Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/282

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VERNACULAR LITERATURE SOCIETY.
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classes, and, in its stead, the Upakramanika and the three parts of the Kaumudi, compiled in Bengali by Vidyasagar, were introduced. With these were also introduced the three parts of the Rijupatha, compiled from such works, as the Panchatantra, the Ramayana, the Hitopadesa, the Vishnupurana and the Mahabharata. At this time, several intelligent boys, who had begun Sanskrit with the Upakramanika went up to the higher classes with leaps and bounds. Consequently, Vidyasagar paid no attention to the former proposal of imparting instruction in the Siddhanta-Kaumudi after the study of these grammars written in the vernacular.'

This policy helped to make the entrance to Sanskrit easy, and to confirm the stability of the College, but the attainment of a perfect Sanskrit education receded a great way. Henceforth very few students of the College have been able to acquire a profound knowledge of the Sanskrit Literature.

Vidyasagar was not content with merely writing and publishing his own Bengali books. Be joined some of the associations that were, at that time, engaged in compiling and publishing textbooks, and he encouraged them in different ways. He had some influence with the School Book Society and Vernacular Literature Society of the time, which issued a rule that authors intending to get their works published, must forward specimens