The Swayamvar
The Swayamvar* was set
The condition but one
By bow and arrow to be decided
The target, a fishs eye hit
Set on a pole a cubit high
In between was a wheel
Ever turning and spinning
And through its spoke
Was the arrow to be shot
By looking at the targets reflection
Into a bowl of oil beneath
Many a warriors brave
Put themselves to the test
Yet their arrows only kissed the wheel
Some by their own arrows were beset
Yet the wheel remained spinning
And the fish astride therein
Was there not to be
A groom for the beauteous Draupadi
A son-in-law to serve Draupad's purpose?
There was of course Karna
The brave, but he stood denied
By the princess in her royal stead
And none could shoot the fish
The reflection on oils surface, shimmered
Never still, and who could cheat
The fate of wind, the spin of wheel
To hit the eye, which would lead
To begetting the princess hand
Then came forth, some mendicant sons
Set about by guise they seated
Awaiting their turn, were the Pandavas
Could they now win over
the Panchalas*** well laid scheme?
Arjuna,
the archer stood looking
His mind still, in concentration
Setting himself to the moment
The aim of winning the hand
Of the princess, not so fair**
First welled in him pride, on holding
Aloft his bow, for he was the greatest
The most achieved archer of his times
As also welled in him confidence
For having released arrows thousands of times
This would be just another shot
Another one of those days
His gurus teachings would surely
Stand him now in good stead
To visualize he shut his eye, as he always did
To see his target met, in consciousness perceive
Yet this time all he perceived
Was the whirl of the wheel
The shimmer on the oils surface
But no eye of the fish
Let alone shoot, could he view
Was this to be demise of his reputation?
Did he in Panchalas*** plan met his match?
Would he not hold the hand of beauteous Panchali?***
The
trial set to find Dronas challenger
Would call for test of skills
beyond the masters teachings
Beyond senses, mind and prowess known hitherto still
The concept of the ordeal
Guided by the stratagem of Maya
Based
on the workings of illusory schema
Was Vishwakarmas kriti, his construct
If one concentrated on the fishs eye
The
flicker of wheel would
Made
the fish move, wave and shimmer
The
whirr of a near impassable disc betwixt, a barrier
Were one, in seeking a moments opportunity,
concentrate to catch a gap betwixt the spoke of wheels
would forever be drawn to the revolutions
and in motions entice lose sight of the mark within
To see the target aligned
As one would verily lean
The
reflection of the archer
Would
then render the target unseen
Were
one to withdraw the perspective
One
would have to counter
Not
just the wind, however slight
But
the tricks of reflection, refraction and light
The
bowl of oil set, to the mesmerize
One
and nearly all, aligned to the archers mind
Would
on minds agitation tremble and shimmer
Offering
no tratak to find therein
How
was one to achieve target
without concentration, visualization nor aim
or considerations of the environs percept
And
find that ephemeral now, to shoot the arrow?
Set to task the warrior in guise
remembered in between all extremity,
there was to be found divinity
and in his mind, the Parth summarily
invoked
Narsimha, the god of creativity
As his mind awhirl wavered, the oil
In the bowl did verily tremble
When he heard within
The voice, like a flutes play
Smilingly tell him
Surrender to me
Thence the mighty archer knew
That his entire prowess was meant
Only to lead him to this moment
But across the threshold of belief
He had to traverse himself
As Arjuna, he had come to know
The perimeter of his limit
Slowly Arjuna let go
his desire to win,
or his fear to taste defeat
His yearning to win over a maiden
Or his trepidation to keep intact his name
He let go of all he had learnt
Of all he could control,
and surrendered
His sinews knew now a new master
His being was servile to a new light
He was a puppet to a moment
The arrow would keep its tryst
If it was divinely willed
Or hed just let it be
The arrow shot was the child of the moment
Released by the one who was meant to release
Not as a warrior, great
But an inseparable knot in the fabric of creation
And the eye of the fish it did reach
The court rejoiced, the princess beamed
The King gasped in wonder in having found
The son-in-law whod serve his turn
The other suitors fumed in consternation
But an archer now stood illumined
By the true art of archery and
In having known who the real archer be
in knowing when to let go
and when to let be!
*Swayamvar
** Draupadi, Draupads daughter was reputed to be dusky
***Panchala, another name for Draupad, Panchali,
another name for Draupadi
Written a few years back, this is I think, the final exploration of 'Let Go' in my archive. It was an exchange with Partha in Archer's Tale I, which lead to further details on the construct of the trial to be added. This poem about his namesake thus decicated to him.
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written by Sreeparna, 2008-05-28 10:10:00
I cannot more agree to narensomu about your let go series! They are very beautiful and inspiring! When we fear of defeat, is when we actually lose.
Very well said through your lovely poems..
Regards,
Hatimtai
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written by narensomu, 2008-05-28 05:25:59
A very refreshing angle and a wonderful guide to success !
If only we all could cast off that fear of failure and the desire for rewards.
Thence the mighty archer knew.
That his entire prowess was meant
Only to lead him to this moment
But to cross the threshold of belief
He needed to traverse himself
Youe series can easily become a book .
There is so little poetry appreciation that is done in schools, and what is done is of Western ," original " English ones.
I was just thinking poems like yours should be read by children who have so little time for "less important" subjects like languages.
Btw, the painting is very beautiful too. Whoever did that knew Panchali was Krishna. [ dark skinned]
Regards
ns
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Thank you. Actually, this is part of a series called the Archer's Tale based on various episodes in Mahabharata. I hijacked it to suit the 'Let Go' theme. 'Let Go' in itself can be an universal theme I guess.
Dear NS,
I quite agree that teaching children poetry as a means of expression and encouraging them to express in the poetic vein by exposing them to contemporary poems would only serve to enrich their minds. The reason poetry, art or any other such subject is important is they allow us to connect with a voice/vision within and helps us directly interact with inspiration. And once the river of inspiration is found I guess any other stream benefits. Whether my poetry will serve the purpose or not I don't really know.
Hatimtai Thank you.