Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/630

 590 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [ Chap. kathakas noticed above, they paid little heed to the stereotyped passages in their description. They composed songs extempore and sang them accord- ing to the requirements of their story. As I have said, it was the Vaisnavas to whom the kathas or stories owe the elegant form in which we at present find them. The Vaishnava goswamies or priests have up to the present day the monopoly of this profession. I shall here briefly narrate astory told by the Vaishnava kathakas to show the kind of moral and spiritual instruction which it is the aim of the kathakas to imprint on the minds of their audience which chiefly consist of the women-folk. The story of Dhara and Drona. Pariksita asked what were the meritorious Dhara acts performed by Yacoda, the mother of Krisna and Drona. f5- which the Lord of the universe condescended to become her son. Cuka Deva said in answer :— At one time Civa and Vishnu wanted to test the devotional feeling of their followers on the earth. Durga, the wife of Civa, accompanied them. They came down on the earth in disguise :— Vishnu as a young man apparently very poor, Civa চে 4 - é 5 as an old man bending under the burden of four- The gods in disguise. 711] age and disease. score years, and Durga as an old woman stricken They came to a village where a certain Cresthi (merchant) was known for his great faith in the resthi. .. ae Renn Caiva religion. He was a money-lender and had amassed immense wealth by this avocation. It was