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

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 75

JK/NKK 75
lolàki vvakhàlà vö:linj piSim,
kvakal tsajim tà ru:zàs rasà     |
buzàm tà zö:jim pa:nas tsàSim,
kavà za:nà tavà sà:ty marà kinà lasà     ||

In the mortar of love
I ground my heart.
Evil inclinations left me
and I remained calm.
I roasted and burned
and ate myself up.
How shall I know
whether from all this
I shall die
or I
shall live?

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 118

JK/NKK 118
tsida:nandas gya:nà praka:Sès,
yimav tsyu:ny tim zi:vantày muktày     |
viSèmis samsa:ranis pa:Sès,
abôdy gaNDa:h Sèth-Sèty dity     ||

Those who have known
the bliss of consciousness
and the light of knowledge
are liberated
while living.
But the ignorant
add knots by the hundreds
to the terrible noose
of birth and death.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 109

JK/NKK 109
kalan ka:là-zö:ly yôdvai tsè gôl,
vèndiv grih va: vendiv vanva:s     |
zö:nith sarvagath prabhu amôl,
yuthuy za:nèkh tyuthuy a:s     ||

If, in the flow of time,
your vain fantasies
have melted away,
you can as well
live in a house
as in a forest retreat.
Having known that
the Lord is all-pervading
and stainless,
be what you
have known.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ