Aśoka The Great, of Mauryan Dynasty!
So named by his mother, her sorrows he removed;
Strong Emperor, ruthless against looters.
Thus, lives Aśoka through Edicts,
Memories erased; the history lost to two millennium;
A British engineer discovered Edicts in 1915;
Beloved of the Gods-‘Devanampriya’,
‘Priyadarshi’–affection, regards for all!
Bindusara his father, Chandragupt his grand;
Lineage so famous, extended boundaries far and wide;
Kalinga War proved his nemesis!
Killed a lakh, found shelter in Buddhism.
Sorrow for annexing, arose Law of Piety;
Pious King remembered for his deeds,
Details from inscriptions on Edicts,
A Great, Ideal King, Reigned 268-232 BCE.
Thus, lives Aśoka through Edicts, his glory lives on!
Shining star, the brightest amongst Monarchs!
Aśoka’s Creation, State Emblem of India!
Lion of Sarnath, a modified emblem!
“Satyamev-Jayate”, victory of truth!
Moto from Upanishads, below its Emblem;
Thus modified the Emblem, Dinanath the Creator;
Copyright maintained, copied but modified!
Shanti Niketan the Alma mater, Emblem he created;
Four Asiatic lions, base circular;
Power, courage, pride, confidence, on alert, it represents;
For the Lion is looking all around,
Brilliant in its completion,
Much been done, historical glorification!
Glorious is the history, glorious its sayings,
Relics in plenty being restored for sure,
Much we say, we have in texts;
Much that we do, need be virtuous!
Our Nation, a land of Rivers,
Holiest of the Holy, Ganga and Yamuna!
Mother to a billion, blessings they seek;
Blessed where “Krishn” played his flute!
Flowing waters were pure, for a distance;
Purifies the Soul, of one and all;
A Holy dip, refresh one and all, a belief!
Sit back and think, what we do!
Still most polluted that shouldn’t be;
Hazardous loads in, sorry to see;
Lifeless in stretches, insensitive we been;
Glory during lockdown, yes, it’s been!
Yes, Holy are the rivers,
Praying them as Goddesses!
Is it all to do, continue to do;
Is it enough that we can do?
Clean its water, for daily use;
Boil it, clean it, only then we use,
Rivers we pollute, remain unclean;
Still have a Holy dip, Holy are the rivers, unholy our ways!
The water maligned, year on year;
Overloaded with wastes, all along its way;
Some Industrial with raw sewage keeps discharging in!
Caught in mist of political blame-game and diplomacies,
Time to act, much to do!
The river still stays holy, with no remorse;
The beliefs so entrenched amongst all,
Learnings not followed these days,
Still enjoy a holy dip, but how long?
On the day of the holy dip,
Care not for the rest of the lot!
Thinking only of the dip,
Traffic jams all along, time wasted for long!
Traffic stuck on the highways, for hours;
Diverted through the fields, no relief!
Ambulances, urgent movements must all they wait;
While thousands there taking a holy dip!
The dip takes whole day long!
Many sleeping on the steering, burning precious gasoline;
Traffic controllers, have to stay away;
It’s important, people busy in the holy dip!
Thoughts to match our deeds,
Teachings in scriptures, be practiced,
Water maligned, a created disaster!
Could be holy once again!
Lips tight, sewed, beliefs just can’t be true;
Most polluted rivers in the World, must stay clean;
Beliefs be belied until they are cleaned!
Prayers not enough, to let stay clean!
Prayers belied; evil practices continue;
Evil will be holy again, let them stay clean;
Economic gains vs. losses, convenient to forget;
Others made to forget, look the other way!
Scriptures form history, practice learnings gained;
History is important, repeating itself, again and again;
For when Aśoka was forgotten, minds got corrupted;
Thousand years of invasions, natives got enslaved!
Longest period of slavery!
Ever known to mankind, is in history known to the World;
Experienced, learn to relive, must change, for
Much has been done, much more to be done;
Much done, much to be done!
~Dr. Rajesh Chauhan
New Delhi, India
Good one Rajesh. Give a very subtle message to keep the rivers clean.
Beautifully expressed ,well done 💐🌷👍👌
Excellent, well written you travel into history. There are people like you who can think so purely.
Very good dipiction and also giving a message to the people.
Thank you for reviews inserted. The topic taken and discussed is important to all of us!