Kapalkundala
Encyclopedia
Kapalkundala is a Bengali
romance
novel
by Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
. Published in 1866, it is a story of a forest-dwelling girl named Kapalkundala, who fell in love and got married to Nabakumar, a young gentleman from Saptagram
, but eventually found that she is unable to adjust herself with the city life. Following the success of Chattopadhyay’s first novel Durgeshnandini, he decided to write about a girl who is brought up in a remote forest by a Kapalik
(Tantrik sage) and never saw anyone but his foster-father. The story is set in Dariapur, Contai in modern-day Purba Medinipur district, Paschimbanga (West Bengal
) where Chattopadhyay served as a Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector.
Kapalkundala is considered as one of the finest and the most popular of Chattopadhyay’s novels. It has been translated into English, German, Hindi, Gujrati, Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit. Girish Chandra Ghosh
, one of the pioneers of Bengali drama, and Atul Krishna Mitra dramatized the novel separately.
, got lost in a forest while returning from pilgrimage. He met a Tantric
sage who trapped him, intending to make him a sacrifice
to goddess Kali
; but was later freed secretly by Kapalkundala, the sage’s foster-daughter. She, at once, fall in love with Nabakumar and with the help of a village priest they got married on the next day. The priest urged Nabakumar to take Kapalkundala away from her wicked foster-father and also showed Nabakumar his way to Saptagram. Nabakumar returned home with his newly-wed wife Kapalkundala, now re-christened as Mrinmoyee. The sage, on the other hand, got annoyed at Kapalkundala’s betrayal and began to plot his revenge. In the meantime, Nabakumar met Padmabati, his first wife, who was converted to Islam
by his father, making Nabakumar to desert her. Padmabati, now renamed as Motibibi, expressed his love for Nabakumar, but he refused her. Later the sage came to Saptagram and met Motibibi. The sage wanted to kill Kapalkundala, but Motibibi wanted to separate her from Nabkumar only. They made a plot to prove Kapalkundala unfaithful. Padmabati called Kapalkundala to meet her in a nearby forest and she, herself, came there in a man’s disguise. The sage show Nabakumar that Kapalkundala came out at night to meet a ‘man whom she loves’. Then the sage make the angry Nabakumar bring Kapalkundala to the sacrificial ground where Kapalkundala reveals the truth to him. Nabakumar came to his senses and he asked Kapalkundala to come with him to home, but she refused and jumped into the river. Nabakumar also jumped into the river to save her, but both of them were lost.
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
romance
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India’s national song Vande Mataram, originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring the activists during the Indian Freedom Movement...
. Published in 1866, it is a story of a forest-dwelling girl named Kapalkundala, who fell in love and got married to Nabakumar, a young gentleman from Saptagram
Saptagram
Saptagram was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the...
, but eventually found that she is unable to adjust herself with the city life. Following the success of Chattopadhyay’s first novel Durgeshnandini, he decided to write about a girl who is brought up in a remote forest by a Kapalik
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
(Tantrik sage) and never saw anyone but his foster-father. The story is set in Dariapur, Contai in modern-day Purba Medinipur district, Paschimbanga (West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
) where Chattopadhyay served as a Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector.
Kapalkundala is considered as one of the finest and the most popular of Chattopadhyay’s novels. It has been translated into English, German, Hindi, Gujrati, Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit. Girish Chandra Ghosh
Girish Chandra Ghosh
Girish Chandra Ghosh was a Bengali musician, poet, playwright, novelist, theatre director and actor. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre. He can be referred to as the Father of Bengali Theatre...
, one of the pioneers of Bengali drama, and Atul Krishna Mitra dramatized the novel separately.
Synopsis
Nabakumar, a young gentleman from SaptagramSaptagram
Saptagram was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the...
, got lost in a forest while returning from pilgrimage. He met a Tantric
Tantric
Tantric can refer to:*Tantra, especially Hindu Tantra and tantric yoga*Neotantra, a term used to describe the modern, western use of the word Tantra*Tantric Buddhism, see Vajrayana*Tantric , a hard rock band from Louisville, Kentucky...
sage who trapped him, intending to make him a sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
to goddess Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
; but was later freed secretly by Kapalkundala, the sage’s foster-daughter. She, at once, fall in love with Nabakumar and with the help of a village priest they got married on the next day. The priest urged Nabakumar to take Kapalkundala away from her wicked foster-father and also showed Nabakumar his way to Saptagram. Nabakumar returned home with his newly-wed wife Kapalkundala, now re-christened as Mrinmoyee. The sage, on the other hand, got annoyed at Kapalkundala’s betrayal and began to plot his revenge. In the meantime, Nabakumar met Padmabati, his first wife, who was converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
by his father, making Nabakumar to desert her. Padmabati, now renamed as Motibibi, expressed his love for Nabakumar, but he refused her. Later the sage came to Saptagram and met Motibibi. The sage wanted to kill Kapalkundala, but Motibibi wanted to separate her from Nabkumar only. They made a plot to prove Kapalkundala unfaithful. Padmabati called Kapalkundala to meet her in a nearby forest and she, herself, came there in a man’s disguise. The sage show Nabakumar that Kapalkundala came out at night to meet a ‘man whom she loves’. Then the sage make the angry Nabakumar bring Kapalkundala to the sacrificial ground where Kapalkundala reveals the truth to him. Nabakumar came to his senses and he asked Kapalkundala to come with him to home, but she refused and jumped into the river. Nabakumar also jumped into the river to save her, but both of them were lost.
Sequel
In 1874, Damodar Mukhopadhyay, a relative of Chattopadhyay, wrote Mrinmayee, a sequel to Kapalkundala. Mukhopadhyay also wrote Nabab-Nandini, a sequel to Chattopadhyay’s first work Durgeshnandini, in 1901.Bengali
- 1929: Kapalkundala, starring Durgadas Bannerjee, Indira Devi, Sita Devi, directed by Priyanath N. Ganguly.
- 1933: Kapalkundala, starring Durgadas Bannerjee, Manoranjan Bhattacharya and Molina Devi, directed by Premankur AtorthyPremankur AtorthyPremankur Atorthy was a novelist, journalist, and film director, born in Faridpur. His father, Mahesh Chandra Atorthy, was a propagator and writer of the brahma samaj. Premankur's initial schooling started at Brahmo School, Kolkata...
. - 1952: Kapalkundala, directed by Ardhendu Mukherjee.
- 1981: Kapalkundala, starring Bhanu Banerjee, Ranjit Mallick, Mahua Roy Chowdhury, directed by Pinaki Bhushan Mukherji.
Hindi
- 1939: Kapal Kundala, starring Sailen Choudhury, Leela Desai and Najmul Hussain, directed by Nitin Bose, Phani Majumdar.