Prabhu Linga Leelai

The Prabhu Linga Leelai Venpaas in Tamil written by Siva Prakasar also called as 'Siva anuputhi selvar, 'Karpanai Kalangiyam', 'Thurai mangalam Sivaprakasar'. He compiled more than thirty original works and few more translation works from Kannada and Sanskrit.^[1]

Overview

Those poems were compiled as Venpa, Viruthan, Kalithurai, Agaval… It's a translation work. Prabhulinga Leelai, the work that the following translation comes from, chronicles the life and deeds of Allama Prabhu, a 12th-century Virasaiva saint and teacher. There are two traditions regarding AllamaPrabhu's life. One sees himas a manifestaion of Siva Himself who came to the world to teach the path of freedom.

The Original Version

"Prabhu Linga Leelai" is a 15th-century Veera Saiva work, written in Kannada and comprising 1,111 verses It was originally composed when a Virasaiva scholar,^[2] Camarasa, was challenged to produce a work that was greater than either the Mahabharata or the Ramayana Shortly afterwards Camarasa had a dream in which Virabhadra, the son of Siva, asked him to write a long poem Camarasa subsequently composed Prabhulinga Leelai in eleven days, after which he presented it at the court of his king, where it was approved by both the monarch and the scholars who had challenged him.^[3]

Poet

Siva prakasar, Shaiva Siddhanta.^[4] a Sage, Tamil Poet lived around at the end of the 17th century. This great work was translated into Tamil by one Thuraimangalam Sivaprakasa Swamigal, in the 17th century. The author of the Tamil version, Siva prakasa Swamigal, had a strong connection with Tiruvannamalai. His father, Kumaraswami Desikar, used to come to Arunachala from Kanchipuram every year for the Deepam festival. It is said that his three sons, of whomSivaprakasa Swamigal was the eldest, were all born by the grace of Arunachala. When Sivaprakasa Swamigal grew up, he had a Guru in Tiruvannamalai —also called Sivaprakasa —whom he visited regularly. On his first Pradakshina of Arunachala, Sivaprakasa Swamigal composed Sonasaila Malai, a hundred-verse poem in praise of Arunachala.

Lost Days

Sivaprakasa Swamigal died when he was thirty-two.

Bhagavan Ramana mentioned Prabhu Linga Leelai

Bhagavan Ramana has mentioned about this work on many occasions and these are recorded in Talks, At the Feet of Bhagavan, and Crumbs from His Table. Two of its verses are the source of Verse 20, of Sad Darsanam, Supplement. Bhagavan's compositions (Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham verse 20), and the chapter entitled 'Gorakkar Gati', part of which is translated here, was narrated by Bhagavan in Crumbs from his Table (pp. 36–39). A synopsis of the ma in story of this chapter — the meeting between AllamaPrabhu and Gorakkar —also appears in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 334

Gorakkar is a saint whose samadhi is situated 6 km from Nagapattinam of Tamil Nadu and can be accessed by buses traversing from Nagapattinam to Vedaranyam. People throng the site during Amavasya and Poornima. It is informed that the transformation of DNA of human soul happens by the physical presence of oneself there in the Samadhi by the Hindu Saints. One can feel the bliss on reaching the Sea around and near the Samadhi, which cannot be explained in words as the Messengers like Gorakkar who bring the presence of God to the world and they are beyond Nama Swaroopa beyond words and pictures that can be grasped by common mind.

Verses and Explanation

Sivaprakasa Swamigal follows this tradition in Prabhulinga Leelai. The other version of his life, which is found in a fifteenth-century biography by Harihara, describes a more normal upbringing in the family of a temple drummer. Whatever the truth of the matter, there is general agreement that he was one of the most eminent saints, poets and Gurus of the Virasaiva school. More details of his life will be given in the notes to the verses. ^[5] Each Venpa of 'Prabhu Linga Leelai' is generally named by the first few words of the poem. These are given first and a translation into verse given then:-

Translations

Some verses have been translated by Robert Butler, T.V. Venkatasubramanian and David Godman and an article appears in Advent 2005 issue of Mountain Path

References