In Praise of the Great Poets

1. Now I bow to the great poets who are like the gods of the mastery of words. It can be said that they are the Supreme God of the Vedas incarnate.
2. They are the dwelling place of Shri Saraswati, the goddess of speech and learning, they are the life in many arts, and it can rightly be said that they are the home of words.
3. They are adorned with the power and richness of the words that are used to describe the importance of the "Lord of the Universe." Because of their skill at describing the glory of God, they are called poets.
4. They are the ocean of the jewels of words, the lake of liberation of the liberated, and the reservoir of intellectual skill that has been specially created.
5. They are the mines of the books of spiritual knowledge, they are like the stone that removes worries (Chintamani), or the milk from the wish-fulfilling cow (Kamadhenu) that is flowing down to the audience.
6. They are like the wish-fulfilling tree of the imagination, the majesty of the expression of Freedom, and the vast expanse of Ultimate Liberation.
7. They are of the embodiment of That which is one's Self beyond this world appearance. They reveal the secret path of the yogis, and they bring to form the words of the "Ultimate Truth" of the Jnanis.
8. They are the sign of That which is beyond Illusion, the indication of That which is attributeless, and they fittingly describe the wondrous Illusion.
9. They are the inner meaning of the Upanishads, and they easily reveal the rare knowledge of the Supreme God. They are Self-Realization in the form of the poet.
10. Poets are the ointment that opens the eyes of those desirous of liberation, the spiritual practice of aspirants, and the satisfaction of the accomplished ones. This is definite.
11. The poets are the shelter of one's own "True Religion" (Swadharma) which gives victory over the mind. They are humble in their ways, and they spread their humility to others.
12. The poets are the proper guardians of desirelessness, the adornment of devotees, and the preservers of True Religion.
13. Poets are the affection of the affectionate, they are the object of meditation of the meditators, and they spread the fame of great devotees.
14. They are the origin of spiritual practices, and the fruit of all efforts. Many tasks are accomplished by only listening to the words of the poet. Their words are like an offering from God to the devotee (prasad).
15. Upon first hearing the poet's skill with words, happiness swells within. It is because of the words of the poets that the intellect is enlightened.
16. Poets are the qualification of the scholars, the power of the powerful, and the skill of clever people in many various ways.
17. The poets are their poetic compositions. They write in various styles, expression, and meter, and they bring out the differences between prose and poetry, as well as initiate many new linguistic methods.
18. Poets are the jewels of language in the universe. They are the adornment of the "Goddess of Prosperity" (Lakshmi), and the resolve leading to all accomplishments.
19. The poets bring prestige to a gathering. They are adornments of good fortune, and protectors of happiness.
20. Poets describe the forms of many gods, they tell the importance of sages, and they praise and reveal the power of scriptural spiritual science (Shastras).
21. Without the activities of the poets, the upliftment of the world would not be possible. Therefore, they are the support of the universe.
22. Access to the many streams of knowledge is not possible without these great poet gods. All knowledge of everything flows from the poets.
23. In earlier times, many poets like Valmiki, Vyasa, and others have come and gone. From them, the power of discrimination has been offered to all people.
24. In earlier days, many poems and narrations were composed and compared, and scholarly knowledge was gained by scholars that enhanced their capabilities.
25. Many such great poets lived in the past, are alive today, and many will come to live in the future. I offer salutations to them all.
26. The poets are the form of wisdom, just like the "Guru to the Gods" (Brihaspati). The Vedas and other scriptures speak through their mouths and words.
27. Because of their generous nature, many doctrines are translated, and ultimately the poets speak the entire Truth without any doubts whatsoever.
28. The poets are like the clouds showering the nectar of immortality on us. It can be said that they are the flowing rivers of the nine types of emotions9 expressed in literature, or lakes overflowing with happiness.
29. They are the treasure-trove of discrimination appearing in human form. They are overflowing with thoughts about Reality.
30. They are the storehouse of the "original primal power of manifestation" (Adishakti). Compared to them, all other things seem to be lacking. It can be said that it is only by great fortune that they have become manifest for all people.
31. They are like ships that are forever overflowing with happiness, and they are very useful to mankind, offering many different ways of exploration.
32. They are the wealth of Reality. They are the realization of the oneness of God for the yogis, and the fruition of devotion.
33. They are the greatness of God (Ishwara) that is greater than space, and their poetic compositions are more extensive than the created universe.
34. Now, let this be enough of these thoughts. The poets are the support to the world. I offer salutations to them lying prostrate in reverence with all eight parts of the body outstretched.