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Charyapada (Bangla: চর্যাপদ, Assamese: চৰ্যাপদ) are 8th-12th century Buddhist poems from eastern India that provide early examples of Assamese,Oriya and Bengali languages. They were discovered by Harprashad Sastri at the Nepal Royal Court Library in 1907. It is a palm-leaf manuscript.

The Charyapada language is referred to as Alo-Andhari (light and shadow means twilight language). The manuscript has 47 verses, written by 23 poets, who probably lived between the 9th and 11th centuries AD. They came from the various regions of Assam, Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. Some of the poets were Sarhapa, Shabarpa, Luipa, Dombipa, Bhusukupa, Kahnapa, Kukkuripa, Minapa, Aryadev, Dhendhanpa.

The Charyapadas were written by poets from different regions, and it is natural that they would display linguistic affinities from these regions. Luipa, who wrote two charyas, was also known as Matsyendranath, who, according to tradition, was from Kamarupa. Sarahapa, another poet, is said to have been from Rani, a place close to Guwahati. Some of the affinities with Assamese are given below:

Negatives -- the negative particle in Assamese comes ahead of the verb: na jãi (No. 2, 15, 20, 29); na jivami (No. 4); na chadaa, na jani, na disaa (No. 6). Charya 15 has 9 such forms.
Present participles -- the suffix -ante is used as in Assamese of the Vaishnava period: jvante (while living, No. 22); sunante (while listening, No. 30) etc.
Incomplete verb forms -- suffixes -i and -iya used in modern and old Assamese respectively: kari (3, 38); cumbi (4); maria (11); laia (28) etc.
Present indefinite verb forms -- -ai: bhanai (1); tarai (5); pivai (6).
Future -- the -iva suffix: haiba (5); kariba (7).
Nominative case ending -- case ending in e: kumbhire khaa, core nila (2).
Instrumental case ending -- case ending -e and -era: uju bate gela (15); kuthare chijaa (45).

The vocabulary of the Charyapadas includes non-tatsama words which are typically Assamese, such as dala (1), thira kari (3, 38), tai (4), uju (15), caka (14) etc.

(Reference: Language and Literature from The Comprehensive History of Assam Vol 1, ed H K Barpujari, Guwahati 1990).

Pages from Charyapada

As the poems written in an early form of Bangla they are difficult to understand. Many poems provide a realistic picture of medieval Bengali society by describing different occupations of people such as hunters, boatmen, and potters. It also describes the some popular musical instruments such as kada-nakada, drums, and tom-toms. The custom of dowry was prevalent. Cows were common domestic animals and elephants were common as well. Girls used to wear peacock feathers, flower garlands, and earrings.

• Charyapada in Bangla script
• Charyapada from Banglapedia