AN ODE TO HIS MAJESTY THE FOURTH DRUK GYALPO

PHOTO COURTESY: GOOGLE

(A humble expression of gratitude to Bhutan’s beloved  great king, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth Druk Gyalpo on the occasion of His Majesty’s 60^th birth anniversary on November 11, 2014.)

My king, O my destined king!

In the hidden land of Baeyul,

A prince was born in the dragon kingdom,

Under the auspicious signs and divination,

As propheciesed by Ugyen Guru Rimpoche.

My king, O my peerless king!

There was a limitless joy in the kingdom,

Upon the birth of you in this blessed land,

It marked the dawn of happiness,

And ensured the perpetuation of the royal lineage.

My king, O my enlightened king!

It was the most auspicious day and the year,

With constellations and stars all in harmony,

As the beloved king, the emanation of Avaloketeshwara,

Descends in a celestial palace in the wood sheep year.

My king, O selfless king!

You are born destined to take the helm of governance,

But, in the service of the nation you forfeited your youth,

And led the nation at the tender age of seventeen,

Amid the heartbreak in passing away of the nation’s father.

My king, O my wise king!

You became the youngest monarch in the world,

Your charm was matchless, sending hearts fluttering,

But it is your wisdom that held all others in awe,

The nation’s heartbreak soon healed in the confidence of your reign.

My king, O my great king!

You ushered in an era of peace and tranquility,

And the nation made wholesome strides, others can only wish,

There was smile on the faces; there was happiness in the land,

From your heart was born the ideals of Gross National Happiness.

My king, O my people’s king!

You are the father, the ruler and the guardian,

You are the precious inner jewel,

You are the outer wall, the nation’s protector,

And an indispensable national life-force.

My king, O my genius king!

It is in folk lore and legends that,

Kings have gone to war and led battlefields,

But you did it at the front-line flushing out guerrillas,

When others would have hidden under fortified bunkers.

My king, O my people’s king!

There was peace, there was harmony,

There was progress, there was happiness,

But silently you engineered colossal transition,

And ushered in ground shaking reforms.

My king, O my visionary king!

When bloods were shed and lives lost,

In the world of power struggle and consolidation,

You ushered in the constitution, the mother of all laws,

And became the architect of power devolution.

My king, o my selfless king!

To people you handed back the reins of power

A century after people joined hands to enthrone the first king

And the nation’s heart broke when you decided to abdicate

As people stood stunned, with pleads of reconsideration all but futile.

My king, O my visionary king!

Heart break it was for us all but,

As the nation comes to the term,

We realize, how visionary your thoughts were,

You saw what we could not even fathom.

My king, O my beloved king!

We are blessed to be your subject,

We are not ruled but, served by an enlightened king,

No words can express our gratitude for your deeds,

We can only feel with our skin covered in goose bumps.

My king, O my compassionate king!

May your majesty live forever,

Like the sun that keeps shining each day,

You are like a snow lion as your name say,

That only traverses this earth once in an eon.

My king, o my dharma king!

May you live with health and happiness,

May the teaching of Buddha flourish,

May all your aspirations be fulfilled,

Only then will we be realizing your boundless vision.

My king, O my king!

“There never was a king like you before and

There never will be another like you in future”

Said His Majesty, the King Jigme Khesar,

And there never will be another king in the universe like Your Majesty indeed.

Gyembo Namgyal

November 11, 2014 3:00 PM