[10]
Leaving aside the arithmetical results of the Karyalya's operations, it might be fairly presumed that the genuine demand for 18,000 copies of the sacred books of India represents a degree of interest taken by the people in the history of their past that is certainly not discouraging to patriotic hearts. So far as I myself am concerned, I would consider myself amply repaid if my exertions have contributed in the least towards withdrawing any portion of my countrymen and country-women from a perusal of the sensational literature of the present day in which, under the pretence of improvement, the plots and situations of fifth-rate French novels are introduced, vitiating the manly Aryan taste, and leaving no substantial instruction behind. If the publications of the Bharat Karyalya have succeeded in withdrawing to some extent readers of this class of literature from the unhealthy excitement for which alone it is sought, and turning them to contemplate the purity of Aryan society, the immutable truths of Aryan philosophy, the chivalry of Aryan princes and warriors, the masculine morality that guides the conduct of men even in the most trying situations, the bright examples of loyalty, constancy, and love, which the Aryan poet describes with a swelling heart, the end of those publications has at least been partially achieved. May I indulge the hope that my countrymen, even as they now are, be preserved from foreign influences in their manners, and may I also indulge the hope that my countrymen continue to look upon Vyasa and Valmiki with feelings of proper pride!
PROTAP CHUNDRA ROY.
Datavya Bharata Karyalya.
