SULTANATE PERIOD: A BRIEF ESTIMATION OF BENGALI LITERATURE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i2.2024.1736Keywords:
Sultanate Period, Sultanate Rule, Bengali LiteratureAbstract [English]
The materialization of Sultanate rule over Bengal territory by the onset of thirteen century marked a new sketch on socio-cultural life of native people. For the first time, dominated Hindu society encountered a new wind of Muslim rule, which gradually made a socio-cultural cocktail for both communities. Obviously due to this shift, the Bengali literature received a new sway under new political set up. Under the Influence of contemporary socio-political thoughts, the theme, pattern, volume and expression of Bengali literature progressively got new line. Consequently, there certain streamline became as new trends for the Bengali literature that clearly distinct from the earlier times. Simply, this paper has made an endeavor to investigate the trend and the line of changes that had been taken place in Bengali literature during sultanate rule in India.
References
For detail about political history, see: Eaton, Richard M. The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier 1204-1760, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1994, pp.32-68
Bengali language belongs to the eastern-most branch of the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo-European family of languages. Its origin is traced up to a form of Prakrit, common people's language spoken in ancient India. But over a period of time, languages slowly evolved appropriating each one's own definite form and thus the present Bengali took shape by the middle of the 6th-10th centuries, according to scholars. During this period of evolution, proto-Bengali passed through Magadhi-Prakrit, and Maithili. From this evolved what is termed as Ardhmagadhi (half magadhi) out of which branched off Apabhramsa which eventually changed forms as regional tongues like Bihari languages, Oriya languages and the Bengali-Assamia languages. See: Pracheen Vangla Sahityer Itihas by Dr. Tamonash Chandra Das Gupta, Calcutta University, 1951, chap. V
According to Professor Nihar Ranjan Roy "in addition to Sanskrit, there were two other languages in vogue in Bengal in the 9th and 10th centuries: one was derived from Souraseni and the other from Magadhi. The latter is said to have evolved later into Bengali. Some writers would write pad, doha and verses, in both languages and the readers too would understand them equally well.” See: Dasgupta,Dineshchandra Sen and Co., Vangabhasa O Sahitya Calcutta, 1949, pp. 11-12 and Roy, Niharranjan Vangaleer Itihas, Book Emporium, Calcutta, 1952, pp.693-756
Ashraf, S. Ali, Muslim Traditions in Bengali Literature, Islamic Foundation Bengladesh, Dacca, (3rd edi.) 1983, p.32
Sen, Sukumar, History of Bengali literature, Sahitya Academy, Kolkata, reprint in 1992, pp. 34-36.
Sen, Dinesh Chandra, History of Bengali language and literature, Calcutta University, 1911,p. 5.
These are mystic songs composed by various Buddhist seer-poets: Luipada, Kanhapada, Kukkuripada, Chatilpada, Bhusukupada, Kamlipada, Dhendhanpada, Shantipada, Shabarapada etc. The famous Bengali linguist Harprashad Shastri discovered the palm leaf Charyapada manuscript in the Nepal Royal Court Library in 1907.
Ashraf, S. Ali, Op. cit., p.5
Ibid., pp.34-35
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden: E.J. BRILL, Vol. I, 1979, p.1168
Rockhill, Duarte, W. W. “Note on the Relations and Trade of China with the Eastern Archipelago and the Cost of the Indian Ocean during the Fourteenth Century”, Toung Pao 16, pt.2, 1915, p.437
Chandra, Satish, Medieval India from Sultanat to Mughals, Har-Anand Publication, New Delhi, 1998, p.261
Eaton, Richard M. Op. cit., p.110
Maladhar Basu flourished in the modern-day Bardhaman district of Paschimbanga in the 15th century. Sri Krishna Vijaya is also the oldest Bengali narrative poem of the Krishna legend and this is virtually a translation of the Mahabharata.
Chandra, Satish, Op. cit., p.212
Sen, Sukumar, Op. cit.,p.66
Niharranjan Ray, “Mediaeval Bengali Culture”, Visva – Bharati Quarterly, 11, No.2, August-October, 1945, p.54; Haque, Md. Emamul, Muslim Bengali Literature, Pakistan publication, Karachi, 1957, pp.38-39
Krittibas Ojha belonged to the modern-day Nadia district, Paschimbanga, flourished in the 15th century, See: Ibid., pp.34-40
Chandra, Satish, Op. cit., p. 212
Ranjan Roy Bidyatvallava discovered the torn manuscript of the Sri Krishna Kirtana from the cowshed of Debendranath Chatterjee's house at Kakinlya village, Bankura district of West Bengal. This work explores the devious tactics deployed by the lusty young Krishna in winning the love of the cowherdess Radha. Throughout this time Radha’s passionate love for the divine Krishna become the central motif of Bengali devotionalism or bhakti.
The 15th century is marked by the emergence of Vaishnava lyrical poetry or the padavali in Bengal discussed about love of Radha and Krishna. The padas of Vidyapati, though written in Maithili influenced the medieval Bengali poets immensely.
The book is a hybrid Bengali and Sanskrit biography, documents the life and precepts of the Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533)
Gupta, Jayanta Kumar Das, (ed.) Vijaya Gupta: Padma-Purana, University of Calcutta Press, Calcutta, 1962, p.8
Other writers of romances, like Bahram Khan with his Layla-Madjnun, Sabirid khan with his Hanifa-Kayrapari, Donaghazi with his Sayf al-Mulk and Muhammad kabir with his Madhumalati (1583-1588), followed Saghir in quick succession. See: The Encyclopedia of Islam, Op. cit., p.1168
The poetry of Vidyapati, the great Maithili poet, though not written in Bengali, influenced the literature of the time so greatly that it makes him a vital part of Middle Bengali literature. He flourished in the modern-day Darbhanga district of Bihar, India in the 14th century. His Vaishnava lyrics became very popular among the masses of Bengal. The first major Bengali poet to write Vaishnava lyrics was Chandidas, who belong to the modern-day Birbhum district of Paschimbanga (W.B.) in the 15th century. See: Sen, Dinesh Chandra, Op. cit., p.115
Ibid., p.141
Mangal-Kavya ("Poems of Benediction"), a group of Hindu narrative poetry, composed more or less between 13th Century and 18th Century, eulogize the indigenous deities of rural Bengal in the social scenario of the middle Ages. Manasa Mangal, Chandi Mangal and Dharma Mangal, the three major genus of Mangal-Kavya tradition include the portrayal of the magnitude of Manasa, Chandi and Dharmathakur, who are considered the greatest among all the native divinities in Bengal, respectively. There are also minor Mangalkavyas known as Shivayana, Kalika Mangal, Raya Mangal, Shashti Mangal, Sitala Mangal and Kamala Mangal etc.
Vijay Gupta, Hari Dutta was some of this kind of writers who wrote Manosa Mangala Kavaya in honor of Manosa Devi. For detail see: Ibid., p.278
Ashraf, S. Ali, Op. cit., p.3
Ibid., pp. 10-11
Ibid., p.11
Tillich, Paul ‘The Religious Symbol’ in Daedalus, Spring 1959, pp. 215-216
Muslim writers do this because of the transcended and objectively real character of god vouchsafed by their faith. See: Ashraf, A. Ali, p.11
Swarswati in Hindu mythology considered as the Muse of poetry and arts
This was a consistent practice of all Muslim writers of epics and long narratives like Firdawsi, Sadi, Attar of Iran. This was the when Muslim writers would be the first to write pure romantic narratives in verse. They stated to employ their knowledge of Hindu life and Habits in their writings.
Billah, Abu Musa Mohammad Arif, The Development of Bengali Literature during Muslim Rule, SACS, Vol.1 No.2 pp 44- 54
Ashraf, S. Ali, Op. cit., pp.8-10
Billah, Abu Musa Mohammad Arif, Op. cit., pp 44- 54
Ashraf, S. Ali, Op. cit., p.47
Rahim, M. A. Social and Cultural History of Bengal, vol. 11, Karachi, 1963
See: Vangla Mangalakavyer Itihas, Calcutta, (3rd edi), 1957, pp.7-8. During this time the translation of the Ramyana and Mahabharata provided the common Hindu men and women with ideals to emulate and take pride their own historical past.
Mansa (snake Goddess) was known to the people prior to the Turkish conquest in Bengal. But she was worshiped by the lower class people only and failed to achieve full acceptance in Brahamanical literature due to the influence of Siva. But the Hindu literature of Muslim period projected her in a different way to ascertain in a higher position.
Throughout the period 1200-1600, Brahman ideologues sought to appropriate the cult of sign of the Goddess by identifying female divine power in all its manifestation with the sakti, or pure energy, which is the counterpart of the Brahmancal God Siva.
Here one thing is important that Hindu writing shows the principle of divine intervention turns the Hindu mythical story of Behula and Lakhindar into a story with happy ending. In other wards the concept of power of gods and goddesses make the gods the cause and the remover of the tragic suffering
Chandi was a forest goddess, wife of God Siva, and rival of Manasa, hold a greater position in the society.
Eaton, Richard M. Op. cit., p.108
Dobhasi means ‘in two languages’, it was the highly Arabised and Persianised Bengali used by the Muslims of Bengal
Bhattachariya, A. A. Bangla Mangala-Kaver Itihas, A. Mukherjee and Co., Kolkata, India, 1958, pp.35-36. For details on medieval Bengali literature see Mannan, Qazi Abdul, The emergence and development of Dobhāsī literature in Bengal upto 1855 A.D., Department of Bengal and Sanskrit, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1966
Ashraf, S. Ali, Op. cit., p. 10
Ibid., pp.51-52
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