Bangla Literature and Art(BLA101)

Brief Introduction of Early Bangla Literature (650-1801 AD)

The Vaishnava Padavali , Mangal-Kāvya, Life story/Biographical
Literature, Anubad Sahitya, Marsia Sahitya, Loko Sahitya
 Bangla Literature and Art
The Muslim rule in Bengal witnessed the expansion of Islam in the region, starting with
the independent local dynasty in the form of Sahi dynasty. With the invasion of Turks
who were also Muslims, a powerful Muslim empire was established in India. In 1526,
Babur, ruler of a small kingdom in Turkestan conquered northern India and paved the
way for the Mughal dynasty. The emergence of the Mughals in North India too had a
strong impact on the Bengal region. Babur became the first ruler of Mughal dynasty
(Muslims) who ruled
from 1526 to 1530 and his son Humayun became the emperor after his death. During
this period, Sher Shah Suri (alias Farid Khan), an Afghan established himself as the
ruler of Bengal. Sher Shah Suri (1472 – 1545) defeated Humanyun in 1539 who had
marched towards Bengal to rule over the region. Sher Shah Suri’s reign
lasted from 1540 till 1545 and his successors ruled Bengal till 1553 AD. By 1554 AD
Humayun again invaded due to the inner conflicts among Suris.
History
• Humayun died in 1556 AD and was succeded by Akbar (1542 – 1605
AD). Akbar was a remarkable soldier like his grandfather, Babur. He made Mughal
dynasty different from all the rest of the dynasties with his supreme leadership. He
paid keen attention to the welfare of the society as a whole. In spite of being a Muslim
himself, he showed equality towards other religions also. His nondiscriminating
behaviour reduced the conflicts which existed earlier between Muslims and non-
Muslims.
During the rule of Akbar, the entire region of Bengal passed into the control of the
governors appointed by the Mughal emperors who ruled Bengal till 1716.
The Nawabs grew in power when the Mughal power began to decline in Bengal. In
1717, Murshid Quli Khan became the first nawab of Bengal who was the founder of the
nawabi regime in Bengal. He was the first independent ruler of Bengal who released
Bengal from the control of Delhi rulers (Mughal Empire). After his death in 1725, he was
succeeded by his son-in-law Suja-ud-Din (1725 - 1739). Other nawabs of Bengal were
Sarafraz Khan who ruled from 1739 - 1740, Alivardi Khan (1740 - 1756) and Siraj-ud-
Daula (1756 - 57).
• The nawabi regime ended in Bengal with the defeat of Sirj-ud-Daula in 1757 at the field
of Plassey by British army. Thereafter, all the nawabs were mere puppets in the hands
of the British army.
• .
History
• . “After the Battle of Plassey the whole of India came under the imperial control
of the British” (“History of West Bengal”).
The foreign influences like Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, French and British started
affecting the country in late seventeenth century. In 1690, the British came to
Bengal as traders and started strengthening their grip
over the entire region. This powerful grip was exposed by British army in the
Battle of Plassey. In 1764, after the Battle of Buxer, Bengal became the part of
British Empire, Calcutta was officially declared the capital of
India in 1772 which was shifted to Delhi in 1911.
• This was also the phase of Bengal renaissance and Brahmo Samaj reform
movement in the State. In 1947, when India attained independence, Bengal was
divided between India and Pakistan. East Bengal was given to Pakistan whereas
West Bengal remained with India
Www
Mangal Kavya:

• The Muslim Invasion

hits the Brahmins
severely For this reason,
a section of Brahmins
revised their
conservative stand and
came to a compromise.

• https://books.google.com.bd/books?id=-
RZBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT287&lpg=PT287&dq=T
he+Muslim+Invasion+hits+the+Brahmins+sev
erely+For+this+reason,+
+a+section+of+Brahmins+revised+their+cons
ervative+stand+and+came+to+a+compromise
.&source=bl&ots=mAOyZKwDca&sig=4smBM
ZtFtyyvHPcmx8AFsuCB-
C8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjr1I7F7qbZAh
WEsI8KHRAFAkQQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q&f
=false
•
Bangla Literature and Art
 Bangla Literature and Art
The oldest of the extant Mangalkavyas is Manasamangal,
composed in 1495-95 AD by Vijay Gupta.
Another version of Manasamangal is Manasavijay by Bipradas
Pipilai, fifteenth century poet of Bengal.
These Mangalkavyas describe the greatness of Gods and
Goddesses. “Mangalkavya (“Poems of Benediction”) is a group of
Bengali Hindu religious texts, composed more or less between
thirteenth century and eighteenth century notably consisting of
narratives of indigenous deities of rural Bengal in the social
scenario of the Middle Ages” (“Mangal-Kavya”).
 Bangla Literature and Art

• Another genre of
Mangalkavya is
Chandimangal which
belongs to the Puranic
goddess Chandi. The
famous poets of
Chandimangal are:
Manik Datta,
Madhavacharya, Dvija
Madhav and
Mukundaram
Chakravarti.
Bangla Literature and Art
Bangla Literature and Art
 Bangla Literature and Art
The Dharmamangal (Bengali :ধ র্মমঙ্গল) is an important subgenre of
mangalkavya, the most significant genre of medieval Bengali
literature.
The texts belonging to this subgenre eulogize Dharmathakur, a folk
deity worshipped in the Rarh region of Bengal. According to
tradition, the earliest poet of Dharmamangal was Mayura Bhatta.[1]
The Dharmamangal texts were meant for singing during the twelve-
day ritual ceremony, known as Gajan. These texts are part of a larger
group of texts associated with the worship of Dharma. In addition to
the Dharmamangal texts, this larger group includes a number of
works known as the Dharmapurans, which narrate the story of
creation and the liturgical works known as the Samjatpaddhatis.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmamangal
 Bangla Literature and Art
Dharmamangal
The texts of the Dharmamangal comprise two narratives, the narrative of the Puranic king
Harishchandra, his queen Madana and Luichandra and the narrative of exploits of a folk
hero of Bengal, Lausen. Most significant poets of Dharmamangal were Rupram
Chakrabarty (17th century) and Ghanaram Chakrabarty (17th-18th century). Other poets
of Dharmamangal include Khelaram Chakrabarty, Shrishyam Pandit, Dharmadas, Ramdas
Adak, Sitaram Das, Yadunath or Yadavram Pandit, Maniklal Ganguli, Ramchandra
Bandyopadhyaya, Narasimha Basu, Prabhuram Mukhopadhyaya, Hridayram Sau, Shankar
Chakrabarty, Ramnarayan and Ramkanta Ray.[2]
Dharmapuran
The texts of Dharmapuran begin with narrative of creation. The other narratives included
in these texts are the narrative about Shiva, the hagiographies of Minanatha and
Gorakshanatha, the narrative of Ganga, the narrative of Sada Dom and Ramai Pandit, the
description of the atrocities of Dharma in Jajpur and the narrative of king Harishcahndra.
The significant poets of Dhramapuran or Anilpuran were Ramai Pandit and Sahadeb
Chakrabarty.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmamangal
Life story/Biographical Literature

• Hagiography of Sri Chaitanya

• Chaitanya Bhagavat of Vrindavana Dasa
• The Chaitanya Bhagavata—written by Vrindavana Dasa—is the earliest hagiographical work
on the Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 1486–1533). Chaitanya(Nimai/Goura)(1486-
1533) is considered by his followers to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined,
and is a pivotal figure of the Hindu sect Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
• Chaitanya Mangal of Jayananda
• Chaitanya Mangal of Lochan Dasa
• Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krishnadasa Kaviraja ( The best)
• Main article: Chaitanya Charitamrita
• The Chaitanya Charitamrita is the magnum opus of the Bengali saint/author Krishna Dasa
Kaviraja(1496-? CE). The book, a hybrid Bengali and Sanskrit biography, documents the life
and precepts of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
• As a religious text, the Chaitanya Charitamrita is the main theological resource for Gaudiya
Vaishnava theology, and is divided into three sections; Adi-lila, Madhya-lila, and Antya-lila.

• This Hagiography of Sri Chitanya is also called Korcha which means Diary (A daily written
record of (usually personal) experiences and observations)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bengali_literature#Hagiography_of_Sri_Chaitanya
Nath Literature

• Nath are a sub-tradition within Shaivism, who trace their

lineage to nine Nath gurus, starting with Shiva as the first,
or ‘’Adinatha’’. The list of the remaining eight is somewhat
inconsistent between the regions Nath sampradaya is
found, but typically consists of c. 9th century
Matsyendranatha and c. 12th century Gorakhshanatha
along with six more. The other six vary between Buddhist
texts such as Abhyadattasri, and Hindu texts such as
Varnaratnakara and Hathapradipika. The most common
remaining Nath gurus include Caurangi (Sarangadhara,
Puran Bhagat), Jalandhara (Balnath, Hadipa), Carpatha,
Kanhapa, Nagarjuna and Bhartrihari.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nath
 Anubad Sahitya
• The Muslim ruler Sultan Alauddin Hussein Shah, his son Nasrat Shah during the
rule of Shah dynasty (1493 - 1538) in Bengal, not only led to the social, political
and cultural prosperity, but also nurtured Bengali literature.
It was during the rule of Narsat Shah that Bengali poets started composing lyrics
and Kanka (a Bengali poet) wrote Vidyasundar Kahini in 1502.
• The translated work, also known as Govindamangal or Govindavijay was believed
to be the earliest translation work in Bangla. Krittivas Ojha (fifteenth century) was
the first to translate Ramayana into Bangla. In the seventeenth century,
Chandravati, widely considered as the first woman poet of Bengali language,
wrote Ramayanagatha. Kavindra Parameshwar’s
• Mahabharta (1525) was the first Bangla version of Mahabharta. The most
important and popular Bangla Mahabharta was composed by Kashiram Das, an
eminent poet of medieval Bengali literature, around 1602 - 1610. The final version
of the Bangla Mahabharta was printed at Serampore Press in 1801- 1803. This
version became more popular than other Bangla versions
because of its refined language.
Marsiya Literature

• Marsiya (Persian: ‫ )مرثیه‬is an elegiac poem written to

commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain
ibn Ali and his comrades of the Karbala. Marsiyas are
essentially religious.[1]The marsiyas written on these
events are called classical marsiyas.
Folk Literature

• Maimansingha Gitika (Bengali: মৈমনসিংহ গীতিকা), also

known by the alternative name Mymensingh Geetika,
is a collection of folk ballads from the region of
Mymensingh, Bangladesh.[1] They were published in
English as Eastern Bengal Ballads. Chandra Kumar De
and Dinesh Chandra Sen collected the songs, and
Dinesh Chandra Sen was the editor; the collection was
published by the University of Calcutta, along with
another similar publication named Purbabanga-gitika.
Folk Literature

• Sylhet Geetika
• Sylhet developed over the centuries a rich distinctive culture of its own. In
the present article we would like to discuss an important component of the
folk literature of Sylhet, i.e . the Sylhet Geetika or Sylhet Ballads.
• Purbabanga-Gitika a collection of folk ballads of East Bengal. These ballads,
composed orally and performed among the rural communities, are
important resources of bangla literature. The ballads were collected from
Mymensingh, Netrakona, Chittagong, Noakhali, Faridpur, Sylhet and
Tripura.
• http://sylhetinformation.blogspot.com/2011/08/sylhet-geetika.html

• .
Kabi gaan

• The Kabi literature, is one of a very composite character, and side by side with
the higher flights, we have interspersed not a little amount of flat colloquial
verbiage which no stretch of literary charity.
• The literary ideal was not, as can he expected, very high, and its tone not
always commendable yet one thing most remarkable about these songs,
which puts them in sharp contrast with the literature which Bharat-chandra
set in fashion, was its narrative freedom from the stamp of ornateness or
erudite classicality as well as from the vitiated moral tone which defaces the
writers of Nianv a great poet of this period. Yet in spite of these and other
merits, none of the Kabiwalas had reached that standard of literary excellence
which would have enabled them to emulate the more substantial writings of
the older poets although they contributed some truly beautiful pieces to the
literature of national songs. Fallen on evil days, their genius seems never to
have received its fullest scope, and besides keeping our literature back from
absolute death during the ])eriod of interregnum, their work seems to
possess historically no other permanent value. They act as a link keeping up
the continuity
Bangla Literature and Art

References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XffAf_8bROw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangal-K%C4%81vya

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316430658_Evolution_of_Bengali_Literature_An_Overview?enrichId=rgreq-
fc346fe245b70679f28eb2da1eb3a686-
XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzMxNjQzMDY1ODtBUzo0ODY1NzI3MzE3MDMyOThAMTQ5MzAxOTM4Nzk1Mw%3D
%3D&el=1_x_2&_esc=publicationCoverPdf
Bangla Literature and Art

Further reading