THE KRISHNA CULT 75 The doings of the former birth appear ; O foolish mind, give up anxiety ; Sur Das says, " How far can I describe the qualities? True are letters written by the Creator (on the forehead)." Without Gopal these bowers become like enemies. In those days (when he was here) these creepers seemed very cool, Now they have become a heap of fiery flames. In vain the Riverjamuna is flowing, and the birds twitter ; In vain the lotuses are blooming, and the black bee hums ; Sur Das says, " Looking for the lord, my eyes have become red like the ghunghchi seed. "
Night and day my eyes shed tears ; It is always the rainy season with me, since Syam went away. The collyrium does not stay on my eyes, my hands and my cheeks have become dark. The cloth of my bodice never gets dry, because the heart in the midst of it is running like a stream of water. My eyes have become rivers, my limbs tired, and the fixed stars are moving away. Sur Das says, " Braj is now being submerged (in tears), why do you not deliver it ?" The Chaurasi Varta.— An important work which belongs to this period is the Chaurasi Vdrtd (or
- 'Eighty-four Tales"), reputed to have been written
by Gokubidth (fl. 1568), the son of Vitthalnath. It is earlier in date than the Bhaktamdld, and whereas the Bhaktanidld contains accounts of devotees of various Vaishnava sects, the Chaurasi Vdrtd is devoted exclu- sively to stories, mostly legendary, of the followers of Vallabhacharya. It lays a great deal of stress on the erotic side of the Krishna legends. From the point of view of the literature it is very important as being written in prose, of which it is one of the earliest specimens. It is written in a very clear and easy style, and although written three hundred and fifty years ago the language used differs very little from the modern Braj dialect. Other early Vallabhacharis.— Two or three other early members of the Vallabhachari sect who were Hindi poets m.ust also be mentioned. Bhagwd^i Hit (fl. circ. 1574) is said to have been a disciple of
