This collection of essays analyzes Bengali Mangal-kabya, a genre of narrative literature. The first essay argues that the didactic purposes of Mangal-Kabyas and the performative pleasures based upon satire make them rich sources for historians of Pre-Colonial Bengal. Three essays focus on Candimangal texts, especially the version by Mukunda Cakrabarti, probably written before 1600 A.D. They argue that Mukunda used a 'scale of transactions' to describe normative ...
