Yudhishthira's Ashwamedham 03 Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon
Yudhishthira's Ashwamedham 03
(3)Vaanaprastha
Krishna's words struck like lightning
Dhritarashtra devoutly turned ascetic
Spending more and more time on prayers
And penance, and food frugal by the day.
Slowly, he discerned that his love
For his son and his failure to renounce greed
and guide Duryodhana on the right path
Were the root causes of the malady.
Once he understood this well
He found the ultimate peace of mind;
His animosity towards the Pandavas
Gave way to unqualified love.
His wife followed suit too. And so did
Pritha, the mother of the Pandavas.
Yudhishthira invited rishis and ascetics
To guide to them on spiritual matters.
Over time, all of them were so detached
From the worldly pleasures that it was no news
when they announced their decision
To proceed to the forests on Vaanaprastha.
The entire palace was ready for it.
11. Vaanaprastha: The third of the four Ashramas (stages) of life as per Hindu Dharma.The Ashrama system is one facet of the Dharma concept in Hinduism. The four ashramas are: Brahmacharya (student) , Grihastha (householder) , Vanaprastha (retired) and Sannyasa (renunciate) .
Vaanaprastha is the retirement stage, where a person after handing over his/her Grihasthaashramic (worldly) responsibilities to the next generation, took an advisory role, and gradually withdrew from the world. Vaanaprastha stage is a transition phase from a householder's life with its greater emphasis on Artha and Kama (wealth, security, pleasure and desires) to one with greater emphasis on Moksha (spiritual liberation) .
Literally, the word means "to retire to foerests". That is exactly what great people used to do in those days. Those who could attain a high level of spirituality, often retire to the epitome of spiritual being, renounce food and even water and invite a slow peaceful death.
Very nicely narrated and the flow of language is just awesome. The expression makes the theme enjoyable. Thanks.
Thank you Rajnishji, for all the good words. This is the third episode of the series. Hope, you have gone through all the three. Also, I believe that the footnotes give adequate information. Although your post is dated 25-11, it has appeared on my page only today. That explains the delay in responding.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/3/2024 10:05:52 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Once he understood this well He found the ultimate peace of mind; His animosity towards the Pandavas Gave way to unqualified love. Very well written Unni. Your notes are exhaustive and detailed. Lucid and informative.
Thank you, Geeta. It remains a fact that Pandavas’ claim to the throne is disputable. And Dhritarashtra knows it better than anyone else. He knows that the kingdom is rightfully his. Maybe, this is why he stood by his sons, in spite of all the advices and counsels to the contrary by Bhishma, VedVyasa, Krishna and even Gandhari. He felt aggrieved to the core, when the kingdom was divided Khandavaprastha, albeit the fact that it was just a vast uninhabitable forest, was given to the Pandavas.