Where will I hide my self?
How will I escape?
How long will I bear
Suffering on this earth?
How will I weather
The imminent danger? (1)
I have knowingly kept
Tidings of the future
From devotees all.
If they happen to know
About the times to come,
They will, for sure,
Die of fear. (2)
Yavanas will come invading.
They will raze the woods to ground.
Trees will be felled;
Not a single branch or leaf
Will escape the felling. (3)
Earth will be strewn with corpses.
The stench will be revolting.
Shorn of grass will be the pastures;
Fleets of elephants and horses
Will be grazing on them. (4)
The kings will shy away from war.
Some of them, however.
Will put on a show of bravery,
And will command their retainers-
“resist, O, resist.” (5)
None will be able
To bear the blows of battle.
In utter confusion,
People will run
Hither and thither
To seek shelter. (6)
The firingi will continue
Their violent charge.
But will not be able
To win and advance.
They will stay
Where they are.
Gods in heaven
Will witness all. (7)
Battle cries
Will pierce the skies.
The earth will tremble
For eighteen days,
A river of blood
Will course through Jambu-dwipa (8)
These evil times of Kali.
The high tide of
Injustice and mishaps,
Will come to end
So says Vima Bhoi. (20)
Bhima Bhoi was an Adivasi Saint-poet from Orissa. His compositions include the Stuti Chintamani, Brahma Nirupan Gita, Adi Anta Gita, Astaka Behara Gita, Nirbeda Sadhana, Shruti Nisedha Gita, Chaustia Madhuchakra, Manusabha Mandala, Mahima Vinod and Bhajan Mala.
He popularized the Mahima movement of the Adivasis: this religion characterizes a formless, timeless, indescribable, eternal god. It draws elements from Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishanavism and Tantra yoga. The spiritual and social movement spread a deeply felt protest against the caste system and feudal practices of western and central Orissa and it was termed as an anti-hindu religion by the Hindus.
This week, The Shared Mirror will feature a selection of cantos from the spiritual autobiography of Bhima Bhoi –Stuti Chintamani. In Canto XXV the poet captures the anxieties of the Adivasis against the British colonization, as they were experiencing the ruthless exploitation of forest resources and their marginalization in their own land. Bhima Bhoi’s verses are apocalyptic; they perform the historic and literary anchoring of the Adivasi protests against the internal oppressors, the hegemonic Brahmanical Indians as well as the external firingi colonizers.
Source: Bhima Bhoi: Prayers and Reflections. Translated by Siddharth Satpathy.
