Mb067. Vritra And Nahusha Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

MAHABHARATA

Lord Indra of heaven didn't hide,
His growing arrogance and pride,
To Brihaspati his preceptor,
He failed to give respect proper.

Hurt by him, the teacher coolly
Left once for all his assembly.
Indra had to search for another.
Visvarupa he took as a teacher.

From asura clan he came,
So, suspicious Indra became,
His loyalty to test
Indra tried his best.

Though he was asura born,
He was strict and stubborn,
His principles to uphold,
To face Indra he was bold.

With his mace Vajrayudha,
Indra killed Visvarupa,
But his father Twashta,
Brought a demon Vritra.

There arose a long fight.
An end was never in sight.
Not able to defeat Vritra
To Vishnu prayed Indra.

Lord Vishnu slew Vritra,
But dejected became Indra.
He ran away from his post.
Somewhere, in disgust.

In place of Lord Indra,
Gods then chose Nahusha,
Whose start was good,
But turned later very bad.

He was after Indra's wife,
He made miserable her life.
Sachidevi was her name,
To Brahaspati she came.

He gave her protection,
But suffered humiliation,
As Nahusha was after her,
And he never left her.

"To find your husband out,
To know his where about,
Time you should ask for"
Like this Brahaspati told her.

Time Nahusha gave her,
He was so mad after her.
Her virtue and chastity,
It gave her an opportunity.

Indra reduced to an atom,
Hiding inside a lotus stem,
In the lake Manasarovar,
Penance he did there.

When he heard her plight,
He gave her an idea straight,
"Go to Nahusha with a reply
That you're almost ready."

"Tell him this condition,
To arrive in a palanquin,
That's carried by sages pious.
Say, it's your only choice."

As Indra said she also acted.
At her response he was elated.
In a palanquin he was coming,
To go fast, sages he was kicking.

"Down you go to the earth,
As a serpent to take birth, "
A fatal curse on the spot,
From Sage Agastya he got.

From Uncle Salya they heard,
How Lord Indra once suffered.
Pandavas' victory he assured.
To Kauravas' camp he returned.