Material prosperity. 608 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE, [ Chap. their faith with great earnestness in backward villages. The whole atmosphere of Bengal resounds at the present day with songs, recitations and the tales told by the kathakas and the kirtan- wallas who belong to that community. These influ- ences also invigorate Hindu society as a whole, by awakening its spiritual consciousness and it is no longer at war with the daughter-creed. From the incidental descriptions found in various old Bengali works we find that during the Hindu period not only the merchant-class, but even rustic folk, enjoyed great material prosperity. In Manik Chandra Rajar gan we find that even the children of villagers used to play with golden balls (সোনার ভাটা) 070 (119 €৮61) 2 maid-servant would not touch a cotton sari, but wore silk. An _ ordinary merchant’s dinner was not complete without fifty different dishes with the rice, besides a number of preparations of sweets. The tradition of fifty different dishes is still familiar in every respectable Hindu household and old ladies may even now be found who know the art of preparing them. The Vaisnavas, as I have said, never touched meat or fish, but in the preparation of vegetables and sweets they were past masters. Lists of the delicious dishes prepared by them are to be found in Chai- tanya Charitamrita (Madhya khanda, 31৭ and 15th chapters,) in 2498th pada of the Padakalpataru, and in Jayananda’s Chaitanya Mangala and other works. Details of the preparation of meat and vegetable curries with fish, are to be found in Daker Vachana, Kavikankana Chandi, and in nearly all works of Dharmamangala.
