Page:Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets.djvu/20

 ing aware of the intention of the ball to kiss her lips, she frequently beats it down."

The goddess at this moment vanished from their presence, and created a shop at another end of the street, where she sat down in the shape of a betel leaf seller; the three above named poets went to the shop; the goddess gave some lime to Bhava Bhuti, an areca nut to Dandi, and betel leaf to Kalidas; when Dandi asked of her the reason of this partiality, the goddess replied, that the merits of the poets were not equals she then took them to the back part of the shop and shewed them three heaps, which were emblems of their merits. Kalidas's was the largest, Dandi's was the second, and Bhava Bhuti's the smallest; it is said, that after thin event the three poets became firm friends without entertaining any rivalry or envy towards each other. The successors of Bhoja Raja were warlike princes, and patroniz-