Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/226

 ig6 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [ Chap. i | : (6) Translations of the Mahabharata. The Maha- The story of the Mahabharata is not so compact bharata, ; : epitome of @s that of the Ramayana. It is by no means, Indian thought, however, the less popular of the two. The Maha- bharata is an encyclopedic collection—an epitome of Indian thought and civilisation, the successive stages of which are, as it were, mirrored in it. There isa Bengali adage which says ‘ What is not found in the Bharata (the Mahabharata) is not in Bharata (India).” Round about the main plot—the great war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas,— there is a wild growth of wonder-tales in which the current literature and traditions of ancient India are undoubtedly entangled. [rom the din of war- fare to the quiet and contemplative philosophy of the Gita, the reader is carried without an apology ; and descriptions of heroic exploits and unmatched chivalry are interspersed with accounts of austeri- ties and penances undergone for the sake of rell- gion and with mythological accounts of gods. To add a chapter to such a work is the easiest thing that one can do. One has simply to put a query in the mouth of Janmejaya and that never-wearied narrator, the sage Vaigampayana, is sure to relate whatever may be asked him in earth or heaven. The poem is like the fabled Sadi of Draupadi which may be dragged out indefinitely to any length. In the Bengali versions, the poets lost no oppor- tunity to introduce new stories and incidents from comparatively modern life. The pathetic tale of Crivatsa and Chinta is their addition ; and it is not the only one which they have added to the epic in its Bengali garb.