Kaviraja Madhava Kandali ( as, মাধৱ কন্দলি) (circa. 14th century) was an Indian poet from the state of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. He is one of the renowned poets pertaining to the Pre- Shankara era. His

Saptakanda Ramayana ''Saptakanda Ramayana'' (Assamese: সপ্তকাণ্ড ৰামায়ণ) is the 14th-15th century Assamese version of the ''Ramayana'' attributed to the famous assamese poet Madhava Kandali. It is considered to be the second translati ...

is considered the earliest translation of the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

into an

Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...

, Assamese. This work was carried out by the poet as early as the 14th Century. Another significant work of his is the narrative poem ''Devajit'', which is about superiority of

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 ...

over the other

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

s of

Vishnu 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 ...

. Kandali's

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

was the Barāha King

Mahamanikya Mahamanikya (also Manikpha) was a Borahi-Kachari king of Barāha: "It may also be noted that the Assamese rendition of the Ramayana (next only to Kampana’s Tamil to be rendered to a modern Indian language) by Madhab Kandali in the 14th centur ...

(mid 14th century) whose kingdom was located in the Kapili valley. Kabiraja Madhava Kandali was said to be inhabitant of Lanka of Undivided Nagaon.

Literary Works

Saptakanda Ramayana

Madhava Kandali is credited with the task of translating ‘

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 ...

’s ''

'' into the

Assamese language Assamese (), also Asamiya ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language, and it serves as a ''lingua franca'' of the wider region. The easternmost Indo-Iranian language, ...

as early as the 14th century. The Assamese version of Ramayana conceptualized by Madhava Kandali is the first of its kind among all the regional languages of North and

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. Although Madhava Kandali has written that “Saptakanda Ramayana podebandhi nibandhilo lambha parihari sarodhrite”, yet the “Adikanda” (first) and the “Uttarakanda” (last) cantos of his “Saptakanda” (seven cantos) Ramayana are not found. Therefore, in accordance with the advice of Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardeva, Mahapurush

Madhavdev Madhavdev (1489–1596) (Pron: ˈʃrɪ ˈʃrɪ ˈmɑ:dəbˌdeɪv) is an important preceptor of the Ekasarana Dharma known for his loyalty to his guru, Srimanta Sankardev as well as his artistic brilliance. Initially a sakta worshipper, he w ...

wrote “Adikanda” and Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardeva, wrote the “Uttarakanda” in order to compensate the lost cantos and thus completed the epic consisting of “Sapta Kanda” or seven cantos. Madhava Kandali has not translated the “Shlokas” (a couplet of Sanskrit verse) of valmiki Ramayana as it is. He instead abandoned some unnecessary verse narratives and long descriptive passages. He has written the Assamese Ramayana in a lucid and rhythmic pattern thus catering to the needs of the common Assamese people.He has also provided explanations for his inclusion of non-valmiki elements while composing the epic. Srimanta Shankardeva designated him as ''Purva Kobi Apramadi'' (''Peerless Bard of the Eastern Region''). Moreover, Madhab Kandali is often acclaimed to be the “

Kalidas Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

of Assam”.

Devajit

Madhava Kandali is also credited to be the composer of another poetical work ''‘Devajit’'' where he portrays Lord Krishna as the greatest incarnation (avatar) of Lord Bishnu.

Musical instruments

He lists several instruments in his ''"Ramayana"'', such as

mardala Mardala () is a classical percussive instrument native to the east Indian state of Odisha, traditionally used as the primary accompaniment in Odissi classical music. The instrument is different from other instruments that might have similar names ...

(a type of wooden Mridanga), khumuchi, bhemachi, dagar, gratal, ramtal,

tabal Tabal (c.f. biblical ''Tubal''; Assyrian: 𒋫𒁄) was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom (and/or collection of kingdoms) of South Central Anatolia during the Iron Age. According to archaeologist Kurt Bittel, references to Tabal first appear ...

jhajhar Jhajhar is a village, situated in the erstwhile province of Shekhawati of Rajasthan, India. It is located in the district of Jhunjhunu, approximately 7 km from Nawalgarh. Formally it was the part of Pentalisa of Bhojyana. History The Ja ...

, jinjiri, bheri mahari, tokari, dosari,

kendara The Kendara is a wooden string instrument. The ''kendara'' has one string and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its string. They are mostly played traditionally by ''jogi''s, people who would go from door to door with a dried gou ...

dotara The ''dotara'' (or ''dotar'') Persian ( bn, দোতারা, as, দোতাৰা, literally, 'Of or having two strings') is a two, four, or sometimes five- stringed musical instrument, originating from Iran and Central Asia. It is comm ...

, vina, bīn, vipanchi, etc. (meaning that these instruments existed since his time in 14th century or earlier).Suresh Kant Sharma and Usha Sharma, 2005
Discovery of North-East India
Page 288.

References

Sources

* Goswami, Indira (1996). Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra. B.R. Pub. Corp. ISBN 81-7018-858-X * Kandali, Madhava.Saptakanda Ramayana, (in Assamese). Banalata. * Sarma, Satyendranath. (1976). Assamese literature. Harrassowitz. ISBN 3447017368.

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandali, Madhava Translators of the Ramayana 14th-century Indian poets Assamese-language poets Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown Indian male poets Poets from Assam