History of Bengali Language and Literature c9.s2.28

c9.s2.28

Though he outwardly feigned scepticism, a deep religious faith was in fact ingrained in his nature. Çrīdhara and Gadādhara, two respectable Brāhmins were known for the piety of their characters. He ridiculed them frequently, but if a single day passed without his meeting them, his whole soul yearned for their company, and he felt that to him the oft-ridiculed Içvara Puri was as a god. His mind was as clear as the autumnal sky, and his temperament like the tender sweet-scented Çephālika flower that diffuses its fragrance in the morning air. It silently attracted all who came in contact with him by its inherent love; his ardent nature, which would not brook any restraint and seemed so often to run wild, had in it a secret spring of magnetism which facinated, even while it startled. It flowed like a noble fountain pleasing all by its playfulness,—a