Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/312

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RE-MARRIAGE OF HINDU WIDOWS.
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achievement of his aim. It is said, however, that after the frustration of his hopes of being aided by Raja Radha Kanta Dev, he did not visit his house, as formerly, for which the Raja was sincerely sorry, for he had a very high opinion of Vidyasagar and loved him dearly.

Immediately after the publication of Vidyasagar's first paper on widow marriage, many contradictory pamphlets were issued from different associations of Pandits and other influential bodies of the orthodox class. Many individual persons also issued papers of protest against the innovation. Among these, the name of Gangadhar Kaviraj of Murshidabad, the best Naidya native physician of the time, stands foremost. Protests were also issued from such associations, as the "Jessore Hindu-Dharma-Rakshini-Sabha" and the "Calcutta Dharma Sabha." At the fourth anniversary of the Jessore Sabha, many vastly erudite pundits from different parts of the country congregated, and lectured on the uncanonicalness of widow-marriage. In the meantime, appeared two pamphlets, "Braja-Bilas" and "Ratna Pariksha," defending Vidyasagar's contention.

They did not bear the real names of their authors, who had assumed the pseudonyms of Bhaipo and Bhaipo-Sahachar (i. e. nephew and nephew-associate) respectively. But there was a general rumour that Vidyasagar himself was the author of both the papers. The first was an at-