When countless creatures repair to Death's door,
Those alive if feel free from it were to feign—
As if they hail from heaven's deathless shore,
What stranger be than this, oh what more vain?
But this has been so for long, ages ere,
Shall remain so still for long heretofore—
This gulf of ‘we and them', of ‘we are rare'—
And yet, Time comes— comes all here to devour.
Some do feel: we shall soar on angel's wing,
Hell-bound, all else shall grow when horns on head,
Ah, my good deeds shall soon heaven's door ring,
Others' smallest sin grow when gruesome red.
Let all sons and daughters be of same sun,
‘We' and ‘all else' can never once be one.
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In Mahabharata (Vana Parva) , Yama, the Lord of Death,
disguised as Yaksha, a strange creature, asks Yudhishthir,
known for his righteousness and dharma: What is so
strange in this world? (See the exact verse below) . His
reply is rendered in the first four lines of this sonnet.
ahani ahani bhootaanigacchanti iha yama aalayam |
sheshaah sthaavaram icchanti kim aashcharyam atah param ||
- Vana Parva 313.116 ||
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Sonnets | 03.10.12 |
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
When we shall understand what death is we shall also understand what life was but we shall be helpless again and we shall not be in a position to communicate our understanding of life and death to any one else.
Yes, a dilemma, thanks for reading this poem with your take on it.