History of Bengali Language and Literature c6.s3.1

c6.s3.1

The great exponent of the Dharma-cult in Bengal was, by general acceptance, Rāmāi Pandit—the reputed author of Çunya Purāṇa. The poems of Dharma-mangal also make mention of Rāmāi Pundit with great esteem. His hand-book of Darma Pujā, called the Çunya Purāṇa, has been edited by Babu Nagendranāth Vasu and lately published by the Sāhitya Pariṣada of Calcutta. Rāmāi Pandit was a contemporary of Dharmapāl II, who reigned in Gouḍa in the early part of the 11th century A.D. Rājendra Chol’s rock-inscription (1012 A.D.), recently discovered at Tirumalaya, makes mention of this monarch. Rāmāi Pandit was born at Champaighāt-on the river Dwārakeçwar in the District of Bānkura. The year of his birth is not known, but he was born on the 5th day of the waxing moon, in the month of Vaiçākha, towards the end of the 10th Century A.D.