Bodo Candidasa

There are several Candidasas in the history of Bengali literature. At least three can be distinguished and perhaps there are more. The one referred to as Bodo Candidas lived about a hundred years before Sri Caitanya and wrote a wonderful collection of songs called the Sri Krsna-kirtana in medieval Bengali. It is perhaps the second oldest work written in Bengali, being preceeded only by the old Tantric Buddhist texts called the Caryapadas . The Caryapadas are from about the 12th or 13th centuries. Apart from the Bengalis the Nepalese and the Odiyas claim the Caryapadas as examples of their early vernaculars. I think the Bengalis have the best case, however.

We intend to publish a translation of the Sri Krsna-kirtana with the original text at Blazing Sapphire Press. A fine translation already exists by Dr. Mimi Klaiman. We are negotiating with her for permission to republish her translation, but until then I have undertaken my own translation. It is, of course, the flimsiest of excuses for me to read that delightful piece of Bengali literature so important to Bengal's later literary history.