hankar—a writer whose name is as familiar in Bengal as Cocker in England, without any one knowing who or what he was, or when or where he lived—these scholastic compositions and text-books consist of translated extracts of wild and extravagant legends from the Purans and other shastras, more particularly works describing the adventures and loves of Radha and the incarnate god Krishna, together with the boyish amusements of the latter,—such as his boating pleasures on the Jumna, in the neighbourhood of Brindavan, and the tricks which he played the milkmen with his youthful companions. There are also hymns or songs without number in praise of the goddess Durga, and other popular divinities. But the works or pieces that are best known, and in most general use, throughout the country, appear to be the following:—The Chanakya, a series of slokes or brief sententious sayings in the proverbial style, avowedly in praise of learning and precepts of morality; the Ganga Bandana, describing the virtues of the river goddess; the Saraswati Bandana, or “Salutation to the Goddess of Learning,” which is committed to memory by frequent repetitions, and is daily recited by the scholars in a body before they leave school, all kneeling with their heads bent to the ground, and following a leader or monitor in the pronunciation of the successive times or couplets; the Guru Bandana, a doggrel composition, containing an expression of the respect and devotion due from the scholar to his teacher; the Guru Dakhina, another doggrel composition, which, in glowing terms, describes the fee or reward which Krishna and his brother Balarama gave to their teacher, after having finished their education, and which is constantly sung by the elder boys of a school from house to house, to elicit donations for their master; and lastly, the Data Karna, illustrating the beneficence and hospitality of Karna, the prime-minister of Duryodhana, and the Hatim Tai of India.
But no mere general description can convey the remotest conception of the genuine nature and character of these almost universally current school compositions. Mr. Adam, in his report, furnishes no particulars. But having, through the kindness of some educated native friends,[1] got possession of authentic copies of the originals of most of them, accompanied with literal translations in English, we feel tempted to do what alone can convey any adequate impression, and that is, to supply a few specimens. Of
- ↑ We would willingly give the names of these, were it not that their own modesty has prohibited us from so doing. This much, however, we may state, that some of them are now usefully and honourably employed as teachers in the Free Church of Scotland’s Institution, Calcutta, diligently conveying to others the knowledge which they themselves have learned to appreciate.
