Sharashayya

Description

SUGATO BRAVITI

This is a lyric poetry written by Prof. Dwivedi in 117 verses on the destruction of the historical Buddha statues situated in Bamiyana, (Afghanistan) by the Talibans. History reveals that Buddha has been attacked by many even in the past without effecting his original character which still remains immortal even after the breaking of his statues by Taliban’s. Poet respects the theory of non-violence of Buddha and criticizes the heinous crime of Talibans. According to the poet it is an attack on non-violence, the prime theory of Buddha, not an attack on the mortal statues made of sands and stone in a place situated far away from the birthplace of this great saint. It was the deep-rooted trust of the ancient people of Afghanistan, in the theory of peace and non-violence that inspired them to decide to erect the statues of such a great scale in this desert. Talibans did not exist at that time. Had their ancestors not been interested in the erection of these images how they existed for such a long period of history and were not destroyed by the previous rulers of Talibans?

The poet puts a number of questions before the followers of Mohammad regarding their natural tendency of killing a living being especially the cow. He says that how can a regime that believes in the brutal killing of living being given proper honor to the greatest propagator of non-violence in this world. Abolishing of the statues is no more a solution to the acute shortage of basic amenities in this region. Despite concentrating to eradicate it the rulers are engaged in destroying the precious archaeological heritage of the region.

Destruction of statues cannot destroy the belief of people in the philosophy of Buddha, which still prevails in the heart of its millions of followers. The forecast that the poet made in his poem about the complete eradication of Taliban Dynasty proved absolutely true and we see that Taliban’s have been destroyed after a huge bloodshed.

VRDDHAKUMARI

This is a lyric based on the life of the unmarried daughters of Mughal Emperors. These were having an unparallel physical beauty. They failed to get married to any suitable bridegroom and died their natural death. The poet raises a number of questions regarding their useless physical beauty, which could not attract anyone to maintain the continuity of the world.

The poet maintains that ego of the beauty has made these princess very much selfish. Their birth itself is useless because they have not been adopted by any one.

A number of positive observations regarding the existence of the god of love have been made by the poet in the entire lyric. He has even mentioned the names of historical personalities like Bhishma Pitamaha who failed to reproduce any offspring despite having an unparallel ability and beauty in the world. A number of philosophical ideas have also been introduced by the poet with reference to the above context in the entire lyric, which contains 129 verses in total.

SHARASAYYA

The above lyric is based on the life of Bhishm Pitamaha, the eldest ancestors of Kauravas and Pandavas, who in spite of having all the qualifications and powers failed to prevent the bloodshed between the members of his family for the sake of attaining supreme rule of the dynasty.

The poet represents Bhishm and raises the allegations made against his indifferent attitude towards the improper behavior of Duryodhan and his followers. The poet observes that Bhishm has been on Sharasayya since his birth. He saw the killing of seven of his brothers. He could not marry for the sake of the preservation of the rulers of his dynasty and ultimately failed to oppose illegal decisions of Duryodhan because of his deep-rooted loyalty towards him. Wherever he goes the Sharasayya follows him. Though he was immortal yet he decided to leave this world because of the domination of evils on it all around.

I have been feeling the pain of arrows pierced in by body since my inception. My father himself did not ever think to prevent me from these evils- says Bhishm ultimately.This lyric is a unique representation of the feelings of Bhishm, which he disclosed before leaving this world for the heavenly abode.

The above three lyrics have been published under a single heading Sharasayya with Hindi translation by the Kalidas Sansthan, Varanasi in August 2002 to commemorate the silver jubilee of the President’s Award (The Certificate of Honor) of the poet conferred on him in 1979.