In the woods
by mistake
or simply by
accident
the two
appeared again
Dharma* to
give Yudhisthira*, another go
for a
question whose response
did none,
until then, know.
- No Baka*
birth is the
only truth
death a
momentous lie
that leads
us to birth
- But death
also does the same?
- No, death
is immobile I plead
it doesn't
move and hence cannot lead
death is
false, but it's not its fault
it is birth
that takes us to births
through a
momentary halt;
until the
Self frees from them
to have
births no more again
- So then
don't you die?
- No O wise
Dharma, you have birth again
that frees
us for good,
in stillness
we call heaven!
Birth it is
O Dharma, it is birth again!
- (Dharma
smiles) after ages
O
Dharmaraja*, you appear to be light
you behold
your world
right in the
middle of the earth
- Birth of
life, of virtues and evils
even that of
deaths and devils
in it the
Universe lies
- I know, I
know
you seem to
have wings
in your
hands now
your feet
appear to be light
blind and
dead no more,
your words
now have eyes!
Have as much
water from this lake now
As you have
quenched my thirst
Let all your
dead brothers
come back to
consciousness first
Then O King,
take your brothers,
you saved
them with grace
With them,
all men and women
you saved
the human race.
To change
the earlier response
to Yaksha*
did Yudhisthira urge
he does so,
both smile and
in the
leaves of stories,
does birth, as the only truth
newly
emerge.
Note:
Dharma - Dharma is the one who questions Yudhisthira;
Dharma, Yaksha, Baka are one and the same
Yudhisthira- In the Hindu epic Mahabharata,
Yudhishthira* was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti and the
king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura (Kuru). He was the leader of the
successful Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War. At the end of the epic, he
ascended to heaven.
Baka - Baka appears as the crane; Dharma, Yaksha,
Baka are one and the same
Dharmaraja - Yudhishthira was also known as
Dharmaraja
Yaksha - Dharma, Yaksha, Baka are one and the same.
The story
At the end of their 12 years of exile in the forests, time
had come for the pandavas to live in Agyat Vasa (living Incognito). As they
were discussing their course of action the Pandava Princes came across a
Brahmin who complained that a deer has taken on its antlers his Arani – a
pair of wooden blocks to generate fire by friction – and therefore he was not
able to light the fire for the performance of Vedic rituals. The valorous
Pandava Princes set out to retrieve the Brahmin's Arani and followed the
hoof-marks of the deer.
In the quest of the mysterious deer, Yudhishthira, became
exhausted and thirsty. His brother Nakula thus ventured out to fetch water and
found a beautiful lake. The lake was devoid of any living creature except a
crane (Baka)*. When he attempted to take water from the lake, the crane spoke,
"O Nakula! The water of this lake will turn into poison if you take it
without satisfactorily answering my questions." Nakula, in arrogance, did
not pay heed and hurriedly took water from the lake. Upon drinking the crystal
clear water, Nakula instantly died of poisoning. Nakula's twin Sahadeva, coming
in search of his brother, also found the same lake, saw Nakula dead, and was
warned by the crane. But Sahadeva too ignored the crane and died after drinking
the water. In the same manner, both valiant Arjuna, and powerful Bhima met the
same fate.
Since none of the brothers returned with water, Yudhishthira
engaged in search of them. Upon following the same path, Yudhishthira came
across the lake and found his brothers lying dead. Before searching for the
killer of his brothers, Yudhishthira decided to drink some water from the lake.
But when the crane warned him, Yudhishthira realised that the crane held the
answer to the turn of events. The virtuous Yudhishthira proceeded to answer the
questions put forth by the crane.
Before putting the questions to Yudhishthira, the crane
revealed itself as a Yaksha. The Yaksha asked 18 questions with philosophical
and metaphysical ramifications. This dialogue between the Yaksha and
Yudhishthira is embodied in the Madhya Parva of the Mahabharata, and is also
known as the Dharma-Baka* Upakhyan (Legend of the Virtuous Crane).
Source: Wikipedia
