Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/48

 40 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [February, 1873. Brahmans reciting invocations and spells. The pollen of flowers floats like a canopy, toying with the soothem breeze. Jasmine and bel have planted their standard, with pdtala, tula, and as oka as generals, kinsuka and clove-vine tendrils along with them : seeing (them) the winter-season flies from before (them). The tribe of honey-bees have arrayed their ranks, they have routed entirely the whole of the winter; the water-lily has raised itself up and found life, with its own new leaves it makes itself a seat. A fresh spring shines in Brinda- ^an; Bidyapati describes the essence of seasons. VI. E dhani kamalini suna hita ban!! Prem karabi ab supurukha jani. Sujanaka prema hema sama tul, Dahite kanaka dwigun haye mul. Tutaite nahi tute prema adabhut, Yaichhane barhata mrinalaka sut. Sabahu matanga jemoti nahi mani; Sakai kanthe nahi kokila bani; Sakai samay nahe fitu basant; Sakai purukh nari nahe gunavant; Bhanaye Bidyapati 6una bara nari, Premaka rit ab bujhaha bichari.—I. v. 8. (109.) Translation. 0 lotus-like lady, hear a friendly word! Thou shalt practise love now, having known a good- man. A good man’s love is equal to gold, (like) gold in burning it has double value. In break¬ ing, it breaks not (this) wonderful love : it Baifhabi, the Hindi form of the root with old Bengali termination : modern Bengali would be basibi y{/n=Sanskrit grivA. Pahun: this curious word is generally=‘near,’ Skr. p&rs've; but it must sometimes be rendered ‘again,’ and sometimes, as in this instance, it is almost pleonastic. 8a('hdt. I am not sure about this word. Thdt means gene¬ rally form, shape,’ an 1 in this place we may perhaps render ‘ this is delight in (full) shape in true guise,’ Ac. In No. II., the first line is literally ‘ having looked at life, youth is the great pleasure,’ from which the rendering in the text flows naturally. />«ri*t=Skr. priti. Any one familiar with any of the Indian vernaculars will need no aid in this song. The grammatical forms are given further on. No. III. Strictly speaking, we should read kkelat, but the metre demands a final short a. The eighth line is literally ‘having made (kit/e) drunk (mdtala) with honey (madhu) is not able (nd par for /**re) to fly (urai for urui/e). Bhdna= ‘eyebrow.’ Hdjdyat dharane is a difficult phrase. It may be fvljdyat, ‘does not go,’ dharane, ‘in holding’=‘ is not held or embracedbut this is stiff, and I seek for a better explana¬ tion. No. 17. Sdnala=Skr. sydmala, Hindi '-aawla. The third line means ' the moonlight has grown brighter from thy presence ’ In line 4, kata nd literally ‘ how much not V ’ that is, ‘what efforts has he not made?’ jalane=Skr. yatne; bahi, ‘ having brought, having collected.' Lukdy—present 3 sing from lukafte; lit. ‘ one does not hide this usage is equivalent to a passive. In pabane ptlila the pret still increases like the fibres of the lotus-stalk. All elephants are not of equal breed : not in every throat is the kofl’s voice : not at all times is the spring season : not all men and women are excellent : quoth Bidyapati—Listen, good lady, now having pondered, understand the ways of love.* I may now attempt to give a sketch, though necessarily little more than a sketch, of the grammar of Bidyapati, regarded as the verna¬ cular of Upper Bengal at the beginning of the fifteenth century. It will be observed that the distinctive forms of modern Bengali have only just faintly begun to show themselves, and where they do occur they are not so much defi¬ nite forms as incipient dialectic variations. The noun has lost all trace of inflection. The nominative is the crude form or base of Sanskrit. Occasionally an e is added, some¬ times for the sake of the metre, sometimes for emphasis, thus— Taichhana tohari sohag« (soliage=saubhagya)— “ Of this kind is thy beauty.*’ Apana karama doshe— “ ( Your) own deed is (this) fault.” The objective case (under which we must include both accusative and dative) is most frequently left without any sign. The context supplies the sense. Chinta na kara koi— “ Let no one take thought.” Ropiya premer bija— “ Having planted the seed of love.” shows indications of its old participial origin : it is here tshakeu’=Skr. phlitam. The construction of the last two lines is peculiar : the first line is addressed to Jubati=^ yuvati, i.e., Lachhitna (Lakshmi) Debi herself; but in the second, Rai Sib Singh would seem to be addressed. The translation above aims at reconciling the difficulty by treat¬ ing the latter as though he were incidentally introduced out of compliment, as usual. No. Y. I leave the names of the flowers in their native dresB. Most of them are to be found in any native garden, and they seem more natural and poetical in their own names than if we called them by the sweet dog-latin of the botanists. Tastes differ, but 1 prefer ketfaii and mddhaoi to Wrightia ant idy.'enter ica ana Rottleria tinctoria. The metaphor by which the pistil of the kes'ari is com¬ pared to a sceptre, and its wide-spread petals to a throne, will be understood by those who know the flower. Panchama is the fifth note in the native scale of music. The notes are *<*, r», ga, ma, pa, dha, ni. The kotl's note is always compared to /**, or the fifth, of these sounds. As I know nothing whatever of music, I can only hope those who do will understand what is meant Iu lino 9 the dancing of the peacocks is comparei to tbe intricate movements (jantra yantra) of a swarm of bees, and their shrieks, most disrespectfully, to Brahmans read¬ ing. Madhu makhyik=Skr. madhumakshikd; ksha is in Bengali khya. No. VI. It is only necessary to note the form Auv«=‘ is,’ the origiual of modern Bengali hay. Tbe grammatical forms are partially explained in the text
 * In No. I. the following words deserve notice