ABHISAR STAGE OF VAISHNAVA PADAVALI : A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VIDYAPATI, CHANDIDAS, GOVINDADAS AND GYANADAS/ ‘অভিসার’ পর্যায়ের পদ রচনায় বিদ্যাপতি, চণ্ডীদাস, গোবিন্দদাস এবং জ্ঞানদাস : একটি তুলনামূলক পর্যালোচনা

Abstract

Generally, the medieval period is referred to as an era of deity-centered literature, because throughout the entire period, devotional lyrical poetry glorifying deities held a dominant place as a subject of literary practice. This is not untrue, yet it is not the whole truth either. In this period, although the literary works created by the poets give prominence to the divine, they contain even more human elements. A large part of medieval Bengali literature is occupied by the vaishnava padavali. Although the miraculous love-play of Radha and Krishna is the central theme of the vaishnava padavali, we would say that the vaishnava padavali is not merely songs of the deities, but also an expression of the story of human life. The intention here is not to describe the divine plays of the deities, rather the focus of discussion has been on how the works of pre-chaitanya poets like vidyapati and chandidas differ from those of post-chaitanya poets like Govindadas and Gyanadas particularly as seen in the Abhisar-phase poems.