Mahakavi Krittibas Ojha (; 1381–1461) was a medieval

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poet. His major contribution to

Bengali literature Bengali literature ( bn, বাংলা সাহিত্য, Bangla Sahityô) denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time ...

and culture was

Indian epic Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called ''Kavya'' (or ''Kāvya''; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá''). The ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'', which were originally composed in ...

Rāmāyaṇa The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'' in

. His work, the ''Śrīrām Pā̃cālī'', is popularly known as the ''

Krittivasi Ramayan ''Kṛttivāsī Rāmāyaṇ'',, .; also called ''Śrīrām Pãcālī'',, . composed by the fifteenth-century Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha, from whom it takes its name, is a rendition of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'' into Bengali. Written in the traditional ...

''. His work, edited by Jaygopal Tarkalankar, was published by the

Serampore Mission Press The Serampur Mission Press was a book and newspaper publisher that operated in Serampur, Danish India, from 1800 to 1837. The Press was founded by William Carey, William Ward, and other British Baptist missionaries at the Serampur Mission. It b ...

Life

Krittibas Ojha was born in a Brahmin family at

Phulia Phulia (also spelled Fulia) is a census town in the Santipur CD block of the Ranaghat subdivision in the Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is birthplace of 'Adi kavi' of Bengal Krittibas Ojha. Geography Location Fulia i ...

village of modern-day

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influentia ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of ''Paschimbanga'' (

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

). He was the eldest among his father Banamali Ojha's six sons and one daughter. The word "Krittibas" is an epithet of Hindu god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. It is known that when Krittibas was born, his grandfather Murari Ojha was preparing for a pilgrimage to

Chandaneswar Chandaneswar Temple is a famous Shiva temple located in Chandaneswar, Baleswar district of Odisha, India. A huge annual fair on the Pana Sankranti (Odia Hindu solar New Year), the first day of the Odia calendar, is celebrated on the premises. Man ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, hence the child was named after Shiva, the predominant deity of the nearest Odisha pilgrimage to Bengal. At the age of 11, Krittibas was sent to North Bengal (in other opinion, to

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 ...

) for higher studies. After finishing studies he was traditionally honoured by the King of Gauda himself by the offerings of a garland, some sandal water and a silk scarf. Upon returning to his home at Phulia, he translated the

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...

''Ramayana'' into Bengali.

References

1381 births 1461 deaths Bengali Hindus Bengali male poets Hindu poets People from Nadia district Poets from West Bengal Bengali-language writers 15th-century Bengali poets {{India-poet-stub