The Pillars Of Diligence

1. Agony of a Mother

This piece describes feelings of ganga mata at the time of astivisarjan (last rites) of the warriors of the Kurukshetra massacre.

Beautiful penned down by mythooolover

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Being a sacred and divine soul is never easy. Since, the day King Bhagirath ushered me to Earth, I have fulfilled all my responsibilities keeping my emotions in bars, each and every soul in this Aryavrat is my kid. I am part and parcel of their lives. They wash themselves in my holy water to get rid of their sins, and lift the burden off their chests. But, who will lift the burden of my chest? For what is going to happen today. I always stay strong and accept ashes emersed in my water. Everyday, I accept loved ones of many people and make them a part of me. I hear them cry, see them broken and feel their sorrows .Adult, Youth, todler, infant and old, I have accepted ashes of all , still I stay strong. I have never felt this weak, like I am feeling today.

The Great Battle of Kurukshetra ended few days back, and with it ended the three generations of Kurus. Millions of innocent people lost their lives. The battle which went on for 18 days, ended with the demolishon of 18 Akshoini Senas. The lands of Kurukshetra will always be remembered for tasting the blood of these brave men. Bhudevi is done with her part. Now, its my turn, my duty to embrace the ashes of these brave men and make them one of me.

I have been doing this since eternity without any seecond-thought and fear but today...... today, I have to admit that deep down I am afraid. I have known abot this war and the result since the beginning, I have also been preparing myself for it but still I am here afraid and helpless. Afraid because these are just normal ashes, , these are the ashes of my people. They once welcomed me as their Queen, when I was married to Maharaj Shantanu. They were a part of my happiness, they prayed for me when I was pregnant, they cried when I left them. These are not just ashes to me, rather these are as pure as vermilion for these are my children, my grand children, great grand children, great great grandchildren and Kuru people who stood with them.

Today, I Ganga cry at my fate for I have to do this tought task all by myself. Its not easy to suffer the death of your children. The hands which should have ruffled their hair, caressed them lovingly, now has to rest them to peace. I wish I could bring them back to life. The very purpose for which I was ushered to Earth , to revive the ancestors of King Bhagirath. I truly wish I could do that for my people also but I am helpless. This battle was the reason why Lord Narayan and Shri incarnated. A lot of lessons and a lot of reasons are related to this battle, I cannot let my emotions overpower them. I cannot become a obstacle in the path of Dharam Sthapana.

This battle will remind humans that pride and ego will lead to their downfall, no matter how many  try to escape, at last they will be punished for their sins. All these people who martyred here are punished for their sins,it  their karma and I cannot intervene, irrespective of how close they were to me.This is how  universe works. Even the Gods got no authority to tamper what is decided.

Finally, with a heavy heart I prepare myself for the ceremony, I will embrace them  all with love and strength like a mother and make them an inseparable part of me. I got no other choice.

The royal procession lead by the charriot of the Samrat and Samragi of Aryavrat reaches my bank.For the world they have won the greatest battle and conquered everything but only if they knew how much they have lost, how much they have sacrificed. In reality, their condition is worse than beggars. Their faces are pale, their souls have given up. Their quivering fingers clutching the mortal, which contained the remains of their late sons.

The Mighty Pandavas stood with dropped shoulders, their eyes fixed on ground. Seeing their condition , I felt that lucky are those who were martyred during the war, because those alive are in worse condition. They have to survive with the heart wrenching flashes of this war forever.

The ceremony started and one by one the ashes were immersed and once again I being the divine soul had to do what was required. Being a mother goddess, I cannot even shed tears, WHAT AN IRONY IT IS!

The cries of widows pierced my heart, the yearns of mothers were like arrows to my soul, the expectant eyes in wait for their brothers were unbearable. But, I don't have a choice.

With all my heart and soul I welcome and accept all of them and make them a part of me. I feel proud that all these great men and warriors, some of them who took up weapons even before they could speak properly, all of them are my kids. They are my pride!

The ceremony ended , a heartbreaking and record breaking amount of mortal remains were released in my waters. However, there was still a void, like something or someone was missing. My eyes searching his mother and brothers to come up with his mortal remains but there was nothing. What's wrong? Where is he?

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Author's word- Whenever we remember the women of Mahabharata, we never really talk about Mata Ganga. But I feel,  she must have suffered the same pain,  afterall it was her family as well.

So,  this was my attempt.

I hope you like it.