Sarpasatram 2- Parikshith Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon
Sarpasatram 2- Parikshith
After the Great War of Kurukshetra
The eldest of Pandavas Dharmaputra
As the emperor of Bharata he took over
With no one to question his reign.
Parikshith born to princess Uttara
And Abhimanyu, nephew of Yudhishtira
Abhimanyu was just boy of sixteen
Killed in the war, in a battle unfair.
Parikshith grew up to be a great archer
Under the tutelage of good teachers
Anointed king emperor by Pandavas
Who then proceeded on Vanaprastha.
Mrugaya, hunting in the wild
Was a kingly vice in he indulged.
Once, lost in the forest, entered
The hermitage of sage Sameeka.
Deep in his penance, Sameeka
Did not pay him respect. Irated
The king picked up a dead snake
And put it around the sage's neck.
Sage's son Shringi when returned
From travel, saw him in this state
Knowing what happened, cursed
The king that he'd die of venomous bite
By Takshaka, the king of snakes
Before sun set on the seventh day.
Takshaka was immediately roused
For he had an old score to settle.
Long back, when the forest Khandava
Selected as the site to build the capital
Of their new kingdom by the Pandavas
No choice, but to burn the forest et al
Takshaka's wife and children small
Lived in the cool shades of trees tall
Were not spared but burned to death
By Arjuna, grandfather of Parikshith.
When Parikshith heard of the curse
He could fear nothing worse
For he knew of Takshaka's vendetta
Against the entire Pandava Vamsam.
Fearing Takshaka, fearing death,
Shifted with his doctors best
To his palace in the waters midst
Under guard all day and night
It was the end of the day seventh
Sun was setting at the horizon west
The king was at his joyous best
Though overcome by hunger and thirst.
A little worm popped its head out
From the fruit the servant cut
For him to eat, he placed it on his neck
Laughed, 'Takshaka, bite me if you must! '
It was the snake-king without doubt
In a split second took his own shape
The king, his smile vanished
Ere Takshaka hit, of fear he died.
Names And Personalities:
Dharmaputra: The eldest of the Pandava brothers; Yudhishtira is another name for him.
Bharata: The ancient India
Vocabulary
Vanaprastha: The last leg of one's life in the ancient Indian culture, when one discards the worldly pleasures and chooses to live an astute life of penance, ready to welcome the inevitable.
Vamsam: Dynasty, tribe, lineage.
Death of Abhimanyu: Abhimanyu was a just a boy of sixteen, when the Great war started. He was already a warrior of renown at this young age. Much feared by the enemies. So, a large team of senior warriors of the Kaurava army (including Acharya Drona) , joined together to fight him. This is contravening the rules of war.They killed him, after he had lost his weapons, which is again, against the rules of war.
The saga of war n peace continues to become the saga of life and death. A gripping tale moving at a quick pace. A smooth flow of words, a perfect rhyme to narrate the grand incidents. Larger-than-life characters adorn the story. You have very skillfully narrated the events keeping rhythm n flow undisturbed. A 10
The story indeed continues. There is so many rich threads woven through your poem- it takes me on a journey through your country's heritage as well as through philosophy and psychology and artistry. The problem with writing these sagas? Your readers instantly want MORE PLEASE! ! ! ! 10+++++++++++++++++
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/18/2024 10:56:07 AM # 1.0.0.1119
It is not an easy task to render the stories of Mahabharat in English in one poem.You have done it excellently..