The Peace of Exile

Panchvati is a poem by Maithilisharan Gupt, (link below) told from Lakshman's point of view, as he accompanies his brother, Lord Rama, and sister-in-law, Lady Sita, into exile in the forest.

This is a long poem, I am attempting to give the gist of some selected verses below.

Thanks to the family members and friends who read it and appreciated it -- that's how I feel like sharing it with a wider audience!

Do click the link below to listen to the original.

Thirteen long years have passed
Seems like but yesterday
Our father writhed in pain
Watching his son Rama walk away.

Mother Kaikeyi did long
For her son to be the greatest
Reigning supreme on the throne
With Rama exiled in the forest.

But her son denied her dream
The throne wasn't his, he said
He wanted no title of king
He wore no crown on his head.

And yet the wise Bharata
He was the richest of them all
His was the joy of a hundred kings
Without pride, he had no fall.

Everyone craves a kingdom
To rule with great stature
We have found it in the forest
Ours is the bounty of nature.

Is the throne life's only goal?
Our ancestors, with such grace
Embraced life in the woods
Turning their back on the palace.

Watch the animals at play!
Watch Lady Sita's pleasure
She is the mother of them all
Of every precious creature.

In this kingdom of this king
The lion and the deer
Drink together at the stream
Neither has anything to fear.

My bhabhi

bhabhi - brother's wife (sister in law)

, she waters her plants
And digs the earth with so much grace
All the worldly wealth cannot match
The joy on her face.

Our kith and kin, they weep for us
Imagining the forest's fury
If only I could bring them here
To the reality of this luxury.

Our mothers yearn to hold us close
But here, we have found
Mother Nature's tender caresses
On her lap, blessings abound.

If we've had our challenges
With every setback that we face
Comes the sweet gift of strength
And the outpouring of grace.

And when the challenge has been met
The strength and grace endure
Forever deep in our hearts
So we feel joy so pure.