HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mangal-Kāvya (; '' lit.'' "Poems of Benediction") is a group of Bengali religious texts, composed more or less between 13th and 18th centuries, notably consisting of narratives of indigenous deities of rural
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
in the social scenario of the Middle Ages. The Mangal-Kāvyas usually give prominence to a particular deity amalgamated with a Vedic or Hindu mythological god and the narratives are usually written in the form of verses. ''Manasā Mangal'', ''Chandī Mangal'' and ''Dharma Mangal'', the three major genus of Mangal-Kāvya tradition include the portrayal of the magnitude of Manasā, Chandī and Dharmathakur respectively. They are considered the greatest among all the native divinities in Bengal. But restraining the accounts of other deities, there are also minor Mangal-Kāvyas known as ''Shivāyana'', ''Kālikā Mangal'', ''Rāya Mangal'', ''Shashtī Mangal'', ''Sītalā Mangal'' and ''Kamalā Mangal'' etc. Each strain is composed by more than one poet or group of poets who are on the whole the worshipper of the god or goddess concerning their verses. The Mangal-Kāvya tradition is an archetype of the synthesis between the Vedic and the popular folk culture of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Lila Ray elaborates, "Indigenous myths and legends inherited from Indo-Aryan cultures began to blend and crystallise around popular deities and semi-mythological figures in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. A new cosmogony was evolved, which is different from Sanskrit tradition but has an unmistakable affinity with the cosmogonic hymns in the
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
and the Polynesian myth of creation".


Etymology

The word Mangal-Kāvya comes out as an amalgamation of the two Bengali Sanskritisms, ''Mangal'' (Benediction) and ''Kavya'' (Poems). These are so named because it was believed that listening to these verses concerning the auspicious divinities would bring both spiritual and material benefits. Though some scholars of the early modern period tried to find out any other significance of the word ''Mangal'' that was frequently used in the medieval Bengali literature irrespective of any designated tradition. But all these speculations are now firmly discarded by the recent school of intellectuals. #Listening to them was said to bring spiritual and
material A material is a matter, substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an Physical object, object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical property, physical ...
benefits ("mangal"). #They were sung in the Mangal
raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...
. #They were read out in
ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...
s extending from one "Mangalbar" (Tuesday) to the next.


Poems

Mangalkavya were used to describe the greatness of particular Hindu deities known as "nimnokoti" (roughly translating as lower) by historians, because they were absent or unimportant in classical Hindu literature such as the
Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
or
Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...
. These deities were based on indigenous to Bengal (like Manasa) who had become assimilated in regional Hinduism. These deities are often depicted with unusually strong human qualities and they engage in direct interaction with humans. They are also portrayed to have flaws such as envy like other human beings. In the time period when they were produced, Mangalkavya was the representation of nearly all medieval Bengali literature. Mangalkavya was the main form of expression in the Later Middle Period of the language.Bengali Language: A Brief Introduction
– i3pep.org


Construction

Mangalkavyas were composed of four parts: the Vandana, the Reasoning, the Devakhanda, and the Narakhanda.


Characteristics

''Mangals'' are usually similar in form though variant in length. They are written for the most part in the simple payar meter, a couplet form with the rhyme scheme AA BB which is considered an appropriate form for oral literature.


Usage

They are often recited at the festivals of the deities mentioned in the kavya. The popular ones are sung to entertain village audiences as Bhajans. Many variants exist, since singers may change the verses. Most are written in simple couplets, using earthy imagery drawn from simple objects like: village, field, and river.


Effects

The spread of Mangalkavya increased throughout
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
around the late 18th century. It has been documented in the city of Majilpur that the number of
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
mandirs increased tremendously after Mangalkavya began being composed in the vicinity24 Parganas - Page 6
HinduBooks


Kavya

The main Mangalkavyas include Manasamangalkavya, Chandimangalkavya, Dharmamangalkavya and Annadamangalkavya, with Manasamangal being the most famous. It is widely considered to be one of the most important works ever of Bengali literature and references to stories of Manasamangal abound in literature even to this day because of their highly
symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...
ic value. There are also other minor Mangalkavyas such as Raimangalkavya in the Sundarban region.


See also

* Chaitanya Bhagavata *
Tulsidas Rambola Dubey (; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623pp. 23–34.), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (), was a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava (Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramanandi) Hinduism, Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. H ...
* Bhakti *
Bengali literature Bengali literature () 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 dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali h ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangal-Kavya 15th-century Indian books 16th-century Indian books 17th-century Indian books