Legacy of Bharatavarsha


A pall of darkness spread over the land of light.
Plundered and looted century after century,
Our ancient mother land lay bound in shackles
Enervated, helpless and worn out, a legacy lost.

Invaders powerful came sailing from far away seas
With a hand of iron the land they ruled, for were they
Of war craft, masters; of umpteen battles, veterans
No answer had we for their canons and muskets

But one hero stood in their path of complete dominion
He held no gun, no sword not even a humble kitchen knife
Half naked, thin and starved, was he; a most unlikely warrior
But held he a weapon secret, most powerful and potent

One weapon to rule them all, one weapon to bind them all
Lord of all swords of metal that cut wood and flesh
Is the sword of truth that cuts through deception and lies
This sword, the legacy of this land, he held in his heart

For this is the land of the noble king Harish Chandra,
The noble Raja who to keep his word gave away his kingdom,
Sold into slavery, himself, his queen and his one and only child
Never ever an inch swerved even in face of grave calamities

For this is the land of the wise scholar Nakkeeran
The learned poet who held steadfastly on to truth
Even against the wrath of the mighty God Shiva himself
To ashes be burnt he chose rather than truth forsake

For this is the land of the saintly prince Siddhartha,
Who home and hearth, wife and child leaving went
Into the wilderness, all alone in search of the truth
Seeking relentlessly, till the truth itself revealed

Truth, his blade and armor, absolutely no fear had he, this hero
The baton blows, he boldly faced, not even an eyelid batting
A whole nation he inspired to stand up and her legacy reclaim.
In defense of truth laid down he his life, and immortal became.

This is the proud legacy of our ancient mother land
The legacy preserved by sages and kings of the yore
The lost legacy, our nation’s father reclaimed for us
The legacy of truth, Bharatavarsha’s gift to the world

Dark clouds now loom ominously over the entire world
Succor is desperately sought from the ancient land of light
Will she regain her lost spirit and reclaim her ancient legacy
In time to save this world engulfed in lies and deception?

This post is a part of Patriotic poetry contest by Gurukripa. If you liked these poems, please check out my other poems by clicking here.

16 comments:

Shanmu said...

was there a unified country/concept of Bharatavarsha before the british/mughal invasion? just muddying the waters ;)

T F Carthick said...

Well, Shanmu, I do not talk about the political entity. Political entities are but accidents of history. In order to maintain the unity, the nation has to have a shared purpose, a shared heritage. To find that we need to go before the British and Mughal period as the Chinese go towards the Han period to discover their identity.The British and Mughal period have little to incite our passion.

Mohini Puranik said...

Thank you so much for your entry Fool. (Why do you keep this name?)

I am speechless reading the beautiful words, the feelings and loved it...

Stan Szczesny said...

Now, help me remember: is Bharatavarsha the son of Duhsanta and Sakuntala, as depicted by Kalidasa and in the Mahabharata? I've read the Kalidasa. I read selections of the Mahabharata, but I think we skipped over Sakuntala's labor and bearing in that book and then skipped up to the Session with Markandeya. Anyways, if I'm right, I'm fairly familiar with Bharatavarsha's parents, but I don't know much about his adult life. I enjoyed the poem. My curiosity is piqued.

T F Carthick said...

@Mohinee - Thanks a lot. I am glad you liked my poem. Welcome to my blog. The reason for my name - well! To put it shortly, most people are afraid to say what they want afraid to seem a fool. When you are already 'The Fool', then no such fears.

T F Carthick said...

@Stan - Bharata was the sone of Sakuntala and some theories suggest it was after him that our country was named. He is supposedly one of India's greatest emperors, whose descendants supposedly fought the Mahabharata war. (I am sure you would have read the Ramayana and Mahabharata. They are richer classics that Illiad and Odyssey)

But here I do not refer to him. Here I refer to the original name of India. Hindustan was name given by Persian invaders and India by British invaders, both referring to the proximity to the river Sindhu. But the country's real name was Bharatavarsha and still India is referred to as Bharat in Hindi and many of the other local languages.

Stan Szczesny said...

Thank you for the lesson on the history of the names given to your land. I wasn't aware of all that.

I enjoyed your poem very much. I think it's a fine approach to the topic you were given.

I have read portions of the Mahabharata. I read Books I-II and portions of book III. I also read the Gita, which is part of the Mahabharata and Book X. I haven't sat down to tackle the whole thing. I should, because I agree with you that the Mahabharata is amongst the world's richest epics. I haven't read Ramayana. A version of the story of Rama is in the Mahabharata, and I have read that.

Someone is Special said...

***no words TF***

Someone is Special

T F Carthick said...

Thanks SIS.

Unknown said...

These last two lines tell the whole story, don't they?...

Will she regain her lost spirit and reclaim her ancient legacy
In time to save this world engulfed in lies and deception?

They are universal. Countries, Families, Individuals. All must tap into spirit. All must realize their divinity, their legacy.

Terrific political treatise.

s said...

Hi TF - Just to share what I read on the name India. While u r right about 'Hindustan' being Persian in origin, the term 'India' was the Latin equivalent for the Sindhu/Indus - 'Indie'. It originated around the 2nd-3rd century. It did come back in use during the British era as India.
You have written a beautiful poem there, n especially the last para does give us something of a hope!
Again, I always wonder why I never get to hear about the glory of the India that was; way before the Aryans came over. Maybe because in spite of India's vast grandeur, documentation came to India quite late. But it would have been interesting to see how the Aryan invaders 'swooped down' on the Dravidians, and with their advanced technological superiority in matters of warfare, succeded in driving them down south.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, Kim.You are right.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, Shilpa. Glad you liked my poem. I do not know about the Aryan invasion as it is a theory disputed by right wing historians. I am no historian and I have no reason to beleive that left wing historians have to be necessarily right. But what I know is currently there exists no independent and distinct heritage for the country dating back to pre-Vedic times. Whatever was there must have got amalgamated in the vedic culture. And documentation was not a big issue. Why do you think most anicent works in Sanskrit and Greek are in verse form. Poetry is easier to memorize and pass on as an Oral tradition.

Unknown said...

Aryan invasion is implanted to reduce our belief in our origin and legacy. We had every technology what we see today including corruption and related trades. But there was harmony and will to curb that in time. Everything was taught and recited verbally to create the intended frequency generation for human by human not by machine or devices for humans, practiced in present form. Example is simple, Lata, Mukesh Kishore songs are popular and effective with the help of music and listening, not by printing or making MP3. Devices need external energy and device model dependency, compatibility, maintenance. But human vocal cords can create better emotional effects than written words, no need of extra storage systems and devices, full utilization of human brain. Modern education teaching us to use less brain and making us device dependent so that few can make huge wealth.

I doubt for whom all this is of any importance??????

T F Carthick said...

Thanks a lot for your insights, VK Sir. I agree with you. Same thing about medical science also. The more holistic ancient medical sciences are replaced my modern medecine with its piecemeal approach attacking specific symptoms rather than fixing root causes.

s said...

@TF - Yes, you are right that poetry is the preferred choice to pass on Oral traditions.
@VK - I don't know if ur reply was to my comment. If not pls ignore what follows :)
You could be right. The very fact that Aryan invasion has neither been proved nor disproved should make it easier for us to listen to both sides of argument. My point is we do NOT know what happened in ancient times! We do NOT know what was passed down orally n what was documented are one and the same thing. For example you believe that the Aryan idea was implanted and I believe that maybe it was not. That is why I have clearly written 'it would have been interesting to know.......'. And I do not care whether I or you are an Aryan or a Dravidian. As long as we are Indians(or Bharatiya if u prefer) Don't u agree? Again no comment on the example you have given, since , really, that is an individual's preference. Peace!

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