Bangladeshis are hard-working people; they are not afraid to try their luck outside of their comfort zone. Even hundreds of years ago, we saw that it was evident that people of Chittagong were visiting Arakan, a state of current Myanmar, for earning a living and also for an adventure. Daulat Qazi is no different. In his early adulthood, he went to the court of Arakan as he did not find any suitable job according to his capabilities. There, he worked under Ashraf Khan, a commanding officer of King Thirithudhamma (Sudharma), who ruled from 1622 to 1638. Ashraf Khan was in charge of the administration, while the king was engrossed in royal pleasures such as hunting. After spending 12 years in this way, his official coronation took place in 1635 AD. There is evidence in his poem that both Khan and Qazi were Sufis. Daulat Qazi was a Sufi in his belief, and some traces of Sufi mysticism may be found under the allegory of his poem, Qazi was a poet of considerable merit, having full control over Bengali language. He is all the more praiseworthy for his intimate knowledge of Hinduism and thorough reading of Sanskrit literature.
Career
Most of Daulat Kazi’s poetry has been found in manuscript form in Chittagong. The signs of the poet’s residence have also been discovered in the famous Sultanpur village of Raujan Thana in Chittagong. From this, it is assumed that the poet was born in the famous Sultanpur village under Raujan Thana in Chittagong. From the use of the title ‘Qazi’ in his poetry, it seems that he was born into a respected Qazi family. There is no way to know the exact time of the poet’s birth and death. However, by analyzing various historical events, an approximate time can be determined.
At that time, there were many poets and scholars in the Arakan royal court. One day, the king’s chief minister Ashraf Khan wanted to hear the story of “Sati Mayna” composed by the Hindi poet Miya Sadhan. Daulat Qazi recited the story of Sati Mayna in poetic verse, earning everyone’s praise. He was accepted into the poet’s assembly at the Arakan (Roshang) royal court and gained respect there. Ashraf Khan asked Daulat to compose the narratives of Lor, Chandrani, and Mayana into Bengali. Daulat Qazi happily started this work, but he died before he could finish it. It was completed years later by Alaol.
At a glance
- Born 1600
- Daulat Kazi (c. 1622 – c. 1638)
- Born likely in Sultanpur village, Raujan, Chittagong into a respected Kazi (scholarly) family
- Worked under the patronage of Ashraf Khan,
- His major works are the narrative poems “Sati Mayna O Lor Chandrani” based on stories by Hindi poets
- Pioneered secular romantic narratives in medieval Bengali poetry
- Known for poetic restraint, descriptive elegance, and artistic beauty
- Drew from Hindu epics, folklore, Vaishnava literature despite being a Muslim
Daulat Qazi was modest about his own life, which was not seen by similar poets; his contemporary poet, Alaol, gave a detailed self-introduction about his life so we could know about his after centuries, but
The case of Qazi is different; here we see that he didn’t say much about himself in his poetry. From a brief description of himself at the start of the poem, we came to know some information about him. We came to know that Daulat Qazi composed poetry under the patronage of the royal court and praised the virtues of the Rosang king Sudharma and courtier Ashraf Khan in the royal praise section of his poetry. He also expressed his gratitude to them in various places in his work.
In the history of Bengali literature, Daulat Qazi was the first to express the deep presence of human hopes, desires, joys, sorrows, and pains, setting aside religion, through his vivid documentation of profound emotions. The poem “Mainaat” (actually written in a rural Hindi dialect called ‘Thet Gohari’) by the Hindi Muslim poet Miya Sadhan was the inspiration for Daulat Qazi’s poem “Sati Mayna O Lor Chandrani.” The exact date of composition is unknown, but it is estimated to be between 1622 and 1638. Unfortunately, Daulat Qazi passed away before completing the epic. Twenty years after his death, in 1659, the poet Alaol (c.1597-1673) completed the remaining portion. ‘Lor Chandrani’ or ‘Sati Mayna,’ have dealt with complicated issues like love, morality, society, religion similar to modern Bengali novels. In this aspect he can be called a modern writer for dealing with the psychology aspect of human beings . Although born into a Muslim family, Daulat Qazi incorporated various aspects of Hindu social customs and philosophies into the poem, which was truly innovative and impressive in that time. So it is no surprise that while composing the romantic narrative poems like ‘Lor Chandrani’ or ‘Sati Mayna,’ the poet followed the earlier Vaishnava romantic poems to some extent. However, it was not the Vaishnava religion itself, but rather the essence of love between Radha and Krishna in the Padavali literature that captivated Daulat Qazi’s mind the most. ‘Sati Mayna O Lor Chandrani’ is a romantic narrative poem. It describes the illicit love between the feudal lord Lor and the feudal lady Chandrani. The poem is imbued with human emotions. The original Hindi poem portrayed spirituality through allegory. Daulat’s poetic restraint, descriptive elegance, and sense of proportion are hallmarks of his talent. He demonstrated skill in using elements from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, works of Kalidasa, Jayadeva, Vaishnava padavali, folklore, etc. Among the medieval poets, Daulat Qazi holds a very high position in creating poetic spell and artistic beauty. Brajabuli is an artificial literary language developed in the 16th century. It was created primarily due to the influence of Vidyapati’s lyrics on the love of Radha and Krishna on the Bengali poets of the medieval period.
Conclusion
Daulat Qazi was essentially a poet of earthly life. He adopted an entirely different approach in the field of medieval Bengali literature. And this different approach seems to have greatly aided the development of plotlines in early Bengali novels of the nineteenth century. He transformed the fairy tale into a romantic story by blending classic and romantic styles. Daulat Qazi received education in various scriptures from a young age which helped him to attain the status of court poet of the Arakan king. He pioneered secular love stories in Bengali poetry. He is believed to have died around 1638 AD. Researchers think his grave is located somewhere in Akyab of the Arakan state.