The text of Visnu Pala's Manasamangala as is printed here follows the Asiatic Society's manuscript no. 4993 (Government Collection). It is the only known manuscript of the work that is presented in something like a complete form. The manuscript is not very old, it seems to have been written sometime between 1775 and 1825 A few very fragmentary manuscripts of 'Manasamangala' bearing the name of our author are known to exist but they are of very late origin and are of very meagre length. They do not add materially to our knowledge of the text. The manuscript printed here is described in the Descriptive Catalogue of the Vernacular Manuscripts in the Collection of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal: Volume IX Bengalı Manuscripts (Revised Edition, 1941) pages 328-338. The number of folii given there is incorrect; the correct number is 1-124, the last folium does not contain anything of the text. Although the folii are in running numbers the manuscript is not complete in the sense that the copyist (or copyists there seems to have been at least two) copied from defective sources which apparently were copies of individual episodes used by some singers of the poem. The manuscript does not represent the original poem fully but it gives us the version (or versions) that were used by the singers who came from the common people. The copyists were hardly literate and they made a havoc of not only Sanskrit words in common use but also gave ordinary Bengali words in a variety of spelling. As a matter of fact the manuscript is a perfect sample of folk treatment of "mangala" poetry. At the same time it furnishes a long specimen of the local dialect. We do not know from where the manuscript was obtained. But the language clearly belongs to the Ajay basin where Visņu Pala's poem is still sung in the same old style. The manuscript gives us only the name of the author. Once in the colophon of a section the author reverently mentions Rama the husband of Sitadevi. This may indicate that he was a Rama-worshipper and/or he was a singer of 'Ramayana' poetry.
The legend of Manasa, the Snake goddess, became a popular literary theme in Bengal from the 16th century. Interestingly the theme has local and regional variations. The present edition of Visnu Pala's Manasa Mangala was prepared by Prof. Sukumar Sen for Bibliotheca Indica on the basis of the Asiatic Society manuscript no. 4993 (Government Collection). The interesting point is that the manuscript "gives us the version (or versions) that were used by the singers who came from the common people". The ms. was written sometimes between 1775 and 1825. Despite the late character of the ms. its linguistic importance cannot be gainsaid. This ms. is a veritable source of material for a student of Bengali Philology. Apart from its linguistic importance the ms. is "a perfect sample of folk treatment of 'mangal' poetry". Hence it is of some interest to folklorists. It is hoped that the present edition will be appreciated both by the students of language and Bengali literature.
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