Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/581

 1V.] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 543 The love literature of the Vaisnavas is a unique Classifica- treasure. It displays the nicest classification of 2 emotions and all conceivable forms of tender feelings. The Purvaraga or the dawn of love is divided into subheads such as—ageyfa, Ate, চিত্রপটদর্শন, স্নানকালেদর্শন। দৈত্য, ০০. Then comes রূপাতিসার, মান, কারণমান, নিহেতৃমান, মিলন, বাসকসজ্জা, বিপ্রলন্ধা, খণ্ডিতা, কলহন্তরিতা, আক্ষেপান্থরাগ, রূপোল্লাস, প্রেমবৈচিত্র,,মাথুর, সন্তোগমিলন, বাৎসল্য গোষ্ঠ,। নৌকাবিলাস সৌখ্য 200 many more. In Bhaktiratnakara we have 360 different kinds of the finer emotions of a lover’s heart minutely classified. Each of these groups has hundreds of songs attached to it by way of illustration and has, besides, the usual prologues or Goura Chandrika which the poets have called AMFIASS or lending permanent interest to the songs, suggesting spiritual associations. It is acurious literature. It deals with human The Hunan assions mainly of the most platonic sort and has _ interest F + তে and the always a door open heavenwards. While perusing underlying spiritua- the accounts of love between man and woman P lity. in all its varied forms, the reader will every now : and then find himself breathing a higher atmos- phere; it is as though he comes to the junction of a river’‘with the sea;—looking back, he sees a stream that comes through delightful landscapes, through groves and bowers that resound with human voices,—but looking forward he finds the endless sea that cuts off at the coast all connection with the human world and stretches on beneath the foaming waves till it loses itself in heaven. There is yet another account of Krisna’s life which the Vaisnava poets have taken"pains to des-