Dhoyin or Dhoyī was a 12th century

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

-language poet who composed the '' Pavanadūta''. He was a court poet of the Sena king

Lakshmana Sena Lakshmana Sena (reign: 1178–1206), also called Lakshman Sen in modern indian languages, was the ruler from the Sena dynasty of the Bengal region on the Indian subcontinent. His rule lasted for 28 years; and extended to much of the eastern re ...

, who ruled Gauda in what is now

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Personal life

Dhoyi was born in a Tantuvaya (weaver) caste family from

Nabadwip Nabadwip (), also spelt Navadwip, anciently Nadia or Nudiya, is a heritage city in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is regarded as a holy place by Hindus, and is the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Famous for Rass fest ...

, according to

Niharranjan Ray Niharranjan Ray (1903–1981) was an Indian Bengali historian, well known for his works on the history of art and Indian history. Early life and education He was born on 14 January 1903 at Kayetgram village of Mymensingh District in Bengal provi ...

; Whereas according to PN Chopra he was a

Baidya Baidya or Vaidya is a Hindu community located in Bengal. Baidyas, a caste ('' jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, b ...

. He is sometimes referred as Dhoyi Kaviraj. He was one of the five gems of Sanskrit scholars, which was mentioned at the court of Lakshmana Sena.

Style

The theme of all messenger poems is ''viraha'', separation in love, and allusions to romance are never far away. Despite sharing Kālidāsa's use of conventional romantic motif, Dhoyin’s messenger poem was much more than a mere pastiche of the Meghadūta. Dhoyin devoted nearly half of his work (48 out of 104 stanzas) to describing the wind’s journey from Sandal mountain in the south to King Lakshmana’s palace at Vijayapura in Bengal. He spends a long time on the message (38 stanzas) in which the lovelorn condition of Kuvalayavatī and the wonderful qualities of the king are described in detail. Dhoyin had aims beyond the expression of rasa, aesthetic sentiment, which is traditionally the sole purpose of

Sanskrit poetry Sanskrit literature broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as ...

. He devoted a greater proportion of his poem to the message because so he could pursue his aims more effectively. The Pavanadūta is similar in style to Kālidāsa's ''

Meghadūta } ''Meghadūta'' ( sa, मेघदूत literally ''Cloud Messenger'') is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa (c. 4th–5th century CE), considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. It describes how a '' yakṣa'' (or nature spirit), wh ...

''.

Works

Dhoyin's '' Pavanadūta'' or ''Wind Messenger'' is probably one of the earliest surviving examples of the many messenger poems which were written in imitation of Kālidāsa's ''

'' or ''Cloud Messenger''. The

Clay Sanskrit Library The Clay Sanskrit Library is a series of books published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation. Each work features the text in its original language (transliterated Sanskrit) on the left-hand page, with its English translation on the ...

has published a translation of ''Pavanadūta'' by Sir James Mallinson as a part of the volume ''Messenger Poems''.

References

{{authority control Indian male poets 12th-century Indian poets Poets from West Bengal Sanskrit poets