মধুসূদন দত্তের ‘বীরাঙ্গনা কাব্য’-এ শৃঙ্গার রস : একটি সমীক্ষাত্মক আলোচনা/ Madhusudaner Dutter ‘Virangana Kavya’-a sringara rasa : ekti samikshatmak alochana

Abstract

Madhusudan Dutta’s ‘Virangana kavya’ (1862) occupies a significant position in nineteenth-century Bengali literature for its innovative synthesis of classical Indian mythology, epic tradition, and modern psychological consciousness. Composed in the form of letters written by legendary heroines to their beloveds, the work provides a distictive literary space for the expression of love, longing, separation, desire, jealousy, wounded pride, and emotional conflict. Among the various aesthetic dimensions of the work, sringara rasa occupies a central and significant position. This article aims to critically examine the representation, development, and artistic application of sringara rasa in ‘Virangana’ kavya.

            The study includes almost every eleven letters from this book but the main focuses particularly on selected letters such as ‘Dushmanter prati Shakuntala’, ‘Somer prati Tara’, ‘Lakshmaner prati Suparnakha’, ‘Krishner prati Rukmani’, ‘Pururbar prati Urvashi’, ‘Arjuner prati Shubhadra’ etc. which are elaborately highlights the loving relationships among the couples. Through this mythological and epic characters, Mdhusudan presents diverse emotional manifestations of love. Tara’s letter to Soma reveals the complexities of emotional attachment and desire, while Sakuntala’s address to Dusyanta evokes the tenderness of remembered love, separation, expectation, and frustrated longing. Rummani’s expression of love towards Krishna reflects passionate longing and anticipation of union. Similarly, Urvashi’s relationship with Pururba foregrounds desire, attachment, separation, and emotional conflict. Draupadi’s address to Arjuna introduce love, intensity within an epic framework.

            The paper examines the two principal froms of sringara – Sambhoga sringara and Vipralambha sringara - with particular attention to the latter. Feelings pf viraha, mana, abhimana, jealousy, remembrance, expectation, and unfulfilled desire become important elements in the emotional construction of the heroines. Love in ‘Virangana Kavya’ is therefore not merely physical attraction; it becomes a comolex psychological and aesthetic experience.

            Another important objective of this study is to explore female subjectivity in Madhusudan’s poetry. By allowing mythological women to speak in their own voices, the poet gives them emotional agency and psychological depth. The epistolary form enables the heroines to articulate their desires, grievances, anxieties, and personal perspectives.

            The study further examines the relationship between Sanskrit rasa theory and Madhusudan’s modern literary consciousness. His treatment of sringara demonstrates a creative interaction between classical aesthetics, Bengali literary tradition, and modern psychological representation. Thus, ‘Virangana Kavya’ emerges as a traditional heroine, in which love becomes a powerful medium of emotional expression, psychological exploration, and artistic innovation.