Alaol’s Padmavati and Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad - Essay by Naima Parvin

 

Alaol’s Padmavati and Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad: The Dual Epic of Creation and Preservation of Bangla Language and Literature.

Naima Parvin

An essay penned by Naima Parvin, based on her research on the history of Bangla literature. The essay is published in Our Language - Bangla, a Monon Mukur Media e-publication, exclusively available in shobdomukur.com.

The e-publication is edited by Kothar Kagoj editorial board.

If the Bangla language and literature are likened to a long river, then its two banks are creation and preservation. On one bank, writers and poets give the language fresh rhythm, imagination and expression, while on the other, researchers recover its past and hand that heritage to the future. Without considering both banks together, the history of the Bangla language remains incomplete. In medieval Bangla literature, Syed Alaol (c. 1607–1680) stands out as a pre‑eminent representative of creative literary energy; and in the modern era, Abdul Karim Literary Expert (1871–1953) is one of the foremost figures dedicated to the preservation, editing and recovery of that literary legacy.

One might ask, “How is the history of a language created?” The answer cannot be given in a single sentence. The history of a language is not shaped solely by the grammatical rules found in textbooks. A language grows through stories, poems, folk rhymes, songs, oral tradition, and the everyday speech of its people. To understand a language’s history, it is necessary to know who wrote what, at what time, how new words, rhythms and ideas entered the language, and how those works survived. There are two kinds of people who keep a language alive: first, the creative individuals who produce new literature; second, the preservers or researchers who seek out, record and safeguard that literature.

In the long journey of Bangla literature, certain personalities emerge whose contributions fundamentally transform the literary practice of subsequent generations. At one end of that creative spectrum stands the great narrative poet of the medieval era, Syed Alaol, and at the other stands a learned scholar and preserver of texts, Abdul Karim Literary Expert. One elevated the artistic refinement of Bangla poetry, while the other brought to light the lost steps of the language’s deep history. Their contributions are not merely personal creative achievements—they are deeply intertwined with the very existence, heritage and development of the Bangla language.

In both medieval and modern Bangla literature, these two are remembered distinctly for their very different roles: the poet Alaol, who elevated medieval Bangla poetry through his epic Padmavati; and Abdul Karim Literary Expert, who collected, catalogued and edited thousands of old manuscripts, thereby rescuing the history of Bangla literature.

The seventeenth century, during which Alaol wrote, was a crossroads of cultural contact. The Arakan royal court, the river routes of Bengal, its port towns, and the interweaving of religion and politics together created a complex cultural environment. In contrast, the period in which Abdul Karim  Literary Expert worked—the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century—saw Bangla literature entering modernity, while many medieval documents and manuscripts faced destruction. One shaped the form of the language; the other preserved its memory. This dual role is rare in the history of the Bangla language.

Syed Alaol: From Personal Tragedy to Literary Achievement

Alaol’s life can be considered a narrative of epic proportions. Born around 1607 in Jalalpur in the Bengal Subah, he was educated in Bangla, Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. On a river voyage with his father, they were attacked by Portuguese pirates; his father was killed and the young Alaol taken captive to Arakan (now Rakhine State, Myanmar).

In the Arakanese royal court, Alaol initially worked as a bodyguard and later gained recognition for his poetic talent. His earliest supporters included Magan Thakur and other influential courtiers. He gained proficiency in multiple languages, establishing himself as a Pandit Kabi (scholar-poet) who combined emotional depth with intellectual rigour.

The multicultural environment of the Arakan court, where Bangla, Persian, Arabic and local traditions intersected, was crucial to the evolution of his literary style. Alaol did not confine Bangla literary expression to regional boundaries; instead, he developed it within a wider cultural and political sphere.

Padmavati: Translation, Adaptation, or New Creation?

Alaol’s most distinguished work is Padmavati, an epic poem written in 1648 under the patronage of Magan Thakur. It was inspired by Padmavat, the Awadhi epic by Malik Muhammad Jayasi. Though often described as a translation, medieval translation was not a literal, word‑for‑word exercise. Instead, it involved interpretation and adaptation—reshaping plot, character and linguistic flavour to suit a new readership. In this sense, a successful translation can itself become a new creation.

In Padmavati, Alaol blended narrative romance with ethical and emotional depth. While Jayasi’s original contains Sufi metaphors, Alaol preserved these while bringing human elements—love, separation, courage, jealousy, sacrifice—more vividly into narrative focus. As a result, Padmavati transcends incidental religious themes and becomes a story of human emotion, adventure, loyalty and political tension. Even today, its combination of romance and drama continues to captivate readers.

The Flavour of the Narrative: Love, Adventure and Politics

The epic Padmavati tells a condensation of heroic romance: Ratan Sen, king of Chittor, hears of the beauty and virtues of Padmavati, the princess of Sinhala, and sets out to win her. Overcoming many obstacles, they marry, but Sultan Alauddin Khalji of Delhi invades Chittor driven by desire for Padmavati. The narrative weaves daring adventure, political conflict, moral tensions and tragic sacrifice, creating a timeless tale that appeals to readers of all ages.

Alaol’s Contribution to the Bangla Language

a) Refined poetic language and metrical practice: In many medieval texts, literary language was often highly formulaic or religious in tone. Alaol enriched Bangla poetry with courtly narratives and elevated lexical choices, creating refined patterns of metre, ornamentation and emotional expression.

b) Multicultural synthesis: His poetry emerged from a synthesis of Bangla, Persian and Arabic literary traditions, expanding the expressive range of the Bangla language without diminishing its identity.

c) Elevation of translation to artistry: By creatively adapting foreign epics rather than simply translating them, Alaol showed how translation could invigorate and broaden the language itself.

Abdul Karim Literary Expert: The Artisan of Memory

If Alaol represents literary creation, then Abdul Karim Literary Expert represents preservation. Born in Suchakradandi village of Patiya Upazila in Chattogram, he became a teacher and later served as a school inspector. Yet his defining role was as a collector of old Bangla manuscripts (puthis) and a chronicler of literary history.

Through the course of his life, he collected more than 2,000 puthis, including over 1,000 written by Muslim Bangla writers—a notable achievement unmatched by any individual or organisation before his time. These manuscripts preserve literary traditions, folk tales, and narrative works at risk of being lost forever.

What is a Puthi  and Why Does It Matter?

A puthi is a handwritten manuscript. In a time when the printing press was rare, puthis were the main carriers of literary culture. Often only one copy existed; if it were lost, the work perished with it. Collecting puthis was therefore an act of preserving the “memory” of the language itself.

Abdul Karim, a literary expert published Bangala Prachin Puthir Bivaran, a catalog of ancient Bangla puthis, in two volumes in 1920–21 through the Bangiya Literary Council.The majority of his manuscript collection, particularly those written by Muslim poets, is preserved in the Dhaka University Library, while the remainder, primarily works by Hindu poets, is housed in the Varendra Research Museum in Rajshahi.

Recovering Lost Literary History

One of his most remarkable achievements was bringing to light the names and works of about a hundred medieval Muslim poets who were previously almost unknown. He also edited and published eleven ancient Bangla texts, preparing them—through comparison, error correction and annotation—for print and scholarly use. In collaboration with Dr Muhammad Enamul Haq, he co‑authored Arakan Rajsabhaya Bangla Sahitya, a work that deepens understanding of Bangla literature produced in the Arakan court.

Preserving Padmavati  for Future Generations

For Padmavati to reach modern readers reliably, a critically edited text was essential. Abdul Karim Literary Expert’s editing work ensured that Alaol’s language, rhythm and narrative survived intact. If Alaol was the river’s source, then Sahitya Bisharad was the custodian who protected the river so that future generations could drink from it.

Influence on the History of the Bangla Language

Filling historical gaps and reviving forgotten voices:
Through his manuscript collection, works by poets such as Daulat Qazi, Syed Sultan, Muhammad Khan and others were documented and recognised. His work established that Bangla literary heritage is a shared cultural achievement.

Establishing a foundation for research:
Without catalogues of manuscripts, their locations and authorship details, literary research would be severely impeded. His systematic documentation provides the structural backbone for ongoing scholarship.

Affirming Bangla as cultural heritage:
By evidencing the Muslim contribution to medieval Bangla literature, he strengthened recognition of the language’s pluralistic heritage against narrow debates over ownership of linguistic identity.

Alaol and Literary Expert Abdul Karim: The Union of Two Beacons

One was the architect of Bangla poetic form; the other was the guardian of its historical memory. Alaol elevated the Bangla language to artistic distinction; Literary Expert Abdul Karim carefully handed down its cultural memory to the future. Their relationship in the development of the Bangla language is one of natural harmony. Through the dual streams of creation and preservation, Bangla literature achieved its fullness.

Simply stated, Alaol enriched the Bangla language with poetic beauty, romantic narrative, and refined metre and ornamentation, particularly through translations such as Padmavati. On the other hand, Abdul Karim recovered the lost documents, manuscript heritage, and evidence of medieval Muslim literary practice. As a result, the history of Bangla literature became more complete. One enriched the language; the other completed its history.

Conclusion

The following points in this essay are especially noteworthy:

(1) The notion that ‘everything can be known if the internet exists’ is false. What appears on the internet is itself the result of someone’s collection, preservation, and editing. Without people like Sahityabisharad, much of the work of poets and writers such as Alaol might not have survived.

(2) Translation should not be regarded as inferior. Translation introduces stories from new lands, times, and cultures and enriches one’s own language. Alaol demonstrated that translation can itself be a supreme form of art.

(3) Language is not merely an examination subject; it is part of identity. The more stories a language contains, the stronger it becomes. Both Alaol and Abdul Karim Sahityabisharad enhanced that strength of the Bangla language.

The history of the Bangla language is a long journey—sometimes of love poetry, sometimes of war narratives, sometimes of literary revival from the dust of lost manuscripts. In this journey, Alaol showed how love, romance, politics, and human emotion can be woven together in Bangla; and Abdul Karim Sahityabisharad showed how lost literature can be recovered and a nation’s cultural heritage preserved. To love the Bangla language, therefore, is not only to speak it beautifully, but also to respect its creativity, heritage, and history as our responsibility and duty.

References:

1. Bangladesh National Web Portal

1. Alaol Padmavati — Syed Ali Ahsan

1. Mahakabi Alaol: Jiban o Kabbyo — Wakil Ahmed

1. Abdul Karim Sahityabisharad: Oitijjhya Onneshar Pragya Purush — Dr Abul Ahsan Chowdhury

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