Monday, August 30, 2010

HISTORY OF BENGALI

HISTORY OF BENGALI
Sanjeev Nayyar
PART-4

Mangala-kavya - Next to Vaishnava literature, the Mangal-kavyas form the most important branch of B literature during this period. It consists of poetical works describing the glories of many popular gods and goddesses such as Manas (snake-goddess), Chandi (a form of Durga), Dharma-Thakur, Siva and others.

The central theme of Manasa-mangala is the conversion of the rich merchant Chand Sadagar who was at first unwilling to worship Manasa but was ultimately forced to do after his seven sons were killed by snakebite. Through her skills in dance and music the widow of the 7th son had his life restored.

The Chandi-mangala Kavya is based on two themes, which describe how, through the favor of the Goddess Chandi, the hunter Kalaketu becomes a king and merchant Dhanapati has his son married to the king of Ceylon. The oldest available texts of this kavya are accredited to Mukundaram Chakravarti, composed towards the end of the 16th century. The kavya has enjoyed immense popularity over the years. It depicts the social condition of Bengal during the medieval period esp. of the common man.

Dharma-Thakur, the subject matter of the Dharma-mangala Kavyas was a local God of Radha (West Bengal) worshipped mostly by the lowest classes of society. The hero of the kavya is Lausen, victorious in many battles always protected by Dharma-Thakur. The author Manikram, flourished about the middle of the 16th century.

The Siva-mangala has a long history but no texts older than the 17th century. The best known work is that of Ramesvar Bhattacharya who lived during the first half of the 18th century.

Several texts of the Kalika-mangal glorifying the goddess Kali were written during the period under review. The main theme is the secret love of princess Vidya and Sundara, Kali appears at the end when Sundara condemned to death is saved by her intercession. The best work is known as Vidya-Sundara kavya by Bharata-chandra who flourished about the middle of the 18th century a.d.

Lastly mention should be made of Raya-mangala who glorifies Dakshina-raya, the Tiger God i.e. one by worshipping whom men can be saved from the tigers.

Translations - Referred to above is the translation of the Ramayana into B by Krittivasa. Mahabharat was translated by Kavindra Paramesvara (lived about 1440 to 1520). But the most well known translation is the one attributed to Kasiram Das. The Bhagavata Purana was translated by Raghunath Pandit who wrote the Prematarangini. There were numerous Muslim writers during this period too.
1707 to 1818
In a sense B literature of the 18th century was a continuation of the 17th. Vaishnava songs and biographies continued to be written of inferior quality though. But the Mangala-kavya referred to earlier was the best poetical literature of that period.

The greatest poet of this period was Bharatchandra Ray Gunakar, born around 1710. He wrote his magnum opus ‘Annada-mangala’ around 1752-53 and enjoyed a reputation as a masterpiece for more than a century. Ray was regarded as the best B poet till the middle of the 19th century when the revolutionary took place thanks to Brit influence.

The Annada-mangala consists of three independent parts. The first part is Mangala-kavya proper dealing with the episodes of Shiva, Parvati (Annada). The gods and goddesses are endowed with human sentiments and the author shows great skill in describing them as such.

The second and the best of the three parts, is the romantic story of the secret love of Vidya and Sundara. Sundara visited Vidya every night till he was caught and ordered to be put to death only to be saved goddess Kali to marry Vidya eventually. The secret amours of Vidya and Sundara are described in beautiful verses, very skillful and highly charming.

The third part deals with a historical theme centering around the victory of the Mughal General Man Singh over Pratapaditya, the ruler of a petty principality in South Bengal. Although without any historical foundation the heroic stand of Pratapaditya has enchanted Bengali readers for over a century.

Although the Annda-mangala is unhistorical it has got passages of great importance. It gives a vivid picture of the hatred towards the Muslim ruler of Bengal, Ali Vardi Khan. It is said in the introductory part that when ‘Ali Vardi destroyed the Hindu temples in Bhubaneshwar, Nandi got furious and took his javelin to destroy the Yavanas but Lord Shiva prevented him by saying that the ruler of Bargis (the Marathas) will subdue the Yavanas. And so he appeared before the Maratha ruler who sent Bhaskar Pandit to Bengal.

In the third part reference is made to the oppression of the Muslims, by destroying temples and insult to the Brahmins. Far more interesting is the speech of the Mughal king Jahangir, which is a violent denunciation of Hindu religion and society ending with Jahangir’s exclamation ‘The very sight of a Brahmin is loathsome to me and the desire often seizes me to convert all Hindus to Islam’. All those who think that Hindu Muslim differences were artificially created by the British should read this. Ray wrote verses in Sanskrit too.
Ramprasad Sen - was another great figure in B literature during this period. He is also known as a great devotee of the Goddess Kali and a sadhak (saint). His devotional songs are still popular in Bengal.

Kabi poetry - The stream of religious poetry that had been flowing from the medieval age to the middle of the 18th century got considerably weakened by this time. This is exemplified by the growth of a new type of literature such as short poems on romantic love or on historical/topical subjects and short love songs. A sort of compromise between the new and the old ideals gave rise to the Kabi poetry and Panchali which flourished about the middle of the 18th century and continued throughout this period.

The best writer of this style of poetry was Nidhu Babu 1742 to 1839. He is one of the leading sponsors of the style of music known as Akhadai and introduced the now famous Tappa style.As regards the Panchali style, a Muslim writer Shaikh Faizullah was the author of Satyapirer Panchali, flourished early in the 18th century.
Special reference must be made to a collection of songs and ballads known as Mymensimha-Gitika were collected early in the 19th century. They had two special features, one they were devoid of any religious sentiment, two they anticipate romantic sentiments expressed in Western literature, which was a dominant feature in B fiction, poetry and drama since the middle of the 19th century. The stories are based on the love and sentiments of ordinary men and women written in a simple and easy language; reflect the feelings and sentiments of the unsophisticated rural folk.

Historical Literature - Reference has been made in the previous period to Rajamala-Chronicle of kings of Tripura. It gives the history of Tripura from the beginning to the rule of Dharma-manikya in the 15th century.

To this class belongs another B book called Maharashtra Purana. Composed around 1751-52 by one Gangaram the book gives an account of the Maratha raids in Bengal during the reign of Ali Vardi Khan from 1742 to the treacherous murder of the Maratha General Bhaskar Pandit by Ali Vardi Khan in 1744. The book is important since it gives a vivid picture of the atrocities perpetuated by the Marathas on the Bengalis.


Prose Literature - The vast B literature during the earlier periods was written in verse and there was no prose, properly called during the period under review. There were short sentences in the Vaishnava esoteric treatises and long or short letters written in prose but hardly any composition that could be really called literature except a few books belonging to the Missionaries mostly Portuguese and translation of Legal Codes by the order of the East India Company towards the end of the 18th century.

The oldest B book written in prose was Kripar Shastrer Arthabhed in 1734. The next was the Brahman Roman Catholic Sambad – a dialogue between a Brahmin and a Roman Catholic in which the latter seeks to establish the superiority of Christianity over Sanathan Dharam.

These two books mark the beginning of Bengali prose. Bengal owes a debt to the Portuguese for the development of B prose style and for the first printed books in B – the Portuguese had established the first printing press in Goa in 1556.

 

(To be continued)

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