Book: Speaking of Siva
Ivan M. Granger March 6th, 2008
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Speaking of Siva by A K Ramanujan |
This book became an immediate favorite of mine ever since I picked up a copy of it a couple of years ago. Stunning poems from the Shiva bhakti tradition of India. Basava, Devara Dasimayya, Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu. The commentary in the book, though a little academic, is genuinely insightful. Enthusiastically recommended!
The pot is a God. The winnowing
fan is a God. The stone in the
street is a God. The comb is a
God. The bowstring is also a
God. The bushel is a God and the
spouted cup is a God.
Gods, gods, there are so many
there’s no place left
for a foot.
There is only
one God. He is our Lord
of the Meeting Rivers.
– Basava
Table of Contents
Introduction
Further Readings in English
The Poems:
Basavanna
Devara Dasimayya
Mahadeviyakka
Allama Prabhu
Appendix I. The Six-Phase System
Appendix II. On Lingayat Culture by William McCormack
Notes to the Poems
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