HONOUR KILLING OF GANGESH UPADHYAYA (FIRST BY RAMANATH JHA, THEN BY UDAYANATH JHA ‘ASHOK’

 HONOUR KILLING OF GANGESH UPADHYAYA (FIRST BY RAMANATH JHA, THEN BY UDAYANATH JHA ‘ASHOK’ (A PARALLEL HISTORY OF MITHILA AND MAITHILI LITERATURE, WHY TODAY ITS NEED BEING FELT MORE INTENSELY?)

I was not surprised, though I must have been when I saw a monograph on Gangesh Upadhyaya, whose copyright is being held by Sahitya Akademi, the author of the monograph is Udayanath Jha ‘ Ashok’. I thought that Udayanath Jha ‘ Ashok’, who has been given Bhasha Samman also, by the same Sahitya Akademi, would do some justice. But truth and research seem elusive in Sahitya Akademi monographs, at least that I found in this monograph.

I searched and searched through chapters, that now the author will show courage. But the author like Ramanath Jha seems ashamed of the roots and offspring of Gangesh Upadhyaya. He tries to confuse the issue, but there is no confusion now at least since 2009. But in 2016 Sahitya Akademi seems to carry out the casteist agenda. Udayanath Jha mockingly pretends to search his name, lineage etc, where nothing is there to search for, yet he could not muster the courage, to tell the truth, and ends up just repeating the facts in 2016 that Dineshchandra Bhattacharya already has published way back in 1958.

The honour killing of Gangesh Upadhyaya by Prof. Ramanath Jha is being taken forward by Sahitya Akademi, Delhi in a most hypocritical way.

Ramanath Jha’s obscurantism vis-à-vis Panji is evident from one example. The inter-caste marriage in Panji was well known to him (but he chose to keep the Dooshan Panji secret- which has been released by us in 2009), and it was apparent that the great navya-nyaya philosopher Gangesh Upadhyaya married a "Charmkarini" and was born five years after the death of his father (see our Panji Books Vol I & II available at http://videha.co.in/pothi.htm ). Sh. Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya writes in the "History of Navya-Nyaya in Mithila". (1958)

 

"The family which was inferior in social status is now extinct in Mithila----- Gangesha's family is completely ignored and we are not expected to know even his father's name-----...As there is no other reference to Gangesa we can assume that the family dwindled into insignificance again and became extinct soon after his sons' death." [1958, Chapter III pages 96-99), which is a total falsehood. He writes further that all this information was given to him by Prof. R. Jha, and he seemed thankful to him.

The following excerpt from Our Panji Prabandh (part I&II) is being reproduced below for ready-reference: -

महाराज हरसिंहदेव- मिथिलाक कर्णाट वंशक। ज्योतिरीश्वर ठाकुरक वर्ण-रत्नाकरमे हरसिंहदेव नायक आकि राजा छलाह। 1294 ई. मे जन्म आ 1307 ई. मे राजसिंहासन। घियासुद्दीन तुगलकसँ 1324-25 ई. मे हारिक बाद नेपाल पलायन। मिथिलाक पञ्जी-प्रबन्धक ब्राह्मण, कायस्थ आ क्षत्रिय मध्य आधिकारिक स्थापक, मैथिल ब्राह्मणक हेतु गुणाकर झा, कर्ण कायस्थक लेल शंकरदत्त, आ क्षत्रियक हेतु विजयदत्त एहि हेतु प्रथमतया नियुक्त्त भेलाह। हरसिंहदेवक प्रेरणासँ- आ ई हरसिंहदेव नान्यदेवक वंशज छलाह, जे नान्यदेव कार्णाट वंशक १००९ शाकेमे स्थापना केने रहथि- नन्दैद शुन्यं शशि शाक वर्षे (१०१९ शाके)... मिथिलाक पण्डित लोकनि शाके १२४८ तदनुसार १३२६ ई. मे पञ्जी-प्रबन्धक वर्तमान स्वरूपक प्रारम्भक निर्णय कएलन्हि। पुनः वर्तमान स्वरूपमे थोडे बुद्धि विलासी लोकनि मिथिलेश महाराज माधव सिंहसँ १७६० ई. मे आदेश करबाए पञ्जीकारसँ शाखा पुस्तकक प्रणयन करबओलन्हि। ओकर बाद पाँजिमे (कखनो काल वर्णित १६०० शाके माने १६७८ ई. वास्तवमे माधव सिंहक बादमे १८०० ई.क आसपास) श्रोत्रिय नामक एकटा नव ब्राह्मण उपजातिक मिथिलामे उत्पत्ति भेल।

So, the Srotriyas as a sub-caste arose around 1800 CE as per authentic panji files. Sh. Anshuman Pandey [Gajendra Thakur of New Delhi provided me with digitized copies of the genealogical records of the Maithil Brahmins. The pañjīkara-s whose families have maintained these records for generations are often reluctant to allow others to pursue their records. It is a matter of ‘intellectual property’ to them. I was fortunate enough to receive a complete digitized set of pañjī records from Gajendra Thakur of New Delhi in 2007. [Recasting the Brahmin in Medieval Mithila: Origins of Caste Identity among the Maithil Brahmins of North Bihar by Anshuman Pandey, A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2014].

Later these Panji Manuscripts were uploaded to Videha Pothi at www.videha and google books in 2009).

The so-called Maharajas of Darbhanga were permanent settlement zamindars of Cornwallis, and there were so many in British India, but in Nepal there were none. In the annexure of our book (Panji Prabandh vol I&II), we have attached copies of genealogy-based upgradation orders (proof of upgradation for cash). So, before 1800   CE, there was no srotriya sub-caste in British India and there is no such sub-caste within Maithil Brahmins in Nepal part of Mithila even today. Srotriya before that referred to following some education stream in British India, in Nepal it still has that meaning.

ORIGINAL PANJI REFERENCES ARE PLACED BELOW:

DOOSHAN PANJI- THE BLACKBOOK

४९.

१८८/२	चर्मकारिणी	माण्डर	वभनियाम	छादन
तत्त्वचिंतामणि कारकगंगेश	छादनगंगेशक	नाँई	रत्नाकरक-मातृक(अज्ञात)	गंगेश
	वल्लभा	भवाइ	माहेश्वर
			जीवे

 

२१//१० छादनसँ तत्व चिन्तामणि कारक जगद्गुरु गंगेश

छादनसँ तत्‍व चिन्‍तामणि कारक

गंगेशक वल्‍लभा चर्मकारिणी पितृ परोक्षे पञ्च वर्ष व्‍यतीते तत्‍व चिन्‍तामणि कारक गंगेशोत्‍पत्ति- चर्मकारिणी मेधाक सन्‍तानक लागिमे छलन्हि

छादन सँ तत्व चिन्तामणि कारक मōमō गंगेश

‘‘तत्व चिन्तामणि कारक म. म. पा. गंगेशक विषयक लेख प्राचीन पञ्जीसँ उपलब्ध”।।

पितृ परोक्षे पंच वर्ष व्यतीते गंगेशोत्पत्तिः इति प्राचीन लेखनीय: कुत्रापि

देवानन्द पञ्जी ३९-२ छादनसँ जगदगुरू गुंरू गंगेश सुताय वभनियामसँ जयादित्य सुत साधुकर पत्नी

देवानन्द पञ्जी ३३९-३ जगदगुरू गंगेश सुत सुपन दौ भण्डारिसमसँ हरादित्य दौ.।। पुत्र सुताच गोरा जजिवाल सँ जीवे पत्नी ए सुत सन्दगहि भवेश्वर। अत्रस्थाने सुपनभ्रातृ हरिशर्म्म दारिति क्वचित् जजिवाल ग्राम

देवानन्द पञ्जी ३०=५ छादनसँ उपायकारक म.म. पा. वर्द्धमान सुताच खण्डवलासँ विश्वनाथ सुत शिवनाथ पत्नी गंगेश- म.म. वर्द्वमान/ सुपन/ हरिशर्म्म

Gangesh, the author of the Tattvachintamani, wrote one text equivalent to 12,000 texts. Now come to the fact mentioned in the Panji- it clearly states that Gangesh of Tattvachintamani was born five years after the death of his father and he married a tanner, so why did Ramanath Jha hide this from Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya? Vardhamana, son of Gangesh, calls Gangesh sukavikairavakananenduh. But the conspiracy under which the poems of a famous scholar like Gangesh are not available today is clear from the example given above. Vasudev of Bengal was a classmate of Pakshadhar Mishra of Mithila, he came to study in Mithila, passed the shalaka examination and received the title of sarvabhaum. Vasudeva memorised the tattvachintamani of Gangesh and the nyayakusumanjali karika of Udayana. Pakshadhar and other Mithila teachers did not allow writing (copying) tattvachintamani. Raghunath Shiromani, a disciple of Vasudeva, took the right of certification after he defeated his guru Pakshadhar Mishra in a scriptural debate (shastrartha). The Navya Nyaya school was founded in Navadvipa by Vasudeva-Raghunath. Pakshadhar Mishra was a contemporary of Vidyapati (distinct from the Padavali writer who was of the pre-Jyotirishwar period) who wrote in Sanskrit and Avahatta. And the arrival of Mithila students of Bengal from Bengal stopped after Raghunath Shiromani. Gangesh Upadhyaya enjoyed ‘param guru’ as well as ‘jagad guru’ titles, the highest titles of the time and as per Panji only Vacaspati Mishra II was the other person who enjoyed the title of ‘param guru’. It was a revenge of nature against the honour killing of Gangesh Upadhyaya and his family.

[From the editorial of the upcoming issue of Videha eJournal (since 2000) ISSN 2229-547X VIDEHA (since 2004)Editor: Gajendra Thakur. Issue No 370. www.videha.co.in ]