Emi Sethura Linga Song - Translation

When I think

Of

Fetching some Ganges waters

And do ablutions to Lord Siva

All the fish and frogs in the Ganges

Say full-throated, “These waters are

All defiled, contaminated with (our) spittle.”

When I think

Of

Offering some milk

From the select (brown) cowherds

The young calves bellowed, “All that

Milk is contaminated with our (lips') licking.”

When I think

Of

Performing Your puja heartily

With flowers of Leucas aspera (tummi)

Crores of bees on the branches

Say, “These flowers are all

Desecrated, contaminated with our spittle.”

O The Great One, Our Superior God, Our Amorphous One

(This is a translation of the Telugu devotional song, “emi sethura linga”, an approximate one at best. In an earlier post here, I have given the original Telugu lyrics. One needs to dwell, ponder, and think on such superb songs to derive the full benefit of bhakti feeling. This devotional song is no exception. I pay my humble homage to Dr. Balamurali for a moving rendition and I bow reverentially to the anonymous composer. The lyricist has condensed the entire, “Siva-tatva” into three simple stanzas. Once while gently plucking the highly aromatic jasmine flowers, I thought of adding one more stanza, but that is for some other time. In the next post we will explore the deeper meaning and subtleties involved. Copyright 2019 by the author)