Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/97

II.] became quite lustreless in the eyes of the people, before this great and resplendent divinity of the Hindus.

Çiva has one element, however, which is wanting in the conception of Buddha. This is the sanctity of the nuptial vow, which sheds glory on his abode at Kailās. Buddha's emancipation could not be complete without deserting a devoted and loving wife. But Çiva and Durgā, the ideal couple, cannot be dissociated from one another. Durgā, who is also called Satī and Annapurnā, is the goddess who distributes rice to the hungry. To the world she is as mother, who cares not for herself, but for her children only; and Çiva is the ideal of a Hindu householder, never ruffled in temper, immoveable, immaculate and merciful, their union representing the fulfilment of the spiritual vows given and accepted in marriage, that two will live for one another and for others. How perfect this mutual love was, is proved in the death of Satī. Her devotion to Çiva was so great that she could not bear to hear him abused by her father Dakṣa. Feeling that the blood of the defamer of her lord ran in her own veins, she considered her body itself as unholy, and gave it up in a flash, to be born again as a daughter of Himabat. In this new life she passed through severe penances and sacrifices to be worthy of being united in marriage to Çiva. In the stoical asceticism of Buddha, these domestic features find no place, and while assimilating the quintessence of Buddhism, the Çaiva religion has this point in addition, which at once appealed to the Hindus a people conspicuous for their strong domestic instincts.