Ancient Age
- Aryadev (9th
century)
- Bhusukupa (9th
century)
- Dhendhanpa (9th
century)
- Dombipa (9th
century)
- Kahnapa (9th
century)
- Kukkuripa (9th
century)
- Luipa (9th
century)
- Minapa (9th
century)
- Sarhapa (9th
century)
- Shabarpa (9th
century)
The Charyapada (Bengali: চর্যাপদ, Assamese: চৰ্যাপদ) or Charijagiti(Oriya: ଚରିଜାଗିତି) is a
collection of 8th–12th century Vajrayana Buddhistcaryagiti, or mystical poems from the tantric tradition
in Kalinga.[1]Charyapada is the collection of the
oldest verses written in pre-modern odia. Being caryagiti (songs of realisation), the Charyapada
were intended to be sung.
These songs of realisation were spontaneously
composed verses that expressed a practitioner's experience of the enlightened
state. Miranda Shaw describes how caryagiti were an element of the ritual
gathering of practitioners in a tantric feast:
The feast culminates in the
performance of tantric dances and music, that must never be disclosed to
outsiders.
The revellers may also improvise "songs
of realization" (caryagiti) to express their heightened clarity and
blissful raptures in spontaneous verse.[2]
A manuscript of this anthology
was discovered in the early 20th century. It provides the early examples of the Assamese, Oriya, Maithili andBengali languages.
The writers of the Charyapada, the Mahasiddhas or Siddhacharyas, belonged to the
various regions of Assam, Bengal, Odisha and Bihar.
A Tibetan translation of the Charyapada was
also preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist
canon.
It is the earliest known example of Maithili poetry.
.
According to Bengali scholar Haraprasad Shastri (1853–1931), Charyapada is also the
collection of the oldest verses written in pre-ModernBengali.[3]
Discovery[edit]
The credit of discovering Charyapad
goes to Haraprasad Shastri who during his third visit to Nepal discovered about 47 verses in 1907,
the body of which came to be called Charyapada,
which are essentially Buddhist mystical songs.
These were discovered from the Royal library
of the Nepalese kings.
Haraprasad Shastri first went to Nepal in 1897
for collecting Buddhist folklore. He discovered some folklore written
in Sanskrit during
his second trip in 1898.
He undertook his third trip in 1907 in the
hope of some more new folklore. He published his collections in a volume which
was published in 1916.
Although Haraprasad Shastri discovered as many
as 47 poems (in fact 46 and a part of one), hints are there that the number
would be 51 in total. These were written on narrow section of palm leaves.
Manuscripts[edit]
The original palm-leaf manuscript
of the Charyapada, or Charyacharyavinishchayah,
consisting of an anthology of 47 padas (verses) along with a Sanskrit
commentary, was discovered by Haraprasad Shastri at the Nepal Royal Court Library in 1907.
This manuscript was edited by
Shastri and published by the Bangiya Sahitya
Parishad as a part of
his Hajar Bacharer Purano
Bangala Bhasay Bauddhagan O Doha (The
Buddhist Songs and Couplets in a thousand years old Bengali Language) in 1916
under the name of Charyacharyavinishchayah.
This manuscript is presently located at the
National Archives of Nepal. Later Prabodhchandra
Bagchi published a
manuscript of a Tibetan translation containing 50 verses.[4]
The Tibetan translation of the
Charyapada provided additional information.
It names the Sanskrit commentary
as the Charyagiti-koshavrtti written by Munidatta. It also mentions
that the original text was translated by Shilachari and its commentary by
Munidatta was translated by Chandrakirti or Kirtichandra.[5]
Poets[edit]
The poets and their works as
mentioned in the text are as follows:
Nature
The language of Charyapada is
rather symbolic in nature.[3] So
in many cases the literal meaning of a word does not make any sense. As a
result every poem has a descriptive or narrative surface meaning but also
encodes tantric Buddhist teachings. Some experts believe this was to conceal
sacred knowledge from the uninitiated, while others hold that it was to avoid
religious persecution. An attempt was made to decipher the secret tantric
inheritance of Charyapada.[6]
Period
Haraprasad Shastri,
who discovered Charyapada, considered that it was written during the 10th
century. However, according to Suniti Kumar
Chatterjee, Charyapada was composed between 10th and 12th century.Probodh Chandra
Bagchi upholds this
view. Sukumar Sen while supporting this view maintained that
Charyapada could have been written between 11th and 14th century.[7] However, Muhammad Shahidullah was of the opinion that Charyapada
dates back to earlier time. He maintained that it was likely to have been
composed between 7th and 11th century.[8] Rahul Sankrityayan thought that Charyapada was probably
written between 8th and 11th century.
Controversies[edit]
There is controversy about
meaning of some words. Different linguists have diverse opinion about the real
meaning of certain words.
It has been said that Charyapada
was written in early form of Bengali[9] and Oriya.[10] Scholars
of other languages claimed that it was written in Nepalese, Gujarati, Hindi, Maithili, and Assamese. Some scholars believe its words are
more similar to Bishnupriya Manipuri rather than Bengali. It is claimed that Charyapada is the
oldest record of Bishnupriya Manipuri literature.[citation needed]
Language
Haraprasad Shastri in his
introduction to the Charyacharya-vinishchaya referred to the enigmatic language of
its verses as 'Twilight Language' (Sanskrit: Sandhya-bhasha), or Alo-andhari (half expressed and half concealed)
based on the Sanskrit commentary of Munidatta. But later Vidhushekhara Shastri
on the basis of evidences from a number of Buddhist texts referred to this
language as 'Intentional Language' (Sanskrit:Sandha-bhasha).[11]
The Charyapadas were written by
poets from different regions, and it is natural that they would display
linguistic affinities from these regions. Different scholars claimed the affinities
of the language of Charyapadawith Assamese, Bengali, Maithili, and Oriya.[12]
Affinities
with Oriya[edit]
The beginnings of Oriya poetry
coincide with the development of Charya Sahitya, the literature thus started by
Mahayana Buddhist poets.[14] This
literature was written in a specific metaphor named “Sandhya Bhasha” and the poets like Luipa, Kanhupa are from the
territory of Odisha.
The language of Charya was
considered as Prakrta.
In his book (Ascharya
Charyachaya) Karunakar Kar has mentioned that Odisha is the origin of
Charyapada as the Vajrayana school
of Buddhism evolved there and started female worship in Buddhism.
Worship of Matri Dakini and the practice of "Kaya
sadhana" are the outcome of such new culture. Buddhist scholars like Indrabhuti and Lakshminkara and Padmasambhava were born in Odisha.[15]
The ideas and experience of Kaya
sadhana and Shaki upasana (worshiping female principle) which were created by
Adisiddhas and
have poetic expressions are found in the lyrics of Charyapada.
These were the first ever found
literary documentation of Prakrit and Apabhramsa which are the primitive form of
languages of eastern Indian origin.
The poets of Charyapada
prominently are from this region and their thought and writing style has
influenced to the poems in early Oriya literature which is evidently prominent in the
16th century Oriya poetry written majorly in Panchasakha period.[10]
Melodies[edit]
From the
mention of the name of the Rāga (melody)
for the each Pada at the beginning of it in the manuscript, it seems that these
Padas were actually sung. All 50 Padas were set to the tunes of different Rāgas.
The most common Rāga for Charyapada songs was Patamanjari.
While,
some of these Rāgas are extinct, the names of some of these Rāgas may be
actually the variants of the names of the popular Rāgas as we know them today.[18]
Middle Age
Chandidas (Bengali: চণ্ডীদাস; born 1408 CE) refers to (possibly more than
one) medieval poet of Bengal.
Over 1250 poems related to the love of Radha and Krishna in Bengali with the bhanita of Chandidas are found
with three different sobriquets along with his name, Baḍu, Dvija and Dina as well as without any sobriquet also.
It is not clear whether these bhanitas actually refer to
the same person or not.
It is assumed by some modern scholars that the poems which are
current in the name of Chandidas are actually the works of at least four
different Chandidas, who are distinguished from each other by their sobriquets
found in the bhanitas.
It is also assumed that the earliest of them was Ananta Baḍu Chandidas, who has been
more or less identified as a historical figure born in the 14th century in Birbhum district of the present-day West Bengal state and wrote the lyrical Srikrishna Kirtan (Songs in praise of Krishna).
In 1916, the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad published the manuscript of the Srikrishna Kirtan discovered by Basanta Ranjan Roy Bidwatballabh
at Bankura.
The Srikrishnakirtan as it name suggests, narrates the story of Krishna and his companionRadha. The storyline is derived from Shrimad Bhagavatam,
the original book in Bhakti based Vaishnavism.
However, Baru Chandidas managed to add substantial originality,
making it a masterpiece of medieval Bengali
literature.
He gives the yearning of Radha a distinctly Bengali rendition, and in the process capturing much of
the social conditions of the day.
As such he is considered to be prominent Early Middle Bengal poet, however the date of his poem
Srikrsnakirtana is still under question, while the text remains one of the most
important evidences of early portrayal of the popular story of "Lord
Krishna's love for the cowherd girl Radha".
The 412 songs of Srikrsnakirtana are divided into thirteen
sections that represent the core of the Radha-Krsna legendary cycle, with many
variants providing excellent comparative material. The manuscript clearly
suggests that the songs meant to be song, and implies particular ragas for the
recitation. There is a considerable debate as to the authenticity of the text
that has significant religious meaning.[1]
Humanism in Chandidas
Chandidas is perhaps most well known[who?] for his strikingly modern[peacock term] assertion Shobar upor manush shotto tahar upore nai (Above all is humanity, none else). Later
literature has also often eulogized Chandidas' love for a Rajakini (a female
cloth washer), whether this has any historical basis is not known.
Vidyapati (1352–1448)
Vidyapati (1352?–1448?), also
known by the sobriquet Maithil Kavi Kokil (the poet cuckoo of Maithili)
was a Maithili poet and a Sanskrit writer.
He was son of Ganapati. The name Vidyapati is derived from two Sanskrit words, Vidya (knowledge) and Pati (master), connoting thereby, a man of knowledge.
Vidyapati's poetry was widely influential in centuries to come, in
the Hindustani as well as Bengali and other Eastern literary traditions.
Indeed, the language at the time of Vidyapati, the prakrit-derived
late abahatta,
had just began to transition into early versions of the Eastern languages, Maithili, Bengali, Oriya, etc.
Thus, Vidyapati's influence on making these languages has been
described as "analogous to that of Dante in Italy and Chaucer in England."
His language is closest to Maithili,
the language spoken around Mithila (a region in the north Bihar and region
surrounding Janakpur in Nepal), closely related to the abahattha form of early Bengali.
The love songs of Vidyapati, which describe the sensuous love
story of Radha and Krishna, follow a
long line of Vaishnav love poetry, popular in Eastern India, and
include much celebrated poetry such as Jayadeva's Gita Govinda of the 12th century.
This tradition which uses the language of physical love to
describe spiritual love, was a reflection of a key turn in Hinduism,
initiated by Ramanuja in the 11th century which advocated an
individual self realization through direct love. Similar to the reformation in Christianity, this
movement empowered the common man to realize God directly, without the intervention of learned priests.
Part of the transformation was also a shift to local languages as opposed to the formal Sanskrit of the religious texts.
The songs he wrote as prayers to Lord Shiva are still sung in Mithila and form a rich
tradition of sweet and lovely folk songs.
Folklore says that he was such a great devotee of Shiva
that the lord was really pleased with him. And once He decided to come to live
in his house as a servant. As the servant He is said to have taken the name Ugna. At several places in the region, Lord Shiva is still worshipped by this name.
It is said that the lord in form of servant had imposed a
condition on Vidyapati that he could not disclose his identity to anyone else
or else he would go away. When Vidyapati's wife was angry at her servant and
started to beat him Vidyapati could not tolerate the same and asked his wife
not to beat Lord Shiva himself and since then the lord disappeared and never
was he seen again.According to the local legend, Vidyapati was an ardent
devotee of Shiva.
He composed several songs
in the form of Nacharis and Maheshbanis to please the Lord. Impressed with the
devotion and poetic creativity of the poet, Lord Shiva came to him in a
disguised form of a cowherd boy called Ugna.
Ugna requested the poet that as he was an orphan boy he wanted to
work in his house as his servant. With a little hesitation, the poet assigned
him the job of looking after his cattle. Ugna became a very charming and
affectionate servant to the poet within a very short period.
One day, Vidyapati received an invitation to participate in a
royal function of the king of Mithila, Shivasimha. He took Ugna with him and they
left for the king's capital. On the way the poet became very thirsty but it was
a huge barren land where he saw no drops of water.
The helpless poet finally requested Ugna to bring some water. Ugna
too showed his inability to bring the water and requested him to travel some
more distance, but Vidyapati refused to walk further and became unconscious. He
fell on the ground. Now, Ugna, who was none but Lord Shiva himself, took out a
jug of water from his matted hair (jata), revived him to consciousness and gave
the poet water to drink. The poet felt the taste of Ganga-water and immediately
asked Ugna wherefrom he had brought it.
Ugna tried to make some false story but failed to do so. He wanted
to keep it a secret and that's why he avoided deliberately the poet's query,
but as Ugna wanted to avoid it, the poet's curiosity increased. Finally, he
appeared as Shiva, in his original form, before the poet.
Vidyapati touched his feet and took the dust of Ugna's feet into
his hands. Ugna now warned him not to disclose the secret before anybody
including the poet's wife Sushila. Vidyapati assured Ugna to keep this secret
with him.
According to the local legend, Vidyapati was an ardent devotee of
Shiva. He composed several songs in the form of Nacharis and Maheshbanis to
please the Lord.
Ugna remained with Vidyapati for many years and helped him
miraculously in many critical situations. For instance, when Shivasimha was
arrested by Emperor Allaudin Khilji of Delhi, Vidyapati accompanied by Ugna,
came to Delhi to get him released. Knowing that Vidyapati was a poet, Allaudin
arranged a scholarly debate between Vidyapati and his own court-poet.
Vidyapati was told to respond either in Persian or a mixed
language alone. The poet with the heavenly blessings of Ugna defeated the
Sultan's poet and responded in poetry he had composed in the prescribed
languages. Not only that, with the blessings of Ugna he got rid of many
obstacles created by the Sultan and his men at Delhi and finally succeeded in
getting his king released from the prison of Sultan.
Once, the wife of Vidyapati assigned some domestic responsibility
to Ugna, which he failed to deliver according to her given instructions. She
became angry with him and started beating him with a broom. This erratic
behaviour of Sushila made Vidyapati frustrated that Shiva, of whom he was a
great devotee, should be abused and humiliated. He could not control himself
and shouted at her to stop, and at that very moment Ugna disappeared. Vidyapati
realised his mistake. He left his house and wandered through many temples,
rivers and jungles in search of Ugna. Finally, Vidyapati found Ugna in
Nandanvana. Shiva told him that he would not go back to his house but would
help him whenever required. The place where Ugna appeared before the poet as
God is known as Ugnaasthan. A small lingam was enshrined by the local devotees.
Recently a temple has been made for that lingam.
Many people still worship Shiva while singing the devotional songs
of Vidyapati.
Ramai Pandit (13th/14th
century)
Ramai Pandit (Bengali: রামাই পণ্ডিত Ramai Ponđit) or Ramai the Wise was a medieval Bengali poet from the region
of Bengal. The exact date of his birth is not known, but it is believed that he
was born in the later half of the 10th century[1] and also lived
in the 11th century AD, as he is a contemporary to Mayur Bhatt, the coart-poet
of King Lausen.[2] He is famous as
the author of Shunya Purana,
the scripture of Dharma Puja
Bidhan, written in the 11th century AD.[2]
Krittibas Ojha (1443-15??)
Krittibas Ojha (Bengali: কৄত্তিবাস
ওঝা) or Kirttibas
Ojha (Bengali: কীর্ত্তিবাস ওঝা)[1] (1381–1461)
was a medieval Bengali poet.
His major contribution to Bengali literature
and culture was the translation of the great Indian epic Ramayana to Bengali.
His work, the Sri Ram Panchali,[1] is
popularly known as the Krittivasi Ramayan.
In 1803, his work, edited by Jaygopal Tarkalamkar, was published by the Serampore Mission
Press.[1]
Life[edit]
Krittibas Ojha was born in a Kulina (upper class) Brahmin family
at Phulia village
of modern-day Nadia district in the Indian state of Paschimbanga (West Bengal).[1]
He was the eldest among his
father Banamali Ojha’s six sons and one daughter (the names of Bonomali's
offsprings were Krittibas, Shanti, madav, Mrityunjoy, Balbhadra, Srikantha and
Chaturbhuj.
It can't be said surely if Shanti
was the name of a male child or the daughter. The Family tree at the
Mukopadhyay household in Behala, shows it as male child).
The word ‘Krittibas’ is an
epithet of Hindu god Shiva.
It is known that when Krittibas was born, his grandfather Murari Ojha was
preparing for a pilgrimage in Odisha, hence the child was named after Shiva, the
predominant deity of the nearest Odisha pilgrimage to Bengal.
At the age of 11, Krittibas was
sent to North Bengal (in other opinion, to Nabadwip) for higher studies.
After finishing studies he was
traditionally honoured by the King of Gauda himself
by the offerings of a garland, some sandal water and a silk scarf. Upon
returning to his home at Phulia, he translated the Valmiki Ramayana into
Bengali.[2] Debojit
Kumar Ghosh made a major documentary Krittibas and the Bengali Ramayana in the
Bhasha Mandakini Project of Central Institute of Indian Languages, India
(2009). It was anchored by Professor Chinmoy Guha.
Krishnadasa Kaviraja (1496 - 15??)
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami (1496 -? CE) was the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, ahagiography on
the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school
of Hinduism to be
an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined.
Early life
There is scant information about the life of
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami. Krishna Dasa was born in 1496 CE in a family of
physicians in the village of Jhamatpur,near
Salar, within the district of Bardhaman, Bengal. His father was called Bhagiratha, and
his mother was named Sunanda. He also had a younger brother named Shyamananda
Dasa. Both his parents died when he was young, thus he and his brother were
raised by relatives.
Instructions
Krishna Dasa relates in his Chaitanya
Charitamrita that, once his brother argued with a prominent Vaishnava
devotee Minaketana Ramadasa over the ontological
positions of Chaitanya and Nityananda(Chaitanya’s
lifelong companion) and belittled the position of Nityananda. Krishna Dasa
considered this to be an unpardonable offence and rejected his brother
forthwith.
After receiving instructions in a vision from
Nityananda, Krishna Dasa left Bengal and travelled to Vrindavanawhere he
took initiation from Raghunatha Dasa Goswami (1494–1586 CE), one of
the direct followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Charitamrita Written
At an advanced age and in poor health Krishna
Dasa commenced work on his magnum-opus the Chaitanya Charitamrita after being repeatedly
requested by the devotees in Vrindavana who had never met Chaitanya and who
were eager for details. He vividly describes in the text itself: “I have now
become too old and disturbed by invalidity. While writing, my hands tremble. I
cannot remember anything, nor can I see or hear properly. Still I write, and
this is a great wonder.”
In composing his Charitamrita, Krishna Dasa used
the diaries of Murari
Gupta and Swarupa Damodara, both of whom were intimate
associates of Chaitanya. Krishna Dasa was given a great deal of information by
his guru, Raghunatha Dasa also, who had served Swarupa
Damodara when the latter was Chaitanya's personal secretary.
Due to its amount of detail on the life of
Chaitanya and his precepts, the Chaitanya-charitamrita became the definitive
biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
According to the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika of Kavi Karnapura, Krishna Dasa Kaviraja has been
identified as being an incarnation of the handmaiden of Krishna called Kasturi Manjari.
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja's Literary Achievements[edit]
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja wrote some short prayers
in Sanskrit as well as two other major works in addition to the Chaitanya
Charitamrita:
1) Chaitanya
Charitamrita
The most definitive biography of Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu
2) Sri Govinda-lilamrita
Govinda-lilamrita is a work explaining the daily
pastimes of Krishna and his associates in Vrindavana.
3) Saranga-rangada
kangada tika
This is a commentary on the Krishna-karnamrita
of Bilvamangala Thakura.
Dwija Madhab (16th century)
Dvija Madhab (Bengali: দ্বিজ মাধব), or Madhabacharya (Bengali: মাধবাচার্য) (c. 16th century) was a Bengali poet of
the Middle Ages and
one of the most significant contributor to Chandimangalkavya tradition
of medieval Bengali
literature. His work, Sarada Charit (Bengali: সারদাচরিত), also known as Sarada Mangal Jagaran (Bengali: সারদামঙ্গল জাগরণ) or Mangalchandir Geet (Bengali: মঙ্গলচণ্ডীর গীত), was probably written in 1579.[1][2]
Dvija Madhab was born
in Saptagram-Tribeni region
of modern day Hooghly
district of Indian state
of West Bengal.[3] His
father Parashar, as mentioned in the Sarada Charit, was a Brahmin.[3] Dvija
Madhab is also attributed as the author of Sri Krishna Mangal,
another narrative poem popular among theVaishnavas; but its
authorship is doubted by scholars.[1]
The manuscripts of Dvija
Madhab’s work are found in Chittagong region
of modern day Bangladesh,
where the poet probably had migrated from western Bengal in his later years.[3]
Rupram Chakrabarty (17th
century)
Rupram Chakrabarty (Bengali: রূপরাম চক্রবর্তী) (c. 17th century) was a Bengali poet of the Middle Ages and
one of the most significant contributor toDharmamangalkavya tradition
of mediaeval Bengali
literature.[1] His
work, Anadi Mangal (Bengali: অনাদিমঙ্গল), was probably composed in 1650.[2]
Chakrabarty was born at
Kaiti-Srirampur village in modern day Bardhaman
district of Indian state
of West Bengal.[1] His
father Sriram Chakrabarty was an eminent Sanskrit scholar.[1] In
his youth Chakrabarty left home and travelled many places until he settles at
Eralbahadurpur village in modern day Nadia district, West Bengal.[1] Legend
has it that in Nadia, he met Dharmathakur who
commanded him to compose a narrative poem in his honour.[1] The
poem, only one-third part of which is now survived, was penned at
Eralbahadurpur.[1] The
manuscripts of Chakrabarty’s poem are preserved in the University of Calcutta and Vangiya Sahitya Parishad.[3]
Chakrabarty’s poem,
marked by its simplicity and yet scholastic descriptions, contains a vivid
picture of 17th century Bengali society
and the educational centres of medieval Nadia is found in his poem.[1]
Syed Sultan (1550–1648)
Syed Sultan (1550–1648) was a well known Bengali writer and poet during
the 16th and 17th centuries. His birthplace is not known. He was a resident of
Patiya village under Chakrashala Chakla in Chittagong. He lived in Laskarpur (Paragalpur), Chittagong for several
years.
Alaol (1606–1680)
Alaol-Ali Abbas Husaini[1] (Bengali: আলাওল;
1607?-1680? CE) was a medieval poet in Bengal. He is thought to be born around 1607 in Faridpur in the present-day Bangladesh. His most well known work is Padmavati, which depicts
the story of Padmavati, the Sinhala princess and the queen of Chittor. There is an important literary prize named after him in
Bangladesh, the Alaol Puroshkar. He is widely believed to be one of the most
talented of Bengalimedieval poets.
Abdul Hakim (17th
century)
Abdul Hakim (Bengali: আব্দুল হাকিম) was a poet in medieval Bengal. He was born on the island of Sandwip in
1620. Hakim's most famous work perhaps is Nurnama (Story of
Light), a depiction of the life of prophet Muhammad in
lyrical Bengali.
This work can be considered as an important step in creating aBengali Muslim identity.
However, what Nurnama is
arguably more well known for is Hakim's great patriotism and specially his love
for the Bengali language.
In medieval ages,Persian and Arabic tended
to be court languages all over the South Asia and
perceived by some as the language to do literary work in.
Hakim's reaction to this
varies from philosophical to outright outraged:
The Lord understands and
loves all languages
Daulat Quazi (17th
century)
Daulat Qazi (কাজী দৌলত) (Also Qazi Daulat,
Daulat Kazi) (1600–1638) was a medieval Bengali poet, believed to have been born
into a Qazi family in the village of Sultanpur in Rauzan, Chittagong. No
getting any recognition at home, he left for Arakan, where he
seems to have been received warmly. He wrote in Bengali though
he lived in Arakan.
Life and work
Qazi is
believed to the first Bengali poet to write under the patronage of the Arakan
court. His patron Ashraf Khan was a commanding officer of king Shrisudharma
(Thirithudhamma), who ruled from 1622 to 1638. There is evidence in his poem,
that both Khan and Qazi were Sufis.[1] Ashraf
Khan asked Daulat to render the Avadhi narratives
of Lor, Chandrani and Mayana into Bengali. Daulat Qazi
died before he could finish his work. It was completed years later by Alaol.
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