Summary of the Poem:
"Yeshwant Rao" is a poem about a god whose name is Yeshwant Rao. This god is believed to have no head, no hands, no arms, no feet, in fact, none of the limbs which every other god possesses. Being headless, armless, and feetless, he is regarded as the patron god of all those human beings who have lost one or the other of their limbs either on account of some dreadful disease or on account of some accident. Those, who are short of a limb, go to Jejuri to offer worship to this particular god who has the power to restore the lost limb to the petitioner who comes to him.
The speaker in this poem tells us that, if we are looking for a god whom we would like to worship, he can suggest a god who is one of the best gods and whose name is Yeshwant Rao. The speaker says that Yeshwant Rao does not belong to the highest category of gods and that he is a god only of the second rank. This god has not been assigned any place inside the main temple at Jejuri. A statue of his has been installed outside the main temple and, in fact, outside of the outer wall of the temple. In fact, he has been treated as if he were a member of the trading community or of the leper community.
The speaker then describes the many gods about whom he has some knowledge. There are gods having more attractive faces and better decorated than other gods. There are gods who lure the pilgrims to make an offering of gold to them. There are gods who promise a spiritual upliftment or spiritual elevation to the pilgrims offering worship to them. There are gods who claim to have the power to enable a pilgrim to walk on a bed of burning coals. There are gods who promise to give a child to a childless man if he offers worship to them. Thus there are gods and gods, each having some special power. There are gods who can bring about the death of the enemy of a pilgrim who makes a sufficient offering of money to them.
The statue of Yeshwant Rao is made of black stone; and this statue is as bright.as any letter – box. This statue has the shape of protoplasm and it has large dimensions even though it is a statue without an arm, without a leg, and without even a head. Yeshwant Rao is the god to whom a man must go if he has lost a limb and wants that limb to be restored to him.
Yeshwant Rao does not do anything spectacular. He does not give a pilgrim a promise to make him the ruler of the earth or to send him straight to heaven by means of a rocket. What he can really do is to mend the bones of a man who has suffered a fracture. He can restore to his worshippers whichever part of the body they may have lost. He can only restore the missing parts of a body, leaving the soul of a worshipper to look after itself. He is only a kind of a bone - setter. His only deficiency is that he himself has no heads, no hands, and no feet. Being without these limbs, he can realize the misery of those human beings who have lost a limb or two, and who therefore go to worship him to win his favour and to get back the limbs which they have lost.
Critical Appreciation of the Poem:
Introduction:
“Yeshwant Rao”, like many other poems in “Jejuri”, is a satire on people's faith in the reality of gods and goddesses whose stone images or statues are installed in the temple of Jejuri, whom they worship and to whom they make offerings of money or of valuables or of commodities in order to win their favour. Yeshwant Rao is the name of one of the many gods whose stone or bronze statues have been installed at Jejuri, and who receive people's worship and their offerings. Yeshwant Rao is a god with a difference. The protagonist in the poem describes him as one of the best gods even though he is not a god of the highest rank. Yeshwant Rao is only a second - class god whose statue has been installed outside the main temple and outside even of the outer wall, as if he deserved only a place among the tradesmen and the lepers. Thus Yeshwant Rao is described by the protagonist in disparaging terms, as are the other gods and goddesses, even of the first - rank. Actually the poem is a satire on the worship of gods.
Irony and Sarcasm:
The satire in the poem becomes pungent when the protagonist gives us a catalogue of the other gods which are worshipped by the people. Each of these gods is characterized in just one or two lines; and each of the gods is characterized ironically. Indeed, irony and sarcasm run through the whole of this poem. The catalogue of gods contains references to gods who are better looking; gods who seek worshippers because of the gold offerings which they are likely to make, gods who want to take possession of the souls of their worshippers; gods who claim to endow their worshippers with the power to walk on a bed of burning coals, gods who claim to have the power to bless the barren wives of their worshippers with children; gods who can put to death the enemies of their worshippers; and so on. The catalogue continues in the same ironical and highly amusing manner.
Some Extraordinary and Unique Things Related to Yeshwant Rao:
There is something specific and strange about Yeshwant Rao. He is a god having neither a head, nor hands, nor legs, nor feet. He is thus a shapeless god. If at all he has a shape, it is the shape of protoplasm. And his statue is not made of ordinary stone or bronze, but of basalt; and he has huge dimensions. People, who have lost a leg or an arm or a hand, go to worship this god in the belief that he would restore to them their lost limbs. The irony in this view is pungent because a god, who is himself maimed, is supposed to have the power to make the bodies of maimed human beings whole. In other words, he is a kind of bone - setter who has the power to restore to a maimed worshipper the limb or the organ which he has lost (in an accident or through amputation necessitated by a disease like gangrene).
The Use of Irony in the Portrayals of the Gods; Succinct Portrayals:
This poem is remarkable because a number of gods have been depicted here, each economically and succinctly, and yet adequately for the purpose which the protagonist (or the poet) has in mind. The purpose, of course, is a denigration of the gods, and a demolition of the superstitious beliefs of the people. Kolatkar is here at his best so far as his wit and his use of irony are concerned. And this is one of the most lucid poems written in the simplest possible style.
