The legend of Manasa, the snake Goddess, became a popular literary theme in Bengal from the 16 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 Soceity 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. (Mostly in Bengali Language).
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