The woods are lovely ,dark and deep ,
But I have promises to keep ,
And miles to go before I sleep......are the popular lines of a 19
th cent American poet that reveals his take on life.
1800 years earlier ,the Indian king ,an ascetic as well as a poet
Bharathri hari has made the following observation, in classical
Sanskrit on life in his
treatise Vairagya sataka... .
Ayur varshantam nranam parimitam ratruthadharram gatam|
Tasyar dasya parasya chardhamparam balatvavridhatvyoh|
Sesham vyasdhi vi
yogadhu;
Khashinta sevaddhibirniyate|
Jive '
varita ghyabudbudha saukyam kutahpraninam|
Meaning...
100
years is the life span of man,
Half of that passes in the stillness of night,
And of the half remaining , half is childhood and old age.
The remainder is spent in
service , with sickness ,
separation and sorrow as companions.
And where happiness in life is like bubbles blown on water!
Down south
Thondaradipodi Aazhwaar a devotee of Lord Vishnu ,in 8
th cent AD has couched his view on life in the
following attractive verse in Tamil
Vedanool pirayum nooru manisartham puguverilimPadhium urangipogum,
nintrathil padhi aanduPedhai palakan aagum pinni pasee moopum thunbamAadhalal piravi ve'ndhyen Aranga ma
nagarullane'!
Meaning...
Though Vedas allot 100
years of life to
human beings'
Half of this is spent in sleeping,
The remaining half is
confiscated by the ignorance of childhood, poverty, hunger,
disease ,old age and sorrow.
Therefore ,
do not grant me any more births , this my plea to you,the resident of
Srirangam[
vishnu]
