ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 114

JK/NKK 114
trayi nèngi sara:h sàry saras,
aki nèngi saras arSès jay     |
harmvakha kaunsarà akh sum saras,
sati nèngi saras Su:nya:ka:r     ||

Three times I saw
the lake overflowing,
one time the water
reached the sky.
I saw a single bridge
from Harmukh
to Kaunsar.
Seven times I saw
the lake emptied.

There are several interpretations of this poem's symbolism, and I am not in a position to be adding another. Most writers agree, though, that Lalla is talking about memories of past lives.The Valley of Kashmir stretches from the Harmukh Peak in the north to the Kaunsar Springs in the south. It is said to have been a lake full of water in earlier times.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 113

JK/NKK 113
yath saras sari phôl na: vètsi:,
tath sari sakalày pö:ny cèn     |
mRg sRga:l ganDy zalahasti:,
zèn na: zèn tà tôtuy pèn     ||

From the lake that is too small
to hold a mustard seed,
all creatures drink water.
Deer, jackals, rhinoceros,
and sea-elephants,
are no sooner born
than they fall in.

Note: This is one of Lalla's riddles.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 56

JK/NKK 56
graTà chu phera:n zere zere,
ôhàkuy za:ni graTuk tshal     |
graTà yeli pheri tay zö:vyul nere,
gu: va:ti pa:nay graTà-bal     ||

The mill turns steadily
once set in motion.
Only the axle knows
the mill's secret.
Once the mill turns,
producing fine flour,
the grist arrives
on its own
for grinding

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 111

JK/NKK 111
kenh chiy nèndri-hàtiy vudiy,
kentsan vudèn nèsar pèyi:     |
kenh chiy sna:n körith apu:tiy,
kenh chiy griha bözith ti akrayi:     ||

There are some who,
though sleeping,
are yet awake.
Others, though awake,
have fallen asleep.
There are some
who after a bath,
are still unclean.
Some there are
who are busy
with a household,
yet remain free
of all action.

Note: In many systems of Indian thought, a goal is to be "akriya," or actionless ("akray" in Lalla's old Kashmiri), so as to avoid incurring further karmic debt. The problem is how to do this in the world, or as a householder. One solution, given to us in the Bhagavad Gita, is to perform the tasks of life, but with renunciation (non-attachment) with regard to their fruits. Such a person, though they may be a householder, is deemed to be "actionless" for karmic purposes.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 9

JK/NKK 9
ga:Tula: akh vuchum  bvachi sà:ty mara:n,
pan zan hara:n pohàni va:và lah     |
neSbôd akh vuchum va:zas ma:ra:n
tanà lala bà pra:ra:n tshènèm-na prah     ||

I saw a wise man
dying of hunger,
emaciated, withered
like a falling leaf
in the autumn wind.
I saw a fool
beating his cook,
Since then I, Lalla,
have been waiting
for my attachment
to the world
to end.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 93

JK/NKK 93
Se van tsöTith SèSikal vuzum,
prakrath hunzum pavanà-sà:tiy     |
lolàki na:rà vö:linj buzum,
Sankar lobum tamiy sà:tiy     ||

Crossing the six forests,
I came upon the digit
of the moon.
I burned my prakriti
by means of breath,
I roasted my heart in
the fire of love.
That is how
I found
Shiva

Note: The "six forests" are the six chakras through which the "serpent" energy, kundalini, must pass to reach the sahasrara "thousand-petaled lotus" above the top of the skull. SèSikal (the "digit of the moon,") is a "nectar" said to drip from a certain point in the sahasrar. Prakriti is the "primordial matter" of the cosmos. Control of breath is an important yogic technique.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 88

JK/NKK 88
pôt zu:ni vvathith môt bolànovum,
dag lalànö:vàm dayi-sànzi prahe
làli làli kara:n la:la vuzanovum,
mi:lith tas man Srotsyom dahe.

I rose at the end of moonlight,
calling to my mad mind,
soothing its pain
with the love of God.
Crying "it's me,
Lali, Lali,"
I woke the Beloved.
My mind was purified
in the smoke
of our union.

Note: This poem has several textual problems. Sir George Grierson read the last line as "My mind was purified of the ten." That is possible. "The ten" would be five organs of sense plus five of action. Other translators have read "my mind and body were purified," But there are linguistic reasons to reject such a reading. Lalla's old Kashmiri often used the Sanskrit word "deha" for body, generally writing it as "dih" or "deh." I have never seen it written as "dah," which in fact means "smoke," and "dahe" would be the ablative case. So I have chosen to stick my neck out here and offer a really original interpretation. The literal translation of the last line of the quatrain would then be, "Having met (or joined with) him, my mind was purified in the smoke."

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ