The Absent Poets in Odisha’s Literary History: Women,Bhakti and Questions of Literary Historiography

This paper provides a detailed description of the literary and spiritual history of Odisha, along with the causes and circumstances for the development of spiritual writings from ancient times through the medieval period up to the modern period. By focusing on poetry that has remained the most popular writing style in bhakti literature, this paper discusses the works of women writers who have performed a significant role in the spiritual and cultural heritage of Odisha and their marginalisation in literary and cultural history over time. Further, it delves into the medieval era’s forgotten women poets and their works, including Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s arrival and how it affected women’s status in the society by focusing on the works of Madhavi Dasi (16th century CE), also known as Madhavi Devi or Madhavi Pattanayak, a major writer of the medieval era and the first recorded woman writer of Odisha. Through Madhavi Dasi, the study explores the marginalisation and vague literary historicization of women writers in literary history. In the context of modern literature, this paper will focus on the poetry of Kuntala Kumari Sabat (1901-38), Purnamasi Jani (b. 1944), and Adyasha Das (b. 1969), marking the contours of shifts and evolutions of women’s devotional writings in Odisha.