Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 1.pdf/123
translations from the poems of two Tamil popular poets, Sivakkiyar and Pattanattu Pillai. I have shown these translations to several Tamil scholars. One of the most eminent of such scholars in this Presidency has assured me that, in his estimation, my translation is almost absolutely accurate, although I have written in rhyme. I do not however desire the reader to lay any stress whatever upon this. But I would draw attention to the fact that, in parallel columns with the stanzas of my translation, I have placed the Romanized form of the Tamil text from which I translate. Thus if my translation be in any particular unfaithful, the scholarly reader will be able at once to detect the flaws.
SIVAVAKKIYAM.
Paṇḍu nân parit’ erinta
Pan malargal ettinei;
Pâlilê jebittu viṭṭa
Mantirangal ettinei:
Teṇḍanây vilunt’ uruṇḍu
Koṇḍa kôlam ettinei;
Têr ilukka, vûr aleitu,
Mâr adittat’ ettinei:
Miṇdanây terinta pôtu
Ireita nirgal ettinei;
Mîlavum Sivâlayangal
Sûlntu vantat’ ettinei:
Andarkôn iruppidam
Arint’ unarnta guanigal,
Kaṇda kôvil dêvam endru
Kei yeduppat’illeiyê.
THE SHEPHERD OF THE WORLDS.
A Detached Piece from the Poems of Sivavakkiyar.[1]
How many various flowers
Did I, in bye-gone hours,
Cull for the god, and in his honour strew;
In vain how many a prayer
I breathed into the air,
And made, with many forms obeisance due.
Beating my breast, aloud
How oft I called the crowd
To drag the village car; how oft I stray'd
In manhood's prime to lave
Sunwards the flowing wave,
And circling Saiva fanes, my homage paid.
But they, the truly wise,
Who know and realize
Where dwells the Shepherd of the Worlds, will ne'er
To any visible shrine,
As if it were divine,
Deign to raise hands of worship or of prayer.
I would draw the special attention of the reader to these verses. The musical flow of them and their sonorous Homeric conclusion cannot be caught in any translation. The beauty of the thoughts they contain, however, must
shine through any language. That there may be no misapprehension I shall now give the exact verbal translation of the original.—
"How many various kinds of flowers did I of yore cull and scatter.
How many mantras have I said in vain.
How often, with obeisance, falling, rolling round I assumed the manifestation (of a devotee).
How often have I, beating my breast, called the village to drag the car.
How often, at prime of life, whilst in my wanderings, have I upraised water.
How often have I kept encircling S′aiva temples.
The wise who have known and inwardly realized the dwelling place of the Shepherd of the Worlds.
To visible temples, as if they were divine, lift their hands—never!"
SIVAVAKKIYAM.
Naṭṭu veitta dêvarum
Nadâmal veitta dêvarum,
Suṭṭu veitta dêvarum
Sudâmal veitta dêvarum,
Kaṭṭu veitta dêvarum
Katt’ avilka vallarô?
Ittu veitt' idattilê
Kidapat’ andri, yen seyvâr?
EXTRACTS FROM THE POEMS OF SIVAVAKKIYAR
Gods set up, Gods not set up,
Lords baked, and unbaked Lords,
And Deities bound securely
(To sacred cars) with cords.
Say, are these even able
To free themselves when tied?
When placed somewhere, what can they
But in that place abide?
- ↑ Notice the beautiful epithet Shepherd of the Worlds! This word Andarkôn is often simply rendered Monarch of the Gods, but I have taken the more magnificent rendering,—a rendering which represents the inner spirit of the original, and which, by the way, has the sanction of my father, the Rev. Dr. Caldwell.