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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[FEBRUARY, 1873.
spelling, inasmuch as the poems were handed To-day I will give thee instruction : down orally for a long time before they were First indeed thou shalt sit on the edge of the reduced to writing.
couch ; In making selections from this master, we are When thy lover would look at thee), thon to a great extent confined to the amatory portions shalt turn away (thy) neck; of the collection. The contemporaries of Chai- When he touches (thee) with both hands, thou tanya were the first to introduce the chaster shalt put aside (his) hand; poems, which treat of Krishqa's early life in Braj Thou shalt be silent even when he speaks a (goshtha) and Jasoda's maternal cares (bâtsalya). word ; The pre-Chaitanya writers seldom speak of any. When I shall deliver thee (to him) hand to thing but love of the grossest and most sensual hand, kind.
Quickly turning thou shalt seize me tremblingly. In transliterating there is much uncertainty Bidyâpati saith-This is delight indeed ; and irregularity in respect of the short final a The tutor of love (am ly, I will teach you the sound. Strictly speaking, though omitted in lesson. prose, it should always be pronounced in verse;
II. but if this rule were observed in these poems, (Speech of Krishna's messenger to Radha.) the metre would be destroyed. As a general Jibana chahi jaubana basa ranga, rule, Hindi words end with the consonant, and Tabe jaubana jab supur ukha sanga; words still in their old Sanskrit form sound the Supurukha prem kabahu jâni chhari, vowel; thus, we should read jab, hám, but Dine dine chand kalá sama bâri. backana, not bachan. This rule again, however, Tahun jaichhe nângari kana rasabant, w as is constantly neglected ; and I have therefore Bara punye rasabati mile rasabant. been guided by the practice of the Kirtanias, or Tuhun jadi kalasi, kariye anusang, professional singers, whose method of pronuncia- Chatri piriti haye lakh guņa sang, tion depends upon the tune, and has been handed Supurukha aichhan nahi jag majh, down by imunemorial tradition. The Sanskrit 'Ar tåhe anurata baraja samajh : v and b are both pronounced b in Bengali Bidyâpati kahe ithe nahi laja and I have so written them throughout. The Rap gunabatikä iha bara kaja.-I. iii. 4. (63.) text and translation will be accompanied by a
Translation. few notes explaining the difficult words or con- i Youth is the greatest delight in life. structions; and I shall conclude with an attempt Youth is then, when with (one's) lover. at sketching an outline of the grammar used Having (once) known the good man's love, when in the poems.
wilt thou leave it?
Day by day, like the digits of the moon, it grows. (Rådhâ's confidante instructs her how to be
Sportive as thou art, just so amorous is Kanh: have at her first interview with Krishna.)
By great virtue the amorosa meets the amoroso : Sun, sun, e dhani, bachana bisesh!.
If thou sayest, influenced by desire, 'Aju han deyaba tohe upades:
Stolen love has a myriad merits, Pahila hi baithabi sayanaka sim,
(Yet bethink thee) such a lover there is not in Heraäte piyâ morabi gim,
the world : Parasite duhun kare bârabi pâni,
All the denizens of Braj are enamoured of him. Mauna karabi pahun kaïrate bani,
Bidyâpati saith-In this there is no shame; Jab hâm sonpaba kare kara api
This is the great business of a beautiful and Sath se dharabi ulaţi mohe kanpi.
virtuous woman. I Bidy&pati kaha iha rasa sathat, Kamguru har sikhayaba pât.--I. i. 22.(49.)*
(Radha's confidante describes her mistress's Translation
condition to Krishna.) Heer, hear, O lady, a special word!
Khelata ni khelata loka dekhi laj, • The first number is that of the S'Akha of the Pade-kal
cf. Horace Epod. + Manum puella suavie opport
tao, antrema ef in aponda cubet. pataru; the second, the Pallab; the third, the song; and
To wit, the gratification of mensual desires! One canthat in brackets is the consecutive number which runs
not help wondering what results such teaching this can through the whole collection, and is after all the easiest to be expected to produce ; fortunately, these parts of the refer to
Vaishnava creed are not often sung before women.
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