Kagga 89
D. V. Gundappa · 1887–1975 · from the Kannada original
Transliteration
AdidivasavadAvudendendumiha jagake?bOdhaneya sulabhatege sruSHTilayakathanapAdashiragaLa kUrma chAchikondare sruSHTisEdikonDire layavo -- MANKUTIMMA
Interpretation
This Universe is infinite both with respect to time as well as expanse
This is a concept that is very difficult to comprehend...so there is the frequently asked question -- when & where did this Universe begin? When & where will it end?
The challenge to comprehend this is because man tries to measure the infinite Universe in his own scale of time & space which is very finite
Mankutimma, one can compare it to a turtle whose legs & head are out of the shell when it is moving...and inside the shell when dormant. So it appears that the turtle is living when limbs are out & dead when limbs are in. The reality is that the turtle is always in existence...there is just an illusion of the turtle being dynamic or static to an observer. Same is the case when man tries to measure the Universe in the same scale of his life...he believes an illusion that there is a start & end to this universe; while the reality is that the universe is infinite
Did this poetry & its translation speak to you?