Kashiram Das
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Kashiram Das or Kāśīrām Dās ( bn, কাশীরাম দাস, ; born 16th century) is an important poet in medieval
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 ...
. His Bengali re-telling of the ''
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
'', known as ''Kāśīdāsī Môhābhārôt'', is a popular and influential version of the ''Mahābhārata'' legend in
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 ...
. Although the entire work is intra-textually ascribed to him, most scholars agree that he composed only the first four of the eighteen books (''parvas''). As with the ''
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 ...
'' of Kṛttibās Ojhā, Kāśīrām freely removed elements and added other legends to the story. ''Dās'' is not a last name and is a title meaning 'servant' in the Vaiṣṇava tradition; the name is also written as Kashiramdas.Kashiramdas, article by Sukhamay Mukherjee in the Encyclopedia of Indian Literature, Sahitya Akademi, v.III p. 2003


Life

Kashiram Das was born to a
Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
Kayastha Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the C ...
family in the village of Singi, adjacent to
Katwa Katwa is a sub-divisional town and railway junction in Purba Bardhaman district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Katwa subdivision. The town was built at the confluence of Ganga and Ajay. Katwa is a border ci ...
in
Bardhaman district Bardhaman district (, ; also spelled Burdwan or Barddhaman or Vardhaman) was a district in West Bengal. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two districts: Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman district. The headquarters of the dis ...
; his death anniversary is still observed in the region. Kashiram was the second son of Kamalakanta Das;Kalipada Chaudhuri, ''Bangla Sahityer Itihas'' (Bengali: বাংলা সাহিত্যের ইতিহাস), Bani Samsad, p.121–122 two of his brothers were noted poets on their own, in the
Vaishnava Padavali The Vaishnava Padavi ( bn, বৈষ্ণব পদাবলী) movement refers to a period in medieval Bengali literature from the 15th to 17th centuries, marked by an efflorescence of Vaishnava poetry often focusing on the Radha-Krishna legend ...
tradition. His elder brother Ghanashyam Das, is the author of ''Srikrishnavilas'', and his younger brother, Gadadhar, composed ''Jagannathamangal''. Although Kashiram's topic was outside the mainstream
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
legend, his work is stylistically in the same tradition and uses the ''payar chhanda'' (payar
metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
). There is some doubt regarding his birthplace. It appears that Kamalakanta left the Bardhaman area (at the time known as Indrani Pargana) and had settled in
Orissa 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 Sch ...
, so it might be that Kashiram was born in Orissa and then returned to
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 ...
(
Midnapore Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...
) at a later stage. As a
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 ...
and Vaishnava scholar, Kashiram was patronised by a
zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
family in Midnapore, and ran a ''pathshala'' (small school) there. In addition to the ''Kashidasi Mahabharat'', he is cited to have composed several works, including ''Satyanarayaner Punthi'' (the book of Satyanaryan), ''Svapna-Parba'' (dream reverie), and ''Nalopakhyan'' (tale of
Nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the ''Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married prince ...
), which are now lost.


''Kashidasi Mahabharat''

It is said that he was inspired to embark on composing a Bengali version of the ''Mahābhārata'' after a recitation of the Sanskrit text at his patron's home. He may have been guided in this enterprise by his teacher Abhiram Mukhuti of Haraharpur. It is quite clear that the first four parvas—''ādi'', ''sabhā'', ''vana'', and ''virāṭā''—were composed by him around the turn of the 16th century. The vanity refrain at the end of the virata parva gives the date of its composition as the
shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...
year 1526 (1604 CE). He had embarked on the next book, the ''vana-parva'', but it is thought that he may have died shortly thereafter, and the remaining books were completed by his son-in-law, nephew, and other relatives, who followed the same style and even retained the 'Kashiram Das' vanity line after each chapter. The entire work was completed around 1610 AD. Kashiram Das had named his text ''Bharata-Pā̃cālī'', where ''Bharata'' refers to the Bharata dynasty, and '' pā̃cālī'' refers to the narrative song tradition of Bengal. The ''pā̃cālī'' works attempt to tell a story that will keep the audience's interest. In this spirit, Kashiram Das avoids the long philosophical discourses that are part of the ''Mahābhārata'', such as the entire discourse of Kṛṣṇa to
Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
(the
Bhagavadgītā The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
). On the other hand, he elaborates the story of
Mohini Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a '' femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...
—the female avatar of
Viṣṇu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
who enchants
Śiva 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 ...
—based on a two-line ''śloka'' in the original. Although other Bengali ''Mahābhāratas'' had been composed earlier (for example, ''Kavindra Mahabharata'', 1525), the ''Kashidasi Mahabharata'' soon became the staple of Bengali Mahābhārata readings. Composed in the '' mangalkavya'' tradition, the vanity refrain has become a staple of Bengali tradition:
môhābhārôter kôthaā ômṛtô sômān kāśīrām dās kôhe śune punyôbān
This is translated to: "The ''Mahābhārata'' tales are like ''
amrita ''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to i ...
'', says Kashiram Das; it brings merit to listen to it." Other phrases that have become part of the Bengali folklore include "krodhe pāp, krodhe tāp, krodhe kulôkṣôẏ;" ("anger causes sin, anger causes heat, anger causes the demise of one's line"). When 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 ...
was started in the 19th century, the ''Kāśīdāsī Môhābhārôt'' in parts were among the first Bengali texts to be printed. Eventually, the complete text, edited by Jayagopal Tarkalankar, was published in 1936 by the same press.


References

{{Authority control Bengali-language literature Mahabharata Bengali male poets Poets from West Bengal