Kagga 104
D. V. Gundappa · 1887–1975 · from the Kannada original

Transliteration
kAlavakSHayadIpavadara pAtreyapArabAL adarinAdondu kiruhaNate miNakugALiyAripudondaninnonda hottipudutailadhAreyakhanDa -- MANKUTIMMA
Interpretation
This Universe is a continuum of infinity in dimensions of time & space in which life exists again as a continuum of start, end & re-start
Time in this Universe is akin to a perennial source of bright light which has no beginning & no end...here the life of man is like a flickering light which burns brightly but briefly
Wind, which is another continuum here in the spatial dimension may turn out this flickering light; the dichotomy here is that if light goes out at one place, it takes a re-birth at another
The force which governs this cycle of birth, death & rebirth is infinite
Mankutimma, while it may appear that life of man or any other being in this Universe is finite, the reality is that life, which appears to be very finite is also a continuum since it is governed by an infinite force & exists as a circle of birth, death & rebirth; not in a linear pattern of birth & death. So, life of a man as we see today existed in the past in some form & will exist in future too in another form
Did this poetry & its translation speak to you?
