Saturday, December 31, 2011

Sage Agasthiar


Sudeekshana let out a cry that was happy and loud
His happiness, on seeing Lord Rama, he could not shroud
He ran towards Lord Rama, and hugged him tight
Lord Rama had come back to his ashram, giving delight

“It is ten long years, and I thought you had forgotten
To visit me again, I thought, you wouldn’t think as important
But are You not The Ram, who always keeps up His word?
A promise made by You is a milk that never becomes curd”

The Noble Three, stayed in Sudeekshana’s ashram for months, ten
They were cared for, like the eyes by the eye lid, by his disciple men
Once as they were sitting and chatting about spiritual things
Their talk came upon Sage Agasthiar, who had done wonderful things

Sudeekshana narrated story of Sage Agasthiar, a man of little stature
But, who possessed stupendous powers, inherent in him, all by nature
“Sage Agasthiar is one of the seven rishis, created by Lord Brahma, first
Lord Brahma seemed to have given to sage Agasthiar, all his best

Sage Agasthiar lived in Kailash, worshipping Shiva the Great
A different course in life was planned for him by mighty fate
Once, all beings ever created, were in Kailash, while Shiva married
Earth lost its balance, as, so much weight, at one point it carried

To balance this, by all knowing Shiva, sage Agasthiar was sent
Earth regained its balance when, from North to South, Agasthiar went
This was the least of all miracles the sage did, I would say
For, he handled many challenges, and succeeded in a miraculous way

Once the Vindhya Mountain started to grow, out of greed, very tall
With a loud command, the little sage stopped its growth and made it fall
He had to do so, as it obstructed between sun and earth, the relative motion
Causing the confusion of days and nights, which led to a great commotion

Once lived in this forest, two demonic brothers, a wicked pair
Ilvala and Vathaapi by names, and cruel by nature, they were
Vaathaapi could come back to life even if he was, to ashes, burnt
By performing difficult penance for long, this trick, he had learnt

Ilvala and Vaathaapi cunningly used this skill
To trick innocent sages, and wickedly kill
Vaathaapi, with his powers, would become a goat
Ilavala would cook him after cutting his throat

Ilvala then would piously invite some sage to be his guest
And serve, the sage, cooked Vaathaapi as if it was the best
Once the sage innocuously finishes the deceitful dinner
Ilvala would call out Vaathaapi, the deadly sinner

Vaathaapi would revive, leaving the sage’s body torn
The poor sage’s life would have, by then, helplessly gone
They played this trick on sages, until sage Agasthiar they met
The better of the little sage, their dubious tricks could not get

Sage Agasthiar finished his meal served by Ilavala, and belched
Following which Ilvala’s longtime arrogance was squelched
For, when Ilvala called out Vaathaapi, he received his lifetime shock
As the little sage said, ‘Vaathaapi is digested’ and laughed to mock

To attack and kill the little sage, furious Ilvala rushed
But the little sage burnt him by creating fire, and easily flushed
Thus, the forest again became a safe haven for the pious sages
As it had ever been, for the past hundreds of ages

Once upon a time there existed Kalakeyas, a deadly clan
To torture all beings on earth was their only plan
Indra was furious at this, and decided to kill them all
In order to protect themselves, into the ocean, they did fall

Indra approached sage Agasthiar, and asked for help
Sage Agasthiar approached the ocean, and drank it in a gulp
The Kalakeyas were revealed to Indra’s sight
And were killed, to the last, in a bitter fight

Thus goes on the little sage Agasthiar’s wonderful deeds
With amazing ease, he plucks out the problematic weeds
He has accomplished so much and more with his height, three feet
He is the father of Tamil, the language, so beautiful and sweet

He gave for Tamil its grammar books
He has also given many medicinal books”
Saying thus, the little sage’s story, Sudeekshana ended
The Noble Three said the story was edifying and splendid

The Noble Three had not met with sage Agasthiar till then
Though they had met with almost all sagacious men
About this desire, to Sudeekshana, Lord Rama said
Sudeekshana, in agreement, nodded his head

The Noble Three must meet sage Agasthiar, Sudeekshana felt
The way to sage Agasthiar’s ashram, Sudeekshana spelt
Sudeekshana told Them to stay in some ashram on the way in the dark
And that, on the next morning again, on their journey, they could embark

The Noble Three started on a morning before the sun reached high
Sudeekshana with tears, and along with his disciples, said good bye
They came upon an ashram when the sun had just set
A sage came out of the ashram and, with Them, he met

The sage was sage Agasthiar’s brother
With pride and love, he spoke about his brother
The next morning, The Noble Three again started
To sage Agasthiar’s ashram, they duly departed

In sage Agasthiar’s ashram, before sunset, The Noble Three were
Sage Agasthiar’s disciples invited Them in with utmost care
Sage Agasthiar came to them as soon as he was informed
All his other works, for Them, he immediately postponed

The Noble Three fell at his feet, seeking his blessing
He accepted with humility their praiseful addressing
He blessed The Noble Three with a heart that was sincere
He had to look up at Lord Rama who, to him, was procere

“Welcome Rama and Lakshman! To my humble abode
That, The Three of You would come, I did forebode
Welcome Sita! To my simple house
Rama is lucky for having you as spouse

Rama! You have come so very down from Your height
You will lift this world and mankind to a great height
Success and glory from reaching You none can withhold
Does it not show in the lofty values that you uphold

Sita! What You have done can be done only by Janaka’s daughter
Though being a king, he lives like a sage without a falter
You are the form of those qualities called chastity and purity
I can say this pledging my head with utmost surety

Lakshman! What can I say about you, my sunny boy?
This princely body of yours, to be a servant, you employ!
If only all men value love, before wealth and comfort, like you
To live on this heavenly earth, even gods will stand in queue”

Saying thus, and more, the sage, for long, sincerely appreciated them
His wisdom was such, with closed eyes, he could say stone from gem
The sage gifted Lord Rama and Lakshman with two marvelous bows
And two magical quivers that would supply arrows in unending rows

After staying with the sage for numerous days
The Noble Three wanted to stay in a separate place
They were satisfied They had completed a long pilgrimage
They decided to stay put in a separate hermitage

Sage Agasthiar told them about Panchavati, an abundant place
Which, The Noble Three would find fit for the rest of the exile phase
Sage Agasthiar and his disciples bid farewell to Ram,
While their hearts chanted, “Jai Shri Ram! Jai Jai Shri Ram!!”

1 comment:

  1. Great narration of events to read along our path to realisation, however long it may take. Thank you.
    Sankarasubramanian

    ReplyDelete