Amrita celebrates the manifestations of Vishnu, in this verse, exclusively for Different Truths.

Seaborne, mighty above
All leviathans,
The bejewelled cobra
Shelters Vishnu with his
Regal hood,
That stretches infinitely vast
Over oceans,
A parasol for God.

Vishnu is all smiles,
He populates the sea,
Plankton, corals, squids
And octopi reign amidst
Sharks, dolphins, fish...

But what is this?
The humble coelacanth, stony jawed
Dances for joy
At the discovery of pliant fins

Lord Vishnu raises the lotus palm
In blessing
A strange alm solicited
A cosmic eyebrow raised
In askance
And supreme amusement.

‘Tathastu”
Your wish is granted.

The cobra roars and hisses
Waves rise in defiance
Of such abandonment.


Sea creature transgresses the
“Laxman Rekha” of his existence
The Gem eludes such a purity
Amorphous purple light
The understanding is instantaneous
Nature is quiet.

Soft maternal waves
Parry and thrust with
Poseidon is defeated
At last!

The Four Yugas
Of humankind in a cyclical repetition
Speaks of the heroic human fish
Matsa-Avatar
That swam to the shores
And found his feet
For mighty future generations.

They recant the heresy of hubris
That disconnected silver merman
From his oceanic origins.
Today man depletes oceans
Forgotten is Anantha Naga
And Vishnu’s divine mercy.

Poet’s Notes

Lord Vishnu: The Hindu God of preservation of cosmos, stability and balance

Matsa-Avtar: Lord Vishnu reincarnated as fish.

Ananth Naga: The eternal, endless serpent on whom Lord Vishnu rests in the divine ocean.

Tathastu: Amen, So Be it.

Laxman Rekha: A boundary is drawn by Laxman for his sister-in-law, Sita (wife of Lord Rama), in the epic Ramayana. Signifies boundaries that must not be crossed.

Yuga: Cyclical pattern of repetition of the four ages of humankind, namely Satya, the age of Truth, Dvapara, Treta, and finally Kali, the age of destruction through decadence and sin. One Yuga is roughly 12 thousand years.

Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths

Amrita Valan

Amrita Valan holds a master’s degree in English literature and has worked in BPOs, as a content creator, and as a receptionist at a five-star hotel. She loves life, tumbles headfirst into it, and observes it. She has written over a thousand poems on love, spirituality, family, religion, current affairs, human rights, short stories, rhymes, and tales for children. She’s from Kolkata and is a mother of two little boys.

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