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Manipuri Literature in History - Part 4 - - The Epics Of The Seven Incarnations - |
By: Thingnam Kishan Singh * |
THE EPICS OF THE SEVEN INCARNATIONS
The literary tradition that prevailed till the encounter with Hinduism was rooted in the indigenous script, language, culture and social milieu. A pertinent aspect of this literature of the early period is its distinct character unmarked by any traces of outside influence. This remained a characteristic feature till the dawn of the eighteenth century.[6] CULTURE BY DICTAT The close of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century mark a turning point in the history of Manipur. The year 1709 witnessed the ascension of Pamheiba to the throne after the death of his father King Charairongba. Rechristening himself as Maharaja Garibniwaz, he issued a dictat pronouncing Hinduism as the new religion of Manipur under the influence of the proselytising Bengali Vaisnavite, Shantidas Goswami. This act engendered an upheaval with colossal implications for a society's identity. Opposition and resistance to this autocratic move to obliterate the traditional faith and culture were brutally repressed. The king and his Bengali mentor left no stone unturned to erase traces of the indigenous faith. Places of worship were destroyed, worship of traditional and local ancestral deities, traditional rituals and rites, including Lai Haraoba festivals, were immediately banned. Burial of the dead was replaced by cremation. Along with the imposition of Hinduism, the manuscripts and texts in the indigenous script were confiscated and burnt in full public view. Universal use of the indigenous script was replaced by the Bengali script. Shantidas Goswami composed an entirely different chronicle in Bengali known as Vijay Panchali, which was a deliberate attempt to efface the history of the people. It projected the land as Manipur of (the Hindu epic) Mahabharata and traced the lineage and genealogy of the first King of Manipur to Chandrabhanu whose daughter Chitrangada was married to Arjuna, the great Pandava archer. Brabrubahana was the son born of this wedlock. His son Yavistha was then identified with Nongda Lairen Pakhangba who first ascended the throne in Kangla in AD 33. Imported art forms like the Natya Sankirtan actively encouraged by the royal power gained popularity. Corruption in language became the order of the day as the elite and aristocratic class got increasing exposure to Indo-Aryan languages like Sanskrit and Bengali. Manipuri vocabulary witnessed introduction of many new words from these languages. continued.... * Thingnam Kishan Singh wrote this article for Eastern Quarterly. This article was webcasted on May 29th, 2007. |
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