A MY PERSPECTIVE ( POEM ) :
Vinod Kumar Shukla’s “Sadion Purana (Centuries Old)”
Introduction
Vinod Kumar Shukla’s poem “Sadion Purana” (Centuries Old) is a powerful meditation on the burden of history, internalized patriarchy, and the struggle to preserve innocence and freedom in the present. The poem addresses a recurring “you” (tum), which may be read as an individual, a woman, society, or even the inner self. Through striking and memorable symbols, Shukla exposes how centuries-old traditions and oppressive ideologies continue to inhabit the modern mind and body.
The expanded English poetic translation titled “Age-old” captures this inner conflict between a living, life-giving self and an ancient, rigid presence that refuses to disappear. The poem ultimately becomes a call for conscious resistance and self-liberation.
The Ancient Keeper: The ‘Centuries-Old’ Old Man as Symbol
At the heart of the poem stands the unforgettable image of a “centuries-old, stubborn old man” who lives within the subject:
“Hidden deep inside you
there dwells an ancient thing —
centuries-old, stubborn, rigid…”
The ‘Khūsat Būṛhā’ (Grumpy Old Man)
The old man (खूसट बूढ़ा) symbolizes ancient traditions, rigid social conventions, patriarchal authority, and ideological stagnation. He is not an external enemy but an internalized presence, living inside the individual and shaping thought, desire, and behavior.
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Tapping his stick (लाठियां ठकठकाते) represents authority, discipline, and coercive power.
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Oiling his moustache (मुंछों को तेल पिलाते रहना) is a strong image of male pride, chauvinism, and self-satisfaction, suggesting how patriarchy constantly nurtures and preserves itself.
Feminist theory defines patriarchy as a social system in which men hold primary power in political, moral, and social domains. In the poem, this power becomes psychological and inherited rather than openly enforced.
The Web of Wrinkles
“How will you ever slip free
from the web of his wrinkles?”
The wrinkles (झुर्रियां) form a net or web, symbolizing how deeply entangled the past is. These are not simple rules but complex layers of memory, habit, fear, and tradition accumulated over centuries. Escaping them appears nearly impossible, intensifying the poem’s emotional tension.
Hungry Desires and Bloody Lusts: The Darkness of the Present
Shukla does not idealize the present. Instead, he introduces another disturbing reality:
“Inside you also burn
our restless, gasping desires,
our lusts stained with history’s blood.”
These hungry desires and bloody lusts suggest:
Importantly, these impulses are shown as products of historical oppression, not merely personal failings. Modern psychological thought supports this view by acknowledging that trauma and fear can pass across generations. Thus, the poem suggests that the darkness within us may be inherited, just like the old man himself.
The Sweet Spring: Purity, Innocence, and Inner Freedom
Against the harshness of history and desire, Shukla presents a fragile yet beautiful image:
“How long can you remain
that sweet, gentle spring
where fish swim freely
and shells lie quietly on the banks?”
Symbolism of the Sweet Spring (मीठा झरना)
The sweet spring represents:
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Purity
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Simplicity
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Life-giving energy
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The uncorrupted self
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Fish symbolize movement, vitality, and freedom.
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Seashells (सीपियां) suggest beauty, peace, and hidden value — potential pearls waiting to be formed.
This image raises a painful question: Can innocence survive under the pressure of oppressive traditions and violent desires? The spring is alive but vulnerable, constantly threatened by the old man’s dominance.
Doors, Land, and the Call to Action
The poem returns to the old man but now shifts from questioning to resistance:
“You must close
all those doors
that old man has kept open.”
Closing the Doors
The doors symbolize points of entry through which outdated beliefs and oppressive ideologies repeatedly invade the self. Closing them means:
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Rejecting passive inheritance
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Ending unquestioned obedience
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Asserting conscious choice
Land as the Self
“How can anyone
allow their own land
to remain hostage
for centuries?”
Here, land (जमीन) becomes a metaphor for:
Allowing one’s land to remain hostage suggests prolonged surrender. The poem condemns this passivity and demands decisive action.
Tone, Voice, and Structure
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The second-person address (you) creates intimacy and universality.
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Repetition of the old man intensifies the sense of inescapability.
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The poem moves from reflection → anxiety → command, ending in a revolutionary tone.
This transformation mirrors the journey from awareness to action.
Conclusion: A Poem of Liberation
“Sadion Purana” is ultimately a poem of self-awakening and rebellion. Vinod Kumar Shukla urges the reader to recognize the internal enemy the obsolete past and to reclaim their land, body, and self.
By sealing the doors, protecting the sweet spring, and confronting the centuries-old patriarch, the poem envisions liberation not as destruction but as preservation of purity and freedom.
The poem’s relevance lies in its timeless warning:If we do not consciously resist the past, it will continue to rule our present.
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Age-Old (Expanded Poetic Translation): Themes and Analysis
The poem “Age-old” explores an internal conflict between the speaker and a “centuries-old, stubborn” presence within. This figure an old man with a curled moustache and walking stick symbolizes entrenched authority and patriarchy. Feminist theory defines patriarchy as a social system where men hold primary poweren.
(wikipedia.org). In the poem, this patriarchal presence acts like a cage: his wrinkles and web tighten around the self, constraining freedom and identity. The poet repeatedly asks how one might ever slip free from this web of history, establishing the urgency of liberation.
The Ancient Keeper: Patriarchal Symbolism
The image of an elderly man with a dignified moustache captures the poem’s antagonist: an internalized patriarch. The old man’s moustache and meticulous routines are not just stylistic details but clear symbols of male authority. Historians note that a mustached man was once viewed as “a patriarch, authority figure… able to play by his own rules.”
(daily.jstor.org). The poem taps into this cultural code: the old man’s proud moustache and upright posture mark him as a relic of ritualized masculinity.
Each reference to this figure tapping his stick, fixing the locks on every gate builds a sense of inherited burden. The poem portrays these traits as “habits that will not die,” implying that deeply ingrained customs persist across generations. The “web of his wrinkles” metaphor reinforces the idea of accumulated tradition: time itself has woven a trap around the speaker. In other words, the old man is not just one person but a concentrated symbol of historical control that entwines personal life with cultural history.
The Spring Within: Purity, Life, and Potential
The clear spring and its fish evoke the speaker’s true self – a gentle source of life and possibility. In contrast to the rigid old man, the spring is “sweet” and “clear as breath,” symbolizing renewal and purity. Water often represents unconscious potential; here the spring suggests a core identity that is fresh and alive. Fish gliding unstartled in its waters stand for natural instincts and desires flowing freely. Scattered shells on the bank hint at hidden treasures: each shell could contain a pearl, metaphorically suggesting potential strength or creativity that has not yet emerged.
This contrast dramatizes the poem’s central choice: remain contained like the sheltered spring or embrace growth. The imagery of fish leaping recalls the call to “let the fish remember how to leap,” urging freedom of movement. The spring is fragile (easily trapped) but alive, embodying hope that the speaker’s true nature can survive and emerge.
Inherited Desires and Trauma
The poem acknowledges that “restless, gasping desires… lusts stained with history’s blood” may themselves be legacies. Modern psychology confirms that trauma and fear can be transmitted across generations. For example, therapist Valerie Rein describes centuries of women’s oppression as “trauma… genetically transmitted.” She explains that women have been conditioned to fear everything they desire – likening aspirations and passions to forbidden “cherry blossoms,” historically punished when pursued
(drvalerie.com).
The poem echoes this insight. It suggests that even our cravings (for love, wealth, power, etc.) may carry the weight of ancestors’ sacrifices and fears. By naming these dark inheritances explicitly, the poem refuses to romanticize a supposedly pure self; instead, it urges the reader to examine how the past shapes even their deepest longings. The message is that liberation requires taking those desires back from history’s control. Only then can the spring’s fish “remember how to leap” on their own terms, no longer governed by the old man’s rule.
Doors, Mortgages, and Reclaiming Autonomy
The key and lock imagery underscores the poem’s demand for action: close the doors that the old man left open. The patriarch’s power hinges on thresholds he never sealed; to be free, one must bolt them shut. The poem explicitly uses property metaphors: it asks how anyone could allow their “land, their body, their self” to remain “mortgaged, bound”. In feminist critique, women’s enforced silence has been described as a “mortgaged condition” , “an imposed, unwilling debt to a pervasive patriarchal order.”
(creativeflight) The poem’s phrasing mirrors this idea, treating personal autonomy as property that has been pledged away.
By calling to “draw the bolts” and “seal the doors,” the poem shifts into a clear command. Liberation becomes a decisive act of reclaiming one’s own territory. The tone turns from questioning (“How will you escape…?”) to resolute imperative (“Rise, then and draw the bolts.”). This transition underscores that breaking free is a choice the speaker must make. Sealing those doors symbolizes shutting out the oppressor’s influence and taking back control of the self.
Tone, Voice, and Audience
The poem addresses the reader in the second person (“you”), creating an intimate yet universal voice. It reads like a personal conversation but speaks to anyone who carries the old man inside. The first half is reflective and questioning, using gentle imagery and pauses (“Hidden deep inside you…”) to invite introspection. The final stanzas then quicken into urgent commands, giving a sense of escalation. Repetition (of the old man, the spring, the closing questions) builds tension that is released by the final call to action.
For performance, one might linger after each rhetorical question to let the struggle register, then quicken cadence for the closing lines of resolve. This creates a journey from quiet contemplation to a rallying cry. The mix of personal (“within you”) and political (“for centuries on end”) language ensures the poem resonates on both levels. Its message – about bodily autonomy, cultural legacy, and freedom – thus speaks to an individual (for example, a daughter) and to a broader community alike.
Key Takeaways
Patriarchal symbolism: The “centuries-old” man and his proud moustache embody internalized patriarchy. Feminist theory defines patriarchy as a system where men hold authority
(wikipedia.org). Historically, a mustached man was seen as “a patriarch, authority figure”
(daily.jstor.org), underscoring that the poem’s old man represents male domination.
Contrasting imagery: The poem contrasts an oppressive past (traps of wrinkles, locks, and debts) with a spring of life (clear waters, free fish, hidden pearls). This juxtaposition dramatizes the choice between confinement by tradition and renewal of the self.
Inherited trauma: It acknowledges that even our deepest desires can carry generational weight. This mirrors research showing trauma (like oppression) can be passed to descendants
(drvalerie.com). By naming these inherited longings, the poem urges us to reclaim them rather than accept them unthinkingly.
Metaphors of control: Elements like doors, locks, keys, and mortgages frame autonomy as property that was pledged to the past. Scholars describe women’s enforced silence as a “mortgaged condition” to patriarchal order
(creativeflight)., echoing how the poem calls for reclaiming one’s land, body, and self.
Call to action: The tone shifts from lament to command, emphasizing empowerment. The poem becomes a manifesto: seal the old tyranny’s doors, bolt up the past, and actively take back what is yours.
Universal voice: Although it may address a specific person (a daughter, a sister), the direct “you” also speaks to everyone raised under patriarchy. Its themes of bodily autonomy, historical burden, and freedom speak to any reader constrained by inherited oppression.
In sum, this translation offers a vivid portrayal of breaking free from inherited oppression. Its symbols and directives combine introspection with activism: the oppressive old figure is confronted, and liberation is depicted as taking back what was deferred. By sealing the patriarch’s doors and unlocking the spring within, the poem enacts a powerful reclamation of self.
Sources:
We drew on feminist and literary scholarship to frame these ideas. For example, patriarchy is defined in social theory, and cultural history links moustaches to male authority. Psychological studies confirm that trauma (including oppression) can be inherited. Recent criticism uses economic metaphors (e.g. “mortgaged condition”) to describe women’s loss of autonomy, paralleling the poem’s imagery.
Citations :
Patriarchy - Wikipedia
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term patriarchy is used both in 223 to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in 225 to describe a broader social structure in which men as a group dominate society.[ 1 ][ 2 ][ 3 ]
The Meaning of a Mustache - JSTOR Daily
“[A] clean-shaven man’s virtue was his commitment to his male peers and to local, national or corporate institutions,” Oldstone-Moore concludes. “The mustached man, by contrast, was much more his own man: a patriarch, authority figure or free agent who was able to play by his own rules.”
What is Patriarchy Stress Disorder? - Dr Valerie
For millennia, women have been oppressed. Oppression is traumatic. Trauma is genetically transmitted. I termed my discovery of this collective inherited trauma, “Patriarchy Stress Disorder” or PSD.
What is Patriarchy Stress Disorder? - Dr Valerie
So what is PSD? PSD is women fearing the smell of cherry blossoms. What are the “cherry blossoms” in this context? For us, they are everything that we desire and everything that has historically been forbidden and dangerous and punishable for women: shining brightly, expressing ourselves unapologetically, being in touch with our desires and going after them, loving who we love, being wealthy, being visible, being powerful.
Creative Flight Journal: Breaking the Mortgage of Silence: Female Agency and the Critique of Subjugation in the Poetry of Aminul Islam
quality but as a mortgaged condition—an imposed, unwilling debt to a pervasive patriarchal order. His
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