શિકારીને To the Hunter (Shikarine)

કવિ શિકારીને થોભવા અને વિચારવા કહે છે.

The poet addresses the hunter directly: O hunter, pause a while. The weapon in your hand brings death, yet the creature you aim at is also a beautiful part of this world. His voice carries not a rebuke but a tender plea.

વનનાં પંખી-જીવ રૂડાં અને કોમળ છે; એમને મારવાં એ સૌંદર્યનો નાશ છે.

The poet shows how lovely and tender the birds, the creepers and the small creatures of the forest are. Their softness - their moist gentleness - adorns the world. To strike such innocent beauty is to wipe away the grace of nature.

તારામાં અને આ જીવમાં એક જ જીવન છે; એની પીડા તારી પીડા જેવી છે.

The poet's central thought is that the same life that lives in you lives in this bird too. The pain you would feel is the pain this creature feels when the arrow strikes. To destroy another is, in truth, to destroy one like yourself.

સાચું બળ જીવ બચાવવામાં છે; જીવદયા જ મોટો ધર્મ.

At the end the poet again prays from the heart that the hunter stay his hand and heed compassion. True courage lies not in taking life but in saving it; kindness to all living beings is the highest dharma. On this note the poem closes.