パーリ学仏教文化学 (15) - 013Barua Sukomal「Pali Studies in Bangladesh and its Impact on Our Education System」

<Presentation>

Pali

Studies

in

Bangladesh

and

its

Impact

on

Our

Education

System

Sukomal

Barua

The

history

of the _practiceof Pali

language

in Bangladesh

is

very

ancient. The Bengalispeaking _peoplewould _practicereligious rituales

in

Pali

long

ago. Subsequently,the study of theHoly rltiptaka was

being

done in

Bengalialphabets(i} and

in

Palilanguage.This trend

is

still

in

vogue.

The

translationof the Holy Ttipitakain Bangali was not seriously

considered

by

the

Bengali

intellectuals.

The major

_portion

ofthe

intellectuals,

researchers and readers ofthis

_part

used to

do

theirstudy works inDebnagri,

Roman and English alphabets. Their system of Pali

_practice

was

conventional.

Poiiticaloutlook ofany country or state _playsa very vital role totherise

and

fa11

or therevival ofa

_particular

language

and

literature.

Language

is

the

partof

Iiterary,

cultural movement, and

history,

and thePalilanguageand

literature

were not out ofthat

_political

dominance.

Inthe reign ofEmperor Asoka

(273-232

B.C.),

themessage ofthe Holy

Tripitakacrossing the

boundaries

ofthe Indiansub-continent, arrived

in

Asia

and

in

many countries of the Eastafterwards. At thattime,some _partsof the

Tripitakawere translated

in

different

languagesat the intiativeof some

enthusiastic readers. Here

it

is

specially mentionable thatwhen _prof T.W.

Rhys Davids,the

_founder

ofPali TextSocietyinLondon,

in

1881,

translated

the whole Tripitakain English,a vast number of readers of

Arnerica

and

European countries could findthe scope to

know

about it.Inaccomplishing

this_gigantictask,the selfless contributions of ProfRhys David'swife and other scholars

including

some

bengali

scholars are ever _memorable.

138 y<-V\t6,an]S{iLSiE

Through the translatedTripitaka,the_philosophy,

literature,

_geography,

history,

fine

arts, _polities,sociology etc. of the 6thcentury B.C.ofthe Indian

sub-continent were _presentedwith new

insight

to the whole world. But in

Bengle,itwas _yetto start the study of the Tripitaka

in

fu11

swing. Inthis

context, the saying of renowned scholar Prof Venerable Anandamitra

Mahastavir

is

mentionable.

He

said, "This language

(Pali)

was _prevalentin

India

_for

thousands ofyears and stillitisstudied and _professed

in

the major

parts

of south-eastern Asian countries likeCeylon. Thailand,Cambodia,

Laos,Vietam and thusenriching thierlocal

languages

and

literature.

A

_good number of

books

written

in

Pali

have

been

translated

in

Chinese,Japanese,

Englishand so on. For the lackof itstranslation inBengali,the desired

fiourishment

of

Bengaii

has

been

retarded". The whole Buddhist

literature

deservetranslationinBengali.Many scholars have

felt

thatneed. Though the

PaliTripitakawas ofgreat importance,nobody cared totakethe_greatventure

to translatethe whole Tripitakain Bengaliand make itaccessible to the

general

readers. Thisdidnot really

hamper

the_progressofPali education

but

thislanguage

_became

confined tothenobles and scholars.

That

time,many of

the BengaliBuddhistswould findout the original meaning of Palifromthe

Burrnese

language.{2)

1.

Institutional

Pali

Study

In Bangladesh,the contribution of Acharhiya Punnachar

(Chandra

Mohan) ismore substantial ineducating the Bengali_peopleinPali

in

its

real

sense. He isthe Buddhist Monk who founded firstthe Palitole in the

undivided

Bengal.(3)

This tole was established at Mahamuni village of

Pahartaliunder

Chittagong

districtin 1885A.D. with the monetary

help

of

Zamidar Hara Govinda Mutsuddy.

Afterwards,

these

kind

of toleswere

expanded indifferentvillages

like

Rajanagar,

Satbaria,

Unainpura,Mirzapur,

etc. The second Palitolewas established atthesame village i.e.at Mahamuni

PaliStudiesinBangladeshand itsImpacton Our EducationSystem 139

Inthefirstand second decadesofthe twentiethcentury, a

_good

number ofPali

toleswere

built

up

in

the

greater

Chittagong.Due tothis

type

ofestablishment

the

Theravada

Buddhism,

in

its

broader

sense, thePalilanguageand literature

flourished

with a

_great

expanse.

So

came to the _questionof

institutional

education of the BengaliBuddhists.The threeBuddhistModel schools at

Mahamuni

Pahartali,

Satbaria

and Harbang established

in

1868 A.D.

in

the

whoie undivided Bengal_piayeda very _pioneeringrole. Inthe _yearof 1902

A.D.

"Anglo-Pali

High

school" was established at Mahamuni Pahartaliat the

earnest

initiative

of

Ceylonese

monk

Sarananda

and Gagan Chandra Barua.

The students ofthis school attained special reputations

in

Pal"i

language

and

literature

later.

The ancient PanditViharat Chittagong,Chakrashalaand

Chandrajyoti

Vihar

etc.contributed a

lot

totheenrichment ofphilosophy, art

and culture

i.e.

tothe

flourishment

ofhuman

knowledge

through

imparting

religious education tothewhole undivided Bengalas well asthewhole Indian

sub-continent and their

_products,

thiermost talentedstudents

_preached

their

own religion fromthenative landIndiatothefarlandTibbet.

Mohan

Chandra

Barua

and

Pandit

Girish

Chandra

Barua

were theteacherswho taught Paliat

the "Anglo-Pali

High school." Venerable

Dhamavangsha

Mahastavir

was

engaged as Paliteacher at the

Chittagong

CollegiateSchoolin1908 where

Pali

was

first

introduced

tothe class. Afterthat,Paliwas studied and taught

at themajor schools of

Chittagong.

In

1906

when

Pali

education was started

at college

level,

only three Collegesof undivided Bengal

launched

that

programme.

These

colleges are

Calcutta

PresideneyCollege,Vidyasagar

Collegeand ChittagongGovt.

College.

Mahamahopaddhya

Satish

Chandra

Bidyabhushan

was the Professorof PaliLiteratureand Language in

Presidency College. In 1908 A.D, Mahima Raajon Barua obtained

Graduation

with

honours

in

the

department

ofPali

from

thisCollege.He was

the

first

_graduate

among the Buddhists of Chittagong.Immediate after

passing,hejoinedtheChittagongCollegeas a lecturerofPali. After that

is

in

1909 A.D. Rebatiraman Barua _passed the B.A. with

honours

in

the

140 ,<-U\tsthI! it\

Amullyacharan Ghosh Bidyabhusan was the firstProfessorof Paliin

BidyashagorCollege.Thereafter,Niradraajan Mutsuddijoinedthiscollege as a Professor

in

1934 A.D. The _great

deed

of ProfessorMutsuddi in Pali

teaching

is

incomparable.

For

theconvenience of the

learners

he

wrote and

printedeasily comprehensible note books of differentPalitextbooks,Pali

grammar and translationlearningbooks inEnglishand inBengali.(5)

PrankrishnaBhikkl}u

joined

Chittagong Govt.

College

as the first

Professorof Pali Department in l906 A.D. Thereafter in 1908 A.D.

Dharmavangsha MahasthavirofCalcutta was appointed

in

thisCollegeasthe

ProfessorofPali with

the'effbrt

ofKhirod

Roy

Chawdhury,

thethen_principal

of

Chittagong

College.

The renowned PaliProfessorof the sub-continent

both

Dr.

Benimadhab

Barua

and

Dr.

Nalinaldcha

Duttawere the students of

DharmavangshaMahasthavir.<6)

Palistudy was

inaugurated

inBaharampur Collegeinthe firstdecadeof

twentiethcentury.

In

1911

A.D.

Dr.

Benimadhab

Barua,

the_gloryof

Asia

passedB.A.

(Honours)

in

the

department

ofPali

from

thiscollege. In1913A.

D, he appeared at the

M.A.

examination in Palifrom the

University

of

Calcuttaas well as _passedtheexamination and was _placed

in

the

first

class

first.

He went toLondon

in

the_pursuitof

higher

education

in

1914

A.D. and

after completing thesisabout

Pali

under

famous

Pali

scholar

Mr.

&

Mrs.

Rhys

Davids

and

E

W.

Thomas

hewas confered theD.

Lit

degree.

It

is

to

be

noted

thatDr.Benimadhab Barua isthe _personwho firstConfered the of D. Lit.

degree

among the

Asians.

Those

who

_professed

atthoseeolleges were ofhigh repute.(7)

In the later

years,

Palieducations were introducedat Feni College

(1926-27)-the

first

Professorof Paliwas LalitKumar Barua;CalcuttaCity

College

_{(1932)-Debabrata}

Chakrabaniand NirmalchandraBaruawere the

Professorsof Pali

in

this Colletge;Calcutta Ripon College

(now

Surendranath

College

1935FJyotishchandra

Ghatak

was appointed

in

the

positionof firstProfessorofPali. Lateron, ifiBangladeshPalieducation were

PaliStudiesinBangladeshand itslmpacton OurEducatienSystem ₁₄₁

Professor

of

Pali

was

Mr.

Surendra

Barua and thereafterMr. Manindralal

Barua was appointed and

Sanskrit

Govt.

College

(1958)

at Calcutta.

The

provision

of _pali study and teaching was _provided at Maharaxa

Manindrachandra College in

Calcutta

in

1943

A.D. and Provashchandra

Mazumdar

_joined

as a

Professor

of Pali

in

thiscollege. Lateron,

he

was

appointed as a reader in the

Department

of

Pali

in

the

University

of

Calcutta.(g)

Dr.

Gourinath

Shastree

was thePrincipalofSanskrit CollegeofCalcutta

in

the sixty

decade

oftwentieth century.

In

195g

A,D.

Pali

department

was

opened in

Sanskrit

College

at

his

eamest effbrt. The

four

Professorsare Dr.

Herombanath

Chattopadhya,

Dr.Binoyendranath

_Chowdhury,

_Dr.

_Sukomal

Chowdhury

and Dr.Sadhanchandra Sarker.Dr.Herombanath

Chattopadhya

complied with even theresponsibility as theheadof the

department.

At this

timethe opportunity of learningPaliwas created

in

Ramthakur

College

of

Tripura.(9)

In 1962 A.D. a special educational

institution

was established inthe

name of TripuraPaliInstituteat

Venuban

Vihar

ofAgartala. The Founder of

this

institute

was

_principal

Sreemat AryamitraBhikkhu of

Venuban

Vihar,

The noble

deed

ofAryamitra and thisinstituteisunfbrgettable

in

_preaching

Buddhism and

_pali

language

study.

The

Syllabus

of "Bangio Sanskrit

Shikkha Parisad"at

Calcutta

was

fo11owed

in

TripuraPaliInstimte.The

educational

institutions

which are now imparting Pali education

in

Bangladeshare as

fo11ows:

Rangunia College

(Rangunia),

Noapara

College

(Rauzan),

AgrasharaWomen's College

_(Rouzan),

Rangunia

Hasina Jamal Women's

_College

_(Rangunia),

KarnafuliCollege

_{(Chandraghona),}

Shah

Alam College

_(Rangunia),

_Padua

_College

_(Rangunia),

ImarnGazaliDegree College

_(Rauzan),

HaziNurul IslamWomen's

_College

_(Boalkhali),

Hulain

Saleh-NoorCollege

_(Patiya),

AliAhmed Bir

Bikram

College

_{(Chandanish),}

Ashalata College

_(Rouzan)

_Dighinala

_College

_(Khagrachari

tillTracts),

Mahalchari

College

_(Khagrachari

Hilltracts)and Rangamati

Govt.

College

142 ,<- i)7tstwXIL\

At theUniversitylevel,Palieducation begantobestudied and _professed

in1899when thedepartmentofPali emerged at theCalcuttaUniversitywith

the_great

inspiration

of

Sir

Ashutosh

Mukhaejee,theVice-Chanceltorof that

period,the study ofPali languageand literaturebegan and thrivedat many

educational

institutions

of

different

levels

of West Bengaland of the whole

undivided Indiaat the time. In thiswork

he

was

helped

by

Kripasharan

Mahasthavirof Chittagong.Mahamohopadhya SatishchandraBidyabhushan

obtained

M.A.

Degree

first

in

Pali

from

Calculta.

University.

In 1901A.D,,

he_passedtheM.A. examination

in

Palias a _privatecandidate and was

placed

inthe

first

class.Lateron more candidates obtained M.A. Degree

in

Pali

from

thisuniversity successfu11y.(iO)

ln1917A.D.PaliDepartmentgainedthedignityofseparate department

in

Caleutta

University.

At

thatvery time,on

being

departmental

head,

Dr.

Benimadhab

Baruajoinedinthisdepartmentas a lecturerafter returning

from

England.Then Mahendra Ghosh, Sraman Punnananda and R, Shiddhartha

(Srilanka)

used toteach

pali

in

matriculation course.

Mukunda

Mallik,

Gakul

Das Day,Mohendra Ghosh, and Shamon Punnananda used to teach Pali

in

higher

Secondary

course. Mukunda Mallik,Mohendra Ghosh and Gokul Das

Day

used to teach in B.A.

(pass)

course. Dr. Benimadhab Barua, Dr.

NalinakithaDutta,

Shailendranath

Mitraand Bhagaban ChandraMahasthavir

used to teach inB.A.

honours

course. Those who lateron used to work as

Professorwere Anukul Chandra Bandapadhya, ProfessorProvashchandra

Majumdar, Professor

Sukumar

Sengupta,

Dr. Dipak Kumar Barua, Dr. Kanailal

Hajra,

Professor

Shyamsundar

Bandapadhya, Professor Dharmadhar Mahasthavir and Dr.

Asha

Das.{ii}In next time,Dr.

Bela

Bhattacharya,

Dr. Manikuntala Halder, Dr. JayantiChattopaddya and

Shashwati

Barua

were appointed as lecturersof Paliinthis Department

successively.

There isa departmentnamed "Sanskrit PaliPrakrita"even inVishwa

BharatiUniversityat

Shantiniketan.

Bidhu Shekhar

Sastri

and SharatKumar

PaliStudiesinBangladeshand itsImpacton Our EdueationSystem 143

Rabindranathrlbgore

worked

hard

much inPalilearningat

Shantiniketan

and

his

effort

became

suecessfu1.{i2)

Afterwards,

the scope of Palieducation

expanded and

it

reached at the

institutions

like

Dhaka

University

_(1921),

Rajshahi

University

_(1955),

and Chittagong

University

(1966).

Even Dhaka

University

established in1921

A.D.

_providesthe_provision

of

Pali

learning.

Tb teach Paliwas started with Bengaliheresince

1962

A.D.

Paliwas taughtas _partofB.A.

honours

course inBengali

Subjcet.

Then Dr.

RabindraBijayBarua was the Professorof

Pali.

Ofcourse,

now a separate

department

named "Sanskrit and

Pali"

(from

1972 A.D.)and

B.A.

subsidiary along with B.A.

honours

inPaliand

_pali

is

being

taughteven in

M.A.

course.

Then Dr.

_Sumangal

Barua,Dr. Shasan Rakkit

Bhikkhu

and Dr. Sukomal

Barua

have

been

working as

Pali

Professor.Dr.Shasan RakkitBhikkhu is

now retired.Thereafter

four

lecturers

had been _{new appointed successively.}

They

are namely Mrs.Belu

Rani

Barua,

Dr.DilipKumar Barua

(now

in

_Japan

forhigherstudies),Mr. Suman KantiBarua and

Mr.

Biman Chandra Barua.

The provision to teach _palias the _partofBengali inhonourslevelwas

introduced

_from

the establishment of RajshahiUniversity

(1955

A.D,).At

that time Paliwas taught

by

Dr. Enamul

Haque.

Afterwards,

Professor

Khandakar Abdur

_Rahim

used to teach Paliand at

_present

ProfessorAltaf

Hossain

is

teaching Pali.(i3)

University

ofChittagong was established

in

1966

A.D. At thattime,the

provisionofteaching Paliwas

_provided

there,ofcourse as the_partofBengali

subject

in

honours

level.

At

thattime P.R. Barua,

Principal

of

Chittagong

Govt.

Collegeused to

Pali

as a

_part

time Professor.In1968 A.D.,a separate

department

was opened

in

the name ofOriental Language with fbursubjects

namely Sanskrit,Pali,Arabic and Persianand M.A. Course inPali was

introducedthere.Then Dr.Gafur,Professorof Arabic was the head of the

department.

At thattime more two _personswere appointed as Professor_of

Pali,they are ProfessorRanadhir

Barua

and Bhikkhu

Shilachar

Shastri.

After

a _periodof time a separate

department

_{was opened adjusting} Arabic _and

144 ?<-V#thptX"\

Language.AfterwardsB.A.

honours

and B.A.subsidiary courses

in

Paliwere

introduced.(i4)

At _presentthere are

five

teachers inPali,namely Dr.Raajit

Kumar Barua, Mr. Jyotish

Chandra

Barua,

Mr, Sumangal Barua, Dr. Dipankar

Sreegnyan

Barua

and Dr.JinabodhiBhikkhu.

The Universityof

Dhaka

and the

University

of

Chittagong

are only

ofTering Bacellor's

degree

and _post

graduate

degreeinPali.It

is

special tonot

thatthe

department

of

Sanskrit

and Paliof Dhaka Universityalso confer M.

Philand

Ph.

D

degree

on both subjects. Inthe

department

of

Language

of

RajshahiUniverity,Pali

is

included

as a subsidiary subject only at Honors

level.At

_present,

only

Chittagong

Govt.

College

is

offering

post

_graduate

degree

inPali.Inany other _govt.college, there are no scope to study

in

Pali at

higher

level.

2.

Tripitaka

Study inBengali Language

When

some bengali

buddhist

monks and

devotees

established "Buddhist

MissionPress"

in

Rangoon, thecapital ofBurma in 1930,the study ofPali

and Tripitaka

in

bengali

increased

at largescale. Due to thisMission,many

buddhist

monks and devoteesengaged themselves

in

theflourishmentofPali

and Tripitakathrough translatoryworks, writing

books,

studying Paliwith a

comprehensive look.

Tripitakastudy

in

Bengali

(language)

vvas started

befbre

Second

World

War. Among those who _played the

leading

role in this regard, Ven.

PrangyalokaMahasthavirand Dr.Sudangsu Bimal Barua,Captain

(Rtd.)

I.A.

M.C. are specially notable. With them renowned TripitakalearnedScholar

Dr.

Benimadh

Barua,M.A.D. Lit.

(London)

expressed hisunity and extended

hishand of all co-operations.

Dr.

Barua completed translationwork of the

first

PartofMajjhima Nikaya ofTripitaka inthe year1937.For

its

pubtication at the of the

leader

of "Rangoon BuddhistMissionPress"

Sree

Jogendra

Lal

Barua

_(Rtd.)

Engineerand

his

wife SrimotiRupashibalaBarua

inhabitant

of

PatiStudiesinBangladesh and itsIrnpacton Our EducationSystem ₁₄₅

Fund"

by

_givingdonation

_Tk.10,OOOI=

_(Taka

rlbn

thousand) only the then

periodfbrtranslationand _publicationofTripitakainBengali.Later

fbrmed

a

fund

in

thename of"Jogendra-Rupshibala

Tripitaka

Fund" was

fbrmed

and

thesaid amount was

kept

in

the Bank as savings

deposit.

Then after a Trust

Board was

formed

fbr

conduction of

functions

of the fbund and _provisions

was made so thatas the activities of the

fund

can run

be

smoothly and

hereditarily.This

fund

was widely

known

as "Jogendra

Rupshi Bala Trust

Fund"

at thattime.

Sri

Adhar

Lal Barua

_performed

_{the responsibilities of}

Secretaryofthe said "Tripitak

Fund"

fbr

long

_period."Mahavagga"

ofVinay

pitakawas _publishedinBengali

during

histime.Itwas translated

by

Pandit Prangyananda

Mahasthavir

and edited

by

Dr. Benimadhab Barua.

Mahavagga

was _published

in

the

_year

1937.First_partofthe

Majjhima

_Nikaya of SuttaPitakawas _published

by

thesponsorship of this

fund

in

1940.

Inthe

year1942 duringthe

period

of Second

World

War thisMission

_Press

was seriously

damaged.

Itisneedless to say that after reading the

Bengali

translationof

Buddhist

Jatakasby Pandit

Eshan

_{Chandra Ghose had the}

Bengali

reader's became more

inspired

in

reading Tripitaka.Although

in

the

year l929 translatedBengali

Jatakas

Publicationwas started

but

Eshan

Chandra Ghose had started histranslationwork successively inthe_year1913,

He

had

been

devotedtothiswork continuously

fbr

sixteen _yearsand after that

relentless labours

five

_partsofBuddhist

Jatakas

was completed.

After

Second

World

War theTripitakain

Bengali

and Palilanguagewas

proceeded

in

many ways at the time of Iiterarystudies. At that time large

number of learned,_{personalities}and organization of Bangladesh

(the

then

East

Pakistan)Indiaand

Rangoon

came

fbrward

inBuddhistreligion study in

Bengali

language.

Many

entuaist came forwardto translatethebooks-the Tripitakain

Bengali.

Besidesthe translationof the Tripitaka,the _published

largenumber of Buddhist religious books in

Bengali

after collection of summery fromTripataka.Among them SadhuAghornath

_(1841-1881),

_Gour

Gobinda

Roy

_(1841-l912),

Satyendranathrfagore

_(1842-1923),

Dramatist Girish

_Chandra

_Ghose

_(1844-1932),

_Ramdas

_Sen

_(1845-1887),

_Krishna

146 ]e-V\thtaIS(kee

Kumar Mishra

(18Sl-1936),

Mahamahopadhya Haraprasad

Shastri

(1853-1931),

Mahesh Chandra Ghose

_(Editor

of Probashi Patrika),

TranslatorEshan

Chandra

Ghose

_(1860-1937),

SatishChandra Bidyabhusan

(1870-1920)

and Bidhu Sekar Sashtri

(l878-1957)

are specially mentionable.

In

thisrespect itisnecessary to mention the names of some notable

personswho was engaged instudying Buddhistreligion and Pali

in

Bengali

languageat that _periodin the region of Bangladesh.The names of some

renowned

Bengali

scholars who studies Tripitakaand Paliand Buddhist

religion inBengaliare as

fo11ow:

PhulchandraBarua

(the

middle of 19thcentury):

In

the Palistudy of

Bengali

he

is

the Pioneeramong the others. He was the famous author

in

undivided India.His worthy treatisesare

Bouddharrijika

(1873),

Padimukh

(1872)

and BiswandarJataketc.

Dr.Ramchandra Barua

(1847-1922):

Though hevvas a _physician

yet

has

kept his special role

in

Pali

literature.

His role

is

worth remarkable in

philosophyintheoreticaland analytical

knowledge.

His mentionable

books

are AbhidharmarthaSangraha

(194l),

Nirban

Darshan,

Kamnasthan

(1942),

translationofMahasatipatthan Sutraand Sramana Kartabya

(193

1)

etc.

Haraprosad

Shastri

_(1853-193

1):Mahamahopadhya HaraprasadShastri

has

written many articles and _precious

books

on Buddhist_philosophyand culture which _playedimportantrole inTripitakstudy

in

Bengali

language.

Among

his books written

in

Bengali are Buddhist religion

(1948),

SoundaranandaofAshvaghose

(1910),

BuddhistSong and Doha

(1916)

etc.

worth mentionable.

Pandit

Dharmaraj

Barua

(1860-1894):

He translatedSutranipat

book

in

simple languageinBengaliand correct _poeticform

in

1887.Lateron hewrote

Darmapurabritta,

Sigalovada

Sutra

_(1889),

Hastasar

(lst

_part-3rd1893),

Shyamaboti,

Gyanasopan,

Satyasar,

Matridevietc.

SadhuNabaraj

Barua

_(1866-1896):

He wrote a

Pali

grammar

inBengali

PaliStudies_inBangladeshand itsImpacton OurEducationSystem 147

Shiksha,

Prosannajitopaldchyan,Pali

_Byakaran,

_{Abhidhanappadipika,}

Banglasanskaran,

Bouddha Parichaya,Prakrita

_Sykhee

Ke, Ubukasheeletc.

Agrasar

Mahasthavir

(1863-1942):

He was a well-reputed and famous

Buddhistmonk. His writings, speeches and endeavour made easy

(in

many

ways) the study of Tripitaka

in

Bengali.He was expert in

Bengali,

Pali

and

Sanskrit.His worth

books

are

Gatha

Sangraha

(1894),

Palishabda

Sangraha

(l

898),Buddha

Vajana

_(1893),

Pali-BanglaAbhidhan,PLijaboliya

(1

913)

and

BengalitranslationofDharmapadatthakatha

(1916).

Kabi Sarbananda Barua

(1870-1908):

Among his glorious

work-"Jagojjyoti

Kabya

are notable. He became famous to thereaders

by

writing

thisbook

following

by"

The

light

ofAsia

by

EduienArnold.Hisother

books

are SreeBuddha Caritand Rishidarshanetc.

Prangyalok Mahasthavir

(1878-1970):

He was an

intellectual,

_good

writer, brilliantorator, at the same time

he

was a _good organizer. At his

initiative,

The "Buddhist

Mission

Press"

was established inRangoon for

translationand _publicationof

Tripitaka

in

Bengali.For

his

extraordinary

scholastic abilityand well _perfbrmancehe was awarded "Aggamahapandit"

by

theBurma

_(Mayanmar)

Government.

_His

written and edited treatisesare

PaliPathama

Siksha

Khuddaka Patho, Theragatha,Milinda Prashana,

Bhikkhu Kartabya,Grihi,Kartabya,Dana Maajuree,Bhikkhu Pratimoksha

(1328

Beng.

_year),

Dharma Sanhita,Kathin

Civar

Dananisangsa

Sutta

Nipat, Theragatha,Ratnamala Visodhani,

_Lokaneeti,

Telakataha_gatha,Aryasatya Buddher Ybganeeti, Buddher Dharma Paricay, Vidarshan Bhavana, Paticcasamutpada, Prabash Surid, Nama-Rupa,

Asthangika

Marga, Dharmapadam

_(in

_bengali),

_Sutta

Vibhanga,Achariya

Purnachar

Jibanee

etc.

Vangshadvip

Mahasthavir

(1880-1971):

He acquired intellectualityby

his

long

_periodstudy on Buddhistscripture

in

Srilankaand Mayanmar.

After

coming back to

his

own native country hewas engaged inhisresearch work

on various subject of rllrripitaka

inBengali.His written and compiled books are Bhikkhu

Pratimoksha,

Prangya Bhavana, Balavatar

Byakarana

(1333

148 ,<- ,J#tiZ,tsJ}Zk4#

Buddha Vandana,PragnyaBhavna, Bhikkhu Pratimoksha etc,

SreeDharchandra Barua Bidyabinod

(1889-1953):

He haswritten two

books

in

the name of Abisambuddha and Prachin BharatiyaBauddha

Bidyapit

after collecting surnmery fromTripitak.

Kripasharan

Mahastavir

(,1

865-1926):He was Foundarof theBouddha

Dharmankur ViharinCalcuttaand firsteditor ofthe "Jogajjyoti

(1908)".

For

the spreading of Palieducaton

in

CalcuttaUniversityand other Institations

his

contribution was very remarkable.

Vidhushekar

Bhatthacaryia-PaliPrakash

(2nd

edition,

1951),

Bhikshu

Pratimokshaand Bhikshuni Pratimoksh

(1323

Bengali year);Rajendralal

Mitra-Lalitavistar

_(1877),

An Introduction to the Lalitavistara

_(1877),

Buddhagaya-the hermitageof Sakyamuni

(i878),

The

Sanskrit

Buddhist

LiteratuseofNepal

(1882);

BhiklchuShilbhadra

(1

884-1955):lnPali

Literary

translation

he

was a

self sacrificed

literary

worker.

He

was one of the weil-known Buddhist

scholars as inwriting as well as speech.

His

Bengalitranslatedbooks are

Dirgha-Nikaya

_(3-volumes

1353-1361 Beng, _year), Dhammapada, Therighata

₍₁₃₃₇

Beng. _year),Suttanipata

(l383

Beng.

year), Dhamraca-kraprabantansutra, Buddhabani,

Banchiter

Sandane,

Buddha Neeti

Shiksha,

Bouddha Dharmer SankhiptaSaretc.

Sraman PiyashileePurnanda Shwami

(1878-1928):

He had

extra-ordinary scholarship

in

Paii,

Bengaliand Englishalso. He translatedthe

book

"Bishuddhi

Marga'7

with PanditBidhu Shekar Shastri

jointly.

Besideshe

wrote many articles and a valuable

books

are namely "Ratnamala"

(l912),

Prathamik PaliSiksha,Mangala Suttam,Galpa Puspamalaand Balavataretc, SangharajShilalankarMahastavir

(1900-2000):

He was the supreme

patriarchofBuddhist Community

in

Bangladesh.As a 8thSangharaj

in

his

position

he

played

extra-ordinary role

for

thespread ofTheravada Buddhism

inthissub-continent. We

found

hisextra-ordinary command on

literature.

He

became ornamented "Sahitya Ratna" by the society of Bengali Buddhist

Dharma-PaliStudiesinBang]adeshand itsImpact on Our EducationSystem 149

padatthakatha

(1931),

Ajatashatru

(1934),

Parajika

(1937),

Bimanvatthu

(1938),

Jivak

_(1965),

Vishakha

_(1964),

Bouddha

Yuge Bouddha

_Nari

_(1933),

Bouddha Neeti

_Maajuri

_(1965),

Ananda

_(1966),

Jatakabali

₍₁₉₆₈₎

etc.

Dr.Benimadhav Barua

(1888-1948):

lnthestudy of thePaliTripitaka

in

Bengali

whose name isremembered with respect and _gratitudeisDr.

Benimadhab Barua.He was a renowned Professorof the

Department

of Pali

inCalcuttaUniversity.He who took step to establish "Jogendra-Rupshibala

TripitakaTrust"with the view to making easy of Tripitakastudy and _gave

whole

hearted

effort and co-operation in it

he

is

Dr.Benimadhab Barua.

Though

his

allthroughstudy and research was

in

English

_yet

he

_played

vital

role

in

the study of TripitakainBengali.

He

served as chief editor of the

"Jogendra-Rupsibala

TripitakaTruse'forlongtime.

At

thattime

he

translated

anumber ofbooks of TripitakaincludingMadhyama Nikaya inBengali.

His

another

bengali

books

are Lokaneeti

(1912),

Maniratna

Mala

(1913),

Grihee Vinoy

_(1913),

Satipatthan

_(1914),

Bauddha Parinoy Paddhati

₍₁₉₂₃₎

Bauddha GranthaKosh

(1936)

Maddhyam Nikaya

_(1st

vol. 1940).

Girish

Chandra

Barua Bidyabinod

(1891-1960):

He was an educationist, _{philosopher,good}

literature

and over alla

_good

social worker.

He traveledmany times

India

and

Bumia

(Myanmar)

and stayed there

long

time. He could speak and write in

Hindi,

Urdu, Pali,Sanskrit,

Bengali,

Englishand Burmese

language.

For

his

extra ordinary credit

in

Sanskrit

and

Pali

he

was awarded "Bidyabinod

Avidha"

from

the "Bangiya

Sarsvata Samaj".He was a scholar of

Indian

religion- _philosophyand especially

in

Vedanta

_Shastra.

His composed, compiled and translated

_books

are Pratitya

Samutpada, Aryapath,

_Andher

Dristi,Madan Mohan, Dharmapada

_(1966),

Bhuler Bojha, JatakerKatha, Bibidha Vidhi,Bhatrirakta, Kholakatha,

Pangurgatietc.

Dharmadhar

Mahasthavir

(l901-2000):

He was a

devoted

and

renowned

Buddhist

monk

in

the sub-continent. He

is

_{a well}

known

_pali

teacher and researcher of the Tripitakaand Buddhism. He acquired

his

lso ,e-v\aNtysc{ic\

Madhyama Nikaya

_(2nd

_part-1956),DirghaNikaya 2nd vol. 1958)

Sasan

Bangsha

_(1962),

Adhimas Binishaya

(1963),

Milinda Prasna

₍₁₉₇₇₎

and

Rahul Sanskritayanaof Buddhist

Philosophy

in

Bengali

(1952).

Besides

he

wrote valuable books namelay, Bouddha Bandana

(1938),

Saddharmer

Punurutthan

_(1964),

Buddher Dharma Darshan

₍₁₉₇₄₎

etc. and also written many _preciousarticles

in

many Jeurnals,Magazines and Papers,

Shilananda Brahmachari

(Born

1907-):

He

possesses

credit

by

researching on

Buddhist

religion and Pali

literature.

Invery childhood time

he

went to Srilankathe _{greatestplace}of Pali

literature,

historyand culture;

fromthere

he

acquired vast

knowledge

on Paliand Buddhistreligion. He

kept

his

noble contribution on thestudy ofthe

holy

Tripitakai,e.Palilanguageand

literatureand Buddhistreligion-

Philosophy

in

Bengali.

He

isone of the

internationalBuddhistscholars

in

West Bengal in India.He wrote many

valuable bengali

books

are Abhidharma Darpan, Vishuddhi

Marga-Parikrama

_(1948),

Antarlok Yatree Rabbindranath,Vidarshan Sadhana, Sambodhir

Pathe,

Amrita

Dhara and Samyukta Nikaya

(1400

Beng.

year)of

Sutta

_pitaka.

Besidethem, those who

have

notable contribution at_presentand

in

the

pastTripitakastudy

in

Bengalilanguageare as

fo11ows:

Birendra Lal Mutsuddi: Although

he

was a Retd. DistrictSchool

Inspectorthereafteras a _poetand _philosopher

he

is

respected

by

all.He

is

scholar

in

Bumese, Paliand English

language.

He translatedAbhidarmartha

Sangraha

inBengali

(1940).

His another worthy

book

is

Uposatha

Sahacar.

Besidesthisitisfbundthename ofBhopendranath Mutsuddi and Professor

NirodRaajonMutsuddi,

is

mentionable theyjointlywrote a

book

in

thename

ofPali Byakaran and Anubad Shiksha

in

Bengalilanguage.

Sree

Jyotipal

Mahathera

(Bom

1914):

He isnow the

honourable

10th

Sangharajof the Buddhist

Community

in Bangladesh.He studied and

practiced

Pali

and Buddhist religion to _panditDharmadar Mahathera

in

Mahamuni Pahartali.He translatedsome valuable books inBengaliwhich are

PaliStudiesinBangladeshand itsImpacton OurEducatienSystem ₁₅₁

Abhidharma. Histreatisesare Karmatattva

(1955),

Bodhichryabatara

(1

977),

Prangyabhumi Nirdesha

(1983),

Bramha Vihar

(1987).

At

_present

he

is

residing at

Bishwa

Shanti

Pagoda

near

Chittagong

University.

Jinavangsha

Mahasthavir:He, being a Buddhistmonk,

dedicated

his

remarkable

life

fbr

theBuddha Sasana.He

devoted

his

most time toBuddhist

literary

works also.

His

_precious

works are-Bouddha Balya

Sikhsha,

Bouddha Bidhi,Bouddha NeetiMala,SutraSangraha,HitopodeshNirmalya,

Greehi

Vinoy

Ratanamalika,

Saddharmaratna

Chaitya

_(2nd

edition, 1366

Beng._year).

Ananda Mitra

Mahasthavir

(1908-1

999):

Throughout

his

life

(about

half

ofhundred

_years)

he

triedto

inspire

BengaliBuddhistSociety

in

thereligious consciousness.

He

_passed

long

_period

in

Calcutta

as

like

as

living

in

desolation.

Among

his

writings Mahajeeban

(1383

Beng.

_year),

Amar

Samaj,

AdarshaBouddha Jibon,SatyaSangraha,SatyaSadhana,AmritherSandane,

Ananda

loke,

Dharmasuda,

Prangya

Sadhana,

Jatak

o

Buddha

Karaniya

Dharma, Mahamongal Sutraetc. are worth notable.

Darmapal

Mahasthavir

(Born

1925-):

He translatedtwo

books

in

the

name of "Saddarmaratnamala"

(1363

Beng.

year)and

Jataka

Nidan

Katha

(1369

Beng.

year)

in

Bengali.

He

is

thegeneral secretary ofBengal Buddhist

Association

in

Calcutta.

Dr.Dipak Kumar Barua

(Born

1938-):He was a national

_professor

in

Indiaas well as a renowned _professorand scholar of Pali

literature

and

Buddhism

in

the sub-continent. He was

fbrmer

Head of the Departinentof

Paliinthe UniversityofCalcutta. Lateron, he

became

as DirectorofNava

Nalanda Mahavihar,Bihar

in

India.Though hismost of hiswritings are

publishedinEnglishbuthe keptimportantrole inTripitakastudy by writing

the

Ruparupa

Bibhag

and

Dharmasangini

in

Bengali.As a successfu1

Professorhe isrespected by students, teachersand scholars.

About

hundred

valuable articles are _publishedof hisinhome and abroad.

Dr.

Rabindra

Bijoy

Barua

(1933-1990):

He

was a renowned Professor

l52 i<- TJ#tsvatVtc#

students, scholars inhome and abroad.

Among

his

written

bengali

books are

PaliSahityerItihas

_(1st

_part1980,2nd _part1988),Madhya

Bharatiya

Arya

Bhasa

_(1970),

Kathay Dharmapad

₍₁₉₆₈₎

etc. kept significant role in

Tripitakastudy

in

Bengali.

His

Ph.D

thesis

is

" Theravada

Sangha"

has

been

published

by

Asiaticsociety ofBangladesh. His many valuable articles are

published

in

English

and Bengalijournals

in

home

and abroad.

SantarakkhitMahasthavir

(1904-1997):

His whole mode of

life

was

unquestionably exemplary

because

he

devoted

all

his

endowments, natural

and acquired throughout

his

life.

No

less

brillientthanthese accomplishment was

his

creative talent.

Just

a _glimpseatthe titlesof the

books

he

authored

will testifyto hisoutstanding contribution

in

the world of

letter.

He was

profbund scholar

in

Paliand Buddhism. Among the Buddhist monks in

Bangladeshhe was very competent in

English.

He

is

treatisesare Pratamik

PaliBhasa Shiksha

_(lst

_part1966),Bouddha ShisuderDharma

_Shiksha

(question

&

answer), Dharmachakra PravartanaSutra Keertane

(19S4),

Bouddha

Sadharrna

Neeti

_(1972),

Buddher Pradhan Pratham Duti Banee

(1975),

Bouddha Bandana Neeti,NettiPrakaran

₍₁₉₈₅₎

etc. Italso many

valuable manuscripts ofhis are now unprinted.

Sugata

Vangsha

Mahasthavir

(191

2-1

998):

He was a monastic

figure

by

dint

of hismatchless commitment to the eternal verities of Buddhism with

tremendous energy and spirit. Among

his

varied _gifts,oratory was one.

He

devoted

his

more time toPaliand Buddhist

literary

works. A

large

number of

books and articles have been contributed by him fbrspreading Paliand

Buddhist studies in Bangladesh as well as India.His worthy works are

namely Bouddha Upasana Neeti

(1947),

Bouddha

Galpa

Guscha

(1st

_part,

reprint- 1972,2nd _part-1979,3rd_part-1980),KoshalerAmar Kahinee

(1978,

3rd_part-l997),

Sivalee

Carit

_(1979),

Samabay

Bouddha Upasana,Goutam Carit

(1981),

Bouddha Yoga Sadhana

_(1981),

JashodharaDevi-RahulerMata

(1981)

Dharma Prasanga

_(1982),

PatherParichiti-Darshan

_(1984),

_Sumeda

Tapas

_(l985),

Paramita

_(1987),

Bouddha

Pumima

o

Darshan

(1992),

Pather

PatiStudiesinBang]adeshand itsImpacton OurEducationSystem 153

Principal

Pramod RarijanBarua

(P.

R.

Barua

1918-1994):

He

wrote

many

books

in

English

and Bengalion Buddhism and

Pali

Iiterature

also

wrote PaliGrammar inBengali.Besides thishe wrote several books on

Buddhistreligion and Palifbrthestudent of sixtoten and twelfthclass kept

importantrole on Buddhistreligion and Palieducation.

His

written

books

are -Matriculation _Pali

_Selection

_(1953),

_{PaliSelection}

_(l961),

_lntermediate

Pali

Selection

_(1961),

Pali

Grammar

_(1961),

A New PaliReader

₍₁₉₆₈₎

PrakritPrabeshika

_(1968),

Bouddha Dhaima

Shiksha,

PaliPrakashika

₍₁₉₈₅₎

etc.

ProfessorRanadhirBarua

(1918-1988):

His

service

life

started through

teaching

in

Chittagong

Collegiate

School

in

the _year,1941.He wrote many

books of Buddhistreligion and

Philosophy.

`'Bhagabhan Buddha

(1984)"

is

one ofthe very significant

books

written by him.

Shantapada

Mahathera

(19l4-1987):

Venerable

Shantapada

Mahathera

was one of the Path

fbunder

of

Thervadi

ideals

among others inthis

sub-continent. Hisrole

is

undoubtedly

_promise

worthy

in

Palistudies

in

Bengali.

He

had

extra-ordinary scholarship inoriginal PaliLanguage and Grammar.

He wrote some valuable Buddhist religion books are namely-Milinda

Prashna,

Dhatukatha,

Apadana, CariyaPatika,AnguttaraNikaya,

_Shilartha

Dipan and Abhidharmartha

Sangraha

(1386

Beng. _year)etc. He founded a

PaliCollege

in

MirzapurGoutamashram

Vihar

in

Chittagong

district.

He was one of the dreamer and

founder

of InternationalBuddhist Monastery in

Dhaka.Ven.SundaranandaBhikkhu

(at

_presentDr Sukomal

_Barua)

was also with

him.

ThisInternationalBuddhistMonastery was established with the

endeavour ofboth,

There

was a _plantoestablish a PaliEducationalInstitution

inthisinternationalBuddhistMonastery.That _planisinunder

implimen-tatlon.

SubuthiraajanBarua

(1918-1992):

He

was a

Government

Officer

of

West Bengal.He wrote many

books

on Buddhistreligion and Philosophyin

Bengali.

Among these-Dharmapada

(Poetry),

Bodhisatm Cariya o

154 i"- iJtl}atsigXk#

Buddhapath and Bouddha Manobignyan etc,

Dr. BinayendranathChowdhury

(Born

l931-):As a Professor

he

is

renowned scholar

in

Paliand Buddhism. He was a

Pali

Professorof Sanskrit

Govt.

College

in

Calcutta

for

long

time;as well as he was also ineharge of

the

Principal

of thatcollege

for

short _period.

He

is

now appointed as

Dr.

B.

M. Barua

Senior

ResearchFellow

in

the

Asiatic

Society

of Calcutta.His

worthy

bengali

treatisesare Majjhima-Nikaya

(3

vols. transletedinBengali

1993),Alankar,Boudha Sahitya

₍₁₉₉₅₎

etc,

Dr.

Sukomal

Chowdhury

(Born

1939):

He

was a _professorof

Government

SanskritCollege.He was confered the titleof "Tripitaka

Vishirad" from "Bangiya SanskritEducationCouncil"

of West Bengal.He

wrote many wroth

books

on Buddhism and

Buddhist

religion and _philosophy

and many articles in English and Bengali.Arnong these

books

are

mentionable, namely-Bangladeshe Bouddha

Dharma

and

Sanskrit,

Manusatyva BikasheDharma

(translated)

and Buddher Dharma O Darshan

(edited),

Patthana

_(translated

inBengalii997)etc. are worthy.

Shilachar

Shastri

(l913-1988):

He was appointed as a lecturerofPali in

ChittagongUniversityafter completion of

his

study

from

Kashi

Hindu

UniversityofIndia. He wrote some worthy

books

on Buddhism and

Buddhist

Philosophyand also wrote many articles on it.Among

his

written

books

are

Buddha Bandana,

Charpunnya

Tirtha,Saranath,Agam Shatra,Mahayan Bouddha Dharrnao Darshan

(1978),

Chattagrame

Bouddha

Dharma

(1981)

etc.

Srimat

Buddharakkit

Mahasthayir

(1902-1998):

He was a scholar

in

Tripitaka.From

boyhood,

he

was

keenly

interestedinliteraryworks. Tb learn

knowledge of Buddhism and BuddhistVinayahedeeply

dedicated

himselfto

study the whole Tripitakaand Atthakatha.And also he read and study the

great

books

as "Buddharaiijika" "Buddha

Parichy"

"Dharma Purabritta"and

Ramayana, Mohabharat etc and earned knowledge from these.In 1932,

he

translatedthe

book

"Lokneeti

(1932)"

in_poetryform with Palitext.His

PaliStudiesinBangiadeshand itsImpacton OurEducationSystem 155

"Sarbadarsane

Dharmapad"

(Poem

1970),MahasatipatthanaSutta

in

Bengali

with text

(1970),

Buddhaviseka,

"Buddhuoasana Paddhati"

(2497

Buddhavassa)and "Mangalbani" etc. His Pali_{pronunciation}and rhythm

is

appreciated

by

themonks and scholars.

Srimat

Satyapriya

Mahathera

(Bom

1930-):

He

was

born

in the

Marongloa village ofRamu Thana

in

the

district

ofCox's Bazar.In

1950,

he

ordinated Pabbajjaunder VinayacariyaAryavansa Mahathera.He

is

one of

the _preacherof _pureTheravadiIdealisminBangladesh.The notable books

are written, namely VinayacaryaAryabansa,Dhatukatha,Abhidharmartha

Sangraha

Svarup

Dipani

_(1994),

Cullavarga

_(in

_press)etc.

SrimatDharmasen Mahathera

(Born

1928-):He isthe presidentof

Sangharaj.Bhikkhu Mahasava,thesupreme BuddhistCouncilofBangladesh.

His written

books

are TriratnaBandana

(Re-print

in1994,Taiwan),

Vinaya

Sangraha,

Sangharaj

Purnachar

Charit

_(a

life

history

book

1992),

Tri

Mahajeeban

_(l991).

Dr. SitanshuBikash Barua

(Born

l944-):He was born

in

the village

Raozan of ChittagongDistrict.He isa _prominentsurgery _physician.Though

he

is

a

_physician

by

_profession

but

he

has

keen

interest

in

theBuddhism and

Palilanguageand literature.The fo11owingbooksare written

by

him.Nibaran

Chandra Barua Parichiti,Chattagrame Bouddha Dharmer Itihas

_(1981),

Saranang

Gacchami,

Dr.Benimadhab Barua-Jibon

O

Darshan,Dasha Parami

and

Chariya

Pitaka,Buddhisrnin2000

(in

Bengali),Khuddaka Patha

(Editing

1987),Ten articles

based

on

basic

infbrmations

(in

Bengali),Dhatukatha

Sanubad

_(Text

with translation),Life Sketch of Srimat Buddharakkhit

Mahathera

(in

Bengali)and Bouddha ParibaricAin etc.

Dr.RebatPriyaBarua

(Born

1947-):He isan Assistant

professor

and

head

of the departmentof

Pali,

ChittagongGovemment College.He isa

writer _{and author}

in

Pali

_and

Buddhism.

His

_written

books

_are

Vishuddhi

Marga Bouddhatattva

_(1993),

PaliSahitteDharmapad

_(1997ljoint

author) etc.

156 7 £-Vl}E:tb,val(Ttl\i

and at _present

Chairman

of the Department of Sanskritand Pali,Dhaka

University;as well as

he

isone of the Buddhist_{personalities}among the

Buddhist community

in

Bangladesh,

He

has

written more than seventy

articles

in

valuable research

joumals,

religious magazines, _periodicalsand

daily_papersof home and abroad.

Some

of

his

articles were _praisedby the

scholars.

He

_got

award as "Vishwa Prakash

(l992)",

by the International Seminar inIndia,He hasedited and written valuable

books

in

Bengali

are

namely, Buddha Grarnkuaja lst and 2nd

_part

(1994jointly

edited),

Bouddha

Dharma Shiksha

_(S.S.C,

_programme 1997joint author), Pali

SahityeDhammapada

_(1997joint

author), Higher

Secondary

PaliSelectiQns

(1998joint

author), Kosal and Mar Samyutta

(1998),

PaliBhasa Sahitya,

Chanda

O AIankar

_(1999),

TripitakaParichoy

O

Anyana Prasonga

₍₂₀₀₀₎

etc.

Besidesthese the fbllowingpastand _presentnames are maintainable

herewhose were devotedforthe spreading of translatory works

in

ditlferent

times and as the authors of thePaliand Buddhism inBangalilanguagethey

are:

Kalikinkar Mutsuddi-Chsattal Ullas, Kumudini, Mahasthavir

Kalikumar-Chandakinnar Jataka;SharaccandraBarua

_(Sharu

Pondit)-Bouddha Mangal, Bouddha-Parinoy Neetishastra

_(1887);

Bimalananda Bhikkhu

(Andharrnanik)--Saddharmadipika;

Gunalankar-Ratnamala;

Gnyananda

Swami-Abhdhanappadipika, Rahulavada;

Kiran

Bikash

Mutsuddi

_{(Pahartali)-Danavir;}

MatilalTalukdar-Shilarakshit

_(Natika);

SurendraNath Barua-Parshmani;

_Kabiraj

RarnaniMohan Barua-Sree

Sree Siddhartha

Caritamritagita;

Sourindra Mohan Mutsuddi Japanee Bouddha Samprodaya;

_Gnyanishwar

_Mahastavir

_(Unienpura)

_Pali

Pravesh

(Grammar;

1937); Vishuddhananda Mahathera Satya Darshan,

Bhaktishatak;

AryavarnshaBhikkhu-Subodhalangkar

_(1948);

Dharrnatilak Stavir-Sar Sangraha,Kaya Bignyan,

Sariputra-Carit,

Buddhavangsa,

Grihee

Neeti,

Saddharmaratnakar

etcs Kabiraj Tarakavandhu

Barua-Naglila;Bimalanand Bhikshu-Beshvantara; Surendralal Mutsuddi-Bouddh a Natika;SantarakshitMahastavir PratamikPaliBhasa

Shiksha

PaliStudiesinBangladesh and itslmpacton OurEducationSystern 157

(1966);

Vishuddhacar

Mahastavir

_{(Dhemsha)-Sivali}

Bratakatha

_(1931),

Marvijoy,

Ashokcarit

_(Poem

1362

Beng. _year);Dharmarakshit

_Bhikithu

(Comilla)-Moynamoteer

Itikatha,

Banglar

Surya-Atish

_Dipankar;

Bouddha O Mouriyayuge BangatayaBouddha

Dharma

₍₁

948);Suvalchandra Barua-Nama-Rupa; Bhikkhu Anomadharshi-Dharrnapada

_(Joint

_author,

1953);Kabi

Shashanka

Mohan Barua-Dao Trisharan

_(Poem),

Kabye Dharmapada

₍₁₃₆₅

Beng._year);

Sreedhar

Barua-Bouddha Vidyapith;

_Kabi

Priyadarshi-Siddharther

_Grihatyag,

_Sambhumitra,

_Ashoker

_Kaling"Vajoy,

Chotader

Bouddha Dharmachar,

_Udayan

Abadan, Pran Vinimoy, Sivalee Carit,PanditMoshay,

Satyer

Joy,

Samaj Konpathe; Abhisombhuddha; Rajguru Dharmaratna Mahastavir-Mahaparinibbana

Sutta

_(1941),

Dirgha Nikaya

_{(Shilaskandha}

Varga, 1962);DharmajyotiStavirand NilambarBarua -Kuddakpatho

_(l956),

_{Fistand Second}

_Pali

_Reader

_(1958),

_Saddharma

Sudha

_(l960-61),

Bouddha Dharma Shiksha

₍₃

_parts.

1963-68), Pali

Pratham

Shiksha

_(1968),

Bouddha Dharma Sopan

₍₃

_parts.)

_Saddharrna

Koumudee etc.

Satish

Chandra

Bidyabhusan-He was a renowned

Professor

of

PresidencyCollege

in

Calcutta.

He started Adya, Madhya and Upadhi

examinations

in

Pali through the Bangiya SanskritParishad in 1915.

Kaccayana Byakarana

_(Grammar)-a

valuable book edited

by

him.

Dr.

Gokul Das

De-renowed

Professor

of

Pali,

CalcuttaUniversity.

Dr.

Nalinaksha

Dutta-renowed Professorof Pali,

Calcutta

University.

Dr.

Anukul

_Chandra

Bandyopadolhya

_{(Banaljee]F-professor}

of Pali,

Caicutta

UniversityThe fbllowing

_books

are written by

him-Pratimoksha:

Mula

Sarvastivada

_(1954),

Sarvastivada Literature

_(1957),

Buddha

O

Bouddhadharma

₍

1966).

Radhagovinda

Basak-Gathas

aptashati

(

195

6),

Lectures

on Buddha and

Buddhism

_(1961),

Ashok and His Inscriptions

(1959),

Mahavastu-Avadan

(1960).

Ramdas Sen-AitihasikRahasya

(1

stand 2nd vols.

1876,

3rdvols. 1879),

158 7li"-V\thta/sck\

Tatsamalochana,

Pali

Bhasa

O

fatsamalochana,

Shakyasingher

Digvijoyetc. Besidesthese

fbllowing

names are also mentionable-Sadhu Aghornath -Shakyamuni _{CaritO Nirbana [fattva}

(1882);

_Mahesh

Chandra

Ghos-Buddha Prasanga

₍₁₃₆₃

Beng,_year);Girish

Chandra

Ghos-Buddhadevcarit

(l887),Ashok(i911);KrishnaBihariSen

AshokCarit(1892),Buddhadev

Carit

₍₁₈₉

1),Satyendranath

Tagore-Bouddha

Dharma

_(1901);

SaratKumar Roy-Buddher

Jivan

O Banee

_(1914),

Bouddha Bharat

(1923);

Provodh Chandra Sen-Dharmavijayee Ashok

_(1947),

Dharmapal Paricoy

_(1953);

Anulyachandra Sen-Ashok lipi;Sejit

kumar

Mukhopadhya Shantidever Bodhicaryavatar

_{(Translation,}

1354); Ruhul

Sankrityana-Majjhima

Nikaya

(vols.

1-4,London, 1887-1902),TibbateMe

Shoa

Bachar

_(l931),

Bouddha Darshan

_(Tranlated

by

Dharmadhar Mahastavir-1942),Manav Samaj

_(1942),

BaignyanikBhoutavad

(1942),

Darshan-DigDarshan

_(1942),

Sinha

Senapati

(1944),

Bholga Se Ganga

₍₁₉₄₄₎

etc.; Viyoy

Chandra

Majumdar-Theri

Gatha,

Udan,

Buddha

Carit

_{(Transleted);}

Prof

Shashi

Bhusan Dasgupta-Bouddhadharma O Caryyageeti;Surendranath

Sen

Ashok

_(1940),

Atindra Majumdar-Madhya BharatiyaAryya Bhasa O Sahitya

(1960);

Rajguru

Dharmaratna Mahasthavir-Maha _parinibbanaSutta

_(in

Bengali-1941)

Sharatchandra

Dev-Shakyasingher Pratibhava Buddhadev Carit

(1988);

Navinchandra

Sen-An'itabha

_(1895);

Rathindranathrlletgore-Buddha

Carit

(1906);

Ramanath

Saraswati-Buddhadev

Carit

_(1880);

Krishna Kumar Mitra-Buddhadev carit O Bouddhadharmer

Sankiptasar

(1853);

Khirod

Prasad

Ahsoka

_(1907);

Provochdandra Bagchi-Bouddha Dharma

O

Sahitya,NalininathDasgupta-Banglaya Bouddhadharma.

(1353

Beng.

year);

Charucandra

Vasu-Dhammapada

(1904),

NityaPathyaDhamapada

(i966),

Ashok

_(1911),

Gopaldas Chowdhury Bodhicaryyavatara

(2nd

vol.

1934) IshanchandraGhos-Jatak Maajari

_(1934);

Jataka-(lst-6thvols,

translated

in

Bangali);

Govindachandra

Barua-Pretasutra;Dr, Sudhanghu

Bimal Barua RabindranathO Bouddha

Sanskriti

₍₁₃₇₄

Beng. _year); Sreemat Aryyamitra

Bhikkhu-Prineipal,

AgartalaBenubon Vihar and

PaliStudiesinBangladeshand itsImpacton OurEducationSystem 159

Intemational

MeditationCentre.Bodh-Gaya;

Dr,

Buddhadatta

Bhikkhu-Foundar,

_Pali

Tble

in

Shyamnagar,WestBengal,India;Natun

Chandra

Barua

-Chattagrame _{Bouddha JatirItihas}

_(1986);

_Purnananda

Mahasthavir-Buddha Vandana;

Salil

Bihari

Barua-Pravanda

Sambhar; Pragnyananda SreeSthavir-Pashchim Bange Bouddha Dharrner

Sanskriti

_(1987);

Satya

PrasannaBarua-Mahakarunika

_Bouddha

_(1993),

Je Ami

Oi

Bhase

Chale

(1996);

D. R Barua

₍₁₉₃₂

eminant

Journalist)

Benimadhab Jeeban;Dr.

Pranab

Kumar

Barua

_{(1934)-Mahatherake}

Yeman Dekhechi;

_Dr.

_Jayantee

Chatthopaddya-Pali

Jinalankar

_(Beng.

trns.1999).

BengaliBuddhist Papers-Magazines:

The publicationofespecific _publicationofpapers and magazines

in

the

Buddhistcommunity are

in

the Nineteenthcentury

from

thestandpoint of view

its

own

demands.

Though itseems thatsome _paperswere _published

beforethat

but

no

dependable

evidence is

found

today.All those _papers,

which were

_published

later

on Buddhistreligion,

_philosophy

and culture

broughtoutfi;om

West

Bengal

and

Chittagong

DistrictinBangladesh.Later

initiative

was taken to _publishsuch _papersfrom

Dhaka

also. Most of Such

papersare not

in

vague now, isvanished at

_present.

All

thosemonthty, weekly,

halfyearly,

fbrtnightly

and annualy early

papersand magazines exerted significant role in the spread of Buddhist

religion, _{philosophyand culture and}

kept

_{theiractivities tillpresent.}There_are

the some

_past

and _presentworth _perusablenames have

been

mentioned

below:

Bouddha Patrika

(1906,

Chittagong):

Its

Founder

Editorwas

Bipin

ChandraBarua P,

S.

Patiya,Chittagong.By _professionhe was _a teacher.

Bouddha Bondhu

(1915,

Chittagong):

Nazir

Krishna

Chowdhury was

the

founder

of it.Itwas _publishedin

both

Englishand Bengali.Itwas first

published

inthe

_year

_1915.

Jagojjyoti

(1908,

Calcutta):Itwas _publishedatthedirect_{patronization}

160 ,e-U l)EtswtiSldL,?"t

Mhasthavir.

Brahma Bangali:Itwas edited

by

revolutionist

Ajoy

Singh

Baruawith a

view to setting set up the relationship

between

Burmeese and Bengali

Buddhists.

Sambodhi

(1914,

Chittagong):

Itwas edited by Roy Bahadur Dhirendra

LalBarua.

Sangha Shakti

(l928,

Rangoon-Mayanmar): Itwas

first

_published

by

PanditPraggnyalokMahasthavir Itwas inBengaliinitiatedby "Tripitaka

PublicationBoard" ofBouddha MissionPress.

Jagaroni

(1931,

Calcutta):It was

first

published and edited

by

SatyendranathMutsuddi.

Bishwa

Bouddha

(1954,

Calcutta):Itwas first_publishedand edited

by

BagishBandhu Muthsuddi.

Krishti

(1965,

Dhaka):Bishudananda Mahathera was the

founder

and

ShuddaNanda

Mahathera

was theEditorofthis monthly Magazine _published

by Bangladesh Bouddha KristiPrachar

Sangha,

Dharmarajika Bouddha Vihar,Dhaka.

'

Niraiijana

(1956,

Calcutta):Itwas

first

_publication

edited

by

Banavihari

Goshwami.

Nalanda

(1966,

Calcutta):

Itwas publishedas the _quarterlymagazine

edited by Ven. Dharmadhar Mahasthavir.At _present

Vidarshanacharya

ProggnyajytiMahasthavir

is

inthecharge of it.

Anoma

(Chittagong):

ltisa literaryand religious affairs magazine of

Anoma CulturalSociety.In l982, l984, 1986, 1988, 1989 the Anoma simultaneously Publishedon Seminar,Receptionand Memorandum issue. Moitribani

(1981,

Dhaka): Itispublishedfrom ParbatyaBouddha

Missionedited by Dr.Niru

kumar

Chakma.

Buddhist

Federation

Magazine

(1985,

Dhaka):It

is

annually _published

from Dhaka InternationalBuddhist Monstery edited by Dr.Sukomal Barua.

At_presentitisnamed as "Dipankar."

161

issues

editing

by

BhiklthuSunanda Priya,Dhaka InternationalBuddhist

Monastery,

Moinamoti

(1997,

Dhaka): Itis edited

by

Sanath

Kumar

Barua,

published

on religious

festival

occassions.

Charulata

(1998,

Dhaka):

It

is

publishedunder thesupervision of Dr.

Ashim Rabjan

_Barua

and edited

by

Sree

Uttam Kumar Barua.

Bodhibarta

(1995,

Dhaka): Mukui Ratan Barua isin the charge of editing. It

is

usualiy _publishedon Buddhistreligious

festivals

and various

functions

and occasions.

Jyoti

(1978,

Chittagong):

It

is

a regular Buddhistjournal_paperedited

by

Sree

BljoyKrishnaBarua,Secretaryofthe PaliBook

Society.

Besides

some other _papersand magazines and _periodicalsare namelM

Uday,Bouddhabani,BuddhistIndia,TbrunBouddha, Vishwa Moitri,Bodhi

Bharati

etc are

_{published･in}

various _period

but

theseare not available and are

very rare at _present.

There are various kinds_{of magazines and souvenior are publishedon} various Buddhist

functions,

occasions and festivalsof

Buddhist

religion

specially, Buddha

Purnima

the

_greatest

festival

of Buddhistcommunity

by

the various organizations and students association of colleges and

universities.

Among

these Soumya, Gairikand Pragnya

_publications

are

worth mentionable.

PaliStudiesinBangladeshand itsImpacton OurEducationSystem

3.

A

New

Horizon

of

Pali

Study

in

Bangladesh

Now inBangladesh,the study ofPali

has

_gotspecial attention and the

range of its_{practitioners}

has

expanded. Many non-Buddhist have engaged

themselves in studying and

doing

research works

in

Buddhist

religion,

literature

and itshistoryetc. `･Bangladesh

Sanskrit

and

Pali

EducationBoard

(1969)"

worked under the Ministryof Education,

Govt.

of the

People's

Republic of Bangladesh is_playinga complementary role in itssmooth

162 ig- v#th-tw-):CIk\

besides

holding

examinations on Adya, Madhya and Upadhi of Sutta,Vinay

and Abhidhamma. Thesetolesand colleges

do

allother _programmes taken up

by

the

_govemment

along with other _govt.educational

institutions.

Every

_year,

about fivetosix thousand students ofPali and

Sanskritparticipate

indifferent

examinations in52 centres."5)

Thereare a _good number ofnon-buddhist examinees inAdya, Madhya

and

Upadhi

exams ofPali. Many non-buddhist sudents are enrolled inPaliin schools, colleges and universities.

The

number of the enrollment of this

type

of students

is

high

in

Noapara

and Rangunia Degree Collegeof Chittagong.

Six

non-buddhist students are

doing

honours

course

in

Pali

atthe

Department

of Sansknt and Pali of Dhaka

University,(i6)

At _presentinevery _primary

school

Pali

education

has

been

made compulsory

from

class threetoclass

five

by

a Government ordinance. In

Govt.

and non-govt. schools, there are

arrangement forPalieducation fbrtheBuddhiststudents. Palieducation has

been

included

inNationalUniversityalso.

Bangladesh Bouddha Dharmiya Kalyan

Trust

(the

for

the welfare of

Buddhist

religion 1984)supervised under the Ministryof

Religion

Affairs,

Govt.

ofthe People'sRepublicofBangladesh

has

taken up theresponsibility

to_publishtheBengalitranslatedversions ofthe Holy Tripitakaand other Pali

books

like

Atthakatha

etc.{i7)At thisstage, the "Pali-Bangla Dictionary"the

firstof its

kind

in

Bengali,compiled

by

the Venerable Shantarakshit

Mahastavir

is

in

BanglaAcademy _pressnow. Iam one ofthe members

of4-membered editorial board.We think

it

is

an

invaluable

work fbrtheBengali

peoplewhich can not be compared to any other valuable works. Ifthis

dictionary

be

published,

it

will

be

of _greatuse not only totheBengali_pupils

and teachersof

Bangladesh

butto enthusiast readers of

different

languages

also. I

deem

ita rare _greatjobinspreading up Palieducation

in

Bengali.For

this effbrt, I extend my

heartfelt

compliment to the Trust and to the

Bangladesh _govemment. Here, the substantisl role of

Dharmadhar

PrakashaniSangstha

_(Dharmadhar

Book PublishingTrust)of the

Vidarshan