The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language v1.c16.127

v1.c16.127

41. Geographical situation, linguistic evidence, tradition, history, all go to prove that the Aryan language came to Bengal as an overflow from Bihar. It cannot be divined when the Aryan speech first came to Bengal,—to North Bengal probably from Mithilā, and Central and West Bengal from Aṅga. Magadha entered into the community of Aryan states before 600 B.C.; and outposts of Aryan colonisation, or, rather, centres of Upper Gangetic language and culture, would start being established immediately afterwards in the lands of the East, which were inhabited by non-Aryan tribes like the Puṇḍras, the Rāḍhas, the Vaṅgas and others. These peoples were known at least by name to the Midland Aryans of the late OIA. period. The ‘Aitarēya Āraṇyaka’ mentions the Vaṅgas, the Vagadhas, and the Cērapādas, meaning no doubt the people of Vaṅga or East Bengal, the Magadhan people and the aboriginal Chērōs or Chērūs of West Bihar, who are Kōl in origin; and they are described as *birds* (=birdlike men?), whatever that may imply (Aitarēya Āraṇyaka, II, 1, 1, 5: « prajā ha tisraḥ atyāyam īyur iti, yā vāi tā imāḥ prajās tisraḥ atyāyam āyaṅs tānīmāni vayāṅsi vaṅgā vagadhāś cēra-pādāḥ »: *now three races transgressed (the Vedic path); those three races which did transgress were indeed these birds—the Vaṅgas, the Vagadhas and the Cēra-pādas*. Sāyaṇa explains differently; cf. Ait. Ār., Bib. Ind., 1876, p. 147. Cf. also the article ‘Vaṅga’ in Macdonell and Keith’s ‘Index of Vedic Names,’ London, 1912). The ‘Aitarēya Brāhmaṇa’ (VII, 6) speaks of the Puṇḍras, who gave their name to Puṇḍra-vardhana or North Central Bengal, and are now represented by the পুড় « Pūṛ » or পুড়ো « Pūṛō » caste of Bengal, as an aboriginal people. Some of the early Brahmanical works regard the countries of the East, including Magadha, as barbarian lands not suitable for Brahmans to settle or sojourn in : penances are prescribed, for instance, in the ‘Baudhāyana Dharma-sūtra’ (I, i, 32, 33) for Vedic Brahmans who went to Puṇḍra, Vaṅga and other lands. The Rāḍhas are mentioned as a barbarous people in Jain tradition, which goes back to the 6th century B.C. : an opinion which has its echo in Middle Bengali literature. (See below, § 45.)