Narayana Guru, a prolific composer in Malayalam, Tamil, and Sanskrit, also undertook the translation of texts from Sanskrit and Tamil. ‘Ishavasya’, ‘Bharyadharmam’, ‘Thirukkural’, ‘Gangaashtakam’ and ‘Ozhivilodukkam’ are his major translation works.
Narayana Guru’s linguistic mastery allowed him to bridge cultural divides through meticulous translations of seminal works like the Ishavasya and Thirukkural. By rendering these philosophical classics into Malayalam and Tamil, he preserved their spiritual essence while making ancient wisdom accessible to all, eventually leading to the historic compilation of his literary legacy in the Divya Stotra Rathnavali.
‘Ishavasya’ is a concise Upanishad consisting of eighteen mantras. Guru translated it into twenty-two verses. The message of the ‘Ishavasya’ is to live selflessly, performing actions for the welfare of the world. Guru, having understood the secret of the Upanishad, translated the root mantras with precision, ensuring that their meaning and significance remain undiluted. The first mantra in ‘Ishavasya’ depicts a realized Guru, experiencing the realized state of the One Truth, in the presence of his disciple.
‘Thirukkural’ is the Guru's main translation from Tamil. Although he started working on it in 1894, Guru never completed it. Only three sections were translated.
‘Thirukkural’ is a classic philosophical text attributed to the Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar. It is considered the Tamil Veda, encompassing the essence of all four Vedas. Reciting the ‘Thirukkural’ is believed to purify the mind and lead to the truth. Through Guru’s translation, the depth of Guru's understanding of Tamil philosophical texts is evident.
Guru has translated the first verse of ‘Gangaashtakam’, a Sanskrit hymn believed to be composed by Kalidasa, into Tamil. Guru’s decision to translate this work into Tamil instead of his mother tongue reveal the confidence he had in his Tamil proficiency.
All of Guru's compositions-dictated to his disciples at various times and recovered from different locations-were later compiled and published as ‘Divya Stotra Rathnavali’ by the Dharma Prachaara Sabha in 1941. This publication was significantly aided by the meticulous records kept by Manambur Govindan Asan, a resident disciple at Aruvippuram.
