Tagore’s poem Suprobhat or Good morning was originally published in in Purabi (Name of a Raga) in 1925 by Vishwa Bharati.
Sunshine, your radiance
Bursts through the doorway.
Like lightning, it has stunned
Penetrating the dreamworld.
I was wondering if I should arise,
If the blinding darkness has passed,
If I should open my closed eyes
Redolent with sleep.
Meanwhile, the northeast
Heralds your arrival.
Amidst the bright sky
Clouds waft,
As if set aflame.
The Eastern breeze
Stunned awake, blushes red.
Bhairav*, in what guise have you come?
Snakes twine around your fron,
The Rudra bina* plays a melody
To welcome the ragini of the morn.
Does the enchanted koel coo?
Do the flowers in the woods bloom?
After eons, suddenly,
The dark night has split.
Your sword has sliced
The darkness into two.
In pain, the universe
Shivers, bleeding light,
And spills it across the skies.
Some have woken up with the tremor,
Some continue to dream with fright.
Though hungry after the night
At the cremation ground, your followers,
Moisten and wet their lips
To scream, to holler.
They are our guests.
They dance in our yards.
Open, O householder, open
Your door, do not hide —-
Bring everything you have.
You will have to give your all.
Do not sleep any more.
Rend your heart,
Pour your being.
O devout, why are you
Attached to false affections?
As the sun rises, I hear an unknown voice:
“There is no fear. O, there is no fear —
In the final reckoning, he who gives up
His life is immortalised in eternity.”
Oh Rudra, I sing for you.
Tell me how to invoke you.
I will drum the tabor in rhythm
With the dance of death.
I will decorate your offering
With a basket of pain.
The morning has come.
The destroyer of darkness,
Shiva, roars with laughter.
The hearts of the awakened
Flow with joyous contentment.
A new entity will emerge by
dedicating life to the life force.
Invoking your glory,
All fears can be overcome.
It is good that the storm
Has destroyed the decadent.
It is good that the morning arrived
Riding the lion-cloud—
The union will be set aflame
By a fiery bolt of lightning.
For you, I will give up
All my wealth.
Life can be eternalised by ambrosia,
Partaken with your grace.
*Bhairav is another name for Shiva. It is also the name of a morning raga.
*Rudra bina is a type of vina. Rudra is another name for Shiva.
(Translated from Bengali by Mitali Chakravarty with editorial input by Sohana Manzoor)
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