Mmgl Part 025-002 - Renunciation Is Better Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

In the previous birth his mother,
Left him, a new born, near the river,
The present birth also was inferior,
Even the life of a king wasn't superior.

As king, he must serve elders.
Dramas he must witness
Music, he must hear
With queens he must share.

He should please them
He must coax them.
Instead of this lustful life
Better he took ascetic life.

Keeping this in his mind,
Punyarasan wished to find,
A life more of virtuous kind,
That'll spiritually bind.

THE ADVICE OF SANAMITHRAN

Sanamithran, the minister,
He saw the king's mind waver,
He touched the king's feet,
And made this request.

"Oh King, Your father,
Before you came here,
For nearly twelve years,
He had his own fears."

"There was no adequate rain.
The country suffered then.
The lands have all dried.
Lives many miserably died."

"It was such a bad period
When a mother left her child
With no mercy on the road,
But she took alone her food."

"In the burning hot summer,
The rainy clouds made it cooler.
Just like that, you appeared
In that critical period."

"Here when you came,
With you the rain also came.
Everything got reversed.
The country then prospered."

"So, if you leave forever,
The people will suffer.
As a child with no mother
Cries will remain everywhere."

"In this world of miseries,
It's the king who cares
For the subjects' welfare
So, you should be here."

"If other lives are well,
You too remain well.
This is the upright moral
That Lord Buddha did tell."

"How can you leave this day,
Leaving the country at bay? "
Like this the minister advised,
And the king patiently heard.

THE KING'S FINAL DECISION

The king said:

"Let me go to Manipallavam
Just for a month's time.
This'll quench my thirst,
In fulfilling this holy visit."

"It's your duty to take care
In a manner free and fair,
And administer this land
With your tactful hand."

He got into a boat,
That went straight,
With no halt in between,
To the correct destination.

THIS IS DHARMA'S SEAT

Punyarasan reached the shore.
Manimegalai checked it sure
It was his boat that landed safely
She received him happily.

Both went round the island.
As a mark of their gratitude.
She told, "Oh King, it's this seat
That explains the birth's secret."

CAME TO KNOW HIS BIRTH

The king went round the holy feet,
Placed o'er a ruby embedded seat.
His previous life before him flashed.
Like a clean mirror it reflected

THE KING'S POSITION

"About my previous life I learnt
My worries all, where they went?
You gave me a divine bowl
That gives food without fail."

"People come day or night,
From this bowl food they eat,
In my life I'll never forget,
This kind of your valuable gift."

AT GOMUKI'S BANK

The king and Manimegalai,
Both went to the Tank Gomuki.
They took rest care-free,
Under the shadow of Punnai Tree..

THE ISLAND DEITY TOLD

"To the people of this world
Your gave people food
In your previous birth
And saved them from death."

"Now you've come here.
Once those who left you here
Later they came again here,
And laid their lives here."

"See these scattered bones.
They belong to those eight men.
And also their servants
Who gave up their lives."

"You had a starvation death,
And so they had similar death,
Out of their sympathy for you,
So many lives taken by you! "