বঙ্গ-সাহিত্য-পরিচয় | Banga-Sahitya-Parichaya

INTRODUCTION. ' 9 The great problem that confronts all lovers of Bengali literature is how to make this important find easily accessible to the noe ge these public. Unless this is done, no research by individual *s writers can be put toa scientific test by the scrutiny of the literary critics. It is true that some of these old works have been printed at Rattala, and the late Ramniariyana Vidyaratna of Berhampur, with the munificent donation of a lakh of Rupees from the late Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya of Tipperah, published a number of Sanskrit and Bengali works of the Vaignavas. The Sahitya Parisate of Calcutta and Rangpur have also published some old poems with notes. But I am of the opinion that the time for editing old books which the Parisats and other literary bodies have taken upon themselves to. accomplish, has not yet arrived. A very large number of these books still lie unpublished. When these are collated and carefully studied, it will then be safe and proper to edit, individual works. All premature attempts to edit a book when sufficient materials bearing upon it have not been examined, is sure to lead to wrong’ conclusions. So I once suggested that instead of wasting time and money on editing individual books which necessarily retard the progress of the publication of the whole, the MSS. already secured by the Sahitya Parisat of Caleutta might be at first rapidly published ; so that in two or three years we might actually possess a considerable number of published old books; and when this result was achieved, experts might be employed to edit or annotate important individual works. But my suggestion was not accepted. The number of old Bengali works already printed at Battala and elsewhere is considerable; but by far the greater number of books, some of which are vaiuable and important are still, as I have said, lying in the shape of MSS. exposed to the risk of being ultimately lost. The importance of publishing these MSS. was greatly felt by Mr. Rabindranath Tagore, who about four years ago, দা পপ in consultation with his nephew, Mr. Gaganendranath Tagore, proposed that a lakh of Rupees should be raised by subscription from a few enlightened zemindars of this province, provided the compiler of the present work could undertake the sole charge of printing and publishing them. Owing to ill-health, I declined to undertake this huge task, and Mr. Rabindranath Tagore sought the opinion of Sir Asutosh Mookerjee as to whether the University of Calcutta could undertake to do so. The Vice-Chancellor, whose zeal in the cause of the vernacular language is well-known, at once realised the importance of the matter, but for the present he thought it better to have ‘Typical Selections from the Old Bengali Literature’ compiled on a somewhat large scale, than trv to bring out the whole mass—of old writing, which would - _ 2