Home Page

Type search text Text Image Audio Video

Dr. Pradipto Bandyopadhyay presents his credentials...

Dr. Pradipto Bandyopadhyay hails from the Brahmin community of Bengal with ‘Sandilya Gotra’ within the fold of ‘Rarhi Sreni’. The twenty second person in the line of descent from the clan head Bhattanarayan (1) was Lambodar Bandyopadhyay (22). Dr. Bandyopadhyay”s ancestors are the progeny of this Lambodar Bandyopadhyay. This lineage was known for scholarly pursuits and they were Pandits. A large number of them used the surname, Shiromani’, settled in Bhadreswar (Shiromanir Lane) area of Hooghly district on the west bank of the river Ganges (Hooghly).

                 Debibar Ghatak in 1480 A.D. divided the Kulin  Brahmins of Bengal into thirty six ‘Mels’. Dr. Bandyopadhyay belongs to Ballavi Mel according to this division of Debibar Ghatak. This Mel derived the name from one of the important personalities of the clan Ballavacharya, son of Sarbananda.

             One of Dr. Banddyopadhyay’s ancestors , Bholanath Shiromani was impressed by the devotion and religious bent of mind of one Krisnnachandra Niyogi, one Zamindar of Mahanad, Hooghly and a disciple initiated by him..Krishnachandra made a plea  to his Guru, Bholanath to come to Mahanad, Dakshinpara and settle down there on the occasion of the establishment of a Navaratna Kali temple, Brahmamoyee Kali in 1236 B.S. (1829 A.D.) . Bholanath agreed to the request and after entrusting his nephew, Anandamohan Mukhopadhyay ( his sister’s son) with the house at Bhadreswar came to Mahanad with his family including his brother Abhoycharan Shiromani.

            Abhoycharan was a scholarly person steeped in the studies of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy. He was also an ardent follower of Tantra Sadhana. He ran a traditional school called ‘Shiromanir Chatuspathi’ to teach Sanskrit literature, grammar and Indian philosophy from1237 B.S. to 1278 B.S.( 1830 A.D. to 1871 A..D.).  Being a devoted Tantrik he had installed a‘Panchamundir Asana’ ( seat formed on five skulls, a Tantrik practice) under a ‘Bilwa’(Aegle marmelos) tree on one side of his ‘Chatushpathi’. Abhaycharan left Mahanad for Varanasi at the fag-end of his life and lived there at Kashidham till his death in 1874 A.D.(1281 B.S. in the month of Baisakh).

        Bholanath had got a respectful ovation on his arrival at Mahanad.  The local Zamindar , Krishnachandra had posted messengers at different points on the road to Mahanad from the nearest bank of the river Ganges. One messenger announced the movement of the Guru at the top of his voice, so that the next messenger can hear it and   then he used to do the same act for the next messenger. In this way the message was passed on and Krishnachandra got practically a  minute to minute account of his Guru’s movement.

            Bholanath’s son, Shyamacharan was a scholar and well-versed in the Puranic studies. Shyamacharan’s son, Prabhas Chandra was an eminent medical practitioner, a researcher and a writer of repute in Bangla. He wrote several books including ‘Go-Jivan,’ ‘Mahanad or Banglar Gupta Itihaas’,(two volumes) ‘Santali Bhasa’, and ‘Homoeopathy Brahmastra’. He was a member of Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, an institution in Kolkata for research and promotion of Bangla literature and language.  Prabhas Chandra  was a regular contributor in several journals in Kolkata and Dhaka, which include ‘Bharatbarsa’,’ Prabasi’, ‘Krishisampad’,‘Hahnemann’, ‘Chikitsa Prakash’ , ‘Jiboner Alo’ ,’Pallibasi’, ‘Homoeo Samachar’,‘Hahnimaner Bani’ and so on. Dr. Pradipto Bandyopadhyay is the grandson of Dr.Prabhas Chandra Bandyopsdhyay and the eldest son of Dr. Panchanan Bandyopadhyay and Shibani Bandyopadhyay.
Photos

Parents of Dr. Prodipto Bandyopadhyay.
Dr. Panchanan Bandyopadhyay and Mrs. Shibani Bandyopadhyay.

Page: 1 of 1