Unlike the ‘Ramayana’ and the ‘Mahabharata,’ which are itihasa-s, meaning that these are true happenings (History), the puranas enjoy led credibility and the sthala purana-s, which speak of the local temples enjoy still lesser credibility among scholars. The poem is an indulgence with due respect to the great sage, Narada. The humor part of the poem will become apparent when we think of the mind of the sage as a princess.

The celibate sage is Narada. Never did Narada desire to be a woman. It is admitted in a lighter vein just like the sage’s tolerance to create lively intrigues.

III. Humor (Haasya)

Humor at some time may cause laughter,

At other time it may be somewhat bitter,

Time changes context and even emotion,

Sometimes it may even force one to shun,

Once a sage wanted to feel like a woman,

He was a renowned celibate, but no man

Can free himself from the clutches of fate,

Even Gods wanted to watch his lady state,

The sage transformed himself into a lady,

And a childless king was willing and ready

To take her as his child and raise her well,

Years passed and the king was glad to tell

As many that he was looking for a prince,

And showed interest and much patience,

Befitting a father of a marriageable girl,

And cared like the shell shelters a pearl,

Meantime the princess became nervous,

She had heard of the burden enormous,

To be faced as a woman raising a home,

Running a home and skillfully managing,

It dawned upon her it wasn't easy doing,

She decided to give up being a lady,

Suddenly vanishing would be tardy,

One day she saw a little girl wailing,

And inquired her by way of healing,

With a touch of pure human feeling,

“I am in want always. I do not know

Why it is, but much loathe to say so.”

The princess was moved and kindly

Spoke, “Let me make thee instantly

A princess and relieve thy suffering,”

Suddenly the girl became a princess

And ran to the palace free of stress,

The sage changed being a princess

And returned to meditative process

“Have you been a woman dear sage?”

Said he, “Learnt well despite my age

Women are serving the planet well.

The planet’s asset, it is truth to tell.”

Sridharan Kidambi, born in 1938 at Chittoor (Now in Andhra Pradesh), took his M. A. Degree in Economics from Vivekananda College in 1962. He was a research scholar of the Madras University for two years. He is interested in a wide range of subjects like astronomy, poetry, comparative religion, philosophy, classical music, lyrics etc. Besides Tamil, his mother tongue and English, the academic language, he is familiar with Telugu, Sanskrit, and Russian.