Page:A History of Hindi Literature.djvu/47

Rh names I knew not. They all appear with nectar-like branches, and he who once tasteth them remaineth ever longing for more.

"Areca and nutmeg, all fruits, are produced there luxuriantly. On every side are thick groves of tamarinds, of palmyras, and of date-palms.

"There dwell the birds, singing in many tongues, and sporting joyfully as they look upon these nectar-branches. At dawn the honey-suckers are fragrant, and the turtle-dove cries out Tis thou and only thou' (eka-i tū hī). The emerald parroquets sportively rejoice, and the rock-pigeons cry kurkur and fly about. The hawk-cuckoo crieth for its beloved, and the skulking warbler shouted tūhīṅ khī. Kuhū kuhū ever crieth the cuckoo, while the king-crow speaketh in many tongues. 'Tyre, tyre' [dahī, dahī] crieth the milkmaid-bird, while the green pigeon plaintively telleth its tale of woe. The peacock's cry kūṅ kūṅ sounded sweet to the ear, and loudly caw the crows.

"Filling the orchards, sitteth every bird that hath a name, and each praiseth the Creator in his own tongue."

Other Poets of this Period.—Two other poets of this period may also be mentioned—Narottam Dās (fl. 1530) wrote the Sudāmā Charitr and the Dhruv Charitr. These works are stories in verse. He was also the author of detached poems.

Kripā Rām (fl. 1540) was the author of a work entitled Hit Taraṅginī written in Braj Bhāshā. Its importance lies in its being the earliest extant work in Hindī dealing with the art of poetry, and it shows how the way was being prepared for the work of Keśav Dās.