Volume II,Issue IV, March 2026
Volume-II, Issue-IV, March, 2026 |
Received: 25.03.2026 | Accepted: 27.03.2026 | ||
Published Online: 31.03.2026 | Page No: | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.issue.04W. | |||
উপেন্দ্রকিশোর রায়চৌধুরীর শিশুসাহিত্যে পুরাণ প্রসঙ্গ: নির্বাচিত পাঠ পৃথ্বীশ মজুমদার, রাজ্য সাহায্য প্রাপ্ত কলেজ শিক্ষক, মুর্শিদাবাদ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
Puranic Themes in the Children’s Literature of Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury: A Selected Study
Prithwish Majumdar, SACT-I, Murshidabad University, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
Various stories from the Puranas have been prevalent for a long time. These are not merely tales that glorify gods and goddesses, but they also impart moral lessons and true knowledge to the entire human race. However, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Hinduism began to face attacks from various directions. Especially in that situation, there was a strong need to rewrite the Puranas—an essential part of Indian tradition—in a way that would revive a sense of heritage among the people of India. At the same time, it is also a social responsibility to sow the seeds of growth in young minds by awakening their consciousness. With this determination, Upendrakishor Roy Chowdhury, during that turbulent and rebellious period of the nineteenth century, composed stories from Indian traditional Puranas suitable for shaping the future of young minds. His objective was to provide true education to children and to introduce young readers to Indian heritage. He presented some of the stories from Indian traditional Puranas in the form of short, child-friendly narratives. Some such Puranic stories have been included in his work “upendrakishor samagra.” In the present project, a discussion has been made on selected stories from among the twenty-six tales in his collection of mythological narratives. At the beginning of the discussion, the story titled “indra howar sukh” has been analyzed. Taken from the “udyoga Parva” of the Mahabharata, the discussion highlights how the story was reconstructed to make it suitable for young readers. From this story, young readers learn that arrogance born of power ultimately leads to destruction. Similarly, from the story “ganesher bibaha,” taken from the Shiva Purana, one learns that labor without wisdom is futile—that working with intelligence leads to proper and positive results. The next story is taken from the “Devi mahatmyam.” From the story of “mahishasur,” one learns that evil forces are inevitably destroyed and good ultimately triumphs. The subsequent story, “shumbha and sishumbha,” also taken from the “Devi mahatmyam,” teaches that arrogance and pride ultimately bring about destruction. In this way, he reshaped the complex and heavy narratives of the original Puranas into forms suitable for young readers, awakening in them both an appreciation for the greatness of the Puranas and a sense of righteous wisdom. | ||
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