My Name Is Bhikhari
Bala Kanda, Doha 160
Doha 160 · Movement 2 of 2
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The false ascetic steeps his reply in deceit and lets it emerge with softness. Nothing in the voice reveals the furnace of resentment beneath the bark garments.
He calls himself Bhikhari, a beggar. Wealth, kingdom, household, and secure place have all been lost, so the name fits his visible condition while hiding the cause, the former crown, and the enemy seated before him.
A crafted humility enters the hermitage air. Pratapbhanu hears the self description as evidence of renunciation, not defeat. The lie succeeds because it resembles a spiritual truth the righteous king is eager to honour.
The fallen king names himself Beggar, and vengeance borrows the voice of humility.
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AI-created devotional illustration · Doha 160
FalseasceticclaimsnameBhikhari poorhomeless insoftwordssoakedindeceit
Source reference and artistic choices
Gita Press code81 undated · PDF pages 167 · printed pages 165. Reader passage: bala-kanda-doha-161. Printed numbering may differ.
Source facts
- FormerhumanKING disguisedASCETIC speakssoftSTRATEGICDECEIT 'MYNAMEBHIKHARI nowPOORHOMELESS' notverifiedactualnewSaint/poverty/nameidentity.
- NotRavana'sminister/demon, sourceEkatanu nameclaim onlylaterC162 nothere.
Artistic choices
- Approvedfakeformerking C158 angularbrownface greyTHINmoustache cleanjaw greystempleshighknot creamOLIVEshawl woodbeads retained exactfaceagewardrobe unverified.
- Ownchest/ownknee seatedspeakingpose towardsoutofcropking imaginednightforesthut/boughs oneclayoilLAMP artistlightingprop notassertedsourcepossession; no actualbegging/coins/povertyproof.
An imaginative interpretation, not a historical portrait or documentary evidence.
कपट बोरि बानी मृदुल बोलेउ जुगुति समेत। नाम हमार भिखारि अब निर्धन रहित निकेति।।160।।
Steeping his words in deceit, he spoke softly with cunning: "My name is Bhikhari. I am a beggar now, without wealth or home."