98 A HISTORY OF HINDI LITERATURE show that all notions of God and man are fallacies and that nothing exists. There were several works also connected with the Rama cult. Atu7i (fi. 1803) was the author of the Rdvi Ravan Yuddh and other works dealing with the stories of Rama. Lalak Das (fi. 1813), of the Lucknow district, wrote the Satyopakhydn, which relates the early life of Rama from his birth to his marriage. The Rdmdyan in the Maithili dialect, composed by Chand^^a Jhd, has already been mentioned. Sahaj Rdm (born 1804), who lived in the district of Sitapur, also wrote a Rdmdyan which is a translation of the Sanskrit Raghuvanisa and of the Haiiumdn Ndtaka. In the latter half of the nineteenth century RagJm Ndth Dds, a Brahman of Ayodhya, wrote hundreds of hymns in honour of Rama, of whom he was a devotee, while in the same period Jdnki Prasdd, of the district of Rae Bareli, wrote several poems dealing with the story of Rama which are considered to be very excellent. Commentaries also were written on the works of Tulsi Das, such as the Mdnas ^ankd- vall of Bandaji Pdthak, of Benares, which is a commentary on the Rdmdyan, and the Rdm Tattva Bodha7ii of Siv Prakds Singh, which is a commentary on the Vijiay Patrikd. These appeared in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Of writers w^ho w^ere devotees of Krishna the following may be mentioned : Rasik Govind (fl. 1801), who wrote works, which are much praised, all connected with the Krishna legends, and Lalit Kishorl (fl. 1860-1873), whose works are also connected with Krishna and full of merit as works of poetry. The spread of the Christian faith in India has also been accompanied by the production of Christian hymns. Many of these are translations of English hymns written in English metres, which, judged according to Indian standards, sound barbarous and uncouth. But a large number have also been written in Hindi metres, and many of these have a popularity far beyond the bounds of the Christian Church. Curiously enough, one of the most famous writers of Christian hymns in
