Indian Antiquary Vol 52

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 330

314
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[NOVEMBER, 1923
DETERMINATION OF THE EPOCH OF THE PARGANATI ERA.1
BY N. K. BHATTASALI, M.A.
TH problem of the determination of the beginning year and date of the Pargan&ti Era is well-known to students of antiquarian studies in Bengal, and discussions up to date on the subject have been neatly summarised by Babu Yatindra Mohana Râya in Volume II of his phakara Itihasa, pp. 392-397, with the conclusion that it was impossible to solve the problem until further materials were forthcoming. He summarises the synchronistic dates of eight documents and bases his discussion on them. About two years ago, I chanced upon three more documents dated both in the Bengali and in the corresponding Parganâti year. During the Durga Puja holidays of 1921, I searched the collection of old documents in my own family and that of another old family near me, and brought to light ten more documents dated synchronistically in the Bengali and the Parganati Era. Three of these were already known to Babu Yatindramohana Râya from an article of mine in the now-defunct journal Gyhastha, but as I had omitted to mention the days of the months recorded in them, they could not then be of much use in calculation. The fresh materials now obtained permit of a re-opening of the topic and an attempt has been made in this paper to solve the vexatious problem.
As the Parganâti Era cannot be expected to be known to students of antiquarian studies outside Bengal, it is necessary to explain that an Era of this name is found widely used in the Eastern districts of Bengal on all sorts of legal documents, not the least interesting of which are deeds of sale or transfer of slaves. The years of the era are almost always used synchronistically with the years of the Bengali Era. The earliest application hitherto met with is of the year 4613 which is equal to about A.D. 1663. The perishable nature of the material rough, thin, handmade paper-on which these documents were invariably drawn up, worked on by the moist atmosphere of Lower Bengal, has lost to us all the older documents or made them extremely scarce. But during the whole of the twelfth century of the Bengali Era, corresponding to A.D. 1694-1793, documents dated in the Parganâti Era are very frequently met with. It was ousted from the synchronistic company of the Bengali Era by the advent and currency of the Christian Era, with the enactment of the Permanent Settlement of Bengal.
The importance of the Era is that, even on rough calculation, its beginning year goes back to about A.D. 1199-1200, the accepted date of the first incursion of the Muhammadans into Bengal. This significant feature, combined with the fact that at least two instances are known of this Erá being called the Vallâli Era (San Vallâli)4 makes it very probable that some remarkable event in the History of Bengal, connected with the Sena Kings, was distinguished by its inauguration. The above probability makes the exact determination of the beginning of the Era most important for the History of Bengal.
Below is given a chronological list of documents hitherto discovered on which the Parganati Era has been found used. In most cases, we have the equivalent Bengali year, but in some cases, the Parganâti year stands alone.
1 Read at the Second Oriental Conference, Calcutta, 1922.
The Era was noticed, unfortunately under a slightly inaccurate name, in the Indian Antiquary, 1912, in my article headed "King Lakshmana Sena of Bengal and his Era."
3 Prof. Satián Chandra Mitra, B.A., in Dacca Review and Sammilana, B.s. 1319, Bengali Section, p. 472.
Raya's Dhakara Itihasa, II, pp. 394-395.