Alaol (Bangla: আলাওল) (1607?-1680? CE) was a medieval poet in Bengal. He is thought to be born around 1607 in Faridpur in the present-day Bangladesh. His most well known work is Padmavati, which depicts the story of Padmavati, the Sinhala princess and the queen of Chittor. There is an important literary prize named after him in Bangladesh, the Alaol Puroshkar. He is widely believed to be one of the most talented of Bengali medieval poets.
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Alaol was born in Faridpur. He was son of a minister of Majlis Qutb, the ruler of Fatwabad.[1] Alaol is believed to be kidnapped by Portuguese pirates while travelling on boat with his father. He was taken to Arakan. Alaol worked as a bodyguard for a while, but slowly his reputation as a poet spread. His talent was first recognised by Solaiman, a minister of king Srichandra Sudharma (Tsandathudhamma) of Arakan. He completed Daulat Qazi's Sati Mayana-Lor-Chandrani and translated Tohfa at his request. Later, prince Magan Thakur, the foster-son of the sister of king Srichandra Sudharma and co-regent o£ Arakan and the prime minister of Arakan, secured him a place in the court of Arakan.
His major work, Padmavati, based on Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Padmavat was written under the patronage of Magan Thakur. He also began writing the Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal, an adaptation of a Persian work of same name during this period. After the death of Magan Thakur, he received patronage from Saiyad Muhammad Musa, the army chief of king Shrichandra Sudharma. He translated the Haftpaykar from Persian on his request. In 1659, Shah Shuja took refuge in Arakan court. In 1660, after the killing of Shah Shuja, Alaol was also thrown out of the Arakan court because of his closeness with him. At this juncture, Saiyad Musa, a minister of the Arakan king gave him shelter. He completed his Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal on his request. He spent his last days in the court of Majlis Navaraj, another minister of Arakan, where he wrote his last work Dara-Sekandarnama.[1]
His works, apart from Ragtalnama, are adaptations of works in other languages. His works include: