Chapter 15 : Arjun's Arrogance

Kaarttaveeryaarjun, by then a strong king,

Ruler of heads and hearts had been.

People were going slow, dictated,

Abiding by all commands as fated.

Great energy ran through Arjun's veins,

Nothing to conquer now remains.

He regarded his subjects as worthless fleshes,

Not live body, but burnt ashes.

"This is dharma!! Slaves to ruling!

Abiding by rules, whom are they fooling?

This is not love to king,

Small and afraid their hearts being.

Proper people should live on Earth,

I don't need needless population birth."

So thinking, he called his men.

"We will take a ride on janapad, then

See how the people fair,

I presume faithlessness in air."

They, with hoarse cries, ran on roads,

With war-mad eyes entered the hordes,

Just in a battle with full blood face,

Each in battles, around the world, ace,

Not knowing what it takes to be ethical;

Only receiving orders, without head, radical.

Janapadavaasees still they stood,

Some left the scene in frustrating mood.

Arjun observed, they were not cheering

In the name of King, their being

Was full of hatred, no excited expression,

Their faces full of negative impression.

Hot in anger, he ordered his generals

To whip the public, those non-compromising liberals.

What the lord says, servants do better,

So they cross the required parameter.

Soldiers whipped the onlookers,

Pricked them with swords and spears.

They, terrified, ran and scattered,

Realized his presence as nothing but hazard.

Arjun was amused seeing fleeing subjects,

His feeling of fun was not in checks.

He ordered to loot what they please,

Burn the rest, there was the breeze.

The breeze made the fire terrible,

To stay in city nobody was able.

The prajaas ran to openness and jungle,

Men, women, children living in bundle.

The sannyasees living in forest in hermitage

Provided relief to children as orphanage.

Shelter-less flocked to their shelter,

The aashrams became service-centre.

But they were mere huts, where monks stayed

In an openness, did rituals and prayed.

The hapless people sat under sky

Which filled up with yell and sigh.

"Kaarttaveerya Arjun is the Kshatriya worst

Among all others as bad", the munis discussed.

They sat in dhyaan, in padmaasan posture-

Lotus seat- to end this torture.

They got unified in Brahma Supreme,

Came to know of Vishnu's scheme.

Satisfied, they said nothing,

Thanked God in heart full of being.

They told the refugees to patiently wait,

"Destruction of adharma by dharma you get."

*****

Arjun got unsatisfied inside,

Unrest in heart he could not hide.

He could not find what to do,

In restraining heart he had no clue.

He started shouting at mantrees- ministers,

Maids, wives and assisters.

He felt all to be of less energy,

Slow in act and thought, full of lethargy.

His blood boiled, could not resist,

Control and balance he thoroughly missed.

Walking fast, with piercing eyes,

Stomping feet, full of vice.

He did not know what to do,

What to achieve, whom to woo.

Target-full life knows not when to rest,

When nothing's to achieve, life's messed.

Or you can't find clue,

When you can't achieve, everything's blue.

Prepare your heart, first thing in life,

Control in victory, patience in strife.

Arjun was one of the best of warriors,

One of the bravest, the most glorious.

None could rival him in sacrifices,

Charity, learning and other devices,

Austerity, victories, generosity or power-

The champion stood as tower.

In strength hitherto unmatched,

Rivals to heaven he quickly dispatched.

All his talents were brought to naught,

Between ethics and non-ethics his heart fought.

Impatient, he sought for a holiday

At Ratnaakar Ocean's western bay.

Twenty five yojans in chariot he drove,

Of eight horses briskly on the move.

There by seaside alone he strode

With a heavy mind full of load.

Suddenly he took up five hundred bows,

In five hundred hands five hundred arrows.

With great might he shot at waves

Where great ocean-creatures each braves,

Plies in deep water in joyful merriment,

Seeks food and multiplies in oceanic sentiment.

Whales, sharks and other fishes,

The sea is full of living riches.

They were dying by piercing arrows,

There dead bodies on surface rose.

Concerned, Varun, the god of hydrosphere,

Over the ocean-surface made himself appear.

"Please spare the creatures that live within me,

They have done no harm, let them happy be."

Arjun observed Varun, found him to be weak,

Good, lenient, womanish, meek.

What could he do, Arjun thought,

When even Indra to task he brought.

"I will stop shooting, if you can say,

Is there a man who me rival may?"

"Yes, there is, Parashuraam, Jamadagni's son,

With great might and ability he has born.

Not equal, he is superior to you,

His strength and weapons skill can rival few."

Arjun was stunned at hearing this,

He could not digest the reality with ease.

At once for his capital he set out,

Reaching, for his hundred sons he called out.

When they came and gathered around,

He said, "My rival I have found.

It is said, he is my equal, if not greater,

I will demolish this trend setter.

Go and find Parashuraam, Jamadagni's son,

I will put him to test, from now on."

The King suddenly found new assignment,

To give his boiling blood some vent.

The princes called ministers, other spies,

Told them to keep open their eyes.

They explained to them the situation,

Explained to them father's frustration.

Jamadagni helped people with his power spiritual,

He stayed one with Brahma non-dual.

He was popular, to find not difficult,

Without vice, no hatred, no insult.

The king was reported, he stood up from throne,

"I want to meet him, I'll go alone."

His sons said, "Don't go alone father,

Remember he is strong, he is none other."

He set out with his sons hundred,

Grudge in his heart he utterly bred.