great works cannot be destroyed, great ideas cannot be muffled

 

In good old days, the difference between an ordinary man and a scholar was just the possession of books..

That is the reason the demon Hayagriva dealt a deathblow to the gods and humans by stealing Vedas and hiding himself in the ocean and Narayana himself had to come as a big Matsya or fish to fight that demon and retrieve Vedas..

Another blow to knowledge was when the library at Alexandria was put to fire..

And there is even a belief that if a literary work is really great, even fire cannot burn it..

There is a famous anecdote attached to Bhasa, one of the celebrated dramatists of Sanskrit..

The poet is famed for his dramas.. in the shape of Roopakam..

Many creations are credited to him, but Dasarooopakams or ten roopakams are the best among them.

Svapanavaasavadattham is considered to be his magnum opus.

Once, it is said, there was a debate on which of the works of Bhasa was the best..

To have an authoritative affirmation, the written texts of all the works were put to fire.. And the fire could not burn the texts of Svapnavasavadattam..|

भासनाटकचक्रेऽपि छेकैः क्षिप्ते परीक्षितुम्।

स्वप्नवासवदत्तस्य दाहकोऽभून्न पावकः॥

bhāsanāṭakacakre'pi chekaiḥ kṣipte parīkṣitum|

svapnavāsavadattasya dāhako'bhūnna pāvakaḥ||

The whole cycle of dramas of Bhasa were thrown to fire to know which is the best among them.. And fire was not able to burn Svapnavasasavadattam..

Maybe that was an exaggeration.. Something to compare with the agnipravesham of Sita.

But the spirit of the thought is that great works cannot be destroyed, great ideas cannot be muffled,,

Bullets and bayonets can injure or even kill a body.. But nothing can kill the intellect, the human spirit..