A Poem
written by Myagmar AMARKHUU
Entitled The Whip of Emperor Chinggis Khan
Explicated
by
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
The Text
You tangled
and ruffled old donkey
Why do you
behave like a monkey?
Rubbing and
scratching against a hitching post
Trying to
stand along side with mount and steed
Your cold
and black tears
Dropping
from your sad eyes
Your
emaciated body without gear
Shivering
and shaking from hidden fear
Once looking
at the golden whip of silver saddle-bow
Hanging from
the steed-back presenting an elegant show
You flee shy
and cast unfriendly and unpleasant glance
As if
touching the hedgehog barb like a sharpened lance
You
frightened blue gray ass
Cant
remember our lords bless
With this
golden whip
Your
ancestors were awarded with a clip
Trashing and
beating made clear and enormous blisters
Not
disappearing for such a long time with such rare wonders
You are with
unbending will power
To taste
though whipping the Mongol flavor
If you say
yes and nod your head
And kiss
three times this golden whip
May be
reincarnated in the life to come
As a cart
horse by the grace of Heaven God
Oh yes scars
were left in the thigh bone of your ancestors
By the
golden of our Lord Emperor Chinggis
Explication
The poem
addresses the people of Mongolia.The poet is disgusted with the shyness and
shakiness of the Mongolian people. He
calls them donkeys or stupid and inept. They must be stupid or else why
should they behave like monkeys or in a silly and playful way. Behind this
censure the poets compassionate and wailing heart that laments the decadence of
Mongolian culture is directly felt by
the readers. They have been irritated and vexed by foreign domination through
the centuries. Their predicament is such that they are as if rubbing and
scratching the hitching post and they are trying to emulate the steed or a spirited horse fit for warfare. In
fact the Mongols are perhaps the best horse men in the world . Even a three
years old child rides horses in Mongolia.The windhorse or the mythical horse symbolizing
human soul is there in the
Mongolian national flag. It symbolizes
freedom of body and spirit The tahki horse is a divinity in the frame of horse.
Horses are the Sun symbols in India. Horse sacrifice was very auspicious in
ancient India. Horse sacrifice was equally auspicious in Central Asia in ancient days. But it is a
pity that modern Mongolians do not have the spirit of the horse. Mongolia was
directly or indirectly under foreign domination for centuries since 17 th
century. During this time the Mongolians as it were were tied to a hitching
post. The poet addresses the decadent Mongolia which is not in its element and
describes its plight in telling phrase
Your cold
and black tears
Dropping
from your sad eyes
Your
emaciated body without gear
Shivering
and shaking from hidden fear
Such a
pitiable condition has come upon Mongolia only because it has forgotten its glorious past. Nay this is
not all Mongolia shuddered to remember Chinggis Khan The President of Mongolia
Sakhiagin ELBEGDORJ himself said—There were times in our past that the Mongols were scared to
pronounce his name praise celebrate his birthday and would fall victims of
punishment if those acts were attempted. The lofty figure of Chinggis with
golden whip- bow silver saddle hanging from the steed only struck terror into
their hearts. They fled from the apparition of that mighty man as if they had
touched a lance . In fact to see the image of Chinggis is to touch the barbs of
a hedgehog. It was the hedge hog that taught man the art of kindling fire. The
image of the great Khan could also
kindle fire in the hearts of the Mongolians. But why did they flee from it?This
could be because we ordinary men get dazed before the Sun. Or else because the opinion of the received history of the world
debunked Chinggis as massmurderer.Or else Russian influence sought to repress
the love of the Mongolians for the great Khan.
But there
cannot be one history of the world. If the negroes or the
Red Indians had written the history of the world it would be a different
history from what the western people want to make us believe as
history.Chinggis Khan was the greatest conqueror of the world. Neither Alexander nor Napoleon could be a
match for him . He conquered some thing like 33 million square kilometers of
land. Presently after the fall of Napoleon or death of Alexander their
conquests went out of joint. But this was not the case with the great Chinggis
Khan or the ruler of the world’The Mongol empire continued and expanded even
after his demise. His grand son Kubla Khan was also great. This shows that
Chinggis khan was a great ruler too. Yes he united the different tribes into
the nation called the Mongolian nation. He gave them the writing system and
Uighur script He was the first in the world to introduce an efficient postal
system. He saw to that the rights of women are protected. He taught the world
religious tolerance . It was under his aegis that Europe and Asia came under
the same umbrella and the silk road was streamlined and reinvigorated by him.No
history can ever compass his achievements. He was a miracle in history.He was
the incarnation of God or he was the man sent by God.Wherever he went a canopy
of cloud above him went with him.That shows that Gods blessings were with him.At
Tsonjin Boldog near the banks of Tulu
river Chinggis got the golden whip. It meant that Chinggis should set out for
conquest and and bring about peace and prosperity of the world. The
Shrimadbhagavadgita the highest voice among the Hindu scriptures posits----Whenever
decadence is afoot in the world God himself incarnates to set the world right.
God is compassionate and at the same time cruel. In Hindu pantheon there is Lord Siva who brings about
ruin upon earth he is angered.Hr is then called Rudra.A Hindu will not hesitate to look upon Chinggis as the
incarnation of Rudra. Just as Rudra has a trident in his hand so did Chinggis
the golden whip.Chinggis himself said that he was the flail of the Lord
I am the
punishment of God Chinggis said If you
had not committed great sins God would not have sent a punishment like me upon
you, But it seems that the Mongols have forgotten that they were the chosen
seed of God and their ancestors were awarded with a clip that could bring the
world together. Chinggis is famous for his cruelty in the history manufactured
by the West. But the poet says---Trashing and beating made clear and enormous
blisters/ Not disappearing for a long tine with rare wonders.This is absolutely
true Presently after Alexanders demise the Macedonian empire disintegrated.
Presently after Napoleons fall his empire dissolved . But Chinggis established
peace and harmony in his vast empire and it continued for centuries even after
his death. His grand son Kubla Khan united China. Chinggis himself said—I will rule
them by fixed laws so that rest and happiness shall prevail in the world. But
it is a pity that the descendants of Chinggis of today lack the will of his
great predecessors It was Chinggis who exhorted—Be of one mind and one faith
that you may conquer your enemies and lead long and happy lives.But the present
day Mongols have forgotten this teaching.Hence their debility. The poem itself
is a whip that lashes the present day people of Mongolia for their lack of
conviction and confidence.. The poet asks them to bow before the golden whip
and kiss it three times ; they might
resurrect as carthorses by the grace of Heaven God. As the Jataka tales testify
Lord Buddha himself was born as an animal several times. According Mongolian
faith horses are divinities and those who reck the golden whip might naturally be reborn as divinities. The
golden whip does not merely conquer the world without. It conquers the world
within.The quotes from Chinggis Khan illustrate that he was a master of
himself-a god.It was the golden whip of Chinggis that left a scar on the
thighbone of the ancestors of present day Mongols only to remind them that they
were appointed by God to rule the world and bring about peace. The present
generation of Mongols are perhaps forgetful of their task. The poem in short is
a fine patriotic poem. It has a tonic effect on its readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment