INTRODUCTION. 35 “So nimbly should thy feet move, that the anklets must not sound. “The ornaments shall not jingle nor the Sări rustle, “To this bow-shaped spot your dancing must be confined. “If you fail, your Beshara (nose-ornament) and your richly embroidered Kunchāli (bodice) will be at stake. “But if you succeed, my beloved, my own dear flute will be yours.” Rādhā’s conditions. “You are to dance Krisna to this tune—(here the tune is given). “Your head and neck must not move, nor the anklets make a jingling sound. “The garland of field-flowers on your neck must remain steady and so we shall know your worth. “Your eye-balls, the small diamond-drops on your ears, and the bright pearl hanging from your nose must remain motionless. “Lalitā will play on the violin and Bisākhā on the Mridanga; Suchiträ will play on the seven-stringed lyre—the Saptaswarā, and I will enjoy the fun of it. Do thou, O Tunga Devi, play on the Kapilas and let Ranga Devi occupy herself with the Tambură, and Indulekhā play on the Pinaka and Sudevi, on the cymbols. If your dancing mars the harmony of the music, we will seize your flute and crown, and cry shame upon you.” Agriculture was, as it is now, the chief pursuit of the Bengal peasantry. Agriculture and des. In the olden times when the peasants were themselves *P****, the authors, it was very natural that agricultural experiences should be recorded in the songs. The wise sayings and aphorisms of Dāk and Khanā are replete with the wisdom acquired in fields. I have given some extracts from this class of writing in my History of Bengali Language and Literature.” The peasants of Bengal were a settled and contented class of people, industrious in their habits, having confidence in their king and full of home-instincts. The plots of land they tilled and their cow-sheds used to be close to their homes. “None but a mad man will have the cow-shed and the home at a distance from each other”— says Dāk (p. 5). The people were home-stayers and wanted a king to protect them. “It is always safe to make a home where there is a king. There we can acquire position, wealth and power and can have the opportunity of paying homage to the king”—sang the wise peasant of Bengal in the 10th century (p. 5). This stay-at-home element engendered in them a • Pp. 17-24.
