26:T49e,

This article is the result of a small research project running parallel to my major endeavour: a doctoral thesis on the Dharma [UNKNOWN]Thākur cult of Bengal. This includes the analysis and translation of its most ancient liturgical text, the 'Sūnya Purā[UNKNOWN]naof Rāmāi Pa[UNKNOWN]n[UNKNOWN]dit, and a study of the development of the cult in different religious and anthropological environments. In particular, I aim to portray the original non-Aryan traits of Dharmaism and their reaction to the massive penetration of the great tradition in Bengal. This article explores to what extent Bengali Dharma-pūjādiffers in some aspects to the more formal Dharmeśvara worship in Vārā[UNKNOWN]nas[UNKNOWN]. The basic differences between the two cults are summarized with reference to the social status of the priests, the ritual killing of sacrificial victims, the liturgical language and the presence of the feminine element.

27:T511,

Through an analysis of Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay’s first historical novel Sasankaand his other historical writings, this article examines some interesting shifts in the process of narrativization of history in early 20th-century Bengal. Exploring why an archaeologist and historian felt the need to write historical novels at such a significant juncture of Indian history, the paper considers the issues of authenticity, realism and claims of historical truth in the making of a historical novel. It also examines the role of history and the ‘hunger’for it in colonial Bengal at a time of emerging national consciousness. Finally, it is demonstrated how narrativizing history and historicizing narratives were simultaneous processes in the making of a nascent ‘national’identity. Thus the article raises questions of generic differences (factual history and historical fiction in this case) in the construction of valid paradigms of knowledge, through a study of the potent and significant relationship between story and history in Sasanka.

28:T5df,