Glimpses of the Truth
Dawned the day of abhisheka, proud anointment, sacred bath,Crowned kings and learned Brahmans crowded on Yudhishthir's path,
And as gods and heavenly rishis throng in BRAHMA'S mansions bright,Holy priests and noble monarchs graced the inner sacred site!
Measureless their fame and virtue, great their penance and their power,And in converse deep and learned Brahmans passed the radiant hour,
And on subjects great and sacred, oft divided in their thought,Various sages in their wisdom various diverse maxims taught,
Weaker reasons seemed the stronger, faultless reasons often failed,Keen disputants like the falcon fell on views their rivals held!
Some were versed in Laws of Duty, some the Holy Vows professed,Some with gloss and varied comment still his learned rival pressed,
Bright the concourse of the Brahmans unto sacred learning given,Like the concourse of the bright stars in the glorious vault of heaven,
None of impure caste and conduct trespassed on the holy site,None of impure life and manners stained Yudhishthir's sacred rite!
Deva-rishi, saintly Narad, marked the sacrificial rite,Sanctifying by its lustre good Yudhishthir's royal might,
And a ray of heavenly wisdom lit the rishi's inner eye,As he saw the gathered monarchs in the concourse proud and high!
He had heard from lips celestial in the heavenly mansions bright,All these kings were god incarnate, portions of Celestial Light,
And he saw in them embodied beings of the upper sky,And in lotus-eyed Krishna saw the Highest of the High!
Saw the ancient NARAYANA, great Creation's Primal Cause,Who had sent the gods as monarchs to uphold his righteous laws,
Battle for the cause of virtue, perish in a deadly war,Then to seek their upper mansions in the radiant realms afar!
"NARAYANA, World's Preserver, sent immortal gods on earth,He himself in race of Yadu hath assumed his mortal birth,
Like the moon among the planets born in Vrishni's noble clan,--He whom bright gods render worship,--NARAYANA, Son of Man,
Primal Cause and Self-created! when is done his purpose high,NARAYANA leads Immortals to their dwelling in the sky."
Such bright glimpses of the Secret flashed upon his inner sight,As in lofty contemplation Narad gazed upon the rite.
Words in this poem
- anointment n.
- The act of anointing, or state of being anointed; also, an ointment.
- graced a.
- Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
- measureless a.
- Without measure; unlimited; immeasurable.
- faultless a.
- Without fault; not defective or imperfect; free from blemish; free from incorrectness, vice, or offense; perfect; as, a faultless poem.
- concourse n.
- A moving, flowing, or running together; confluence. [F. concours, L. concursus, fr. concurrere to run together. See Concur.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- deva n.
- A god; a deity; a divine being; an idol; a king. [Skr. d. Cf. Deity.]
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- sacrificial a.
- Of or pertaining to sacrifice or sacrifices; consisting in sacrifice; performing sacrifice.
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- incarnate a.
- Not in the flesh; spiritual. [Pref. in- not + carnate.]
- primal a.
- First; primary; original; chief. [LL. primalis, fr. L. primus the first. See Prime, a.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Glimpses of the Truth is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vyasa, Glimpses of the Truth, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/glimpses-of-the-truth.html, id L15773.
Form and metre
Glimpses of the Truth is 36 lines in 18 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA bathA · pathA
- 2 AA brightA · siteA
- 3 AA powerA · hourA
- 4 AA thoughtA · taughtA
- 6 AA professedA · pressedA
- 8 AA siteA · riteA
- 9 AA riteA · mightA
- 10 AA eyeA · highA
- 11 AA brightA · lightA
- 12 AA skyA · highA
- 13 AA causeA · lawsA
- 15 AA earthA · birthA
- 16 AA clanA · manA
- 17 AA highA · skyA
- 18 AA sightA · riteA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Dawned the day of abhisheka, proud anointment, sacred bath, | 15 | ·········˘/˘/˘· |
| Crowned kings and learned Brahmans crowded on Yudhishthir's path, | 15 | ·˘···˘··/˘····· |
| And as gods and heavenly rishis throng in BRAHMA'S mansions bright, | 15 | ····/˘······/˘· |
| Holy priests and noble monarchs graced the inner sacred site! | 15 | /˘··/˘/···/˘/˘· |
| Measureless their fame and virtue, great their penance and their power, | 16 | /˘˘···/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| And in converse deep and learned Brahmans passed the radiant hour, | 16 | ··/˘·······/˘˘/˘ |
| And on subjects great and sacred, oft divided in their thought, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Various sages in their wisdom various diverse maxims taught, | 15 | /˘/˘··/˘/˘˘//˘· |
| Weaker reasons seemed the stronger, faultless reasons often failed, | 15 | /˘/˘··/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Keen disputants like the falcon fell on views their rivals held! | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Some were versed in Laws of Duty, some the Holy Vows professed, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Some with gloss and varied comment still his learned rival pressed, | 15 | ····/˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| Bright the concourse of the Brahmans unto sacred learning given, | 16 | ··/·······/˘/˘/˘ |
| Like the concourse of the bright stars in the glorious vault of heaven, | 16 | ··/·······/˘··/˘ |
| None of impure caste and conduct trespassed on the holy site, | 15 | ··˘/··/˘/···/˘· |
| None of impure life and manners stained Yudhishthir's sacred rite! | 15 | ··˘/··/˘····/˘· |
| Deva-rishi, saintly Narad, marked the sacrificial rite, | 15 | /˘··/˘·····˘/˘· |
| Sanctifying by its lustre good Yudhishthir's royal might, | 15 | /˘˘˘··/˘····/˘· |
| And a ray of heavenly wisdom lit the rishi's inner eye, | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| As he saw the gathered monarchs in the concourse proud and high! | 15 | ····/˘/···/···· |
| He had heard from lips celestial in the heavenly mansions bright, | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| All these kings were god incarnate, portions of Celestial Light, | 15 | ·····˘/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| And he saw in them embodied beings of the upper sky, | 15 | ·····˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And in lotus-eyed Krishna saw the Highest of the High! | 14 | ··/˘·/˘··/˘··· |
| Saw the ancient NARAYANA, great Creation's Primal Cause, | 15 | ··/˘·····˘/˘/˘· |
| Who had sent the gods as monarchs to uphold his righteous laws, | 15 | ······/··˘/·/˘· |
| Battle for the cause of virtue, perish in a deadly war, | 15 | /˘····/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Then to seek their upper mansions in the radiant realms afar! | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| "NARAYANA, World's Preserver, sent immortal gods on earth, | 15 | ·····˘/˘·˘/˘··· |
| He himself in race of Yadu hath assumed his mortal birth, | 15 | ·˘/······˘/·/˘· |
| Like the moon among the planets born in Vrishni's noble clan,-- | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| He whom bright gods render worship,--NARAYANA, Son of Man, | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| Primal Cause and Self-created! when is done his purpose high, | 15 | /˘···˘/˘····/˘· |
| NARAYANA leads Immortals to their dwelling in the sky." | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Such bright glimpses of the Secret flashed upon his inner sight, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘····/˘· |
| As in lofty contemplation Narad gazed upon the rite. | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.