Fa-Hien And Nalanda Poem by DILIPBHASKER MATHRA

Fa-Hien, the earliest Chinese traveller
Walked on foot day and night
Through the untravelled hillocks,
Unfamiliar roads and forest paths.
He was stubborn and seldom tired
And never been reluctant to face the utmost
And irremediable fury of nature.
A fifteen years of walk made him firm
And determined to see the native land
Of Buddhism, that sacred papal tree
Where He attained the supreme wisdom.
While crossing the Hindu Kush he felt
The fragrance of the great country
Which always preserved the magnanimity of
Hospitality and mystification.
From the river Indus he drank the holiwater
Thus purified his ageing mind and revived the spirit
Neither he looked back the paths from where
He stretched his first footstep
Nor dashed into distasteful distress.
The spiritual quest was his chastity
Of elevated thoughts, a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply specific.
Thus, passing miles and miles of thousands
He reached Nalanda, the ancient university
Where the nature’s garden sparkled in endless greenery.
Immense treasure of superior wisdom
Surfaced to its zenith spreading its glory
Even far beyond the unknown world.
Truth and virtue held alike in esteem
Was comprehensive name in that
Renowned centre of learning.
He heard the sound of a hefty gong
And saw everything embraced in spiritualism.
Learned men of high regards and mettle
Dwelt there for exertion in eight fold paths
And exoneration from all the extravagance of life.
No sound, nor arguments prevailed -
Only chanting tune of systematic prayers
Like flung up moments through deep devotion.
When three thousand priests assembled to dine
In the refectory, their demeanour
So ceremonious, grave and pious.
They made no clatter with their bowls
Or called out to the servers for food
But only beckoned with their hands.
The solemn echoes, dim light, the beautiful architecture
Exquisite finish and purity of the Vihara
Indulged profound sensation in him
Which made him a living soul.
He reckoned truth than lost in imagination
And felt paucity in him for had it not been
The part of all those he viewed, until
The eternal divine, those eight fold paths
Vicissituded his mind for ever
And he thus became a fabulous intellect.