Kerala 8 - King Mahabali Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon
Kerala 8 - King Mahabali
A glorious era
When 'Mahabali' ruled
And reigned as
The king of Kerala!
A benevolent king
Who ruled with his heart,
To give and bestow
On his people,
All that they desired
Or aspired!
He made his coconut land
A beautiful country,
With abundance of joy,
And prosperity!
King Mahabali made his people
Happy, healthy and wealthy.
His goodness, generosity
And fame,
Spread far and wide,
Until it reached the ears of the celestials.
Never knew
That the heavenly beings
Could become jealous of
An earthly king.
But that's exactly what happened!
The celestials complained
To Lord ‘Mahavishnu'
Of King Mahabali's
Extraordinary power
And popularity.
Mahavishnu disguised himself
As a dwarf,
Approached the king
And requested him
Just three steps of land!
King Mahabali had never
Refused anyone.
He did not think twice,
Instead, immediately
Granted the dwarf his wish.
The dwarf named Vamana
Is the fifth incarnation of Mahavishnu.
Vamana with his first step
Covered the entire earth,
With his second step,
He covered the whole of heaven,
The third step, he placed
On the head of King Mahabali,
And pushed him down into 'Patala' -
The deepest hole of hell.
King Mahabali was lifted from hell
And taken to the highest abode
Of ‘Vaikuntha' or Heaven!
There he remained as the brightest star
And a luminous Super Soul!
Once a year, during the Onam festival,
He visits Kerala attired royally,
Holding a straw umbrella,
And the Keralites welcome him
Most heartily with great jubilance!
A free verse
What a wonderful and inspiring story so well conveyed. A great depiction of a great ruler.
Yes, a ruler who reigned by his heart is a great and a true leader.
Part 7. On the other hand, Lord Ram of Ramayanam is a perfectly balanced person. Termed as "Maryadapurushottama". And Krishna is the epitome of all incarnations. His discourse to Arjuna, The Holy Shrimad Bhagawat Gita is the samgraha of all Indian Philosophy
Part 6. Calibrated because the sixth incarnation is whimsical, uses a primitive axe as his weapon, always pictured as an angry person (in Ramayanam he fights Ram because he carries his name) . Less Godly.
Emperor Mahabali being a threat to Lord Indra was deprived of his claim over the three worlds in deception. The legend has a lot of turns
Part 5: he acts against Emperor Mahabali out of his jealousy, sense of insecurity and whims. More of mundane human nature. Not becoming of ‘Gods'. After Vaamana, the further incarnations are more cultured beings, rising above basic human nature, that too in a calibrated manner
Part 4. Primitive not just in the body, but also in his action. He acts against Emperor Mahabali
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/16/2024 9:06:57 PM # 1.0.0.1119
It's a marvelous poem mam... thanks for sharing.5 stars
Love Kerala! Love the great Mahabali! And as always loved the whole presentation. Awesome.