Selected Maxims from Gańgādhara Meher’s Tapasvinī

Selected Maxims from Tapasvinī Kāvya
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Original Oriya Poems by :
Svabhāva-Kavi Gańgādhara Meher (1862-1924)
English Rendering by : Dr.Harekrishna Meher
[Taken from the Book ‘Tapasvinī of Gańgādhara Meher’]
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Spontaneous is the flow of River
to mingle with Sea, her own lover.
She firmly crosses pass and rock
that appear on the way to block.
With Sea when she enjoys union,
her all previous pains plunge into oblivion.
Between the lives of the two thence
really remains not a jot of difference.

Perchance piercing up amid,
any huge mound of sands there
if raises high
and severs the hearts of the loving pair,
verily River cannot die.
Burthen of her life she bears indeed
by expanding own heart to take
the shape of a large lake. (Canto-II)
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While hundreds of mouth
together a lie tell,
it is oft accepted as truth
obeying them very well,
though to be sure,
it’s known falsehood pure. (Canto-III)
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Day by day, affection
for a thing on lap deteriorates ;
since it’s observed very often.
When empty becomes the lap,
pining for the same thing after gap,
the hearty affection proliferates
many multiplied times to measure
like a zero-suffixed mathematical number. (Canto-III)
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Never immortal is the gross body.
Ever immortal is mind only.
When link is not severed from mind,
happiness is happiness in true sense to find. (Canto-III)
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Without understanding
the noble qualities of others, if a person
with interest deliberate,
becomes an expert in fault-finding,
there is probability of ridicule sheer,
destined by fate,
in the high position
of the very fault-seer. (Canto-III)
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Mother verily knows
her daughter’s sorrows.
A burnt-faced daughter
looks moon-faced in the eyes of mother. (Canto-IV)
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In the company of the noble
remains noble feeling ever-unsplit stable,
just as blue colour in the sky.
Nigh the noble companion
never in vain goes aspiration. (Canto-IV)
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About one thing, thinks mind free;
but otherwise becomes consequence.
My Friend ! In this world, hence
unintelligible is Destiny’s decree. (Canto-VI)
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Water of the ocean raising high
turns cloud in the sky,
and rendering weal of the world, enters
into the same waters. (Canto-VI)
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With bewilderment, naturally laden
is a lover’s life, bereft of the beloved maiden.
For a perplexed life, entire earth
seems to be of no worth.
When an animate being keeps afloat
in the world’s main,
hope lies in the beloved bride-boat
to cross it amain. (Canto-VI)
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Like a mountain
may be the heaped cotton of sin.
A spark of virtue does contain
the power for burning it to ruin. (Canto-VII)
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In the worldly region,
no sin is more than evil company.
Relation with the evil companion
verily gives vigorous agony. (Canto-VII)
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If water from cloud comes below,
can the cloud keep it again in prop ?
Like the fire-flame aglow,
if burnt in fire, the water
becomes united thereafter
with the cloud up. (Canto-VII)
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In one’s own life
if remains grief,
in the whole world, no sign
of happiness is seen.
In one’s own life
happiness appears if,
all the world looks aright
replete with happiness to the sight. (Canto-VII)
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Conjured by the cynics’ eyes
what can the blemish do,
when one’s own noble qualities
form a divine ornament true ? (Canto-IX)
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Lovable is the Moonlight
solely because of darkness. (Canto-IX)
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Despite own virtues profuse,
someone with heart free,
adept in appreciating other’s virtues
verily fructifies own virtue-tree.
Moved forward is the arrow
by the string of bow.
Wafting the fragrance of flowers,
zephyr confers on the world more cheers. (Canto-X)
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In the mouth of future,
life-lustre of every creature
is flowing apace
forming a stream of river.
Crores of men and women thither
are performing ablution in the very stream,
knowing it a great place,
sacred, noble and supreme.
By and by, the stream
with its physical expanse
advances towards the ocean of time
in great distance. (Canto-XI)

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[Extracted from the Book “Tapasvinī of Gańgādhara Meher ”
(Complete English Translation By Dr. Harekrishna Meher)
Published by :
R.N. Bhattacharya, A-217, Road No.4, HB Town,
Sodepur, Kolkata-700110, in the year 2009.]
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