താപസി

The context is Ramayana. King Ram has made preparations to perform Rajasuya. He will perform the yaga with a statue made of gold, of Sita, by his side. Sita, at that moment, is in Sage Valmiki’s ashram. She is lost in deep thought.

In her mind, she thanks the king, her beloved, for letting a golden statue of herself take his wife’s place at the yaga. Indeed, that’s all that’s needed, she says. The king can now let free the horses. She knows her sons, along with the Sage, will soon be at Ayodhya. As for her, she is content at the ashram – like a baby at her mother’s bosom. No, she will not be a blotch on the dynasty of the Sun. Of course, her purity remains untouched even by fire. But a king, after all, has to listen to his people. Subtly, she points to the sheer irony of it all. (To think the testimony of the Fire does not hold good for the Scion of the Sun!) She has a message for the king though. That she too carries in her heart an image of the king – not made of gold, nor precious stones, but etched with her own blood.

The reader can decipher in her ruminations an underlying bitterness, if not overt sarcasm. The reader cannot but wonder if Sita foresees that she is soon to take refuge in Mother Earth’s lap. Would she, perhaps, be even looking forward to it?

This moment, filled with pathos, is soon to be followed by the most heartrending moment in Ramayana. The events that have led to this moment leave every reader (read ‘every woman’) feeling betrayed. The idol of Ram, who up until then was your hero, at that moment falls from its pedestal, shattering your hope, faith and adulation into a million pieces. That it was the king’s dharma to lend his ears to every citizen – so what if he is a malicious, distrustful husband – gives you little solace. That he was as heartbroken as his wife, that he was leading a hermit’s life amidst royal abundances, is not enough salve to soothe the wounds of the massive letdown.

Arundhathy Varma’s rendition of the poem is powerful. And so it should be. For, Sita is a powerful woman. A woman who is morally strong, who places her self-esteem far above everything else. She wouldn’t compromise it – not for her life, not for the love of her life.

SW · Taapasi | K. T. Krishna Variar | Arundhathy Varma | PC: Kevin Phillips/Pixabay

താപസി 

അഞ്ജനാത്മജ! നന്ദി;

     രാജസൂയത്തിൽ സഹ-

ധർമ്മിണീപദത്തിനാ 

     സ്വർണ്ണവിഗ്രഹം പോരും;

കെട്ടഴിച്ചാലും യാഗാ-

     ശ്വങ്ങളെ; സാകേതത്തി-

ലെത്തുമെൻ കുമാരന്മാർ 

     ഋഷിവര്യനോടൊപ്പം.

അഗ്നിയിലദാഹ്യമാം 

     ശുദ്ധിയെയൊരു ഗ്രാമീ-

ണോക്തിയാൽ ത്യജിച്ചതു 

     ധർമ്മനിഷ്ഠയാലാവാം.

അർക്കവംശത്തിന്നു ഞാൻ 

     പങ്കമാവില്ലാ; മാതൃ-

വക്ഷസ്സിപ്പർണ്ണാശ്രമം;

     ദുഃഖമില്ലെനിക്കേതും.

സ്വാമിയോടുരച്ചാലു,-

      മെന്നുള്ളിനുള്ളിൽ ശ്രീമദ്-

രാമവിഗ്രഹം നിത്യ-

     പാവനം വിരാജിപ്പൂ.

രത്നകാഞ്ചനങ്ങളാ-

     ലല്ല ഹൃദ്രക്തത്താലാ-

ണുത്തമപ്രിയബിംബം 

     തീർത്തു ഞാനാരാധിപ്പൂ.

ധർമ്മകോവിദനുടെ 

     കർമ്മപന്ഥാവിൽ ജയ-

മംഗളാശംസാപുഷ്പ-

     മാല്യങ്ങളർപ്പിക്കുന്നേൻ!

© 1966 KTK