Circulating Scholarship: A Note on a Sanskrit Letter from Bengal circa 1535 ce

AbstractThis note examines a Sanskrit letter from Bengal dating to approximately 1535 ce. The letter was assumed to be lost. Addressed to a scholar in the discipline of nyāyaśāstra, the letter is the only available example of a personal letter between Sanskrit scholars from Bengal in the premodern period. First located in 1907 and then subsequently assumed lost, the letter has never been the subject of sustained analysis. This has resulted in a number of disagreements among modern scholars about the identities of the individuals named in the letter. This note provides a translation of the letter and presents arguments for identifying the individuals named in the letter. It then concludes by briefly reflecting upon the importance of the letter and its use in scholarly communication.