Page:A History of Hindi Literature.djvu/24

 10 A HISTORY OF HINDI LITERATURE poets as Namdev, Kablr, Vidyapati, Mira Bal and Malik Muhammad. The earlier bards of Rajputana wrote in a time of transition, using a language which was still full of Prakrit forms, and this was the period of the infancy of Hindi Literature. But when the poets of this next period composed their works, the language spoken was practically the same as the vernacular speech of to-day ; and, as the earliest authors in this language, they had to feel their way, for in using the vernacular for their poems they were making a great venture. This was the period of the youth of Hindi Literature. The golden age of the vernacular literature of Hindustan begins about 1550. The Mughal sovereigns not only established a strong rule, but were liberal patrons of literature and art. Under Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir ( 1605-1627 ) and Shah Jahan (1627-1658) the Muhammadan rule in India reached its highest point of outward magnificence and this was also the period of the greatest glory in Hindi literature. It has often been pointed out how it synchronizes with the Elizabe- than age of English literature, and that at this very time England and India first came into real contact with each other. This period was marked by the introduc- tion of an artistic influence into the literature, leading to a greater polish in versification and form, and the first attempts to systematize the art of poetry by such writers as Kesav Das and others. This was the age of the greatest stars of Hindi literature — Tulsi Das, Sur Das and Bihari Lai, as well as of other great writers like the Tripathi brothers, Dev Kavi and Senapati. It was the period when the Sikh G?'a?ith was compiled and when many new sects were formed, like the Dadupanthis, which pro- duced a great deal of religious verse of a high order. The end of the period however, during the eighteenth century, coinciding with the time of the decay of the Mughal Empire, was a time of decline in the high quality of Hindi literature, and does not contain many writers of first-rate excellence.