Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/294

258 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [Chap | of Chand, so rich in fruit and flowers, was reduced to smoke. The guards in great consternation went to Chand and acquainted him with the fate of | his far-famed Guabari. Chand came to the spot and smiled. The garden To the wonder of all, there present, he uttered revived. some mantras and the garden revived, wearing the fresh hues of its original verdure. is Manasa Devi’s plot was thus foiled by Chand, aha ‘Jnan. who possessed Maha Fnan—a power bestowed by Civa, by which he could give life to the dead and revive all that was destroyed. It was useless for the goddess to try other experiments. She felt that so long as Chand _ pos- sessed this power he was practically invincible. The loss She now appeared before the merchant in the of Maha- ane . রর ূ jnan. guise of a youthful maiden. The poets who com- posed the songs have vied with one another in describing the beauty of this celestial maiden. Earthly beauty was as nothing compared to hers; even the moon sank behind the clouds in shame, being smitten by the superior light that emanated from the face of this exquisite creature. Chand fellin love with her at first sight, but the fair maiden would not listen to any proposals from him unless he dispensed with his Maha Funan and bes- towed that power on her. The infatuated merchant, not suspecting that she was Manasa Devi in dis- guise, agreed to her condition; when lo! hke a shooting star she vanished from the place, and appearing in the sky in her own form, related the story of her triumph,