UpdateBot at 10:24, 5 March 2022

2022-03-05T10:24:46Z

New page

{{about|the novel|the television series|Kapalkundala (TV series)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{unreliable sources|date=June 2012}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2012}}
}}

{{infobox book | 
| name = Kapalkundala
| title_orig = কপালকুণ্ডলা
| translator =
| image =
| caption =
| author = [[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]]
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = [[British India|India]]
| language = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| series =
| genre = [[Novel]]
| publisher =
| release_date = 1866
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print
| pages =
| isbn =
| oclc= 671908675
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}

'''''Kapalkundala''''' ({{lang-bn|কপালকুণ্ডলা}}) is a [[Bengali language|Bengali]] romance novel by [[India]]n writer [[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]].<ref name=asit>{{cite book |last1= Bandyopadhyay|first1= Asit Kumar |title= Bangla Sahityer Itibritta|trans-title=History of Bengali Literature |edition= 3rd |volume=VIII |year=2007 |origyear= 1998 |publisher= Modern Book Agency Pvt Ltd |location=Kolkata |language=Bengali |pages=502–520 }}</ref> Published in 1866,<ref name=asit/> it is a story of a forest-dwelling girl named Kapalkundala, who fell in love with and married Nabakumar, a young gentleman from [[Saptagram]], but eventually found that she is unable to adjust herself with the city life.<ref name=sansad>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bagal |editor1-first=Jogeshchandra |title=Bankim Rachanavali |trans-title= Complete Works of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay |edition= 20th |volume=I |year= 2003|origyear=1953 |publisher=Sahitya Sansad |location= Kolkata|language=Bengali |isbn= 81-85626-13-8 |pages=XXXII-XXXIII |trans-chapter=On Novels |chapter= Upanyas-Prasange }}</ref> Following the success of Chattopadhyay's first novel ''[[Durgeshnandini]]'', he decided to write about a girl who is brought up in a remote forest by a [[Kapalika]] ([[Vajrayana|Tantrik]] sage) and never saw anyone but her foster-father. The story is set in [[Dariapur, Purba Medinipur|Dariapur]], [[Kanthi|Contai]] in modern-day [[Purba Medinipur district]], Paschimbanga (West Bengal) where Chattopadhyay served as a Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector.<ref name=sansad/>

''Kapalkundala'' is considered one of the finest and the most popular of Chattopadhyay's novels.<ref name=asit/> It has been translated into English, German, Hindi, Gujrati, Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit.<ref name=sansad/> [[Girish Chandra Ghosh]], one of the pioneers of Bengali drama, and Atul Krishna Mitra dramatized the novel separately.<ref name=sansad/>

==Synopsis==
Nabakumar, a young gentleman from [[Saptagram]], got lost in a forest while returning from pilgrimage in Gangasagar. He met a [[Vajrayana|Tantric]] sage who trapped him, intending to make him a [[Human sacrifice|sacrifice]] to goddess Shamshaan
Kali; but was later freed secretly by Kapalkundala, the sage's foster-daughter. She, at once, fell in love with Nabakumar and with the help of a village priest they got married on the next day. The priest urged Nabakumar to take Kapalkundala away from her wicked foster-father and also showed Nabakumar his way to Saptagram. Nabakumar returned home with his newly-wed wife Kapalkundala, now re-christened as Mrinmoyee. The sage, on the other hand, got annoyed at Kapalkundala's betrayal and began to plot his revenge. In the meantime, Nabakumar met Padmabati, his first wife, who was converted to [[Islam]] by his father, making Nabakumar to desert her. Padmabati, now renamed as Motibibi, expressed her love for Nabakumar, but he refused her. Later the sage came to Saptagram and met Motibibi. The sage wanted to kill Kapalkundala, but Motibibi wanted to separate her from Nabkumar only. They made a plot to prove Kapalkundala unfaithful. Padmabati called Kapalkundala to meet her in a nearby forest and she, herself, came there in a man's disguise. The sage showed Nabakumar that Kapalkundala came out at night to meet a ‘man whom she loves’. Then the sage made the angry Nabakumar bring Kapalkundala to the sacrificial ground where Kapalkundala revealed the truth to him. Nabakumar came to his senses and he asked Kapalkundala to come with him to his home, but she refused and jumped into the river. Nabakumar also jumped into the river to save her, but both of them were lost.

==Sequel==
In 1874, Damodar Mukhopadhyay, a relative of Chattopadhyay, wrote ''Mrinmayee'', a sequel to ''Kapalkundala''. Mukhopadhyay also wrote ''Nabab-Nandini'', a sequel to Chattopadhyay's first work ''Durgeshnandini'', in 1901.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=Sisir Kumar |editor1-last=Das |title= Samsad Bangla Sahityasangi|trans-title=Samsad Companion to Bengali Literature |edition= 1st |year= 2003 |publisher= Sahitya Samsad |location= Kolkata |language= Bengali |isbn=81-7955-007-9 |page= 96 }}</ref>

==In adaptation==
===Films===
;Bengali
*1929: ''Kapalkundala'', starring [[Durgadas Bannerjee]], Indira Devi, Sita Devi, directed by Priyanath N. Ganguly.<ref>{{IMDb title|0214836|Kapalkundala}}</ref>
*1933: ''[[Kapalkundala (1933 film)|Kapalkundala]]'', starring [[Durgadas Bannerjee]], Manoranjan Bhattacharya and [[Molina Devi]], directed by [[Premankur Atorthy]].<ref>{{IMDb title|0154715|Kapalkundala}}</ref>
*1952: ''Kapalkundala'', directed by Ardhendu Mukherjee.<ref>{{IMDb title|0244015|Kapalkundala}}</ref>
*1981: ''Kapalkundala'', starring [[Bhanu Banerjee]], [[Ranjit Mallick]], Mahua Roy Chowdhury, directed by Pinaki Bhushan Mukherji.<ref>{{IMDb title|0244578|Kapalkundala}}</ref>

;Hindi
*1939: ''Kapal Kundala'', starring Sailen Choudhury, [[Leela Desai]] and Najmul Hussain, directed by [[Nitin Bose]], [[Phani Majumdar]].<ref>{{IMDb title|0236359|Kapalkundala}}</ref>

===Television===
*''Kapal Kundala'', a television series based on the aired on [[DD National]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Kapal Kundala |url=https://nettv4u.com/about/Hindi/tv-serials/kapal-kundala |website=nettv4u |language=en}}</ref>
*2019-20: [[Kapalkundala (TV series)|''Kapalkundala'']], an Indian Bengali television soap opera that aired on [[Star Jalsha]].

===Others===
*It was adapted as a comic by Debrani Mitra in the [[List of Amar Chitra Katha comics|720th issue]] of the Indian comic book series, [[Amar Chitra Katha]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Debrani Mitra|title=Kapala Kundala|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M4SvDgAAQBAJ|date=1 April 1971|publisher=Amar Chitra Katha Pvt Ltd|isbn=978-81-8482-124-6}}</ref>

==References==
{{wikisource|Kapalkundala}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive|id=Kapalkundala}}

{{Novels by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay}}

[[Category:Novels by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]]
[[Category:1866 novels]]
[[Category:Bengali-language literature]]
[[Category:Indian Bengali-language novels]]
[[Category:Novels adapted into comics]]
[[Category:Indian novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Indian novels adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian novels]]

Kapalkundala - Revision history

UpdateBot at 10:24, 5 March 2022