Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/562

 First love. 526 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [Chap. Vicgakha, one of her maids, now showed her a picture of Krisha. The moment she saw it, she felt a strange emotion, she yearned to see him in the flesh. There under the shade of a Kadamva tree with the crown made of peacock feathers bent a little to the left, and adorned with the flowers of the forest, stood the young shepherd-god flute in hand; the flute sang ‘Radha, Radha,’ and on the moment she fell in love. Her maids did not know what had wakened in her heart. She would go and come out of her room a hundred times in an hour without cause, look wistfully towards the kadamva tree, and sigh deeply. Sometimes she would quietly sit like a statue and rise suddenly with a start. Her garments hung loosely on her, her necklace fell to the ground she cared not for it. The maids thought she was possessed by ghosts. One evening she softly related to them her story. It was as if the dark blue sky had taken a2 human shape,—the rainbow on the top had assumed the beauty of the crown of peacock’s feathers and the woods and forests had given their floral tribute to adorn his person. His flute called constantly ‘Radha, Radha’ and she could not control herself. She took little food or fasted altogether and looked like a Yogini with her yellow cloth, and fixed her gaze on the clouds, with which she held communion with uplifted hands. The emotions of Krishna were no less fervent. The spikes of the champaka flowers, drenched with the rain, blossomed and he was remind- ed of Radha at the sight. He could not look towards Vrisa Bhanu’s palace for his tears ; day