Chandimangala
Topic: Mughal Agrarian Society and Economy · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Peasants, Zamindars and the State"
Meaning
Chandimangala is a 16th-century Bengali poem by Mukundaram Chakrabarti. In it, the hero Kalaketu clears forest and founds a kingdom. Historians use the poem as literary evidence for agrarian colonisation, which means turning forest into farmland and settlements. It shows how forest areas were being drawn into farming and state power in Mughal times.
Example
In the poem, Kalaketu cuts down the jungle and sets up a kingdom in the cleared land. This matches what happened in 16th-century Bengal, where forest land was opened up for cultivation.
Don't confuse with
- Ain-i Akbari: This was an official Persian record of Akbar's empire, written by Abu'l Fazl and completed in 1598. Chandimangala is a Bengali poem, not a government record.