History of Bengali Language and Literature c10.31

c10.31

But a literary epoch cannot be wholly without its redeeming features. There must be some really meritorious points by which it can attract and make people its votaries, reconciling them even to its vices. In this age, a rigid classical taste gave a unique finish to the Bengali style and enriched it with the variety of Sanskrit metres that so powerfully appeal to the ear. Bhārata Chandra Rāya, the court poet of Rājā Kriṣṇa Chandra, stands alone in the field of our old literature as a word-painter. No poet before him contributed so much to our wealth of expression or had such success in importing elegance to our Sanskritic metres. The poet here, like a true Indian artizan, applied himself patiently to the sphere of decorative art. He hunted for and found choicest expressions and strung them into the most elegant metres and carried the whole school of Bengali poets after him maddened by the zeal to imitate his style. The heart had been feasted to satiety on the emotions contained in the Vaiṣṇava literature, the ear now wanted to be pleased. High sentiments expressed in rich poetry had abounded in the literature of the Vaiṣṇavas; enough of such. The scholars would have a brief day of their own. They would show feats of clever expression, pedantry and wealth of words strung together with masterly skill. The people were drawn by this novelty. After the strain of a high-strung idealistic spirituality, they were glad to revel