A Momentous Hour Poem by Ravi Panamanna

AN EPISODE FROM THE LIFE OF JAGADGURU* ADI SANKARA. AT THE AGE OF EIGHT, HE LEFT HIS HOME RENOUNCINNG THE WORLD. IT COULD HAVE BEEN QUITE UNBEARABLE FOR HIS MOTHER TO LEAVE HER ONLY SON LIKE THAT. IN THIS POEM, I AM TRYING TO RECAPTURE THOSE MOMENTS OF DEPARTURE.
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She was on an endless prayer;
Her child was on a spiritual quest.
He was barely eight
But was firm in his very step.

And her eyes were two streams;
Deep within she held all her scream.
Like a river hiding her depths,
She hid the winds of yore within her chest.

And the momentous hour arrived;
She wanted a promise from her saintly son.
During the hour of her death, in one breath
He should bless her eyes with his presence.

And with that promise** given,
He left his native winds.
Prostrating Periyar***, that fabulous river,
He signed off and carried a silent prayer.

The mother, from her doorway,
Without a wink witnessed the last scene.
Endless meads were calling her son,
To melting moments she returned.
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Jagadguru* - The Teacher of the entire universe.

Promise** - On her death bed, Adi Sankara presented himself before her from a far away place in the Himalayas.

Periyar*** - A popular river of Kerala on the banks of which Sankara was born (at Kaladi) . Thekkady wild life sanctuary is situated on the banks of this river.