''Muna Madan'' ( ne, मुनामदन) is a 1936 Nepali-language
episodic love poem written by
Laxmi Prasad Devkota
Laxmi Prasad Devkota ( ne, लक्ष्मीप्रसाद देवकोटा) (1909-1959) was a Nepali poet, playwright, and novelist. Honored with the title of Mahakabi ( ne, माहाकवि) in Nepali literature, he was kno ...
. It is about Madan, newly married to Muna, who leaves for
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
in Tibet to make his fortune, despite protests from his wife.
Synopsis
''Muna Madan'' follows the life of Madan, a
Chhetri
Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration fro ...
man from
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
who leaves Muna, his wife, to go to
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
to earn a fortune. He is cautioned against leaving by both Muna and his elderly mother, but he decides to leave anyway. While he initially intends to spend just a few weeks in Lhasa, he spends a longer time there, becoming entranced by the city's beauty. He finally sets off for Kathmandu but falls sick with cholera on the way. His travelling companion, Ram, returns to Kathmandu and tells Muna that her husband has died.
But Madan is rescued by a 'Bhote', a Tibetan man. Tibet is called 'Bhot' in the Nepali language, drawn from the
classical Tibetan
Classical Tibetan refers to the language of any text written in Tibetic after the Old Tibetan period. Though it extends from the 12th century until the modern day, it particularly refers to the language of early canonical texts translated from ot ...
name for Tibet, Bod. The Tibetan nurses Madan back to health, leading Madan to realize that men are great not because of their castes but because of their hearts. In the Nepali Hindu
caste system
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
, a Tibetan, as a meat-eating Buddhist, would have been considered
'untouchable' by devout Hindus. The couplet uttered by Madan while touching the Tibetan's feet, a sign of great respect in
Khas
Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Historical ...
Nepali culture, has since taken on the status of modern proverbs, often uttered by Nepalis in their daily speech:
[Hutt, Michael (1991). ''Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature.'' University of California Press. .]
When Madan finally returns to Kathmandu, he discovers that his elderly mother has died of old age while Muna has died of a broken heart. Madan comes to conclusion that riches have little value when you have no one to share them with. He vows to follow them into death and subsequently passes away at the end of the poem.
Inspiration
Devkota's ''Muna Madan'' is believed to be based on an 18th-century Nepal Bhasa ballad called '
Ji Waya La Lachhi Maduni' ('It has not been a month since I came').
[ Page 5.] The song, which is popular in
Newar
Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...
society, tells the story of a merchant from
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
who leaves for
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
on business, leaving behind his newly wed bride. The wife is concerned for his safety as the journey to Tibet is filled with hardships, and she pleads with him not to go. But he leaves despite her protests. When he returns home after many years, he finds that she has died.
Writing
Before ''Muna Madan'', Devkota had primarily been influenced by the
English Romantics, but with this poem, he took a quintessentially Nepali folk tradition as his inspiration, the ''jhyaure'' meter.
Devkota was reportedly was inspired to write a poem in ''jhyaure'' by the singing of women plating rice in the fields during the Nepali month of Asar.
He chose to write in ''Asare Jhyaure,'' the poetic meter of central Nepali rice-planting songs.
His choice of the jhyaure meter was a controversial one, as the folk meter was associated among Kathmandu's literary elite with flirtation and the erotic. Stirr argues that the poem "created a link between his elite world and the worlds of ordinary Nepali people of various castes and ethnic groups, bringing hallmarks of folk song and vernacular erotic poetry into a refined atmosphere where meticulous Sanskrit aesthetics and Brahminical Hindu morality were the norms."
Devkota also moved away from the baroque style of the Romantics and wrote ''Muna Madan'' in much simpler Nepali, an attempt to create something that was purely Nepali in character. Devkota also used the epic form to comment on various socio-political issues, namely the pursuit of wealth at the cost of family and the Hindu caste system. Another of the poem's couplets that has entered common usage occurs when Muna is entreating Madan not to go to Lhasa for the sake of riches:
Although Devkota would go on to produce epic works of immense literary significance, like ''
Shakuntala
Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...
'', ''Sulochana'', and ''Maharana Pratap'', Muna Madan was reportedly his most beloved poem. While on his deathbed in 1959, he is believed to have said that "even though all of his works might perish after his demise, ''Muna and Madan'' should be saved".
Muna Madan remains one of the most commercially successful Nepali books ever published.
Characters
* Madan – A Chhetri man from Kathmandu who goes to
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
to earn money.
* Muna – Madan's newly married wife.
* Aama – Madan's mother
* Bhote - who saves Madan's life
* Ram – Madan's companion
* Sister - who goes to in - law home
Themes
At the heart of the poem is the relationship between Madan and Muna, hence the title of the play. While ostensibly a love poem, much of the narrative follows Madan on his journey to Lhasa and back. The overall theme of the poem is that the pursuit of material wealth can have serious consequences and that riches are of no use when there is no one to share them with.
Devkota also makes a bold statement against the prevailing caste system, by having his devout Chhetri protagonist touch the feet of the 'untouchable' Tibetan man.
The poem presents a distinct contrast between the masculine Madan who goes off on an trip (Lhasa) to provide for his family and the feminine Muna who is "a paragon of high-caste Hindu female virtue, enclosed in the home and waiting for her husband".
Influence
''Muna Madan'' is among Devkota's most popular and most accessible works. It is regularly studied in schools as an introduction to modern Nepali poetry and remains a best-seller for its publisher, Sajha Prakashan. Its impact on Nepali language and culture is perhaps second to none, with many rhyming couplets entering the Nepali vernacular as proverbs.
Hutt has also argued that ''Muna Madan'' established the jhyāure meter as one of the “native” meters of Nepal.
Adaptations
The poem has been adapted into a movie of
the same name. The film was directed by
Gyanendra Deuja
Gyanendra Deuja (born 5 May 1967) ( ne, ज्ञानेन्द्र देउजा) is a Nepali film director and screenwriter. He directed his first movie, ''Rakshak'', in 1997. It contained the first instance of an underwater action sce ...
, starring Aviyana Dhakal and
Usha Poudel
Usha Poudel (born 29 August 1977 in Janakpur) is a Nepalese dancer and movie actress. Usha debuted in Nepali movie industry as an actress in Nepali movie "Karma". Her second movie "Muna Madan" made on a popular book titled Muna Madan, by Laxm ...
in the role of Muna. ''Muna Madan'' was Nepal's official submission for the 2004
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
.
See also
*
Heer Ranjha
''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...
*
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
References
External links
Adaptation in EnglishOfficial e-book in Nepali{{Authority control
1936 poems
Nepalese culture
Nepalese books
Nepali-language books
Books by Laxmi Prasad Devkota
Epic poems in Nepali
Love poems
Tibet in fiction
20th-century Nepalese books
Nepalese epics