A CASE STUDY OF THE EXPANSION OF KABIRPANTH IN VILLAGE TARAIYA

A micro- study, as conducted by me, to understand the processes of the expansion of the Kabirpanth in a village community, does help us to have a clear picture of how this movement had been operational at least until the end of the 20th century. For the purpose I selected a village named Taraiya and its neighbourhood situated in the present Madhubani district of Bihar. Taraiya, is situated in between two rivers-Dhaus and Paini, tributaries of the river Kamala. Culturally, village Taraiya lies in the central part of Mithila,1 a cultural zone which has had attracted scholars of different streams for studies. Passing through several vicissitudes of socio-political changes, people"s socio-religious attitude and inclination also underwent certain changes, and the expansion of the Kabirpanth in the region, represents one strand among many others. Of course, Kabirpanth has been traced back to the medieval period of Indian history, but its spread in the area of my intensive case study in and around Taraiya cannot be located so far back. At the most, it can be traced back to the mid-19th century according to the current oral traditions prevailing there.