Text 35
kevala gauḍiyā pāile ‘bāṭapāḍa’ kari’ bāndhe
saba luṭi’ bāṅdhi’ rākhe, yāite virodhe
kevala — alone; gauḍiyā — Bengali; pāile — if gotten; bāṭapāḍa — plundering; kari’ — doing; bāndhe — they arrest; saba — everything; luṭi’ — taking; bāṅdhi’ — arresting; rākhe — keep; yāite virodhe — do not release.
“As soon as the plunderers on the road see a Bengali traveling alone, they take everything from him, arrest him and do not let him go.
Bengalis are generally not very stout and strong. Therefore when a lone Bengali traverses the roads of Bihar, the plunderers on the road capture him, rob all his belongings and kidnap him for their own service. According to one opinion, the rogues of Bihar know very well that Bengalis are intelligent; therefore these thieves generally force the Bengalis into service requiring intelligence and do not allow them to leave.