Prose

Prose Section

Chapters:

 1. The Enchanted Pool

2. A Letter to God

3. The Ganga

4. Socrates

5. Torch Bearers

6. Our Indian Music: Stories And Anecdotes

1. The Enchanted Pool -C. Raj Gopalachari

Yudhishthira waited for his brothers in anxiety and thirst. ”Can they have been subjected to a curse or are they still wandering about in the forest in search of water? Can they have fainted or died of thirst?” Unable to bear these thoughts, and driven by an overpowering thirst, he gave up waiting and started out to look for his brothers and the pool hoping that he might find them. 

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Anxiety : Feeling of uncertainty and fear about future (चिन्ता)

Subjected : Brought under the influence of (प्रभाव के अधीन)

Curse: अभिशाप

Wander : To go from place to place (इधर उधर भटकना)

Faint : To become unconscious (मूर्छित होना)

Overpowering : Very strong (तीव्र)

Gave up : छोड़ दिया

Yudhishthira proceeded in the direction his brothers had taken and kept on walking through tracts full of wild bear and spotted deer and big forest birds till he came upon a beautiful green meadow, around a pool of clear water. But when he saw his brothers lying there like flagpoles, unable to restrain his grief, he lifted his voice and wept.

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Proceed : to go forward (आगे बढ़ना)

Direction : दिशा

Keep on : continue (जारी रखना)

Tract : area of large forest ( )

Spotted: चितकबरे

Meadow : pasture land (चारागाह)

Restrain : control, hold back (रोकना)

He touched the faces of Bhima and Arjuna, as they lay so still silent and mourned, "Was this to be the end of all our vows? Just when our exile is about to end, you have been taken away. Even the Gods have forsaken me in my misfortune."

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Mourn : express sorrow (दुःख प्रकट करना)

Vow : solemn promises (प्रतिज्ञा)

Exile : (वनवास)

Forsake : abandon, to leave one in a helpless condition (बेसहारा छोड़ देना(

Misfortune : bad luck (दुर्भाग्य)

As he looked at their mighty limbs, now so helpless, he sadly wondered who could have been powerful enough to kill them. Then he too descended into pool, drawn to the water by an overpowering thirst. At once the voice without form warned.

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Mighty : strong (शक्तिशाली)

Limbs : अंग

Wonder : surprise (आश्चर्य)

Descend : उतरना

Overpowering : very strong (तीव्र)

“Your brothers died because they did not heed mu words. They tried to drink water without answering my questions. Do not follow them. Answer my questions first and then you can quench your thirst. This pool belongs to me.”

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Heed= pay attention to

Quench= प्यास बुझाना

It did not take Yudhishthira a moment to understand that these could be no other than the words of a Yaksha and guessed what had happened to his brothers. It took him no time to see a possible way of bringing them back to life. He said to the bodiless voice: “Please ask your questions.”

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Moment= पल

Guess= अनुमान लगाना

Happen= घटित होना

The voice put questions rapidly one after another.

“What rescues man in danger?”

“Courage”

“By the study of which science does man become wise?”

“Not by studying any – ‘Shastra’ does man become wise. It is by association with the great in wisdom that he get wisdom.”

The Yaksha asked, “What is swifter than the wind?”

“Mind.”

“What is more faded than a dried straw?”

“A sorrow – stricken heart.”

“What be friends a traveler ?

“Learning”

“Who is the friend of one who stays at home?”

“The wife.”

“Who accompanies a man in death?”

“Dharma, that alone accompanies the soul in its solitary journey after death.”

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Rapidly= शीघ्रता से

Danger= खतरा

Rescue= बचाना

Courage= साहस

Association= संगति

Wisdom= बुद्धि, बुद्धिमान लोग

Swift= तेज

Sorrow stricken heart= दुःख से व्याकुल हृदय

Accompany= साथ जाना

Soul = आत्मा

Solitary= अकेला

“Which is biggest vessel?”

“The earth, which contains all within itself, is the greatest vessel.”

“What is happiness?”

”Happiness is the result of good conduct.”

“What is that, by giving up which man becomes loved by all?”

“Pride, for if man gives up being proud, he will be loved by all.”

“What is the loss which yields joy and not sorrow?”

“Anger, if we give up being angry, we will no longer he subject to sorrow.”

“What is that, by giving-up which a man becomes rich?”

“Desire. If man gives up being greedy, he will become wealthy.”

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Vessel = पात्र

Conduct = आचरण

Yield = बढ़ाना

Give up= छोड़ना

“What makes one a real ‘Bhahmana?’ Is it birth, good conduct, or learning? Answer decisively.”

“Birth and learning do not make one a Brahmana; good conduct alone does. However learned a person may be, he will not be a ‘Brahmana’ without giving up bad habits. Even though he may be learned in the four Vedas, a man of bad conduct falls to a lower class.”

“What is the greatest wonder in the world?”

“Every day men see creatures depart to Yama’s kingdom; and yet those who remain want to live forever. This truly is the greatest wonder.”

Thus, the Yaksha put many questions and Yudhishthira answered them all. In the end the Yaksha asked “O, King one of your dead brothers can now be revived. Who do you want to come back to life?”

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Decisively = निश्चय पूर्वक

Creature = प्राणी

Depart = प्रस्थान करना, मर जाना(यहाँ )

Remain= रह जाना

Revive = जीवित करना

It took Yudhishthira a moment to think and then he wished that the cloud-complexioned, lotus-eyed, broad-chested and long-armed Nakula, laying like a fallen ebony tree, might arise.

The Yaksha was pleased at this and asked Yudhishthira : “Why did you choose Nakula in preference to Bhima, who has the strength of sixteen thousand elephants? I have heard that Bhima is most dear to you. And why not Arjuna, whose strength in arms is your protection? Tell me why you choose Nakula rather than either of these two.”

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Complexion= शरीर का रंग

Ebony = आबनूस का वृक्ष

Preference = अपेक्षा

Protection = रक्षा

Yudhishthira replied: “O Yaksha, ‘Dharma’ is the only shield of man and not Bhima and Arjuna, If ‘Dharma’ is given up, man will be ruined. Kunti and Madri were the two wives of my father. I am alive, a son of Kunti and so she in not completely bereaved. In order that scales of justice may be even. I ask that Maderi’s son, Nakula may revive.”

The Yaksha was most pleased with Yudhishthira’s impartiality and granted that all his brothers would come back to life.

It was Yama, the Lord of Death, who had taken the form of the Yaksh so that he might see Yudhishthira and test him. He embraced Yudhishthira and blessed him; then he disappeared.

Meaning of Difficult Words:

Shield= रक्षक

Bereaved = दुःखी

Justice = न्याय

Impartiality = निष्पक्षता

Embrace= गले लगाना

Disappear= अंतर्ध्यान हो जाना