Etymology
The word Mangal-Kāvya comes out as an amalgamation of the two Bengali words, Mangal (Benediction) and Kavya (Poems). These are so named because it was believed that listening to these verses concerning the auspicious divinities would bring both spiritual and material benefits. Though some scholars of the early modern period tried to find out any other significance of the word Mangal that was frequently used in the medieval Bengali literature irrespective of any designated tradition. But all these speculations are now firmly discarded by the recent school of intellectuals.
- Listening to them was said to bring spiritual and material benefits ("mangal").
- They were sung in the Mangal raga.
- They were read out in rituals extending from one "Mangalbar" (Tuesday) to the next.
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