Padma-puran [The ancient (history) of Padma]

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Resources

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

Padmā-purāņ

[the ancient (history) of Padmā] or the

Manasā-mangal

[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

mańgalakābya

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

Padmā-purāņ

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 22 December 2024.]

19593 Padma-puran [The ancient (history) of Padma] 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.