Dark grey clouds loomed over the city
Wails of widows and children
Grew louder with every hour;
My heart trembled at the sight
Of the burned golden city of Lanka
Ashes, soot, and embers
Warning of the impending doom.
Didn't I know it well
That Lanka would lose all its prosperity
By capturing Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth
Through force and violence?
My heart shuddered at Sita's anguish
As I knew that her tears
Would destroy Lanka like a Tsunami
Her agony and anger
Would burn every corner of Lanka.
Dark grey clouds loomed over the city
Wails of widows and children
Grew louder with every hour;
My heart quivered for
The safety of my sons
Who were prepared to
Become martyrs in the battle
Despite being able to
Envision the forthcoming catastrophe
I was rendered completely helpless.
Despite driven by the light of knowledge,
I-Mandodari could not
Awaken my husband, Ravana
From his colossal slumber of conceit
My voice went unheard and unheeded.
Each time I tried to convince Dashanan
For returning Sita to Rama
So that peace and prosperity
Does not elude us
Like rain in desert.
Dark grey clouds loomed over the city
Wails of widows and children
Grew louder with every hour;
I was miserably torn between
My external self
Of being a loyal and dutiful wife
The caring mother of my sons
Who wanted Ravana to win
And my Internal self
Of following the path of righteousness,
Who wanted Rama to win,
Who wanted justice to be served
To the innocent and pious Sita
Abducted, tormented, mistreated
For no fault of hers.
©Purba Chakraborty
15.04.2020
Note: Mandodari was the beautiful wife of Ravana, the King of Lanka in the Hindu epic, Ramayana. She is described as pious and righteous who repeatedly advised Ravana to return Sita to Rama.
Very noble Mandodari. Sometimes i feel Ravana wasn't as evil as people imagine him to be. Even an ordinary Indian wouldn't leave an abducted woman to herself as Ravana did.
ReplyDeleteI fail to fathom the feelings of a wife whose husband abducted someone else’s wife. Yet again worthy weave Purba.
ReplyDeleteMnaodari was at a tough spot. She had to perform her wife's duties by supporting her husband. Thought she tried to show him the right path but pity that she couldn't make him change his mind.
ReplyDeleteMandodari, the very beautiful and pious soul but an unfortunate one to have a fate like this. My heart goes out to many Mandodaris in today's world who are silenced by the might of machismo.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeletePurba, you have hit a rich vein of characters and mined them so well! YAM xx
"colossal slumber of conceit"
ReplyDeleteloved how you used those words!
And as usual you have potrayed the characters so vividly through your poem!
The inner struggle to choose between the righteousness and duty must be not be easy to live with. You brought that out so well.
ReplyDeleteI was miserably torn between
ReplyDeleteMy external self
Of being a loyal and dutiful wife
The caring mother of my sons
Who wanted Ravana to win
And my Internal self
Of following the path of righteousness,
Who wanted Rama to win. So beautifully expressed. The beginning of each para was something, I really love to read and write. Like, expressing the inner turmoil with a comparison with the outer one. Nature is the best way to be dissolved with the soul. Mandodari's character is often overlooked, I am really happy to read her tale this way here. Brilliant Purba.
You have depicted her inner turmoil beautifully! Beautiful lines, Purba. Hats off to you for this series!
ReplyDelete