Chandimangal

Chandimangal is a sixteenth-century Bengali narrative poem by Kavikankan Mukundaram Chakravarti, a work of epic breadth built around the goddess Chandi and her long struggle to win worship among human beings. It belongs to the mangalkavya tradition, in which a deity must secure a cult following, and it follows her through many forms, from the protective Abhaya to the fearsome Chamunda.

The poem is divided into three books: The Book of the Gods, The Book of the Hunter and The Book of the Merchant. Each moves between the divine realm and the harder, more uncertain lives of ordinary mortals. Mukundaram's vivid imagery and lively storytelling give the divine episodes their wonder, while the human tales carry a pointed critique of Bengali society in his own time.

This English version is by Edward Yazijian, who aims to keep the different registers of the original alive. His rendering preserves the performative and humorous side of the text as well as its reverent devotion, so the poem reads as both sacred song and entertainment.