Ruminations of Aswatthama

As Aswatthama wanders, he recalls his memory as thus:

One life

Adding up second to second

Minute to minute, day to day

Blankness before

Blankness behind

Millions of moments to go

Billions of blisters to bear

Trillions of timeless experiences behind

Confusion in the hind

Commotion in the mind

Lots to rewind

People harsh and kind

Mind, speech, and actions blind

Blinded by sins, blinded by deeds

Weeds of sins among gardens of good

What is left to see, to hear?

What is left to speak, to do?

What bad is left?

What good is right?

A day of light

A night of darkness

I’ve seen nights of light

And days of darkness

Darkness to life, darkness to family

Darkness to legacy, darkness to Empire

The days of patriarch, the king of the night – Chandra

He gazes at the earth, Jupiter and stars

He waxes and wanes

He gets full and crooked both in shape and character

He competes with the sun

Bearing a son who bears sons

Making a family, a dynasty

I jumped with awe as I heard

The Earth saw Pururavas chasing Rambha to heaven,

As she embraced heaven and heaven embraced her

Mankind fell of shame and

I jumped with awe as I heard

As Nahusha kicked Agastya

As the demigods kicked Nahusha off heaven

As he fell as a snake on earth

I jumped of awe as I heard

The sky saw Venus and Jupiter

One revolved around Surya like the arms of the clock

As he tutored the dark and bloody – The Asuras

The other against as he poured Amrit into the

Glowing and divine – The Devas

I jumped with awe as I heard

Shukra revives Kacha

I jumped with awe as I heard    

               

As Devayani weds Yayati who has his eyes cast away

I jumped with awe as I heard

As envy curdles blood among women

I jumped with awe as I heard

As Puru suffered for his father

As father curses son

And Yadu suffered for his father

I jumped with awe as I heard

A river of kings

A stream of Emperors

As sweet as honey

As musical as the lute

I jumped with awe as I heard

As warriors peeps into the hermitage

And the tutelage of the holy sage

And the young maiden chuckles

I jumped with awe as I heard

The young boy tamed lions

And set foot over summits

Of the mountain of gods

As he became hermit

I jumped with awe as I heard

Jambudvipa became Bharatavarsha

And Bharatakhanda

The land of Bharata

And the Valley of Bharatas

I jumped with awe as I heard

As I heard the story of Brahma’s creation

The story of Chandravanshis

The story of Ailas

The story of Bharatas

And the Story of Kurus

Of which I am witness

I am the action, I am the acted

I am death, I am dead, I am alive

What am I? Of what am I?

Of what use am I?

Of what use am I now?

Aham Aham Aham

The epic story that unfolded

Showed me light and

Finally blinded me

I start as I ponder and wander