(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.
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
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.