PAPER POETRY

Mystic Musings of Battle

Paper Poetry Prompt#3

Sneha Mankar
Paper Poetry

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Mystic Musings of Battle (Oct 1, 2020): illustration by Sneha Mankar

Shackled between a rock and a hard place
in the hopeless state of inadequacy,
a warrior and a pearl of timeless wisdom,
Prince Arjuna reinforced his power of choice

the choice to commit sin or to let the peace prevail,
to wage war upon the hearted-ones
or to gain the rulership over them

Sitting on the fence of trembling motivations
with fleeting emotions and dubious sensations
far from the fear of defeat and the greed for power,
his wise and immortal soul kept dwelling in the mortal body

for him to follow the path of one that endures
humanity and honor, of morals and values.

for him to not to despair over the deaths
but to fight for the eternal value of justice.

Footnote: This piece of poetry interprets the dilemma of the Prince Arjuna to choose between the alternatives having moral conflicts.

The Bhagavad Gita (also known as Gita) is part of the epic Mahabharata.
The epic describes the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The Gita is the discourse given by Lord Krishna (identified as God) to Prince Arjuna (one of the Pandavas) just before the war is about to begin. His words contain the essence of Vedic wisdom and the keystone of Hinduism.

Here’s what Lord Krishna advised to Arjuna to convince him to fight in the battle:

“You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself — without selfish attachments, alike in success and defeat.”

© Sneha Mankar
Thank you for reading :)

In response to Paper Poetry Prompt#3 ‘Between a rock and a hard place’ by Amy Marley. Thank you Suntonu Bhadra for letting me be a part of the amazing Paper Poetry journey.

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Sneha Mankar
Paper Poetry

Software Engineer at LTI. Writer and Poet. I write to speak of my mind to explore, believe, and live where I belong!