Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/459

 টি] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 423 godless young man, sceptical in his views and con- duct. I¢vara Puri, a learned saint,—a very old and highly esteemed man of Kumarhatta,—frequently called on him and advised him on religious matters, explaining and illustrating how faith could be ob- tained—faith that cleanses the soul and lifts man to the rank of the gods. He quoted chapter and verse from various works to prove what he argued. But Nimai would suddenly interrupt him, finding a grammatical flaw in his quotations and stop him by some such remarks as “ Surely, sir, the verb that you use is not of the Attanipadi class !’ The saint was much saddened by the failure of his attempts to reform the young sceptic. But the eccentricities of Nimai had a limit when he grew into manhood; he stoically avoided any contact with women. Though he outwardly feigned scepticism, a deep religious faith was in fact ingrained in his nature. ee Cridhara and Gadadhara, two respectable Brahmins were known for the piety of their characters. He ridiculed them frequently, but if a single day passed without his meeting them, his whole soul yearned for their company, and he felt that to him the oft-ridiculed I¢vara Purl was asa god. His mind was as clear as the autumnal sky, and his tempera- ment like the tender sweet-scented Cephalika flower that diffuses its fragrance in the morning air. It silently attracted all who came in contact with him by its inherent love ; his ardent nature, which would টু and an not brook any restraint and seemed so often to run ardent wild, had in it a secret spring of magnetism which "ature. facinated, even while it startled. It flowed like a noble fountain pleasing all by its playfulness,—a