To catch a fairy

(400)  Sei svapnera deshe se niilsayare

In the blue sea of that dreamland,
A gold lotus has blossomed again.
With dulcet, spellbinding laughter,
It sends ripples across the blue waters.

In the late moonlight, with only its fragrance,
To parts unknown a breeze drifts off.
It pierces minds with that sweet scent
To pass the news on to hearts that are lost.
A fairy goes flying and circles around,
With covetous plot the lotus to abduct.

A prince was seated on a winged horse
When the fairy came flying to take the flower.
The fairy flies away, and the prince follows;
Flying and flying, the fairy was worn out.

On getting caught, the fairy trembled in fear;
Wings furiously flapping, she sought pardon.
"For this sin there is no leniency,"
Replied the prince with firmness and resolution.

"Theft won't be condoned for worship of a deity;
Move on the path of righteousness with noble deeds."

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

With a little help from friends

(399)  Sadhuta saralata tejasvita gune

By virtue of honesty, simplicity, and spiritedness,
Even an ordinary person becomes extraordinary.
In the king's youngest son were these graces,
And so he too sets forth to apprehend the fairy.

At the Blue Sea,
In the lotus grove at the Blue Sea,
Sleepless, he sat watching.
Vigilant every hour throughout the night,
With eyes fixed on the flower was he,
At the Blue Sea.
At night's end, fearfully she came.
Taking the flower and flying away, the fairy, she flees.

To pursue a fairy, a winged horse is required;
The prince scoured the three worlds far and wide.
At last, in the kingdom of one demon,
There he found the horse was present.
Loved by all for his benevolence,
The prince acquires the horse, using good sense.

The evil demon admitted that humanity,
In power to do battle, is not always weak.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Into the wasteland

(398)  Nidra tandra krodh alasya

Sleep, stupor, anger, sloth,
Delay, and fear– with these six flaws
Even great persons are undone,
Not to speak of lesser ones.

After being defeated by the fairy,
The princes went into the back country.
A winged horse they sought to procure;
Without it, hard indeed would be a fairy's capture.

With royal heritage they were besotted,
To views of commoners they gave no respect.
So no one's love they did win;
In arrogant pride, lost is acumen.

Defeated in battle and bereft of intellect,
By an evil demon they were confined;
In a dark prison cell they now spend time.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Before the fall

(397)  Darpaharii prabhu darpa na sahe kabhu

The Lord humbles pride; He never suffers conceit.
Where vanity abides, there must be defeat.
Two crown princes, the robber of the golden lily
They set out to seize, resolving to succeed.

With pinnace and canoe and many a sampan,
With yachts and ferries and ships all around,
They planned to capture the flower thief—
The fairy's trickery would surely cease.

Their hearts and minds were full of pride,
And negligent that God gently smiled.
The fairy carried an arrow of illusion;
With lily she slipped away, fearing no one.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

A flower offering

(396)  Rauniin parii aj caleche kothay

Now where has the colorful fairy gone?
Gold lotus at her breast, she has flown away.
In the blue sky she travels to a far-distant place.

The layers of atmosphere get lighter,
And steadily the clouds grow thinner.
But the fairy goes on flying...
Faster and faster, she hies.

She crosses the fairyland border;
And the stars, they sparkle much more.
The moon beams extra brightly...
The fairy will offer this flower to her deity.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Gold lotus in a blue sea

(395)  Niilsayare sonar kamal

A gold lotus in a blue sea—
It has blossomed, but no one pays heed...
No one pays heed, no one pays heed.
Its petals, the color of scarlet,
No one does touch, no one does touch.

Smeared with vitality is the gold pollen,
Glistening life, enfolding nectar.
But that nectar, it is remote;
And so the bumblebees never approach.

From the land of clouds, a colorful fairy
Was mesmerized by its sublime beauty.
Clasping to her bosom the lotus of gold,
She flew off; and no one knows.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Only His glory

(394)  Dakhina vatase kusumasuvase

With the floral fragrance in the southern breeze,
Oh, Who is He Who smiles in the mind?
With the love and devotion in a flower's pollen,
Only His luster does derive from every enterprise.

Don't obscure the path, oh most Beloved;
Let me keep You always on the canvas of my rumination.
In my flower bud, should any nectar remain,
With that nectar, it is You Whom I will magnify.

Don't make me forget Your song, oh most Beloved,
Through stormy winds and hurtful lightning bolts.
With my flower's seed vessel, should it endure,
Fragrant and new pollen will embellish You.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording