Jaina Heritage in Gujarat

Author(s): Francoise Mallison
Publisher: Z_Nirgrantha_1_022701.pdf and Nirgrantha_2_022702.pdf and Nirgrantha_3_022703.pdf

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Françoise Mallison
why are you engrossed in your pride? (refrain)
At the sight of a devotee of Hari, you don't rejoice at heart, to hear him sing the praise of Hari, your heart doesn't melt;
You did not keep yourself away from the charms of lust and wealth, your eyes are red with wrath. 1
If someone in your company becomes a Vaisnava,
only then you are a true Vaisnava,
but as long as your company is not powerful enough to imbue him,
a raw devotee you remain. 2
Seeing the miseries of others does not set your heart on fire,
you are not afraid of speaking ill of others;
your love for Vitthala is not true,
with obstinacy you only think of "Me Me !" 3
Generosity you do not love,
never you leave alone your own interest; your deeds do not match your words,
where has this been written ? 4
Devotional singing isn't firmly established in your mind and on Hari you do not put your faith;
so long as you place your expectations on the world, the world is your guru and you are its slave. 5
But if you take for guru your own mind,
you will reach the true Reality;
Nirgrantha
says Dayārāma: calamity or bliss, the Truth should be told. 6
Annotations :
* A first draft to this paper was read at the "Third International Conference on Devotional Literature in New Indo-Aryan Languages", at Leyden (The Netherlands), in December 1985.
1. On Narasimha Maheta, see F. Mallison, Au point du jour, les prabhatiyam de Narasimha Maheta, poéte et saint vishnouite du Gujarat (XVe siecle), Paris 1986 17-47 and bibliography 10-12; and J. Kothari, Narsimha Maheta, Delhi 1994.
2. The Gujarati text is taken from H. Bhayani " 'Vaisnavajana' padani samasyão," Bhāṣāvimarsa, 5-4, Ahmedabad 1982, 163. This is an emended version of the edition by S. Jesalpura, Narasimha Mahetani kävyakṛtio, Ahmedabad 1981, 382. Several translations into English and even into French were collected by D. Patel and J. N. Trivedi, Eds., Love Poems and Lyrics from Gujarati, Ahmedabad 1977, [42]-[45].