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A Bengali review of Rajput O Ugrakshatriya

How an earlier edition was presented to Bengali literary readers.

রাজপুত ও উগ্রক্ষত্রিয় — পুস্তক-পরিচয়

Prabasi · fourteenth year, second volume [1]

Complete book review196 English words · About 1 min read

About this translation

This translation covers the complete review at the foot of printed p. 470 and the top of p. 471, excluding the unrelated reviews around it. The reviewer is describing the book’s origin theory; that description is not proof of the theory. It concerns an earlier edition, not the 1940 revision.

Reading translation compared with the scans · Independent language review pending

Translator’s notes & uncertain readings
  1. The compiler’s surname in this review is read as Basu (বসু); the 1940 book’s title leaf names Haricharan Bandhu (বন্ধু). This discrepancy is preserved rather than silently harmonised.
  2. A short lineage description following Agnikula Rajput on p. 470 is unclear in the scan and is marked in the translation.
  3. The Sanskrit quotation is attributed in the review to the Brihaddharma Purana. Its use here belongs to the reviewer’s historical argument about caste status.
  4. The review’s puzzled comment on an English foreword belongs to the earlier edition.

Read the English below; select a source image to examine the Bengali print. Section headings are editorial additions. Scan numbers and printed page numbers are kept separate.

Printed p. 470 · scan 498 · lower right column

The book and its argument

Rajput O Ugrakshatriya. Compiled and edited by Sri Haricharan Basu [surname as read in this review]. Publisher: Sri Ashutosh Chowdhury, Burdwan. No price is stated. The origins, customs, practices, observances, lineage conventions and social standing of the Ugra Kshatriya community have been collected in this book from various scriptures and from regional literature and history.

The author has sought to show that the Vedic Agnikula Rajputs [a following lineage description is unclear in the scan] came to Bengal as soldiers of the Muslim conquerors, established settlements in Burdwan district, and came to be known as Ugra Kshatriyas. Later, during Akbar’s reign, Raja Man Singh’s Kshatriya—

Printed p. 471 · scan 499 · upper left column

The reviewer’s assessment

—soldiers also came to live in that part to assist the governor of Burdwan. The lineage born of the union of these two groups of Kshatriya settlers is identified through the Brihaddharma Purana’s statement: “Ugra and Rajputra were born of a Kshatriya by her (a Vaishya woman).” Therefore, they are Kshatriyas.

Although this book deals with the history of one particular community, it seems likely to be enjoyable reading for readers interested in the study of communities. We do not understand why the introduction to this book was written in English.

End of this selection.

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Notes & sources

  1. “রাজপুত ও উগ্রক্ষত্রিয়” — Prabasi, Magh 1321 (1915), pp. 470–471. Complete review translated from printed pp. 470–471 (scans 498–499), checked against the images. A surname discrepancy and one unclear phrase are marked. This reviews an earlier edition, not the 1940 revision. Source details

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