08-16-2006, 10:20 PM
Chandidas (Bangla: চন্ডীদাস ) (born 1408 CE) refers to (possibly more than one) medieval poet of Bengal...Verse written by at least four different Chandidas have been found, and it is not clear whether they refer to the same person or not...The name Chandidas is usually attributed to Baru Chandidas, who has been more or less indetified as a historical figure born in the 14th century...Chandidas wrote the lyrical SrikrishnaKirtan (Songs in praise of Krishna)...He is also credited with placing great emphasis on man...Chandidas is attributed to have said...
Srikrishnakirtam as it name suggests, narrates the story of Krishna and his companion Radha.. The storyline is derived from Srimodbahgabat, the original book in Bhakti based Vaishnavism...However, Baru Chandidas managed to add substantial originality, making it a masterpiece of meieval Bangla literature...He gives the yearning of Radha a distinctly Bengali rendition, and in the process capturing much of the social conditions of the day...
Chandidas was a Vaishnavite poet saint of the fourteenth century…Born in a Brahmin family, he belonged to a society ridden with religious bigotry and strong Brahminical authoritarianism…Though he was the disciple of a Brahmin priest who believed in harsh and ascetic principles, Chandidas's love for poetry inevitably came in the way of his religious devotion…He was also a bit of a romantic, and spent hours idling near the river, where Rami, the washerman's daughter came to wash clothes…Rami, the daughter of a low-caste, was also a young widow, and barred on both counts from any social intercourse with a man like Chandidas…
But she was a cheeky young thing all the same, and had a divine voice…Chandidas would sit listening to her songs for hours…Rami was aware of the young Brahmin's interest in her, and was herself a great admirer of his poetry…Inevitably, they were drawn to each other…In the closed-in community of the village, their romance could not remain a secret…Also, the local rich landowner, Bijoynarayan, himself a connoisseur of women, had his eyes on Rami…But Rami despised him for his double standards…Bijoynarayan, being an upper-caste and rich man, would not share a meal with the low-castes, nor would he contaminate his body with their touch…But when it came to women, his greed would overcome all social taboos…
Rami's rejection and her outspoken condemnation of his behaviour roused Bijoynarayan's ire…He now made it his mission to persecute both Rami and her community, and Chandidas's romance became a major scandal…Though the strength of Rami's personality sustained Chandidas for a while against the attacks of the Brahmins, he was still in awe of the temple priest, whose overpowering hold on the young man finally led to his denouncing Rami in public and agreeing to perform a religious ceremony in the temple to repent for his past sins…Rami, refusing to believe that Chandidas would actually disown her, battled with Bijoynarayan's hirelings to reach the temple on time…Distraught and bleeding with wounds inflicted upon her by the landowner's men, she confronted Chandidas in the presence of his religious mentor…Chandidas, believing in a more just and loving god in place of the harsh divinity offered by the priest of the temple, renounced his religious bindings, dissociated himself from the orthodox Brahminical order, and left the village with Rami…
Sources:
http://www.poetseers.org/
http://wikipedia.com
http://banglapedia.com
'sabar upare manus satya tahar upare nai' (The supreme truth is man, there is noting more important than he is).
Srikrishnakirtam as it name suggests, narrates the story of Krishna and his companion Radha.. The storyline is derived from Srimodbahgabat, the original book in Bhakti based Vaishnavism...However, Baru Chandidas managed to add substantial originality, making it a masterpiece of meieval Bangla literature...He gives the yearning of Radha a distinctly Bengali rendition, and in the process capturing much of the social conditions of the day...
Chandidas was a Vaishnavite poet saint of the fourteenth century…Born in a Brahmin family, he belonged to a society ridden with religious bigotry and strong Brahminical authoritarianism…Though he was the disciple of a Brahmin priest who believed in harsh and ascetic principles, Chandidas's love for poetry inevitably came in the way of his religious devotion…He was also a bit of a romantic, and spent hours idling near the river, where Rami, the washerman's daughter came to wash clothes…Rami, the daughter of a low-caste, was also a young widow, and barred on both counts from any social intercourse with a man like Chandidas…
But she was a cheeky young thing all the same, and had a divine voice…Chandidas would sit listening to her songs for hours…Rami was aware of the young Brahmin's interest in her, and was herself a great admirer of his poetry…Inevitably, they were drawn to each other…In the closed-in community of the village, their romance could not remain a secret…Also, the local rich landowner, Bijoynarayan, himself a connoisseur of women, had his eyes on Rami…But Rami despised him for his double standards…Bijoynarayan, being an upper-caste and rich man, would not share a meal with the low-castes, nor would he contaminate his body with their touch…But when it came to women, his greed would overcome all social taboos…
Rami's rejection and her outspoken condemnation of his behaviour roused Bijoynarayan's ire…He now made it his mission to persecute both Rami and her community, and Chandidas's romance became a major scandal…Though the strength of Rami's personality sustained Chandidas for a while against the attacks of the Brahmins, he was still in awe of the temple priest, whose overpowering hold on the young man finally led to his denouncing Rami in public and agreeing to perform a religious ceremony in the temple to repent for his past sins…Rami, refusing to believe that Chandidas would actually disown her, battled with Bijoynarayan's hirelings to reach the temple on time…Distraught and bleeding with wounds inflicted upon her by the landowner's men, she confronted Chandidas in the presence of his religious mentor…Chandidas, believing in a more just and loving god in place of the harsh divinity offered by the priest of the temple, renounced his religious bindings, dissociated himself from the orthodox Brahminical order, and left the village with Rami…
Sources:
http://www.poetseers.org/
http://wikipedia.com
http://banglapedia.com
