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The Charyapada are a collection of mystical poems, songs of realization in the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism from the tantric tradition in Assam, Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.

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It was written between the 8th and 12th centuries in various Abahattas that were ancestral to the modern Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Odia, Magahi, Maithili, Kurmali and many other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. A palm-leaf manuscript of the Charyāpada was rediscovered in the early 20th century by Haraprasad Shastri at the Nepal Royal Court Library. The Charyapada was also preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.

Manuscripts

The original palm-leaf manuscript of the Charyapada, or Caryācaryāviniścaya, spanning 47 padas (verses) along with a Sanskrit commentary, was edited by Shastri and published from Bangiya Sahitya Parishad as a part of his Hajar Bacharer Purano Bangala Bhasay Bauddhagan O Doha (Buddhist Songs and Couplets) in 1916 under the name of Charyacharyavinishchayah. This manuscript is presently preserved at the National Archives of Nepal. Prabodhchandra Bagchi later published a manuscript of a Tibetan translation containing 50 verses.

The Tibetan translation provided additional information, including that the Sanskrit commentary in the manuscript, known as Charyagiti-koshavrtti, was written by Munidatta. It also mentions that the original text was translated by Shilachari and its commentary by Munidatta was translated by Chandrakirti or Kirtichandra.

Poets

The poets and their works as mentioned in the text are as follows:

The manuscript of the Charyapada discovered by Haraprasad Shastri from Nepal consists of 47 padas (verses). The title-page, the colophon, and pages 36, 37, 38, 39, and 66 (containing padas 24, 25, and 48 and their commentary) were missing in this manuscript. The 47 verses of this manuscript were composed by 22 of the Mahasiddhas (750 and 1150 CE), or Siddhacharyas, whose names are mentioned at the beginning of each pada (except the first pada). Some parts of the manuscripts are lost; however, in the Tibetan Buddhist Canon, a translation of 50 padas is found, which includes padas 24, 25, and 48, and the complete pada 23. Pada 25 was written by the Siddhacharya poet Tantripāda, whose work was previously missing. In his commentary on pada 10, Munidatta mentions the name of another Siddhacharya poet, Ladidombipāda, but no pada written by him has been discovered so far.

The names of the Siddhacharyas in Sanskrit (or its Tibetan language equivalent), and the raga in which the verse was to be sung, are given prior to each pada. The Sanskrit names of the Siddhacharya poets were likely assigned to each pada by the commentator Munidatta.

Period

Haraprasad Shastri, who rediscovered the Charyapada, conjectured that it was written during the 10th century. However, according to Suniti Kumar Chatterji, it was composed between 10th and 12th century. Prabodh Chandra Bagchi upholds this view. Sukumar Sen, while supporting this view, also states that the Charyapada could have been written between the 11th and 14th centuries. However, Muhammad Shahidullah was of the opinion that the Charyapada dates back to an even earlier time. He maintained that it was likely to have been composed between 7th and 11th century. Rahul Sankrityayan thought that the Charyapada was probably written between 8th and 11th century.

Language

Haraprasad Shastri, in his introduction to the Charyacharya-vinishchaya, referred to the enigmatic language of its verses as "twilight language" (Sanskrit: Sandhya-bhasha), or Alo-andhari (half-expressed and half-concealed) based on the Sanskrit commentary of Munidatta. Vidhushekhara Shastri, on the basis of evidence from a number of Buddhist texts, later referred to this language as 'Intentional Language' (Sanskrit: Sandha-bhasha).

The padas were written by poets from different regions, and it is natural that they would display linguistic affinities from these regions. Different scholars have noted the affinities of the language of the Charyapada with Assamese, Odia, Bengali, and Maithili.

Affinities with Assamese

Luipa was from Kamarupa and wrote two charyas. Sarahapa, another poet, is said to have been from Rani, a place close to present-day Guwahati. Some of the affinities with Assamese are:

Negatives – the negative particle in Assamese comes ahead of the verb: na jãi (No. 2, 15, 20, 29); na jivami (No. 4); na chadaa, na jani, na disaa (No. 6). Charya 15 has 9 such forms.
Present participles – the suffix -ante is used as in Assamese of the Vaishnava period: jvante (while living, No. 22); sunante (while listening, No. 30) etc.
Incomplete verb forms – suffixes -i and -iya used in modern and Early Assamese respectively: kari (3, 38); cumbi (4); maria (11); laia (28) etc.
Present indefinite verb forms – -ai: bhanai (1); tarai (5); pivai (6).
Future – the -iva suffix: haiba (5); kariba (7).
Nominative case ending – case ending in -e: kumbhire khaa, core nila (2).
Dative-Accusative case ending – case ending in -aka: ṭhākuraka pariṇibittā (12), nāsaka thāti (21).
Instrumental case ending – case ending -e and -era: uju bate gela (15); kuthare chijaa (45).
Genitive case ending – case ending in -ara: sasara siṁge (41).
Locative case ending – case ending in -ata, e: māṅgata caṛhile (8), bāṭata milila (8), bājai bīranāde (11).

The vocabulary of the Charyapadas includes non-tatsama words which are typically Assamese, such as dala (1), thira kari (3, 38), tai (4), uju (15), caka (14) etc.

Affinities with Bengali

A large number of the Siddhacharyas who wrote the verses of Charyapada were from Bengal. The affinities with Bengali language are:

Genitive -era, -ara;
Locative -te, -e/A;
Nominative -Ta;
Present participles – the suffix -ante and -anta is used in Middle Bengali;
Present indefinite verb -ai that transformed into -e in modern Bangla;
Second Person Suffix -asi/si that transformed into -is in modern Bangla;
Incomplete verb forms of participles – suffixes -i and -iya used in modern poetry and Early and Middle Bangla both
Post-positional words like majha, antara, sanga;
Past and future bases -il-, -ib-;
Nominative case ending – case ending in e is prevalent in many dialects in modern Bangla (even certain situations in standard Bangla) as well as middle Bangla;
Instrumental case ending – case ending -e;
Conjunctive indeclinable -ia;
Conjunctive conditional -ite;
Passive -ia-
Substantive roots ach and thak.
Future the -iva suffix: haiba; kariba.

Ekaso (100), Padama (Padma:Lotus), Chausatthi (64), Pakhudi (petals) Tahin (there, in that), Charhi (climb/rise), nachai (dances), Dombi (a Bengali woman belonging to the scheduled caste, Domi/Domni), Bapuri (a Bengali word for 'poor fellow'; 'বাপুর, বাপুড়া')

Affinities with Bihari languages

Several scholars have noted the affinities of the Charyapadas with Bihari languages like Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri. Rahul Sankrityayan in his Puratatv Nibandhawali noted that most of the Siddhas who composed the poems were from Bihar and the language used was an early form of Magahi. The historian, K. P. Jayaswal deemed the Charyapada poems to be an early form of Maithili.

Affinities with Odia

The beginnings of Odia poetry coincide with the development of Charya Sahitya, the literature thus started by Mahayana Buddhist poets.

Rāga

Before each song in the manuscript, a Rāga is given to which it is to be sung. The complete set of rāga used in the Charyapada is list below.

While some of these Rāgas are extinct, the names of some of these Rāgas may actually be variant names of popular Rāgas we know today.

References

1. "The writers of the Charyapada, the Mahasiddhas or Siddhacharyas, belonged to the various regions of Assam, Kathmandu, Bengal, Orissa and Bihar". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
2. Shaw, Miranda; Shaw, Miranda (1995). Passionate Enlightenment::Women in Tantric Buddhism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-01090-8.
3. Guhathakurta, Meghna; van Schendel, Willem (2013). The Bangladesh Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-8223-5318-8. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
4. Kværne, Per (2010). An Anthology of Buddhist Tantric Songs: A Study of the Caryāgīti. Orchid Press. ISBN 978-974-8299-34-1. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
5. Bagchi Prabodhchandra, Materials for a critical edition of the old Bengali Caryapadas (A comparative study of the text and Tibetan translation) Part I in Journal of the Department of Letters, Vol.XXX, pp. 1–156, Calcutta University, Calcutta,1938 CE
6. Sen Sukumar (1995). Charyageeti Padavali (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, ISBN 81-7215-458-5, pp. 29–30
7. Sen Sukumar (1991) . Bangala Sahityer Itihas, Vol.I, (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, ISBN 81-7066-966-9, p. 55
8. Muhammad Shahidullah: Bangala Bhashar Itibritto, 2006, Mawla Brothers, Dhaka
9. Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol.IV, No.1, 1928 CE, pp. 287–296
10. Majumdar, R. C.; Pusalker, A. D.; Majumdar, A. K., eds. (1980) . The Delhi Sultanate. The History and Culture of the Indian People. Vol. VI (3rd ed.). Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. pp. 516, 519. OCLC 664485. The Charyāpadas of Old Bengali have also been claimed for Old Assamese ... Some Oriyā scholars, like those of Assam, regard the speech of the Charyāpadas to be the oldest form of their language. The Maithils have also made the same claim.
11. Language and Literature from The Comprehensive History of Assam Vol 1, ed H K Barpujari, Guwahati 1990
12. Dasgupta, Shashibhushan (1962) . Obscure Religious Cults. Calcutta: Firma KLM. p. 7. OCLC 534995.
13. Chatterjee, S.K. The Origin and Development of Bengali Language, Vol.1, Calcutta, 1926, p. 112
14. Dasa, Jnanendramohana (1937). "Bangala Bhashara abhidana". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
15. Prasad Sinha, Bindeshwari (1974). Comprehensive History Of Bihar, Volume 1, Part 2. KP Jayaswal Research Institute. p. 396.
16. Prusty, Dr Subrat. "Odia as a Classical Language". Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
17. Roy, Niharranjan, Bangalir Itihas: Adiparba (in Bengali), Dey's Publishing, Calcutta, 1993 CE, ISBN 81-7079-270-3, pp 637

Further reading

• Charjapad Samiksha by Dr. Belal Hossain, Dhaka: Borno Bichitrra.
• Bangala Bhasar Itibrtta, by Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah, 1959, Dhaka.
• Sen Sukumar, Charyageeti Padavali (in Bengali), Ananda Publishers, 1st edition, Kolkata, 1995, ISBN 81-7215-458-5.
• Shastri Haraprasad(ed.), Hajar Bacharer Purano Bangala Bhasay Bauddhagan O Doha (in Bengali), Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, 3rd edition, Kolkata, 1413 Bangabda (2006).

External links

• Caryāgītikoṣa (Fascimile Edition)
• Caryāgīti-koṣa of Buddhist Siddhas
• Old Bengali Texts (Caryāgīti)
• Les chants mystiques de Kāṇha et de Saraha
• Mystic Poems of Eighth Century India
• Milansagar

• Charyapada
• Bangladeshi poetry
• Buddhist poetry
• Pala Empire
• Vajrayana
• Kamrupi culture