Chandidas
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Chandidas (1339–1399, ) was a medieval Bengali poet from
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, or possibly more than one. He wrote over 1250 poems related to the love of
Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak ...
and
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
in medieval Bengali. The poems of Chandidas with ''bhanita'' are found with three different sobriquets along with his name, ', ''Dvija'' and ''Dina'' as well as without any sobriquet also. It is not clear whether these ''bhanita''s 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 ''bhanita''s. It is also assumed that the earliest of them was Ananta Chandidas. His father Durgadas Bagchi, was a Bengali Brahmin of Barendra clan. Chandidas has been more or less identified as a historical figure, born in the 14th century in a Bengali Brahmin family of a small Tehsil city named Nanoor in Birbhum district of the present-day
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state and wrote the lyrical ''Srikrishna Kirtan'' (Songs in praise of
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
).


''Srikrishna Kirtan''

In 1916, the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad published the manuscript of the ''Srikrishna Kirtan'' discovered by Basanta Ranjan Roy Bidwatballabh at
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. The ''Srikrishna Kirtan'', as its name suggests, narrates the story of
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
and his companion
Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak ...
. The storyline is derived from Shrimad Bhagavatam. However, Baru Chandidas managed to add substantial originality, making it a masterpiece of medieval Bengali literature. He is considered to be a prominent Early Middle
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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 Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak ...
". 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.


Humanism

According to
Banglapedia ''Banglapedia:'' ''the'' ''National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh'' is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The ...
, Chandidas was the first Bengali-language poet to be a humanist. He asserted "''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.


See also

*
Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...
* Vaishnava-Sahajiya *
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 ...
*
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...
* Jayadeva Goswami *
Radha Krishna Radha-Krishna (IAST , ) is the combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and ''shakti'' Radha. They are regarded as the feminine as well as the masculine realities of God and gender in Hinduism, God, in several Krishnaism, Kr ...


References

{{authority control Bengali male poets Bengali Hindus 1339 births 1399 deaths Bengali poets