Messenger Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon
Messenger
'Arrest him and
Hack him to death,
For he has come to spy on us
On behalf of our enemies',
Cried Duryodhan.
And his brothers and the army
Rose with their arms drawn.
But arms and men froze, for
'You should not harm a messenger'.
But He, the messenger of life and death
With all the worlds at his command
Never is harmed by strife.
And of course,
He is not wounded by weapons
And not singed by fire
Nor drenched in water
And not dried by wind.
The conflict between Pandavas and Kauravas has reached a point of no return. After living twelve years in the forest (vanawasa) and another year incognito, Pandavas were eligible to claim their share of the kingdom, as per the agreement. But Kauravas refused. Both parties started preparations for the inevitable: WAR.
At this point, Kauravas sent their Prime Minister Vidhura to Pandavas as their messenger, for mediation. Everybody expected Vidhura to bring good news. But Kauravas offered nothing.
War was now imminent.
Not dissuaded by the audacity and greed of Kauravas, Pandavas decided to make a last effort for peace. They sent Krishna (who is brother of Subhadra, wife of Arjuna) as messenger to Kauravas to barter peace.
To the royal coterie of Kaurava, Krishna pleaded for Pandavas, for their rightful ardhharajya (one half share in the kingdom) . Kauravas refused. Krishna methodically brought down the bargain to five janapadas (villages) , one each for each of the Pandava brothers. Kauravas refused even this. Krishna pleaded for just one janapada for all the five brothers. Duryodhan refused to grant even area of the tip of a pin to their cousins. At this stage, Krishna lost his temper and abused Duryodhan, accusing him to be causing death and misery to the entire mankind, by causing the war. Aroused, Duryodhan ordered him to be captured and killed.
This is the context of the poem.
And the last four lines are just translation of the famous shloka from Bhagavat Gita, on the qualities of Aatma:
'Nainam chhindandi sastraNi
Nainam dahati pavaka
Na chainam kledayantyapo
Na soshayati maaruta: '
Lovely poem and could become an epic series. I enjoyed reading it and gave you top ratings. Thanks for sharing.
As you have written this poem about the point of extreme intrigue could well be written as a series like Yayati. I had to hold back my pen, to avoid it. Thank you.
The poem refers to moment of extreme intrigue, narrated vividly in Mahabharat: The conflict between Pandavas and Kauravas has reached a point of no return. After living twelve years in the forest (vanawasa) and another year incognito, Pandavas were eligible to claim their share of the kingdom, as per the agreement. But Kauravas refused. Both parties started preparations for the inevitable: WAR. At this point, Kauravas sent their Prime Minister Vidhura to Pandavas as their messenger, for mediation. Everybody expected Vidhura to bring good news. But Kauravas offered nothing. War was now imminent. Not dissuaded by the audacity and greed of Kauravas, Pandavas decided to make a last effort for peace. They sent Krishna (who is brother of Subhadra, wife of Arjuna) as messenger to Kauravas to barter peace. To the royal coterie of Kaurava, Krishna pleaded for Pandavas, for their rightful ardhharajya (one half share in the kingdom) . Kauravas refused. Krishna methodically brought down the bargain to five janapadas (villages) , one each for each of the Pandava brothers. Kauravas refused even this. Krishna pleaded for just one janapada for all the five brothers. Duryodhan refused to grant even area of the tip of a pin to their cousins. At this stage, Krishna lost his temper and abused Duryodhan, accusing him to be causing death and misery to the entire mankind, by causing the war. Aroused, Duryodhan ordered him to be captured and killed. This is the context of the poem. And the last four lines are just translation of the famous shloka from Bhagavat Gita, on the qualities of Aatma: 'Nainam chhindandi sastraNi Nainam dahati pavaka Na chainam kledayantyapo Na soshayati maaruta: '
pAshmampodu konduvA, yadupAshane iha kettuvvAn.... is ringing in my ears as if I had sat and seen a whole night of kathakali on the temple ground! And then lo, there is the blind Dhritarashtra exhorting his stupid son as he sees the vishwarUpa.... krishnan arul cheythathokkave mAnichu kelka ninakku nallu.....ponnA nee kandIlayo! .... Great! Don't you think you had explained the background to your non-Indian readers? (10)
Hatred and war are not the answers towards peace. Thanks for sharing.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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6/3/2024 6:42:30 AM # 1.0.0.1119
What a wonderful write. A lofty, elevated style of writing. I find this verse very grand. The messenger of life and death.......Never is harmed by strife.....a gripping work. Thanku for sharing.
Nosheen, The messenger referred to here is Krishna. And the the last four lines are rough translation of the famous shloka from Bhagavat Gita, starting Nainam Chhindandi shastraani. As you may know Gita is supposed to be a discourse by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, and here in this shloka speaks about Aatma, not about Krishna. I just tries to attribute the specific qualities of Aatma to the proponent of Gita, Krishna Himself, for reasons obvious. Although I am not too spiritual, Gita is a book I am astonished at, with every reading. Hope you could relate.