Buddhist era and Buddhist adjuncts in Rabindrakavya/ রবীন্দ্রকাব্যে বৌদ্ধযুগ ও বৌদ্ধ অনুষঙ্গ

Abstract

Time waits for none. It loves to follow its own rule and that is why as a natural rule we came in the modern age and presently living in the 21^st century. But the impression and history of the past continuously influence our mind and thoughts that reflect in the literature. Country after country and even across the world the people are much interested in the present and future but they can never deny the past especially when they are alone. Here we can say that probably people want to feel and cherish the true meaning of life remembering the history. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate, also does not go out of rhythm. He is not exceptional. He was also influenced by the past. The Buddhist, Vedic and Upanishad eras were very notable and important periods in ancient India. We can see the influence of Veda and Upanishad in Tagore’s literature but we can also see the influence of the Buddhist era greatly. Tagore was mesmerized with the Buddhist culture, customs, virtues, dignity, morality, philosophy, teachings and lessons and mostly the virtues of sacrifice and renunciation of Gautama Buddha. As a result, we can observe that a great portion of Tagore’s literature is occupied with the characters, events and history of the Buddhist era. This paper attempts to explore how Tagore uses the elements of Buddhist culture, creed and adherence in his poetry and other genre of literature. The main objectives of this paper are to find out Tagore’s attraction to the Buddhist era, to explore the implication of the Buddhist culture, characters and philosophy in Tagore’s literature and finally to find out the outcome of the Buddhist philosophy and adherence in Tagore’s life and poetry.