History of Bengali Language and Literature c7.s8.9

c7.s8.9

But the whole of nature does not flourish at the same time; we find some buds turning into flowers, side by side with others that have withered; similarly, the stories of Chandī and Manasā Devī developed into poems of high literary excellence, but those of Rāy Maṅgal and Dhanya Purnimā Vrata Katha betray the early literary stage in which they were left,—doomed to premature decay. The worship of the sun which may be traced back to very early times, has attached to it, a number of poems whose chief exponents in Bengali were Dwija Kālīdāsa and Dwija Rāmjivan Vidyabhusana. The poems in honour of the sun-god tell a story in illustration of his glory as is usual in works of this kind. In the poem of Rāmjīvana Vidyābhūṣaṇa (written in 1689 A.D.) we find descriptions of the oppression of the Hāḍis by the sun-worshippers. The Hāḍis were Buddhists and the incidents related of this oppression, couched in the form of a mythical story have reference, as I believe, to an actual fight between the Buddhists and the worshippers of the sun. At one time the worship of the sun formed the most important factor in the religious functions of the Bengalis. This is evidenced by the discovery of numerous images of the sun-god of great size and artistic beauty all over the country, especially in East Bengal. But the worship of this god was in later times reduced to the recitation of some hymns only, and Bengali poems in honour of him were not destined to flourish.