Ramacharitam: Difference between revisions
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== Significance == |
== Significance == |
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Though biased in favour of Ramapala, the work remains the only literary source for middle-late Pala history incuding Varendra Rebellion.<ref name="Susan1984">{{cite book|author=Susan L. Huntington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA32|title=The "Påala-Sena" Schools of Sculpture|date=1 January 1984|publisher=Brill Archive|isbn=90-04-06856-2|page=32}}</ref> |
Though biased in favour of Ramapala, the work remains the only literary source for middle-late Pala history incuding Varendra Rebellion.<ref name="Susan1984">{{cite book|author=Susan L. Huntington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA32|title=The "Påala-Sena" Schools of Sculpture|date=1 January 1984|publisher=Brill Archive|isbn=90-04-06856-2|page=32}}</ref> The cause of the war between Dibyak and Mahipala II however can not be ascertained — [[R. C. Majumdar]] interpreted it to be a rebellion by a local [[samanta]], strategically timed to the weakening of Pala authority whilst [[Ram Sharan Sharma]] took it to be a peasant rebellion against feudal suppression.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Furui|first=Ryosuke|date=2014|title=Characteristics of Kaivarta Rebellion Delineated from the Rāmacarita|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158366|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=75|pages=93–98|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44158366}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Varendra Rebellion|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Varendra_Rebellion|access-date=2021-06-24|website=Banglapedia}}</ref> |
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It is argued that the [[Dibar Dighi]] (incl. the Kaivarta Stambha) were commissioned to commemorate Divya's victory.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book|last=Rahman|first=Kazi Mostafizur|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]|year=2012|editor1-last=Islam|editor1-first=Sirajul|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam|edition=Second|chapter=Dibar Dighi and Kaivarta Stambha|editor2-last=Jamal|editor2-first=Ahmed A.|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dibar_Dighi_and_Kaivarta_Stambha}}</ref>{{Efn|Bhim was subdued by [[Ramapala]] (supported by his kinsmen and other samantas) a few years later, and put to death; this brought the short-lived rule of Kaibartas over [[Barendra]] to an end.<ref name="Prothomalo">{{Cite news |script-title=bn:আখতারুজ্জামান ইলিয়াসের না লেখা উপন্যাস |url=https://www.prothomalo.com/onnoalo/আখতারুজ্জামান-ইলিয়াসের-না-লেখা-উপন্যাস |access-date=2021-06-23 |work=Prothom Alo |language=bn}}</ref> Nandi was probably the court-poet of Ramapala.}} |
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The cause of the war between Dibyak and Mahipala II can not be ascertained — [[R. C. Majumdar]] interpreted it to be a rebellion by a local [[samanta]], strategically timed to the weakening of Pala authority whilst [[Ram Sharan Sharma]] took it to be a peasant rebellion against feudal suppression.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Furui|first=Ryosuke|date=2014|title=Characteristics of Kaivarta Rebellion Delineated from the Rāmacarita|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158366|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=75|pages=93–98|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44158366}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Varendra Rebellion|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Varendra_Rebellion|access-date=2021-06-24|website=Banglapedia}}</ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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Revision as of 19:43, 28 September 2021
The Ramacharitam is a Sanskrit epic poem written in Arya metre by Sandhyakar Nandi (c. 1084 - 1155 CE) during Pala Empire. This work simultaneously narrates the story of the Ramayana and the Pala king Ramapala.[1][2]
Manuscripts
A palm-leaf manuscript was discovered by Haraprasad Shastri from Nepal and published in 1910 by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata.[2] Translations in English and Bangla were published in 1939 and 1953, respectively.[2]
Author
Sandhyakar Nandi was patronaged by Madanapala and his biographical details are retrieved from the Kaviprashasti (of 20 couplets) appended at the end.[3] Nandi hailed from Brihadbatu, a village close to Pundravardhana, and was the son of Prajapati Nandi, who was the Sandhi-Vigrahika (minister of peace and war) of Ramapala.[2][3]
Content
The poem, in four cantos, details the historical events in Bengal from the assassination of the Pala emperor Mahipala II by Divya, a rebel Kaivarta samanta up to the reign of Madanapala in 215 verses, employing double entendre.[1][2][4][5] The central theme is the loss and subsequent recovery of Varendra.
The first and second cantos of the text describes, what has been since called "Varendra rebellion" - Ramcharitam remains the only source of the event.[4]
Varendra Rebellion
In an asymmetrical battle between Mahipala II and a group of samantas (led by Divya, a Kaivarta), the former was defeated.[4] Whilst the causes of the battle are not discussed, the defeat is blamed on Mahipala's poor strategy of war set against the explicit advice of councilors.[4] Varendra was ceded away from Palas, and the House of Kaivartas were established.[4] Divya was succeeded by his nephew, Bhima.[4]
Ramapala, a brother of Mahipala fled Varendra sometime later and assumed the Pala throne.[4] In a bid to reclaim the lost territory, he traveled around the kingdom purchasing assistance from his Samantas.[4] Among these ally samantas were his kinsmen from the Rashtrakutas of Anga, maternal uncle Mahana and nephew Sivarajadeva.[4] Sivarajadeva executed a raid on the Kaivartas, destroying the defensive arrangements of Bhima.[4]
This was followed by the main battle — Ramapala's army consisting of cavalry, infantry, boat-units and elephant-men (along with that of Samantas) meeting Bhima's forces.[4] In what is described as a battle of the equals, Bhima was defeated but treated with honor by Vittapala, Ramapala's son.[4] Nandi eulogizes his valor and virtues.[4] Bhima however seem to have fled soon, for he enlarged his army inducting untrained subjects from the lower rungs of society and confronted Ramapala again.[4] This was entirely-one sided with Bhima's men getting marauded; Bhima was captured and executed, after being made to witness the execution of his own kinsmen.[4]
Significance
Though biased in favour of Ramapala, the work remains the only literary source for middle-late Pala history incuding Varendra Rebellion.[6] The cause of the war between Dibyak and Mahipala II however can not be ascertained — R. C. Majumdar interpreted it to be a rebellion by a local samanta, strategically timed to the weakening of Pala authority whilst Ram Sharan Sharma took it to be a peasant rebellion against feudal suppression.[7][8]
It is argued that the Dibar Dighi (incl. the Kaivarta Stambha) were commissioned to commemorate Divya's victory.[9][a]
Notes
- ^ a b Roy N. (1993). Bangalir Itihas: Adiparba, Dey's Publishing, Calcutta, ISBN 81-7079-270-3, p.583
- ^ a b c d e "Ramacharitam, The - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
- ^ a b "Sandhyakar Nandi - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Furui, Ryosuke (2014). "CHARACTERISTICS OF KAIVARTA REBELLION DELINEATED FROM THE RĀMACARITA". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 75: 93–98. ISSN 2249-1937.
- ^ Roy, Kumkum (2009). "The Artful Biographer: Sandhyakaranandin's Ramacharitam". In Ramaswamy, Vijaya; Sharma, Yogesh (eds.). Biography as History: Indian Perspectives. Orient Blackswann. pp. 17–29. ISBN 9788125035213.
- ^ Susan L. Huntington (1 January 1984). The "Påala-Sena" Schools of Sculpture. Brill Archive. p. 32. ISBN 90-04-06856-2.
- ^ Furui, Ryosuke (2014). "Characteristics of Kaivarta Rebellion Delineated from the Rāmacarita". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 75: 93–98. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44158366.
- ^ "Varendra Rebellion". Banglapedia. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
- ^ Rahman, Kazi Mostafizur (2012). "Dibar Dighi and Kaivarta Stambha". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ আখতারুজ্জামান ইলিয়াসের না লেখা উপন্যাস. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
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