" Jananam Sukhadam Maranam Karunam
Milanam Madhuram Smaranam Karunam
Kalavashadiha Sakalam Karunam
Samyadhipateh Akhilam Karunam"
Kalavashadiha Sakalam Karunam
Samyadhipateh Akhilam Karunam"
Translation:
Birth is joyful, death a sorrow
To consort is joyful, to be left with memories is sorrowful
To consort is joyful, to be left with memories is sorrowful
In the inevitable flow of time, everything turns sorrowful, (for the
individual, not for the cosmic order)
In the kingdom of the Lord of time, the end is appropriately sorrowful.
individual, not for the cosmic order)
In the kingdom of the Lord of time, the end is appropriately sorrowful.
Best Regards
A
your translation is incorrect mate, karunam means merciful not sorrowful, you made a mockery of the whole bajan.
ReplyDeleteThis is not malayalam. Its sanskrit. The word Karunam means compassion, in Sanskrit. In malayalam, karunam means mercy.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteExactly
DeleteHow the heart can lament in so many different ways. How loss can be perceived with appreciation or pain. The variety of feelings within can only be expressed with the ways we know to express through language. Unfortunately language can only capture a part of what is within. As well the tone and body language can also alter meaning.
ReplyDeleteThe very words we use are just sounds that we apply meaning to. Yet we can not fully translate all language completely. We can only infer the connotations and meanings from context. So words take on different meanings at different times. How can we fully say that we know the meaning of words written so long ago. Language continually evolves as human beings need it in different ways. Through the study of etymology we can clearly see that the words of our ancestors captured meanings and feelings that were relevant to them in their times. Respectively, our words capture meanings for our time.
Karunam has several meanings. Besides homonyms, a dictionary will cite different meanings for the same word. Meanings a matter of the moment they are uttered and received. The differing perspectives may be offered by the person who sings and received in another light by the person who receives. Such is the complexity of our expression.
Perhaps the best way to feel out the meaning of words is to realize that it is art, which lends itself to interpretation. So the act of being open to express and witness expression may just be the way to fully invoke the essence and meaning.
Great explanation. Thanks
DeletePlease correct your translation...
ReplyDeleteBirth is joyful, death is compassionate
To consort is joyful, to be left with memories is compassion
In the inevitable flow of time, everything turns into compassion,
In the kingdom of the Lord of time, the end is also compassion!
Kundan ,
DeleteThe above translation by blogger is right , You are understanding KARUNAM as
Compassion no no , it is not , The sanskrit word KARUN (करूण) means sorrowful and sanskrit word KARUNAA(करुणा) means compassion . please goggle
In this context it means compassion.
Deleteyes it means compassion hre
DeleteWho in the world will think karunam is sorrow in this context. Death is never sorrow for the one who is leaves. Till the moment they leave they may fear it but the moment its its over. Its freedom. Death is sorrow for the people around the one who dies.
DeleteBeautiful. I have been looking for this for ages! I always wondered what Sadhguru from Isha was singing before each speech.
ReplyDeleteSo was I my friend. ..
DeleteSo was I my friend. ..
DeleteEvrything connected with time yields sorrow...time is an illusion
ReplyDeleteThe actual meaning by Sadguru himself is here.......
ReplyDeleteThe chant Jananam Sukhadam, Maranam Karunam
essentially means, the beginning of life is sweetness –
death is compassion. Immortality would be a curse
that would be most difficult to live with. Imagine
we could not die and had to live here for 10 million
years! We want to live a full life, but still, the
great compassion of life is that it will end one day.
The greatest compassion is if one transcends the
limitations of time and space within oneself. It is the
burden of time what makes life into a grinding mill.
The most compassionate way to exist is to be here
and be above time.
Once you enjoy the compassion of creation, you
yourself will be compassionate. Knowingly or
unknowingly, it is the want of human beings to
share their present experience with everyone
around them. If you are miserable, you try to share
your misery. If you are angry, you will share your
anger. If you are hateful, you will share your hate. If
you are loving, you will share your love. If you are
compassionate, you will share your compassion. One
way or the other, we exude whatever is our present
state to all life around us. The most important thing
is to bring ourselves to ultimate sweetness within
us, so that whatever we touch turns into sweetness.
And that is the only thing a human being can do.
Refer: http://www.ishafoundation.org/us/newsletter/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Isha-Forest-Flower-Mar-2014.pdf
thanks a zillion for sharing Sadhguru's own words here.
DeleteMany thanks!
DeleteI am unable to open the Isha link. Can someone try and confirm.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Sadhguru's words.
ReplyDeleteKarun is compassionate, Karuna and karunam is compassion. Karun is also a masculine name in India and Karuna a feminine name. And obviously Sorrow can’t be someone’s name. That’s to that. I studied the verse in school when it took Sanskrit as a special subject. It translates as compassion and not sorrowful. Well that’s to my knowledge of this verse. Apart from that everyone to their own.
ReplyDeleteIn India we even debating over is very awful we all know that death is compassion
ReplyDeleteThe chant Jananam Sukhadam, Maranam Karunam
ReplyDeleteessentially means, the beginning of life is sweetness
death is compassion. Immortality would be a curse
that would be most difficult to live with. Imagine
we could not die and had to live here for 10 million
years! We want to live a full life, but still, the
great compassion of life is that it will end one day.
The greatest compassion is if one transcends the
limitations of time and space within oneself. It is the
burden of time what makes life into a grinding mill.
The most compassionate way to exist is to be here
and be above time.
Once you enjoy the compassion of creation, you
yourself will be compassionate. Knowingly or
unknowingly, it is the want of human beings to
share their present experience with everyone
around them. If you are miserable, you try to share
your misery. If you are angry, you will share your
anger. If you are hateful, you will share your hate. If
you are loving, you will share your love. If you are
compassionate, you will share your compassion. One
way or the other, we exude whatever is our present
state to all life around us. The most important thing
is to bring ourselves to ultimate sweetness within
us, so that whatever we touch turns into sweetness.
And that is the only thing a human being can do.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGood that I've habit of reading comments.. I hope the translation in original post is also altered appropriately.
ReplyDeleteSadhguru describes the same meaning in this interview as well:
https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/the-future-of-the-feminine
The birth is bliss.
ReplyDeleteThe death is thy compassion.
Togetherness is fulfilling.
Remembrance of it, is thy compassion
In the course of the time all and everything becomes thy compassion.
In this existence of thou lord of time, even the end is thy compassion.
there is no big deal about the translation ..are you all scholar of sanskrit?
ReplyDeletePeople come to a page like this expect to have better understanding not mislead by broken translation. So in that sense no one is trying to prove their provese in sanskrit. People are looking for the correct meaning for the words in the chant.
ReplyDelete