Mb023. The Saranga Birds Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

MAHABHARATA

Khandavaprastha, the dead city,
It presented a picture dirty,
Full of thorns and prickles,
And surrounded by jungles.

Inherited by Pandavas this gift,
For occupation it was unfit.
They set fire to the forest
A new city there to construct.

In its nest a saranga bird,
Four young ones she cared,
As they had no wings to fly,
In the fire they were sure to die.

"Why do you perish?
Oh, mother it's our wish,
That far above in the sky,
You now escape and fly."

The young chicks so said,
To their dear mother bird.
But to leave them she cried,
To pacify them she tried.

When the chicks insisted her,
To escape from the fire,
And start her life anew,
With a heavy heart she flew.

The fire left them unhurt,
While the rest got burnt,
She came back to the nest,
To find their condition best.

Mandapala, a sage perfect
When he died and left
The Heaven closed its gate
Childless he was due to ill fate.

He was sent back to be born
As a bird to beget children,
He lived with his mate Jarita,
But left her to join Lapita.

At a stage he left them both,
As his mates had no faith
In his fidelity towards them,
And they out threw him.

"After becoming a mother,
A woman cares never,
To serve her husband then
More than her children."

So saying the male bird,
Left that place unheard.
In any part of the world,
Yes, this is the story old.