Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/195

 have formed some idea of the gradual steps of the progress of the Bengali prose literature from the beginning of 1800 to the close of 1840. The first step is the writings of the European missionaries; the second, the works of some native authors, such as the "Tota-Itihas," the 'Lipimala,' the 'Rajabali,' the "Krishnachandra-Charita," the "Batris-Singhasana," and some other similar books. The third step is the text-books for the Fort William College, such as the "Purusha-Pariksha," the "Hitopadesa," and some others. The three steps clearly indicate gradual development. But the language of Vidyasagar's "Vasudeva Charita" is far more developed than all of them. The manner of expression adopted in this book is quite unprecedented. The language used is plain and easy, and, at the same time, free from blunders. To illustrate that Vidyasagar's language is plain, and very easy to understand, Ramgati Nyayratna has related the following amusing incident. A meeting was once held at the Krishnaghar (Nuddea Raj) palace to decide a local contest. After the settlement of the point in dispute, a Sanskrit pundit put down the decision in writing, and read it out to the assembly. One of the audience, a Sanskrit professor, laughed at the composition of the decision, and ridiculed it, saying,—'What is this nonsense? This is quite Vidyasagar's Bengali! It is very easy to understand!'

Vidyasagar's abilities to contribute to the