A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s4.54

v1.c5.s4.54

Yet it is doubtful whether the poetry of the saints and writers of the Bhakti school ever reached, or made much impression upon, the general mass of the people of Mahārāshtra. Messrs. Acworth and Shāligrām have pointed out that Marāthī poetry is ‘little known to the ryots and Māvalis of Mahārāshtra, and would not command their attention or admiration if it were known. . . . It is not to be supposed, however, that they are without a poetry of their own. With the Marāthās, the feelings of the commons have taken shape in the ballads, which are the genuine embodiment of national enthusiasm.’ And this national ballad literature, as Professor Sarkar remarks, was the creation of the age of Sivājī and his successors.