Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

NARASĪHA NADATI à HE ROARS, THE LION-MAN

in

12-Century-Old Graffiti

https://jacquescoulardeau.medium.com/12-century-old-graffiti-56419267dd37

After Sri Lanka's King Kasyapa’s fall in 495 CE, Sigiriya goes back to being religious probably with pilgrimages. Many visitors are proved and documented. Inside the Mirror Wall covered with a special lustrous plaster, all along with the gallery under the frescoes, between the 9^th and the 13^th centuries, essentially between the 9^th and 11^th centuries, visitors inscribed small poems in traditional form composed of two or four lines in full agreement with contemporary poetics. Note this confirms a high educational level among the visitors. These small poems known as the Sigiri Graffiti are most of the time signed and we thus can know the names and social positions of their authors. There are about 1,200 poems of which about 900 have been published: 685 by Dr S. Paranavitana in 1956 and 150 in 1990 and 1994 by Benille Priyanka who is working on the remaining 300 or so. In the following selection, I used the year of publication, 56, 90, and 94, and the number in these publications to identify them.

This is a translation in English and in French of a selection of Sigiri Graffiti.

Sigiri Graffiti (Excerpts English)

90 – 15

Many people the lion greet

Beg him t’ see the attractive girls

Who stay so close to water lilies

Their skin so blue next to Sihi (Sinha)

90 – 17

Heaven’s lady the blowing wind    

Grieves with you your departed King

The jungle birds only presence

Your sorrow hear listen witness

90 – 21

Climb’d and climb’d up that Si-gi-ri

Sight delightful south West north East

This nature thrills mind and senses

The words she spoke tuned my ‘ttention

Sigiri Graffiti (Extraits Français)

90 – 15

De nombreux visiteurs

Saluent le Lion

Le supplient de montrer

Ses filles d’attrait

Tout proches de lui

Nénuphars de la nuit

Douce peau si bleue

Aux côtés de Sihi

90 – 17

Nymphes de paradis

Le vent gémissant

Lui aussi gémit triste

A la mort du Roi

De votre douleur

Les oiseaux de la jungle

Seuls tristes témoins

Écoutent avec soins

90 – 21

Monté escaladé

Ce roc Sigiri

Une vue imprenable

Sur les quatre vents

De l’esprit, des sens

Nature paroxysme

Les mots qu’elle dit

Mon attention ravie

Print Length: 95 pages

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Language: English and French

ASIN: B00EZ412A4

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Price: US$ 9.80; Euro 7.41; GB£ 6.13; INR 350

# posted by Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU @ 12:14 PM