Zzzzzz The cosmic sleep of Sri Vishnu. Letter Z of the # a to z challenge.

You sleep on the primordial waters of chaos

The Ksheerasagara- ocean of milk

Transcendantal consciousness that is Brahman

Every potentiality stays poised within you.

Ananta Shayana meaning one who rests

Atop the infinite Shesha Naaga*

Omni present- omni potent

Creator of the creative urge that is Brahma*

All pervasive, ever present.

We look all over- in any

Nook of the cosmos- any 

Other cosmos it is you, it is You.

All of us in you and you in us

This is how it is, for it is you- that

Resides in this shell, as the light and 

Airy element, that which escapes

When the rest of us falls to dust 

Back to you, the energy that runs everything.

You, that defies description

And we that love forms

We make such a pair

You, manifestation of everything beautiful

We that run after shadows

Give us a pinch of your cosmic sleep

Oh lord, so we float above the ocean

We live in, detached as much as needed

Poised within ourselves, in touch

With the infinity inside our own self.

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Yudhishtira son of Yama. Letter Y of the # a to z challenge.

There is something amiss

I cannot quite understand
Do tell me dear reader if you

Perchance figure it out.

Kunti's son from Yama*

Righteous and chaste was he

However being a mortal man

Prone to blunder and gaffe

Let us not judge, let us not call names

Simply run a glance over one

Incident that wrenches the heart

Yudhishtira it seems had one flaw

A vice that many a person has.

Stumbled on and lost all he/she had.

And so he gambled away his kingdom

And wealth which is not all-

He also lost his brothers and their

Common wife* to a blind and arrogant lot.

Draupadi was dis-robed in front of a

Full court, only the mercy of Sri Krishna

Rushing to her rescue in the form of an

Endless length of cloth. 

What may he have felt, this son of Yama

Seeing a sight such as that....

The rules of the game sacro-sanct so

Much so that none of the five husbands

Could help the damsel out. What a pity and

What a plight, with all the elders present

Not one could give her a hand. Oh! if only

She had married Karna the brave, she would

Never have had the mishap, thought she afterwards

In secret to herself, never knowing alas

That it was Karna who was the eldest one

That Mother Kunti had begat.

Alas, for everyone and for the son of Yama himself,

Had he been with them right from the start,

Never the war would be fought, for I suspect

Karna would have stopped short at many a point

Or gone ahead in every respect.

But what can be done now dear reader

All we can do is think back, conjecture and 

Hope to learn from Yudhishtira and all the 

Pandava and Kaurava band, what misery one can 

Go through, for the sake of one's land.

 

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yama

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draupadi

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

X-iled. Letter X of the # a to z challenge.

Hold my hand and let us travel far back

In the time-machine of the heart and mind-

Once upon a time, long long ago

In Kosala desh reigned King Dasharatha

 

After a long time of giving away their first born Shanta

Queens Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra 

 

Had Sri Rama, Bharata, Laxmana and Shatrughna

Through the Putra Kameshti Yagna* perfomed

By the austere husband of Shanta, Rishyashrina Rishi .

The beautiful boys grew up, strong, learned and polite

Freeing the jungles for peaceful penance,Rama and Laxmana

Removed the demons Taadaka, Maareech and Subahu.

Sita, Sri Lakshmi incarnate wedded to her consort through

Swayamvara* returns with Rama and dwells in Ayodhya.

The ageing King, decides to crown his oldest son and here

Dear reader is where the trouble begins. Kaikeyi, the youngest

Queen of King Dasharatha, decides to use the two boons he 

Gave her at an earlier time, Manthara's poison playing havoc

In her mind. Deciding to extract her pound of flesh she descended

Upon the innocent-loving King and demanded that he send away

His son, his very life- into exile, a full fourteen years and her second

Wish was that her son Bharata be crowned which of course caused

Her own estrangement with her husband and son. Sri Rama, the ever

Dutiful, set off in simple clothes, Sri Sita and Laxmana by his side. 

Hence Vishnu, Lakshmi and Sesha Naag were off on their mission

To vanquish evil and bring about peace on earth. 

The King could not bear the loss and died of a broken heart and 

All of us know what happened after the start of that famous x-ile*

 

*Fire rituals performed by one desirous of having children
*Swayamvara (Sanskrit: स्वयंवर), in ancient India, was a practice of choosing a husband, from among a list of suitors, by a girl of marriageable age. Swayam in Sanskrit means self and vara means groom in this context.
*Rama and his brothers Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughna were the chaturvyuha expansions of Vishnu (Vasudev, Sankarshan, Pradyumna, Aniruddha). Rama's life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life and time. For the sake of his father's honour, Rama abandons his claim to Ayodhaya's throne to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana decide to join him, and all three spend the fourteen years in exile together. While in exile, Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the Rakshasa monarch of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravana's armies. In a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry and battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned king in Ayodhya and eventually becomes emperor, rules with happiness, peace, duty, prosperity and justice—a period known as Rama Rajya.

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Wonder of mythology. Letter W of the # a to z challenge.

Simple song I bring you today

While I take a breather

To stop short and wonder on

This eternal-timeless ocean

That our love never seems to end on.

Lots of it real history,

Some of it not.

Every tale of peerless beauty

And lessons to match,

For the wise and merry alike

For epicure and saint.

Take your pick dear reader-

There are pearls aplenty if you want

And there is huge and searing pain

Agony and ecstasy abound.

In this heavenly harmony all is open for the taking,

What you choose is yours to keep, for learning and thinking, 

Perhaps even further to dig, delve and maybe get reading .

                                                  

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Veer Barbarik. Letter V of the # a to z challenge.

 Many a tale we have gone through, you and I and yet

A stranger tale does not exist than this one here of Veer* Barbarik

Sri Krishna asked all present, on the eve of the battle at

Kurukshetra, how many days each would take to finish

The war, Each had a number ranging twenty to twenty-eight.

Further on, in guise he stopped a young lad on horseback,

All set for war and put before him the same query, the one

He had already asked all the ancients and the greats.

Barbarik the rider, replied, skipping not a beat- 'one whole minute.'

The dusky Lord then proceeded to prod and reveal, through

Question and answer, getting Barbarik to explain thus-

'Of the three arrows that are my blessing, dear man...

The first will mark out the innocents, bystanders and non-aligned,

The second- friends, while the third will raze to the ground all unmarked- the foes.

Also I have promised my mother that I will fight on the losing side

At all times.' At which point Sri Krishna intervened to show him what

Barbarik hadn't thought of, the war could never be won for he would

Stay moving from one losing side to the other. This oscillation

Coupled with the three- arrow boon would result in a

Total annihilation leaving only him standing alive and alone.

This scene when described to the grandson of mighty Bhima-

Barbarik, the son of Ghatotkacha and Maurvi began to see the goryness

He was about to unleash in his naivete.

Krishna now told Barbarik, he wanted something from him

And was promised anything his heart fancied, upon which the Lord

Still in disguise asked for the head of the, now shocked Barbarik

Understanding dawned on the brave young man that all was not

As it seemed and he begged of the stranger to disclose identity.

Seeing who it was in reality, he fell at the blue-hued feet.

The Vishwarupa* was shown and thus graced, the lion-hearted Barbarik

Agreed to lose his head, with a single plea that he be allowed to see

The whole war and this fulfilled with his head sitting atop

The Khatu hill. Known as Belarsen and Khatu-Shyam

Worshipped even now is Veer Barbarik.

*Universal form. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishvarupa

*Brave

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khatushyam

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Uttara. Letter U for the # a to Z challenge

Uttara danced the day away
Only stopping to untie her anklets
When the Sun began his descent
In the Matsya kingdom
The daughter of King Viraata
And her teacher Brihannala,
 
Arjuna in eunuch dance-teacher form
A curse that turned blessing in disguise
To the Pandava Princes in their year of
Agyaatvaas, where living incognito they
Spent the year somehow.
Later on the princess became

The self-same Arjuna's daughter-in-law
Wife of the young and valiant Abhimanyu
Young- beautiful couple, they were until
The war and the fateful thirteenth day
Took him away and she was left alone
Widowed too soon.


Parikshith in your womb and you
Managed to stay alive and sane.
Thanks be to God for that, as this
Son of yours went on to be surviving
King of Hastinapur. The kingdom which caused
The Mahabharata war, was his and then

Passed to your grandson Janamejaya.
How did you spend your days young lass
Apart from bringing up your son....
Did nightmares haunt you of the Chakravyuha*
Which your brave husband entered to save his uncle
Knowing full well that he knew only the entry,

Or did his courage and valour fill you with pride
Giving you the strength to carry on, instead of
Giving up on life. Blessed was he and blessed you were
For holding on with your head held high,
When all you must have wanted to do- lie down and die
You didn't. You proved to be truly Abhimanyu's bride.




*Chakravyuha
The Chakravyūha or Padmavyūha was a special formation (Vyuha), and knowledge of how to penetrate it was limited to only a handful of warriors on the Pandavas' side: namely Abhimanyu, Arjuna, Krishna and Pradyumna, of which only Abhimanyu was present at the most-famous occasion of its use. Because he had never learnt to escape the formation, he was trapped upon entry and fought alone. After Abhimanyu had penetrated the sixth tier of the formation, all the Kauravas' commanders attacked him simultaneously, against the righteous rules of warfare Dharmayuddha, and gradually exhausted and killed him.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhimanyu


I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Trishanku Swarga. Letter T of the # a to z challenge.

Satyavrat the Suryavanshi* King dear reader
Son of Prithu, ancestor of Sri Rama
Parent to Raja Harishchandra
Is the man of my tale today.
Stay with me and we shall traverse
His life's strange ambition and how it all
Connects back to us today.

Ready to retire King Satyavrat gave up the
Throne and crowned his son King.
He felt he deserved Swarga and he did
Only hitch being that he wanted to get
There and stay there in his mortal shell
Against the laws of nature this was and
So he was denied his entry to heaven.

His guru, Rishi Vasishta refused performance of rites
To help his ascent and so Satyavrat approached
Shakti, oldest son of Rishi Vasisht for this
The son was unswerved and knew his father
To be right. Cursed he the king and then on
The king turned to Trishanku, a hideous form
Full of debilitating afflictions.



Now on we shall call him Trishanku, dear reader
And he was one steadfast man for he never gave up
And went about on a wander in the wilderness
Before he met Sage Vishwamitra with his plea
He still wanted to get to Swarga in his mortal form.
The Sage agreed, only to feed the fire of his rivalry
With the wise Rishi Vasishta.

Rituals began and Trishanku began to rise, reaching
Right up to the heavens. The devas led by Indra
Were shocked to see an actual person and ended
In pushing him back. The Sage not to be defeated
Kept on with the strength of his rituals to push him back
Finally even constructing a parallel heaven mid-air
To the south and this was called 'Trishanku Swarga'

Trishanku restored to his stately form, the Sage now
Began the task of crowning the man, new Indra at which
You guessed right. Indra and the Devas rushed to him and
Begged him to stop, apologising and explaining their
Previous act. The Sage was in a quandry, he had to
Agree to the good sense of the Devas and also uphold
His own promise to the quirky King.

A compromise was reached and everyone appeased
Trishanku got his own Heaven and hangs there upside
Down, Yet under the regime of Indra of Swarga and here
This story of mine finds its timely end but not before
We think a little on how we can easily trap our Self
In a limbo and hang between our needs and wants
Wanting what is not ours and that which never should be had.

* Solar dynasty
* The phrase "Trishanku's heaven" is used widely in India to describe similar situations faced in life. * It is also believed that Trishanku and Vaivasvata Manu are both the same.
* In astronomy, Trishanku corresponds to the constellation of Crux, also known as the Southern Cross

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Shachi and Indra, a poem in two parts. Letter S of the # a to z challenge.

                  
                     Part 1
One of the seven-matrikas- Devi Shachi
Indrani- wife of Indra, Paulomaja
Daughter of Pauloma the asura king

Possessed of beauty and light
She was chosen for a bride,
By Indra the leader of the Devas.

In Swarga she dwells and rides
The white elephant- Airavata
Along with the God she wed

Who won her after protracted battle
With Asura Vritra and that tale
Is under the letter D for Dadhichi

For Vritra wreaked havoc on the three worlds
And wanted Devi Shachi's hand in marriage
While Indra had already lost his heart to her

Only after vanquishing Vritra
He was able to meet in wedlock
The Goddess power most divine.
 




                      Part 2
Such a powerful beauty, you, Shachi devi
When the same Indra lusted after other beauties
Losing his lofty place to one asura after the other

All the while, I wonder did you feel
Similar feelings to what a mortal woman would.
Our tomes abound in tales where he

Your husband, changed guise to delude and seduce
His radiance dimmed by extreme fondness of Soma
Did your love turn to disgust...

Yet Indra meant the Best of all,
Devendra, despite everything stayed
Leader of the Devas

His name suffixed to mean superlative
Best amidst men- Manavendra
Best of the Raghu kul- Raghavendra

An interesting mix of this and that,
Shachi devi such was your consort.


*http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/sapta-matrikas-the-seven-divine-mothers/
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachiya_Mata_Temple 

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Rishyasringa

A child with deer's horns was he
The Rishyasringa Rishi
Born to the heavenly nymph Urvashi
And Vibhandaka Maharshi

 She left the child and returned whence she came
While the ascetic father brought his child up
In the depth of the jungles
Away from all society.

Now a young man, Rishyasringa's powers
Grew and grew while in the kingdom of Anga
There was a cursed drought and famine
Giving King Romapada's heart many a tremor

Told that the young ascetic in the midst
Of the forests had the key, the King sent
Shanta to seduce him back to Anga
Which she did and back she came

Bringing the Rishi along with her
Anga began to thrive once more
And the Rishi, he settled down
With Shanta, in wedded bliss.

At a later date chief purohit* at the Yajna* at Ayodhya
On behest of King Dasharatha*
And then were born the four fine lads
But that tale in some other poem I shall tell.

Of Vibhandaka Rishi's reactions I have no sight
To each their own actions seeming right
For their people's benefit each one bending
And this is where my tale I am ending.

*Purohit- Hindu priest
*Yajna- Fire ritual
*King Dasharatha- Father of Sri Rama, King of Ayodhya
*Sengar Brahmins are supposed to be descendants of Rishyasringa rishi and Shanta
*Sringeri, and important temple town in Karnataka is named after the rishi











I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Quest for Amrit. A poem in English and Devnagari Hindi. Letter Q of the A to Z challenge

Devas led by Indra had to flee
Cursed by Durvasa, hence defeated by asuras
They lost their home and hearth

They reached Sri Vishnu's abode
And begged him for some reprieve
Compassion unbounded they received
And the asuras were made to agree

On a combined plan to be liberated
Reach immortality through Amrit the nectar
Found in the depths of Ksheer sagara*
The ocean milky white

The divine in the form of turtle
Held up mount Mandaara while Vasuki*
Agreed to be the rope they could churn with
Held on either end by the two groups

One side lusting for Amrit so they
Could perpetrate evil on earth and heaven
The other side equally keen but
Responsible for the well-being of every being

First came Haalahala poison demanding
The stepping in of Shiva, to ingest and hold
In his neck for evermore-thus named Neelkanth*
Then followed Lakshmi followed by the
Kalpa-vriksh and Apsaraas

Ucchhaishravas, Kausthubh, Kamadhenu*
Airavata, Saaranga, Paarijaat*
Came right behind and many many more
But in the end came Dhanvantri

Holding the pot filled with the liquid
Which was the reason for the
Whole cosmic collaboration.
The two groups began to fight

Mohini most beautiful emerged
A form of Sri Vishnu, to beguile
The easily led asuras, while the Devas
Got to drink the Amrit

A drop here and a drop there fell
Out of the kumbha meaning pot
And these are the spots my friends
Where we celebrate the melas* on the dot.

 

मुनि दुर्वासा से हो शापित
इंद्र व देवों ने खोया स्व-स्थान
देवों व असुरों में छिड़ा संग्राम 
हतोत्साहित देव हुए निष्कासित

पहुंचे वे श्री विष्णु समक्ष
दया सागर ने मानी बात, बन बैठे वे कूर्मावतार। 
वार्ता हुई असुरों के संग
मान गए वह दोनों दल

क्षीर सागर की ओर चले सब,
श्री विष्णु डूबे जलधि में
मंदार पर्वत पीठ पर धारा
वासुकि सर्प बंध गए तुरंत

मंथन की सामग्री थी तैयार,
एक सिरा असुरों ने पकड़ा, दूजा देवों के हाथ समाया
अमृत पान की लालसा ले
सबने प्रारम्भ किया प्रसंग

हालाहल विष निकला जिसे
धारण किया भोले शिवजी ने
गले में- कहलाए वे नीलकंठ
निकलीं कई कई महा मणियां

श्री लक्ष्मी, कल्पवृक्ष, अप्सराएं
उछैश्रव, कामधेनु, ऐरावत दीर्घ-काय, कौस्तुभ, सारंग, पारिजात
अंत में आये धन्वन्तरि महान
लिए हाथों में वह जिसके लिए किया उपाय


भिड़ गए सारे, मचा घमासान। 
मोहिनी का रूप धरा
श्री विष्णु ने ले लिया घड़ा
मोहित असुरों से हुई भूल

अमृत मिला देवों को
हो गए वे अमर अजर, असुरों की एक बार फिर हुई हार
जो सदैव करते थे पीड़ित
धरा और जीवों को

उनको भला कैसे मिलता
अपेक्षित- अमूल्य उपहार।
अमृत की बूँदें गिरीं जिधर
वहां मनाते कुम्भ प्रखर। 
 

*Ksheera sagara- Milky white ocean
*Vasuki- A king serpant
*Neelkanthh- The blue throated one. Lord Shiva.
* All that emerged in the churning you can read about in the below link
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudra_manthan
* Melas- Fair. Here they are spiritual fests of epic proportions known as the Kumbh Melas
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Paundrak Vasudev. Letter P of the # a to z challenge

Dear reader we come to the strange and funny tale
Of Paundraka Vasudev- King of Pundra which lay
Near Magadha, Anga, Vanga, Videha

But first of course we begin with submerging ourselves in
Sri Krishna- the son of Vasudev and Devaki
Looked after by Mother Yashoda and Baba Nand
He who is as blue and limitless as the sky

 His childhood dear reader I thrived on
Dreaming of a Divine playmate like Him
Heard many a story on my mother's lap
And passed down the same to the one on my lap

He was Radha's friend Divine
Lover of butter and cows, His flute
Filled hearts and minds with melody
Where even the deaf-mute danced in joy




He- dear reader is Beauteous, bountiful, intelligent
A perfect amalgam of all strength and art
The Bhavadgita came to Arjuna through Him,
Dispersing dejection when the time was right.
 
Such a one unparalleled,
Source of all sources, found
Himself imitated by the King
Of Pundra who in most witless form

Began to dress and to the utmost
Mimic, One who can be loved
Worshipped and adored but not
Duplicated.

Sycophant of Jarasandh, the man
Began to call himself Paundrak Vasudev
The real Vasudeva Krishna,
Pronouncing Sri Krishna, un-Divine

Courtiers and flatterers added fuel to fire
Making the fool the biggest of his times.
Finally the only mercy and blessing
Came in the form of the Lord sublime

The fool challenged the Lord to war
Demanding the Sudarshan Chakra
The bow Saranga, Kaumodaki the mace,
Panchajanya the conch and the sword Nandaka.

These were the divine weaponry
That adorned Sri Krishna at His beck and call
Krishna met Paundraka and Kasiraja
In the battle of their choice

Personally delivering him dear reader
Rendering him supine
Great folly set to rest he departed
And this is the last of my line.

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Ominscient Being. Letter O # a to z challenge

Omniscient Being you were born

Sometimes from human womb

Other times from thin air

*Ten times we know you came 

To set things right and perhaps

You have come again and again

How could we know, when we see

Feel and think through thick veils 

Of fake knowledge

Trappings of the mind

Writing down your tales 

We term them myths and Puraan*

However

It is joyous this perusal of your forms

Of joy, sorrow, heroics and victory of good over evil

Embedded 

In our cell memory of a time that is now

And a time that is long gone.

 

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashavatara
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puranas

 
I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Narada's glory. Letter N of the # a to Z challenge

One who's name means disseminator of wisdom
Narada you are the wandering sage that spreads
The name of Narayan wherever your foot falls

Loka upon loka sees your effulgent presence arrive
You- the passer by, eternal witness, unbound, free-flowing
Watching and helping where you can

O Gandharva born as human
You stayed steadfast in your devotion
After death no more human

Blessed with the spiritual Narada form
Your intelligence and learning astounds
Numbing our minds with its sheer brilliance

 Humour and wit in plenty, you are
The first ever journalist, with
Temples at Chigateri and Korva

May we pass on your tales and never waver
Senses purified with telling and listening
Who knows but you may be our life saver.

 



 * Loka- world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loka
* Two Narada temples exist in Karnataka at Chigateri and Korva

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Mandodari. Letter M for the # a to z challenge

 

Apsara Hema and Mayasura

Gave you birth, beauty most divine

You in turn had three stout lads

Meghnad, Atikaya, Akshayakumara

Once married off to Ravana of Lanka

On his forceful behest

Despite your father's angst

You agreed for you knew

Of Ravana's learning and his love

For Shiva but knew not that all of this

Was a sham for it did not help

The man lead a good life

You were chaste, epitome of 

Everything a woman was convinced she could be 

Had he followed your sage advice

Ravana could have been immortalised

But where dear reader may I ask

Is found wisdom combined 

With strength enough to take

Advice and put it to task

For sure, not where there is arrogance 

And pride combined, with power

Poor lady she tried all she could 

And never did convince her spouse

To return Mother Sita where she belonged

Who would have her own plights galore

Even after being rescued and Lanka thronged

By Sri Rama, Lakshmana and the Vaanar sena

Anyhow returning to our original heroine

She shed bitter tears when widowed and 

Issued many a curse and none benign

Finally as the written evidence goes

She married Vibhishana the just new king

Brother of Ravana, devotee

Of Sri Rama and lived a life of

Blessed tranquility.

 

*Vaanar Sena- Army of monkeys

*Apsara- Celestial nymph

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana

                                                      

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Lakshagraha, the lacquer palace. Letter L # a to z challenge

Dear reader here is a peek
Into the Mahabharata
Greatest epic poem ever written
Ten times combined size of Iliad and Odyssey

At par with the Bible and the Koran
Central to the civilization of Bharata
It gives us stories weaving
From one into the other

The essence Bhagavadgeeta
At its heart, the divine discourse
Of Sri Krishna in the battlefield
Which is life.

I digress, let me pull back...
Here we stand both you and I
At the gates of a palace red-hued
Made of lacquer

Shakuni, cunning Gandhara
Had Purochana build this
Seemingly grand structure
Built to burn at the drop of a spark

Trap of the worse kind
Gifted with sweet words
At the crowning of Yudhishtira
Meant to be quick burning grave

The Pandavas and Kunti forewarned
By Vidura- wise brother of Pandu and Dhritrashtra
Escaped through the tunnel
That fateful night 

Dug out and kept ready
In advance while the scheming
Bunch believed them dead
Strangely because there were bodies found

Of one woman and her spouse and sons
Purochana's family all
Who believed that he had poisoned
The Pandavas and slept drunkenly

While the Pandavas set fire to the palace
And walked sub-terraneously reaching
The shores of the welcoming Ganges 
Now dear reader let us stop

To think, how people that are right
And stick to the simple- proper path
Stay protected and are safe

End in winning their way to peace and light.

* W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahabharata in the context of world civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Qur'an
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshagraha

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology/history for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)

Karna for K for the # a to Z challenge

                                        

Kunti gave you up to Mother Ganga 

And you little baby, flowed down her bosom

Safe and sound 

Found by Adhirath the charioteer

Who made you his own after 

Quite a struggle of his own

Radha became your mother

You grew up brilliantly strong

Son of the Sun God- Surya.

He had endowed you

With shining armour and ear rings

At birth

And followed you around 

Frolicking with you on every step- unknown.

Discarded royal, yet so loved

You could not contest at many a place

With other royals since no one knew

Of your own birth parents

Duryodhana gave you support

Made you Angaraaj

Fortunate was he

For he earned by that single action

A life long friend most loyal

Who fought the great war 

 

At his side same as the steadfast

Bheeshma, both of you with no

Axe to grind of your own and yet

You stood most firm

Heedless of your wife and mothers plea

Unshaken even by Sri Krishna's counsel

The revelation of your birth 

Shook you to your core but

Failed to move you from the side

Of the wrong-doer simply

Because it was not in you to

Betray your friend.

Till the end you stayed the 

Great giver, courageous and strong

First born of Kunti

Ready to bear any loss

For your own belief of what's right and wrong

Oldest Pandava, we will never forget thee.

              

जो रहिमन उत्तम प्रकृति- का कर सकत कुसंग

                                                    चंदन विष व्यापत नहीं लिपटे रहत भुजंग

A couplet (Doha) by Rahim (Abdurrahim Khankhana)

Meaning- Says Rahim, one who is of inherently noble nature, will remain unaffected even when he associates with bad people. Just as the sandalwood plant does not absorb poison when the snakes wind around it.

This seems to me to point directly to the hero of today's post :) Dear reader what do you think ?

I am writing poetry based on Indian mythology for the April 2016 A to Z challenge. Please read, comment and share freely and do come back :)