Kannada original: ಕಲ್ಲು ಮಂಟಪ Kallu Mantapa
Poet: SUBRAYA CHOKKADY ಸುಬ್ರಾಯ ಚೊಕ್ಕಾಡಿ
Translated into English by S. Jayasrinivasa Rao
STONE PAVILION
Atop a lofty bare hill
a stone pavilion
stands alone
Gommata*-like
has cast away all,
oblivious to the world, facing
the serene sky,
lost in contemplation.
The breeze too is lying low
too shy to glide and blow
Below, far down below
at the fount,
flora, flowing streams,
fauna,
all quiet
apparently asleep
the sage who lived long ago
his meditative aura
has likely clung to
the pillars, the roof. In that zone
as things are at a standstill
as if the stone pavilion itself
has become the sage
it is on the path to being what
it is contemplating on
From the sky a shining light
is coming closer.
*****
*Gommata refers to the monolithic statue of the naked Bahubali in a standing posture, also known as Gomateshwara, mainly in Shravanabelagola, and also in four other places in Karnataka. Bahubali was one of the sons of Rishabhanatha, the first Jain tirthankara. He challenged his brother Bharata on his claim to his Kingdom and after defeating Bharata, Bahubali was filled with disgust at the world. He cast away all his possessions, his kingdom, wealth, and even his clothes, to become a monk and began meditating with great resolve to attain omniscience. He is said to have meditated standing unclothed and motionless for a year and as per Jain texts, he was one of the first Digambara monks to have attained moksha in the present half-cycle of time.
[more can be read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahubali]
No comments:
Post a Comment