Indra and Hanuman

Invocation

 

Upon the waves of the milky ocean,

Using a coiled serpent as his bed,

Lies the shining deity Ranganatha

 

His lotus feet I always seek,

His praises I shall ever sing,

For wisdom lies therein.

 

Story

 

My dearest friend, sister mine,

You had always taken a shine,

To the bedtime stories I once told,

When you were not yet half as old

As you are today.

 

So I tell you another tale,

Of a hero you know and love,

Blessed with strength and fearlessness,

But was too young to know better

And abused it.

 

He liked fruits you see,

Because he was a monkey,

And in his childish fun,

Set his eyes upon the sun,

To eat it.

 

Monkey see and monkey do,

Doesn’t think things through,

Just to fulfil his desire,

Leaps high and flies higher

Into orbit.

 

Unlike another young man,

From another mythology,

Who flew wings held with wax,

Our monkey leapt into the sky,

And didn't die.

 

The sun looked at him and fled,

And to the other Gods he pled,

Save me from that crazy ape,

Who follows with mouth agape,

He'll kill me.

 

Then He who had a thousand eyes,

Firstborn of Aditi, ever wise,

Appeared at his brother's call,

And to stop the monkey small,

He punched him.

 

Mighty though he was, the ape,

Was no match for Indra the great,

And fell to the ground nearly dead,

But at his father Vayu's request,

Indra raised him.

 

Little monkey you are small but bold,

You will know better when you're old,

Until then your powers I keep,

Under lock and key, for you to use,

In emergency.

 

I resurrect you, said the King,

And heal your broken jaw,

Because in Sanskrit the same,

Is called a हनु (hanu), your name,

Shall be Hanuman.

 

Thus it happened when the time

To leap to Lanka came around

To rescue Sita and report to Ram

His awesome powers were unbound

The rest you know.

 

Benediction

 

Bonu, like your favourite God,

You have reached many heights,

The clan, the country and career,

All behold you with pride

And always will.

 

In telling you this ancient tale,

I hope to not only regale,

And pass the time, but also tell,

Know your powers and know also

Your limits.

 

Know your foes, choose your friends

For their bravery and good sense

So that they will not hesitate

To either praise you or punch you

To set you straight.

 

As in heaven the thunder wielder

As on earth the immortal ape

Guide their respective realms

So may my sister lead and protect

Her dependents.

मर्यादा

All is fair in love and war,

Quoth the party holding power,

And relentlessly pursued,

Both with equal attitude.

Did they think it would be kind,

That their lover would not mind,

Being treated just the same,

As some hapless hunting game?

 

And what of those who would fight,

For the causes that are right,

But severely lack the means,

To protect their hopes and dreams? 

So bear in mind before you raise

Your arms, or desire chase,

Let not your pleasure prevail,

Over the needs of the frail.

For as a better poet wrote,

It does transpire as in the quote,

That the strong who crush the weak

May not be shown the other cheek.

오세호 (Oh Se-ho)

Oh you poor broken boy
Raised by a tyrant
In a gilded cage

Oh father of this hateful man
Who follows his hateful parent
In a misguided rampage

Alas, alas! O destroyer you
Betrayer of friends
And teacher's woe

May 복수's 복수*
Not fail to reclaim your soul
May he further your goal

Dedicated to the antagonist of the drama My Strange Hero (aka Bok-su is back, 복수가 돌아왔다)

*pronounced Bok-su, it is the protagonist's name, and means 'revenge' in Korean

State of mind

Many screeds I read
Many creeds I repeat
Regardless of their merit I pay them heed
Ideas come and go in on a two-way street
My theories of everything will never be complete

In deep waters I hide
In deep waters I reside
The burden of this ocean I carry inside
Stirred by currents and eddies and the shifting tide
My mind is an arena where these thoughts collide

The tides of fiction, currents of affairs
With notions abstract
And pretensions of fact
They seek my attention, they give me nightmares
I cannot go without
They're all I think about

So I drown myself in vice
And my body pays the price
I can tolerate this pain
At least I'm not insane

(Sung to the tune of Gasoline, by Halsey)

화유기 2

(Hwayugi 2)

On the occasion of Vijayadaśami, and the departure of the Goddess, I wrote this summary of the mythological Korean Drama Hwayugi in Sanskrit, dedicating it to the Goddess Gwan-eum (Sanskrit: Avalokitasvarā) who secretly controls the plot of this story in the form of 'the peddler'. May the Goddess bless us all.

धर्मार्थकामदां देवीं नमामि शोकनाशिनीं ।
निर्वाणरूपांवरदां आर्यामवलोकितस्वराम् ।।

I bow to the noble Goddess Avalokitasvarā, who is the provider of dharma, artha and kāma, the destroyer of grief, the granter of boons and the embodiment of nirvāṇa.

बन्ध्नासित्वं हरिश्रेष्ठं चञ्चलं प्रीतिनिग्रहे ।
येनसः रतिमान्लेभे दैवैपि विजयं शुभम् ।।

You bind the best of monkeys, who is capricious, in the bonds of love, owing to which the smitten one achieves victory even over fate.

याजातातवप्रसादेन अहिंहन्यतेतया ।
सुबोधिनः च देवानाम् सिध्यतैवतारया ।। 

The dragon is slain by the woman born by your grace; (the mission) of Subodhi and the Gods is accomplished by that Avatar.

सुरासुरयोः मध्येत्वं संधिंघटयसिप्रियम् ।
रक्षसि वृशभपुत्रं क्षमसेतस्यमातरम् ।।

You cause a delightful union between the Gods and Monsters; you protect the son of the Bull and forgive his mother (i.e. the Bull's wife).

एषा कथा रमणीया कीर्तिभिः तव प्रेरिता ।
विरचिता हङ् स्वसृभ्यां भासतांमेहृदिसदा ।।

May this gratifying tale inspired by your exploits and composed by the two Hong sisters always shine in my heart.

Note: Feedback on errors in my Sanskrit composition are welcome.