It was news when King Ambarish
Of Ayodhya, our ashram bordering,
Embarked upon a ritual sacrifice
To appease Gods, but Indra got scared.
........If Gods were pleased of Ambarish
........His throne was at stake.
It was a joke for us all
King lost the sacrificial animal
Said to be stolen by Indra
But nowhere to be seen.
What next? We asked father.
Protection of sacrificial animal
Bounden duty of the king. The loss
Would cost him his life, all his
Progeny and the land will perish.
The land will perish, unless
A suitable substitute arranged
Animal or man, enured with the right
Features marked in the scriptures.
Everybody laughed a heartfull
When I brayed as sacrificial animal
When stolen by Indra played by Sunaka
While Jyeshta, the king feigned asleep.
It was heard, king had sent his men
Searching for animal for sacrifice
Across cities, villages and forests
offered a thousand cows in exchange.
News came daily, King Ambarish
And his men could not find a man
Or animal suitable for the sacrifice.
Father became restless and worried.
........We could not guess why.
Thanks for this write, As sacrifice is must to save the land, and a suitable man or animal was needed father became restless..
Hi Rini, Please read this serial from the beginning.. This is a story from Ramayanam, one of the Indian epics. Hope you could relate.. Thanks for the comments....
Protection of sacrificial animal Bounden duty of the king. The loss Would cost him his life, all his Progeny and the land will perish.....................the sacrifice for God has been the essence of the human existence during the whole history.................enjoyed reading this poem...voted 10
I really like this series of mythology. The concept of sacrifice in the way of god is an ancient one. You display great narrative skills in relating these stories that regale the reader no end.
It is always a pleasure to read your notes on poems, Nosheen. Thank you.
Whatever was said about Sunahsepha - 1 applies to this second part too. Please keep up the good work.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Everybody laughed a heartfull When I brayed as sacrificial animal When stolen by Indra played by Sunaka While Jyeshta, the king feigned asleep- - - - - - -This is masterful foreshadowing and has quite given me the shivers! ! ! Another well-deserved 10 +++++++++++++.
Hi Susie, These lines about childhood pranks were unearthed from my own childhood. Any we had come across in the daily life was converted into a little one-act-play of the day. I still remember some of these plays. This matter was added in the poem as a prelude of the calamity that was in the offing. Thank you Susie for finding it out..