পাতা:Vanga Sahitya Parichaya Part 1.djvu/৪৫

INTRODUCTION. 37 sometimes in its coarse and vulgar aspect, but oftener in lovely descriptions of rural life and picturesque scenery which gives Bengal one of her greatest charms. 10. The Dharma-mangala Poems. The Dharma-mangala poems are full of glimpses of the Bengal of the pre-Mahammadan days. The ruins of Läu Sen's palace at Maynāgarh in the distriet of Midnapore and of the fort of Ichhāi Ghosh at Dhekur on the Ajaya in the District of Burdwan, still attest to the historical authenticity of the subject treated in these poems. It is true that the crude imagination of the rustic poets has distorted many facts but there can be no question as to the ground-work of these poems being historical. The poems declare Ichhāi Ghosh to be a Goâlâ or milkman by caste. The surname Ghosh is common amongst the milkmen of our day. Recently a copper-plate grant made by Ishwar Ghosh in the 10th century has been discovered and reproduced in a recent issue of the Bengali journal Sahitya. This Ishwar Ghosh issues the copper-plategrant from a place called “Dhekkuri” and we find Dhekur mentioned in all the Dharma-mangala poems as the capital city of Ichhāi Ghosh. Ishwar Ghosh is the Sanskrit form of a name which would be naturally pronounced as Icchāi Ghosh by the rustic bards. And as there is an agreement in point of time also, it appears that Ichhāi Ghosh and Ishwar Ghosh were indentical. Even if this was not so, there is little doubt that they belonged to the same family. Of course all that is stated in these poems about the chief is not reliable. The temple of Shyāmarupa, the Deity worshipped by Ichhāi Ghosh, is still to be seen in a deserted woody place on the hills near Dhekur. The literature in honour of the god Dharma was originally Buddhistic. Dharma occupies the second place in the Buddhistic group comprised of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The Doms, who were originally the worshippers of Dharma, discharged priestly functions in the Buddhistic temples. These people are unclean in the eyes of the Hindus, but they have still retained the priestly position in the worship of Dharma. The Brahmins at first would have nothing to do with the worship of this Deity. In the year 1547 A.D. Mänik Gânguli, a good Brähmin, while writing a poem on the god Dharma was afraid lest he should lose his caste by doing so. That Buddha was transformed to Dharma in popular belief has been proved by Mahāmahopādhyāya Haraprasada Shāstrī in his pamphlet on Living Buddhism in Bengal, and his conclusions on this point have been supported by later researches in this field of Bengali literature. Dharma is sometimes named