What is "chandimangal"

The Chandimangal is an important subgenre of mangalkavya, the most significant genre of medieval Bengali literature. The texts belonging to this subgenre eulogize Chandi or Abhaya, primarily a folk goddess, but subsequently identified with Puranic goddesss Chandi. This identification was probably completed a few centuries before the earliest composition of the Chandimangalkavya. Most of the texts of this subgenre comprises two unrelated narratives. The narrative of Kalketu and Phullara is known as the Akhetik Khanda (hunter section), and the narrative of Dhanapati and his wives, Lahana and Khullana is known as the Banik Khanda (merchant section). Both of these narratives were probably mentioned in a sloka of the Brihaddharma Purana (Bangabasi edition, Uttarkhanda, Ch.16) also. In Mukundaram's work an additional section, Deb Khanda is found. This section comprises the narratives of Sati and Parvati and has mostly followed the Puranas.