Summary of the Poem:
This poem describes the state of affairs in the town of Puri on the 16th February 1980 when a total solar eclipse had occurred. The day became absolutely dark. The sun's loss of its light and radiance seemed to show that the sun had become meek and humble. It was the sun's meekness which had led to its shedding its brilliance and its blazing heat which constitute the sun's chief glory and pride. The sun seemed to have become as meek or submissive as a frightened child is. On the top of the temple of Jagannath the priests had hung a banner of human skin which was now fluttering in the breeze. People living in the congested localities of the town of Puri were groaning in distress because they were feeling panicky on account of what had happened to the sun. The sun having been completely darkened, the human beings felt miserable like hunted dogs. To them, the sun looked like a dead body. Unknown to them, the moon was continuing to pursue its journey (because it was the moon's position between the earth and the sun which had caused the eclipse, though the ordinary people did not understand this and continued to harbour their own superstitious ideas).
Even the animals felt scared during the solar eclipse. The cobra stealthily slid along the hill. The hyena turned up its nose at the air which had suddenly become cool (because the sun's heat had been prevented from reaching the earth). The hyena, in its state of fear, let out a cry of despair. The hyena was seeing the sun in an altogether different shape. The sun at this time looked as dark as night. The behaviour of the vultures too showed the disturbing effect on them of this strange phenomenon. The sparrows came from all directions and settled down upon the trees and plants below on the ground. The crocodile moved cautiously in the water, sensing trouble like the scared Brahmin priest who was performing holy rites in order to ward off the danger which seemed him to threaten all mankind. The Brahmin believed this darkness to be an omen of the displeasure of the gods.
To the narrator of these events it seemed that the gods were reminding mankind of the damage and the harm which human beings were doing to themselves. Human civilization was taking a wrong direction and, instead of advancing or promoting human values, was destroying them. Civilization seemed to have gone mad. (Something seemed to have gone wrong with civilization).
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