Bengali mythology in a literal sense has been a derivative of

Vedic mythology The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...

. It can refer to the historical legends and folk tales of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

. Given the historical Hindu and Buddhist presence in the region, characters from Vedic and Hindu mythology are present within Bengali literature. Later Islamic settlement has introduced legendary traits that ultimately draw from Middle Eastern inspirations. Such an example of the Vedic and Islamic legend transaction would be the progenitor of Bengalis known as Bonga, Hindu literature credits him as an ancient Hindu Prince Vanga, adopted son of King Vali. Muslim accounts however refer him as Bong, son of Hind who was the grandson of Prince.

See also

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