats from animal by Udayana.76 Vācaspati and Udayana contend that
among oils, fats, milk, etc. differences in flavour and odour imply differences
in kind and in molecular structure.77 It appears that maithila naiyāyikas paid
special attention to the atoms. The nyāya conceives atomic magnitude as a
pārimāṇḍalya, a term which indicates a spherical shape.78
70 Mukherji, R.K., Op. cit., p.599. 71 Sen, D.C., A History of Bengali Language and Literature for details. 72 Puruṣa Parīkṣā, ed. Chandradhar Pathak, pp.92, 98, 103, 126. 73 Choudhary, R.K., Op. cit., p.228. 74 Ibid., p.228. 75 Seal, B.N., Positive Science of the Ancient Hindus, Delhi 1958, p.100ff. 76 Ibid., p.110. 77 Ibid., p.110ff. 78 Ibid., p.117.
212
The people of Mithilā also knew the measurement of time and space as
we get some details about it from Udayana's Kiraṇāvalī.79 To conceive
position in space Vācaspati takes three axis: firstly, proceedings from the
point of sunrise in the horizon that the sun sets (east and west), secondly a
second bisecting this line at right angles on horizontal place (north and south),
and thirdly proceedings from the point of the section of the sunrise to the
sunset to the meridian position of the sun.
The position of any point, in space, relatively to another point may now
be given by measuring distances along these two directions. B.N. Seal has
rightly observed, "But this gives only a geometrical analysis of the conception
of three dimensioned space, though it must be admitted in all fairness that by
dint of clear thinking it anticipates in a rudimentary manner of the foundation
of solid (coordinate) geometry.80
Śankara Miśra gives a detailed description of the theory of motion and
the varieties of 'gamana' (curvilinear motion). All kinds of motion are called
gamana.81 According to the same scholar the movement of iron in general
towards the magnet is an important example of unexplained motion in
matter.82 According toe Udayana the solar heat is the source of all the stores
of heat required for chemical change in the world. The nyāya-vaiśeśika
thinkers compare sound to wave and advocate the theory of an independent
sound wave.83 Gangeśa holds that the propagation is not from the molecule to
79 (i) 30 Muhūrtas = 1 day (24 hours)
(ii) 30 Kalās = 1 Mūhurta
(iii) 30 Kāṣthas = 1 Kalā
(iv) 18 Nimeṣas = 1 Kāṣtha
(v) 2 Lavas = 1 Nimeṣa
(vi) 2 Kṣaṇas = 1 Lava; cf. R.K. Choudhary, op. cit., p.228. 80 Ibid., p.118. 81 Ibid., p.130. 82 Ibid., p.140ff. Also, P.C. Ray's History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Cal., 1956,
pp.114, 216, 235, 284, 302, 310, etc. 83 Ibid., p.156.
213
molecule, but travels in ever expanding circle, as in water waves, perhaps in
spherical layers by comparison of masses of air; and these air waves, the
vehicles of sound, are exceedingly swift. This explains the velocity of sound.84
Gangeśa accepts airwaves as vehicles of sound waves.
Vidyāpati, informs us regarding the study of botany85 and veterinary
science.86 The science of medicine was not unknown either. The Varṇa
Ratnākara refers to various kinds of Vaidyas, such as visavaidya, narvaidya,
gajavaidya, asvavaidya, etc.87 Various kinds of physicians and references to
some common diseases are mentioned in the poems of Vidyāpati.
Astronomy and astrology were the most popular among the sciences
prevalent in Mithilā during the period. It is said that Makrand calendar was
very popular here.88 A king of the Darbhanga Raj namely Hemāngada
Thākuraa wrote Rāhu-parāgapanji in which he has referred to lunar eclipses
of coming hundred years.89 In Nepal's library there is a book named Amala
written by one Caṇḍeśvara, who might be the famous minister and digest
writer of Mithilā.90 From this book it appears that astronomy was a popular
science with the people of Mithilā. From Jyotiriśvara's Varṇa Ratnākara we
find a detailed account of prevailing astronomical calculations of Mithilā.91
The system of Mahaticāra has an old tradition behind it. During the
period of Mahaticāra marriages and any other auspicious function can not be
performed. Maheśa Thākura's book Aticāranirṇaya92 has a great importance
84 Ibid., p.158. 85 Puruṣa Parīkṣā, ed. Chandradhar Pathak, p.110. 86 Ibid., p.183. 87 Jyotiriśvara, Varṇa Ratnākara, Cal., p.9. 88 JBRS, Vol. XLVIII, 1962, Parts 1-4, p.61. Art. "Mithilā Men Jyotisha". 89 Ibid., p.61. 90 Ibid., p.61ff. 91 Jyotiriśvara's Varṇa Ratnākara, Cal. P.23. Also, Mithilā Bharati Pat., Art. "Varṇaratnākarak
Ādhāra Par Mithilā Men Jyotish Paramparā". 92 JBRS, Vol. XLVIII, p.66.
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in Mithilā's social life through the ages. The people of Mithilā still practice this
custom in their day to day life as well as on and before auspicious occasions
with nearly undiminished zeal.
The Bhūparikramā93 of Vidyāpati gives us a detailed geographical
account of 65 towns or villages together with their puranic importance, if any.
It seems that in writing out this geographical book Vidyāpati depended mainly
on the purāṇas.94 In the Bhūparikramā there is a description of eight deśas,
viz. Drupadadeśa, Brahmavarta, Prayag, Kashi Siddhadeśa, Balideśa,
Bhojapur and Janaka Deśa. Vidyāpati, while describing route from Mithilā to
Naimisha (modern Nimakhara, U.P.) forest, gives not only the topography of
those tracts with their rivers, forests, etc., but also details of their historical
and mythological importance. These topographical descriptions are the
important features of Bhūparikramā. However, Ramanath Jha observes that
the real motive of Vidyāpati was not to describe the topography of Āryavarta
and compile a work of geography.95 In kavirahasya of Ganga Nath Jha
several important places of India such as Maharashtra, Mahisaka, Vidarava,
Kuntal, Suparaka, Kānchi, Keral, Singhol, Chola, Pallava, etc. have been
mentioned which indicate that geographical knowledge of the regions,
mentioned above, was known to the people of Mithilā. Here we also find that
a poet should have knowledge of geography history etc. Thus, Mithilā which
was a famous centre of poets and philosophers, during the period under
review, must have attained a considerable knowledge of geography.96
The Varṇa Ratnākara of Jyotiriśvara also informs us about several
important places, mainly of pilgrimage. The Tirthalatā of Vācaspati II informs
93 JBRS, Volume IV, pp.18-19, Art. "Gazetteer Literature in Sanskrit," by H.P. Sastri. 94 Choudhary, R.K., op. cit., p.233. 95 Refer to JBU, (Ramantha Jha's Art.) Vol.I, p.89. 96 B. Jha, Ganga Nath, Kavirahsya, Prayag, 1929, p.89.
215
us about Kashi, Prayag and other important places of pilgrimage.97 The
Puruṣa Parīkṣa of Vidyāpati also mentions Gauda, Gajjana, Devagiri,
Gorakhapur, Dwaraka, Kailasha, Saryug, etc. along with important rivers.98
The folk literature of Mithilā is full of references of Mithilā's contact with
various parts of India.99 Again the fact that scholars of Mithilā went round the
country both for religious and educational purposes proves that geography
was nearly a common knowledge here.
Dharmaśāstra formed an important part of the curriculum in Mithilā. It
was in this branch of learning that Mithilā produced several eminent scholars
during the period under review. The first Maithila writer on Dharmaśāstra,
according to P.V. Kane, was Śrikara (A.D. 800 – 1000).100 He propounded the
view of spiritual benefit as the criterion for judging superior rights of
succession. Śridatta Upādhyāya (A.D.1275-1350)101 was another famous
writer who wrote Ācāradarśa, Chandogāhnika, Pitṛbhakti, Śrādhakalpa,
Samayapradīpa, etc. The most important among the Maithila Nibandhakāras
was Caṇḍeśvara Thākura, (14th C. A.D.) who was not only a great scholar but
a successful administrator as well. He compiled an extensive digest called
Smṛti Ratnākara divided into seven sections – Kṛtya, Dāna, Vyavahāra,
Śuddhi, Pujā, Vivāda, Grahastha and Rājnīti.102 Besides these ratnākaras
Caṇḍeśvara is credited with having written another important book Kṛtya
Cintāmaṇi. It deals with astronomical matters in relation to the performance of
several religious ceremonies and samskāras.103
97 A copy of this MSS is available in the Raj Library, Darbhanga, Catalogue of Mithilā MSS I,
p.185, No.169. 98 Vidyāpati's Puruṣa Parīkṣā, Pat., for details. 99 Rakesh, Ram Ekbal, Maithili Lok Geet, p.107ff. "Mathura, Dili, Ayodhya, Kailash, Kashi,
Karnatpur and Orisa etc. 100 Cf. Choudhary, R.K., op. cit., p.241. 101 Ibid. 102 Jha, Parameśwara, Mithilā Tattva Vimarśa, Pat., p.80. 103 Choudhary, R.K., op. cit., p.245.
216
Harinātha, the author of Smṛtisara, was also a great scholar of 14th
century A.D.104 The Madanaratnapradīpa is an extensive work written by the
ruling chief of Champaran namely Madansimhadeva (15th c. A.D.). Another
important nibandhakāra was Rudradhāra105 who is said to have been the
composer of several works, such as Śuddhivivek, Śraddhaviveka and
Vratapaddhati. These works are often quoted by Vācaspati, Raghunandana
and others scholars of our period. Misaru Miśra106 is the author of the famous
work Vivādacandra, dealing with love, recovery of debts, streedhan (right to
property of women), etc. He not only quotes, but also criticizes Caṇḍeśvara.
However, after Caṇḍeśvara, the most important nibandhkāras of
Mithilā, was Vācaspati Miśra (15th Century A.D.) who was also well versed in
Dharmaśāstra. He wrote ten works on the śāstras, i.e. philosophical works;
and thirty works on smṛtis. Some of his outstanding works are the following:
Kṛtyacintāmaṇi, Śuddhicintāmaṇi, tīrtha-cintāmaṇi, Gayāśraddhapa-ddhati,
Dvaitanirṇaya, Mahādān-nirṇaya, Śrāddhavidhi, Tīrthanirṇaya, Ahanik-
cintāmaṇi, Dvaitacintāmaṇi, Nīticintāmaṇi, Vivādanirṇaya, Śuddhinirṇaya, etc.
These Cintāmaṇis107 deal with daily rites, festivals, etc. whereas his nirṇayas
discuss all the tithis (dates) and their rites.
Misaru Miśra's (15th C. A.C.) Vivāda candra, has been a recognized
authority on Hindu law in Mithilā. He specifically stated that the work
Strīdhana was to be applied to such women's property as was technically so
called by the ancient sages and not to all property that comes to a woman.
Vidyāpati was another important writer on the Smṛti. Some of his important
works in this field are Gaṇgāvākyāvalī, Dānvākyāvali. Varṣākṛtya, Śaivasarva-
svasāra, Durgābhaktitarangiṇī, etc. Gaṇgāvākyāvalī, for example, deals with 104 Miśra, V., Cultural Heritage of Mithilā, p.316. 105 Ibid., p.316. 106 Ibid., p.317. 107 Jha, Parameśwara, Mithilā Tattvavimarśa, pp.118-119. here it is said that he wrote as many
as fortynine books, cf. Vidyāpati Granthāvali, Vol. I and II, KSDS University, Dar. for details.
217
rites and duties to be observed on the banks of the river Gangā.
Dānavākyāvalī, mentions rules governing the giving of gifts. Similarly,
Varṣāritya deals with fast and festivals. Śaivasarvasvasāra deals with the
essence of Śiva worship and Durgābhaktitaraṇgiṇī with Durga worship.
Just as the writers of Mithilā are indebted to 'Kalpataru' (wish-fulfilling-
tree), similarly the writers of Bengal are indebted to the writers of Mithilā.108
The writings of Śrīdatta, Caṇḍeśvara, Vidyāpati, Rudradhara, Vācaspati and
others have been utilized by Raghunandan, the greatest writer of the
nibandhas in Bengal. It should be noted here that the Bengal nibandhakāras
came into conflict with the view of Vācaspati and Vardhamāna.
The study of the dharmaśāstra may, therefore, stand for the study of
Hindu sociology in a broad sense. In the Mithilā digests also we have the
presentation of various social problems and efforts of Mithilā law givers to
solve them. The writers of dharmaśāstras recognized sadācāra (right
behaviour) as one of the authoritative sources of Dharma.109 Traditional usage
and customs were regarded as sources of Dharma.110 The scholars of Mithilā,
like the Smṛti writers of other places, had a great desire to solve the problems
connected with their religion and day to day problems of the society.
Caṇḍeśvara, Vācaspati and Vidyāpati are the best examples of this desire in
the society in Mithilā.
PATRONAGE OF LEARNING AND SCHOLARSHIP
The rulers of Karṇātas Oinawāras and Khandavālas generously
patronized learning. Under the Karṇātas (1097-1325 A.D.), books and
commentaries on different branches of literature were written and compiled.
Padmanābha Datta started his new school of grammar known as supadma. 108 JASB, Vol. XIX (Letters), p.107ff, Art. "Raghunandan's Indebtdness to his predecessors" by
B. Bhattacharya. 109 Yajnāvalkya Smrti, I, p.7. 110 Manu Smṛti, I, p. 118.
218
Bhānudatta Miśrā wrote on Rhetorics and Erotics. Ratneśvara commented
upon Sarasvati kanthāvaraṇa of Bhoja and Jyotiriśvara wrote paṅcasāyaka
and Rangaśekhara besides his famous Varṇa Ratnākara. Bhāvadatta's
commentary on the Naiṣadhiyacaritama is yet studied with interest and
delight. Śrikara's commentary on the Amarkoṣa is a remarkable contribution
to Sanskrit literature. Caṇḍeśvara and his family kept the banner of Smṛtic
studies high. The Karṇāta period saw the growth and development of a new
school of logic (Navya-Nyāya), as we have already discussed in this chapter.
The Oinwāras111 were mostly great scholar-rulers of Mithilā, fond of
learning and under them Mithilā attained academic eminence. Ganeśwara
Thākura, third ruler of his dynasty in hierarchy was a great lover of literature
and art. He zealously patronized scholars in his court and thereby kept up the
tradition of his ancestors.112 Literary activities found a great impetus during
the reign of Kirti Simha (A.D. 1402-1410).113 Besides Vidyāpati, Dāmodar
Miśra, the author of Veni Bhushana, also flourished during this time. His
patronage of learning can easily be judged from the Kīrttilatā which
constitutes a living monument to his glory and fame.114
Bhairava Simha's time was also marked with great literary and
intellecutual fervour. Gonu Jha, a matchless humorist and a man of
inexhaustible wits, flourished in about the same period.115 His name has now
passed for a household word in Mithilā and moreover he was a great scholar
of his time.116 The great Maithila philosopher Gangeśa Upādhyāya and
Vardhamāna Upādhyāya, mentioned earlier also flourished.
111 Thākura, U., History of Mithilā, p.290. 112 Miśra, U., Vidyāpati Thākura, p.17. cf. Mitra and Majumdar, Vidyayapti, p.32. 113 JBRS, XL, p.112. 114 Thākura, U., History of Mithilā, p.303. 115 Jha, Parameśwara, op. cit., p.91. 116 Ibid., p.91. The panji records his name among other things as "Mahamahoharikesha
Mahadhurtaraj Gonukah…." Also, Thākura, U., op. cit., pp.304-305.
219
Vidyāpati says that King Deva Simha was hounoured among the great
heroes and his name headed the list of them that are full of learning.117 It was
by his order that Vidyāpati wrote Bhūparikramā, mentioned earlier.118
The name of Śivasimha has become proverbial in Mithilā like
Harisimha Deva of Karṇāta dynasty.119 Not only was his wife Lakhimā one of
the few learned women of the then India but she also appears to have been a
good administrator. The court of Shiva Simha was full of scholars like
Vidyāpati, Vācaspati Miśra II, a great digest writer of our period, and others.120
During this period, attention was also given to the Maithili language and
literature. Vidyāpati composed poems in this language and made them very
popular. The reign of Nar Simha Deva121 is also marked by cultural activity.
Vidyāpati in his Durgābhakti Tarangiṇī' has called him a great warrior, a great
giver of gifts and an erudite scholar. Under his patronage Sudhākara wrote
Ratnāvalī, a treatise dealing with astronomy and several other works on
grammar and logic.122
Under Bhairava Simha's patronage Ruchipati wrote Anargharaghava
Tika; Abhinava Vācaspati Miśra the crest jewel among scholars, compiled the
Vyavahāra Cintāmaṇi and other treatise. The great Pakśadhara Miśra wrote
his immortal works Navyanyāyalok, tithicandrikā, etc. We, however, do not
notice the cultural glory created by the Oinawara rulers during the reign of
Lakśmīnātha Simhadeva (A.D. 1530-1527).123
117 Ibid., p.92. Also, refer to Indian Antiquity, XIV. III, "Virekshu manyah sudhiyan varnayo…" 118 Singh, S.N., History of Tirhut, p.71. 119 There is a proverb in Mithilā, viz. "Pokhari Rajokhar aur sabh pokhara
Raja Sive Singh aur Sabha Chhokara"
Cf. Jha, Parameśwara, op. cit., p.93. 120 Ibid., p.112ff. 121 Ibid., p.326. 122 Ibid., p.327. 123 Miśra, V., Cultural Heritage of Mithilā, p.80. There is a controversy regarding the period of
this ruler. For details, U. Thākura’s History of Mithilā, p.336ff.
220
The rule of Khandavāla dynasty (c. 1556 A.D. onwards) was also the
golden age of Sanskrit learning in Mithilā. Like the Karṇātas and Oinwāras,
kings of this dynasty patronized learning and art in their court. M.M. Mahesha
Thākura, the founder of this dynasty, was himself one of the brightest literary
gems that illumined the period. His celebrated works are Ālokapradīp, a
commentary on Pakśadhara Miśra's Dāyasāra, Aticāranirṇaya, and Darpaṇa
a commentary on Gangeśa Upādhyāya's Nyāya Cintāmaṇi.124 He also wrote a
history of Akabar's reign in Sanskrit, the original copy of which is now
preserved in India Office, London.125
Maheśa Thākura did not only make principles for deciding Aticāra but
also introduced a system of examination called Dhout vastra Parīkṣā which
has already been discussed in this chapter. This was his great contribution to
the world of Sanskrit learning. He is also said to have met his great
contemporary, the celebrated saint poet Tulasi Das, in Kashi (or Banaras).126
Maheśa Thākura also patronized vernacular literature, i.e. Maithili. He wrote
Gangāstuti in Maithili and the book is still very popular in Mithilā.127
The elder brothers of Maheśa Thākura, namely Tegha Thākura,
Dāmodara Thākura, Megha Thākura, all of whom were designated
Mahāmahōpādhyāyas, were also great scholars. Megha Thākura was a
disciple of Pakśadhara Miśra II, and his work Jalada is a commentary of
Vardhamāna's Līlāwatī Prakāśā.128 Dāmodara Thākura was also a great
scholar of darshana, nyāya, and karmakānda. His works Vivekadīpaka,
Ṣodaśamahā-dānapaddhati and Divya Dīpikā are of great eminence. He was
a court Pandit of Maharāja Sangram Singh of Bastar (Madhya Pradesh).
124 Jha, Parameśwara, Mithilā Tattva Vimarśa, p. 143. cf. S.N. Singh's History of Tirhut, p.235.
Also, Bakshi M. Jha's Mithilā Bhasha Maya Itihas, p.57. 125 Smith, V.A., Akbar the Great Moghal, Oxford, London, p.486. 126 Jha, op. cit., p.2. 127 Ibid., p.152 Bakshi, op. cit., pp.75-76. 128 Mithilā Bharati, Anka-3, Jan-Dec., 1971, Pat., p.69.
221
Next in line was Raghudeva Miśra,129 grandson of Achyut Thākura130
who was himself a scholar of eminence. His work Virudāvalī is still very
popular among the scholars of Mithilā. It was by the order of Raghudeva
Miśra that Paraśurāma Jhā copied Vācaspati Miśra's Śuddha Cintāmaṇi,
Vyavahāra Cintāmaṇi, and Dwaita Nirṇaya. The emperor Shahjahan
honoured him with the title of Sarasvati for his poetic and scholarly
accomplishments. Hemangada Thākura, son of Gopāla Thākura, was a great
astrologer of the period.131 His Rahūparāgapanji is still studied and homoured
by the scholars.
Śubhankara Thākura (A.D. 1581-1571) maintained the tradition of his
predecessors and patronized education and learning with great zeal during
the period under review. He himself wrote Tithi Nirṇaya and Śrīhasta
Muktāvalī',132 which are valuable works still appreciated by the scholars of
Mithilā.
Another celebrated scholar king of this dynasty was Raja Sundar
Thākura. It was by his order that Rāma Dāsa wrote Ānanda Vijaya Nātikā in
his praise which was later on published by Maharāja Rameśwara Simha.133
The period of his son, Raja Mahīnātha Thākura was also marked by all round
development. His younger brother Narapati Thākura was also a great patron
of Maithili language and literature along with Sanskrit literature. He also used
to compose in Maithili language. It was on his order that the celebrated poet
Lochana wrote his famous Rāga Tarangiṇī,134 and Naiṣadha Kāvyama.135
129 Bakshi, M.J., Mithilā Bhashamaya Itihas, pp.139-46. Also Jha, P., op .cit., p.155. 130 Ibid., p.69, Bakshi, M.J., op. cit., p.15. 131 The panji literature follows thus "hemangadasa Tanute Panji Rahu Parāgasya" for his
miraculous astrological feat said to have been performed before Emperor Akbar and supported by P. Jha, op. cit., pp.155-56.
132 Jha, Parameśwara, op. cit., p.157. 133 Published by Raj Press, Darbhanga. 134 Rāga Tarangiṇī, ed. Baldeva Miśra, Dar. Also, Maithili Akademi, Pat., for details. 135 Palmleaf MSS, Preserved in Raj Library, Darbhanga.
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Maithili songs and rāgas, known locally as Tirhuti songs, were made very
popular during this period.136
During the reign of Raghava Simgh (A.D. 1703/4-1739-40)137 Krishna
Kavi became a famous poet who has described the battle of Ladari Ghat in
his poems.138 Kavi Narāyaṇa wrote Virudāvalī in his praise and also
composed the Madhuravāniśwara temple inscription.139
However, the most reputed scholar of the period concerned was Pandit
raj Gokul Nath Upādhyāya.140 He was an outstanding writer of his time mainly
because of his revolutionary approach to contemporary problems and their
solutions. Gokulnath wrote his famous book Kunda Kādambarī after the name
of his daughter who died in a tank at an early age. He was a disciple of the
great Umapati Upadhyaya of his village Koilakha.141 Gokulnath had equal
command over darshana, vyakarana, sāhitya, and jyotiṣa.
It should also be noted here that Maithili language and literature
developed rather rapidly and some of the rulers of the royal dynasties took
active interest in development. Like Jyotiriśvara Thākura and Vidyāpati,
several scholars made Maithili language and literature rich and popular. The
most important among them was Amritkar,142 Haripati143, Bhanukavi,144
Gajasimha,145 Rudradhara,146 Kavirāja,147 Bhikhāri Miśra, Viśnupuri,148
136 Jha, Parameśwara, op. cit., Pat., p. 161. cf. Mithilā Bharati, Ank-3, Jan-Dec., p.69. 137 Miśra, V., Cultural Heritage of Mithilā, p.97. 138 Mithilā Bharati, 1971, p.70. 139 R.K. Choudhary's Select Inscription of Bihar, pp.127-29. Also Mithilā Bharati, Ank-3, 1971,
p.69. 140 Jha, Parameśwara, Mithilā Taṭṭva Vimarśa, p.169. "Kundakadambarināma Granthoyāna
Tvakṛtya". 141 Jha, Parameśwara, op. cit., p.171. 142 Miśra, J.K., A History of Maithili Lit., Vol.I, pp.196-98. 143 Ibid., pp.200-201. 144 Ibid., p..201-202. 145 Ibid., pp.202-204. 146 Ibid., p.204.
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Deśbandhu Thākura,149 Yeśodhara Nava Kavi Śekhara, Madhusudana,
Caturbhuja, Govinda, Kaṁsanarayaṇa and several other scholars served
maithili language and literature.
Some of the poets and scholars mentioned above were from areas that
form part of Nepal now.150 Thus, the rulers of Nepal also patronized Maithili
language and literature along with Sanskrit during the period under review.
For example, Vanśmaṇi Jhā's several books in Maithili were written during the
reign of Bhupal Singh and Jyotirmala.151 We also notice that several dramatic
books were also written during this period.
In the realm of Nātakas Raṇadāsa Jhā wrote Ānanda Vijaya Nātaka
between A.D. 1644 and 1671.152 He also wrote Uṣhāharaṇa Nātaka. At a
slightly later period Umāpati Upādhyāya illumined the age with his genius. He
wrote Pārijātaharaṇa Nātaka' which is unrivalled153 in the field concerned.
Lālkavi wrote Gouri Swayambara Nātaka and was a contemporary of
Maharāja Narendra Singh.
It should be noted here that a very significant feature of the period
under review was the growth and development of both Sanskrit and Maithili
literatures side by side without any mutual conflict at the same time. It can be
said that it is only very rarely that literatures in a recessive and a dominant
languages of a community grow simultaneously. So at a time when Sanskrit
was in ascendancy, it was in Mithilā that the vernacular literature also attained
a sort of maturity as should be clear from the foregoing description. Both
Sanskrit and Maithili grew side by side without any antipathy to each other,
147 Ibid., pp.204-205. 148 Ibid., pp.208-209. 149 Ibid., pp.209-210. 150 Ibid. Also Mithilā Bharati, Bhag : 1-4, 1971, p.71. 151 Miśra, J.K., op. cit., pp.253-254. 152 Ibid., p.287ff. 153 Ibid., p.328.
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and though when Sanskrit was written by scholars of Mithilā, Maithili songs
were inserted in response to the popular demands, in the Sanskrit dramas
also. For example Pārijātaharaṇa Nātaka may be cited as a good example of
this feature of the period.154
We notice some of the women scholars of Mithilā played important
part in raising the status of Mithilā in the realm of education and learning. The
most important among them seems Lakhimā, the chief queen of Shiva Simha
(A.D. 1416).155 She was a celebrated scholar of the period. Her verses in
Sanskrit, of which stray pieces are still extant, are greatly honoured by the
scholars of Mithilā. Along with her husband she was a patron of Vidyāpati.
It is said that padārthacandra which is a treatise on Nyāya Vaiśeśika156
was written at the initiative of her guru Misru Miśra, a dharmaśastri, by the
Queen Lakhimā. Numerous legends speaking eloquently of her poetic talents
and unsurpassing wit and humour are yet a matter of keen interest in the
families of Mithilā.
Viśwāsa Devī157 was yet another celebrated woman during the period
under review. Under her patronage, as it is said, Vidyāpati wrote
Śaivasarvaśwara, Parmānbhūtapurāṇasamgraha and Gangāvākyavalī. These
books are replete with the eulogies of the queen. If tradition is to be relied
upon during the reign of Viśwāsa Devī, there was a gathering of 1400
mīmāmsākaras in Mithilā.158
The grand daughter of Vidyāpati, Chandrakalā, was also believed to be
an accomplished woman of our period. She was a great poet and Lochana in
his Rāga Tarangiṇī quotes a poem by her.159
154 Parijātahraṇa Nātaka, ed. Surendra Jha Suman, Darbhanga. 155 Thākura, U., op. cit., p.332. cf. Jha, Parameśwara, op. cit., p.163. 156 Miśra, V., op. cit., p.147. 157 Thākura, U., op. cit., p.324. 158 Choudhary, R.K., op. cit., p.226. 159 Lochankrit Rāgatarangiṇī, Pat., p.XII, Also, Miśra, J.K., op. cit., p.199. Ramdeva Jha holds a
contradictionary view and suggests that it could be Chandrakavi. Cf. Lochankrit RajTarangiṇī, Pat. Intro.
225
However, excepting the above examples, we do not notice other
women of repute in the realm of education and learning. In fact, women's
education on a mass scale was unknown because of several important
factors.
Education was considered less important for women then their opposite
sex.160 The parents were lukewarm towards the education of their daughters.
There was no separate school for girls and they got their primary education in
the school of boys. But as soon as the girls attained puberty they were
prohibited from receiving education along with the boys.
This state of women's education, however, was not only due to the
negligence on the part of the parents and administrators, but also because of
numerous social evils such as the purdah system and the practice of early
marriage as well as seclusion of women within the four walls of the house.161
In fact the purdah system snatched the freedom of movement of women. Due
to this strict social binding, the women enjoyed very little opportunity to
acquire education.
Because of the institution of early marriage, young girls became the
mothers of numerous children at a very early age. Thus their health
deteriorated after marriage and their main business remained to look after the
household duties. So they could not spare time for literary pursuits.162
The economic factors were also no less responsible for the denial of
education to women during the period under review. We have several
examples of highly educated ladies like Lakhimā and Viśwāsa Devī, but we
can get hardly any enlightened women representing a poor family. Thus, the
economic factors163 must have blocked the educational progress of women.
160 Journal of the United Provinces Historical Society, Vol. XIX, 1964, p.119. 161 Law, N.N., Promotion of Learning in India, During Mohammadan Rule, Cal., 1916, pp.204-5. 162 JBRS, Vol. XLII, 1976, p.160. 163 Ibid., p.161.
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MAITHILĪ LANGUAGE AND ITS LITERARY FEATURES
There has been an unbroken continuity of Maithilī language and
literature since its inception in the early medieval period. The earliest
reference to Maithilī or Tirahutiyā is found in Amaduzzi's preface to Beligatti's
Alphabetum Brahmpānicum (published in 1771 A.D.). This contains a list of
Indian languages amongst which there is one Tourutiana i.e. Tirhutiyā. It was
Colebrooke who for the first time called it as Mithelee or Mythili in 1801.164
William Adam who conducted a survey of the state of education in
Bengal and Bihar during 1835-1838, used the word Tirhutiyā for Maithilī as
the language of conversation in Tirhut in his report.165 Buchanan used the
words desh bhasha, Mithilā dialect, etc. for Maithili.166 It was probably George
A. Grierson who first used the word 'Maithili' for the language of the people of
Mithilā in 1882.167
Maithili has its own script which is variously known as Maithili Lipi,
Mithilākśara or Maithilākśara, but popularly it is called 'Tirīhuta'.168 Maithili
seems to have emerged out somewhere in the neighbourhood of tenth-
eleventh century A.D. and has passed through successive stages of
development known as old Maithili (A.D. 900 – 1350), Middle Maithili (A.D.
1350 – 1830) and Modern Maithili (from 1830 A.D. onwards).169 Middle
Maithili, a pan-maithili literary language was most developed form of literary
language.
164 Asiatic Researches, VII, 1801, p.199; cf. Miśra, V., Cultural Heritage of Mithilā, p.162. 165 Basu, Anathnath, ed. Report on the State of Education in Bengal (1835 & 1938) by William
Adam, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1941, p.248. 166 Buchanan, Francis, An Account of the District of Purnea in 1809-10, BORS, Patna, 1928,
pp.171-173. 167 Grierson, George A., An Introduction to the Maithili Language of North Bihar Containing A
Grammar, Chrestomathy and Vocabulary, Part II, JASB, Calcutta, 1882, pp.24-29. 168 Miśra, V., op. cit., pp.191-215. 169 Choudhary, Radhakrishna, A Survey of Maithili Literature, Devgarh, 1976, pp.6-7.
227
The Maithila Brāhmaṇas and Kāyasthas took the greatest share in
producing the vast bulk of Maithili literature in the past. The works in Maithili
such as Jyotiriśvara's Varṇa Ratnākara, Umāpati's Pārijātaharaṇa and many
more have been already mentioned in this chapter. It was ultimately Vidyāpati
who boldly asserted the sweetness of Desilabayāna170 (native language) and
established its authority over the all-embracing character of Sanskrit.171
The earliest signs of the vernacular forms are illustrated in the works of
Siddhācāryas. While the Prākṛta-Apabhraṁśa-Avahaṭṭa-Laukika language
was gradually gaining ground, neo-classical Sanskrit literature was taking
shape and that is best illustrated in the Gītagovinda of Jayadeva whose
influence on the later writers of Mithilā and Bengal is immense.172
The people of Mithilā appear to have been well-versed in prosody. The
joining of metre with melodies (Rāgas and Rāgiṇīs) is found as early as the
eleventh-twelfth century A.D. in Nānyadeva's (C. 1097-1147 A.D.)
Sarasvatihṛdayā-laṅkārahāraj and in Jayadeva's Gītagovinda. Metre and
melodies are totally absent from the Caryāpadas. Locana's song metres are
regulated by definite Rāgas and Tālas. The existence of a large number of
commentaries on Prākṛta-paiṅgla, written through the centuries in Mithilā by
various commentators, is indicative of the poetic talents and interest in
prosody.173
All forms of literature are represented in Maithili. In the field of poetry,
Maithili is rich in epics (Mahākāvyas) of which there are three different
classes,174 viz. –
170 Kīrttilatā of Vidyāpati, ed. U. Miśra, p. 4.
"Sakkaya Vānī Vahua na bhāvui,
Pāuna bāsko mamma na pabay-desil bayānā saba jana miṭṭhā, tan taisana jampiyo avahaṭṭhā. 171 Choudhary, R.K., Mithilā in the Age of Vidyāpati, p.408. 172 Ibid., p.414. 173 Ibid., p.415. 174 Ibid., p.416.
228
(A) (i) translations of the adaptations of the original, for example,
Acyutānanda Datta's Mahābhārata and Raghuvaṁśa; and GauriŚankara
Jha's Meghanādavadha, based on the adaptation of Michael Madhusudan
Datta.
(ii) Independent works following the convention of Sanskrit epics, viz.,
Badrinath Jha's Ekāvalipariṇaya; Raghunandan Dasa's Subhadrāharaṇa and
Tantranath Jha's Kīcakabadha.
(iii) Having the characteristics of epics, e.g., Manabodha's Kṛṣṇajanma,
Chanda Jha's Rāmāyaṇa, Laldāsa's Rāmāyaṇa.
(B) Like the Mahākāvyas, the Khaṇdakāvyas are equally popular in
Maithili. Here also translations and adaptations are seen besides the original
ones. Translations and adaptations of Meghadūta, Ṛtusaṁhara,
Bhartṛharinirvedakāvya, Virahiṇī-Vajrāṅgaṇa and various others are found.
Some of the notable original products in the field of Khaṇḍakāvya are
Gaṅgālaharī and Gaṇeśakhaṇḍa by Laldāsa, Gajagrahoddhāra by
Gunawantalal Das, Vīrabālaka by Raghunandana Das, Satibibhūti by
Riddhinath Jha and Nāradavivāha by Anupa Miśra.
(C) A peculiar type of Sanskrit Kāvya, known Vātāhvāna Kāvya, has
been very popular in Maithili. It is supposed to induce the wind to blow at
particularly hot hours. Both Chanda Jha and Bhana Jha have followed this.
(D) Virudāvalis have been composed by Laldāsa and Riddhinath Jha.
(E) Kobaragīta has been composed by one of the master artists named
Kaśikant Miśra Madhup.
The most important and common type of poetry in Maithili is Tirhuti. It
represents the most popular and successful indigenous lyrical expression of
Tirhut and is the richest of all classes of Maithili songs. All aspects of love
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affairs are unfolded therein. They sing of separation as well as of union. The
Tirhuti has following classificaitons175 -
(i) Baṭagamni – it potrays the nāyika (heroine) in abhisāra (that is,
when she goes to meet her lover). It is sung out in a peculiar melody of which
Vidyāpati in the most successful writer.
(ii) Goālari – It depicts the sports and youthful pranks of Kṛṣṇa in the
company of the Gopis of which Nandipati is the most successful writer.
(iii) Rāsa – It deals with Kṛṣṇa's sportive lilās with Gopis. The most
important writer on Rāsa in Maithili is Sahebramadāsa. The influence of
Brajabhāṣā is perceptible in his writings.
(iv) Māna – It represents a sort of dramatic lyric depicting the
annoyance of the beloved (strimāna) and the request of the lovers to mend
matters and vice-versa (puruṣmāna). Umāpti is the best writer of māna.
Other important forms of Maithili poetry are represented by Samadauni,
Lagni, Chaitābara, Malāra, Yoga, Uchiti, Sohara, Choumāsā and devotional
songs like Nachāri, Maheshvāni, Gosaunikagita and Viṣṇupada.176
(i) Samadauni – On the occasion of the Navarātri, it is sung to bid adieu
to goddess Durgā. It is sung to bid farewell to one's daughter when she is
going to her husband's house after marriage. All important functions end with
the singing of this song, popularly known as Bidai song. Gananātha Jha and
Vindhyānatha Jhā have made important contributions in this field.
(ii) Lagni – It is sung by village womenfolk in the early hours of morning
while grinding grains. The classical type of Lagni embodies four to five
stanzas. Gananātha Jhā has used it as a medium of fine poetry.
175 Ibid., p.417 176 Ibid., pp.418-419.
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(iii) Chaitābara – It represents a class of folk poetry and conveys
emotions of love in the month of Caitra (March-April). It is also known as Caiti.
(iv) Malāra – It is a seasonal song, sung generally in the dry and rainy
seasons, having a distinct rāga.
(v) Yoga – It is sung to bind the bridegroom and the bride, even lover-
beloved, by divine incantations.
(vi) Uchiti – It is sung to convey the courtesy of the host to the
distinguished visitor. The Yoga and Uchiti are the two peculiar classes of
Maithili songs. These two songs have both literary and folk types. The Yoga
goes back to the days of Vidyāpati.
Sohara, Bārahmāsā and Coumāsā are the familiar types of all
vernacular poetry and are found in almost all the languages of Bihar. Sohara
represents the birth songs. Bārahamāsā represents the state of separation
during the course of twelve months; Coumāsā during the course of four
months. These two classes have both literary and folk types. In Mithilā, the
ordinary people have to eke out their livelihood with great difficulty and as
such long separation from the near and dear ones is a common feature.
These songs are the products of such separation and various poets, now
unknown, composed or contributed to the development of these songs.
Nacāri indicates songs representing direct prayer to Śiva. Nacāri and
Maheśvāṇi are often confused and kept in common parlance but the
difference between the two is real and marked. Nachāri refers to the ecstatic
dance of Śiva and is addressed to Manain (Menaka, mother of Gouri). It
represents the life of Śiva and more specially his marriage. Vidyāpati, Lalkavi,
Kanhārāmadās, Chanda Jha and others have composed some of the best
Nacāris and Maheśvāṇis. The Gosaunikagīta is sung in praise of Śakti and
the people have been composing such songs since the days of Vidyāpati.
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The Maithili folk literature is equally important from the literary point of
view. The chief characteristics of maithili folk literature are simplicity,
freshness and the charm of its genre. At rare moments of intuitive experience,
it is at its best and is able to have direct vision into the life of things. The story
of the married life of Śiva, the love episodes of Kṛṣṇa, the story of Bihula,
Puranic legends and gods, other romantic love stories of a like nature, riddle
poetry, didactive and educative lore form the basis of folk literature in Mithilā.
Verses dispensing with the practical wisdom are found in Dākavacanāmṛta.
Jyotiriśvara is well known for his erotic composition. Maithili folk literature has
long romantic tales in verse or in popular ballads. Lorika, Bihula, Salhesa,
Dinabhadri, Satikumari and many others are some of the finest specimens of
Maithili folk literature.
It is in the field of lyrics that Maithili has made the most notable
contribution in the history of modern Indo-Aryan literature. Most lyrics are
meant to be sung. The tradition of lyric, set by the early Caryāpadas and
elaborated and perfected by Jayadeva and Umāpati, reached its pinnacle of
glory in Vidyāpati. The lyrics are suited to mood and emotion with wide and
ulimited range. The chief sources of inspiration are the events and
experiences of everyday life. Needless to say that Sanskrit poetics and erotic
convention provide eternal background to its colour and imagery. Maithili
lyrics are mainly distinguished by their melodies. Bhanita is the most common
feature of the Maithili lyric and some of the Bhanitas contain the name of the
patron whom the poet wishes to oblige or compliment.
The tradition of prose in Maithili is the earliest in the whole of eastern
Indian languages and its best example is found in the Varṇaratnākara of
Jyotiriśvara. His influence is seen on the writing of the later authors of Nepal
and Bengal. It is regrettable that the tradition of finished prose could not be
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carried on longer. The middle Maithili was dominated mainly by the lyrics and
the prose, in modern sense of the term, is really a modern creation.177
In the field of drama, Maithili's contribution is unique. It influenced the
dramatic tradition of Assam, Bengal and Nepal. For a considerable period,
Sanskrit and Prakrit dominated the scene of Maithili drama. In most of the
earlier dramas, speeches are in Sanskrit and Prakrit and Maithili or Sanskrit
verses intersperse the play. Sometimes they are translated into Maithili or the
songs are purely in Maithili. These songs sometimes contain the translation of
the meaning of the preceding Sanskrit verses. We have such an example in
Umāpati's Pārijātaharaṇa.178
EDUCATION AMONG MUSLIMS
The respect towards education and learning has been a permanent
feature in Islamic tradition. There are traditions or Ḥādith ascribing many
things to the Prophet of Islam, both in the form of His sayings and actions,
including the need as well as obligation, to acquire knowledge for acting and
thinking in upright ways. One of the traditions says that a father can confer
upon his child no more valuable gift than a good education.179
There was no state department of education and the entire system of
education was built up and run on a purely voluntary basis. There were
considerable educational activities in the traditional Hindu and Muslim system
of learning in centres like Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Maner, Bihansharif, etc.180
The various Sufi Khānqāhs both in the south and north Bihar fostered
the cause of education. A Muslim child learned at home and Maktabs reading,
reciting and memorizing the Qurān, learning the rules of grammar and
177 Ibid., p.420. 178 Ibid., p.421. 179 Askari, S.H., Islam and Muslims in Medieval Bihar, Khuda Baksha Oriental Public Library,
Patna, 2nd Edn., 1998, p.121. 180 Lal, Bihari 'Fitrat', Ainā-i-Tirhut (in Urdu), Matba Bahar Kashmir, Lucknow, 1883, pp.93-114.
233
speech, some ethical or moral maxims, a few traditions and lives of saints.
Those who entered in Madarasās attached to or situated near the mosques,
carried on their higher studies. In early times people, Hindus or Muslims,
thought it wrong to take pay for teaching. This was carried to extremes by
Muslims in regard to the Qurān and religion. Though the devout were in
favour of gratuitious religious instruction, there is evidence, of salary being
paid to the teachers.181
The few literary glimpses of social and religious life and of education in
its social bearing that we can catch from the works of mystic Sūfis called
Malfūzāt and Maktūbāt and of the Smṛti writers and also the prose works and
versified effusions of some contemporary poets, show that education was
thought then, as in ancient times, as a panacea for all evils and as a means of
improving the moral and physical conditions of a fairly considerable section of
population who formed the basis of the social pyramid.182
The two main pillars of Muslim education were the Maktab and the
Madrasa. The Maktab was the elementary school. The traditional age for the
commencement of the Maktab state is 5 years 4 months 4 days, but actually
when a child was 5 to 7 years old his education began, some times at home
of rich parents and more often in Maktab housed in small thatched mud-
buildings. As they had first to learn the Qurān, practice Qirāt (recitation) and
memorize it, combining it with instructive religious precepts and usages, and
read lives of godly people the mosque was not a fit place as school for all
classes of children, lest they might defile its floor and wall. They might be
taught near a mosque or a shrine of some saints. The boys had first to learn
the Qurān and the rules of grammar and speech, and also rudimentary rules
of arithmetic. When taken either to a Khānqāh (as in that of Biharsharif) under
the great Firdausī saint, Sharafu-ud-din Manerī, as we learn from his Malfūd
181 Aksari, S.H., op. cit., p.123. 182 Ibid., p.125.
234
Madan-ul-Mānī or to a Maktab, the child was first made to commence learning
to read with the phrase Bismillāh.183
Sounds of vowels and consonants, first separately and then combined,
were uttered distinctly by the teacher to indicate just pronunciation. Letters of
alphabet were written on a piece of paper or a wooden tablet or board called
Takhtī for the child to be copied. The boy was made to put his fingers on each
individual letter and imitate teacher in pronouncing and reading them
correctly. The elementary exercises for the beginners consisted of acquisition
of the knowledge of alphabet, continuance of combination of letters, divisions
into syllables, recitation of a few hemistiches or distiched repetition of that
which had been read before, writing with reed pens on a piece of paper or on
a wooden tablet. They learnt the words and passage of Qurān by rote,
memorized them by repeating them again and again.184
An obvious feature of the system of elementary education followed in
those days has been referred to in Manāqibul Asfiyā and Madan-ul-Māni. The
students in the primary stage had to memorise the texts of some prescribed
treatise including short lexicons and books of synonyms, so as to enable them
to store up a copious vocabulary in the mind.185
The early curriculum, besides the Qurān, appears to have consisted of
grammar and some amount of poetry, traditions, Arithmetic and calligraphy.
The study of science like astronomy, mathematics, algebra, geometry,
geography, history, medicine, philosophy, scholastic theology, in fact various
branches of Maqūlāt and Manqūlāt, that is rational and traditional subjects,
were pushed forward when the young scholar had nearly attained adulthood,
when they ceased to attend the Maktab and went to the Madrasa. Generally,
higher education extended to the age of 20 or even more. In medieval times
183 Ibid., p.127. 184 Ibid., pp.127-128. 185 Ibid., p.128.
235
sons of the better-to-do people had to be prepared for public offices, and also,
therefore, they were trained in the art of war. Difficulties of the time and the
exigencies of the situation demanded that they should learn riding, swimming
and wielding the sword and arrow.186
Muslim educational institutions in medieval Bihar, as elsewhere, were
of several grades ranging from elaborate Colleges known as Madrasas of
Jāmia (so-called because they were attached to Masjid-i-Jāmi or
congregational mosques). Some Madrasas were equipped with libraries of
hand-written books named as Kitāb Khāna and boarding-houses. Elementary
schools were called Maktab or Kuttāb, which meant a place for writing or a
school-house where, besides the recital and memorization of the Qurān, and
Tajwīd and Qirāt (art of reading) lessons were given in rudimentary
knowledge of Islam for the discharge of religious duties, and also in grammar
and glossary-writing, simple computation or elementary arithmetic. Side by
side, went on the study of books of ethics and literature, such as Pand Nāma
of Aṭṭār, Gulistān, Bostān of Sadī, allegorical story books of Nakhshabī and
selections from the works of Firdausi, Ḥāfiẓ, Niẓāmī and Amir Khusrau, and
the art of letter-writing or Mulāṭfa was learnt in Bihar through the Maktūbāt of
Firdausī Sūfis, Sharafu'd Din Manerī and of Muẓaffar Shams Balkhī. The boys
received some professional training also. Higher studies in Madrasas
originally included that of the theological subjects, such as Ḥadīth (tradition)
Fiqh and Uṣūl (jurisprudence), Tafsīr (exegesis or commentaries), science of
Ansāb and Rijāl (scrutiny of genealogy and biography of the traditionists). The
field of learning and investigation became wider and the prevailing curriculum
came to embrace both religious and secular subjects, such as the
grammatical themes of Etymology, Syntax (Sarf-o-Naḥw) and rhetoric (Mānī-
186 Ibid., p.129.
236
o-Bayān) logic, principles of Islamic law, philosophy, scholastic theology,
poetry, politics, medicine and music.187
Thus, the school system of the Muslims prevalent during the period
under review, required that every child after learning his alphabets and
vocabulary, should read the Holy Quran under a Muqri, i.e. one who knew
how to read it. Next, the student had to read literature, romance, history and
ethics. He made himself conversant with such works as Pandnāmāh,
Amudnāmāh, Gulistān, Bostān, Jamiul Qawānin, Ruqqat Amānullah Hussaini,
Bāhardānesh-Sikandranāmāh and so on. Those who stopped at this stage
were given the title of Munśi. But others who continued further were called
Maulvi, Maulānā or Fazil, befitting the standard and nature of learning that
they had acquired. Those who studied Arabic had to read, in addition, works
on the life and teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, and commentaries on
The Quran, Aqaid, Tasawwuf, Logic, Philosophy and Ilm-e-Kalam.188
Bihari Lal 'Fitrat' (A.D. 1883), the author of Ainā-i-Tirhut writes that the
learning of Persian, Arabic and Urdu was confined to Muslims. There were
forty-five such scholars in Darbhanga.189 The name of Mulla Abul Hasan has
been mentioned by the author190 who was in the court of Aurangzeb.
187 Ibid., p.130. 188 Diwakar, R.R., Bihar Through the Ages, pp.435-436. 189 Lal, Bihari, 'Fitrat', op. cit., pp.93-114. 190 Ibid., p.93.