A Persian Translation of Vidyasundara
Summary
Highlighting Indo‑Persian literary exchange, this note reports the discovery of a 19th‑century Persian translation of the Bengali romance ‘Vidyasundara.’ Unlike Hindi romances, few Bengali works were rendered into Persian. The manuscript, found in the Calcutta Madrasa library, is dated to 1838 CE and was copied by Jasaratullah of Phurphura. The translator, who wrote under the pen‑name Nazirat, produced a free but faithful rendition of Bharat Chandra’s story of the lovers Vidya and Sundar. The article compares this version with earlier references to a lost Persian translation mentioned by D.C. Sen, concluding that the two are distinct. It notes that the translator likely lived near Bandpur, three farsangs west of Calcutta. The discovery underscores the cultural interactions between Bengali and Persianate literary circles in 19th‑century Bengal.
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Conclusion
The note concludes that the Persian ‘Vidyasundara’ demonstrates the permeability of linguistic boundaries in colonial Bengal and invites further research into Persian translations of Bengali literature.