Kulinism

{{Short description|Caste system in medieval Bengal}} {{Use British English|date=August 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox religion | icon = | icon_width = | icon_alt = | name = Kulinism | native_name = {{lang|bn|কৌলিন্য}}<br>{{lang|bn|কুলিন প্রথা}} | native_name_lang = bn | image = | imagewidth = | alt = | caption = | abbreviation = | type = Social stratification<br>Religious practice | main_classification = Indian caste system | orientation = | scripture = ''Kulagrantha/Kulapanjikā'' | theology = | polity = | governance = | structure = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | fellowships_type = | fellowships = | fellowships_type1 = | fellowships1 = | division_type = | division = | division_type1 = | division1 = | division_type2 = | division2 = | division_type3 = | division3 = | associations = Hinduism | full_communion = | area = | language = | liturgy = | headquarters = | territory = Bengal | possessions = | founder = Ballala Sena | founded_date = {{circa}} 1158–69 | founded_place = Sena Empire | independence = | reunion = | recognition = | separated_from = | branched_from = | merger = | absorbed = | separations = | merged_into = | defunct = | congregations_type = | congregations = | members =  | ministers_type = | ministers = | missionaries = | churches = | missionary organization = | aid = | hospitals = | nursing_homes = | primary_schools = | secondary_schools = | tax_status = | tertiary = | seminaries = | other_names = | publications = | website = | website_title1 = | slogan = | logo = | module = | footnotes = }} {{Hindu philosophy}} '''Kulinism''' (Bengali: কৌলিন্য) or ''Kulin Pratha'' is a practice that envisages an elite position within the varna/jati configuration, derived from spiritual and ritual purity.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Kumkum |date=2009 |title=The Cultures of History in Early Modern India: Persianization and Mughal Culture in Bengal |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/1960/chapter-abstract/141771671?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date= |website= |publisher=Oxford Scholarship Online |pages=63–65 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195698800.003.0003 |isbn=9780195698800}}</ref> Upper castes in Bengal were divided into exogamous classes, with ritual status determined by lineage purity and family marital history, with Kulins having the highest status.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |date=2000 |title=Love in a Colonial Climate: Marriage, Sex and Romance in Nineteenth-Century Bengal |url= |journal=Modern Asian Studies |language=en |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=353 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00003309 |s2cid=143334093 |issn=1469-8099}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Chatterjee |first=Kumkum |date=2005 |title=The King of Controversy: History and Nation-Making in Late Colonial India, Volume 110, Issue 5 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/110/5/1454/75969 |journal=The American Historical Review |pages=1456–1457 |doi=10.1086/ahr.110.5.1454|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=SenGupta |first1=Gunja |url= |title=Sojourners, Sultans, and Slaves: America and the Indian Ocean in the Age of Abolition and Empire |last2=Amkpa |first2=Awam |date=February 2023 |publisher=UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS |isbn=978-0-520-38913-7 |pages=142 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Basham |first=A. L. |url= |title=The Wonder That Was India: Volume 1 |date=29 September 2022 |publisher=Pan Macmillan |isbn=978-93-95624-32-9 |pages=166 |language=en}}</ref> The Kulagranthas or Kulapanjikas (Genealogical literatures) are the foundational narrative of Kulinism in Bengal, detailing its development over centuries and focusing on kulina lineages and social interaction norms.<ref name=":0" /> The Kulapanjikas state that King Ballal Sena initiated Kulinism, which conferred titles of nobility upon the Brahmanas, Kayasthas, and Vaidyas in Bengal.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=MAJUMDAR |first=R. C. |url= |title=HISTORY OF ANCIENT BENGAL |date=1971 |publisher=G. BHARADWAJ, CALCUTTA |pages=475–479}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> According to texts, King Adisura invited Brahmins (accompanied by Kayasthas) to settle in the region from Kanauj and designated them higher in social status. The texts further state that King Ballal Sena introduced Kulinism, designating certain lineages of Brahmins and Kayasthas with higher social status due to superior virtues and practices; This system further extended to Baidya jatis, not associated with Kanauj migration.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> It appears to have started among the Baidyas with attributes like riches, education, good actions, etc., which were standardised by Samajapatis, Kulapanjikaras, and Ghatakus (professional matchmakers who served as the stewards of particular communities' family customs), as suggested by Sircar.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Sircar |first=Dineschandra |url= |title=Studies in the Society and Administration of Ancient and Medieval India, Volume 1 |date=1967 |publisher=Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay |pages=27–116 |language=en}}</ref> Lakshmana Sena, the son and heir of Ballala Sena, is said to have made additional changes and controls to the establishment of Kulinism.<ref name=":0" /> The accounts of Kulpanjis in connection to Kulinism are viewed with suspicion and have largely been accepted as unhistorical by scholars.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Bagchi |first=Jhunu |url= |title=The History and Culture of the Pālas of Bengal and Bihar, Cir. 750 A.D.-cir. 1200 A.D. |date=1993 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-301-4 |pages=74–76 |language=en}}</ref>

Bangaon Copper plate reveals the early social history of Bengal and Kulinism, with King Vigrahapala III granting land to Ghantuka Sarman, a Sandilya gotra Brahmin living in Ituhaka. Maithili Brahmin Ghantisa had previously owned the land and gave it to Kolancha Brahmin due to a distant relationship. According to Bagchi, this trend of claiming connections to Western Brahmin scholars led to the creation of Kulaji texts, genealogical literature as Brahmins sought to prove their prestige by proving their originality and purity. According to D.C. Sircar, it may have been Mithila immigrants who partially brought the Kulinism institution to Bengal.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" />

Periodic evaluations of jati/kula rankings among dominant Bengali jatis continued by post-Sena potentates until the 19th century, influenced by Kulinism and its modifications.<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Hindu ethics