Synopsis The aim of the present work is an expository study of the obscure religious cults that inspired Bengali literature in the old and the medieval times.  Religion has always been one of the main motives of literature.  It has been so in all countries and particularly in India which is pre-eminently a land of religion.  As a matter of fact, the history of the modern Indian literatures is so intimately related with the history of some of the most important religious movements flourishing in this country that an intimate acquaintance with those religious movements seems indispensable for a thorough study of the vernacular literature.