The Making of Religious culture
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What is Brihaddharma Purana?
Traditional food habits are generally based on locally available items of food. 1. Bengal is a riverine plain which produces plenty of rice and fish. Understandably, these two items figure prominently in the menu of even poor Bengalis.
2. Fishing has always been an important occupation and Bengali literature contains several references to fish. What is more, terracotta plaques on the walls of temples and viharas (Buddhist monasteries) depict scenes of fish being dressed and taken to the market in baskets. 3. Brahmanas were not allowed to eat non vegetarian food, but the popularity of fish in the local diet made the Brahmanical authorities relax this prohibition for the Bengal Brahmanas. 4. The Brihad Dharma Purana, a 13th-century Sanskrit text from Bengal, permitted the local Brahmanas to eat certain varieties of fish.
2. Fishing has always been an important occupation and Bengali literature contains several references to fish. What is more, terracotta plaques on the walls of temples and viharas (Buddhist monasteries) depict scenes of fish being dressed and taken to the market in baskets. 3. Brahmanas were not allowed to eat non vegetarian food, but the popularity of fish in the local diet made the Brahmanical authorities relax this prohibition for the Bengal Brahmanas. 4. The Brihad Dharma Purana, a 13th-century Sanskrit text from Bengal, permitted the local Brahmanas to eat certain varieties of fish.
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Some of the learners also asked:
What permitted local Brahmans of Bengal to eat certain varieties of fish?
What permitted local Brahmans of Bengal to eat certain varieties of fish?
