Introduction

Baidya Community are traditionally physicians. Though small in number, they have also made a notable contribution to other aspects of life in India, particularly in West Bengal. They do not believe in amassing wealth and enjoy life as long as health and means permit. The Baidya is one of the most respected castes in Bengal ranking immediately after the Vaishyas, and before the Kayastha. They hold many distinctive positions compared to lower Hindu castes.

The Baidyas were distributed in 27 "sthans" beyond which no one could reside without loss of caste. The principal settlements were at Shinati, Chandam Mahal, Daspara, Puigrama, Karoria, Shendia, Itna, and Bhutta-pratap in Jessore, Poragachha in Bikrampur of West Bengal.

Origin of Baidya Community
Though the origin of the Baidya caste is unknown, history tells us that a Baidya dynasty ruled over Bengal during the 11th and 12th centuries. A Panini Sutra says that "vaidya" or "baidya" means one who has studied the Vedas. There are references to Brahmins who, after becoming conversant with the Vedas, studied Ayurveda and became Baidyas or physicians.

History of Baidya Community

There are a number of legends, which speaks about the history of the Baidya caste. Legend has it that the God of Medicine, "Dhanvantari" was born when the Devas and Asuras churned the ocean. He is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and has four hands - in one hand he holds medicinal herbs and in the other hand he holds the text of Ayurveda. He was the first Baidya. Legend has it that Dhanvantari was born when the devas and asuras churned the ocean. He is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and has four hands - in one he holds medicinal herbs and in one the text of Ayurveda. He was the first Baidya. Another legend about his birth is that when the sage Galava was on a pilgrimage and dying of thirst, he accepted water from a Vaidya girl named Virbhadra. He blessed her and said she would have a son. But as she was unmarried, Galava chanted a Vedic mantra and a boy arose out of a wisp of grass and it was this child who was Dhanvantari. He is also known as Amritacharya or Ambastha. He was a Baidya because he owed his birth to a Vedic hymn and he was an Ambastha because he had no father and was brought up by the mother and her family. So Baidyas are also called Ambasthas. But Baidyas say that Ambastha is the name of a place on the banks of the river Indus from where one branch of Baidyas went to South India and another to Bengal (Goud).

There is still another legend, which describes Baidyas as begotten of a Brahmin woman by the Ashvins, the gods of healing. Their union being `pratiloma` in which the father is inferior in caste to the mother the offspring was not Brahmin. Even the gods were considered inferior to the Brahmins. Originally the practice of medicine all over India was mostly in the hands of Brahmins.

Medicine was the original profession of the Baidyas, but from the time of the Sena kings, they began to adopt other pursuits as well. A Baidya by caste need not only be a physician.

The Sena kings were probably Baidyas. The evidence of inscriptions shows that a dynasty of Baidya kings ruled over at least a part of Bengal from 1010 AD to 1200 AD. The most famous of these kings is Ballal Sena. He separated the Baidyas into divisions: the first group was allowed to wear the sacred thread and fifteen days observance of mourning while the other group has an option to adopt the thread and to observe the mourning for a month. He is also said to have made three classes -Rarhi, Barendra and Bangaja. This was done by him according to the place of residence and introduced three hypergamous divisions - Kulin, Bangsaj and Maulik.

He is also supposed to have instituted 3 other rigid divisions of purity of lineage-the Siddha, Sadhya, and Kashta. The nomenclature is interesting because, according to a legend, Amritacharya or Dhanvantari married the Ashvin`s three daughters-Siddha Vidya, Sadhya Vidya and Kashta Vidya. Even in recent times, the Baidyas of these `sthanas` consider themselves higher than others. Those who went farther east to places like Tripura, Sylhet and Chittagong were looked down upon still further. They intermarried with the Kayasthas probably because in those distant parts they could not always get a suitable match within their own clan.

Centuries later, Raja Raj Ballav Sena was not only the undisputed leader of the Baidya community but a great Indian whose name will always find a place in history. He was appointed collector general of the province of Dacca and given the title of Raja by the Nawab of Murshidabad. Shah Alam, the Mughal Emperor of Delhi, made him a maharaja with the title Rai Raiyan Salar Jung Bahadur and presented him with a sword of honour. He played an important role in political history and court intrigues during a chequered period. When Mir Jaffar succeeded Siraj-ud-daula with the help of the British, he made Raj Ballav his minister. He tried to get rid of the British but Mir Qasim`s men drowned him and his son, Krishnadas Sena, in the Ganga when he was the Subedar of Monghyr.

He persuaded some Brahmins to invest his son with the sacred thread after which many Baidyas wore this badge of distinction. For several generations, the leadership of the Baidyas has been vested in his family, which had its seat at Rajnagar on the south bank of the River Padma. The Baidyas retained among their group not only rajas and maharajas and powerful zamindars (landlords) but also scholars of great distinction such as the five gems at the court of Lakshman Sena, two of whom were Jayadeva, the famous composer of the Gita Govinda and Dhoyee Kaviraj.

Society and Religion of Baidya Community

Talented, cultured and intelligent as a class, the percentage of literacy and education of the Baidyas is much higher than that of any other community in Bengal. The women are treated as equals and even in the days of Kulinism, when polygamy was practised, a Baidya hardly ever had two wives at a time. In 1567, Bharat Mullick, in his book Chandraprabha and in 1575 Rama Kanta Das, in Baidya Kula Panjika, wrote in detail about the surnames and gotras of Baidyas: Gupta, Sen, Sengupta, Datta, Kar, Rakshit, Chaudhuri, Roy, Sarcar, Khan, Mullick, Mazumdar and others. Some surnames such as Barat, Sen, Das, Datta, Kar and Rakshit are common among Kayasthas as well. Rakshit, Chaudhuri, Roy, Sarcar, Mullick and Mazumdar are Hindu titles of honour which are common among the rich in every caste while Khan is a Muslim title of honour.

While on the one hand there have been Baidya claims even on Kalidasa because his name was Matri Gupta, on the other there was a demand for discarding the name `Gupta` as being a Vaishya surname. There was perhaps not a single Baidya among traders and shopkeepers, which shows that the Vaishya occupations were not pursued by them. Even as landholders they never held the plough and always got the work done by hired labour even if they were not zamindars as such.

Talented, cultured and intelligent as a class, the percentage of literacy and education of the Baidyas is much higher than that of any other community in Bengal. The women are treated as equals and even in the days of Kulinism, when polygamy was practised, a Baidya hardly ever had two wives at a time.

Baidyas form a small percentage of caste Hindus, being only about 10 per cent or so of the Brahmins or Kayasthas. They are sometimes clannish and are like a single family, guarding their interests jealously.

Although they have shed much of their rigidity they have retained their identity. By and large, being of the intellectual middle class and always ready to accept radical changes, they have been liberal in outlook. Even in the early days, well-known Baidya kavirajas distributed gifts among Brahmins on puja days as well as to the `maulvis` of `maktabs` where they might have studied Arabic or Persian. The Baidyas were greatly influenced by Buddhism which was powerful in eastern India at one time. Buddhists gave them a place of high esteem in society because healing and relieving suffering of any kind was considered the highest virtue by the Buddhists.

Profession of Baidya Community

The Baidyas were originally the physicians. The practice of medicine is the proper profession of the Baidya community. In recent times, many Baidyas have joined the Brahmo Samaj, including some of the leaders. Some well-known Baidyas have achieved distinction as political and social workers, historians, authors, music directors, film directors, film stars, actors, dancers and singers. In recent times, many Baidyas have joined the Brahmo Samaj, including some of the leaders. Some well-known Baidyas have achieved distinction as political and social workers, historians, authors, music directors, film directors, film stars, actors, dancers and singers.

There have been famous Baidya ministers in the state and central cabinets, administrators, doctors, physicians and surgeons, at the head of the Bengal chamber of commerce and banking, eminent lawyers, dewans, educationists and revolutionary leaders.

Barring some exceptions, Kaviraji or Ayurveda was the main profession of the Baidyas throughout the ages. In time each kaviraj came to have a particular master or developed a system of treatment.

Dhanvantari was worshipped by all kavirajas who invoked him. Divodasa, Kasiraja and two Ashvins, twin sons of Surya (the Sun God) did this when they prescribed medicines for patients. The first three are often identified as one person.

The Baidya kavirajas were often skilled practitioners of medicine and some of their medicines anticipated modern medicines such as cobra venom (called vishban), Pacban or mixtures were prepared using from nine to ninety ingredients. The examination of the pulse was most important in their diagnosis.