1894.] Harapi'asad Castri — Tiemnanls of Bwhlhism in Bengal. loO 



Bovci'idge has also given an extract from the transhxtionsof the Boinl)ay 

 Geographical Society coiiiiraiuitory of the tradition that Jalala-d-dia is 

 buried iu the Maldive islands. 



Tins paper will be published in full in the Journal, Part I. 



4. Discovery of the remnants of Bnddhism in Bengal. — Bij PAxnrr 

 Haraprasad ^astrT, M. a. 



Dharma-worship prevails in Westerii and Southern Bengal. Jt 

 has the following noteworthy features which distinguisli it fi-oni other 

 forms of Hindii worship. 



1. The name of the deity is either Dharma-raj or simply Dham- 

 ma. His worship is called Dhamnia puja. 



2. His temples face either East or South. But he is often wor- 

 shiped under a tree and sometimes in the open mayaddn. 



3. Where he has a permanent habitation he is represented by a 

 piece of round stone with oue or two brass nails, called " top" driven 

 through it. In other places he is worshiped in the form of a gJuita, or 

 earthen jar, full of water. 



4. His priests are Doms, Pods, Bagdis, and men of other low 

 castes. Brahmanas rarely Avorship him as Dharma. 



5. Daily worship is not insisted upon. The worship is mostly of 

 a votive character. 



6. The annual festival, which is generally held on the full moon 

 in the month of Vaigakha, is a time of great rejoicing for the lower 

 classes, from which the higher classes generally hold aloof. 



7. The principal feature of this annual festival was the athletic 

 feat of swinging on a lofty pole which was put a stop to in 1868 under 

 orders of Government. 



8. At this festival a long poem is recited which goes under the 

 name of Dharma niarjijal or Dhain.ma Thdhnrer (Jan. 



9. Dhamma is worshiped with mantras which ajipear to be very 

 curious. 



There are reasons to think that this is a rcmnatit of Buddliism, and 

 all the nine points enumerated above lead to the same conclusion. 



I. The name of the deity is Dharma-raj. This is another name 

 of Buddha for the Amara Kosa says : — ^1^: %i\m W^T ■^^TT^T^^IIfT: 

 Dharma is also the first of the Buddhist Triad. Buddhism was itself 

 known to its followers by the name of Sad-Dharraa or simply Dhai'ma. 

 Babu ^arat Candra Das quoting from an unpublished work of the Tibe- 

 tan Taranath, says, that after the destruction of Higher Bnddhism by the 

 Muhammadans, the popular and tantrik Buddhism remained in Bengal 

 and was known under the name of Dhamma. 



