In Glimpses of Buddhist Bengal, Dr. Malaysankar Bhattacharya considers the reasons behind the growth of Buddhism in Eastern India, its decline and marginalization and its traces that survived through centuries despite inhospitable socio-political milieu. A Directory of the major Buddhist sites in Bengal and its adjoining districts presented in this work is virtually a compendium of art and culture that flourished in the region during the heyday of Buddhism. The evolution of Buddhist philosophy during the ancient and medieval times and its overwhelming influence on the people of Eastern India, the birthplace of the faith, shaped the culture of the entire region. The doctrines of Buddhism had to adjust with popular demands which found expression in an elaborate pantheon and numerous rituals of Tantricism.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Malaysankar Bhattacharya
Dr. M.S. Bhattacharya obtained his Ph.d. degree from the North Bengal University in 1987. He worked as the curator of the Malda Museum of Archaeology till the early eighties and catalogued the antiquities in the museum. His Art in Stone : A Catalogue of Sculptures in Malda Museum (1982) is widely accepted as one of the most important catalogues of sculptures published in the post war period. For more than two decades Dr. Bhattacharya have made extensive survey of the archaeological sites of Eastern India. As the present volume would reveal, he had been to most of the archaeological sites of the sub-region called the Mahananda-Karatoya valley including those located in the micro-interior pockets often walking on foot or travelling by country boat for several hours. Other important publications of Dr. Bhattacharya include Studies in History and Archaeology (1989), North-East India and her neighbours (1995) besides many papers published in anthologies and journals of repute. At present Dr. Bhattacharya is the editor of the historical review, a bi-annual journal of history and archaeology published from Kolkata, India.
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