পাতা:Vanga Sahitya Parichaya Part 1.djvu/৩০

22 INTRODUCTION. instigation of the Sādhu, and attributed her determination that he should become a Sannyäsi to her foul design of enjoying the kingdom with the socalled Sādhu, after having cleared all obstacles from her path. He said “Were you a chaste woman you would have ascended the funeral pyre of my father and proved your fidelity as a Sati” (p. 101). But how far this allegation was true cannot be positively said. The characteristic spirit of these songs is a sentiment of regard breathed throughout the poems for Maynā mati. Had her character been as depraved as is suggested in this passage, the 吕 country-bards would not possibly have been so full of enthusiastic admiration for her. It is also certain that Adună and Paduna, wives of King Gopichandra, deeply mortified at the sannyäs of their husband by the will of his mother, maligned her in every possible manner. And it is not unlikely that they invented stories to which Gopichänd himself, distressed at the thought of deserting his kingdom, lent a credulous ear for a time. The other versions of the story explain the reason in a different way. The astrologers had told the dowager queen that Gopichandra was destined to die in his 19th year, but that this fate could be averted if he led the ascetic's life for a term of twelvé years. The affectionate mother was thus compelled to send her only son away as a Sannyäsi, thus sacrifieing her own happiness for the sake of saving of his life. When Gopichänd had made the foul allegation, she gave him a well merited indignant reply which ill disguised her feeling of great disappointment at this treatment from her only son. She said that the Sādhu was a disciple of Gorakhnātha as she herself was and therefore stood in the relation of a brother to her. The Uriyā version describes a beautiful discourse between the mother and the son on the eve of his Sannyäs. Gopichänd stands before a looking glass and feels proud of the great beauty of his person reflected in it. The mother here approaches and discourses on the fleeting nature of youth, alluding to the fact that her husband was admired for his handsome appearance, all the world over, but yet he, a mighty king, could not resist the call of death. Her arguments have a convincing effect on Gopichänd who ceases to be frightened by the idea of renunciation. These songs, though full of exaggeration and the crude ideas of their rustic The purity of moral bards, give us occasional glimpses of the Hindu court life. and the purity of Hindu life. Gopichänd on the eve of his departure said to his queen Aduna that whenever he saw a fair woman he would be reminded of his faithful wife and weep for her. But he added that he would respect these women as mothers and if required to talk with them, he would do so with down-cast eyes (p. 51). The way in which he preserved the integrity of his moral character when Hirā the