Kagga 103
D. V. Gundappa · 1887–1975 · from the Kannada original
Transliteration
jnEyada dvIpakajnEyAbdhiyAvaraNakAyakada girige mAnasadabhrapaTalamEyavanu bagedEn amEya suttalumiralu?mAyeyI mishraNavo -- MANKUTIMMA
Interpretation
There is a constant co-existence & conflict between knowledge & ignorance in this Universe
The manner in which man faces this conflict & works around it determines how he leads his life here
Man is constantly bombarded with ignorant thoughts, ignorant actions, ignorant views even as he tries to hold on to the little knowledge that he is able to hold on
The difference in scale between knowledge & ignorance is so much that he appears to be submerged in ignorance; like how a mountain is hidden by a veil of clouds
Mankutimma, when man is surrounded by such a dense cloud cover of ignorance, it is a huge challenge for him to overcome this massive layer of ignorance in order to use the small knowledge that he has been able to gather...the disparity in scale is so much that ignorance seems infinite while knowledge is finite...it is this dichotomy of knowledge & ignorance; reality & illusion that makes the Universe so interesting
Did this poetry & its translation speak to you?