Poems of Bharatiar - Page 3

vidyaah, wow, what an incredible poem. Such a powerful meaning. Thank you for that one!! And Happy Tamil New Year to all tomorrow!

Will be posting one later tonight as i do not have my laptop with me, unfortunately.

vidyaah ji..
thank u ..that was a great poem.......beautiful meaning......
tamil naal nalla varthagal(sorry if i made any mistakes)

In my eyes, this is perhaps one of the best poems ever written. People always describe this as a sad poem, a poem about pain, but if you ask me, this poem is about the fire of a soul that is striving. It starts as a complaint to Mata. He speaks to Her in the familiar - and lists his demands on Her.

At the end is that defiant question to her. Almost like asking her: "do you have a problem with this?" 😊

I hope you enjoy it.

Puttandu Vazhtukal!

NallatOr veeNai

Nallathor veeNai seythey… athai nalankeTap puzhuthiyil eRivatundO?

Solladi Sivasakti! Enai cudarmikum aRivudan padattuviTaay

Vallamai thaaraayO – inta maanilam payNuRa vaazhvataRkE?

Solladi Sivasakti! Nila chumaiyena vaazhntiTap purikuvaiyO?

VisaiyuRu panthinaippOl uLLam vEndiya padiselum udal kETTEn

NasaiyaRu manankETTEn – nittam navamena chudartarum uyirkETTEn

Dasaiyinait thee chudirRum – Siva Saktiyaip paadumnala akankETTEn

Asaivaru matikETTEn; Ivai aruLvatul unakketun tadaiyuLLO?

Difficult words:

Padaittal – to create (eg a work of art)
Nilam: land
PayaN: benefit
Chumai: weight
Purikuthal – to exercise as grace or mercy
Visai: spring, impetus, impulse, force
Nasai: desire, greed, lust
Navam: new
Dasai: flesh
Mati: wisdom/intelligence

You made a good veeNa – would you throw it to rot in the dust?
Tell me, Sivasakti! You went and fashioned me with spark-like intelligence.

Will you give the strength – to live a life beneficial to this world?
Tell me, Sivasakti! Will you condone a life [which is] as a burden to the earth?

Like a wind-up toy that will do as I will it to: for such a body I asked 
For a desire-less mind I asked – Like a lamp lit afresh daily: for such a life-force I asked.

Even as my flesh burns, it will sing to SivaSakti: for such a self I asked.

An unshaking wisdom I asked for; to grant me all these –have you any objection?
Edited by sangeetaa - 18 years ago

thank u sri for correcting me.......

Thanks sangeetha for that beautiful song :)

Happy Tamil new year guys! Have lots of fun, have awesome morkolambu, paruppu and pachidi.

Do we get another one today sangeetha?

Hi All! Since today is Good Friday (PuNitha VeLLi) as well, I decided to put up this Bharati poem--enjoy! 😊 :

Yesu Kiristu (Jesus Christ)

yEsu kiristu

Isan vanthu chiluvaiyil maandaaN ezhunthu yirththanan naaLoRu mUnRil
nEsamA Mariya Magdalena nErilE intha seythiyaik kanDAL

DesattIr ithan uTporuL kELLIr
Devar vanthu namakkut pukuntE naasaminRu namai nittankaappaar nam akanthaiyai nam konRu viTTal

Anbukan mariya Magdalena Aavi kANuthir yEsu kiristu
MuNbu tImai vadiviLaik konRAl ,mUnRu naaLinil nalluyir tOnRum

Ponpol intha mukaththinin kaNdE poRRivaan antha nalluyir thannai anbenum maria Magdalena Aaha! ChaalapperunkaLi yi'thE

UNmai yenRa chiluvaiyiR kaTTi uNarvai AaNith tavankoNDaadiththaal

VaNmaip pEruyir yEsu kiristu vaana mEniyil angu viLankum
PeNmaikaaN Mariya Magdalena pENum nallaRam yEsu kiristu – nuNmai koNda poruLithu kaNdIr nodiyilitu payinRitalaakum

'Maandaar' – excelled, also died (from 'maranam')
nEsam – love
pukuntha – to penetrate, to enter as in a narrow place
akanthai – arrogance
Aavi – spirit
ThImai – evil
Vadivu – shape, form
Chaala – great
UNarvai – feelings, perception, intuition, knowledge by means of senses
VaNmai – bounty, good quality, truth
PENum – to rear, maintain
Aram – virtues/morals


God came and died on the Cross; he rose up in some three days
Lovingly, Maria Magdalena directly witnessed this event

Countrymen, listen to the inner truth of this
If we kill our arrogance, Deva ever protect us –
even enter into us to prevent our destruction

Devoted is Maria Magdalena - who saw the spirit of Jesus Christ;
If you first kill the personage of evil, in three days will appear a good life.

Devotion is Maria Magdalena: who, beholding that golden face, praised that very good life - Aaha! Great exalted joy is this!

If you build a Cross of Truth,
With understanding, fix the nail of penance
Great, bountiful Jesus Christ
In the body of the sky will there appear.

The vision of womanhood, Maria Magdalena
The nurturer of good virtues, Jesus Christ

If you see this quitessential truth, in a moment, (you) will be learned.

WOW...Such a beautiful poem..Thanks.

Vidyaah: the sheer range of topics he wrote on is amazing. There's even a poem on Haley's comet!!

This next poem is one of the "Kannan(Krishna) songs" - Bharati sings of Krishna as a child, a mother, even as a lover!

But he was also a man of his times. Remember, Bharati was banned by the British for his "seditious" poetry. What your parents will tell you is that "Kannamma" was also a codeword for independent India. To read these poems with that in mind gives them a whole new layer of meaning - not only is this a simple love song, it is also a bhakti-sangeet, it is *also* a political song.

Don't know how many people are following this thread any more, but if you are, enjoy!! 😊

KaNNamma en kaadali (Kannamma, my lover)

ThIrtthak karaiyaniliE – theRka mUlaiyil
Chenbagath thOTTathilE
Paarththirunthaal varuvEn veNNilaaviNai
PaangiyO denRu chonnai
Vaarththai thavaRi viTTaay – aDi kaNNammaa
Maarbu thudikku thadI!
Paarththa vidathtilellaam – unnai pOlavE
Paavai theriyuthadI!

MENi kothikku thadI! Vaanidaiththai yellaam intha veNNilaa
Vanthu thazhuvuthu paar!

MOnath thirukku thadI! Intha vaiyakam muzhkith thuyivinilE naanoruvan maTTilum pirivenpathOr naragath thuzhaluvathO?
Kadumai yudaiya thadI! Entha nEramum kaavalun maaLikayil
Adimai pukuntha pinRum – eNNumpOthu naan angu varvatharkillai

Kodumai porukka villai kaTTun kaavalum
kUtik kitakkuthangE

nadumai yarasi yavaL etharkaakvO naaNikulainthiduvaaL

kUtip piriyaamalE – Ori raavelaam
konchik kulaviyangE
Aadi viLaiyaadiyE – unRan mEnilai
Aayiran kOdi muRai

naadith thzhavi manak-kuRai thIrnthu naan
nalla kaLiyeythiyE
paadip paravasamaay – niRkavE thavam
paNNiya thillai yadI!

ThIrththa – distant, remote
Karai- bank, seashore
Chenbagam – flower-tree
Paangi – friend, associate
Thudi- throb, palpitate (same as 'tarap' in Hindustani)
Paavai – image of a person in another's eye
Thazhuvu – embracing
MOnam – silence, muteness (same as maunam)
Vaiyakam – the Earth
MUzhku – poetic form of muzhuku – to bathe, submerge
Thuyil – sleep
Uzhal-to whirl, revolve, be agitated, unsettled
Kadumai – hardness
Adimai - slave
Kodumai – cruelty
Nadumai – middle, centre; zenith, meridian
Kurai – lack (mana-kurai : what the 'manas' lacks)
KaLi – joy, exultation
Tavam – 'tapasya', sacrifice

Kannamma my lover

On a distant shore, in the southern corner of the flower-tree garden,
If I see you [there], I will come with my friend in the light of the moon, you said.

You broke your word, O Kannamma!
My breast throbs with pain
Wherever I look, an image just like yours shows up, girl!

The body boils, girl! Look! The moon is embracing every bit of sky!
Silence writhes, girl! This earth is submerged in sleep.
I am the only one in whom is separation.

Is the nether-world unsettled?

Resolve breaks, girl! At your palace stands a sentry at all times.

Even after becoming a slave, I could never come there.

The cruelty is unbearable – there, tight security is assembled.

She, the queen of equanimity, for some or other reason, will shy away.

Unite; without parting, cuddle an entire night;
Dance and play – Embracing your body a million times, satisfying my heart-wants I reach ecstasy ;
Sing happily – I've not done the  'tapasya'* for all these, girl! 

nb this line carries the sense - I have not done enough tapas/penance(?) for all these things (my 'mana-kurai', "heart-wants" to happen).

Edited by sangeetaa - 18 years ago

bump - wanna share this with all my fellow forum-vaasiyon

Thats it...I need to know what" bump" stands for.