History of Bengali Language and Literature c5.2

c5.2

Bengal was a very ancient centre of Aryan settlement in India. The pre-historic kingdom of Pragjyotiṣ, which extended from modern Jalpaiguri to the back-woods of Assam, was one of the earliest Aryan colonies in this country. ‘Vanga’ is mentioned in the Aitereya Āraṇyaka* and frequent references to this land are found in the great epics—the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata. According to Manu, Bengal formed a part of the Aryyāvarta.† The two great heroes of the Dwāpara yuga, who are said to have been the sworn enemies of Çri Kṛṣṇa—the great upholder of Brahmanic power, were (1) Jarāsandha, the King of Magadha and (2) Pouṇdraka Vāsu Deva, ‡ the King of Pāṇduā in Bengal, and both of them led expeditions to Dwaraka to subvert the power of Kṛṣṇa.