Speaking of Siva

This is an English translation of some Kannada bhakti poems composed by four saints of the Virasaiva bhakti movement in the 12th century CE. The samplings are from Basavanna, Allama prabhu, Mahadevi akka and Dasimayya.

The Bhakti movement is a monotheistic socio-religious movement that promoted personal faith and devotion. They were opposed to Vedic rituals and caste hierarchy. They emphasised equality of everyone, as opposed to the Vedic religion where women, shudras and outcastes were treated as impure. Virasaiva saints acknowledge Siva as the Supreme Being.

The translation is excellent. Ramanujan does his best to retain the meaning and style. The poems themselves are beautiful and filled with passion and devotion. The wit of Basavanna, show more the allusions and paradoxes of Allama Prabhu and the love and ardour of Mahadevi akka.

There are two interesting appendices at the end. One a short one on the Virasaivik theology and philosophy and the other an anthropological article on the contemporary position of the Virasaiva movement as the Lingayat caste. That was written in 1960’s and so is a bit outdated. show less

Speaking of Siva is a selection of vacanas or free-verse sayings from the Virasaiva religious movement, dedicated to Siva as the supreme god. Written by four major saints, the greatest exponents of this poetic form, between the tenth and twelfth centuries, they are passionate lyrical expressions of the search for an unpredictable and spontaneous spiritual vision of 'now'. Here, yogic and tantric symbols, riddles and enigmas subvert the language of ordinary experience, as references to night and day, sex and family relationships take on new mystical meanings. These intense poems of personal devotion to a single deity also question traditional belief systems, customs, superstitions, image worship and even moral strictures, in verse that show more speaks to all men and women regardless of class and caste. show less

"Speaking of Siva" is a selection of vacanas or free-verse sayings from the Virasaiva religious movement, dedicated to Siva as the supreme god. Written by four major saints, the greatest exponents of this poetic form, between the tenth and twelfth centuries, they are passionate lyrical expressions of the search for an unpredictable and spontaneous spiritual vision of 'now'. Here, yogic and tantric symbols, riddles and enigmas subvert the language of ordinary experience, as references to night and day, sex and family relationships take on new mystical meanings. These intense poems of personal devotion to a single deity also question traditional belief systems, customs, superstitions, image worship and even moral strictures, in verse that show more speaks to all men and women regardless of class and caste. show less

Picked this up on a Goodreads recommendation. A very well-written book with adequate notes, although I skipped Appendix 2 for now. If you're looking for something different and less known within the Indian canon, this is a good short read.