40
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[FEBRUARY, 1873.
increases like the fibres of the lotus-stalk.
All
Brāhumans reciting invocations and spells. The pollen of flowers floats like a canopy, toying
elephants are not of equal breed : not in every
with
Jasmine and bel
throat is the koil's voice : not at all times is
have planted their standard, with pātala, tula,
the spring season : not all men and women are excellent : quoth Bidyāpati—Listen, good lady, now having pondered, understand the ways of
the southern
breeze.
and as oka as generals, kins'uka 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
love.*
ban; Bidyāpati describes the essence of seasons.
I may now attempt to give a sketch, though necessarily little more than a sketch, of the grammar of Bidyāpati, 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
VI.
just faintly begun to show themselves, and
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 Brindå
where they do occur they are not so much defi nite forms as incipient dialectic variations.
E dhani kamalini Šuna hita báni !
Prem karabi ab supurukha jāni. Sujanaka prema hema sama tul, Dahite kanaka dwigun haye mill. Tutaite náhi tute prema adabhut,
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
Yaichhane barhatamrinălaka sut.
emphasis, thus— Taichhana tohari Sohâge (sohâge=saubhāgya)—
Sabahu matañga jemoti náhi mãni ; Sakal kanthe nāhi kokila bani; Sakal samay nahe ritu basant;
“Of this kind is thy beauty.”
Ápana karama doshe—
Sakal purukh nari nahe gunavant; Bhanaye Bidyāpati Šuna bara nári,
Premaka rit ab bujhaha bichári.-I. v. 8. (109.) Translation.
O lotus-like lady, hear a friendly word ' Thou shalt practise love now, having known a good
“(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. Chintá ná kara koi
man. A good man's love is equal to gold, (like) gold in burning it has double value.
“Let no one take thought.” Ropiyā premer bija— “Having planted the seed of love.”
In break
ing, it breaks not (this) wonderful love : it
- In No. I. the following words deserve notice :Baiſhabi, the Hindi form of the root with old Bengali
, shaken’=Skr. piditam. The construction of the last two
termination : modern Bengali would be basibi gim=Sanskrit § rivă. Pahun; this curious word is generally='near, Skr. pārs've;
lines is peculiar: the first line is addressed to Jubati yuvati, i.e., Lachhima (Lakshmi) Debi, herself; but in the
but it must sometimes be rendered ‘again,' and sometimes, as in this instance, it is almost pleonastic.
translation above aims at reconciling the difficulty by treat ing the latter as though he were incidentally introduced
Satºhát. I am not sure about this word. That means gene rally form, shape,' and in this place we may perhaps render • this is delight in (full) shape in true guise,’ &c. In No. II., the first line is literally ‘having looked at life, youth is the great pleasure,' from which the rendering in
dress. Most of them are to be found in any native garden,
shows indications of its old participial origin : it is here
second, Rai Sib Singh would seem to be addressed. The
the text flows naturally.
Piriti-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 khelat, but the metre demands a final short a. The eighth line is literally
“having made (kiye) drunk (mätala) with honey (madhu) is not able (ná pár for pāre) to fly (urai for uraite).
Bhāna–
“eyebrow.' Hijiyat dhgrane is a difficult phrase. It may be nijiyat, “does not go,' dharane, in holding'-' is not held or embraced ;' but this is stiff, and I seek for a better explana tion.
out of compliment, as usual. No. W. I leave the names of the flowers in their native
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 kesari and madhavi to Wrightia antidysenterica and 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 sit, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni.
The koil's note is
always compared to pa, 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.
In line 9 the dancing of the peacocks is compared to the
No. IV. Sánala–Skr. syāmala, Hindi sãnwlā. The third line means ‘the moonlight has grown brighter from thy
intricate movements (jantra-yantra) of a swarm of bees, and their shrieks, most disrespectfully, to Brahmans read
presence' In line 4, kata ná literally ‘how much not?' that
ing.
is, “what efforts has he not made 2 jatane=Skr. yatne; bahi, ‘having brought, having collected." Lukiy—present 3 sing from lukaite; lit. ‘one does not hide : this usage is
Bengali khya.
equivalent to a passive. In pabane pelila the pret, still
Madhu makhyik=Skr. madhumakshikā; ksha is in
No. VI. It is only necessary to note the form hawe-‘is,' the original of modern Bengali hay. The grammatical forms are partially explained in the text.