The series of discourses that comprise the present volume were transcribed from talks given by the author over a period of time that extended from June to November of 1983. The title given by the author was Varńa Vijiṋána, which translates into English as “The Science of Letters”. However it could just as easily be rendered as “The Science of Language”, for in it the author binds the myriad and often mystifying threads of language into a single tapestry and demonstrates with remarkable clarity how they obey the laws of pure science. In a lucid and entertaining style, laced with anecdotes and stories, he uncovers the fundamental principles which govern linguistic expression and blends this with an historical perspective that throws new light on the origins of human language. Many of the ideas that inform these discourses are new to the study of linguistics and are sure to provide ample material for future research.

While Varńa Vijiṋána takes the Bengali language as its initial point of reference, it ranges far and wide across a landscape that includes most of world’s major languages. Time and again the author points out the common factors at work in seemingly disparate idioms. In this way he uses linguistic science to demolish some of the barriers that separate different communities and races.

Those readers who are interested in delving further into the author’s studies in language will be glad to know that they have ample material to choose from. After completing Varńa Vijiṋána, the author embarked upon an eight volume series called Varńa Vicitrá, “Various Uses of Letters” and after that a twenty-six volume series entitled Shabda Cayaniká, “A Collection of Words”. Together they comprise a body of work that is unsurpassed in the field of linguistic studies.

Footnotes by the translator have been signed “–Trans.”. Unsigned footnotes are those of the author.

Square brackets [   ] in the text are used to indicate translations by the translator or other editorial insertions. Round brackets (   ) indicate a word or words originally given by the author.

The author uses a certain shorthand for explaining etymologies of words. Under this system, a minus sign (–) follows a prefix, and a plus sign (+) precedes a suffix. Thus ava – tr + ghaiṋ = avatára can be read, “the root tr prefixed by ava and suffixed by ghaiṋ becomes avatára.”

Finally I would like to call attention to the invaluable contribution of Ácárya Vijayánanda Avadhúta, without which this translation could not have been completed. He compared the English text line by line with the original Bengali, making corrections wherever necessary, and also provided translations for the Sanskrit verses.