Kagga 339
D. V. Gundappa · 1887–1975 · from the Kannada original
Transliteration
ninnajja muttajja mUlajjarellarumninnoLavatarisi mundinnu janisalihaninna maga marimommaroLu jIvipparanvaya chiranjIvi – MANKUTIMMA
Interpretation
Among the several dichotomies that exist within the Universe is that of mortality & immortality of the living beings found here
There are 3 stages that all living beings pass through – creation, nurturing or existence & finally destruction. So every living being that is born here has to die at some point
Mankutimma, however, think deeper & assess whether a person really dies – is man truly a organism that is undergoing a truly isolated life cycle…think, where does he originate from? What caused his life to get created? Haven’t the genes that are the most elemental units of you come from your parents & from their parents and so on…similarly will you not tranmit your genes to your offsprings and they to theirs & so on. When that is the case, how can you be an isolated individual? When you think deeper, would you call yourself mortal or immortal? What would define it? Your external physical structure or your soul; your genes?
Did this poetry & its translation speak to you?