JNANA PANA OF POONTANAM

THE SONG OF WISDOM
(Translation by P.N.Balakrishnan Nair)
[Poontanam Nampoothiri, was a contemporary of the sixteenth Century poet Narayana Bhattatiri, the author of the famous devotional text, Narayaneeyam. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan, and used to visit Guruvayur temple every month, travelling a long distance by walk. The legend says that when Poontanam became too old to travel, Guruvayurappan asked him not to come to see Him and told that He would go to Poontanam’s house whenever he desired to see the Lord. His famous work, Jnana Pana written in simple Malayalam is a devotional piece of poetry, which brings out the triviality of human life and the importance of the divine Names of God in making it purposeful. This is a humble attempt to introduce some of the popular stanzas from Jnana Pana to the readers. ]
Krishna Krishna Mukunda Janardana,
Krishna Govinda Narayana Hare,
Achyuta Ananta Govinda Madhava,
Satchidananda Narayna Hare.
1. I invoke the blessings of my Guru ,
So that the divine Names of the Lord
May remain always on my tongue
And make my human life fruitful.
2. I didn’t know what would have happened till yesterday,
Nor do I know what would happen tomorrow;
This body of which I am proud now,
I do not know when it will perish.
3. Oh! Lord! Those that are now within my sight,
Thou art the one that makes them non-existent.
4. Thou art the one that makes a man on the street
Sit in a palanquin within a day or two;
And thou art the one that gives a begging bowl
To the rich man who lived in a palatial mansion.
5. Some of us understand this on seeing;
Some do not understand even by seeing;
But some others know before-hand,
That what they see is not the Truth.
6. Theories are many; their injunctions are many;
But where is the time to study them all?
Hear from me the easy way for deliverance
As told by the great wise men of yore.
7. Our own actions bind us to this world;
And they are of three kinds;
Some with merits, some with demerits,
While some others give mixed results.
8. All are fetters, binding the soul;
With difference only in the make;
One is made of gold and the other of iron;
And the third is made of a mixture of both.
9. From Brahma, the Creator to the smallest creature,
Every one is bound by action; none is free from it.
We take birth in different species in future life;
Depending on our actions in this life.
10. The merits of good actions take us to celestial worlds
There we enjoy the pleasures for some time;
When the merits end, we come back to the earth;
And suffer punishment for our wicked actions.
11. Seek deliverance from this cycle of births and deaths
By destroying the seeds of all your action;
And the best place for this on the earth
Is none other than our own land Bharat.
12. Of all the four Ages, Kali Yuga is most suited for Mukti
Because it needs no effort other than chanting the Lord’s Names
Krishna Krishna Mukunda Janardana
Krishna Govinda Rama and the like .
13. Are we not living in Kali Yuga, in the land of Bharat?
Have we not got a human life?
Is there scarcity for the Names of the Lord?
Are we born without a tongue to chant them?
14. Have we no fear of the sufferings in hell?
Have we no thought about our end?
Have we any assurance of our next birth?
But, alas! We are wasting our life without concern!!!
15. Some of us make ourselves ridiculous
By quarrels for the sake of name and fame;
Some of us lose our wisdom and judgement
In thoughts triggered by pride and prejudice.
16. Some others waste time, dancing to the tune of women;
Some take pride as the henchman of a local chieftain;
Most of them forget their duties to parents;
Neglect their wife and discard their children;
17. Wise counsel is disliked and scorned at;
Well wishers are treated with contempt;
And all these are aimed at earning wealth,
But the greed for wealth is never satisfied.
18. When you get ten, you crave for hundred;
On getting hundred the desire is for thousand;
And when thousand is attained
The next aim is to acquire ten thousand.
19. In this manner man climbs up through the rope of desire;
No part of the wealth is given even for a noble cause;
But not even a piece of cloth will accompany him
On his final departure from this world.
20. When we were born, we came alone;
When we die, we will have to go alone;
When we meet in this world in between,
What is the need to quarrel with one another?
21. The span of life becomes shorter and shorter,
But desires are growing day by day;
Give some thought on this inevitable fact
And start chanting the divine Names of God.
22. God’s Names are numerous;
And if any one of those Names,
At least once a day, while sitting quiet at a place,
Or unawares in a dream while sleeping,
23. Or mocking as something else, or to satisfy some one else;
You utter with your tongue or just hear with your ears,
At that very moment, your life is fulfilled;
And you reach the Supreme abode of Brahman.
24. These are what Vyasa had said
And Sreedhara Acharya had reiterated;
The Gita also has declared the same thing
And there is nothing more to tell about this.
25. Those who are able to follow this,
Please chant the divine Names joyfully,and
Proceed joyfully to the abode of Brahman;
And that is the greatness of the divine Names.

Krishna Krishna Mukunda Janardana,
Krishna Govinda Narayana Hare,
Achyuta Ananta Govinda Madhava,
Satchidananda Narayna Hare.

HARI: OM TAT SAT.