Saturday 28 September 2013



courtesy :  featurepics.com



MOTHER

Ocean of love churned*

Our ambrosia Mother

Rises with a smile


Tender most and hard

She’s a wondrous gift to us

By doting Nature



Childhood’s paradise

Is only her creation

We stay fearless



You can tell which girls

Lack mothers by a simple

Look of their hair



Precious possession

Of every living being

Pawns her life for us


* The Churning of the Ocean

Source : Wikipedia

Main article: Samudra manthan

Hindu mythology contains a story about the churning of the Cosmic Ocean in order to obtain Amrita (Ambrosia) - the nectar of immortal life. At the suggestion of Vishnu the gods, (devas) and demons (asuras) churn the primeval ocean in order to obtain Amrita which will guarantee them immortality. To churn the ocean they used the Serpent King, Vasuki, for their churning-string. For a churning pole they use Mount Mandara placed on the back of a Great Tortoise - the Kurma Avatar of Vishnu. As the gods and demons churned the sea, a terrible poison issued out of its depths which enveloped the universe. The devas and asuras approach Shiva who took the poison into his throat and swallowed it. Shocked by his act, Goddess Parvati strangled his neck and hence managed to stop it in his neck and prevent it from spreading. However, the poison was so potent that it changed the colour of his neck to blue, thereby earning him the name of Neelakanta (blue-throated one).[3] When the Amrita finally emerged along with several other treasures the devas and asuras fought over it. However Vishnu in the form of Mohini the enchantress manages to lure the asuras into handing over the Amrita to her, which she then distributes to the devas. Rahu, an asura, disguises himself as a deva and tries to drink some Amrita himself. Surya (the sun-god) and Chandra (the moon-god) alert Vishnu to this deception. Vishnu then decapitates Rahu just as he is about to swallow the nectar, leaving only his head immortal.
According to Bhagavata, outcome of the churning of Ksheerasagara is Halahalam (terribly destructive poison), Amrita (nectar) with Dhanvantari (physician of Gods), Lakshmi (Goddess of Riches), Jyestha (Goddess of Poverty), Chandra (the Moon), a white elephant named Airavata, a horse named Uchchaisrava, Kalpavriksha (the tree that yields whatever is desired).
The Churning of the Cosmic Ocean (the Milky Way) is told in several ancient texts, notably in the Valmiki's Ramayana Canto 45 [4] and in the Mahabharata.[5]

 For : Real Toads

Sunday Mini Challenge ~ The Secret Life of Bees

My inspiration was :  “You can tell which girls lack mothers by the look of their hair...”

          &

For : Haiku Heights

          Day 29 Sept.

Prompt : Mother


           &

For : Poetry Pantry
 

47 comments:

  1. Such a touching piece Sumana. I so appreciate your notes of explanation. It gives such a deeper understanding of your poem. I reread it trying to pick a favorite part, but all of it is so lovely. Thanks so much for taking part in the challenge.

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    1. Thanks Susie.....it was such an amazing challenge .....i really enjoyed writing this.....thanks once again for dropping by and your words of encouragements.... :)

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  2. Dreamy beauty in this poem. Love the image of an ambrosia mother.

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  3. Wow...what a beautiful set, Sumana. The footnote adds more to these gorgeous haiku. Lovely...

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  4. Thank you Sumana for providing the explanation behind your poem. You have used the quote beautifully.

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  5. Sumana this is a fragrant bouquet of Haiku.The explanation has added more flavour. Excellent.

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  6. The description and your beautiful poem both compliment each other.

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  7. I enjoyed all of your haiku...but was moved especially by this one:

    You can tell which girls
    Lack mothers by a simple
    Look of their hair

    I was moved by it because..before I take my granddaughter to school in the morning I always make sure she looks her very best..hair combed nicely, face washed, etc. So important for young kids, I think, to have a caring person watch out for them in this way before they can think of doing all by themselves. Nice writing here.

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    1. O Mary for that bit the credit entirely goes to the prompt @ Real Toad..........i used the quote (from The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd).......almost lifted it to suit my purpose......i was so moved by it .....thanks again for the visit and comment...

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  8. beautiful imagery in your poem... thank you for the in depth explanation of the ancient memory. it is true, you can tell a lot about a little girl by her hair.... perhaps that her mother loves her dearly by the perfection of her tresses, perhaps that her mother loves her dearly because she allows her tresses to be untamed and free.

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  9. how intriguing to know the girls by the state of their hair...and knowing of their mother....we dont fall too far from the tree that is for sure....and i think the care given from a parent will determine in many ways the direction of our lives...

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    1. yes of course....mother is a mother is a mother to all her dear ones..thanks Brian..... :)

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  10. Thank you for the additional information about your culture ~

    I specially liked these lines best:

    Tender most and hard

    She’s a wondrous gift to us

    By doting Nature


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    1. thanks Grace........ah..... a mother's watchful eyes help us take the right path in this maze of life........

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  11. mother
    the more you describe it glows more beautifully

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  12. Loved your poem. This is a very true bit of wisdom, about the hair. Caring mothers make sure their daughters' hair is well tended.

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  13. thanks for sharing some parts of your culture. :)

    thoughtful haiku, nice!

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    1. thanks dsnake1 for your words of appreciation.......

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  14. This was so lovely. So nice to learn more about your culture as well

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  15. Pawns her life for us- powerful. Thank you.

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  16. Your poem was a delight. Thank you too for the teaching.

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  17. "Pawns her life" is an interesting thought. I am so grateful to be a mother and now a grandmother. You have written a lovely poem to mothers.

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  18. Your writing is lovely. What a nice story. Made me think of my daughter who has long curly hair. It was hard to care for it, but I did my best. Thanks for the background info. What a rich story.

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    1. thanks Myrna for your words of encouragement......

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  19. I enjoyed this post very much. I'm old, but I still miss my mother.
    K

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    1. thank you so much Kay........mothers are our only source of sustenance....and i'm really so grateful to Real Toads for that opportunity to write a few lines on Mother....thanks for sharing your thoughts..

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  20. Apart from your haiku which I enjoyed your information about the various Hindu Gods was very interesting. I will read it again . There are a lot of names to remember:)

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  21. i am so glad that you like the haiku and the related information Rallentanda...........thank you so much for sharing your thoughts..

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  22. My son has a bit of hair that likes to stay up. I wonder if he will remember my hand, always smoothing it? My daughters - well 3 are teenagers - and I hope they appreciate the $ I spend at the beauty salon on their tresses! :) Sweet poem.

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    1. aww..... thanks Margaret....such lovely enjoyable comments....you are an angel to your children and they know it....... :D

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  23. Thank you for sharing this story and your poem is beautiful. You use such beautiful maternal images!

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