History of Bengali Language and Literature c7.s2.17

c7.s2.17

Vidyāpati was a scion of a distinguished family of scholars. His father, Gaṇapati Thākur dedicated his celebrated Sanskrit work ‘Gaṅgā Bhakti Taraṅginī’ to the memory of his deceased illustrious patron Mahārāj Gaṇeçwara of Mithilā. Gaṇapati's father, Jaya Datta was not only a great Sanskrit scholar, but was distinguished also for his piety and saintliness of character. He obtained the title of ‘Yogeçwara’ for these qualities. The father of Jaya Datta and the great grandfather of Vidyāpati was the illustrious Vireçwara who compiled a code of rules for the guidance of every day-life of the Maithil Brāhmins. The Vireçwara Paddhati, as his great work is called, is almost as much revered in Mithilā as the Aṣṭaviṃçati Tattva of Raghunandan in Bengal. Another point showing the social rank of our poet is that for several generations, his ancestors had discharged ministerial functions in the court of the Maithil sovereigns.