Kabikankan Mukundaram Chakrabarti () was a 16th-century

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poet who is best known for writing the epic poem

Chandimangal The Chandimangal () is an important subgenre of mangalkavya, the most significant genre of medieval Bengali literature. The texts belonging to this subgenre eulogize ''Chandi'' or ''Abhaya'', primarily a folk goddess, but subsequently identified w ...

, which is considered one of the most prominent works of Mangalkavya, one of the most important sub-genres of medieval

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 ...

Early life

Mukundaram Chakrabarti was born to Hriday Mishra and Doiboki the village of Daminya in present-day

Bardhaman Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an a ...

of West Bengal. He was forced to leave his ancestral home due to the oppression of the zamindar of the region and received refuge and patronage from Brahmin ruler Bir Bankura Roy, who ruled over Brahmanbhum area of

Midnapore Medinipur or Midnapore is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as ''Kasai'' and ''Cossye''). ...

and was a devotee of the goddess

Chandi Chandi (, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is a form of goddess Durga. She shares similarities with the Goddess Chamunda, not only in name but also in attributes and iconography. Due to these similarities, some consider them to ...

In Adra, he composed the Chandimangal-kavya, which earned him the title of Kabikankan.

Chandimangal

His most celebrated work Chandimangal, is a commentary on the socio-political scene in medieval Bengal. He describes his own travels and hardships while taking refuge in behind the story of Kallaketu, a poor hunter and Dhanpati, a wealthy merchant and their wives both of whom get trapped in hardships and are subsequently rescued by Abhaya or Chandi, both of whom are folk goddesses. The Chandimangal provides a rich and detailed account of the complex social structures present in medieval Bengal.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chakrabarti, Mukundaram Year of birth missing Year of death missing 16th-century Bengali poets Bengali male poets People from Bardhaman Poets from West Bengal Bengali Hindus Bengali-language writers