This article compiles five distinct English translations of a single, profound vachana (a form of lyrical, spiritual prose-poem) by the 12th-century Kannada saint-poet, Akka Mahadevi. Each translation is crafted with a different theoretical approach, demonstrating how the meaning, texture, and focus of a poem can shift based on the translator's objectives. Together, they reveal the multifaceted nature of the original text and the intricate art of conveying mystical experience across linguistic and cultural divides.
The Original Vachana
Kannada Script:
ಎನ್ನ ಮನ, ಪ್ರಾಣ, ಭಾವ ನಿಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂದ ಬಳಿಕ,
ಕಾಯದ ಸುಖವ ನಾನೇನೆಂದರಿಯೆನು.
ಆರು ಸೋಂಕಿದರೆಂದರಿಯೆನು.
ಚೆನ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನನ ಮನದೊಳಗೆ ಒಚ್ಚತವಾದ ಬಳಿಕ,
ಹೊರಗೇನಾಯಿತ್ತೆಂದರಿಯೆನು.
Romanized Script (IAST):
Enna mana, prāṇa, bhāva nimmalli ninda baḷika,
kāyada sukhava nānēnendariyanu.
Āru sōṅkidarendariyanu.
Cennamallikārjunana manadoḷage occatavāda baḷika,
horagēnāyittendariyanu.
1. Literal Translation
Objective: This translation adheres as closely as possible to the original Kannada word order and syntax to give the reader a sense of the source text's structure.
Primary Translation
After my mind, my life-force, my feeling stood in You,
the body's pleasure, I know not what it is.
I know not who touched me.
After being imprinted inside Chennamallikarjuna's mind,
I know not what happened outside.
Justification
This translation prioritizes fidelity to the source text's lexical and syntactical structure above English fluency. The goal is to provide a linguistic baseline, showing the reader the raw components and word order of the original vachana. For instance, "stood in You" is a direct rendering of "ನಿಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂದ ಬಳಿಕ" (nimmalli ninda baḷika), and "I know not what it is" mirrors "ನಾನೇನೆಂದರಿಯೆನು" (nānēnendariyanu). This approach serves as a transparent foundation, revealing the building blocks upon which more interpretive translations are constructed. It is a tool for linguistic analysis rather than a finished poetic piece.
2. Poetic Translation
Objective: This translation aims to capture the vachana's essential spirit, emotion, and philosophical depth, rendering it as a fluid and evocative poem in English.
Primary Translation
Once my mind, my breath, my very soul¹
came to rest² in You,
I grew unaware of the body's delight,
oblivious to the world's touch.
Once I was sealed within the heart³
of my Lord, white as jasmine,⁴
I knew nothing more
of all that passed without.
Footnotes
¹ "my very soul" is used to capture the totality of ಮನ, ಪ್ರಾಣ, ಭಾವ (mind, life-force, being), moving beyond a simple list to convey the unified self.
² "came to rest" attempts to capture the meaning of ನಿಂದ ಬಳಿಕ (after standing), implying a cessation of struggle and a final, serene stability.
³ "heart" is used instead of the literal "mind" (ಮನದೊಳಗೆ) as it carries a stronger connotation of the core of being and love in English poetic tradition, aligning with the bhakti context.
⁴ "Lord, white as jasmine" is a poetic rendering of ಚೆನ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ, drawing on the well-known etymology popularized by A. K. Ramanujan. It evokes beauty and purity, which suits the serene mood of the poem better than the more rugged "Lord of the mountains." 1
Justification
The primary aim here is to create a work that functions as a poem in its own right for the English reader, conveying the rasa (aesthetic flavor) of the original. To achieve this, several choices were made:
Fluency over Fidelity: The syntax is rearranged for a more natural English flow (e.g., "Once I was sealed" instead of the literal "After being imprinted").
Evocative Language: Words are chosen for their poetic resonance in English. "My very soul" is used to holistically capture the triad of mana, prāṇa, bhāva. "Came to rest" evokes a sense of peace and finality that "stood" does not. "Oblivious" and "unaware" convey the depth of the mystical state.
Cultural Adaptation: "Heart" is substituted for "mind" as the seat of union, as it aligns better with the Western poetic tradition of love and devotion. The rendering of "Chennamallikarjuna" as "Lord, white as jasmine" is a deliberate aesthetic choice to enhance the poem's gentle, devotional tone.
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3. Mystic Translation
Objective: This translation seeks to embody the metaphysical and mystical experience described in the vachana, using the language and rhythm of a mystic hymn.
Primary Translation
My thought, my soul, my sense of I—
Now anchored deep in Thee,
The body’s joy is a forgotten tongue;
Its memory is lost to me.
The passing touch of another’s hand
Is a script I cannot read.
And sealed within my Lord’s own mind,
My Lord as jasmine-white,
The world without has ceased to be;
I am un-knowing of its light.
Justification
This version attempts to translate not just the words, but the state of consciousness itself. The choices reflect the ineffable and paradoxical nature of mystical union:
Metaphysical Language: The translation employs metaphors that emphasize the transcendence of ordinary perception. "Forgotten tongue" and "script I cannot read" frame sensory experience as a language that the mystic no longer understands, highlighting the shift in consciousness.
Focus on "Unknowing": The final line, "I am un-knowing of its light," transforms the simple negation "I know not" into a positive state of being—a mystical "unknowing" that is superior to worldly knowledge. This aligns with the principles of apophatic theology.
Hymnal Tone: The use of "Thee" and the rhythmic, declarative structure aim to evoke the tone of a sacred text or hymn, reflecting the vachana's devotional core. The phrase "sense of I" directly addresses the psychological concept of ego death central to the experience.
4. Thick Translation
Objective: This "Thick Translation" makes the vachana's rich cultural and conceptual world accessible to an English-speaking reader by embedding explanations of its context and significance within detailed annotations.
Primary Translation
Once my mind, my life-force, my very feeling¹
came to rest in You,²
the body’s pleasure,³ I know not what it is.⁴
I know not who touched me.
After being imprinted⁵ within the mind
of Chennamallikarjuna,⁶
I know not what happened outside.⁷
Extensive Annotations
my mind, my life-force, my very feeling (enna mana, prāṇa, bhāva): Akka is surrendering the entirety of her being, which she breaks down into three core components. This is not just an intellectual act but a total psycho-physical offering.
Mana (ಮನ): More than just 'mind', mana in Indian philosophy is the seat of thought, intention, doubt, and duality. To surrender the mana is to give up the ego and the restless, thinking self.
2 Prāṇa (ಪ್ರಾಣ): This is not merely 'breath' but the 'vital life-force' that animates the body. In yogic traditions, control over prāṇa is the key to controlling the mind. Surrendering it signifies giving up the very energy of individual existence.
Bhāva (ಭಾವ): A deeply nuanced term, bhāva is more than 'feeling'. It encompasses the state of being, consciousness, and the core disposition of the heart. In the context of Bhakti, it refers to the specific devotional attitude of the seeker. To surrender bhāva is to dissolve one's fundamental sense of self into the divine.
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came to rest in You (nimmalli ninda baḷika): The literal translation of ninda baḷika is "after standing." However, in a mystical context, it signifies a profound yogic state. It implies that the restless, wandering faculties of the mind, life-force, and consciousness have ceased their outward movement and have become perfectly still and established in the divine, the "You." It is a state of unwavering stability and focus.
the body’s pleasure (kāyada sukhava): This refers to all sensory and worldly pleasures derived from the physical form. The concept of the body (kāya - ಕಾಯ) is central to Sharana philosophy. They did not reject the body but saw it as a sacred vessel, a temple for the divine within, famously captured in the phrase Kāyavē Kailāsa (ಕಾಯವೇ ಕೈಲಾಸ) or "the body itself is heaven/Kailasa." Therefore, Akka's statement is not a condemnation of the body but an expression of having transcended its limitations. The body, as a tool for spiritual practice, has served its purpose, and she is now beyond its sensory input.
I know not (nānariyeṇu): This phrase, repeated three times, is the poem's central literary and philosophical device. It is a classic example of apophatic theology or via negativa (the negative way), a mystical approach to describing the divine by stating what it is not. This is powerfully reminiscent of the Upanishadic phrase Neti, Neti ("not this, not this"). By negating her awareness of worldly experiences (pleasure, touch, the external world), Akka is pointing toward a transcendent reality that is beyond words and concepts. This "unknowing" is not ignorance but a higher form of knowledge—an experience of the Absolute that erases all relative knowledge.
imprinted (occatavāda): This is a powerful and uniquely Kannada word derived from the root ottu (ಒತ್ತು), meaning "to press" or "to stamp." The translation "imprinted" or "sealed" only partially captures its force. It suggests an indelible, inseparable, and dense merging of her consciousness with the divine, like a seal pressed into wax, leaving no space or distinction between the two.
4 Chennamallikarjuna (ಚೆನ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ): This is Akka Mahadevi's ankita (ಅಂಕಿತ), or signature name, for her chosen deity, Shiva. Every Vachana poet had a unique ankita with which they concluded their poems (e.g., Basavanna's is Kūḍalasangamadēva, Allama Prabhu's is Guheśvara).
4 The name has two popular etymologies:The poetic: "Lord (Arjuna) as beautiful/white as jasmine (Mallika)." This is the most famous translation, popularized by A. K. Ramanujan.
7 The indigenous/geographical: "The beautiful (Chenna) lord (Arasa) of the mountains (Male)," referring to the deity of the Srisailam temple, a sacred site.
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what happened outside (horagēnāyittendariyanu): This final line declares the complete dissolution of the boundary between the inner and outer worlds. This is the culmination of her spiritual journey, the state of Aikya (ಐಕ್ಯ), or absolute union with the divine. In Sharana philosophy, this is the sixth and final stage (Shatsthala - ಷಟ್ಸ್ಥಲ) of a devotee's path.
9 In this state, the individual self (anga - ಅಂಗ) merges completely with the universal principle (linga - ಲಿಂಗ). The world of duality ceases to exist, and all that remains is the experience of the formless, attributeless Absolute, which the Sharanas called Bayalu (ಬಯಲು) or Shūnya (ಶೂನ್ಯ)—not an empty void, but a dynamic, conscious plenitude. This experience is the ultimate fulfillment of the Sharana Sati-Linga Pati Bhāva (ಶರಣಸತಿ-ಲಿಂಗಪತಿ ಭಾವ), the devotional attitude where the devotee, regardless of gender, sees themself as the bride (Sati) and God as the only true husband (Pati).
10 This state of non-duality was the highest goal discussed in theAnubhava Mantapa (ಅನುಭವ ಮಂಟಪ), the 12th-century "Hall of Experience" where Sharanas like Akka Mahadevi gathered to share their mystical insights.
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Justification
The purpose of a "Thick Translation" is not just to translate, but to educate. The justification lies in its dual structure:
A Readable Core: The primary translation is kept clear and accessible, serving as an entry point for the reader.
Explanatory Depth: The value of this approach is in the extensive annotations. Each footnote is a micro-essay that unpacks a specific term or concept (mana, kāya, Aikya, Anubhava Mantapa) that would otherwise be lost. By explaining the philosophical, cultural, and linguistic weight of these words, the translation provides the necessary context for a non-Kannada, non-Indian reader to begin to grasp the full significance of Akka's experience. It bridges the cultural gap by explicitly teaching the reader the concepts needed to understand the poem.
5. Foreignized Translation
Objective: This translation intentionally resists "domesticating" the poem into familiar English poetic norms. It prioritizes fidelity to the source text's syntax and retains key Kannada terms to emphasize its foreign origin.
Primary Translation
My mana, my prāṇa, my bhāva, after standing in You,
the kāya’s pleasure, I know not what it is.
Who touched, I know not.
After being imprinted inside the mana of Chennamallikārjuna,
what happened outside, I know not.
Justification
This approach, known as "foreignization," deliberately challenges the reader. The justification for these choices is to preserve the "otherness" of the original text:
Retention of Key Terms: Untranslatable or culturally dense words like mana, prāṇa, bhāva, and kāya are kept in the original Kannada (italicized) to signal that their English equivalents are inadequate. This forces the reader to pause and recognize a conceptual gap that cannot be easily bridged.
Syntactic Mimicry: The translation closely follows the grammatical structure of the Kannada original (e.g., "Who touched, I know not" instead of the more fluent "I know not who touched me"). This creates a slightly jarring rhythm in English, which serves to remind the reader that they are reading a translation from a language with a different structural logic.
Resisting Fluency: The overall effect is less smooth than a "poetic" or "domesticated" translation. This is intentional. The goal is not to bring the poem to the reader, but to send the reader to the poem, making them aware of the linguistic and cultural distance they are crossing.
ಕಾಮೆಂಟ್ಗಳಿಲ್ಲ:
ಕಾಮೆಂಟ್ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ