Page:A History of Hindi Literature.djvu/88

 74 A HISTORY OF HINDI LITERATURE Sur Das excelled in many styles of composition. A large number of episodes and passages from the Bhagavata Parana were reproduced by him in exquisite verse, and he was the writer of a great number of lyrics in connection with the worship of Krishna and Radha, which were collected together in the Sur Sdgar and the Surdvali. The S dhity alahari contains emblematic verses {Drishtakut), for which Sur Das himself wrote an explanatory commentary. He also wrote in Hindi the story of Nala a?id Darnayanti. Altogether he is credited with having composed as many as 75,000 verses. Sur Das holds a very high place in literature. Some Indian authorities would give him the foremost place amongst Hindi poets, though most persons would reserve that honour for Tulsi Das. An often quoted couplet referring to Hindi poetry says, "Sur is the sun, Tulsi the moon, Ke^av Das is a cluster of stars, but the poets of to-day are like so many glow-worms giving light here and there." Sur Das is undoubtedly a poet of great power. He is considered to excel in his use of all the ornaments of style recognized by the authorities on Hindi poetry and in his use of images and similes. An anonymous poet of Akbar's court said with regard to him, " Gang excels in sonnets and Birbal in the kavitta metre ; Kesav's meaning is ever profound, but Sur possesses the excellency of all three." A few specimens of his work are given here : — All days are not alike ; One day King Harischandra had in his power wealth like Mount Meru ; The next day he went to live in the house of a Chandal, and removed clothes from the burying-ground. One day a man is a bridegroom, attended by a bridal company, and in every direction flags are placed ; The next day he has to live in the forest, and there stretches forth hands and legs. One day Sita is crying in a very terrible forest ; The next day having become re-united with Ramchandra, both go about in ? balloon of flowers. One day Raja Yudhishthir was reigning with Sri Bhagwan (Krishna) as his follower ; The next day (his wife) Draupadi is made naked, and Du^asan takes away her clothes.