Ashoka

After all the burst of energy, killing friends and foes,Over five hundred civil officers dead, Leaving a nation in supplicating wonder,Vanquishing wild tribes,And the Kalinga caveat, And still the mind of a saint!

 Shall we say A rare encounter in a previous birth, The sincere gift of a mud pie made magic,Created a bond with the Buddha,Controlled a belligerent destiny,All said and done the emperor emergedUnscathed from the pages of history! Our paper king,Still violating the boundaries of imagination,Evolving rock edicts in the smithies of silence,Effecting landmarks upon selecting One passage and another position,Releasing the fragrance of love,Creating the condition for music! A war-like sage,Prancing upon the horse of compassion,Composite, cavalier and cruel,Instigating a human revolution,Restoring boundless freedom, energy and élan.

Damn it man! So many dead And you still got enlightenment! 

December 1993, Delhi