Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/127

II.] village in Bengal, however humble it might be, was without them. Not only did they form a perennial source of amusement to the people, but they formed the mission and the propaganda of Paurāṅik religion. The whole atmosphere of Bengal was permeated by these influences; and as Sanskrit texts formed their main basis, a greater number of Sanskrit words was every day imported into Bengali and a closer contact with Sanskritic forms made the ear constantly keener in the perception of faultly expression. Thus the process of self-correction held an uninterrupted course.

The view generally taken by foreign scholars, that this process of Sanskritising made the litarary language incomprehensible to the masses, is not tenable. When a village yātrā, or popular theatrical performance, is going on, ploughmen, shopkeepers and other illiterate people will stand patiently for hours, witnessing the scenes. And what do they hear? নীরদরবণ, নবঘনশ্যাম, নিকুঞ্জকানন, মরাল-গামিনী, গজপতি-গতি, অকলঙ্ক-বিধু, পীতবাস, কমল-নয়ন, বিধুবদন, নীলোৎপল, মত্ত করিবর, মৃগ-পতি, হরিনাক্ষ, মনসিজ, যুগ্মানেত্র, and hundreds of such words which are never used in their current dialect, come pouring in upon their ears, and these they enjoy immensely. The Rāmāyaṅa of Krittivāsa, and the Mahābhārata of Kaçīdās are read by peasants, and artizans, and in these works learned expressions like "নিষ্কলঙ্ক বিধুমূখী পীনঘনস্তনী" are so numerous that one would wonder how the illiterate men and women who hear them recited, could appreciate them. Yet there is not the least shadow of doubt that they do so. For in Bengal 100,000 copies of the Rāmāyaṅa published from Bartalā are sold every 13