Poetry
শূন্যপুরাণ
Not translated into English
Ramai Pandit · 1200
Synopsis
A book in prose and verse, a scripture of the cult of the god Dharma, called Niranjan. The first five chapters tell of the birth of the world; the following forty-six regulate the rites of his cult, up to an animal sacrifice comparable to those of the Hindus. Five pandits, Setai, Nilai, Kangsai, Ramai and Gonsai, hold a place in it that recalls the five meditation buddhas. One chapter, “The Wrath of Niranjan”, shows the faithful saved from the oppression of the Brahmins by Muslim pirs and ghazis.
Context
The text is a champu, mixing prose and verse. It is dated to the thirteenth century, but the study of the language has led some to think that it is older and that the passage on the pir is an interpolation, like the last two chapters devoted to the cult of the Nath. It reflects the syncretism of Buddhism and Brahmanism after the fall of the Pala and the arrival of the Sena in Bengal, to which Ramai Pandit is said to have given an organised form.
Who it is for
A book of rites as much as a text, with no French or English translation. It is read mainly for its cosmogony and for what it says about the relations between castes and religions.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the founding scripture of the cult of Dharma, and more valuable as a historical source than as a literary work.