Rajendra Chandra Hazra

The Professional Jesters of the Vedic Age

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

This cultural essay traces the role of professional jesters in ancient India. Examining Vedic and later Sanskrit literature, the author finds references to upamantrins or cupamantrins—figures…

Did Harita know the Tantras?

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

In this note the author examines a passage from Harita’s Dharma‑sūtra that has been interpreted as evidence that Harita recognised the Tantras as part of Vedic revelation. The contested phrase uses…

A Newly Discovered Work of Bhatta Bhavadeva of Bengal

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

This article reports the discovery of two manuscripts of the Seva‑sutaka‑sauca‑prakarana, a previously unknown work of the eleventh‑century scholar Bhatta Bhavadeva of Bengal. Bhavadeva was already…

Is the Devi-bhagavata the Source of the Deogarh Relief of Nara-Narayana?

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

Responding to a previous claim that the Deogarh temple relief of the sages Nara and Narayana derives from the Devi‑bhagavata Purana, this article re‑examines the evidence. The author summarises the…

The Mahabhagavata-Purana, a work of Bengal

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

This paper examines the Mahābhāgavata‑Purāṇa, an obscure Upapurāṇa from Bengal that should not be confused with the canonical Bhagavata‑Purāṇa. The author provides an inventory of printed editions…

Srinatha Acarya-cidamani of Bengal

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

'Srinatha Acarya-cidamani of Bengal' by Dr. R. C. Hazra studies the life and works of Śrīnatha Ācārya‑cūḍāmaṇi, a prominent fifteenth‑century scholar of Bengal who profoundly influenced Hindu ritual…

Text and Interpretation of some Verses of the Meghaduta

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

In this Miscellany note, the author analyses difficult verses of Kālidāsa’s celebrated lyric poem “Meghadūta” (“The Cloud‑Messenger”). Although commentators have long divided the poem into two…

On the Interpretation of Some Passages of Harsa‑carita

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

This philological essay tackles difficult passages in Bana’s Harsa‑carita. Beginning with Bana’s ridicule of mediocre poets, likening their verses to a crow mimicking a cuckoo, the author probes how…

The Samvatsarapradipa

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

The article presents a critical study of the Samvatsarapradipa, a Sanskrit work dealing with calendrical and ritual matters that has long been cited in Smrti literature but whose identity has…

Brhaspati Rayamukuta and his Patron

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

The essay surveys the life and literary output of Bṛhaspati Rayāmukuṭa, a prolific scholar who flourished under the patronage of a Muslim ruler in fifteenth‑century Bengal. Drawing on manuscript…

Prepuranic Hindu Society before 200 A.D.

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

The Vayu-Purana

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

The article argues that the Vayu‑Purana is perhaps the oldest of the surviving Mahapuranas. Citing references from the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, Bana’s Harsacarita and Alberuni, it notes that these…

Our Present Agni-Purana

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

This paper analyses the present version of the Agni Purana and argues that it differs significantly from the Agni Purana described in the Matsya and Skanda Puranas. The earlier Puranas state that the…

The Smrti-chapters of the Kurma-Purana

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

The article collates and analyses the Smṛti chapters embedded in the Kūrma Purāṇa, comparing two printed editions and outlining the chapters on varṇa‑dharma (duties of the social orders),…

The Smrti-chapters of the Puranas

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

Influence of Tantra on the Tattvas of Raghunandana

By Rajendra Chandra Hazra

Focusing on Raghunandana, a 16th‑century Bengali jurist whose Tattva texts codified Smṛti practices, this essay explores how Tantric rituals permeated late medieval Hindu law. The author contrasts…