Debatar Manabayan by Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri [Hardcover]

The effort to elevate the beloved to the status of a deity and vice versa is undoubtedly one of the characteristics of Vaishnava poets' works. However, there is room for doubt as to whether they were the pioneers in this matter. Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, in his very engaging discussion in this book, has shown that behind this tendency lies a long tradition. This tradition of humanizing deities has emerged from various literary works of the Vedas, Puranas, and poet-epics. Not only deities, but also demons, monsters, and great men are included in this tradition. To describe various human conditions, we use expressions like ‘Gobor-Ganesh’, ‘Handa Gangaram’, ‘Kalir Kesto’ or ‘Nyaka Chaitanya’, and if we look for their origin, we will see that they are also part of that tradition.

This extensive and substantive discussion book explores how this tradition has developed and extended in Sanskrit scriptures, literature, and folklore. The author has firmly established his point from a philosophical perspective as well. How we have perceived beloved deities as friends and fathers, how deities, especially those of the post-Vedic era, have been perceived within the broader boundary of affection, breaking the distance of control—how we have muddled their divinity, criticized them for contrary actions, highlighted their fallacies through extreme humor, and how we have re-established them in their rightful worshipful positions—all these have been vividly narrated by Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, delving into the treasure trove of Sanskrit scriptures and folklore.