Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/284

 A prayer for shell- bracelets and the Sequel. Poems in honour of Civa. 248 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [ Chap. draperies. The musical Nupura tinkles sweetly on her feet as she goes rapidly to and fro and her brace- — lets sound in harmony with them. She finds it hard to serve so many. The drops of sweat look like pearls on her beautiful face. As a skilful dancing girl moves gracefully to the sound of the musical instruments, so does Uma move briskly about while serving food to her lord and children. She next serves Payasa (pudding) of pleasant flavour, and then a sauce both sweet and sour. Her hair becomes dishevelled, and her dress grows loose. With sweetmeats of milk and rice, the dinner ends. The domestic element again becomes pathetic in the description of Uma’s wanting a pair of shell-bracelets from her husband. Her lord says that he is too poor to give them anda quarrel ensues, | the sequel of which is that Uma sets out in anger for her father’s home. (iva then disguises himself as a bracelet-maker and goes to his father-in-law’s house. There, with tears and begging of forgiveness on both sides, the devoted pair are reconciled and once more brought together. A considerable part of the Cunya Purana, to which we have already referred, consists of songs about Civa and these dating from the ninth century or thereabout form the oldest specimens of Caiva- literature that we possess. Of other poems in honour of this god, which have come down to us, we notice some below :— ' খবুব!দ্যে স্থপদ্দযে নর্তকী যেন ফিরে। সুরূস পায়স দিল পিষ্টকের পরে ॥ থসিল কাচলি এল্যায়ে গেল কেশ। গবা বিতরণ কৈল দ্রবা হল শেষ ॥"'