Page:Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets.djvu/19

 tronage brought to light the merits of various authors, who would otherwise have remained neglected.

The three most celebrated poets at Bhoja's court were Kalidas, Dandi, and Bhava Bhuti, and there existed great rivalry between them; it is said, that one day the goddess Saraswati, to whom Kalidas had several times performed sacrifices, became manifest in the form of a beautiful young woman, and paraded the high street, playing with a ball before the three poets, who were sitting together. Dandi said, "this ball appears of three distinct hues; when struck by. her rosy band it appears red, when parallel with her eyes it is blue and brown, when struck down to the ground." Bhava Bhuti said "she beats it so because it resembles her breast, the the blue lily in her ears falls at her feet, dreading a like fate, as it resembles her eyes." Kalidas said, "that be-