ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 44

JK/NKK 44
para:n para:n zèv ta:l phöjim,
tsè yugy kray töjim nà za:nh     |
sumran phira:n nyoTh tà ôngàj göjim,
manucy dày ma:li tsöjim nà za:nh     ||

I wore out my tongue and palate
with reading and reciting,
yet I never found a practice
that was fitting for You.
Turning the beads of my rosary,
I wore out my thumb and fingers,
yet, dear, I never drove out
duality from my mind.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 73

JK/NKK 73
Siv va: ki:Sav va: zin va:
kamàlaza na:th na:màdö:rin yuh     |
mè abali kö:sytan bavà-rvaz,
suh va: suh va: suh va: suh     ||

Shiva or Keshava or Buddha or
He who is known as the
Lotus-born Lord (Brahma),
may he cure me, a weak woman,
of the sickness of
embodied existence.
Either He or He or He or He.

Note: I am convinced that here Lalla was allowing some feminist sarcasm to creep into her teaching. First of all, Lalla knows perfectly well that Jin/Zin (Buddha) was a religious leader and not a deity. The only thing that these four names have in common is that they all represent male personages, whether human or divine. They represent different sects (Shaivism Vaishnavism, Buddhism, and Vedic Hinduism), but sectarianism was of no interest to Lalla. She refers to herself as a "weak woman," but she uses a term that is pure Sanskrit to do it (as are most of the words in this poem). We know that in Lalla's time many women in Kashmir could speak and read Sanskrit, and we know that she could at least read it (she told us so in JK/NKK 45, which I will translate soon). There was no sense in which Lalla could have been called "weak." She is commenting wryly on the predominance of male figures in religion, and saying that she doesn't care which of them cures her of the sickness of embodied, reincarnating existence, as long as one of them does.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 67

JK/NKK 67
kuS, poS, tel, di:ph, zal na: gatshe,
sadba:và gvarà-kath yus mani hèye     |
Sambhus svari nyath panàni yatshe,
svay dapize sahaza akray, na: zèye.     ||

Kusha grass, flowers, sesame
seeds, candles, and water
are all not needed
by one who steadfastly carries
the guru's word in their mind.
Of their own free will
they will ever chant
Shiva's name.
Such a one
is said to be
naturally free
from action,
and is not born
again.

Note: Action is considered to be the enemy of absorption into the Supreme, and also, through the principle of karma, the cause of rebirth. Obviously, life in the world requires action. One solution, proposed in the Bhagavad Gita, is to perform actions, but with renunciation ("tya:ga") with regard to their fruits. Such a person will also be considered "akray" (action-less) for karmic purposes, and will therefore not need to be reborn.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ