Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/268

 234. BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [Chap. appeared the sweet-scented print of the Kasturi — and on the other blazed flames of fire. Half the neck was wreathed with flowers, about the other half, hung bones. From one ear hung the pen- dants and the glorious earing bearing the emblem of Makara, and from the other small serpents, coiling into the form of a ring. On half the neck there was the brilliant diamond Kaustuva and on the other the blue mark of poison. Half the figure scented with sandal perfumes and the other half covered with the dust of the funeral ground. From half the body hung a loose tiger’s skin and the other half was apparelled in rich purple. On one of the feet was the sweet sounding Nupura and on the other a ring of serpents. Two hands held conch and discus and the other two the trident and the Dumbura.”’ Here also the world is emblemed in a highly poetic language and in a manner which appeals seriously to the Hindu mind. The sublime and the beautiful in nature, the elegance and glory of life, pass into the desolation of the cremation- ground. This figure is sacred amongst Hindus as embodying the facts of life without ignoring those of death, and both are placed side by side in their natural harmony, instead of that grim contrast 11) which they are generally regarded elsewhere. The union Another significant point in the conception of রস this blending of the deities is that it could only be possible when the various sects of the Hindus—the Caivas, the Caktas and the Vaisnhavas were so far reconciled as to accept one another’s ideal in religion.