IV.] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 101! c who believes in the divinity of Ram with all his heart, the epic is no longer a mere poem, every word of it is divine. The Bengali rescensions of the _ Ramayana, as also the Hindi Ramayana by Tulasi Das, differ in this point from the original Sanskrit epic. Whenever the vernacular poets attempt to describe any episode of Ram’s life, the expressions they use, in the excess of their devotional fervour, verge on the phraseology of sermons and prayers, and we miss in them the vigorous realistic descrip- tions of the original. Here is an account of the rainy season by Ram Mohan who lived in the last part of the eighteenth century. The poet labours under an overwhelming idea of Ram’s divinity, and cannot forget this even while giving an - account of natural scenery ata particular season.
- “Inthe month of Asadha the newly formed
clouds appear in the sky, and I find the beautiful dark blue complexion of Ram, mirrored in them. It thunders continually. The sound falls upon my ear like the twanging of Ram’s bow-string. The lightning flashes at intervals. Even so flashes the figure of Ram inthe mind of a devotee. At the sight of the newborn clouds, the peacocks dance for joy. So are goodly men overjoyed at the sight of Ram. Rain pours incessantly on the earth. How like the tears that Ram shed, in his grief for
- আবাঢে নবীন মেঘ দিল দরশন।
যেমত সুন্দর শ্যাম রামের বরণ ॥ ঘন ঘন গঞ্জে ঘন অতি অসম্ভব । যেমন রামের ধনু টক্কারের রব ॥ Ram Mohan, A descrip- tion of the rains.
