Semester-Long Project Report

SAURATH SABHAGACHI : THE STUDY ON THE

MATRIMONIAL CONGREGATION OF BIHAR

Prepared by

Akriti | Nivedita Kumari | Prabhat Kumar | Priyanshu Gupta |

Shreevardhan Kaushik | Suraj Kumar & Suyash Jit

B.A. Honours ( Humanities & Social Sciences )

Semester 2 - Batch 2020-23

Under The Mentorship Of

Mr. Leivon Alur Kom

Submitted to

Cluster Innovation Centre

University Of Delhi

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to clarify that the content of this report paper entitled “ Saurath Sabhagachi
: The study on the matrimonial congregation of bihar ” is a bonafide work done
by ~ Akriti | Nivedita Kumari | Prabhat Kumar | Priyanshu Gupta | Shreevardhan
Kaushik | Suraj Kumar & Suyash Jit , submitted to Cluster Innovation Centre for
consideration in the End-Semester Exam . It is based on an original research project
and has not been submitted in part or full anywhere else. All the works referred and
cited has been duly acknowledged .

This project has been done under the mentorship of Mr. Leivon Alur Kom .The
project is submitted in partial Fulfilment Of The Requirement For The Degree of B.A
Honours (Humanities and Social Science) April - July 2021

M.Khyothunglo Humtsoe Mr. Leivon Alur Kom

Programme Coordinator Project Mentor
B.A. Honours (Humanities & Social Science) Cluster Innovation Centre
Cluster Innovation Centre University of Delhi
University of Delhi

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 Table of Contents

Page No.
Acknowledgement ……………………………...……………………………………… 7
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………… 9

Chapter 1 : CONCEPTUALIZATION AND RATIONALE …….………………... 10

1.1 Background to the Study……………………………..…………….……..……...… 11

1.2 Introduction …………... ……………………………………………………...…… 14
1.2 Geographical Location ……………………………………………... ……...…….. 15
1.3 Introduction to Sabhagachi …………………………………………...………….... 15
1.4 Panji Prabandh and Ancient life of Panjikars…..……………………...………….. 16
1.4.1 Mythological Story behind the evolution of Panji Prabandh………….…….. 18
1.4.2 Ghataks in Sabhagachi..…………………………………………………….. 20
1.4.3 Digitalisation of Panji …………………………………………………....….. 21

Chapter 2 : REVIEW OF LITERATURE …….……………………………………... 23

2.1 Gaps in Research …………………………………………………………………… 50

2.2 Aims and Objective…………………………………………………………………. 51

Chapter 3 : METHODOLOGY ………….…….……………………………………... 52

3.1 Research Design …………. ………………………………………………….…….. 53

3.2 Methodological framework…... …………….………………………………….….... 54
3.3 Data Sampling……... ………………………………………………………………. 55
3.4 Research Participants ….... ……………..…………………………………………. 55
3.5 Data Collection Procedure . ………………………………………………………… 56
3.6 Data Analysis ………….... ……………………………………………………….... 57
3.7 Limitations and Challenges………………………………………………………… 57

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3.8 Timeline of the Project …………………………………………………………….. 58

Chapter 4 : RESEARCH FINDINGS ………….……………………………………... 59

4.1 An Interview with Panjikars …………….……………………….………………….. 60

A) Pramod Jha Panjikar and; ………………………………….………..…………. 60
B) Kalika Dutt Jha ………………………………………....………………..……. 64
4.2 An interview with Historians ……………………...…………………………….….. 67
A.) Dr. Savita Jha Khan ………………………………………...………...………. 67
B.) Ripunjay Thakur …………………………………………………….……...….. 71
4.3 An interview with a rural man and woman with involvement in Sabhagachi ………. 73
A.) Shri Vidyanand Singh ……………………………………………………...….. 73
B.) Chandrika Devi…………………………………………………………………. 75
4.4 Discussion …………………..……………………………………………………..... 78

Chapter 5 : CONCLUSION ……….………….……………………………….……... 80

5.1 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….……. 81

POSTER FOR THE PROJECT ………..…………………………………………….. 83

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………. 84

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5
Source:One of the respondent

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success of the project's eventual objective needed a great deal of direction and support from
many individuals, and we are quite lucky to have received this in addition to the project's
completion. We owe all we've accomplished to their direction and support, and we never fail to
thank them.We want to offer my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to everyone who truly made
this initiative a success.

WeI had been immeasurably enriched by working under the supervision of our mentor Mr. Leivon
Alur Kom ,who during the course of the project guided and encouraged us. He has gone above
and beyond to advise us and show us the best possible method to make our initiative a concrete
success while also serving as a solid pillar of support. Sir has led us through difficult moments,
pushed us to be the best versions of ourselves, and developed a group synergy that enabled us to
complete this project.We would also like to extend our gratitude to Dr. Savita Jha Khan,Assistant
Professor, DCAC, DU for extending her constant support.

We would also want to express our gratitude to our seniors and classmates , who were although
busy with their own activities took time to assist us . Last, but not the least we acknowledge sincere
thankfulness to our institution Cluster Innovation Center for providing us with the chance to pursue
our interest.

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Photo Credits : mithilanchalgroup.com

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 ABSTRACT

Since time immemorial the institution of marriage has been the greatest and most
important of all institutions in human society and it has been interrogated, modified
and sanctioned throughout history. Marriage is defined differently, and by different
entities, based on cultural, religious, and personal factors. A commonly accepted and
encompassing definition of marriage is the following: a formal union and social and
legal contract between two individuals that unites their lives legally, economically,
and emotionally.

Nonetheless, with the understanding that marriage was one of the most important
political, economic, social and cultural institutions in Indian society, we find a
different congregation that took place in the village of Saurath , which is 6km away
from the Madhubani district of Bihar. The congregation popularly known as
“Saurath SabhaGachi” The study primarily tries to understand such rituals , systems
and their significance in ancient and current Mithila region, explore the ancient
system of Panji (Genealogical records) and the idea of avoiding consanguineous
relationships and maintaining purity of marriage, ,the socio-political dynamics
associated with it and reflect on the role played by women within the households
and their contribution to such a congregation.

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 CHAPTER 1 :

INTRODUCTION CONTEXTUALISATION AND RATIONALE

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1.1 Background to the study

Since time , immemorial institution of marriage has been the greatest and most
important of all institutions in human society and it has been interrogated, modified
and sanctioned throughout the history.

Mithila (a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by

the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the
west and by the foothills of the Himalayas in the north. It comprises certain parts of
Bihar and Jharkhand of India and adjoining districts of the eastern Terai of Nepal)
has its own traditions and rituals which have been followed for thousands of years..
It is believed that Maithil Brahmin’s marriage rituals are the same as the marriage
of Lord Rama and Mata Sita mentioned in epic Ramayana. Mata Sita was the
daughter of King Janak of Mithila.

“The tradition in Mithila has it that king Janak asked the local womenfolk to decorate
the royal palace with the special paintings at the time of marriage . The womens
accordingly painted the walls with motifs such as lotus plant , bamboo groves ,
mango orchards , fishes in the pond , birds and snakes in union: Mithun”. The
journal (Pragyata : A journal of Indic ideas) talks about the famous Mithila painting
which again finds its relevance with the marriage ceremony of Lord Ram and Sita .
Every culture tends to grow with its own set of rituals and traditions. Terms like
'kanyadan' are widely disputed in today's sociological discussion, and their meanings
are variably interpreted and criticised, though it is essentially an important part of
marriage in Indian society . The ritual is criticised for its clear depiction of misogyny
at its core. Other ceremonies like “Swayamwar | The forgotten ritual of women
empowerment” as titled in Sanatan chronicle describes the rights to choose groom

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by young women as empowering in ancient India . The stories from the epic of
Mahabharata and Ramayana have long chapters discussing the rituals of
swayamwar, but perhaps this was only limited to the princes and kings and not the
common people .

Nonetheless, with the understanding that marriage was one of the most important
political, economic, social and cultural institutions in Indian society, we find a
different congregation that took place in the village of Saurath , which is 6km away
from the Madhubani district of Bihar. The congregation popularly known as
“Saurath SabhaGachi” (gachi is the orchard where the gathering takes place) is a
plot of 22 Bigha (almost 9 acres) which was donated by Darbhanga Maharaj in
Saurath village for this purpose. Media brings the image of Saurath Sabha as an
“annual fair of grooms” but the Maithili literature has a different facade to show.
Literature describes Saurathsabha and many more sabhas that existed before as a
place where debates and discussion took place among scholars, issues of socio-
cultural importance were also discussed.
The Maithili literature also brings to the light the system of PANJI ( keeping
genealogies), siddhant, gotra [lineage segment within an Indian caste that prohibits
intermarriage by virtue of the members’ descent from a common mythical ancestor,
an important factor in determining possible Hindu marriage alliances], mula and
other such systems that are still very much in practice by Maithil Brahmans.
Alexander Cunningham in his description of Saurath writes, "There can be little
doubt of the antiquity of this Brahmanical village, and though seriously disappointed
at not securing an impression of some kind of the original copper inscribed tablet, I
was not sorry for having visited sawrath."

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But it's important to reflect on the changing ways of socialization, as such gatherings
are declining considerably if not disappeared completely. "In the last phase of the
twentieth century the relevance of this matrimonial gathering declined with the
advent of westernization and the event changed from practical use to the form of a
cultural anniversary of a social tradition'' Centre for studies of traditions and systems.

Quoting from India Today "Brisk business goes on as elders scan the shelves for
sons-in-law.The Maithil brahmins, known for their "threadbarism" and "scriptural
rigidity" in scholarship and conservatism, throng the grove to bargain for grooms for
their daughters. It has all the colour and fun of an annual fair, but none dare say it.
It is a well-respected Sabha and according to them should remain one. Marriages
settled here are considered the most sacred and best of all the systems of arranging
a marriage." Though Saurath had its own history, a the later time frame media
depicted the congregation as an annual business like fair for grooms.

The study primarily tries to understand such rituals , systems and their significance
in ancient and current Mithila region, explore the ancient system of Panji
(Genealogical records) and the idea of avoiding consanguineous relationships and
maintaining purity of marriage, ,the socio-political dynamics associated with it and
reflect on the role played by women within the households and their contribution to
such congregation.

The following pages of the introduction chapter acquaints the reader with the overall
phenomenon of Saurath Sabha - Their existence in history , the matrimonial
congregation of sabhagachi, the systems of panji and changing lives of panjikars
(who maintains genealogies) and introduces the reader to - the idea of purity of

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marriage. The second chapter lays down the many books, research papers, reports,
dissertation and other works which helped us gain an understanding of Saurath
SabhaGachi. Also It points out the gap found in existing literature and how that has
framed our aims and objectives. The third chapter discusses the methods and tools
used and the sample of the study ,chapter four discusses the analysis of the results
of the research. Finally the fifth chapter discusses the current status and the initiative
taken so far followed by a conclusion and discussion.

1.2 Geographical location [Study Area]

Saurath is a large village located in Madhubani Block of Madhubani district, Bihar

with total 1116 families residing. The Saurath village has population of 5309 of
which 2750 are males while 2559 are females as per Population Census 2011.In
Saurath village population of children with age 0-6 is 744 which makes up 14.01 %
of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Saurath village is 931 which is
higher than Bihar state average of 918. Child Sex Ratio for the Saurath as per census
is 927, lower than Bihar average of 935. Saurath village has higher literacy rate
compared to Bihar. In 2011, literacy rate of Saurath village was 72.68 % compared
to 61.80 % of Bihar. In Saurath Male literacy stands at 82.87 % while female literacy
rate was 61.74 %.As per constitution of India and Panchyati Raaj Act, Saurath
village is administrated by Sarpanch (Head of Village) who is elected representative
of village. Our website, don't have information about schools and hospital in Saurath
village.

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1.3 Introduction to SabhaGachi

Historically the year of organization of sabha is controversial, as initially these

sabhas were organised for debates and discussions on socio-cultural importance,
and also as a congregation of panjikars. Slowly these sabhas got converted into
matrimonial alliances as the people who gathered there had unmarried
sons/daughters and marriage remained an important topic of discussion in these
sabhas. It's still speculated that these sabhas started somewhere around two-three
hundred years ago. In the 22 bigha area, people used to come with an intention to fix
marriage ideally. It is the tradition preserved by generations of Maithil Brahmins of
Mithilanchal, Bihar for selection of groom. Saurath Sabha has been the epicenter of
artistic, literary, and intellectual activity in the 20th century. Two decades ago,
Saurath Sabha Gachi (the orchard, where the event is held) used to attract more than
100,000 people from across the country. The assembly in Saurath used to have a pre-
eminent position in not only settling marriages of Maithil youth but also providing
a socio-cultural platform to debate and deliberate upon matters of local significance.
Maharaja Rameshwar Singh described the meeting of Saurath in his own words as:
In order to facilitate the marriage of the Maithil Brahmins periodical meetings
(Sabha's) attended by authorized genealogists are held during the sacred days at
different centres such as the village of Saurath, ,Khanagadi, Partapur, Sheohar,
Govindpur, Fattepur, Sajhaul, Sukhasana, Akhdari, Hemnagar, Balua, Baruali,
Samsaul, and Sahsaula. While Saurath maintains the tradition, all other villages have
discontinued this practice.Hundred and thousands of Maithil Brahmins flocked and
those who desired to marry, referred to the genealogical registers, acquired the
Siddhant Patra from the Panjikars and head to the wedding party's dwelling homes
to have the marriage completed according to the Shastras and Maithil traditions .

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1.4 Panjiprabandh and Ancient life of Panjikars

Panji comprises an elaborate system of preparing and keeping genealogical records.

The system of Panji Prabandh (panji management) started as early as seventh century
, initially it was memorized. Later, some local people started keeping the records so
marriage doesn’t take place between a girl and a boy with common ancestral line till
seventh generation . It was formally recorded and archived in 1326 AD during the
reign of Karnat dynasty ruler Harisingh Dev of Mithila. For this he sent brahmins
from village to village, which later came to be known as Panjikars. Under Panji
Prabandh (Panji management), panjikars used to reside in almost all regions
irrespective of the size of the village. Each panjikar had the responsibility of
maintaining the panji in groups of a particular region/village. They used to meet
every alternate year in the camps organised in a particular region. Each village's
camp continued for five days, fifteen days, a month or more based on population in
the particular village where all the panjikars took their original record of genealogy
and sat down with extensive work of compiling the data. The work was to gather
information from the head of each family, and the informations that were useful for
the panjikars were the following:

● List of newborns in the last two years..

● List of marriages that took place, the village in which the son/daughter of the
family got married, their names, their forefather's name.

● The kula, khandan, gotra into which the son/daughter is married.

Likewise almost all the villages under the mithilanchal region had some renowned
genealogist who kept the data of aspects related to marriage. The panjikars somehow

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had the complete information of family lineage, gotra, mool etc of Brahmans. These
camps ensured updated information for the genealogists.

In the gap years between the organised camps, a venue was decided to commemorate
the panjikars and solve the issues of socio-cultural significance. Even men aged from
80-85 years old used to gather in the conference and debates and discussion on
current issues used to take place. The issues faced by panjikars were brought into
light, and their analysis was done by respected men in the conference. A resolution
was passed to ensure the preservation of panji.

The reason for such extensive work was to ensure that consanguineous
marriage/forbidden degree of relationship is avoided at all cost. In maithil brahmin
custom, Adhikar is an important step before marriage. Literally Adhikar means
'right', here it means the right to marry someone based on norms laid by society.

1.4.1 Mythical story behind the evolution of Panji Prabandh

The panji system could well be traced back to a mythological incident that is said to
have occurred in Mithila's Satghara settlement. According to folklore, Pandit
Harinath Sharma was a prominent member of Harisimhadev's court. His wife was
regarded as a devoted woman who visited the Muktinath temple on a daily basis. It
was a regular day hen her husband was away, a Dusadh (Dalit caste) guy tried to
molest her within the temple, but he was unable to harm her and instead died before
touching her, since she was a pativrataa lady (devoted to husband).

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The rumour arose that she had been molested by an "outcast." As a result, she was
prohibited from participating in social and religious activities since her "holiness"
was considered "defiled." Members of the community demanded that she go through
an odyssey to establish her innocence and that she was not involved in the crime.
She stated "Naham chandaal gamini" (I have not cohabited with a chandaal (a lower
caste)) in the first round and touched the iron rod. Her hand was burned, confirming
her alleged culpability. The woman requested a second chance, and after numerous
appeals, Harisimhadev's religious priest accepted her request. She repeated “Naham
swapatibyatirikta chandaal gamini” this time (I have not cohabited with any
chandaal other than my husband). She passed the test this time. Her spouse, on the
other hand, suffered because his caste identity was called into suspicion. The inquiry
revealed that the pandit had married inside the forbidden boundaries, since his wife
was the granddaughter of his first cousin, and an alliance of this type was considered
incest. As a result of not complying with the marriage codes, he became akin to a
“chandaal”. Harisimhadev considered the issue of caste purity among the "upper
castes" as a result of this incident. He designated particular pandits to preserve a
detailed genealogy of each community member. The tradition of assigning
individuals to this function gave rise to two professions: panjikars and ghatak's
(record keepers and the match-maker respectively).The swasti patra (permit of the
marriage) had to be obtained before any marriage could take place. The injunctions
were as follows:
A man cannot marry a girl:
a) who is of the same gotra as himself
b) who is of the same pravara as himself
c) who is the sapinda of his mother
d) who falls within six generations from an ancestor on his father’s side
e) who falls within five generations from an ancestor on his mother’s side

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f) who is the descendent of his paternal or maternal grandfather
g) who is an off-spring of his step-mother’s brother.

A commission was created to certify mulas and gotras in order to give Panji an
institutional structure as one is commanded not to marry or have sexual relationship
with the person of same gotra (loosely translated as clan; however “In larger
societies, tribes or clans do not any longer exist in their simple forms; but
endogamous or exogamous sanctions persist under different colourings. Thus,
certain communities permit the marriage of cousins while others extend the concept
of incest to proscribe such types of marriages too. While the North Indian Hindu
does not allow a man to marry his cousin or his niece, the South Indian Hindu permits
the marriage of a man with his sister’s daughter.” - westermarck’s) lest the progeny
should develop any biological incapability of the parents .

The Panji contained 168 mulas and 19 gotras of Mithila Brahmins at the completion
of the exercise. Several branches were documented for each stock or mula. Its
comprehensive character has served as a source of knowledge about the region's two
"higher" castes, Brahmins and Kayasthas. Harisimhadev also classified the
Brahmins into three sub-castes based on how strictly they adhered to the Sastras.
The Shrotriyas, Yogyas, and Jaybaras were their names .

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1.4.2 Ghataks in Sabhagachi

Rochona Majumdar in her work Looking for Brides and Grooms: Ghataks,
Matrimonials, and the Marriage Market in Colonial Calcutta, circa 1875-1940 talks
about Ghataks whose roles are similar to what was in Mithila society. "Even though
there were instances of a few stray advertisements soliciting brides and bridegrooms
before this period, the task of negotiating marriages belonged to the traditional
match-maker, the ghatak/ghataki as he/she was referred to in Bengali."

Place of ‘Ghataka’ in the marriage of Sabhagachhi has its own importance. They
have the quality which helps them to form bond / faith between two families with
their experience. and talking skills. In Fact in order to fix a marriage in Sabha Gachi
people are bound to take the help of Ghataka'. You will barely notice any change in
their dressing sense. Ghataka who truly admire this culture wear 'Pag' over their
head, put Mirjaii along with a piece of Dupatta and walk barefooted. They always
think of the welfare of the families because they are married (grihasth). To be
'Ghatak' it's not necessary to be an influential person or personality rather someone
who is married and has the skills of negotiation. Whenever any clash between the
two parties occurs in respect to dowry exchange, Ghataks play an important role in
finding an amicable solution with the satisfaction of both the parties. His knowledge
about both the families help him ensure the right match for each party by looking at
the economic, social status, groom's earning, bride's education, kula and gotra.
Lighthearted, eloquent speaker, knowledgeable like a panjikar but not a panjikar
himself, Ghataks with great negotiation skills are an integral part of Sabhagachi
congregation. However in return, they barely get two pieces of dhoti,good food and
hospitality from the bride and groom party.

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1.4.3 Digitalisation of Panji

The Siddhant patra (Siddhant is theapproval for marriage which was released
after checking that there had been no blood-relation between bride and groom
sides for seven generations)are written on palm leaves (ताड़पत्र). And the panji records
are historical documents on plain paper. An initiative is taken by National Mission
for Manuscripts and the genealogical records of families residing for generations in
the Mithila region of north Bihar, hitherto maintained through hand-written and
perishable panjis (records) , are set to get a fresh lease of life. “We decided to launch
the digitisation work at Saurath because this is where wedding negotiations have
been going on for over 400 years. Two NMM coordinators will be working there on
the project after April 15,” said Vibhas Kumar, assistant project coordinator, NMM.

"Lakhs of rare 'Tarpatras'(palm leaves) with ancestral details of thousands of Maithil

Brahmins have allegedly been sold by a local middleman to a US agency." The
Times of India recorded the news in 2007. It was reported that a local gang is
engaged in the business of selling historical records to a US agency .

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CHAPTER 2 : REVIEW OF LITERATURE

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To get a comprehensive understanding of the concepts and phenomena that would be dealt
with in a study, it is important for the researcher to review the existing body of literature
in the field that their study is related to. It helps the researcher to gain perspective and
place their study in context with the existing body of knowledge. Following research papers
were read and referred to during the course of the project:

Majumdar, R. (2004) Looking for Brides and Grooms: Ghataks,

Matrimonials, and the Marriage Market in Colonial Calcutta

Rochona Majumdar in her work Looking for Brides and Grooms: Ghataks,
Matrimonials, and the Marriage Market in Colonial Calcutta, circa 1875-1940 talks
about ghataks whose roles are similar to what was in Mithila society. "Even though
there were instances of a few stray advertisements soliciting brides and bridegrooms
before this period, the task of negotiating marriages belonged to the traditional
match- maker, the ghatak/ghataki as he/she was referred to in Bengali."

Ghataks (traditional matchmakers) occupies a very important position in the

marriage system of Bengali and Mithila society. Mukherjee pointed out that for
centuries, the Ghatakas have exercised "unusual control" over Bengali's high caste
society. Its main function is to select suitable parties. To this end, they kept records
of “marriage and important social events, and determined the social status of kulas
family, descent” (174). In addition to negotiating marriages, the Gattaks also acted
as genealogists, determining caste levels and cataloging people's positions in the
caste hierarchy. Their extensive knowledge of family history allows them to
determine disputes over the family's social hierarchy in a particular cast.

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In his Tribes and Castes of Bengal, H. H. Risley also mentioned the respectability
that ghataks enjoyed in Bengali society.He writes that wealthy families who claim
to have higher status generally offer bribes to the Ghataks, which the latter generally
reject. Judging from these records, Ghataks played the role of the upper caste social
memory bank in Bengali society. Before newspapers and caste newsletters became
popular, the ghataks performed the task of social registration.An essay entitled
"Kayastha Ghatak" (Kayastha Matchmaker) by Hridaynath Basu-Varma, which
appeared in the periodical Kayastha Samaja, observed that famous ghataks of the
past-Edu Misra, Harinath Acharya Chudamani, Dvija Vacaspati, and others- were
remembered with great respect in Kayastha society precisely because as ghataks they
were much more than simple matchmakers. In fact, the essay claimed that these
ghataks never negotiated marriages.Instead, these ghataks were men who devoted
themselves to the sole task of maintaining genealogies and did not earn their
livelihood as marriage brokers. As genealogists and not marriage contractors,
ghataks earned the title of kulacharya(arbiter of a lineage) and commanded social
respect in particular samajas (caste council)

A similar image of the ideal ghatak was supported in Nagendranath Basu's Visva
Kosa, the Bengali encyclopaedia put together between 1886 and 1911. According to
Basu, a ghatak should be able to determine and have detailed knowledge of a kula
and its various branches. Simply knowing the names of families or persons did not
qualify a person to be a ghatak.(s.v. ghatak, Visvakosa 1958). Umacharan
Bandyopadhyay criticized this development by arguing that in a country where child
marriages were prevalent, the function of ghataks was of utmost importance, a task
that female negotiators failed to carry out well. A good marriage depended on the
availability of detailed information of family histories, genealogies that recorded, for
instance, the vices (dosa) that had crept into a family over generations. This

24
realization, he wrote, had caused "our ancestors" to devise the kulinpratha, a system
of inter caste ranking based on the possession of certain attributes. The code of
kaulinya (kulin status) depended on the constant performance of certain activities
and was not something that could be taken for granted by virtue of birth alone. Most
important among these activities were proper marriage and reproduction. Families
could lose or improve their status through marriage. In this connection of finding
and negotiating the right match, ghataks played an important social role.
Traditionally, the writer maintained, the task of finding the right match involved
possession of detailed knowledge that came from recording and maintaining kula-
panjikas (family genealogies). This is what, according to him, made the ghataks the
supreme arbiters of matrimonial relations in Bengali-Hindu society ("Bibahera
Ghatkali" [Match- making in Marriage], Prachar, 3[18861:229]

The Bengali writer Mahendranath Dutta in his Kalikatar Purano Katha Kahini
concurred with Johnson's views. He wrote: "From my childhood, ghatakis started
replacing ghataks because the women of the household hold greater sway in matters
related to matchmaking" (1981, 64). Meredith Borthwick has also noted that around
1868 the ghataks had "been superseded by the female members of the craft and have
almost passed away from the cities and large towns and by 1885 most marriages in
Calcutta were arranged by ghatakis" (1984, 47). From the diverse body of evidence
cited above, we could argue that the rise of female negotiators highlighted the
reduced role of the genealogical expertise of ghataks in the marriage process.
Conservative male commentators, as we have seen, criticized this development as
symptomatic of a general social decline in the occupation of the ghatak. Their
critiques centered on the fact that modern marriages did not entail as much exchange
or collection of information about families as they did before. Thus, the task of
ghatkali, the function of matchmaking, simply became one of brokering matches

25
between families without entailing any great knowledge of genealogical details on
the part of matchmakers.

Similar references to ghataks are found in Rashbehari Mukhopadhyay's "Sankhipta

Jibanbrittanta," in which he recalls how he would always escape whenever ghataks
visited his grandfather (1981, 2:5). Contemporary sociological texts carried the same
message. For example, Shib Chunder Bose in his Hindoos As They Are, also
exhibited a modern sensibility that was critical of ghataks: "When an unmarried boy
attains his seventeenth or eighteenth year, numbers of professional men called
Ghatucks or match-makers come to the parents with overtures of marriage. The men
are destitute of principle, they know how to pander to the frailties of human nature;
most of them being gross flatterers, endeavor to impose on the parents in the most
barefaced manner" (1881, 41).

Shorn of practical utility, genealogies maintained by the traditional ghataks

increasingly became "historical sources" for early nationalist historians of Bengal.
A case in point is Nagendranath Basu's multivolume BangeraJatiya Itihasa,
mentioned above, which was based on such sources. There were, however, still a
few cases in which ghataks maintained their manuscript collections and guarded
them.

The decline of the traditional matchmaker can be directly linked to this change in
the meaning and significance of caste. Negotiating the genealogical aspect of
marriage negotiations, a task that the traditional ghatak was trained over generations
to perform, was rendered superfluous as the significance of caste in colonial society
was altered. In the social arena of the colonial city, the particulars of one's caste
subdivision were not of much importance. It was much more important to be

26
identified broadly as a Brahmin, Kayastha, Nabashak, or Mahishya in order to make
the most of reserved seats in government institutions, scholarships, and other
advantages in the colonial public sphere.

Though Rochona Majumdar primarily focuses on the ghataks of Bengali society,

their roles if not same were similar to the Mithila society based on the newspapers
and documentaries on Saurathsabha.

Brown Heinz, C. The Gift of a Girl : Hierarchical Exchange in North

Bihar

Rank Dynamics:

There are approximately two thousand mulgrams, together with many thousands
of kuls, are of unequal standing in the hierarchical thought of the Maithil
Brahmins. They are ranked in three grades. The Srotriyas, Yogyas, and Jaibars in
descending order, on the basis of the quality of their works, achievement and the
quality of the marriages made through the generations since Panji Prabandh.
Mobility in this system is not only possible, it is the name of the game, since lower
families are ceaselessly attempting to raise their status while higher families
ceaselessly attempt to preserve theirs. It takes generations to rise, and the rules and
strategies of mobility are the subject of the following sections.

Thus the superior families, the Srotriyas, would accept only other Srotriya
daughters in marriage, and became a jati within a jati.

27
In time, what began as individuals and families famed for their superior works
became arlineages of high and low status; sons of noble Brahmins carried the
esteemed lineage names, their daughters were preferred in marriage because of their
superior substance, and the gift of a daughter to a padaya, mahopadyaya, or
mahamahopadyaya (ranked grades of scholars) was the most meritorious of all gifts
to Brahmins. (The order of prestige of the muls )

The Theory of Inheritance of Superior and Inferior Substance

At the level of the kul, we find persons sharing most concretely the same coded
bodily substance which they have inherited from their ancestors. As the pandits and
genealogists explain the kinship theory, each individual is a composite product of
the unions of 32 separate kuls, counting on both father's and mother's sides. If there
was a thief, a liar, a killer of a cow or a Brahmin, those taints are unavoidably present
in ego, though in proportionately diminished degree. A family of good blood has no
such stains in its ancestral substance, but there will instead be ancestors of good
character, great scholars whose karmakanda has fulfilled and improved the
substances which pass on to future living expressions of the family's good blood.
Because each individual is as much a product of the substance of kuls coming to him
through women as through men, the wives coming into the kul must be chosen with
care. Since the boy at marriage is entering grihastyam, the girl must be of good kul
"or the grihastyam will be spoiled." Additionally, however, although a woman's
nature is said to be transformed by the marriage samskara so that she becomes "flesh,
blood, bone, and skin" of her husband's kul, this is true only in a narrow sense, for
the diagram illustrates how fully she is a channel for the passage of the blood of
other agnatic lines into the offspring of her husband's lineage. This mixing of the
substances of discrete kuls is a serious matter, almost as serious for those whose
substance is given through the gift of a girl as for those who receive the girl. Through

28
the exchange, everyone's substance is altered in some way, the receivers' substance
through the offspring, and the givers' substance in more subtle ways.

The Shastras say that after seven generations the blood changes. The substance of
ancestors more than seven generations back, with the exception of the male line, is
terminated, its impact ended; if there were impurities, the line is now purified of
that stain. In marriage alliances, blood connections between kuls will last only for
a known period of time, until the blood changes with the seventh generation. Only
with the line of fathers going back to viji purush is continuity of substance
maintained.

The Transformation of Kuls:

Imagine a Jaibar kul which, though low in status among Maithil Brahmins, holds a
large zamindari and thus has esteem of a different sort, the kind of influence which
goes with wealth and power. Such Jaibar families seek to convert this landed
wealth to status through marriage to Yogya or Srotriya daughters. Far from being
mere crass status-seeking, marriage with superior kuls was enjoined on them by
the Shastras as meritorious, the proper way to transform wealth into a higher
quality substance. Such a family does not find it difficult to find an impoverished
Srotriya who is willing to give his daughter to a wealthy, though inferior, man, nor
is it difficult for the Srotriya father to justify depriving his daughter of her rank in
return for a life of comfort in a rich man's house where she will have the respect of
her Jaibar affines. The offspring of the Jaibar father and Srotriya mother now are
the inheritors of sixteen kuls of superior Srotriya substance; they are still Jaibar,
since their mul does not change, but they are clearly improved Jaibar. If Srotriya
wives can again be obtained for them, the children of the following generation
have 24 Srotriya kuls and only eight Jaibar kuls .If this process can continue for

29
five straight generations, that Jaibar line will be almost fully transformed, though
notinto Srotriyas; a jaibar mul can never totally alter its original Jaibar nature
because that thirty-second kul which is the agnatic line endowing each generation
with its mul identity, cannot change. But their relationships are now vyapaka
("widened"), they are paktibaddh (pakti - "line"; baddh - "attached"), that is,
attached to 31 superior lines; or panjibaddh, "attached to panji.," Their good
quality is now certified and documented in the panji records.

Maithil Brahmins prefer to give their daughters up and dislike to give them down.
The very point of kanyadan is that a daughter is the best gift a man has to give, and
like godan, the gift of a cow, or sondan, the gift of gold, the worthy gift should go
to a God or other superior being, given freely with no thought for return. "My
daughter's husband is Vishnu to me," say the Srotriyas. Dowry, so far as the
ideology goes and probably in origin, is the guarantee that the gift is freely given;
dowry intensifies the gift of a girl (that it now has become the purchase of a boy is
a latter-day development). When daughters are given down, it is invariably for
monetary considerations; the family is saved at the expense of a dowry, as the girl's
status is enough; or else the family of the girl actually profits in gifts from the
inferior family. A man who gives a girl down is accused of selling his daughter.
There is no ideology enjoining Srotriyas to give one of their daughters to inferior
clans, as Inden (1976) reports for Bengal. They do it because of necessity and they
run the danger of being outcast by fellow Srotriyas for doing so. But how can a
system survive in which the inferior are told to seek ties with the superior, while
the superior must avoid ties with the inferior? Answer is pointed to the failure of
wealth to correspond to high rank; many poor Srotriyas are forced by their poverty
to give their girls to or accept girls from lower but richer families. Thus one
element of an overall system exists contra its ideology.

30
Thus, Heinz did a detailed analysis on the mobilization in society through marriage
and the notion of status through blood purity within the brahmans.

CHOUDHARY, R. (2019) THE POLITICAL AND CULTURAL

HERITAGE OF MITHILA

Kulinism and its history

Kulinism emerged as a powerful force . By its insistence on the purity of lineage, it

gave prominence to birth, accomplishments and character. The earliest reference to
the system can be traced to the Bangaon copper plate inscription of Vigrahapala III,
which is supported by the Pancobha copper plate inscription of Samgramagupta in
the thirteenth century. Adisura is credited with having invited five Kolanca
brahmanas to make a clean sweep of the impure practices that might have come from
Buddhist Magadha. Since Mithila scholar Vacaspati Misra in his Nyaya Kanika
mentions Adisura as his patron, it is believed that the king ruled somewhere in north
Bihar or on the border of north Bihar and north Bengal (where he is credited with
having invited five Kayasthas also). Vacaspati also mentions one Nrga , who may
have been either Adisura or an independent small prince somewhere in Mithila.
Vacaspati had saved Mithila from the onslaughts of the Buddhists , and Adisura had
requested the Kolanca Brahmanas to make rules for the protection of Brahmanism.

The beginning of marriage in their own section so as to protect their purity

In medieval times the brahmanas came to be classified on the basis of territorial

divisions as Sarasvatas, Gaudas, Kanyakubjas, Maithilas and Autkalas. The system
of limiting marriage to one’s own section found favour with them.

31
The need for genealogical system (PANJI PRABANDH) in Maithil Brahmin

In Mithila the system of organising the brahmanas on sound lines according to gotra,
pravara and sakha is attributed to Adisura and it is thought that from his time a
skeleton genealogy came to be maintained and preserved. Marriage relations could
be established only within the territorial caste , but certain generations on the side of
the father and mother had to be avoided. This naturally created the need for a
genealogical chart of every family, known as the panji system. But even before the
introduction of this system in Mithila every brahmana family is believed to have
kept the genealogical record of his family at least orally, a fact that finds support
from Kumarila. The system was further organised under the Karnatas , and the credit
for placing it on more methodical lines goes to Harisimhadeva. It may be noted that
Grierson highly praised the system of keeping and maintaining the genealogical
records among the Brahmanas and the Karana Kayasthas of Mithila .

The panjis were created to guard against the possibility of marrying a girl who may
not be marriageable according to the sastras . Excessive regard for the supposed
purity of blood gave rise to the systematic practice of keeping genealogies and family
records .

In course of time the panji records, though one of the most extraordinary series in
existence , led to many social complications. It was Harisimhadeva who finally
settled the respective ranks of the different brahmana and karan kayastha families
and laid down rules to govern marriages . His objective was to avoid the forbidden
degrees of relationship and marriages.Certain approved professions, birth,
accomplishment and character decided the issues of social status. In the beginning
birth was not the sole consideration; learning and conduct were given the same
importance as birth. Respectability in the beginning was personal, but it tended to

32
become hereditary. Territorial names for exogamous sections were curiously mixed
with names preserving the memory of a chief who founded the section in historic
times . Kula and mula express a circle of agnatic descent. Harimisra and Vacaspatii
Misra emphasised the importance of kula dharma and mula.

Panji Prabandh in Karna Kayastha

Like the brahmanas , the karana kayasthas also came to have their own panjis. The
social hierarchy with all its carefully regulated marks of honour apportioned to each
family prevails even today, both among the brahmanas and karana kayasthas , and
is strictly followed by the conservative sections. Since the brahmanas and karana
kayasthas of Mithila follow the panji strictly,they are regarded as Maithilas in spite
of the fact that the structure of Mithila society has undergone great changes in recent
years .

Though it is not possible to fit in exactly the karana kayasthas (or kayasthas in
general) in the traditional four-varna system, they occupied important positions in
the affairs of the state both under the Karnatas and the Oinvaras , and they ranked
fairly high, second only to the brahmanas , in social hierarchy. The term karana
kayastha implied both caste and profession.

'Mulas' and it's importance in improving one's social status

Although Harisimhadeva determined the relative status of the brahmanas and karana
kayasthas, they proliferated into numerous sub-castes . Originally they were divided
into about 180 and 200 mulas respectively, but later these shot up to a little above
one thousand mulas. The stock mulas were subdivided into various mulagramas and
deras. Sometimes the mulas are mentioned after the name of the village or of the

33
dera. The mulas indicate either the original homeland or the territorial unit of the
bijipurusa (founder of the line ).

While preparing these records attempts were made to collect gotra, sakha, pravara,
the earliest habitat changes, if any, thereafter, names of villages , whether the family
had migrated along with the name of the person who had migrated etc. The name of
the earliest known habitation came to be known as mula. Some of the mulas are
common to both the brahmanas and karana kayasthas . In Mithila a person could
improve his social status by establishing marital relationships with members of the
higher mulas. Those who failed to contract marriages with the mulas of equal status
for three generations came to be downgraded and reckoned as grihastha.

The practice of purchasing bride to improve one's social status

If a man of a lower mula maintained marital relationship with the higher mulas (that
is , by obtaining grooms by paying a heavy amount as vyavastha) his social status
came to be upgraded.

Generally poor brahmanas of high mulas were ‘purchased’ as bride grooms , and
they were known as bikauas.

In a period when birth was the decisive factor in status evaluation, the richer sections
of the lower mulas wanted to go up by establishing marriage connections with the
poor bikaus of the higher mulas. It resulted in polygamy, and sometimes a so-called
bhalamanusa (gentleman) among the brahmanas came to have as many as 50 wives.
The death of such a husband meant widowhood for a good number of women.

The conservative Maithilas even today insist on the high mulas, and the srotriyas
among the brahmanas and the bhalamanusa among the kayasthas do not like to go
out of their limited circle .The price was paid both for going up and coming down.

34
Risley describes the bikauas as a class of vendors who emerged in Mithila as a result
of this system.

Panjikaras and Ghatakas

The introduction of the panji system led to the development of two functional classes
, the panjikaras and the ghatakas. The work of the compilation of the family trees
was entrusted to a class of scholarly panjikaras. The panjikaras preserved them and
went on making them up-to-date . Raghudeva Jha and Suryakara Thakura are
credited with having compiled the genealogies of the brahmanas and kayasthas
respectively during the time of Harisimhadeva.

The system was followed with strict accuracy, and samula marriage was strictly
prohibited. The main duty of the panjikaras was to issue the asvajanapatra
(certificate of non-relationship) to the parties contracting marriage at the time of
siddhanta or the finalisation of negotiations . The system of siddhanta is still in vogue
in Mithila among the brahmanas and kayasthas. So strong is the old tradition that the
social hierarchy with its carefully regulated marks of honour prevails even today
among these two communities.

The panji prohibits marriage with the girls of the following kinds :

i. Sagotra – the girl of the same gotra ;

ii. Sapinda – within the seventh direct descent either from the paternal or maternal
side ;

iii. In any case , the bride should not be related up to the seventh generation in
descent from the father’s side and up to the fifth from the mother's side;

iv. Issue of grandfather – both maternal and paternal; and

35
v. Daughter of the brother of the stepmother.

Since all the Karana Kayasthas belong to only one gotra, Kasyapa, they're allowed
to have sagotra marriage but not a samula marriage. It appears that the Kasyapa gotra
was thrust upon them later.

The Perils of Kulinism in Maithili society

● The system of kulinism strongly affected the Maithila society. It

encouraged excessive orthodoxy and empty formalism. Invidious social
distinctions were perpetuated.
● Taking of cooked food outside the caste was interdicted, and the pursuit
of hereditary profession was made mandatory.
● Kulinism killed the initiative of a large mass of people , whose interest
now lay not in society as whole but in their own particular segment.
● The newly created kulina among the two communities prided themselves
on their purity of blood and derided all those who ranked below them in
social hierarchy. It helped the growth of a falsense of vanity.
Like all traditional thinkers, Vidyapati believed in the maintenance of the
social status quo, and he advised people to stick to their own vocations.
Purely scriptural arguments were put forward in support of social inequality.
The brahmanas ramified into numerous categories on the basis of gotra,
sakha and pravara. Candesvara quoted a passage from Devala regarding the
eight grades of brahmanas , indicating there by eight sub-castes .

People of different gotras and pravaras claiming descent from some distant
rishi’s or sage ancestors became endogamous castes . In Mithila the
brahmanas were divided into srotriyas, yogyas, panji prabandhas and

36
 jaibaras. Ranks were settled for each one of them, and marriage rules were
accordingly fixed. Whatever flexibility early kulinism had, it disappeared
gradually. Kulinism held a wider appeal for the upper caste people in the
beginning and also left some scope for the improvisation of the status of the
lower caste people . It seems that from Mithila it spread to Bengal and
Assam. The Bengali kula panjika texts are indebted to the rules prescribed
by Harimisra and Vacaspatimisra , and the kayasthas of Assam borrowed the
institution of kulinism from Mithila.

According to Grierson, the Panjis give much useful information and are one of the
most extraordinary records in existence . It has been in existence from the first
quarter of the fourteenth century and forms a piece of Maithili literature. So far only
two scientific books on the subject are available :

i. Maithila Brahmano Ki Panji V ya vasth a by Ra ma natha Jha (in Hindi); and

ii. Maithila Karna Kayastha Panji Ka Sarveksan by Binod Bihari Varma (in
Maithili).

Das, K. Maithil Karnakayasthaka Gotra, Pravara, Mool Aavaivahik

Sambandh

Kamaldhar Das in his book Maithil KarnKayasthak Gotra, Pravarva Mool : A

vaivahik Sambandh writes "The camps and conferences of genealogists no longer
take place. With the increase in population, the generation entry of more than eighty-
ninety lakh family hasn't took place, most of the columns are missing, and it's nearly
impossible to collect the vast information, given no old age person is alive in any

37
village to give the concrete information of four-five generation and their matrilineal
or patrilineal relationships."

Under the panjiprabandh almost all villages, be it small or big were into operation.
Each panjikar had the responsibility of a few villages based on their accessibility.
Every alternate year they used to camp in villages and collect the information
required to maintain a geological record. The information was taken from the oldest
person of a household who would give away the list of new births, marriages,
marriages in which home and village that took place in an individual's family. The
records were updated to check Adhikar during the marriage of anyone in the
village.In the gap years between the camp years, panjikars were honored in venues
decided beforehand. The issues of panjikars were also discussed and solutions
provided in these venues. He further writes that the study of panji was of more than
ten years with different stages. In the twelfth year, after completion of exams and
the subsequent honors exam one can be called a panjiyar.

But panjikars today are a disgruntled lot. As the new generation is not able to name
all their progenitors properly, the age-old restrictions are not followed strictly.
Disgusted over the new development, one of the panjikars, Bodhkrishna Jha, has
given up his family job and has joined the Sanskrit university at Darbhanga as a
teacher. Sources said the genealogical records were under the threat of being lost
forever, as much because Saurath was losing preference as wedding negotiations
rendezvous, as because the new generation in many families of panjikaars, was no
longer interested in this profession and is shifting to other jobs. Low pay, migration
are other reasons for the diminishing of panji as a profession.

Reflecting on the current status kamaldhar Das also talks about the ironic nature.
That these days when and if a panjiyar or panjikar dies, he has his genealogical

38
records i.e panji with him, then his son or anyone in his house starts using the records
and he is called panjikar who have practically not done ant study in the respective
field.

Kumar Jha, P. (2008) The Ghar-Bahir Dichotomy:Women,Their Raj

And Marriage Reforms in Mithila in the late Nineteenth Century

In 2008 Pankaj kumar jha published his book named the ghar bahir dichotomy in
which he discussed about the the background of the marriage reforms in Mithila and
precarious status of women in Mithila during late 19th century due to practicing of
the old marriage system like the practice of the bikaua, the kulin polygamy, child
marriage, extravagance in marriage, etc. These atrocious practices drew attention of
the people concerned like the Raja Madhav Singh (1775-1807) of Darbhanga raj,
who took initiatives to eradicate the evil system of Bikaua tradition.Bikaua as a
marriage practice was a malignant offshoot of the panji-prabandhan. Bikaua as a
marriage practice was a deadly branch of panji prabandhan.One of the worst
consequences of the system was the creation of a new group of brahmin who is called
bikaua, i.e. a person who can be sold and bought. The people of the lower category
of the Brahmans, the Grihasthas in particular, always establish matrimonial alliances
with the people of the higher caste known as bikaua in order to improve their social
status and prestige. The practice of bikaua not only de-structured the Maithil society,
but the increase in the incidence of child marriages, unequal marriages resulting in
widowhood has further deteriorated the status of women in the society.

Maithil kulin Brahmans, those who are known as Bikaua marry 25 or 30 wives of a
low family. They bring the first wife home and leave the others at their own houses.
Once a year or when convenient they go on tour to their father-in-law's houses and

39
demand money from their wives or their parents, which they consider a laudable
means of livelihood. Thus the practice continued till the last quarter of the 19th
century. According to F. Buchanan, in the year 1876 about 665 young women, some
of tender age and others in the prime of life had become widows due to the death of
only 54 bikaua Brahmans.34 In this report the cases of two bikauas have specially
been mentioned - one of village Koilakh, aged about 50 years who had married 35
wives, and another of Ramnagar, aged about 40 years, who had married 14 wives.

In 1795, Raja Madhav Singh filed a petition in the Adalat Diwani which is concerned
about how ladies suffer negligence and carelessness of their husbands, because of
polygamy. Taking the seriousness of the problem the Court notified "to all the
Brahmans and Panjikars of Sarkar Tirhut that they are prohibited to have more than
four ladies in their matrimony otherwise , they will be penalized for such crime. The
court warns, if any one be found to have more than four wives and the court will be
aware of this with genuine evidence, the life and property of the accused will be put
into hazard and there will be no way to have rescue This order produced little impact
on the society and therefore the system continued to be practiced by the Brahmans
of shrotriya. Raja Madhav was aware of the fact that for bikauas polygamy practice
was the one of way of comfortable livelihood, after adopting this rule few Brahmans
may faced economic problems that's why in the 18th century then he brought
together all scattered shrotriyas families and settled them in village within a radius
of about twenty miles in the district of Darbhanga. He provided ample facilities for
keeping eye on the matrimonial relations of Brahmins in Saurath Sabha where
marriages were performed according to the panji system. After this the Shrotriya
accepted Maharaja as the head of their clan. By the last quarter of the nineteenth
century the social status of the women in the Darbhanga raj remained unchanged.
Maharaja Lakshmishwar Singh who was a nationalist and providing financial help

40
to the Indian National Congress, encouraged marriage reforms which aimed "to
discourage the dowries and to stop the polygamy of the Bikauwa Brahmans. In 1876
"a Sardar Committee '' was set up to achieve both goals.

They formed rules to stop the evil practices by taking solemn promises against their
observances by the Maithil Brahmins and the Panjikars. Rules for other castes were
also framed with the approval of the headmen of the respective castes, who attested
them with their signature. The Sadar Committee of Darbhanga worked very
efficiently, from the beginning of the year 1876 upto November 1878, 2289
marriages had been celebrated according to the rules whereas 107 marriages had
been celebrated against the rules framed by the Committee. Because of all these
efforts dowries in Maithili decreased and by the 20th century practice of bakaua had
disappeared. After a long debate in the All India Mithila Mahasabha in 1909 it was
decided that the marriageable age of girls would be between 8 to 12 years while for
males it would be between 16 to 50 years. Writer argues that even after all these
issues and reforms, the patriarchal forms of authority in the family were never
challenged while improving the condition of women. In order to change patriarchy
such social reforms need to be integrated within a vast cultural revolution.

Singh Sugandh, R. (2017). Matrimony: Marriage And Migration In

Mithila Region,India An Exploratory Geographical Study Of Saurath
Sabha

The paper is an exploratory attempt to describe the role of Saurath Sabha and to what
degree had it been affected due to the migration in the Mithila Region. It further tries
to highlight the migration of Maithili Brahmins and Karna Kayasthas in the region.
Four basic areas were inspected and they include Maithili Matrimonial

41
Alliance,Saurath Sabha, Panji and Panji Prabhand and Migration from Maithili
Region.

Saurath is a linguistic region where Maithili is the common language and the place
holds an annual congregation for marriage alliance. As the month of Asadh arrives,
the village glows with the preparations and various rituals take place till late night.
Some people also see the place as a form of pilgrimage and others as a form of
aesthetic. To others it is also a mere fair and place to enjoy for 10 days. The
government also makes certain efforts such as buses to transport people and ration
at low prices for people's welfare.Once a perfect match is found, the rituals begin
with Sidhant. It is very useful now for poor parents who wish to get their children
married. Initially the village was seen as very poor with no electricity and no roads.
With the intervention of the Government, several roads were built, pucca houses
were made and electricity was introduced. But later with high dowry
demands,middleman influence and mass migration, the sabha is reduced to a
congregation of poor Brahmins and illiterate people(Sinha, 1999). The Telegraph
Jamshedpur, 13 July 2016 reported 'Only poor and middle class people assemble
here that too from neighboring areas.In 2015, a group tried to revive the Saurath
Sabha and revive it again. Chalu Saurath is the name of the Sabha promoting the
institution annually.

Panji is a genealogical record. The Maithil Brahmins knew about the Cross
Fertilisation theory. Along with genealogies, it also highlights the social economical
conditions of the people in those times. Panji Prabhand was a system of record
keeping that initially had to do with record keeping of Kings of the Mithila and the
important people of the region. Some believe that the institution of Panji Prabhand
proved to be the foundation of Maithili society.

42
The history of Mithila is associated with warfare and invasions from outside. There
were several migrations of Brahmins from the region to Cambodia,Vietnam and
Laos. There was also movement of Maithil Brahmins to Bengals. Moreover in the
20th century there was movement of villagers to towns for various economic
reasons. Akbar(2012) had mentioned various reasons for these migrations. From 596
households,134 households moved to big cities. Delhi was the most preferred.
Migration from Mithila to these cities have become a worrisome phenomenon.
Saurath Sabha which once maintained the records among other things due to the
mass migration of the people for education and work purposes has been reduced to
a Sabha of illiterates and poor.

Madhok, P. (2008) The Interplay between Marriage , Ritual and Art in

Mithila

The purpose of this document is to establish the relation between rituals in marriages
and practice of art in Mithila region. The bond between husband and wife is among
the most solemn of human relationships. The Maithils, have until today managed to
retain ties with their past traditions. This connection with the past is attributable to
the region’s secluded geographical location and its political history.

Mithila Paintings in the Kohbar–ghar

The Kohbar–ghar mandalas of Mithila are unique in India . They are painted on the
main wall of the kohbar–ghar, which is the nuptial chamber in the house of a Maithil
bride, to bless the marriage. These paintings are of Hindu gods and goddesses and
less important nature deities, exemplified by the sun and the moon. The purpose of
the kohbarghar painting is to ensure a healthy union of the wedding couple through

43
the blessing of offspring. The images are painte d with raw, flatly applied hues. In
some kohbarghar mandalas only

two colors are used, such as pink and black. But generally five to six colors are
employed, namely, red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and black. Red tends to
dominate the color scheme since it is regarded as auspicious for marriage. At first
colors made from vegetable and mineral substances, mixed with oil and milk or gum,
were used. 9 replaced with commercially produced colored powder They are now
mixed with milk or gum.

The Women Artists of Mithila

It is mainly the women artists of the Mithila towns and villages, such as Darbhanga,
Madhubani, Jitwarpur, Rasidpur, and Ranti, who execute the kohbar–ghar wall
paintings.A group of approximately four or five girls, aged around 12 to 17,
accompany older women to complete one wall painting. The kohbar–ghar paintings
seen today, consequently, follow conventions formulated in the past. Traditional
designs are mastered and handed down from one generation to another. Gifted
artists, such as, the late Ganga Devi, Sita Devi, and Mahasundari Devi, began from
the late 1960 onwards to develop distinct styles of their own by creatively
reinterpreting motifs used in the past.

The symbolic meaning of the kohbar–ghar wall paintings

The wall painting of the kohbar–ghar is designed to promote fertility and prevent
disease.After consulting a purohit or priest, an auspicious day and time are selected
to begin painting the main wall of the kohbar–ghar. The wall is white–washed and
coated with rice–paste. This converts the wall–surface into consecrated space.
Usually the head painter carries out this ritual. If she is a widow, the dot is applied

44
by another woman. The lotus pond stems from the central dot and spreads over the
entire wall surface. Empty space is avoided because it is equated with barrenness.
The wall is covered with the paintings of gods and goddesses including either a pair
of peacock or parrots or a group of parrots. Lotus and bamboo in the paintings are
known for their rapid growth (fertility) and tenacity respectively. Lower bottom of
the wall is painted with the image of bride and groom performing Gauri puja
.Finally, a goddess with magical powers protecting the couple from the evil eye is
painted on the walls in the four corners of the kohbar–ghar. She is known as naina–
jogin, which means ‘eye–goddess,’ and is portrayed wearing a long skirt and veil.
Even if one is unaware of the symbolism involved, it is still possible to appreciate
these paintings because of their ornate patterns, their glowing colors, and their
element of strangeness.

Interpretation of the Leitmotifs: Lotus and Bamboo

The Englishman William G. Archer was the first to discover Mithila paintings in
1934 while conducting relief operations in the Madhubani area which was struck by
an earthquake. He said lotus and bamboo both of these forms symbolise fertility not
only because of the speed with which they proliferate but also because they are
diagrams of the sexual organs. He also referred to the tortoises represented in
kohbar–ghar paintings as erotic symbols. TheFrenchman Yves Vequaud, a great
patron of Mithila paintings, first encountered them in the early 1970s at Delhi, the
capital city of India. He was the one to identify the late Ganga Devi, now
acknowledged as one of the best talents of Mithila painting. In his book, titled The
Art of Mithila: Ceremonial Paintings from an Ancient Kingdom, he too interpreted
the lotus and bamboo as symbols of the female and male reproductive organs.In her
insightful review of The Art of Mithila by Vequaud, Carolyn H. Brown, who read
this book while she was engaged in anthropological fieldwork among Maithil

45
brahmins, severely criticized Vequaud’s “extravagant and unsubstantial
interpretations” of the kohbar–ghar wall paintings. As Jyotindra Jain points out,
lotus and bamboo are found in abundance in the environment of the Mithila region;
because of their proliferating nature, they are used as fertility symbols in the kohbar
ghar wall paintings.As Jain mentions, sheets of paper with kohbar motifs drawn on
them are used to wrap sindoor or vermillion–red powder for the bride. This is
considered a very significant step in the marriage process and is called sindurdan.
The motifs are drawn by the women artists of the bridegroom’s family. He said when
he discussed the iconography of the kohbar–ghar wall paintings with the well known
Maithili Artists( Godavari Devi, Mahasundari Devi, and Sita Devi. ), they described
the motifs as representative of fecundity.

Aripan Mandalas in the kohbar–ghar

On the fourth day after the wedding, an aripan mandala known as ‘mohak’ is drawn
on the floor of the kohbar–ghar while a mantra or prayer is chanted..‘Mohak’ aripan
consists of two fully bloomed lotus flowers connected by a stem, symbolizing a
joining of fates of the bride and groom who are made to sit before this diagram on a
patia or grass mat and perform a number of intimate rituals such as feeding each
other. At this time, relatives sing special songs to tease and bless the newly weds.

Composition and Meaning of the Aripan Mandala

An aripan mandala is drawn to provide protection from the malevolent forces of

nature.48 Purain or lotus is one of its chief emblems. The lotus symbolizes purity of
character because its petals and leaves remain unsoiled despite growing in dirty
water.After marriage, a bride draws an aripan mandala in the courtyard, door–front,
and other parts of the house early in the morning to ensure happiness and good
fortune in her family life.The close resemblance between the aripan and kohbar

46
mandalas seems to suggest that the latter stemmed from the former. As in aripan
mandalas, in kohbar mandalas balance and symmetry are taken into consideration
while composing designs from natural forms such as flowers, leaves, birds, and
animals. But unlike aripan mandalas that are drawn in most parts of India, kohbar
mandalas are peculiar to the region of Mithila.

Wedding Songs

While the wedding rites are performed, jog songs, that is, songs which dispel evil
spirits, are sung to safeguard the future of the bridal couple.Also sung are songs by
Vidyapati (ca.1352–1448 C.E.), the love poet of Mithila. These songs celebrate the
legendary romance of Krishna, the cowherd god (a popular incarnation or avatar of
Vishnu) and his favorite cowherd maiden or gopi, Radha. Like the love songs of
Vidyapati, kohbar and aripan mandalas emphasize the symbol of the female, namely,
the lotus, and appeal to people from all segments of society. Images of Radha and
Krishna and episodes from their enchanting love affair are often painted on the
entrance wall of the kohbar–ghar.

Pandey, A. (2014) Recasting the Brahmins in Medieval Mithila : Origin

of Caste Identity among the Maithil Brahmins of North Bihar, [A
dissertation for PhD]

Anshuman Pandey in his PhD. dissertation 'Recasting the Brahmin in Medieval

Mithila: Origins of Caste Identity among the Maithil Brahmins of North Bihar'
concluded that it is commonly understood that the purpose of pañjī prabandha was
to prevent illegitimate marriages among the Brahmins of Harisimhadeva’s kingdom.
The introduction of a ranking system and the expansion of the panji records indicate

47
that there was a purpose to the implementation of official genealogies that extended
beyond the domain of marriage. Although there are no manuscript or epigraphical
sources from the Karnata period that offer any insight into the reasons for the
implementation of pañjī prabandha, he has demonstrated using the pañjī records,
literary sources, and inscriptions that Brahmins had attained prominent positions
within the Karnata kingdom. Moreover, these Brahmins appear to be largely
responsible for the actions of the king. The intent could have been multifarious, so
that it would include a system for ensuring proper marriages, as well as for
maintaining a census of the Brahmins of the kingdom, and for understanding ‘who
is who’ among the community. Given the power of Brahmins in the Karnata
kingdom, it is fair to establish that the pañjī prabandha was conceived by and
implemented by Brahmins for Brahmins, and that as a matter of protocol they
attached the name of Harisimhadeva to the endeavor.;

According to him, The pañjī prabandha represents a new aspect of the relationship
between the state, kinship, and caste. The systemization of genealogies and the
appointment of officials entrusted with maintenance of the genealogies bound caste
and kinship with political authority and state bureaucracy. The motivation of the
king, as the embodiment of the state, to maintain the order of castes by regulating
marriage within a kin resulted in the establishing of a formal institution that
collected, classified, and verified kinship data in order to authorize marriages. Such
a system not only expanded the function of the state, but also expanded the
importance of marriage, the social organization of Brahmins, but also in maintaining
the state.

48
2.2 Gaps in Research

The extensive literature review by the group led to an understanding that there is a
massive gap between culture which is practiced and culture which is recorded.
Although many books give the historical, mythological and sociological description
of panji, its practice and social status of panjikars, there is null literature which
discusses the current status of panji-prabandh and livelihood of panjikars except few
news articles.

On the other hand, in the context of the Saurath Sabhagachi congregation, exploring
its decline was an important step towards understanding the changing ways of
socialization, marriage alliance in a rural setup. A gap was observed wherein there
was a lack of recorded literature focusing on changing marriage related association.
So this project is a small effort to open up the scope of more research on marriage
related institutions, it's social legislation and changing methods of matrimonial
alliances especially in the region of Mithila. There are more aspects related to
matrimonial congregation e.g dowry, women's role, technological impact on
marriage related rituals, contrasting the ways of socialization in past and present that
can be brought into literature. This project is trying to fill in the gap by recording the
current status of panjiprabandh and saurathsabha.

49
2.2 Aim and Objectives

AIM : The Aim of the study is to investigate the system of Panjiprabandh

practiced by Brahmins and the matrimonial congregation of Saurath Sabhagachi .

OBJECTIVE :

● To investigate Sabhagachi as a martial congregation and reasons for its

diminish
● To explore the ancient system of Panji (Genealogical records) and the idea of
avoiding consanguineous relationships and maintaining purity of blood.
● To record the changing life of Panjikars and the reasons for the dimish of
Panjiprabandh.

50
CHAPTER 3 : METHODOLOGY

51
In this chapter, the methods, tools, and processes along with all logistical, academic
and ethical considerations dealt with during the project have been discussed. It is
essential, in order to establish intelligible and reliable information based on research,
to have a clear understanding of the methods used and procedures undertaken.

Introduction

Methodology requires an understanding of the entire process- the social-

organizational context, philosophical assumptions, ethical principles, as well as the
political impact. (Neuman, 2014). It enables researchers to plan and examine the
logic, composition and protocols of research methods and estimate the likelihood of
their research to contribute to the existing body of knowledge (Krippendorf, 2004).

3.1 Research design

Research design is a conceptual structure within which the research is conducted.

(Kothari,2004) It includes an outline of all the procedures that shall be undertaken
to conduct the study. In this study, A Mixed Methodology (Inclusive of quantitative
and qualitative) approach was made . According to Creswell (2003), when
quantitative research is selected, the researcher primarily follows a post-positivist
approach to develop knowledge (i.e. cause and effect thinking, use of measurement
and observations, and test of theories). It uses quantifiable data to articulate facts and
reveal patterns in research. However Qualitative research is multimethod in focus,
involving an interpretive, naturalist approach to its subject matter."(Denzin and
Lincoln,1994)

52
Qualitative research design has been used to conduct expert interviews with
Panjikars, Historians and local men/women with an involvement in sabhagachi
directly or indirectly. An expert interview is a discussion that takes place between
the researcher/interviewer and the expert/interviewee in order to gain his/her
expertise on a respective research topic (Bonger, Littig & Menz, 2009).

3.2 Methodological Framework

Journey to the project : Since the project was majorly historical and it needed to
explore the views of many writers, we took extensive time and effort in doing the
Review of literature which we could access via online medium. We got to know
about the lack of government initiative in bringing the historical documents online
in the first phase of project. Though we found a list of old panjis, which are a very
important historical document and have been used to decipher the ancestral line of
famous kings, poets say Vidyapati. But it was very evident that we missed some
major literary works which could only be found in Saurath village with the panjikars,
as they keep their extensive notes which are used for learning the skill of becoming
panjikar.

The very first thing we did in the project was creating social media accounts on
Facebook, Instagram with the name Saurathsabhagachi to attract participants and
reach out to possible participants with knowledge and interest on the project. After
initial rapport formation, we finally decided to develop an in depth-unstructured
questionnaire. Before Mid June, our objectives were a bit wide, as we earlier
intended to work on as many as six objectives with the focus on women's role, caste
dynamics, current status of panji, alternative occupation of panjikars, independent

53
organisations initiatives and all. But with time and resource constraint we reduced
the objectives so as to have clear and concise findings. All the interviews were
conducted in July, via Google meet and telephonic medium. After which an analysis
was done to simply present the data in form of a journalistic report.

3.3 Data Sampling

For interviews, Non- probability sampling method and followed purposive sampling
and judgemental method was chosen to select the respondents for the interview .
Purposive sampling technique is characterized by a definitive criterion for selection
of certain samples out of the population. The selection depends on the discretion and
criteria set by the researcher. The definitive criteria had been set to include those
participants that were relevant to the study.

3.4 Research Participant’s

● In order to understand the various dynamics we interviewed people who were

directly connected with the Sabha or the Saurath village. These would include
historians who have worked on the Saurath Sabha and belonged to the Mithila
Region.There were two historians :
1. Dr. Savita Jha Khan, Assistant Proffesor DCAC, DU and the founder
of Maithili Literature Festival and Centre for Studies of Traditions and
Systems and;
2. Ripunjay Kumar Thakur, Researcher at Department of History, DU
Editor and Author at Madba (ed.2020)

Procedure of The Interview: Google meet with unstructured questions. They

reflected on the history of the Sabha and their diminished attributes. The contrast
between the social status of panjikars now and before were also reflected upon.

● The other participants included two panjikars namely -

54
 1. Pramod Jha Panjikar and ;
2. Kailika Dutta Jha who is the former professor of Lalit Narayan Mithila
University, Darbhanga.

Procedure of The Interview: Telephonic interview with unstructured questions

primarily focusing on Panji Prabandh and secondarily focusing on Saurathsabha.
They reflected their views on the Panji Prabhand and their uses over the period of
time.

● The next participant was a rural man and a rural woman who had involvement
in the Sabhagachi.
1. The woman aged 86 got her son, brother and many more relatives
married from Sabhagachi and is a permanent resident of village
Kakraur, which is about 9km away from Saurath village.
2. Vidyanand Singh who was stationed in Saurath village while serving in
Bihar police in 70s.

We chose to interview historians and local men/women in order to gain

different perspective to our research interest as different group interacts with a
phenomena differently. The direct and fruitful benefits of expert interviews
are, they offer the researchers with productive and constructive methods of
quickly procuring good results, as both the interviewer and the interviewee
share a common interest in the research area, it boosts the motivation of the
interviewee or the expert to participate in the research which results in getting
to learn better techniques and methods.

3.5 Data Collection Procedure

To understand people’s perceptions regarding SabhaGachi -

● An Interview: In-depth, Semi-structured, Telephonic and through Google

meet was conducted.

55
3.6 Data Analysis

After collection of the data, it is necessary to analyse the implications of the data
collected. Analysis can be done using various significance tests, interpretations etc.
For the interviews, narrative analysis was used. We observed important themes
from the interview.

3.7 Limitations and Challenges

The very first limitation was finding enough literature in context of SaurathSabha,
although much literature talked about its glory and overall sentiment, not much
resources on the role played by women within their households during the ten days
Sabha was found. Also since it was a completely brahmanical congregation as by
far observed and understood through the limited literature, the caste dynamics were
the most unexplored area. Infact, within the Brahmans also there is a hierarchical
gradation of Shrotriya, Yogya and Jaybar which was especially interesting. There
was enough literature about panjiprabandh though.

Another limitation was lack of accessibility to the field which could have entailed
direct observation, more personal and precise questions to the participants. We had
to keep the interviews crisp and telephonic, or via Google meet. Since its difficult to
find women via online mediums we found another alternative by doing livet
interview with an eighty-six year's old lady and gained insight into this old tradition.
There was also a lack of considerable statistics to draw a precise sample. We
intended to understand independent organisations' views who were active in the
promotion of sabhagachi but since they are at local level, we could only access their
activities through social media.

56
3.8 Timeline of Project

● April to Mid-May : Review of Literature

● Mid May to Mid-June : Report Formation, Informal Interaction,

Conceptualization of Project, Aim /Objective and Methodological
Framework.

● Mid-June : Development of Questionnaire, Mode of Data Collection.

● July: Conduction of Interview.

● August: Analysis and Report Formation.

57
CHAPTER 4 : RESEARCH FINDINGS

58
4.1 An Interview with Panjikars

Interview Transcripts :

A.) Pramod Jha

We met Mr. Pramod Jha, a very renowned Panjikar seeking for some valuable
insights on the topic of our study. Explaining about the current situation of the
Panji system he says that the Panji system is still practiced in Mithilanchal . And
there's not any village or sub-cast in particular that does not practice panji or must
practice Panji , it is voluntarily done , it's upto the one , who wishes, gets it done.
He mentioned that as before even today the Siddhant patra are written on palm
leaves and are dully recieved by both parties. Earlier ,he said that if someone does
not marry into the panji system, say if they marry without taking the genealogical
records into account, or if they marry outside of their caste or religion or in the same
gotra(samgotra), they used to be categorized as Assudha Panjis or a Dushit Panji.
He added however they are no longer maintained , “because what is the use of
maintaining a record when someone commits action against the society norms !?

The procedure begins with both parties (groom and bride) providing their identities,
which are then compared with pre-existing genealogy , he said when asked about the
process of writing the Siddhanth , later it is verified if the groom and bride in the
maternal five generation and paternal seven generations are genetically connected
or not using the genealogical record (panji). He also mentioned that along with the
cultural and social point of view there lies a scientific view point too , i.e science
discovered in the 14th century that the effects of genes last until the seventh

59
generation. The seven generations of paternal koola and the eight generations of
maternal koola are combined in one vamsha. Both paternal and maternal genes are
involved.So it is seen if the groom and bride side is not involved anywhere between
seven and five generations. If the two are involved in such a way, then in
mithilanchal it's called Anadhikar (i.e forbidden degree of relationship) and if they
are not attached genetically then it's called Adhikar.

On asking him about whether they (the panjikars here;) undergo some special kind
of training or they learnt the skill from their ancestors , he replied that back then in
the 14th century, when King Harisingh Dev started the Panji system. Initially there
were no recognised university to study genealogy at the time. The study was based
on the gurukul system where the gurus (teachers) taught their shishya i.e students,
and the king conducted the exams. The notes delivered by gurus to their shishya
were the records that were safely kept.

In the context of digitalization of panji he elaborated that the independent Maithil

organisations desire the digitalization. Anyway, on July 7th, a few computers were
distributed for the computerization of panji. But that would need a lot of hardwork
and a software, or he will have to scan the panjis and save them on a hard drive that
will only be available to him. Also while updating the panjis, the script used will be
a point of contention because Mithilakshar has its own script. If software for storing
the panjis is not developed, typewriting may be an option, but it would take 6 to 6
months to compile one book (at least for him), which is extremely difficult. He added
that it was a commendable initiative by the Mithila-Maithili culture organization
for preserving the records of crores of bride and Grooms.

60
When asked if there has been any women Panjikar or were the name of womens
ever been written , he responded that, no woman has ever become a panjikar
(genealogist). There have been numerous female scholars like Gargi, Maitri in
Mithila. But Women's names are mentioned in several panjis. Explaining on the
evolution of Saurathsabha He said, "Except for Saurath Sabha, there used to be
twelve sabhas (assemblies). Twelve sabhas were formed in 1735, although they were
not for marriage but rather for intellectual discourse. The sabhas consisted of

scholars. King Raghaw singh (राजा राघव सहं (1701-39)) from Khandwala vamsha

organised the Sabhas. As many scholars who attended to these assemblies had
unmarried sons/daughters and marriage was considered an essential part of society,
these sabhas gradually became marital congregations. However, intellectual
arguments faded away in most sabhas over time, leaving primarily marriage-related
gatherings in Saurath village."

And , In the contemporary situation, women visit sabha gachi, they wander in and
around as a common place. It was a fair like situation earlier, so women visit the
place likewise. Many functions also take place now like tree plantation, gathering of
poets. But there is no system of women being part of Sabha (Assembly) for marriage
purpose.

He also mentioned the primary reason for the decline of panjikars ,saying that the
decline for any proffesion is economic. It is no longer viable to continue this
occupation in terms of earning a living. People are migrating to cities for work and
consequent livelihood. The source of revenue in this career is currently poor. Urban
occupations are growing at a faster rate. Seasonal activity for genealogists is based
on suddha (pious) marriage days, and earning is vague. Everyone eventually seeks a
comfortable life for their family. Also, when the government has sanctioned all kinds

61
of marriage that are not part of the panji system throughout India, why would
someone be so invested in panji, resulting in a limited scope? Panjikars have since
gone on to other occupations for themselves and future generation.

Upon asking the location of Dowry in the institution of SabhaGachi he said dowry
was not alienated from sabhagachi given it was so prevalent in almost all culture and
society in the post 1960's or so on. But, it's important to observe that Dowry was
more prevalent in personal interaction of the groom and bride's family outside of the
Sabhagachi institution. Because sabhagachi was an open place, an open institution
where everyone knew who was from which kula, gotra, vamsha and groom's
profession and other necessary details that holds a significance in marriage. So
whatever dowry was taken was quite open in contrast with when two families
interacted and fixed marriages within the sphere of family and home. Also, before
giving dowry, the girl's parents or guardian scanned the boy, asked him numerous
questions to understand his ability and suitability for marriage. Other happenings
were that since Sabhagachi consisted of people from many villages and many
backgrounds, sometimes they created a pressure on the boy's side for accepting
whatever the dowry amount was offered. The girl's parent had many alternatives on
spot as well.

Many factors ultimately led to the negotiation of dowry. Now, the negotiations are
limited to four walls, no-one knows what is demanded and what is given, there isn't
much social constraint.

When SabhaGachi was at its peak and on current status, he says , marriages do
happen now and then, but they are rare. It's not the same as before. In the eighty's
when the dowry system was at its peak, Jagannath Mishra was the CM and some
incident occurred that wounded the feelings of Brahmans, and it was seen that people

62
began to avoid Sabha Gachi, which gradually faded. Second, it's crucial to remember
that in the past, anybody, such as a bride's or groom's family, had the authority and
prestige in society to act as a guardian, committing both parties to marriage and
arranging the weddings of their sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, and other
relatives.But now the say of everyone and especially the girl and boy from both sides
is considered seriously

B.) Kalika Dutta Jha , (Former professor in LNMU, Darbhanga)

Kalika Dutta Jha, a panjikar and former professor at LNMU, Darbhanga gave us
some insight on this congregation and panjiprabandh. He said that Vivah (marriage
ceremony) is the most important of all the Hindu Samskaras as the four ashram is
the second most important institution of Hindu social institutions . Sanskara are rites
of passage in a human being's life described in ancient Sanskrit texts. There are
diverse number of Samskaras in Hinduism out of which 16 are referred to as
“Shodasha Samskaras”. Thus the Ashrams are the stages where hard work or efforts
are to be done. The four ashramas are: Brahmacharya
(student),Grihastha(householder), Vanaprastha (retired) and Sannyasa (renunciate))
is dependent on marriage.

● The purity, sophistication of marriage is under a criteria. The rules of an

ideal marriage are fulfilled by the mithila society. In the question of Who
should a boy marry? The criterias are :

1.The girl shouldn't be samgotra (same gotra)

2. In the ancestral line, the girl shouldn't be connected to the boy for the last
6th generation from the paternal side and the last 5th generation from the
maternal side.This is the religious point of view. Another scientific view as
given by the panjikars of this system is that the possibility of birth defects is

63
 high till sixth generation consanguinity, the virtues and vices are existing
which results in genetic defects. With each consecutive generation the virtues
and vices reduce considerably. Some studies also support it . The current
genetic studies also talk about Crossbreeding and its effects. There are many
cultural views as well but now people do inter-caste marriage, so things have
changed because of western exposure and modernisation.

He mentioned that in ancient days every year during suddha (pious) days, a
Sabhasthal was chosen because of two reasons: one was socialisation and the
other was marriage related views and requirements of bride or groom were
also discussed. The qualities, education, kula, occupation of groom was open
as men from various villages gathered and they spoke about the status of
families who were involved in discussion of marriage. So It was easy to find
a groom.

Among the many things we wanted to find out about our study, we were particularly
curious about finding the role of women in Sabhagachi. With regards to that, we
realized from our conversation with Mr. Jha , that although women weren't visible
in the congregation of sabhagachi, they were the active participants from within their
households. Since, many people from far off places visited the Sabha and earlier the
provision of rest rooms were very limited. So the arrangement for the guests were
done by women within the household of the panjikars or influential men in the
village, given sabhagachi wasn't a one day procession, also the transportation was
not very efficient so that people could commute back to their residence. Women
ensured a hospitable environment for the guests by providing food, looking after the
daily needs of the guests. The process of socialization was very rampant as it wasn't
necessary that only the relatives would become guests. Even a complete stranger
was free to stay for 5,7 days till the Sabha was held. It was a festival-like situation.

64
On asking about the contemporary situation of Sabha, He elaborated that for the last
20-25 years, none visits the Sabha. Now only few influential men in the village meet
there on the suddha days, plant trees, discuss on the revival of Sabha, some kavi
sammelan takes place which is covered in the local news. Some local politicians are
called, speeches are given, some cultural events are organised but it's no more like
it was historically. Some non governmental organisations are dedicated to the revival
of Sabhagachi, they campaign over social media.

On asking him about the same whether they (the panjis here;) undergo some special
kind of training or they learnt this job from their ancestors , he replied that the study
of panji anciently used to happen for 10-12 years. The study required a lot of
patience, hard work. It's a tough job to remember the genealogy in the same order.
Practice is a must for this profession, any mistake can result in the exchange of
names and thus the whole genealogy becomes incorrect. Now, though it's practiced,
it's formally. There wasn't any printed book to learn the pattern of making
genealogical records (panji). The guru passed on the notes to their shishya from
generation to generation which eventually became a book. Even In the Kameshwar
Singh Darbhanga University, fifteen-twenty years ago a panji department was
established, and the study was wholeheartedly started but after four, five years a new
political party i.e the new government with different ideological stance closed the
department.

Even karna kayastha practice panji, they have their own rules, it's similar to Maithil
but there are some differences. Due to migration, people live in metropolises. They
fix marriages through online mediums and get married and settle there itself. So they
even marry without Siddhant patra at times.

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The primary reason for the diminution of panji is that society lost the enthusiasm
towards this, they stopped giving much importance,- said Mr.Jha , and in any
profession, financial security is a must. The desire to keep the history and culture
alive couldn't motivate the panjikars enough to continue this. They started opting for
other professions. Initially panjikars used to go from village to village and record the
geneology, they were given farewell and money. Earlier panjikars were given very
much respect, they were considered chief in the village.They were considered
equivalent to priest, the protector of vamsha. From this view, panjiyars was
considered devta. Slowly this sentiment disappeared in society and for their
livelihood panjikars stopped passing their profession to the next generation and the
next generation started opting for an economically better profession. As panji could
sustain till today because of the patronage of society and not the king, though the
king started this. So, once the patronage starts disappearing, it's continuity becomes
difficult.

4.2 An Interview with Historians

Interview Transcripts :

A.) Dr. Savita Jha Khan, (Assistant Professor at DCAC,DU)

Dr. Savita Jha Khan, who is the founder of Madhubani Literature Festival and Centre
for Studies of Traditions and systems also gave some insights on the topic of our
study. Describing how the panjikars' social status altogether has changed in the
society of Mithila . She says that initially there used to be proper study to become a
panjikar, and that the panjikars would travel widely. They had their own Jajman.

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They used to go out in the field, and no single panjikar has the responsibility of
everyone. The domains were distributed, like five village's responsibility was on one
panjikar. Till 1980's it was very active, they would roam village to village, record
the population in terms of birth, marriage, even if someone has migrated, the
panjikars would update all the information.

Panji is like an excel sheet, where additions were made, even if someone marries
outside the system, a dushit panji was maintained for people who married outside
the system of panji say in samgotra or inter caste. This genealogical record used to
get updated and upgraded till 1980's or so, after that since migration was very rapid
and at large scale. Later with the change of social behavior, when panjikars would
visit villages to update panji, none would be there to give them information, or even
the congenial treatment was fading. Panjikars were able to maintain their social
status with the patronage of jajmans. People became indifferent whereas earlier
panjiyars were treated like guests. None was there to update them with the data, there
was slowly the diminish of culture altogether. Only Some families, and some
panjikars gave their next generation the training of the study of panji. Some people
are discussing that an altogether different discipline should be introduced and the
study should be carried out.

We are forgetting that panji was not just limited to their use in matrimonial alliances,
but also to find solutions to civil disputes which has many examples. It's a fact and
document which is used in a court to ascertain who is the ownership of which
property. The family tree from the panji was used for judicial purposes as well.The
role of panji in construction of history is very significant. And It's important to note
that the panji is available for all classes, for the commoners and royalties. This
historical document is accommodative of all classes in that sense.

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Talking in the context of Sabhagachi and its diminution she inquires: Who requires
a sabhagachi for matrimonial relations these days? In Fact even in the 1970's or so
the mindset had come that the groom who couldn't marry anywhere, who wasn't able
to attract a bride party would visit sabhagachi. So they go and sit in sabhagachi. If
you see marriage institution from a cultural perspective and not a gender perspective,
and trace and investigate the development of Sabhagachi within the popular ways of
marriage in that time frame, then sabhagachi was a very open institution in the sense
that it was a common display to see in most cultures at that time that the girls side
would beg to the boy's side for marriage, deal with boy's tantrum. This wasn't the
case in Sabhagachi, the girls party would come to investigate the boy. The boy would
be desperately waiting with an umbrella, sitting on a mat in different climatic
conditions, and the girl party would inquire, interview the boy, check his education,
occupation.

The view was completely opposite as compared to the usual norm. The girl's parents
held the upper hand, they tested the boy's physical attributes and mental scholarship.
In that sense, it was very non-exploitative for the girl party. That's why it was named
as groom's fair. Whoever was suitable was chosen by the girl's family, her brother,
father or uncle. It was an open space and everything was out on display, the boy's
education, occupation, kula, even when dowry was taken, everybody knew about it.
There are instances where the kula, and other factors were sufficient for marriage
negotiation. Women's display wasn't there but it was women friendly in the sense
that they weren't probed by the men from different parties for marriage prospects.
Gradually the large-scale migration was a game changer when the vast majority
migrated, the need for sabhagachi institution which was a physical institution with
its requirement for physical participation. So, physical participation wasn't possible

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with modernisation and its products. People found alternatives. In some way, the
demise of such a physical institution is a crisis where socialization took place
between people from all backgrounds, both low and high economic class, strong-
weak, everyone interacted and formed matrimonial alliances and in a very amiable
way. There were 16 sabhas earlier which were not just for marriage alliances but
intellectual debates, but saurath remained alive. It's not practically possible to only
talk about marriage in any gathering, so issues of local significance, and issues faced
by panjikars were highly talked about.

Talking in context of whether social ostracisation took place if someone married

outside the panji, she reflected that the social ostracisation was more visible for inter
caste and inter religion marriages which again comes outside the system of panji.
But then, marriage wasn't the only reason for ostracisation, say someone was also
ostracized because of a family's criminal history, a person's conduct towards parents,
unacceptable habits like smoking or gambling. But then economic status also played
a role, someone with high economic status won't be excluded socially.

As the outside and inside, Ghar-Bahir (The home and the World) the spaces which
were marked, and the operations/roles limited. To look for women and their
responses in a space(i.e. outside) where women were evidently absent is very
ironical.Their direct participation was obviously marked in that time frame we are
talking about. There were two domains clearly, outside belonged to male and inside
to the female. Their life in general and in the context of marriage ceremonies are
highly reflected in their paintings and their indirect participation.

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B.) Ripunjay Thakur (Research Scholar, Department of History , Faculty of
Social sciences , DU)

Ripunjay Kumar Thakur while explaining the various important aspect of

Sabhagachi said that Sabhagachi is not only a gathering for marriage congregation
but also seen as a place where you get legitimation and patronization.

The interviewee highlighted that Saurath Sabhagachi had such cultural importance
that it acted as centre of North Bihar i.e. Mithilanchal region. According to him,
Sabhagachi also has political significance. Leaders of National, State as well as local
importance used to visit Saurath Sabha to establish an image of a person connected
to his/her cultural roots. The leaders provide financial and infrastructural support to
the Saurath Sabha. People from different regions and surrounding villages visit
Saurath that’s why political leaders don’t need to visit various places to gather votes.
We also get to see the hierarchy between political leaders, famous people and local
people.

When asked about the role of women in Sabhagachi, Mr Thakur said that there was
a nonexistent role of women in the congregation. Although he mentioned that there
is an indirect role of women like making food available for large masses and
activities related to temples. Because of long followed traditions and prevalent
patriarchal system continuing since later vedic period did not like an active
participation of women. He made an observation that there is no such decree which
prohibits women to Sabha and they usually come to the gathering to see the batches
of the grooms.

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He credits the patriarchal mode production in the society for minimum participation
of women in Sabhagachi. Mr. Thakur gives the example of Parameshwara Jha who
disapproves of women travelling in trains and vehicles and writes against this in his

book मथलातववमश. Parameshwara jha argues “why women are traveling, women

should not go beyond their household work.” Around the 80s there were not a very
great education system for women in Saurath, but now things are changing for them.

Then he talked about how Saurath Sabha rituals were different from other regions of
Bihari . Due to poverty the number of barati used to be less (around 3-5 people only).

He mentioned the concept of getting married twice. The first marriage used to take
place in front of the baraati. After marriage the baraati used to return and the groom
used to live in Bride’s house for around 4 days. In these 4 days bride and groom gets
to know each other and if they don’t like each other or if there was any case of
cheating then they both have the right to reject the relationship. If everything goes
well then a second marriage happens in the presence of family members only.
Chances of being cheated are reduced due to this ritual.

According to him, the cause of decline of Saurath Sabha is migration of people. They
don’t visit Saurath, they don’t want to speak Maithili and carry an inferiority
complex about their traditions. He gave an example that, if a person belonging to
Saurath lives in Delhi. He neither comes to Saurath to celebrate and attend
Sabhagachi nor edits his panji. According to the interviewee the main cause of
decline of Saurath Sabhagachi is globalizatioand urbanization.

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4.2 An Interview with a Rural man and woman

Interview Transcripts :

A.) Shri Vidyanand Singh

The participant has served in Bihar police and was stationed in proper SAURATH
GACCHI in late 70s. He mentioned that this congregation used to take place in an
area of 2-2.5 kms in the month of Asadh(June- July). People are dedicated to this
ceremony and the whole area is covered with orchards of mango and Wat Wriksha.
Reputed pandit and panjikaras along with their bulky pothis used to pitch their tent
there. Beside the tent of panjikaras used to be a gathering of grooms and their
families which gave the gathering a look of fair.

MELA (Fair)

Mentioning about the term 'MELA' which is often used in various article in context
to this congregation he said this term is a twisted word used for Sabhagachi by the
people who don't understand this. It is a sabha of Brahmins community where the
groom's side come with the groom and the bride's side come to select a fit groom for
their girl. It is often said groom's fair because the groom remains present in the sabha
but not the bride. The groom can be easily identified in the sabha by his coloured
dhoti usually of red or yellow colour and the panjikaras by their huge pothis.

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Ghatak

He told us about GHATAK which is also called Agua nowadays. They are the people
who know both the girl's side and boy's side and facilitate the talk between them. If
the bride's side doesn't like the boy then they try to find another prospect. Since the
sabha continues for several days, the people come back the other day if they don't
find a suitable match on that day.

Involvement of Relative

Talking about the father and relatives of the bride who attend this congregation. They
talk with the boy and his family, if they like what they see then they go to panjikaras
to match the mool, gotra and bhagyarekha of the bride and groom. Several pushts
back (ancestors) are traced by them, both of bride and groom. If both kundali are
matched then from there only the groom takes the baarat to the girl's home. As
Maithil Brahmin had a tradition of taking a small number of people to the bride's
home they used to take a maximum 10 members in the baraat procession. This
tradition has now changed as the number of baraati has increased nowadays reaching
up to hundred sometimes.

Caste’s Perspective

When asked about the participation of other castes in sabha, the interviewee told that
no other caste participates in sabha other than Brahmins. He was not able to recall
whether kayastha participated or not. He said that only Maithil Brahmins from
Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Madhubani used to participate in the Sabha.

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Dowry Practice and Women’s participation

When asked about the dowry in Saurath Sabha Gachi, he told us that it used to be
done privately/secretly so he doesn't have much idea about that. Additionally he
said that grooms serving on prestigious posts as well as grooms placed on lower
rung of the society, both used to participate in the Sabhagachi. People marrying
there used to take immense pride in the fact that they are marrying in Sabhagachi
earlier.On the role of women in the Sabhagachi he said that there was next to
nothing direct participation of women in the Sabha.

B.) Chandrika Devi

Below, are given some of the valuable insights given by Chandrika Devi, aged (86)

● Saurath sabha was called the groom's fair.

● The panjikar informed both the parties about the status in the hierarchical
order based on their sub-caste i.e Shrotriya, Yogya and Jaybar (which does
not have any panji).
● Kula determined the rituals of marriage, the rituals differed from kula to kula.
● Earlier shrotriya subgroups hardly married in lower sub groups.
● In the Maithil panchang, the Shuddha days were written where people
gathered, the influential men, panjikars.. My father, even when didn't have
any marriage related concerns, would go there just to meet people from
different villages and enjoy the discussion on local significance. There were
shops of sweets and all, it was a fair like environment. The Siddhant was done
on spot as in the case of my son, if the girl's fathers and relatives after checking

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 and interviewing the groom finds the boy good for his daughter, then both
parties get the Siddhant patra there itself from panjikars.
● Women would arrange woods(used as fuel for cooking at the time) and other
necessary materials within their homes as there was always a possibility of
fixing of marraige for any unmarried boy who went their for the purpose.
Marriage could take place within four days, one week or sometimes the very
next day. So all the preparation to ensure the conduction of rituals were done
beforehand.
● In the 1970's and more, lakh and lakh people used to gather, now the Sabha is
for name sake and the real purpose has disappeared long back.
● The gathering was primarily Brahmin dominated, though the shops of sweets,
flowers, and other requirements which were nearby were owned and operated
by anyone irrespective of caste.
● Karn kayastha also have their own system of panji and their own rules, it's
similar but not identical to that of Brahmans.
● Now sabha is not required because there are different means of
communication between the groom and bride 's. Earlier we would write and
receive letters. Now, everything happens on the phone. People have migrated
to urban areas and adapted to that culture. Marriage discussions remain within
the nuclear families unlike in Sabha which was an open place where everyone
knew everything and say what dowry is taken? What is the occupation of a
boy? What kind of family does the girl come from? their social, economic,
cultural status. Everything was on display so there was no chance of deceit.
Men go to the Siddhant ceremony. Though Sabha has diminished completely,
but even now We all and anyone who is connected to the village prefers to get
the Siddhant patra ascertained by panjikar after checking the Adhikar.

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● Women neither visited Sabha, nor got the chance to interview the groom, or
bride. Their role was mostly in arrangement of marriage within the household,
the conduction of all rituals, painting the kohbar, cooking for bariyati's, and
singing folk songs. Infact, women had a more difficult job as at that time no
electronic machines like (mixer, grinder) were there, no tap water. So the job
was difficult but the socialization was so active that women from all families
came to the family where marriage took place and helped in completing the
chore.
● Upon asking whether caste determines the lifestyle of people? For example,
were shrotriya necessarily from a well to do family? She told us not
necessarily, Two factors were responsible for high status. One was intellect
and the other economic status.
● She also mentioned that there wasn't any punishment or ostracisation by Sabha
if someone did intercaste marriage. it was discussed among people and people
would criticise the act but no punishment as such was given. But yes, some
people naturally avoided any family within which someone did inter caste and
inter religion marriages. But now it's less, villages have become accepting
especially for the rich.

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4.4 Discussion

The current situation of Saurathsabha is that people gather there during the Shuddha
days to relive the old tradition which has completely disappeared. They gather with
a sense of nostalgia.

This year in July, ववद्यापतत पस्

ु तकालय सममतत सौराठ सभा गाछी honored the

renowned panjikars of that area. Local politicians, MP's and MLA's were called who
willingly promised to donate money for the revival of sabhagachi. Influential people
from or across villages have formed many organisations like Saurathsabha Vikas
Samiti.

Premchandra Mishra, chairman of Zero House Committee, Bihar Vidhan Parishad

proposed the conversion of saurath sabhagachi as a tourist place in Bihar Legislative
Council. He says, "I accept that the glory of Saurathsabha is lost, but that is our
culture, and is our system, and its our responsibility to keep it alive which is
practically not possible without the effort and protection provided by the
government. It's a big space, if we develop it into a tourist place, then the future
generation will know its history, its mythical story." He supported the complete
computerization of panjiprabandh, he also demanded for better transportation
facilities to saurath village. The demand for conversion of saurath into a tourist place
is not the first time, the demand has been continuously by many Mithilanchal's
activists as a tourist spot doesn't only revive the culture, but also provides economic
development to the region. Famous speaker Udit Narayan Jha, also supported the
digitalisation of Panji in the online ceremony by the initiative of Atal Bharat
Foundation. The computerization process began on 7th of July 2021.

77
It is also demanded by an active independence organisation to make this

congregation as राजकीय महोत्सव. In order to keep up with the technological

change, a matrimonial website SaurathSabhaGachi Matrimony is also in the list to

compete with shaadi.com and others.Activities like tree plantation, religious
association, literary fest, sanitization, green cleaning, discussion on how to revive
the sabha takes place now which is nowhere to what was the scenery earlier.

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CHAPTER 5 : CONCLUSION

79
5.1 CONCLUSION

Marriage as an institution ;
The results of the study show that the causes of the decrease of saurathsabhagachi is
not homogeneous for every group of people associated with sabhagachi. People
interacted differently and had different roles directly and indirectly and so had their
own theories.

But, there is a common agreement that saurathsabha survived for so many years
because of the patronage of society, some political faces also played their role
significantly in its revival and restructuring. Panjiprabandh on the other hand have
managed to survive the test of time, though few panjikars are left in saurath, or other
brahmin dominated villages. Panji is deep rooted in the culture of whole of
mithilanchal, and most of the marriages are still performed under the system of panji
and by ascertaining the Siddhant patra. But then, each passing generation of
panjikars is getting into alternative studies and professions. The demand for
curriculum based study of panji is though strong but the question whether the young
generation would show enough interest is questionable, given panjikars have
seasonal occupation and money is minimum. Panjikars social status has altogether
changed, as panji and panjikars survived only with the patronage of society,
influential people interested in keeping their tradition alive and now migration,
changing ways of socialization has resulted in the disappearance of such patronage.

The diminish of saurathsabha can be credited to migration, distorted depiction of

media, alternative means of socialization and matrimonial association, all of which
are interconnected. Some people attribute local and state politics, dowry (which was
not specific to sabhagachi) to its decline as well. There have been numerous efforts
by people to revive the place but still the gathering in 2021 had a maximum hundred

80
people. And the activities pertaining to the congregation is not at all matrimonial in
nature but rather discussion of an idea for matrimonial congregation, i.e. reliving the
past.

81
POSTER FOR THE PROJECT

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