Penning a few words of Introduction to a completed project is a happy job. It is rather a moment of fulfilment.
When Ms. Daksha Dalal, NRI, came to me a few years ago requesting me to take up the project of translating Umasahasram (US), either I did not foresee the difficulty or the long time it might take. At the time, I thought that with so many Sanskrit scholars in Bengaluru, I could easily form a syndicate, allot each one with some portion, and get it done in a stipulated time. I did contact some of them to take up the translation work. Though these wellmeaning friends were willing to do the work they could not take up due to many problems they had to face. However, Dr. Jayanthi Manohar, a busy scholar and an author, obliged us by translating one third of the text. She kept up her promise and completed the work on time. I have immense pleasure in acknowledging Dr. Jayanti's cooperation and support.
My political career as a Member of the Legislative Council of the Government of Karnataka had started a few years ago. I was engaged immensely with my new avatar in addition to all my other activities like staging Sanskrit plays, writing, social service etc. Daksha had to prod me to finish the task as I had too many stops in my journey of translation. Here, I wish to submit most humbly, that it is the Divine Grace, which helped us to complete the work.
Ms. Daksha Dalal is the one who conceived this project and patiently passed through all the tough stages of its construction. Now it is evident that she has been a great success. I have no words to thank her sufficiently. Nevertheless, due to her dedication to hard work, devotion to the Supreme Mother, and her spiritual orientation for this project, I am sure; it would not have been a reality. I offer my heartfelt Namaskar to Daksha Dalal for making a great dream come true.
UMASAHASRAM
Worshipping the deity of one's choice (Ishtadaiva) by describing the glory of the god with a thousand names is a very common feature in the Indian Sanskrit tradition.
Thus, we have the celebrated sahasrnamarchanas for Vishnu, Lalitha, Lakshmi etc., Shri Vasishta Ganapati Muni, in keeping with natural and normal practice, has composed Umasahasram (US). As the title itself makes it clear, Umasahasram is a lengthy composition of one thousand poems in laudation of Uma, the Supreme Mother. It is set in forty sections called stabakas, meaning, `a bunch of flowers'. Each bunch consists of 25 verses and has a distinct metre of its own.
T.V.Kapali Shastriar's biography in Sanksrit viz., ``Vasishtha Vaibhavam'' has described in details on the creation of this devotional poem. Present translator Dr. S.R.Leela rendered biography of Vasishtha Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni into English with added details (Reference 6).
Umasahasram is not an ordinary devotional poem describing the glories of the God by an ardent devotee. This poem contains the secrets and mysteries of the Universe as seen and experienced by a Yogi. The unique relation between the individual soul and the Universal spirit is the central theme of this poem. The composition uses highly technical language used by the Tantrikas. It often uses the code language prevalent in Sanskrit tradition. The contents of this unique poem are set forth by T.V. Kapali Shastriar thus `The process of creation, the supreme form of the Empress of All, the manifestation of Vedic and Tantric Deities, the means to win the Divine Grace, Yogic experiences issuing from the Grace of the Divine Mother, the truth of the Ten Great Vidyas, the way their cultivation and their fruits, the Sadhanas in the Upanishadssuch are the profound truths presented by the poet in the light of his own deep experience and learning, in superb poetry'. Quoting these words of T.V.K, Shri.M.P.Pandit in his preface to ADORATION OF THE DIVINE MOTHER, highlights the author's ability to create such a poem. `This is an inspired creation of the spiritual and literary genius that was Vasishtha Ganapati Muni: a living synthesis of the Veda, the Upanishad, and the Tantras built upon his own realization in Yoga'.
The author of US was an eminent poet and a spiritual seeker. He had mastered the ancient tongue in all its variety and richness. He had won the honorific title `Kavyakantha', in a tough competition of poets and scholars, even as a young boy. Umasahasram displays the exuberance of his Sanskrit expression and communicates the depth of his experience.
The translators frankly submit to the discerning readers that they are aware of the limitation of the very process of translation besides their own ability to `translate' a spiritually inspired poem into a foreign language. Actually speaking no translation can truly reflect the beauty, the lilting music and the peculiar appeal of a particular language.