DRAUPADI XXXV

    

Prafulla Kumar Mohanty's 

DRAUPADI - XXXV

The evening melted

in earthen lamps

Draupadi had made up

her body and mind

with beads of long nursed

Love, breath of  heaven

waves of virgin desires.

She smelled of beauty

her breasts were domes

of lusty sapphires topped

with rubies of fantasy

her deep naval wore

a ring of lotus petals

creating the illusions

of a mystic wheel

whirling to conquer.

Her strong thighs firm

yet supple stood warm

on her dainty feet

the fire in her eyes

was a still flame

lighting up her bridal chamber:

and then came Arjun.

 

His eyes were red

with tumblers of wine

to still his nerves, his

steps steady, his gait

measured to form:

Good evening Princess

he said coming near

welcome Prince, Draupadi's

was a polite greeting.

 

Seating Sabyasachi

on her bridal bed Panchali

tried to calm her pulsation

when Arjun presented her

A Gandiv replica of Astadhatu.

'A token for my braveheart'

Draupadi thanked him

turned the gift in her hands:

Is your Gandiv a table piece,

only for show and decor?

Or the ornament of a hero

to be worn without parting

for it protects and defends

you and others you call your own?

 

Priyatame! You are the one

I loved not as the winner

but as  Arjun  who admired

your eyes more than the fish eye -

What did you say, Priyatame

O'  gods in heaven!

And the choicest splendour

of this world of nature and men!

My heart swells in womanly pride

to hear this word! But when your

Priyatame  was forced

to be shared by five

was your Gandiv unstrung

or you surrendered it

to your family discipline

wordlessly dismembering my soul?

 

No brave Princess don't kill

a man who died

the very moment that happened:

I had to bite my tongue

when that happened: come

my angel burn me to new life

with your love O' Fireborn

I cannot change that moment

nor can you, I'll accept

the part as whole -

But I am no more a virgin

my love is fly blown -

 

Arjun placed his palm on

Draupadi's lips, pulled her

to a tight embrace saying

never say such things

your fire purges and restores

your virgin heart which

I am sure is untouched

for me you are -

 

A duty assigned, said Draupadi

swiftly separating herself

from Arjun's grasp.

The lamps flickered

on her cheeks, the chamber

became hot with her breath

and Arjun's long sighs-

 

I am not an item scheduled

I wanted my vast universe

with you expanding it beyond heavens -

 

We will make it so,

your wishes shall be my orders

of my Guru the empress

of my soul and I shall

fill all the voids you create

by your royal shenanigans.

 

The great Partha then

will be a willing slave

to a shared woman

whose universe has shrunk

under the weight of inanities:

 

No, my love together we shall

recreate our world

new continents rising above

royal thrones and gemlit zones

expanding our love to cover

god's unconscious follies

which cause tear floods.

We shall give the balm of love

to all human wounds -

 

How Aryaputra how

will you not see me tomorrow

in your brothers arms

playing another role

to save my wifely trade...

 

Stop Draupadi, let the done

be done, no point when

we cannot undo, lets now

do what our love can do

in mortal terms and

changeful nature to remain

love awake for each other

to make life around

lovelier than it is now:

come join my heart

enrich it before the lamps

die out in sunken despair.

 

Draupadi sank to her knees

in prayer stance said she,

I had a dream my Dhananjaya:

to see you as my world

my life's vibration soft and wide

to ride in pomp in a vast limitless

space to set up a harmonious whole

of love, amity moral purity, free

from the arrogance of power and

to bring radiance in all faces

dull mind sickly hungry

to make life a celebration of light

the light of human glory

in benevolent measures but

see what compromises I make

just to hide the woman in me

in artful hypocrisy betraying

a skin deep relational front!

Arjun lifted her up

with a strange inspiration

his voice cracking  he held her

I have given you the man in me

to you Princess, the woman

which is not lost in your roles,

as I am the third Pandav

Dronasisya, Indrason

learner of war strategies

collector of arms of mythic divinity

you too are the queen wife

to five men of diverse temper,

manager of the royal household

feeder of birds animals, men

creator of beauty in dull life

the woman in you is not sundered

by the multiple roles you play

rather the woman reigns supreme

in ever growing forms

embracing all that is perceived

by mortals in nature's variety

I love the woman in you, the woman

who moves shadow like all

sun moon hours but remains aglow

in solitary non attachment:

I love you my soul, come

we will give a nuptial feast

to all those who perceive

the surface glamour in this light

of thousand lamps while

the soul of darkness is bright

in its untouched grace.