Ayyappan 16 - To The Forest To Fetch Leopard's Milk Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

At the age of thirteen,
Manikantan is already
A grown up, responsible youth.
Manikantan, most lovingly came to be
Addressed as Ayyappan or
Ayyappa swami, in the later years.

Meanwhile, a son was born
To King Rajasekhara of Panthala,
But the king was firm and decisive,
He would only crown
His first adopted son - Manikantan
As the future King of Panthala.

But O! human nature!
So weak,
So selfish,
The lower mind so fickle,
Unable to gain control,
Immune to logic or reasoning!

The wicked Minister of Panthala,
Instigated and poisoned the mind of Queen Mother.
She fell into his trap and had a change of heart,
Why shouldn't her own blood get the throne?
Manikantan was an orphan picked up from the forest,
With a vague and unknown lineage.

The Queen Mother weaved a clever plan
To get rid of Manikantan.
She summoned Manikantan and asked him
To get her the milk of a leopard,
The only cure for her stomach ailment.
A thirteen year old boy searching for the milk of a leopard?

The Queen Mother's plan and pretensions worked.
Manikantan leaves for the forest to fetch leapard's milk.
Little did the Queen Mother know that
Manikantan was no ordinary mortal or an orphan,
He was Ayyappan - the powerful divine incarnation,
To uphold the right and to vanquish the wrong and evil.