Dutt, Romesh Chunder: The literature of Bengal: being an attempt to trace the progress of the national mind in its various aspects, as reflected in the nation’s literature from the earliest times to the present day ; with copious extracts from the best writers (Calcutta, 1877)

JAYADEVA GOSWAMI. 39

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have a description of the Bengali alphabet in such ?^
old work as the Kamdhenu Tantra. We may therefore
consider the language of Bengal to be of some antiquity.

We have seen in a previous chapter, that tbfe litera-
ture of Bengal may be divided into three distinct epochs.
For reasons stated above, the language in these three
epochs also.present marked distinctions. The language of
the period of lyrical poetry, as represented by the poetry
of Chandidas, (for Bidyapati, as an inhabitant of Tirhut,
did not write in Bengali, properly speaking), underwent ^ . >
some change during the nest period. The language
o? this mediaeval period, i. e,, the period of classical
influence, also shews a degree of consolidation unknown
before, a vast admixture of Persian words, a closer
approach to the Sanskrit, and a borrowing of numerous
Sanskrit words. As a natural resuli of the Sanskrit
tetudy which characterized this period, numerous Prakritk*
words or corruptions of Sanskrit words were rejected, >
and their Sanskrit equivalents adopted.

As in literature, even so in. language, the British con-
quest of Bengal has caused another change in the Bengali;
and the spirit of this change (in the language) consists in
our going still further back towards the Sanskrit. Who-
ever has taken pains to compare the works of our best
known living authors with the works of the last century,
must have seen that the Sanskrit element has vastly in-
creased in the Bengali of the present day ; and this
chauge,—and we consider it a change in the right direc-
tion—is attributable to a variety of causes. The spread
of European culture created the necessity of prose writing.

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