The Rise of Shyama Sangeet in Bengal: Domestication of The Ferocious Kali

Bengali culture has a deep-seated devotion for Mother Goddesses. Durga and Kali are the major
goddesses that are worshipped in Bengal. The pujas have formed an identification of the culture.
The major reason behind the proliferation of Shakti worship is the Shakta poetry that was
initiated in the 17th and 18th century Bengal. Among the Shakta Poets, Ramprasad Sen ((1718-
1785) was the most prominent. He wrote more than 300 Shakta lyrical poems that are sung even
today. He wrote these songs under the patronage of Raja Krishnachandra Roy of Nadia. Durga
and Kali were the prime subjects of his poetry. In his poems, Durga was not seen as the
annihilator of Mahisasura but as Uma. She was seen as an ideal daughter and wife. These songs
or poems are known as Uma Sangeet. There are two types of Uma Sangeet - Agamoni (joyous
songs before the arrival of Uma and Bijoya ( grieving about Uma going back to Himalaya). His
poems are written from the perspective and compassion of Uma’s mother.
Songs or poems that are written for Kali are more famous than Uma Sangeet. These are known
as Shyama Sangeet. The tune of all the songs are similar, it is called Ramprasadi Sur. Ramprasad
was the first Shakta poets to write songs about Kali who was seen as grotesque, wearing a belt of
amputated arms, blood dripping from her fresh Mundamala (garland of severed heads).
Ramprasad’s songs were mostly about Dakshina Kali or Shyama. It is said the Ramprasad is the
new Valmiki who rescued Kali from the dacoits for the Bhaktas.”(McDermott, 2001, p. 3) She
was dressed in beautiful sarees, bejewelled, charming, soft, cosmic but also the mother of all.
Ramprasad’s songs for the first time tied Bhakta (devotee) and Sadhak (tantric practitioner)
together. Ramprasad himself was a Sadhak who was trapped in the materiality and the illusion of
the world with duties and responsibilities. The quest of attaining peace with inner self and the
desire to unite with the cosmic is predominant in all his songs. As Lex Hixon said, “The radical
freedom of the Goddess does not tempt the poet-saint to lead the chaotic life of a libertine. He
continues to hold his family responsibility and to perform his traditional worship, regarding both
as Mother Reality fully manifest.” (Hixon, 2004)

I came here to this marketplace

And, sold out, wait at the landing
Mother, the sun is dying. I need a boat,
And this boatman takes only those who can pay.
He demands money
But where will a poor man get it?
- Ramprasad Sen
Ramparasad’s love for Kali and her domestication became more prominent with the popularity
of Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) and the establishment of Dakshineswar Temple by
Rani Rashmoni in the year 1855. Ramkrishna did something that tantric Sadhak like Bamakhepa
- the mad saint (1837-1911, Birbhum, Tara Temple) could not do. Ramkrishna showed the
people of the urban Bengal that Kali is the mother of all.
This paper will try to explore: why such a Goddess was domesticated as a mother in Shakta
poetry? If it was for the sake of Bhaktism there was already Vaishnav Padavali from pre-1400
A.D in Bengal. And why she was seen as a self-absorbed mother who was surrounded by her
demanding children? She was praised and seen as a corrupted mother figure simultaneously in
each song. What was the reason for the Shakta poets to desire to be mothered by such a Mother
in a time of turmoil and famine?

Relationship between Shakta Padavali and Vaishnav Padavali

Vaishnav Padavali had gained its position in Bengal from 15th century with the padas written by
Maithili poet Vidyapati (1352-1448). (Chattopadhyay, 1928) who is said to be the first poet to
write poems in the then Bangla Bhasha (Mukhopaddhyay, 2018). And then with Bengali Vaishnava
poet, Chandi Das (1370-1433) who wrote more than 1000 poems on the love of Radha-Krishna.
(Chattopadhyay, 1928) The language that these poets followed was different from the 17th or 18th-
century literary texts. These texts were written in middle Bengali in Pre-Chaitanya era language
i.e Apabramsha or Abahatta (Mukhopaddhyay, 2018) which is a vernacularised Sanskrit. It was in
the post-Chaitanya era where the Bengali language started taking shape.
Vaishnav Padavali influenced the initiation of the Shakta Padavali. There is a strong connection
between both. The structure and the formulae are very similar. Both of them highlight the
relationship and the myriad of emotions between the divine and humans. Krishna is the prime
subject of the Vaishnav Padavali. The poems tended to stimulate Radhabhav or Sakhibhav
(Mukhopaddhyay, 2018) among the devotees through the depiction of Leela of Radha and Krishna.
In Shakta Padavali the characters are the poet and the Goddess. Kali became Shyama (Krishna -
Shyam). She was frivolous, beautiful, charming alike Krishna in Vaishnav Padavali. She was
given the charm and strength of Krishna and the poise of Radha by the Shakta poets.

Chandi Das was one of the early Vaishnava poets who used their names at the end of the poem
as their signature. This practice was known as Bhanita. He used Boru Chandi Das - ‘Boru’ was
the title he gained.
I placed a piece of wool to his nose,
Then only I perceived that he breathed,
There is breath, but there remains no life,
Delay not, my happiness depends on it!
Chandi Das saith (it is) the anguish of separation
In his heart, the only medicine is Radha. (online)
Even Shakta poets like Ramprasad and Kamalakanta used their name at the end of their poems.
This emphasized their personal relationship with the Goddess at the same time made themselves
a major subject of the poems.
Ramprasad says with amazement:
Grace and mercy in Her wild hair -
 Think of that
And all good things are yours.
Ramprasad Sen, Why should I go to Kashi? https://youtu.be/s-
1o8GYUu6A
Ramprasad had passive fights with another poet called Aju Goshanji who followed him
ardently. Every time Ramprasad wrote something new, Aju would write a reply back to him
wittily. He used the same form and tune that Ramprasad used. (Chattopadhyay, 1928)

Depiction of Kali in Mangalkavya

The image of Dakshina Kali emerges from the 11th century Mahabhagwat Purana in
Devibhagavat Purana. Before that, she is Ambika in Devi-Mahatmya a part of Markandeya
Purana in the 6th century. And then in the 13th century as Parvati in Brahmadharma Purana.
(McDermott and Kripal, 2003) Mangalkavya was written in Bengali between the 13th and 18th
century that emphasised many Hindu mother goddesses. But it was only in the 18th century Kali
finds her position in the Mangalkavya. Annadamangal wrote in 1752 by Bharatchandra Ray that
made Kali a part of the Goddess clan along with Sitala (goddess of pox and other epidemics),
Manasa (Serpent Goddess) and Sashti (the one who protects children). The book has 3 parts
Shivayan-Annadamangal, Vidyasundor-Kalikamangal and Mansingha-Annapurnamangal.
The story of Vidyasundar as Kalikamangal was primarily written in the medieval period by poet
Pranaram Chakraborty. But no one knows who funded him to write it. The reason it wasn’t
popular among the common because it was written imitating the Sanskrit texts. When the King
of Nadia Raja Krishnachandra crystalised the title of ‘Kaviranjan’ before the name Ramprasad
Sen. Ramprasad wrote the story of Vidyasundar as a token of gratitude and gifted it to
Krishnachandra Roy. (Chattopadhyay, 1928)
It is Kalikamangal that depicts the merciful and was domesticated for the first time. Kali who
was usually seen naked, grotesque and was always associated Tantric context was seen helping
saving lives. The story of Vidyasundar is part of Kalikamangal: Sundar a prince who is a devotee
of Kali seeks her help and impresses the princess Vidya. He sends flowers, letters, paintings
through a messenger in the palace. Sundar enters her room through a tunnel to confess his love.
Later the king, Vidya’s father came to know that she is pregnant he charged Sundar with a death
penalty. Sundar, a devotee of Kali seeks her favour and saves himself and marries Vidya.
(Bhattacharya, 1989) This essence of Kali is portrayed through Ramprasad’s Shyama Sangeet.
But if Mangalkavya already depicted the merciful and charming Kali then what was the need of
Shamya Sangeet or Shakta poetry? The language of the Mangalkavya is different from the daily
dialect of the people of Bengal. The narratives in all the Mangalkavya’s were restricted to a
certain class - in Manasamangal the story is about Manasa’s quest to be worshipped by Chand
Saodagar and how she used Lakhinder and Behula to attain her goal. In Chandimangal Ma
Chandi blesses Dhanapati Saodagar’s family. These stories were extremely relevant given the
political scenario of Bengal with the rise of Mughals and Marathi invaders. They were always
accentuating the lives of Baniks (traders) and Saodagars (merchants), kings and princes
marginalizing the farmers and lower castes. The Mangalkavya slowly became sabha Sahitya or
literature of the court. (Chatterjee, 2013) Here the emergence of Ramparasad’s poetry found its
effectiveness. Ramprasad used his poetry to talk about the broad population. Their struggles with
daily life and financial crises. The classic trends of Matsyanyay started being emphasized. The
interrelation of humans and the material world became prominent and how worshipping the
cosmic being is an arduous task - started to resonate with the people from all social strata with
the use of colloquial language:
Oh Mind, you don't know how to farm;
your human field has fallen fallow.
Cultivate it, and the crops you'll grow will gleam like gold.
Fence it round with Kali's name
so your harvest won't be harmed.
- Ramprasad Sen, O Mind, You Don’t Know How To Farm https://youtu.be/8T4tAcrhmK0
The use of metaphors like farming, flying kites, eating neem leaves made these songs closer to
the listeners that made them feel like Kali is a part of their family.
Ma Neem khawale chini bole kothae kore chhale
O Ma mithar lobhe titomukhe saradinta gelo
(Mother, you fed me neem - saying its sugar
O mother, the greed of sugar has made my mouth bitter, all day long)
- Ramprasad
Ramprasad uses metaphors like sugar, neem - sugar here becomes the destination each
sadhak and devotee. The bitterness from neem is the hardship one faces in the process of
getting to that destination.
Prasad says: the kite is going to take ff
In the southern breeze,
And on the other shore
Of this ocean of lives
It will dive fast to its freedom
- Ramprasad Sen
Kite here is a metaphorical version of soul and the southern breeze is death. The ocean here is
afterlife.
Shri Ramprasad says: He is a rich man
In whose house the Mother lives,
And, saying this he lays Her down
In Her small bed, fast asleep.
- Ramprasad Sen
The small bed is a small house, this proves that Ramprasad is not financially strong. But he is
rich because he has Mother Kali in his house.

The Socio-political context of Bengal in the 18th century and the relevance of Shyama Sangeet

The sociopolitical problem of Bengal at that time was also expressed in Mangalkavyas. With the
rise of the Mughals, the face of Bengal started to change. Though the Bengal was not having a
direct influence of the emperor. The climate of the delta was very different from that of the north
- the northerners felt alien. The Mughals also transferred their governors from one place to
another for imperial services thus there was never a permanent settlement that could create a
strong connection between the two. (Eaton, 2019) Even Bengal’s agricultural boom coincided
with the Mughal reign that made the imperial so interested in the province. Bengal was so rich in
farming that trading proliferated here that finds its way in Mangalkavya. The merchants used to
go to ‘Brahmadesh, Malay, Sumatra, Java, Indochina, Indonesia.’ (Choudhury, 2018, p. 580)
In 1700 during Aurangzeb’s tenure, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan (1717-1727) was appointed the
governor of Bengal who wanted to free himself from the imperial influence. (McDermott, 2001)
He created a robust zamindari system based on 6 most influential zamindars of Birbhum,
Bishnupur, Burdwan, Dinajpur, Nadia and Natore. (McDermott, 2001) The zamindars are the
one responsible for the social, economic and even the religious proliferation of Bengal. The
zamindari system was emphasized during the reign of Akbar where the rich traders,
moneylenders and merchants were given a chance to gain more fortune by making them
zamindars. They had to collect the revenue or Khajna from the farmers and the common people.
But during Murshid Quli Khan’s tenure, the framers were always taken care off. It was seen that
none of them was exploited by the zamindars. If crops were destroyed by natural causes the
farmers were reimbursed by Murshid Quli Khan. But one cannot say how much it helped the
farmers or the common people (Choudhury, 2018). Strong importance of money among the
people. That has been always portrayed through Ramparasad’s poems. Aurangzeb’s campaign
against Hinduism provoked the idea of worshipping Mother Goddesses.
 This gave rise to a Hindu ‘capitalist’ chain that derived its power from the Mughals and
Nawabs. But that does not necessarily mean they had a good relationship with them.
(McDermott, 2010) The Maratha invasion created a huge turmoil in Bengal. The Marathis did
not come during the monsoon so the farmers could grow their crop at that time but soon after that
they were looted by the Marathas. It has been clearly painted in texts like Tarikh-e-Mohabbat
Jung and Muzzafarnama by historian Yusuf Ali. (Choudhury, 2018) Many of the rich and
affluent families fled from Bengal. Raja Krishnachandra himself had to leave his residency.
Bengal also became the permanent settlement for the British East India Company. Nawab Ali
Wardi Khan alike Murshid Quli Khan understood the danger of the foreign traders. He tried
controlling them for a long time. But in the time of Maratha invasion Ali Wardi took 4 lakhs
from the British to help defeat the Marathis for which he had to withdraw all forces from the East
India Company. (Choudhury, 2018) After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the Nawabs and their
allies were defeated. Even the Zamindars had to face a considerable amount of problems as the
East India Company started interfering in state affairs. In 1760 a few Zamindars were humiliated
and robbed by the Company. Krishnachandra Roy could not fulfil his revenue payment and had
to sign a treaty to avoid being disposed of his ‘honour and land’. (McDermott, 2001) “Under the
Mughal rule, peasants were required to pay a tribute of 10-15 per cent of their cash harvest. This
ensured a comfortable treasury for the rulers and a wide net of safety for the peasants in case the
weather did not hold for future harvests. In 1765, the Treaty of Allahabad was signed and the
East India Company took over the task of collecting the tributes from the then Mughal emperor
Shah Alam II. Overnight the tributes, the British insisted on calling them tributes and not taxes
for reasons of suppressing rebellion, increased to 50 per cent. The peasants were not even aware
that the money had changed hands. They paid, still believing that it went to the Emperor.”
(Chakraborty, 2019)
In the 1770s the Famine hit Bengal that was known as the ‘Famine of 76’ or Chiattorer
Monnntor. Even the famine did not ease up the restrictions on the revenue. Almost 10 million
people were killed in the famine. Later it was found that the Krishnachandra’s grandson and
great-grandson were left with only a few hundred acres of land.
Raja Krishnachandra Roy of Nadia, who patronaged Shakta poets like Ramprasad Sen and
Kamalakanta. The time when Ramprasad wrote his songs and was immersed in Kali-prem was
not at all period of peace and well being. People struggled for daily meals. Even the zamindar
who patronized the poets was struggling. Then how and why did he continued supporting the
Shakta poets?
The way Radha-Krishna were portrayed were too unrealistic and ethereal for the political
scenario. Love and pleasure were delusional for the people at that time period. The
Mangalkavyas recited in particular pujas to create awareness among the people about the
Mughals, Turks or Afghans. But complex kavya could not be included in the daily lives of the
commoner. There was a need for easy lyrical poems that everyone can find accessible. With the
rise of power of Mughals and British - Kali was seen as an extremely powerful figure, whose
ferocity could tame the forces from outside.

The portrayal of Kali in Shyama Sangeet: The Ignorant Mother

The image of Mother is the primordial image, which one worships and identifies with the
supreme force of the world. It is both a personal as well as transcendental image. But Mother is
also a very complex character. She is deemed a grandiose form of a terrible mother. Kali being a
marginal deity at some point of historical time does not detract her position of being the most
powerful in the Tantric cult. Ramprasad’s Mother was adored for what she was - retaining her
terrifying and fearful appearance. At first, Kali was only worshipped by dacoits in Bengal and a
ghastly presence in Shamshans. Kali’s image was put in a social-personal place where the
modern and the traditional merge and form a new character.
The sentimentalism of separation finds its way into the Padavalis of Shakta poets like
Ramprasad. In Ramprasad’s songs, Kali’s ferocity has been subjected to an elaborate taming
process to incorporate her into the mainstream Mother Goddess cult.
The personal relationship with the Goddess has been well explored by Ramprasad. He becomes a
devotee, a son who needs his mother to save him from this world. For Ramprasad, Kali is the
deity who responds to personal devotion, who can grant both worldly wishes and spiritual
liberation. According to Ramprasad devotion is the key to alter ferocity of the Goddess.
Devotion juxtaposed with the Tantric aspect of Kali creates an oscillation in the poems or songs
from soothing to fearsome.
The Shyama Sangeet or the Padavalis that were used under the Bhakter Ankuti division
emphasizes the importance to be united with the divine and blessed by her. The poet here is
needy, demanding, childlike. But the lack of women poets of the community also reflects the
condition of the art and literature that was so male-dominated. Kali was a cosmic figure who was
called Prakriti or Nature by the poets at times to deem her as all-powerful. But did she really
have the power? The poet had the power to alter the Goddess - making her mother also making
her so ignorant and self-absorbing. The poet being the child even questions his mother’s way of
being:
Kali why you naked again?
Good grief, haven’t you any shame?
 Mother, don’t you have clothes?
Where is the pride of a kings daughter?
- Ramprasad Sen, Kali why you naked
On the other hand, praises her for her praises her for being untamed, strong and charming:
Mother, incomparably arrayed,
Hair flying, stripped-down,
You battle on Shiva’s heart,
A garland of heads that bounce off
Your heavy hips, chopped-off hands
For a belt, the bodies of infants
For earings and the lips
The teeth, like jasmine, the face
A lotus blossomed, the laugh
And the dark body boiling up and out
Like a storm cloud, and those feet
Whose beauty is only deepened by blood?
So Prasad cries: My name is dancing!
Can I take much more? Can I bear
An impossible beauty?
- Ramprasad Sen

Even, through his childishness, Ramprasad being the creator the poetry tried to propagate an
altered version of Kali that somehow merges with the notion of Uma. But does not coincide. She
is not seen as an ideal mother that society wants. She is termed as stone, cold-hearted,
Ramprasad even wrote a song where he said he won’t ever call Kali a mother. Those who cry for
freedom seek the dark Goddess. To this Vrinda Dalmiya said, “Praying to Kali becomes a
relentless litany of her faults and misdemeanours, and these are harped upon in the very act of
seeking redemption through her! So not only is Kali paradoxical herself but so also is the love of
Kali.”(Dalmiya, 2000) in one of his poems, Ramprasad writes
Ek bar khule de ma chokher thuli, dekhi sripad moner moto
Kuputra aneke hoye ma, Kumata noye kokhono toh||
Just for once open my eyes, let me see myself
There are many bad sons mother, no bad mother ever.
-Ramprasad Sen
Again in another he writes, Dosh karo noye go ma, ami shokhad sholile dube mori Shyama
(Mother it’s no one’s fault, it’s mine. I drown in my own waters Shyama) Ramprasad also holds
himself accountable for his own destruction in the name of Goddess. This creates a dynamic
contradiction in his poems or songs.
The social and political context - all the yearnings, the materiality of the physical world is
categorized as nothing compared to Kali’s feet. The role of a true devotee is played by gaining
the position at Kali’s feet and everything that is happening in the world will gradually lead to
that if one worships her. The genre that is most highlighted is Bhakter Akuti that depicts the
anguish and desire to seek the motherly love of the Goddess.
Through the poems one can read the twofold manifestation of Kali - one where she is ‘self-
asserting’ femininity not afraid to be the ferocious being, she is. On the other hand, she is the
embodiment of fear being aware of her sexuality and at the same time serving ‘patriarchal
purposes.’ (Dalmiya, 2000) The posture of Kali standing on Shiva can be seen as feminine
liberation and overcoming the oppression of the patriarchy. But the way Kali was seen through
the lens of devotionalism she well fits in the patriarchal motives. Ramprasad only tried breaking
the canonical representation of the Goddess and tried to bring her among her devotees by
manipulating her and taming her. But a powerful figure like Kali was much needed in the era of
destruction and chaos. Attaining the blessings of such a powerful mother became a thing of
rather a fascination to the Bengali culture.
A goddess who was feared by those who had no idea of who she is. Kali has been used as a
figure to evoke nationalism repeatedly. In the 19th century, she became Desh-mata in the songs
written by Kaji Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore. She became an embodiment of
femininity and highest reality in poems by Sarojini Naidu but all of them depicted Kali as a
mother. Someone whom they can personalize and relate to their current social structure. That
could not be done with Vaishnava Padavali or in Mangalkavya. Ramprasad rather saw it as an
urgency to call Kali a mother with the invasion of the Marathas and the interference of the
British. To be linked with such a fierce and ferocious Goddess gave the common people the
strength to hold on to themselves and fight against all adversities.

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(translated songs by Ramprasad)