________________
TILAKAMANJARĪ OF DHANAPALA
decorations and saddles carrying as they did the heavy loads required to be carried to the other islands. It had precincts of the huge banyan trees rendered uneven with the oblong tanks on the way, that were inlaid with well-glued steel-bricks, had plinths of the rows of steps resorted to by the groups of the consorts of the frogs with their palms spread in front as if out of fear for the innumerable pilgrims descending down being tormented by greed, had images of many deities engraved within the door-panels, had their shores encircled round by the circles of walls whitened with stuccopaint and had waters sweet and extremely limpid. It was cordoned by the sylvan rivulets having cane-groves grown ashore made capable of respite for the people at any time, being easy of crossing for the rows of animals as indicated by the channels gone afar, having groups of sakulas (a kind of fish) eager to engulp the food left out after eating being seen by the girls of the pilgrims standing ashore, had commodities such as sweet-balls, trays full of curd clarified butter spread here and there by the grocers abiding in the villages hard by and having the slush of mire cleansed by the process of washing by a flood of water of the rainy-season.
406
The precincts of the capital had forests nearby having suburbs of the cowherds having cowherds women churning remorselessly the curds as if the hearts of the cowherds. The milk maids forming the back bone of the society therein dealing with the dairy products have been depicted graphically. Revelling in the glory of the dairy products they were as it were the goddesses of fortunes incarnate of cows' milk being endowed with ewer- twains of protuberant round breasts hard and heaving or dangling white like the balls of butter. They had their leers tremulous and white like milk. The loveliness of their slim bodies resembled in hue the inspissated products of milk. The suburbs had cows that had their calving period drawn close and those who had not calved so far and had their oxen approaching them for mating. The king of the cowherds' colony invited travellers to partake of the rice cooked in milk. Hot ghee prepared out of the butter churned by the churning rods and making the calves raise their ears formed a part of the effluent economic set up. Even dogs could be nourished with the help of cows' milk sitting in the pavilions of the courtyards. The houses in the suburbs had networks of creepers overgrown with leaves adorning them having markets or streets easily accessible on account of cowdung cakes dried up and serving as a fuel material.' The grameyakas or the villagers who have been depicted in their simple and rustic instincts formed the bulk of the society and afford a glimpse of the impact they had upon the economy of the country.
1. TM. Vol. II pp 255-258.
