ইতিহাস ও কল্পনার পুনর্নির্মাণে রাখালদাস বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের ‘শশাঙ্ক’/ ITIHAS O KOLPONAR PUNARNIRMANE RAKHALDAS BANDOPADDHAYER ‘SHOSHANKO’

Abstract

Shashanka was a ruler of ancient Bengal who is believed to have reigned in the seventh century CE. He occupies a significant place in the history of Bengal. It is generally believed that he consolidated several small kingdoms and established the political entity known as Gauda. Focusing on the personal and political life of Shashanka, the historian and archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay wrote a historical novel entitled Shashanka. The novel is a significant contribution to the tradition of Bengali historical fiction. It is not merely a narrative of a political episode from the past; rather, it brings together multiple layers of historical reconstruction, the search for national identity, religious conflict, and colonial historiography. Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay’s identity as an archaeologist and historian lends a distinctive dimension to his literary creation. Working within the limitations of historical sources and confronted with contradictory accounts, he constructs an alternative representation of Shashanka. In particular, in contrast to the negative image of Shashanka found in Banabhatta’s Harshacharita and the Aryamanjushrikalpa, the novel attempts to portray him as a powerful and politically conscious ruler who was actively engaged in establishing the distinct political identity of Gauda.

         This paper examines the relationship between history and imagination in Shashanka, the construction of Shashanka’s character, the interrelationship between religion and politics, nationalist historical consciousness, and the reconstruction of the past within the colonial context. The central argument of the paper is that Shashanka should not be read merely as a historical novel; rather, it should be understood as an important example of how history is reconstructed through literary narrative and how such reconstruction becomes connected with contemporary questions of identity and selfhood. As an archaeologist and historian of considerable standing, Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay entered the field of fiction with the intention of making the history of ancient Bengal accessible and engaging to the general reader. The limitations of Pashaner Katha made him realise that it was difficult to awaken historical consciousness among ordinary readers through purely research-oriented historical writing. It was from this need that the idea of Shashanka emerged. The novel brings together the political history of seventh-century Bengal and northern India, the legacy of the Gupta Empire, the rise of regional political powers, and the question of Bengal’s political existence. At the same time, alongside historical figures, Bandyopadhyay introduces fictional characters such as Yashodhabal, Chitra, Latika, and Shatrusen, as well as various subplots, thereby combining historical narrative with the aesthetic appeal and dramatic possibilities of fiction.

         This paper therefore analyses the motivation behind the composition of Shashanka, its historical consciousness, narrative structure, characterisation, the political and religious conflict involving Buddhism, the relationship between history and imagination, and the author’s attempt to construct a sense of Bengali identity. Through these aspects, the novel can be understood as a literary reconstruction of the past in which historical inquiry, creative imagination, and the search for collective identity intersect.