This is a retelling of the Krittibasi (or Krittivasi) Ramayana. Krittivasa. Krittivasa is another name for Shiva. Krittivasa means one who is clad in tiger skin.
The poet Krittivasa was born in 14th century Bengal, in a Brahman family.
The Krittivasi Ramayana is not a translation of the Ramayana written by Valmiki. This is a retelling in the Bengali style, for the common people of Bengal to understand. The settings are very Bengali in nature.
One big thing that comes into light from this text, is Bhakti or Devotion. The path to enlightenment is selfless devotion to the Lord. Historically, this was the start of the Bhakti movement, and this version of the epic Ramayana, had a big role to steer people towards that path of devotion or Bhakti.
With love for Krishna being prevalent in the house of the poet, Vishnu and Krishna are seen synonymous with one another. When the poet talks about Narayana, he talks about a God who is in Goloka (supreme abode of Krishna ) and is sitting below the Parijata Tree, instead of the traditional Vishnu image , reclining or standing on a snake.
With the prevalence of love of Krishna, in Bengal, in that period, Vishnu and Krishna became synonymous.
The poet does mention Narayana by other names like Gadadhar (holder of a mace) and also talks about Vaikuntha, which is the abode of Vishnu.
To understand the poem, one has to also understand the people in Bengal at that time.
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The Krittivasi Ramayana is nearly lost. It is difficult to make out how much of it was written by Krittivasa and how much was later addition. The existing manuscripts are available in various universities.
The current version that is being read in houses in Bengal, is something that was revised by Jayagopal Taralankar.
Born in 18th century Bengal, he was a professor of Sanskrit in Sanskrit College, Kolkata in 1824. He played a big role in translating the Sanskritized Bengali language of that time, into a more readable understandable version that we, today and can follow and enjoy.
Two of the important Bengali works that worked with are the Ramayana by Krittivasa and Mahabharata by Kasidas.
The poet Krittivasa was born in 14th century Bengal, in a Brahman family.
The Krittivasi Ramayana is not a translation of the Ramayana written by Valmiki. This is a retelling in the Bengali style, for the common people of Bengal to understand. The settings are very Bengali in nature.
One big thing that comes into light from this text, is Bhakti or Devotion. The path to enlightenment is selfless devotion to the Lord. Historically, this was the start of the Bhakti movement, and this version of the epic Ramayana, had a big role to steer people towards that path of devotion or Bhakti.
With love for Krishna being prevalent in the house of the poet, Vishnu and Krishna are seen synonymous with one another. When the poet talks about Narayana, he talks about a God who is in Goloka (supreme abode of Krishna ) and is sitting below the Parijata Tree, instead of the traditional Vishnu image , reclining or standing on a snake.
With the prevalence of love of Krishna, in Bengal, in that period, Vishnu and Krishna became synonymous.
The poet does mention Narayana by other names like Gadadhar (holder of a mace) and also talks about Vaikuntha, which is the abode of Vishnu.
To understand the poem, one has to also understand the people in Bengal at that time.
====
The Krittivasi Ramayana is nearly lost. It is difficult to make out how much of it was written by Krittivasa and how much was later addition. The existing manuscripts are available in various universities.
The current version that is being read in houses in Bengal, is something that was revised by Jayagopal Taralankar.
Born in 18th century Bengal, he was a professor of Sanskrit in Sanskrit College, Kolkata in 1824. He played a big role in translating the Sanskritized Bengali language of that time, into a more readable understandable version that we, today and can follow and enjoy.
Two of the important Bengali works that worked with are the Ramayana by Krittivasa and Mahabharata by Kasidas.
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