Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/57

II.] He mystically discourses on শঙ্খ, which however, is as remote from সঙ্ঘ, as is the popular conception of Dharma-thākur, from that of the historical Buddha. There are passages which distinctly prove the Buddhistic origin of the poems. In the Çunya Purāṅa, which lays down rules for Dharma worship, there is a line,—"ধর্ম্মরাজ যজ্ঞ নিন্দা করে"—(Dharma Rāj condemns sacrifices). This sounds like a translation of the well-known line in honour of Buddha by the poet Jaydeva—"নিন্দসি যজ্ঞ বিধিরঽহ শ্রুতি জাতং".

There are many other passages which clearly indicate the same truth; for instance "সিংহলে শ্রীধর্ম্মরাজ বহুত সম্মান"—(Dharma Rāj is held in high veneration in Ceylon). In another line we find "আগেতে ছিলেন প্রভু ললিত অবতার"—(In former times Dharma Rāj was the Lalita Avatāra). The most authoritative biography of Buddha is called the "Lalita Vistāra."