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Poundra Kshatriya (পৌন্ড্রক্ষত্রিয়), currently living in the northern part of West Bengal, Bihar state of India, Assam, Meghalaya, Odisha, Nepal, Bhutan, northern part of Bengal.
History:
In the middle of the 4th century AD, Maharaja Mahapadma Nanda of Magadha attacked Pundravadhana and the Maharaja of Pundravadhana was defeated in that battle. We all know that Mahapadma Nanda was a Kshatriya Nidhana Vrathi. That's why Mahapadma Nanda came to be known as "Sarva-Kshatrantaka". That is why at that time the people of the Kshatriya race went to different places to escape from the hands of Mahapadma Nanda, the king of Magadha. Eg: Ratnapeeth in Kamrup, Nepal, Orissa (Even today Sambalpur area of Orissa has Pundrakshatriya (Rajbanshi Kshatriya) population and the language is also Rajbanshi.)
Culture: According to a 2019 study, the Rajbanshi community has oral traditions of agriculture, dance, music, medical practice, song, house building, culture and language. Rajbanshis are mainly Shivite and Vaishnava devotees, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Mansa Puja, Ganga Puja, Vishwa Puja, Tistaburi Puja, Yatra Puja, etc. Patriarchalfamily. Frog wedding held on the occasion of drought, lack of rain, etc. is one of the main religious ceremonies of Rajbansi. By profession they are mainly farmers and believe in independent work. Independent minded people.
Surname: The surnames of Rajvanshis are - Ray, Burma, Das, Burman, Singha, Rajvanshi, Adhikari, etc.
Foods: The Rajbanshi community was traditionally a largely agricultural community, mainly cultivating rice, pulses and maize. Rice is the staple food of most of the population. Even in the 21st century, a large part of this community still adheres to a rural lifestyle, although urbanization continues to increase. Assam, West Bengal, Nepal, Bangladesh food and food styles are similar. Rice and pulses are eaten regularly along with vegetables and bhaji (fries – mainly potatoes). Usually vegetable preparations, mostly cooked with very little oil. Cooking is done mainly using mustard oil, although sometimes sunflower oil is used. In terms of non-vegetarian diet, the Rajbanshi population consumes a lot of meat and eggs compared to other neighboring communities of Bengal, who consume a lot of fish. Duck and chicken eggs are consumed.
Home: A typical Rajbanshi house design is rectangular in pattern, with an open space (Agina) in the middle. This is mostly done to protect against wild animals and strong winds. Every Rajbanshi house has Mansa or Kali Tagore at the entrance. The north side has betel and fruit plantations, the west has bamboo plantations while the east and south are generally left open to allow sunlight and breeze to enter the house. Although such a pattern is more common among landed gentry.
Clothing: Among the traditional clothes of Rajbanshis mainly women use sarees, chadars, patanis etc. and men's traditional clothes are dhoti, punjabi, lungi, jama, genji, chadar. Although modern clothes are widely available.
Music: Music is an integral part of royal culture. The main styles of music of Rajbanshi culture are Bhavaiya, Chatka, Chorchunni, Palatia, Lahankari, Tukkhaya, Bishahari Pala etc. Various instruments are used for such performances, stringed instruments like dotara, sarindra and bena, two-membrane instruments like tasi, dhak, khol, desi dhol and mridanga, kansi, khartal like ganga and bells and sanai, mouth flute and kupa- Wind instruments like this.
Rajbansi people have their own language and culture. Their language is Kamtapuri-Rajbanshi language. Although the West Bengal government recognizes this language, it is still not listed in the Eighth Schedule of India. Their Bhavaiya music is one of the most famous music of India. From Cooch Behar, India, a periodical named Dotrar Dang in Rajbanshi language was published from 1417 Bengal.
Rajbanshi Language Academy has been formed in West Bengal. Poetry, stories, songs written in Kamtapuri-Rajbanshi language are increasing. Rajbanshi songs have gradually become the heartbeat of the people of this area. These beautiful songs are played in all kinds of events of Rajbanshi. But now a day several modern songs have been created which are at the peak of popularity.
Language: Now everything is proven through modern research that Kamrupi / Kamtapuri / Rajbanshi / Goalpariya / Rangpuri / Tajpuri / Suryapuri / Barendri / Banga-Kamrupi / Banga-Assamese language, the same language and different names are known in different places.
That means Rajbanshi / Kamtapuri language is recognized as official language in West Bengal and Nepal. That is, Rajbanshi language now means international language.
Currently living in the northern part of West Bengal, Bihar state of India, Assam, Meghalaya, Odisha, Nepal, Bhutan, northern part of Bengal.
Notes
Mahapadma Nanda (IAST: Mahāpadmānanda; c. mid 4th century BCE), according to the Puranas, was the first Emperor of the Nanda Empire of ancient India. The Puranas describe him as a son of the last Shaishunaga king Mahanandin and a Shudra woman. These texts credit him with extensive conquests that expanded the Empire far beyond the Magadha region. The different Puranas variously give the length of his reign as 28 or 88 years, and state that his eight sons ruled in succession after him.
The Buddhist texts don't mention him, and instead name the first Nanda ruler as robber-turned-king Ugrasena, who was succeeded by his eight brothers, the last of whom was Dhana Nanda.
According to the Puranas, Mahapadma or Mahapadma-pati (literally, "lord of the great lotus") was the first Nanda king. He was the son of the last Shaishunaga king Mahanandin and a Shudra woman.
The Puranas describe him as ekarat (sole sovereign) and sarva-kshatrantaka (destroyer of all the Kshatriyas). The Kshastriyas (warriors and rulers) said to have been exterminated by Mahapadma include Maithalas, Kasheyas, Ikshvakus, Panchalas, Shurasenas, Kurus, Haihayas, Vitihotras, Kalingas, and Ashmakas.
The Matsya Purana assigns Mahapadma an incredibly long reign of 88 years, while the Vayu Purana mentions the length of his reign as only 28 years. The Puranas further state that Mahapadma's eight sons ruled in succession after him for a total of 12 years, but name only one of these sons: Sukalpa.