06 (Sakuntala) Path Set For The Lovers Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Sakuntala stood up to go
But Anusuya said “No,
To leave our guest here
It’s no good and fair.”

To stop her from going,
Dushyanta was thinking,
But he felt that such an act
Would be a breach of etiquette.

On his part, it wasn’t fair
To simply follow her,
A girl from a hermitage
And a daughter of a sage.

Pryamvada told her
“You’ve to pour water
To these thirsty trees
Twice, as our practice.”

“As they had it one time,
Give them second time
And then you can go
Winding up this show.”

Dushyanta replied her,
“It may not be fair
To give her anymore
Trouble at this hour.”

“Tired her hands are
Carrying pots of water.
Breathless now she is.
On her face sweat flows.”

“With her freed hair knot,
She’s trying to set it right.
This debt of her I’ll clear,
If you all deem it fair.”

Like this, he was saying,
And passed on his ring.
They checked it to find
A royal sign engraved.

To clear their doubt,
He said, “It’s a gift,
His Majesty gave me.
Now, her debt, it’ll free.”

Pryamvada then replied,
“Your every kind word,
We all happily heard,
Nothing else we need!

A dual mind, Sakuntala had.
In their talk she was interested,
But was pretending to go,
When they said, “Not to go.”

Actually Dushyanta felt,
“Why she doesn’t rebut
Either by words or look,
What else her eyes seek? ”

A voice spoke aloud
“All of you be informed.
On a hunting mission,
The King is in action.”

“Take care of all the lives.
Amuck, a mad elephant runs,
At the sound of the chariot
That came for this hunt.”

“It’s destroying everything,
On its way, it’s seeing.
It’ll be a breach of peace
In this ascetics-living-place.”

“See how the deer pack run.
To safe places one by one?
We, guards, with weapons
Have surrounded all places.”

As a King, his importance,
And the need for his presence,
At the troubled site, he felt.
So, he was ready to start.

He told them, “Now we’ll
Take all actions to stall
Any destruction to the huts
Or any damage to the hermits.”

Regretting her friends said,
“Oh guest, we’re afraid,
We cannot stay here
To entertain you anymore.”

“Kindly do come here,
As our guest, once more,
To receive our hospitality,
Without fail, positively.”

He told them, “No, No,
Not like that, now I’ll go
But in your company
I was feeling happy.”

A blade grass had cut
Sakuntala’s both feet.
Some branches caught
Her bark-dress tight.

She called her friends
To stay at one end
Till she got relieved
From these bonds.

After this she followed
Her two girl friends,
With an eye on him,
Counting the time.

He, on the other hand,
To leave had no mind,
And went out unwillingly,
But viewing her mentally.

“I cannot forget her
And should stay here
Somewhere near,
Again to see her.”

“How hard it’s to forget
And remove my thought
Of this girl, whom I love,
Though I must leave now.”

“I’m trying to walk onward,
But my legs drag me backward,
Like the chariot flag that flies
To and fro, in the wind that blows.”

The day passed on like this.
Cupid shot his flower arrows.
Their journey, thus began
In the path set by the divine.