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Yoga / Hindu : Shaivite (Shiva)
14th Century
India
(Indian Subcontinent)

 

Lalla (Lal Ded)

Timeline (14th Century)

 

Poems by Lalla (Lal Ded)
Books

Lalla (Lal Ded), Lalla (Lal Ded) poetry, Yoga / Hindu, Yoga / Hindu poetry, Shaivite (Shiva) poetry,  poetry,  poetry

 

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Lal Ded, also affectionately called Lalla, Lal Diddi, or Lalleshwari, was born in Kashmir in northern India. As was the custom, she was a child bride, married at the age of twelve. After moving into her husband's family home, she was abused by her mother-in-law and ignored by her husband. After enduring this mistreatment for several years, she eventually escaped to take sanyas (initiation into the world of renunciates) in the Shaivite tradition. Lal Ded became a sadvi, a wandering ascetic, singing of her bliss and love for the Divine.

The name Lalla means, appropriately enough, 'seeker.'

 

Poems by Lalla (Lal Ded)

  A thousand times I asked my guru,
  At the end of a crazy-moon night
  Coursing in emptiness,
  Dying and giving birth go on
  For a moment I suppressed the bellows of respiration,
  He stands close by you!
  I searched for my Self
  I traveled a long way seeking God,
  I, Lalla, willingly entered through the garden-gate,
  O infinite Consciousness,
  There is neither you, nor I
  To learn the scriptures is easy,
  What is worship? Who are this man
  When my mind was cleansed of impurities
  When Siddhanath applied lotion to my eyes,
  Word, Thought, Kula and Akula cease to be there!

Recommended Books

The Ascent of Self: A Reinterpretation of the Mystical Poetry of Lalla-Ded, by B. N. Paramoo

Amazon.com

Holy Fire: Nine Visionary Poets and the Quest for Enlightenment, Edited by Daniel Halpern

Amazon.com

Lalleshwari: Spiritual Poems by a Great Siddha Yogini, Translated by Swami Muktananda

Amazon.com

Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, Edited by Jane Hirshfield

Amazon.com


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Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.