A son remembers.

How easily we take for granted our mother and her role in our life.But a young man brimming with knowledge and wisdom and who had virtually renounced the world had not!

The following five poems [mathru panchagam] came pouring out of the renowned sanyasi Adhi Shankara at the time of the demise of his mother Aryamba.Translated from Sanskrit it unfolds as follows.

Oh mother mine,
With clenched teeth bore thou the excruciating pain
When I was born to you,
Shared thou bed made dirty by me for an year'
And thine body became thin and painful,
During those nine months you bore me,
For all these in return,
Oh mother dearest,
I ,can never compensate ,
Even by becoming great!

Clad in a dress of a sanyasin,
You saw me in my teachers school
in your dream. And wept , and rushed thither.
Smothered , embraced and caressed me , oh mother mine,
And all the teachers and students wept with you,
What could I do ,
Except falling at your feet,
And offering my salutations.

Oh, mother mine ,
Crying thou shouted in pain ,
During thy hard labour,
'' Oh mother, Oh father,
Oh god Shiva,
Oh lord Krishna,
Oh lord of all Govinda,
Oh Hari and oh god Mukunda''
But in return
Oh mother dearest
I can give you, but humble prostrations.

Neither did I give you water at thine time of death
Neither did I offer oblations to thee to help thine journey of death,
And neither did I chant the name Rama in thine ear,
Oh mother supreme , pardon me for those lapses of compassion
For I have arrived here late to those.

And the final ode runs thus---

Mukhaa manishvam, nayammamethi
Rajeti jeevathi chirum stutha thwam'
Ithyuktha vathya vaachi mathaa,
Dadamyaham thandulamesh shulkam !

long live
Oh pearl of mine,
Oh jewel of mine ,
Oh my dearest eyes,
Oh mine prince dearest,
And oh my soul of soul,
Sang thou to me ,
But in return of that all
Oh my mother dearest,
I give you but dry rice in your mouth.