Goraksavijay

Goraksavijay a Bangla poem about the Natha yogi, Goraksanath, and his heroic rescue of his master, Minanath. Goraksanath was able to resist the seductive power of women and easily passed the test designed by Gauri (wife of shiva). Goraksa';s master, Minanath, however, forgot his yogic principles and succumbed to feminine ruse. He was enjoying himself with sixteen hundred women when Goraksa, disguised as a female dancer, succeeded in rescuing Minanath and reminding him of his duties. The story of this rescue is called Goraksaviiay. shaikh faizullah (16th century) was the first writer of Goraksavijay. Other poets such as kavindra, Bhimsen, Shyamadas also wrote poems on the same theme. Several puthi manuscripts of Goraksaviiay have been found, suggesting the popularity of the subject. [Jayanta Banerjee] [Banerjee, Jayanta Reader of Bangla, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata]