I
Like the owl on the temple tower,
I proclaim my own greatness
Like the dust am I wafted high
by the winds of flattery.
Like the drying lump of clay
I crumble when I’m criticised.
I am like the abandoned well in a forest
nothing but bones within and thorns without!
II
Like the sediment in a pond
that’s disturbed by a man’s foot,
every care stirs the depths of myself.
Like the desert camel
that runs after distant mirages
mistaking them for drinking water,
Like the chamoy
that runs hither and thither
lured by some sweet scent,
I am running on the life’s way for something
I know not what!
III
Even like unto the stone no tears stick to my heart.
I am, like a fish in a small pond
Or the wick in a lamp,
Hoping that I shall last forever.
Even as I approach the gallows I scarce realise
that every step takes me nearer to death.
IV
My desires, how numberless!
To see what ought not to be seen.
To hear what should not be heard,
To utter what must not be spoken.
To indulge in what should not be done,
To tread the way that is best avoided!
Yet do I pride
That I know all that has to be known
That I am unrivalled in my learning
Of scriptures and tongues and all the rest.
But,
Even as the countless ‘eyes’ in the peacock’s train
do not help it to see,
You are not known however much I know;
You are not seen even by intense search;
You did not answer my vain calls!
Helpless as I am,
Today I confess before thee Mother, my in competence.
Won’t you take me near out of grace?