Question

What is the significance of fish in Bengal?

Answer 1

Bengal is a riverine plain which produces abundant rice and fish. These two items are important foods of the Bengalis. 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 depict scenes of fish being dressed and taken to the market in baskets.

Due to the popularity of fish in the local diet the Bengal Brahmanas also started eating fish. The Brihaddharma Purana, a thirteenth-century Sanskrit text from Bengal, permitted them to eat certain varieties of fish.