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This gives a certain date of one of the foremost philosophers of Bengal. Visvanātha Nyāyapañcānana, whose works are studied all over India as the standard work of Navadvspa school of Nyāya, wrote his Vștti commentary on Gotama's Sūtra in the Saka year 1556= A.D. 1634, while residing at Bịndāvana in his old age. His father Vidyānivāsa was called pre-eminently the Bhattācārya. He employed Kavicandra as his scribe. Kavicandra copied for him the Kątyakalpataru (the copy, now in India Office) in 1581 A.D. Maheśvara Banerjee obtained from Vallālasena the nobility of Kulinism, and his family is still in the enjoyment of that distinction. But one branch of the family lost it early. Ākhandala, who was fourth from Maheśvara, lost his Kulinism. But though not Kulīnas, Ākhandala's descendants are one of the foremost families in Bengal-“as Eka: 484:" In course of time one branch of this family obtained high honour from the Moghul court and became the Rājās of Naladanga in Jessore. But another branch achieved literary distinctions of the highest order. Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma the introducer of the Navya Nyāya system of philosophy in Bengal, Raghunandana the writer of the standard works of the Bengal school of Law, his father Harihara whose works are still current in Assam, belong to this distinguished family. But Vidyānivāsa and his sons overshadowed all these. Vidyānivāsa wrote a commentary on Mugdhabodha. His son Rudra not only wrote several works on Nyāya, but a poem dedicated to Mānasimha's son Bhavasimha who ruled Bengal from 1580 to 1585 (?) and from 1609 to 1612 (?). The first Rājā of Naladanga had these distinguished men as his cousins. But still he employed Rājendra Vidyālamkāra as his court pundit and gave him large grants of land. The writer of the present catalogue is eighth in descent from this Vidyālaņkāra.
