The wonderful role of minor characters in Chandidas's Padabali/ চণ্ডীদাসের পদাবলীতে অপ্রধান চরিত্রবৃন্দের অপূর্ব ভূমিকা

Abstract

Vaishnava Padavali are primarily love-filled devotional songs about the two main characters, Radha and Krishna. In their love affairs, countless side characters have aided them. While these characters haven't become dramatic figures, they have certainly emerged from the poetic realm, developing as much as the poetic needs required. Typically, side characters in literature exist for the evolution and development of the main characters, a responsibility that often leads them to lose their own identity. Yet, within the Vaishnava Padavali, poets and writers have spontaneously depicted small, poignant moments from the lives of these side characters. In this context, my discussion will focus on the various side characters portrayed in the Padavali of Chandidas, a leading poet and Padavakarta from the pre-Chaitanya era of Vaishnava Padavali literature.