Assamese Poetry
Encyclopedia
Assamese poetry, poetry in Assamese language
.
, the fountain head of most of the Indian literature, supplied not only the themes of medieval Assamese literature
, but also has inspired many a writer of modern Assamese literature to undertake creative writings in context of modern literary trends and styles. Literature starting with poetry in Sanskrit was mainly devotional in tone and tenor, and so does the Assamese version. Since all the adaptations are being rooted in Sanskrit, making no contrary to this Assamese literature(poetry) was at the devotional tone and tenor. The starting of Assamese Poetry is marked with the adaptation from Sanskrit puranas into Assamese by the poet-scholar Hema Saravswati in the early 13th century. His first adaptation was Prahlad-Charita adapted from Vamana Purana
.
Starting with a very few adaptations, Assamese Poetry were of devotional type in the very beginning. Later the adaptations got divided into two types - religious and secular. During the period of Vaishnavite revivalism, the secularism trend got into much demand. The Bhagavat Purana was considered to be the most important among all the puranas
. Sankardev (1449–1568), the initiator of the Bhakti movement
, started the process of translating and adapting different books and episodes of Bhagavat-Purana by rendering more than seven books (SKANDHA) and composed a few kabyas basing on that. He was the introducer of BORGEET, the most initial form of Assamese poems (There is still confusion to call them poems since they were sung with musical instruments like KHOL and TAAL).
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
.
History
Sanskrit literatureSanskrit literature
Literature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to late Antiquity . Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD...
, the fountain head of most of the Indian literature, supplied not only the themes of medieval Assamese literature
Assamese literature
Assamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes popular ballads in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contemporary form. The literary heritage of the Assamese language can...
, but also has inspired many a writer of modern Assamese literature to undertake creative writings in context of modern literary trends and styles. Literature starting with poetry in Sanskrit was mainly devotional in tone and tenor, and so does the Assamese version. Since all the adaptations are being rooted in Sanskrit, making no contrary to this Assamese literature(poetry) was at the devotional tone and tenor. The starting of Assamese Poetry is marked with the adaptation from Sanskrit puranas into Assamese by the poet-scholar Hema Saravswati in the early 13th century. His first adaptation was Prahlad-Charita adapted from Vamana Purana
Vamana Purana
The Vamana Purana, , one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, is devoted to the Vamana Avatar of Vishnu. It has a eulogy praising both Vishnu and Shiva....
.
Starting with a very few adaptations, Assamese Poetry were of devotional type in the very beginning. Later the adaptations got divided into two types - religious and secular. During the period of Vaishnavite revivalism, the secularism trend got into much demand. The Bhagavat Purana was considered to be the most important among all the puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
. Sankardev (1449–1568), the initiator of the Bhakti movement
Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement is a Hindu religious movement in which the main spiritual practice is loving devotion among the Shaivite and Vaishnava saints. The Bhakti movement originated in ancient Tamil Nadu and began to spread to the north during the late medieval ages when north India was under Islamic...
, started the process of translating and adapting different books and episodes of Bhagavat-Purana by rendering more than seven books (SKANDHA) and composed a few kabyas basing on that. He was the introducer of BORGEET, the most initial form of Assamese poems (There is still confusion to call them poems since they were sung with musical instruments like KHOL and TAAL).
Sources
- Modern Assamese poetry, by Hem Barua. Pub. Kavita, 1960.
- History of Assamese literature, Birinchi Kumar Barua. East-West Center Press, 1965. Chapter VII: Poetry
- Mysticism in Indian poetry: a critical study of the Assamese mystic poets of the romantic age, by Kamal Narayan Choudhury. Punthi-Pustak, 1996. ISBN 8185094950.