Quite a few indigenous performances in Bangladesh are based on a body of texts that seek to establish the worship of Manasā, also known as Padmā, the goddess of serpents. Commonly known as

[the ancient (history) of Padmā] or the

[Wellbeing of Manasā], these texts in rhymed metrical verse were composed mostly from the 15th to the 18th centuries, and are classed under a genre of medieval literature known as the

[“auspicious poetry” or “poems of well-being”]. The

relate the struggle between Manasā and the merchant-prince Čhād Saodāgar, who refuses to acknowledge Manasā as a deity. The general scheme of the narrative may be divided into three ‘movements’. The first of these describes the birth of Manasā from…

574 words

Citation: Ahmed, Syed Jamil. "Padma-puran [The ancient (history) of Padma]". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 August 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19593, accessed 31 October 2024.]