The History of Bengal (Vol. I: Hindu Period; Vol. II: Muslim Period 1200–1757) v1.c19.s5.4

v1.c19.s5.4

But whatever might have been the cause of this extension of cultivation, there is no doubt that by the seventh century A.D. the bulk of the people had taken to it as the chief means of livelihood. The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang bears testimony to the fact that in all parts of the province the countryside was regularly and assiduously cultivated, and produced grains, flowers and fruits in abundance.³ The description of Varendrī in the *Rāmacharita* (III. 2 ff) confirms the testimony of the Chinese pilgrim. And so do the copper-plate inscriptions ranging from the 8th to the 13th century, which, moreover, mention the cultivators (*kshetra-karāḥ* or *karshakāḥ*) as an important class apart from the officials, Brāhmaṇas and others, and in various ways convey an idea of the important rôle they played in the economic life of the community.