JK/NKK 63
SiSiras vuth kus raTe,
kus bvake raTe va:v |
yus pö:ntsh èndryay tsaTith tsaTe,
suy raTe gaTe rav ||
Who can stop
winter's icy dripping?
Who can hold
the wind in his hand?
He who has cut
the five senses
down to size,
that one,
in the midst of darkness,
can seize the sun.
Note: I must apologize to my fellow feminists for the use of non-inclusive language, but that is what Lalla used. The pronoun in the last of Lalla's lines is "suh" (he), not "soh" (she). In some of the other poems I have managed to use a non-specific "they," but it didn't work here.
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 3
talà chuy zyus tay pèThà chukh natsa:n.
vantà ma:li man kithà patsa:n chuy |
soruy sômbrith yaty chuy mvatsa:n,
vantà ma:li ann kithà rotsa:n chuy
Beneath you is a pit, you're dancing on top.
Tell me, Sir, how trusting is your mind?
All you've amassed will stay behind.
Tell me, Sir, does your food taste good?
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 94
omka:r yèli layi ônum,
vuhi kôrum panun pa:n |
Se vôt trö:vith sath ma:rg rôTum,
tèli lal bà vö:tsàs praka:Sastha:n ||
When I absorbed the sacred OM,
I made of myself an ember bright.
Six paths traversed, the seventh I took,
Then I, Lalla, reached the place of light.
Note: Since the word "sath" in the third line of Lalla's quatrain can mean either "seventh" or "true," a double meaning is possible. The word "Se" ("six") at the beginning of the line leads us to believe that "seventh" is the intended meaning. In this case, Lalla would be referring to the "six chakras" located inside the body, and the seventh, the sahasrara (thousand-petaled lotus), located twelve finger-breadths above the top of the head. It is the sahasrara that is the place of illumination, so all of this fits. The alternative interpretation would be exclusively sectarian in a way that would not fit with Lalla's teaching.
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 84
ase pvande zvase za:me,
nèthày sna:n kare ti:rthan |
vàhàry vàhàras nônuy a:se,
niSè chuy tà parza:ntan ||
He laughs, sneezes, coughs, and yawns.
He's always bathing at holy shrines.
He's naked all throughout the year.
Recognize Him--he's very near.
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 5
a:yès vate göyès na vate.
svaman svathe manz lu:sum dôh |
candas vuchum tà ha:r na athe
na:và-ta:ras dimà kya:h bôh ||
I came by the road, but left not that way.
On the earthen bridge, I've used up my day.
I searched my pocket--not a cowrie did I see.
Now what shall I give for the ferryman's fee?
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 119
kus Dingi tày kus za:gi,
kus sar vatàri teli: |
kus haras pu:zi la:gi,
kus paramàpad meli: ||
Who sleeps,
and who is awake?
The water seeps
from what lake?
What should be offered
to Shiva in worship?
What supreme state
may we reach?
JK/NKK 120
man Dingi tö akval za:gi,
dö:Di sar pantsayèndi vatàri teli: |
svavètsa:rà pony haras pu:zi la:gi,
paramàpad tsi:tanà Siva meli: ||
The mind sleeps
and the higher Self is awake.
Water always seeps
from Five Senses Lake.
We offer the water
of Self-meditation.
Shiva-consciousness
is the state to be reached.
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 10, 11
dömi: Di:Thàm nad vahàvani:,
dömi: Dyu:Thum sum natà ta:r |
dömi: Di:Thàm thör phvalvani:,
dömi: Dyu:Thum gul natà kha:r ||
One moment I saw a flowing river;
the next moment I saw neither bridge nor ferry.
One moment I saw a flowering branch;
the next moment I saw neither rose nor thorn.
dömi: DiThàm gaj dazàvàni:,
dömi: Dyu:Thum dàh natà na:r |
dömi: Di:Thàm panDavan hànz mö:ji:,
dömi: Di:Thàm kröji: ma:s ||
One moment I saw a blazing hearth;
the next moment I saw neither smoke nor flame.
One moment I saw the mother of the Pandavas,
the next moment I saw a potter's aunt.
Note: These two va:khs obviously go together, and the rhyme scheme of the first even flows over into the second. Their subject is the impermanence of everything in this world. In mentioning the Pandavas, Lalla is alluding to a story in India's national epic, the Mahabharata (of which the Bhagavad Gita is a small part). The Pandavas were brother-kings who were unjustly made destitute, and their mother, Queen Kunti, disgraced, at the hands of their enemies. When they temporarily went into exile in the land of King Drupada, they took refuge in the house of a potter. It is possible that the potter would have explained Kunti's presence by saying that she was his maternal aunt (though no such detail is given in the epic).
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
