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Review: Indic Mythology Entices Irish Poet W.B. Yeats to Write the Poem ‘Anashuya and Vijaya’

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Indic Mythology Entices Irish Poet W.B. Yeats to write the poem ‘Anashuya and Vijaya’

Kamlesh Tripathi

    “Anashuya and Vijaya” (1887) by W. B. Yeats is a lyrical and dramatic poem loosely inspired by Indic mythology. It begins by picturing a little temple in the Golden Age: “A little Indian temple in the Golden Age. Around it a garden; around that the forest. Anashuya the young priestess, kneeling within the temple.”

    Although the poem contains elements of the Ramayana and some other classical Indian texts, it is not a direct retelling of Sita’s story. Yeats was enamoured by Indian philosophy and literature. He therefore decided to take Indian names and motifs, possibly selecting the name Anashuya (wife of Rishi Atri) from the Vedic texts of Hinduism to represent an idealised figure of devotion and spiritual sensitivity.

    The poem is set in a serene and symbolic landscape. A small Indian temple surrounded by a garden and forest. This creates an eternal dreamlike atmosphere that reflects both spiritual calm and emotional depth. The poem unfolds as a conversation between Anashuya, a young priestess devoted to her religious duties, and Vijaya, her beloved companion. Yeats discerns complex themes such as love, jealousy, devotion, and the tension between spiritual discipline and human desire through their interaction.

    At the beginning of the poem, Anashuya is seen kneeling in prayer, fulfilling her role as a priestess. Her prayer expresses concern for the welfare of the land. She says, “Send peace on all the lands and flickering corn.” However, her spiritual devotion soon reveals a deeply personal and emotional dimension. She continues, “When wandering in the forest, if he love / No other… And if he love another, / May panthers end him.” These lines reveal a striking duality within her character: while she prays for peace and harmony, she also expresses possessiveness and emotional intensity in her love. This contrast highlights the central conflict between her spiritual role and her human vulnerability.

    The entrance of Vijaya introduces a lighter and more intimate tone, yet it also brings underlying tension. When Vijaya casually uses the name “Amrita,” Anashuya reacts with suspicion and unease, interpreting it as a sign that his affection may be divided. Although Vijaya explains that Amrita is his mother’s name, the incident foreshadows the jealousy that later emerges more forcefully.

    As the poem progresses, it shifts into a lyrical mode enriched with songs and vivid imagery. Anashuya sings:
“A sad, sad thought went by me slowly…
Sing, O you little stars…
To mighty Brahma, he who made you many as the sands.”
    Through these lines, Yeats connects personal emotion with the vastness of the cosmos, suggesting that human feelings are not isolated but part of a universal order governed by Brahma. This blending of the personal and the cosmic gives the poem a distinctly mystical quality.

    The approach of evening deepens the poem’s mood. The imagery becomes softer and more reflective, as seen in the line, “The sun has laid his chin on the grey wood.” This gentle personification of the sun mirrors the quiet intimacy between Anashuya and Vijaya. Their relationship appears tender and affectionate, especially in playful moments, such as when Anashuya asks Vijaya to chase away a bird trying to eat her rice. These moments provide a glimpse of simple, human closeness amidst the larger emotional and philosophical concerns of the poem.

    However, this calm atmosphere is soon disturbed. Vijaya reflects on the suffering of the wider world, describing scenes of cold, fire, and sorrow. In contrast, he observes that they “feel the softness of each other’s hand.” Rather than comforting Anashuya, this awareness intensifies her emotional insecurity. Overcome by jealousy and fear, she accuses Vijaya: “Ah me! you love another.” Her reaction is immediate and intense, revealing the depth of her emotional dependence and her fear of betrayal.

    Although Vijaya reassures her that he once loved another but no longer does, Anashuya is not satisfied with mere words. She demands a solemn oath, asking him to swear by divine powers associated with the Himalayas. This moment underscores her need for certainty and her inability to reconcile love with doubt. Vijaya complies, affirming his loyalty.

    Following this, Anashuya expresses her feelings once more through song:
“Shoot on him shafts of quietness…
And may kiss his hands to me in sleep.”
These lines suggest a love that seeks continuity beyond physical presence, blending emotional intimacy with a dreamlike, almost spiritual longing.

    In the final scene, Vijaya departs, and Anashuya returns to her duties as a priestess. Her concluding prayer once again unites the spiritual and the personal: “O Brahma… and my love, Vijaya… give him dreams of me.” Even in her role as a devotee, her love remains central, revealing how deeply intertwined her spiritual and emotional lives have become.

   In conclusion, the poem presents love as a complex and multifaceted force—tender yet possessive, spiritual yet deeply human. While it draws richly on Indian imagery and mythological references, there is no clear evidence that W. B. Yeats intended it to depict Sita or any specific episode from the Ramayana. Instead, the poem reflects Yeats’s imaginative engagement with India as a symbolic and spiritual landscape, through which he explores universal emotions of love, longing, and devotion.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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GOLDEN YEARS WITH CLASSICS & MYTHOLOGY by Kamlesh Tripathi

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    As we grow older, our perspectives and lifestyles evolve. Life, as they say, is never static; the only permanence is impermanence. The way we see the world at twenty is vastly different from how we perceive it at forty, sixty, or eighty. Though it is often claimed that age is just a number, the number subtly yet significantly shapes how we view our remaining time on Mother Earth—and how we choose to live it out. Life expands like Parkinson’s Law, filling the available hundred years of human life.

    Ancient Hindu wisdom offers a profound framework through the four ashramas—Brahmacharya (student life), Grihastha (householder life), Vanaprastha (withdrawal), and Sannyasa (renunciation). These stages map a gradual transition from outward engagement to inward realisation. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna gently reminds us of life’s impermanence: Just as a person discards worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so does the embodied soul discards worn-out bodies and takes on new ones.

    William Shakespeare, in his Sonnet 73, compares old age to late autumn and twilight: “That time of year thou mayst in me behold/ When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang…” Shakespeare’s metaphor of fading daylight beautifully mirrors the idea of life’s sunset.

        In his short story White Nights, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky poignantly captures the anxiety of passing time. Lamenting to Nastenka, a girl whom the narrator meets on the street of Saint Petersburg, says:  “And you ask yourself: where are your dreams? And you shake your head and say: How quickly do the years fly by! And again you ask yourself: What have you done with your years? Where have you buried your best days? Did you live or not? Look, you say to yourself, look how cold the world is becoming. More years will pass, followed by gloomy solitude, and then doddering old age will come on a walking stick, to be followed by anguish and despondency. Your fantastic world will grow pale, your dreams will wither, die and scatter like yellow leaves from the trees … Oh, Nastenka! It will be sad, you know, to be left alone, quite alone, and not even have something to regret- nothing, absolutely nothing… because all that I have lost, all this, it was all nothing, a stupid, round zero– it was merely a dream!’

       In Sailing to Byzantium, poet W.B. Yeats reflects on ageing and the longing for spiritual permanence: “An aged man is but a paltry thing, A tattered coat upon a stick…” Yeats sees old age not merely as decline, but as a call toward artistic and spiritual transcendence.

    In his essay Cato Maior De Senectute (On Old Age), Cicero argues that old age can be honourable and productive when guided by wisdom and virtue. He challenges the idea that ageing is merely decline.

    Rabindranath Tagore often wrote of life’s evening as a time of serenity and fulfilment. In his collection of poems, Stray Birds, he notes: “Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.” His vision transforms sunset into spiritual illumination.

    In Ernest Hemingway’s novella, The Old Man and the Sea, fisherman Santiago doesn’t give up in his old age. On the contrary, he kills an 18-foot-long Marlin and a few Sharks that attack the Marlin in the Gulf Stream while alone in his skiff, and returns safely home, only to dream about lions while asleep. The lions represent strength, energy, and the vigour of Santiago’s younger days. Though he is physically old and worn, his spirit still carries the courage and pride of youth. Hemingway gives a tall message in the book: “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”  

    In his later masterpiece, The Glass Bead Game, author Herman Hesse explores withdrawal from worldly ambition and the search for contemplative depth—very much aligned with the Vanaprastha and Sannyasa stages.

    American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou spoke of ageing as empowerment rather than diminishment. She once said, “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” Her reflections on later life emphasise resilience and dignity.

        In Four Quartets, T S Eliot meditates on time, memory, and spiritual stillness: “Old men ought to be explorers…” He views the later years as a journey inward, not a retreat.

    Sunset is the golden period of your life. It might become more meaningful and absorbing when you handhold classics and mythology and carve your own path. A smooth and gainful exit from this world is the best trophy.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Like it and Share it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for readers of all ages and cover a wide variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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