Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/187

 IV.) > BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. — 157 Their lives were to be devoted to religious work, to study and to other disinterested pursuits, cal- culated to contribute to the happiness of mankind. And as the State would not take charge of them, it was enjoined as a part of the duty of every man in society to provide for their maintenance. I have tried to indicate the lines on which the Pauranik Renaissance attempted to build up Hindu society. The literature that grew up in this at- tempt at a proper exposition of the spirit of Hindu- ism, promulgates the creed of faithin God and in the Brahmin which constitutes its essential features. We shall next deal in detail with those Bengali translations of Sanskrit works which first gave an impetus towards popularising the doctrines of the Pauranik religion. 2. Vernacular recensions of Sanskrit works. General remarks. (a) The Ramayana. (b) The Mahabharata. ‘c) The Bhagabata. (d) The Chandi of Markendeya. O General remarks, Bengali translations of Sanskrit works at this period did not, as a rule, follow the text too closely. They were meant for the masses. Learned people read the originals, and did not at all care to see them again in Bengali. In order more effectually to work on the impressionable mind of the common people, as also to suit their intellectual capa- The Chief character- istics of the ; Pauranic Literature. Transla- tions. Transla- tions were not literal.