14/04/2025
Various parts of Bengal know the festival as Charak Puja, Neel, Hajarha, Harab Puja, and other names. Transcending the institutional framework of Puranic literature, this festival has strongly established itself as a cultural expression. The Linga Purana, Brahmavaivarta Purana, Brihaddharma Purana, and others provide several examples of Shiva-centric dances and songs during the month of Chaitra. However, these examples are never referred to as "puja" (worship) in the Puranic texts.
The texts 'Varshakriyakoumudi' written by Govindananda and 'Tithitattva' by Raghunandana, which scholars believe were composed in the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, do not contain any description of this Charak. However, an anthropological analysis of Bengali life reveals that this festival was prevalent among the Pashupata community in very ancient times. Nevertheless, the practice of this festival was mainly limited to the lower classes. Upper-caste people did not participate in it.
The upper-caste Hindus did not show much interest in Charak. The current participation of upper-caste Hindus in the fairs and other related aspects of Charak Puja, even if they do not directly participate in the worship itself, does not have a very ancient history. A legend suggests that a king named Sundarananda Thakur first started this Charak Puja in 1485 AD. However, there is not much historical support to strongly affirm this legend. Nevertheless, mythology describes that on the day of Charak, the Shiva devotee Banaraja, wounded in battle with Krishna, the lord of Dwarka, undertook devotional dances and songs and offered his own blood to appease Mahadeva, desiring immortality. He attained success in his penance. It is believed that in memory of this, Shiva devotees later organized this festival.
However, the practice of swinging ascetics pierced with hooks, which is found in ancient literature and historically documented until the very end of the nineteenth century, had a social aspect. Farmers who could not repay the debts of the landlords were tied to hooks and swung on the last day of Chaitra. Historical evidence of such oppression of indebted farmers exists until 1890 (Encyclopedia of Folk Culture of Bengal: Dulal Choudhury. Akademi of Folklore. Kolkata 94, First Edition 2004).
