Mb016. The Great Escape Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

MAHABHARATA

Vidura, the minister wise,
Was he in for any surprise?
No, so well the plot he knew,
He gave Yudhisthira a tips few.

"A wise knows himself to guard,
He escapes from dangers ahead.
The forest fire to avoid,
A rat in a hole lies buried."

Yudhisthira could guess well,
Duryodhana's some plan evil.
As a wise, at Vidura's hint,
He understood what it meant?

At Varanavata, a full year,
Purochana waited there,
To leave no suspicion
Of their heinous plan.

On every hunting expedition,
Pandavas studied the location,
Pathways and forest routes,
And their future hideouts.

A miner there Vidura sent,
Who went as their servant,
And dug a tunnel secret,
Under the ground every night.

Bhima helped this miner,
To cut a pathway finer.
One dark night he set fire,
To every nook and corner.

Far away, he took them all,
Thro' the winding tunnel,
Unnoticed by the crowd
Who stood there and cried.

A heap of ashes the scene
Of the burnt palace was seen.
Dhritarashtra's mind narrow,
It met with joy and sorrow.

It was like a deep water pool,
At the bottom water was cool,
And it was warm at the top,
So remained his mental set up.

In the mourning dress,
With their tearful eyes,
They did funeral rites,
At the river bank sites.

Bhisma asked Vidura why
Who was standing close by
In his eyes, he shed no tears,
But showed a sign of cheers?

The secret he revealed.
Bhisma also believed.
And had all the praise,
For Vidura, a man wise.

Kunti and Pandavas one day,
Met Sage Vyasa on the way.
To be calm, he advised them.
Until better days ahead to come.

As Brahmins in disguise,
They stayed in a house.
In the City of Ekachakra,
As advised by Vyasa.