The Lyrical Thyagaraja (Tyagaraja Darshana)

New songs, THE Book and Key information

2011-01-29T05:28:00.000-08:00

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Over the fifteen months that this site has been up, we have tracked several factors.

Feedback from readers: Due to our approach and extent of treatment, it can take most readers some time to read fully and appreciate each song. A number of our readers are more used to such reflective reading with a book or kindle and the like, than plainly on a site using a blog format.
Traffic: It turns out that most new readers come to this site through searching for individual songs on search engines. Thereafter, when they read more songs, they don't tend to follow the chronological order of the songs like our regular readers seem to do. This somewhat rearranges how themes are developed in this site. If you are curious about what people search for and then find this site, it is Nagumomu Ganaleni by a long margin, and then Jagadanandakaraka. We receive more comments about Nagumomu Ganaleni, Manasa Sancharare and Bantu Reeti Kolu than other songs. As for where the "readers" come from, as opposed to one-time visitors, they are indeed from all over the world, such as Ghana, Finland, Uganda, Israel and Tonga, though the bulk are from India and regions with large Indian expatriate populations, such as the US, UK and Canada. Of the poetic translations on this site, to the extent that I can comment on my own writing, I think the best is Durmarga chara as the English verses capture the mood and meaning perfectly, follow the original text well, and even stand on their own as a poem, independent of the original.
Keeping this site FREE: This is by far the most important consideration. This site provides a lot of original content and in some cases original research in the commentary and lyric validation, not to mention the poetry we write for the verse translations. Yet, this site is free. The intent of keeping this site free despite the extent of original content, is to provide access to the largest number of people possible. Given the feedback and traffic, even in 2011, it appears much more useful to our readers, including students and musicians of all levels, to provide this work as a printed book. After all, this work is a book in three volumes, that is being cast into the blog format in order to disseminate it on the web. (Print being the primary focus is why we never really publicized this site anywhere on the web or in the media and none of the usual attempts to drum up traffic have ever been made. The only ways to find this site are through "blog search" or someone's referral. Like Tyagaraja himself was in his day, this site is intended to be available only for those actively seeking such treatment of these songs, and is by no means an all-purpose almanac for all.) All told, we are working on publishing the work as a whole in print. If and when it is published, we'll post a number of songs here as excerpts from the book. In the meantime we may still post songs off and on here, including songs which will not be included in the books.
As always, if you have suggestions about posting or not posting new songs here, while the book is in development, you are welcome to write us a line. As always, songs specifically requested by readers will often be included on the website. Check out this page.
What's in the book(s): About 155 songs are elaborately discussed with comparative commentary, as we develop the themes in Tyagaraja's oeuvre and derive his message. The songs are chosen for various merits such as lyricism and for how the message develops as described in the introductory pages here. About 18 songs from other composers are also included. Of course, all songs have lyrical translations. The remaining 500 or so songs are also validated and translated, with brief comments as needed. As they are not part of our sequential treatment of Tyagaraja's themes, these songs are included seriatim, in the second half of the book(s). In one departure from this site, a number of songs include a section called "The Listening Guide", that discusses such things as melodic detail, highlights and oddities of improvisational treatment, definitive performances and performance history. This section shall help the listener to enjoy the nuances better and shall also aid the performer seeking to add to his or her repertoire. Three essays,- on our methods, on criticism and the background for the Tyagaraja corpus make up the prefatory portion.
If you represent a publishing house or other relevant organization: If you would like publish this work, feel free to write us at lyricaltyagarajablog@gmail.com. Being intent on printing the book exactly in the form we designed, (so that our new approach is all the more effective), though we are working with some reputed houses, we haven't committed to one yet and a query from a cooperative and understanding publisher is always welcome. The three things we are particular about are retaining the huge size and scope of the work, as it can't be comprehensible otherwise; printing the lyrics and verse translations in our tricolor format such that the translations are easily read and a commitment to ensure that the final book is affordable so that, in the spirit of Tyagaraja, it can reach more people. Naturally, it takes a really dedicated publisher and for our part, though we have had to stay away from a couple of large houses, we are engaged with other houses. We think it is best to do it right, even if a moment later.
How long has this work taken?: The answer to that is two-fold. The Vijayadasami day of 2011, marks the second anniversary of this site. But, the work behind the site, and hence the book, have been going on for many years and reach back into the early nineties.
What are the priorities while developing each song?: The first and foremost task is to validate the lyrics from existing sources, and resolve any ambiguities and multiple versions with historical and musicological references. This ensures authenticity. Then comes the verse translation and the notes necessary to under the literal meaning of the song. Finally, we add the contextual notes such as from history and literature, and then weave it into our unique thematic treatment of Tyagaraja.
What's the point of this work?: To summarize the introductory essays, Tyagaraja's music was primarily an honest emotional outpouring with musical detail and innovation being tools to facilitate the capture of his uppermost thoughts, much like with a lyrical poet (although a good number of songs were indeed musical experiments sometimes even with repetitive or derivative lyrical sentiment they are outweighed by the others). Despite Tyagaraja's subjects, we rigorously stay within the confines of exegesis and eschew hermenutics. In this work and site, Tyagaraja is studied and explained, but never reinterpreted, and viewed more often as poet than a composer. So, the first benefit from our work is that verse translations like ours, convey the true meaning of his songs much quicker and apter than prose. Secondly, much of the lyrical, emotional, historical, philosophical and sometimes, even musicological detail in his songs, remains a secret from even many professional performers due to the odd way Carnatic music is traditionally imparted and critically analyzed. These and other factors make the music particularly inaccessible to anyone unfamiliar with the regional culture. So, the second benefit from our work is that the extensive treatment of each song in our new method concurrently aids both these disparate groups of people, and everyone in between, in gaining a complete understanding of these songs, the history, culture, theory and so forth. Now, the performer of any level of attainment can render the song better and the listener of any level of immersement can relish the song better. At another level, understanding Tyagaraja's message in context and the wealth of background detail be it in history, literature or philosophy, is both an education and an experience in itself.

Pariyaachakama maata

2010-06-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Raga Vanaspati , Mela 4
Aa: S R1 G1 M1 P D2 N2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G1 R1 S
Taalam: Rupakam

Lyrics:
Pallavi:
pariyācakamā māṭa? padigurilō pogaḍinadi

Anupallavi:
verapuna nanu mānambuna vesanambuna nē kōri
śaraṇāgata rakṣaka! ninnu santatamunu śaraṇanaga

Charanam:
oka munikai draupadi dvārakā nilayā! śaraṇanaga
oka māṭaku vibhīṣaṇuḍu ōrva lēka śaraṇanaga
sakalēśvara! prahlādu jālicē śaraṇanaga
hitakaruṇḍai brōcitivē tyāgarājuni māṭa

English verse:
Do I seem the droll of the shire,
As I sing of You at the town square?

Refuge of All! In pain, fear and doubt,
I ever seek refuge at Your redoubt!

Has not Your Hand from afar, reached,
The queen, as before the sage, she winced?
When upon a single taunt,
Brother fled brother's haunt,
And when a prince cried out in grief,
Did You not take them to Your fief?
And yet, O Lord of all,
Are my words alone,
Mocked and left alone?

Comments:

Incidents from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Bhagavatam are serially referred to here.

Queen ... sage: When the Pandavas were exiled to the forest, Duryodhana and his cronies bade the irascible sage Durvasa, an incarnation of Shiva, to visit them at their hermitage. The sage was known for his ready curse and ravenous appetite. Duryodhana contrived that the sage would arrive with his retinue at the hermitage after the Pandavas had had their meal of the day, and there was no food left. Durvasa was expected to run into a rage and wreak great curses upon the Pandavas. Draupadi, upon the sage's arrival, prayed to Krishna who was at the time, across the country, in Dwaraka. Krishna, with His divine powers, came to her aid and forestalled the sage.

Brother fled brother's haunt: Vibheeshana, the youngest brother of Ravana, counseled him to turn over Sita to Rama and seek his refuge. In response to Ravana's anger at this counsel, Vibheeshana defected to Rama's side and was crowned the king of Lanka after the war.

Prince cried out: Prahalada, though the son of an evil demon, somehow grew up to be a devotee of Vishnu and after repeated attempts on his life, by his father, the terrible Hiryanakashipu, who was protected by a boon from Brahma that made him all but immortal, was saved by Vishnu, in his most terrifying incarnation, as the Narasimha or man-lion. The incarnations of Vishnu are detailed in the Bhagavatam, where details not in the Ramayana or Mahabharata, may be found. Tyagaraja alluded to Prahalada several times, as he is a symbol of the "Bhakti marga" or the path of personal devotion, that is considered accessible to all, irrespective of birth and creed. Prahalada, though an Asura or demon, was expressly saved by Vishnu. This is in fact, the only case in Hindu mythology, when a major incarnation interceded solely to deliver an Asura. Tyagaraja, of course, composed the Prahalada Bhakti Vijayam, an entire cycle of songs about the Prahalada events.

Vanaspati is one of the seventy two melakarta or foundational ragas, and one of the forty that includes vivadi swaras or dissonant notes including R3, G1, D3 and N1, in the notation scheme we use. There is some controversy between certain quarters about whether such ragas should be used in the Carnatic system or not. In reality, it reflects the development of the theory of Carnatic music over time, rather than whether these ragas can produce elaborate, consistent and pleasant melodies or not, into which debate the controversy somehow turned.

The regular reader might find that the verse translations are far too frequently in couplets. This could indeed get tiresome. The sole reason for the frequency of couplets is that, while generally preserving word and sentential order in the original, I also try to match Tyagaraja's flow. Due to his particular, music composition style, Tyagaraja's lyrics, when rendered into readable English, just naturally fall into couplets. I have my own style of writing poetry, as would anyone, but it is quite clear that anyone else writing a verse translation that tries to match the flow of the original, would also use couplets.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY: Here is a piece from Philip Massinger's 1624 play, The Bondman, which quite succinctly captures both the idea behind the path of Bhakti Yoga or Marga, and Prahalada's own ascent. As might be expected from a Renaissance playwright, the original thought is from Horace. But, it has been handled more directly and so, effectively, by Massinger here. The Sabaeans of Horace's time, were a people from the south of the Arabian peninsula, who had become wealthy from trading in fragrances, particularly frankincense and myrrh, which was indigenous to the area.

The immortal gods
Accept the meanest altars, that are raised
By pure devotion; and sometimes prefer
An ounce of frankincense, honey, or milk,
Before whole hecatombs, or Sabaean gems,
Offered in ostentation.

Raka Shashi Vadana

2010-06-08T03:15:00.000-07:00

Raga Takka, 15 Mayamaalava janya
Aa: S G3 M1 P M1 G3 M1 D1 N3 S Av: S N3 D1 M1 P M1 G3 M1 R1 G3 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
rākā śaśi vadana! iṅka parākā?

Anupallavi:
nīkāguṇamu kārādavanīkānta!
karuṇāsvānta!

Charanam:
nammiyunna nija dāsulaku
nammikalanosagi maṛaturā!
tammi kanulanoka pāri nanu
daya jūḍa rādā? mariyādā ?

pāri pāri ninnanudinamukōri
kōrina vārini yīdāri brōcitivā?
māyādhāri! rārā! ēlukōrā!

nīvē telusukonduvanucunu
bhāviñcucunu nēnu nī pada
sēva jēsiti mahānubhāva!
tyāgarājunipai

English verse:

Does it befit You to lack in grace,
O Lord of the moon-like face?

Does it befit You to break Your word,
Lord of the Earth of infinite mercy,
To forget the faithful and clemency?
Deny me Your gaze and turn untoward?

Was such the refuge given,
To we who daily prayers proffered?
Fount of all worldly illusion,
Hasten, hasten, raise me heavenward.

Sure was I, as I served at Your feet,
That ere long You would note,
O Mighty Prince, at Your feet,
Lay one You must now dote.

Comments:
There is not much to note in this song except that this is again in a raga in which Tyagaraja contributed a single song that we know of. In fact, no other songs in this raga are known in the common concert repertoire. But, the odd thing is that it is not a neglected or nascent raga in his time, one that Tyagaraja successfully deciphered like most of the other ragas where he contributed a single song. In fact, it is an ancient raga with more popular cognates and descendants. It was found in different parts of India and today is found both in the Northern and Southern systems. It is supposed that it takes its name from the peoples of the ancient Takka country, which the Rajatarangini by Kalhana, which chronicles the kings of Kashmir, considers to be outside ancient India and therefore possibly a northwesterly country in Persia or Central Asia, though nothing else is known about them other than this reference. Ragas named after ancient peoples are considered to have moved with them into different parts of the country. But, the Rajatarangini is from roughly around 1000 C.E., though Takka strains seem to have been known much earlier even in the remote south of India.

"Earth", here, is the earth personified as Bhudevi, one of the consorts of Vishnu. It is line with Tyagaraja's specific Vedantic doctrine to hold all the world as an illusion and the Supreme Self as the only reality.

As we have seen earlier, the very first verses of the Ramayana describe Rama as most compassionate and having a full moon like face indicates the compassion expected of a ruler according to Indian astrology.

Extra Comments:
If I were to speculate, I would think that the Takkas referenced here, were a Turkic people who lived to the north west of the kingdom of Kashmir. It is known from the Rajatarangini that some other Turkic peoples served the kings of Kashmir.

This is not a frequently heard raga or song. We shall revisit some details about the musical terms associated with different peoples later.

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Sri Narada Naada

2010-05-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Raga Kanada , 22 Kharaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 D N2 S Av: S N2 P M1 G2 M1 R2 S
Taalam: Rupakam

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
śrī nārada! nāda sarasīruha
bhṛṅga! śubhāṅga!

Anupallavi:
dīna māna rakṣaka! jagadīśa!
bheśa saṅkāśa!

Charanam:
vedajanita varavīṇā-vādana tatvajña!
khedahara! tritāparahita! khecara vinuta!
yādava kulajāpta! sadāmoda hṛdaya! munivarya!
śrīda! tyāgarāja vinuta! śrīkara! mām pālaya!

English verse:

As a bee finds nectar, O rector, O sage!
To music, your blessed visage!

Prince of men, by you, save face,
The meek, by your moon-like grace.

From the Word, came the strings,
From you their art was found,
Your virtue the demigod sings,
Gone be the pains that hound.

Blissful kin to the divine Cowherd,
Bounteous sage most honored,
Might my prayer be heard,
Your refuge be rendered.

Comments:
This song is again reflective of Tyagaraja's Nadopasana or music as worship school of thought. Since the divine sage Narada, is considered the originator of the musical arts, he is Tyagaraja's patron saint and ideal. Tyagaraja constantly strives to emulate Narada, who attained the highest enlightenment through his music and not by tapas or penance as other sages did. Narada would also lose himself in paroxysms of joy while singing of the gods and Tyagaraja aspired for such bliss through his own music. Narada was generally venerated but not especially worshiped. He was seen as the finest devotee. Tyagaraja however, sees Narada as his savior and worships Narada, for having shown him the path of music as worship. No other composer has left behind so many songs to Narada. Although a beloved character in the Puranas and the Epics, he is not of any special veneration or adoration in daily praxis and is rarely featured along with the principal deities in temples, although he does appear in the panel art such as in the pillars or the walls surrounding the sanctum sanctorum. That Tyagaraja alludes to Narada routinely is itself a mark of his Nadopasana approach.

Note that Narada is not considered the originator of music per se, as it is said to arise from the Vedas, which of course are held part of the eternal and revealed scriptures. Narada was chiefly a votary of Vishnu. If we look for parallels elsewhere, we find that Narada somewhat fulfills the role of Orpheus in showing the ascent of man through music and the role of the Muses in furthering the musical and other arts, such as inducing Valmiki to compose the very first poetry in the form of the Ramayana or bestowing Tyagaraja with long lost sacred knowledge of music, as we saw in an earlier song. Able to travel through the universe at will, he is also a frequent intercessor in both epics and in several Puranas, where his arrival always results in mischief, which however, leads to a pleasant resolution and fulfills some important purpose. A number of musical works, some verses in the Rg veda and a work of aphorisms on perfect devotion, the Bhakti sutras are all ascribed to him.

Jagadisha is one of those strange adjectives. When applied to a divine being, it means, the lord of all that exists; when applied to a king, an emperor or high king and here, when applied to a sage, it signifies someone who transcends all men. Narada was born a human in some legends and rose to divinity by penance and by the power of his music and this allusion brings that to mind. Generally, he is considered a son of Brahma and a deva or celestial, by birth. The strings: the veena is considered the generating instrument of Carnatic music, and its sounds are said to arise directly from the Vedas or the Word. The Vedas were "heard" by the first sages, were eternal and were revealed. The Sama Veda in particular, the Veda that is sung and not chanted, is considered the source of music. The Gandharvas are a class of celestial beings, somewhat below the Devas in the pantheon and are associated with music and other fine arts. They are considered the court musicians of the Devas. "The pains that hound": Human distress, as meant here by the term tritaapa, is said to be of three kinds- arising due to oneself, from others and by the divine hand. Narada, constantly sings the praises of the lord and is therefore always in a state of bliss. The divine Cowherd is of course Krishna, Who was raised in stealth among cowherds, but belonged to the princely Yadava clan by birth.

We can understand Tyagaraja's Nadopasana thought a little more by comparing his perspective of Narada with that of the different schools of Vishnu worship, that arose during the Bhakti, or resurgence of personal devotion movement in the North and East of India roughly during the 13th-16th centuries. These schools arose from teachers such as Vallabhacharya and Chaitanya, and can today be found in some numbers in such places as Bengal, Orissa and Mathura. They are primarily devoted to Krishna and hold "Nama Sankeertan" or singing of the lord's glory alone, as the true path that exceeds all other requirements such as the study of scripture, meditation, inquiry and observance of religious rites and duties. Naturally, they see Narada as the perfect devotee, for he is always singing the lord's praises and so, has risen to be forever close to and dear to Vishnu. To them, the Bhakti Sutra aphorisms ascribed to Narada are therefore particularly important. However, it is only his constant and rapturous "Nama Sankeertan" that they seek to emulate, and do not concern themselves with his other aspects. Tyagaraja, who sees Narada as his patron saint and guru, does agree with this view of Narada being a paragon of Bhakti. In line with his Nadopasana approach, which is more involved than the simplistic "Nama Sankeertan" approach where the simplest song suffices when offered truly, Tyagaraja additionally finds that Narada, as the greatest exponent of Nadopasana, has unlocked the mysteries of the universe through his study of music and has thus attained divine knowledge and enlightenment, in addition to being one with Vishnu. Tyagaraja seeks to emulate both, his adoration in song, and his theological attainments through the inquiry and art of music. That is why, it is of some import that Tyagaraja consistently sees Narada as a guru and a philosopher whose penance was his music, and not just as the ideal devotee. Tyagaraja also consistently sees music as containing the essence of the universe, having arisen from the primordial sound of the Onkara and the Vedas, and as having endowed the gods with their divine powers. The other schools do not venture into such involved details, as they find penance, observances, study and inquiry much less valuable than simple psalms of worship. As mentioned elsewhere, in such a system of Nadopasana, we can find some parallels with Pythagorean thought, as here too music becomes an all pervasive and potent mechanism. We may further note that while Orpheus is a far more frequent subject in the music and opera traditions of the west, than Narada, who is his counterpart in certain aspects, is, in all of Indian music save that of Tyagaraja.

This song too is reflective of Tyagaraja's preferred structure to his lyrics- a premise being stated firstly, followed by a restatement and a bhashya or an exegesis like development of the premise in the charanas. We can also note yet again, how different Tyagaraja sounds in his Sanskrit songs compared to his Telugu songs. He is clearly more studied. There is again not as much reflective detail and emotional fervor and the lyricism here borders almost on the impersonal, that we cannot uniquely tie this song to Tyagaraja based on its words alone, as we could a number of his other songs like nagumomu kanaleni or sri narada muni, where he clearly indicates a personal experience and possibly even an immediate experience that is reflected in song with spontaneity. Beyond this, some commentators tend to draw the line that Tyagaraja's diction in his singleton songs was intentionally simpler, as he considered them to be pedagogical, whereas his musical plays were more stylish as they were considered higher performance art. I am yet to be convinced about major distinctions. In many cases, we could extend the generalization on language even to the underlying musical structure. The adventurer and innovator more frequently, though not necessarily, rings through in the Telugu songs. When we get down to the tiny business of musical detail in some time to come, we shall study these variations also.

Extra Extra Comments:

Some concepts mentioned above, have already been encountered in other songs. They are repeated here for the sake of completeness, as I prefer each song be self-contained and allow easy reading.

Most authors will render Jagadisha as lord of the world or of the universe. This also happens when music scholars translate Tyagaraja's songs and all the main books including TKG's do that. The justification given when a being lesser than Vishnu or Shiva or the Brahman is so addressed, is that the lesser being is seen as a part of the Supreme Being, pars pro toto, unlike other unenlightened beings and hence worthy of such appellation. However, it is easier and more fitting to simply consider that the meaning of Jagadisha can vary by context. Here for example, we know that Tyagaraja sees Narada as a patron saint, guru and savior and not as Rama Himself. Therefore, the meaning I have read, follows. The other possibility that looms, is that the text might have elided over time, absent a contemporaneous printing and it may not have read Jagadisha at all. Alternate meanings can be derived for Jagadisha other than these common meanings. But, we know from his body of work, that Tyagaraja's technique and inventiveness lie elsewhere and that he was not given to word play or summoning up obscurities. We can even surmise that Tyagaraja turned hyperbolic, as poets often do and recall that he is not considered the most precise of the Trinity. Why am I splitting hairs on such a small point? Only to illustrate how we are often working with double blindfolds without a contemporaneous printing and how we may tackle such questions. Internal consistency is the main tool that helps us.

I tend to use exclamation marks to delineate the different epithets with which the composer addresses the subject, generally Rama and in this case, Narada. This is a convention used in Prof. T. K. Govinda Rao's book, as well as some prior works. It is one of the few prevalent conventions retained here. Technically, one could argue that it is not really a clean practice for Indian languages, as these norms of punctuation are based on western scripts and methods. In our case, it is useful to adopt, because we focus so much on lyricism and expression.

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Vandanamu Raghunandana

2010-05-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Raga Shahana, 28 Harikamboji janya
Aa: S R2 G3 M1 P M1 D2 N2 S Av: S N2 S D2 P M1 G3 M1 R2 G3 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
vandanamu raghunandana!
sētubandhana! bhaktacandana! rāma!

Charanam:
śrīdamā! nātō vādamā?
nē bhēdamā? idi mōdamā? rāma!

śrīramā hṛccāramā!
brōvabhāramā? rāyabhāramā? rāma!

viṇṭini nammukoṇṭini
śaraṇaṇṭini rammaṇṭini rāma!

ōḍanu bhakti vīḍanu
orulavōḍanu nīvāḍanu rāma!

kammani viḍemimmani
varamukommani paluku rammani rāma!

nyāyamā? nīkādāyamā?
inta hēyamā? muni gēyama rāma!

cūḍumī kāpāḍumī
mammu pōḍimigā kūḍumī rāma!

kṣēmamu divya dhāmamu
nityanēmamu rāma nāmamu rāma!

vēgarā karuṇāsāgarā
śrītyāgarājuni hṛdayāgra rāma!

English verse:

Son of Raghu! To You,
In prayer my hands lock.
As you bridged the ocean's lock,
So you lavish upon your flock.

Must we in argument lock?
"We aren't one", do you mock?
Even Wealth flows from You;
Will this charade amuse You?

In Wealth, Your ken;
Is saving me a burden?
Another plea from me,
Must you hearken?

Of You, having heard,
I meekly surrendered;
All my trust I duly kept.
"Come!", in prayer wept.

Never shall I fail, nor falter;
Nor ever leave Your altar;
Another I shall not entreat,
Bound am I to Your feet.

Bid me draw near,
Betel leaves in honor,
As befits that sweet essence,
Grant of Your munificence.

Is it at all fair? Or a gainful affair?
Such ill will? In You of sages' trill?

With a glance, save me;
Rightly consort with me.

Shelter and shrine are found,
By Your name profound.

Hasten to my side, Most kind!
Ever in my heart and mind!

Comments:
This song is another from the Prahalada Bhakti Vijayam cycle. Its simple structure, rhyme and metrical symmetry make it suitable for group singing in a call-response form as well as normal rendition by a single performer.

The fastidious may note a mythological anachronism in this song. As it is from the Prahalada cycle, we can surmise that it appears to Tyagaraja that Prahalada prays thus to Rama. However, in commonly held mythology, Prahalada figured in the fourth incarnation of Vishnu, that of Nrsimha or the Man-Lion. Rama was the seventh incarnation and was born ages after Prahalada's time. Even the line of the Raghus had not yet been founded. This song too, thus shows Tyagaraja's propensity for Ishta Devata Aradhana, or worship of a personal deity, a concept discussed elsewhere. This concept makes the seeming anachronism consistent, for we next encounter the reference to Wealth being His consort, rendering this as a case of pars pro toto.

Extra Extra Comments:
In my opinion, Shahana is one of the gems of the Carnatic system. It is not easily imparted and needs some maturity for an exposition, but it can convey extraordinary emotional content. There is a tradition in many parts that this raga must not be taught by a teacher lest the tutelage would break prematurely. It is often postponed to the end of the training period. As can be concluded from its complex ascent and descent schema, it may not be easy to compose such simple lyrics and music for it as in this song without oversimplification. From personal experience too, I think it can sometimes be hard to compose in it. Compare this with the song emaanticchevo, which we shall soon cover. That is a more mature work in terms of sustention of phrases, shows the complex layers of Shahana more and contains rich emotional expression.

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Rama as the Ramayana describes Him- Alakallalalaadaga Part 2

2010-05-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

Knowing the context of the Ramayana is essential to understanding Tyagaraja and thence, Indian culture and its place in world culture. In the Ramayana, Rama was described as the ideal man. The Ramayana begins with Valmiki, the poet, asking the celestial sage Narada who was the best of men. Narada replies that it was Rama and then details Rama's life to him. Rama was most just, virtuous, heroic, wise, strong and exceedingly handsome. Rama and his brothers were together, an incarnation of Vishnu, with Rama claiming half the divinity.

Rama as depicted in the Ramayana: We concern ourselves with poetry a lot at this site. The Ramayana, called the "Adi Kavya" or the Original Poem, was the first work of poetry in Sanskrit and the oldest epic poetry extant today. The parallels with the first classical epic of the west, the Iliad, are obvious. The Ramayana which does seem to be the older, is much more complete as a work in plot and detail. It also contains far more science, history, ethics, philosophy and theology, as the poet does not merely chronicle, but also develops his subject. Such observations of course fall within such realm as we find when we torture comparison between the two works, as there are great differences too. In the Iliad, Helen eloped. Sita was abducted and remained the paragon of virtue as she spurned Ravana continuously. The Illiad chiefly celebrates valor. The Ramayana on the other hand is much more profound. It does not celebrate any one exploit or attributes. Instead, it celebrates the ideal of Man. In fact, it begins with the poet Valmiki musing about who was the ideal man, who was worthy of his poetic labors. And the omniscient sage Narada appears before him and describes Rama's many virtues. This was the ideal man.

Here are the verses from the Ramayana where Narada first introduces Rama to Valmiki. These verses describe Rama's attributes and virtues in full.

Valmiki asks:

ko nvasminsāmprataṁ loke guṇavānkaśca vīryavān |
dharmajñaśca kṛtajñaśca satyavākyo dṛḍhavrataḥ ||1.1.2||

cāritreṇa ca ko yuktaḥ sarvabhūteṣu ko hitaḥ |
vidvānkaḥ kaḥ samarthaśca kaścaikapriyadarśanaḥ ||1.1.3||

ātmavānko jitakrodho matimānko'nasūyakaḥ |
kasya bibhyati devāśca jātaroṣasya saṁyuge ||1.1.4||

"Who in this world now, is goodly, valorous, righteous, thankful and truthful and has fixity of purpose?
Who is of sound character and the benefactor of all beings? Who is wise and capable and whose kindness makes him a pleasant sight to all?
Who is assured, calm and radiant and has no envy? Whose wrath do even the gods fear in war?"

And Narada replies:

bahavo durlabhāścaiva ye tvayā kīrtitā guṇāḥ |
mune vakṣyāmyahaṁ buddhvā tairyuktaḥ śrūyatāṁ naraḥ ||1.1.7||
"Many are the virtues you speak of, O sage! Listen, as I describe to you a man of such qualities.

ikṣvākuvaṁśaprabhavo rāmo nāma janaiḥ śrutaḥ |
niyatātmā mahāvīryo dyutimāndhṛtimānvaśī ||1.1.8||
He arose in the line of Ikshvaaku and he is called Rama. He is disciplined and has great courage. He is radiant and resolute and also has temperance.

buddhimānnītimānvāṅgmī śrīmāñśatrunibarhaṇaḥ |
vipulāṁso mahābāhuḥ kambugrīvo mahāhanuḥ ||1.1.9||
Intelligent, just, articulate and auspicious, he is the queller of foes. He has broad shoulders, big arms, a conch like stout neck marked by three lines and high cheek bones.

mahorasko maheṣvāso gūḍhajatrurarindamaḥ |
ājānubāhuḥ suśirāḥ sulalāṭaḥ suvikramaḥ ||1.1.10||
Barrel-chested, a great archer and muscular, he destroys foes. He has long arms dipping to his knees, a well proportioned head and a wide forehead and is quick of step.

samaḥ samavibhaktāṅgaḥ snigdhavarṇaḥ pratāpavān |
pīnavakṣā viśālākṣo lakṣmīvāñśubhalakṣaṇaḥ ||1.1.11||
Of good proportions and similar limbs, lustrous and valorous, stout chested, wide eyed and handsome,- such are his auspicious features.

dharmajñaḥ satyasandhaśca prajānāṁ ca hite rataḥ |
yaśasvī jñānasampannaḥ śucirvaśyaḥ samādhimān ||1.1.12||
Discerning of righteousness, truthful, seized of his subjects' welfare, famous and learned, he is immaculate and focused.

rakṣitā jīvalokasya dharmasya parirakṣitā |
vedavedāṅgatattvajño dhanurvede ca niṣṭhitaḥ || 1.1.13||
He protects all beings and the world and is the guardian of righteousness. He is versed in the principles of the Veda and the Vedic auxiliaries and in science of archery.

sarvaśāstrārthatattvajño smṛtimānpratibhānavān |
sarvalokapriyaḥ sādhuradīnātmā vicakṣaṇaḥ ||1.1.14||
He knows the purport and essence of all scriptures. He knows tradition and laws and acts in accordance with them. He is loved in all the worlds, gentle, high minded and discriminating.

sarvadābhigataḥ sadbhiḥ samudra iva sindhubhiḥ |
āryaḥ sarvasamaścaiva sadaikapriyadarśanaḥ ||1.1.15||
Ever approachable to the pious as the ocean is to rivers, the honorable one treats all equally and is ever a fond sight to all.

sa ca sarvaguṇopetaḥ kausalyānandavardhanaḥ |
samudra iva gāmbhīrye dhairyeṇa himavāniva ||1.1.16||
Kaushalya's joy is so endowed will all virtues. He is as deep as the ocean and as firm and steady as the Himalayas.

viṣṇunā sadṛśo vīrye somavatpriyadarśanaḥ |
kālāgnisadṛśaḥ krodhe kṣamayā pṛthivīsamaḥ ||1.1.17||
Like Vishnu in bravery, and charming like the moon, he is like the apocalyptic fire in anger and in patience, equal to the earth.

dhanadena samastyāge satye dharma ivāparaḥ |
tamevaṅguṇasampannaṁ rāmaṁ satyaparākramam ||1.1.18||
In giving, he is like Kubera, the lord of wealth and unsurpassed in being true like Dharma, the lord of righteousness and death. Such are the virtues of Rama, the truly valorous."

Here is something in great contrast to other incarnations of Vishnu and other gods as described elsewhere. Narada describes a man of superlative qualities, but a man nonetheless. Nowhere does he say that Rama was a god and so wrought miracles or that Rama claimed any divinity for Himself. Rama is described as the ideal man throughout the book who wrought miracles by virtue and by perspiration. We are told elsewhere that Rama and His brothers were indeed incarnations and shared divinity among them. But, we are also clearly told that Rama even if divine, never exercised nor claimed any divine powers and lived and perspired as an ordinary mortal. That is, Rama was a model for men to aspire to, far more than being a deity to worship. Rama represents the ascent of ordinary man to divinity through virtue and merit. Such is what we gather from the Ramayana.

It is possible to view the attributes mentioned here, as being those of the Supreme Self. This is how several commentators view it, finding an inner meaning to these verses. However, I have, in conformity with the theme of the "ideal Man" in the original text, alluded to them as humanly virtues.

For an interesting comparison, here is R.T.H. Griffith's rendition of the same verses from the late 19th century, when the world was a very different place and western sensibilities to the east, were nascent and sometimes ill-founded. Much study of the east and of Hinduism, Buddhism and such subjects took place, though often, not with the noblest intent. Yet, even over a hundred years later, for better or worse, Griffith, Max Mueller and other translators of their times have stood on in the west. Griffith who also wrote the first Rg and Sama Veda translations for the West, chose to write a verse translation of the Ramayana. While this was an admirable objective and his scholarship in the classical languages of the West and the East, and English, was vast, personally, I find novelty but not the poet's mark in these verses. I find the job adequate but not very highly competent.

Then Nárad, clear before whose eye
The present, past, and future lie,
Made ready answer: 'Hermit, where
Are graces found so high and rare?
Yet listen, and my tongue shall tell
In whom alone these virtues dwell.
From old Ikshváku's line he came,
Known to the world by Ráma's name:
With soul subdued, a chief of might,
In Scripture versed, in glory bright,
His steps in virtue's paths are bent,
Obedient, pure, and eloquent.
In each emprise he wins success,
And dying foes his power confess.
Tall and broad-shouldered, strong of limb,
Fortune has set her mark on him.
Graced with a conch-shell's triple line,
His threat displays the auspicious sign.
High destiny is clear impressed
On massive jaw and ample chest,
His mighty shafts he truly aims,
And foemen in the battle tames.
Deep in the muscle, scarcely shown,
Embedded lies his collar-bone.
His lordly steps are firm and free,
His strong arms reach below his knee;
All fairest graces join to deck
His head, his brow, his stately neck,
And limbs in fair proportion set:
The manliest form e'er fashioned yet.
Graced with each high imperial mark,
His skin is soft and lustrous dark.

Large are his eyes that sweetly shine
With majesty almost divine.
His plighted word he ne'er forgets;
On erring sense a watch he sets.
By nature wise, his teacher's skill
Has trained him to subdue his will.
Good, resolute and pure, and strong,
He guards mankind from scathe and wrong,
And lends his aid, and ne'er in vain,
The cause of justice to maintain.
Well has he studied o'er and o'er
The Vedas and their kindred lore.

Well skilled is he the bow to draw,
Well trained in arts and versed in law;
High-souled and meet for happy fate,
Most tender and compassionate;
The noblest of all lordly givers,
Whom good men follow, as the rivers
Follow the King of Floods, the sea:
So liberal, so just is he.
The joy of Queen Kaus'alyá's heart,
In every virtue he has part:
Firm as Himálaya's snowy steep,
Unfathomed like the mighty deep:
The peer of Vishnu's power and might,
And lovely as the Lord of Night;
Patient as Earth, but, roused to ire,
Fierce as the world-destroying fire;
In bounty like the Lord of Gold,
And Justice self in a human mould.

Extra Comments:
I write all translations from the Sanskrit or Telugu originals afresh for this site. Neither R.T.H. Griffith, nor anyone else are sources for the translations presented anywhere in this site, unless explicitly mentioned as such. The Griffith translation here is a free translation and is not literal or word-for-word. Also, I favor a "from the source" approach in order to be close to the original. I seldom touch commentaries, even ancient ones, to present the subjects here, unless it is necessary. On occasion, the reader might find I deviate from common readings slightly. This will generally be because, I have, in my opinion, tried to remain as close to the original as possible.

In order to develop the themes and rationale of Tyagaraja further by touching upon the virtues of Rama, I have continued the commentary of the last song, than belabor a new one. This note on Rama pertains to all the songs on this site and helps to understand how Tyagaraja saw Rama in his mental image.

Extra Extra Comments
Your servant's grandfather left behind in manuscript, his very fine translation of the Ramayana. This remains as yet unpublished, mainly because I haven't gotten around to redacting it. He was my first Sanskrit teacher and though I was only a few years old at his passing, he remains an inspiration to me. The least one can do, is befit one's legacy and not belie it.

On anonymity: I had comment that I had not named my grandfather above and any wish to preserve my privacy may not be offset by including just his name in tribute. This is true to a degree. However, as some readers who have corresponded with me know, I have retained anonymity here only because I am not yet sure of the final form the matter here- as book, newsprint, audiovisual or new media or just this website. I am also not sure if and when I will complete this venture as it is planned to run to over 3000 pages and cover not just Tyagaraja but music, Indian culture and Comparative Literature to the extent possible and meaningful, as suited for the modern reader,- a key consideration being that much literature written on these topics including Tyagaraja is either antiquated by now, or presumes a well informed and invested reader of a certain background or both, whereas my approach here makes no such assumptions of the reader. It is accessible to the modern reader of both kinds- those new to these subjects and to those well versed in it. Our purpose here, is not to just provide a compendium of all Tyagaraja songs or a selection. As the final form and extent are still unknown, I am also not actively promoting this website at various print and online forums. However, it has little to do with privacy and more to do with completeness. I do identify myself as needed, in correspondence I receive on this site. When the final form and extent of the content here is known, I will of course publicize as necessary, this website and any accompanying books or the like and affix my name to the whole as being the party responsible for all its shortcomings. I will at such time, identify my ancestor as well as those readers and fellow scholars and students of these subjects, who provided suggestions and insightful comments and the one or two who provided reference or other resources to aid in this work. Until such a time comes to pass, I don't think it is necessary to "name names".

An aside: This now comes to mind. Nirad C. Chaudhri, in his Continent of Circe, made the unfounded and hilarious suggestion, albeit in all seriousness, that Rama was a Persian prince and the siege of Ramayana happened on an island in ancient Persia.

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Alakallalalaadaga

2010-04-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

Madhyamavati Raga , 22 Kharaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N2 S Av: S N2 P M1 R2 S
Taalam: Rupakam

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
alakalallalāḍaga kani
yarāṇmuniyeṭu poṅgenō

Anupallavi:
celuvu mīraganu
mārīcuni madamaṇacē vēḻa

Charanam:
muni kanu saika telisi
ṣiva dhanuvunu viricē samayamuna
tyāgarāja vinutuni mōmuna rañjillu

English verse:

As His curls gracefully swayed,
How the sage's heart swelled.

As He rent evil Maricha's pride;
All limits His charms did elide.

As curls His face lighted,
The royal sage delighted.
As the sage winked "Now!"
So He rent the Great Bow.

Comments:
This song about Rama's valor and beauty is a fine example of Tyagaraja's poetry. He visualizes the scenes of Rama's conquering pestilential demons and breaking the great bow under Vishvamitra's tutelage. Through the eyes of the sage, he marvels at the beauty of Rama which shone through even whilst performing such exploits. Throughout the common concert repertoire, we seldom encounter the vivid images and emotional expression of Tyagaraja's songs. This sets him apart as the artist among composers. Then comes the fine musical detail. Tyagaraja's songs, like this one, belong as much to the musician as to the poet. If you hear this song sung softly, you will see how both the cadence of the lyrics, and the musical scheme, imitate the gentle tossing of forelocks in the wind. It takes extreme skill to concurrently create such music and poetry- simple, yet graceful.

Vishvamitra, unlike other sages of the highest rank (Brahmarishi), had originally been a king. Against the entreaties of His father, King Dasharatha, this sage took Rama and Lakshmana away into the forest with him, under the pretext of subduing the demons who destroyed his penances and sacrifices at his hermitage. The king thought Rama was too young. But, his guru, Vashishta, foremost of sages and Vishvamitra's former adversary, counseled the king that Vishvamitra was well capable of subduing the demons by himself. There must have been some ulterior motive, to Rama's benefit, that made him demand Rama to guard him. And there was indeed. The sage first invested Rama with celestial weapons and two powerful chants, Bala and Adibala that made Rama impervious to hunger and thirst. Rama subdued several demons, among whom was the conjurer Maricha, an uncle and vassal of Ravana. He reappeared as the golden buck that Rama chased as Ravana abducted Sita. Rama's travels with Vishvamitra culminated in his shattering the Great Bow of Shiva at Janaka's court, and claiming Sita for his wife. This song alludes to those famous episodes. Even in times of performing such feats, Rama's countenance was exceedingly beautiful, as his shining curls tossed about, as Tyagaraja tells us. As Tyagaraja himself and other sources tell us, He was still in His teens and yet He remained calm and assured when fighting powerful demons like Maricha. When attempting what so many great kings had failed at, He showed not the slightest fear or hesitation and strung and shattered the Great Bow of Shiva. How do we find such counter-intuitive and precocious greatness of character in Rama? The Ramayana describes His many virtues. (..contd in the next post)

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Mokshamu kalada

2010-04-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

Raga Saraamati, 20 Natabhairavi janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 P D1 N2 S Av: S N2 D1 M1 G2 S
Taalam:Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
mōkśamu kaladā bhuvilō jīvanmuktulu gāni vāralaku (mōkśamu kaladā)

Anupallavi:
sākśātkāra nī sadbhakti saṅgītajñāna vihīnulaku (mōkśamu kaladā)

Charanam:
prāṇānala samyōgamu valla praṇava nādamu saptasvaramulai paraga
vīṇāvādana lōludau śiva manōvidhamerugaru tyāgarāja vinuta (mōkśamu kaladā)

English verse:

Seek not to rise heavenward;
When bereft of love for the Maker,
And unwise of musical strains.
Salvation for the Freed, remains.

The first sound with fire finds,
The notes of the seven kinds;
O Lord, of this they know not,
Nor of the bliss Siva enjoys,
In the strings of His fancy;
And from You are ever barred.

Comments:
This is another song where Tyagaraja extols "Music worship". The goal for the pious in Hinduism is salvation of the individual and merging with the Lord. It is not for example, eternal life in Paradise. This is Moksha. The Freed refers to Jivanmukhtas. They are liberated souls who have by virtuous deeds, expended their stock of Karma, or demerits accrued over their souls' previous manifestations. They are freed from the cycle of life and death and shall not be born again. Great souls who have attained the stage of Jivanmukhti will live out their normal lives. At the end of this life they will rise to heaven. In the Mahabharata and in works based on it, Jivamukthas are described as inhabiting a level of the heavens and shining as celestial bodies. Although a Jivanmuktha may be liberated from transmigration or the cycle of births, he may not yet be worthy of Moksha or eternal liberation and merging with the Lord.

Prana is considered the life-breath, life-force or vitality of a living being. Anala, literally fire, in this song, but not always, signifies the energy or active force. In the human body, Anala is the fire of the gastric system or the digestive juice. Prana and Anala, together with the primordial sound generated by the mystic syllable, Om, are said to create the seven notes of the octave. "Strings of His fancy" refers to the veena. The allusion to Siva and a veena hearkens to various episodes where His devotees, including Ravana, the demon king, so pleased Siva with skillful veena play, that He bestowed upon them boons of limitless power. Rama is not directly mentioned, but it is He who is being invoked. Siva's association with music, Om and the Sama Veda are mentioned by Tyagaraja in several songs.

The reader new to Hindu culture may find the practice of choosing a personal deity (ishta devata aradhana) as seen here, interesting. In Hindu praxis, as is consistent with the concept of Brahman, the Supreme Self being manifested as the various divinities and as all else, the faithful each choose a personal deity for daily worship in line with their antecedents and milieu. The personal deity, irrespective of the deity's position in the pantheon, then subsumes all attributes of all the gods and becomes the Great God in daily worship. Laymen might be far removed from the concept and pursuit of the Brahman in daily worship and solely identify themselves as devotees of Rama or Krishna or Shiva and so on but would not be fully correct as the manifestation of the Brahman as such, is a constantly upheld notion in Hindu scriptures. Thus, though according to Hindu lore, Rama was born a mortal, was only an incarnation of Vishnu, one of the Trinity, and certainly not equal to one of the Trinity, and prayed to Shiva on numerous occasions Himself, here and elsewhere, He is alluded to as the causer (correctly materialize) of the world and as a transcendent divinity, subsuming the functions of all others. This may seem inconsistent according to mythology at the outset, but it is certainly consistent with Hindu theology. Interestingly, when western scholars started studying Hinduism in the 19th century, this practice caused some bewilderment among them.

Extra Comments:
The keen reader may note that in the verses, I have swapped the positions of the pallavi and anupallavi. However, the color coding should clarify the word and line order.

It is quite possible to see too much in this song, given the lofty reference to Moksha with which it starts and one or two authors have done this. However, in terms of the actual lyrics and sentiments in the song, it completely in line with other songs and has little novelty in this regard. However, as we do not know the exact order in which all the songs were composed, we cannot say if this song echoes others that are in this vein, or if other songs hold reflected light.

For the keen reader, many details on historicity, accuracy and rigor, as adopted in this site, are given in this essay.

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Durmarga chara

2010-04-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Raga Ranjani, 59 Dharmavati janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M2 D2 S Av: S N3 D2 M2 G2 S R2 S
Taalam: Rupakam

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
duṛmārgacara adhamulanu
dora nīvana jālarā!

Anupallavi:
dharmātmaka! dhanadhānyamu
daivamu nivaiyuṇḍaga

Charanam:
paluku boṭini sabhalona-
patita mānavulakosage
khalula neccaṭa pogaḍani
śrīkara! tyāgarāja vinuta!

English verse:

Not for me to call him master,
Not the villain of evil ways!

Wealth and grain come after,
A touch of Your upright grace.

Speech, ne'er shall I barter,
Where fiends hold court.
Nor nod to another's sale,
O Lord of wealth and vale!

Comments:
This is not a commonly heard song; nor is it involved in musical or lyrical detail. But, the thoughts Tyagaraja expresses in it, tell us a lot about his path in life and why he composed such music and such poetry. Cf. with the famous "Nidhi Chala sukhama" song we saw earlier, where he denounces wealth. Here, he is critical of serving the base for pecuniary benefit and considers this a taint upon the learning of men. Speech personified as here, refers to Sarasvati and to learning. Such revulsion for wealth was common among men of learning of his time. Learning was considered an aid to illumination and the Highest and not as a path to wealth. While Tyagaraja was perhaps the most austere of the Trinity, none of them served the great kings of the time as court musicians nor sought extensive royal patronage.

Such renunciation among the pious and scholarly is peculiar to his culture. In the west, we find a starkly different case. Many of the great masters of the classical music there, did not fight shy of wealth and some did acquire it. Mozart, a figure comparable to Tyagaraja in the West, predated him by only a few decades. Much is known about his various patrons and his considerable fees for composition. It has been of some interest whether he died a pauper or not. The Pythagorean notion of finding the sublime in music had long been dead in his time.

Unlike in the west, learning itself was and is considered sacred in his culture and profiting from learning is considered sinful. Tyagaraja's brother who too lived in their ancestral house was said to be highly covetous and eventually, fell out with him. Tyagaraja's devotion to Rama was his sole avocation in life. To his brother's chagrin, Tyagaraja considered wealth as precluding his quest for Rama. So, we hear of the episode alluded to in the earlier song, in which his idol of Rama was lost and found. Such abhorrence of wealth and comforts as pollutants is an ancient and consistent teaching in Hinduism. It is held that they cannot be sought and attained without the debasement of the individual self.

Extra Extra Comments:
Resumption of this website and changes to style:
Friends, I think it is time to resume this website. However, based on the feedback from readers and a review of the new approach I use here, I am making two key changes. Previously, I used to write one song each day and planned to write up to five, so that I covered most of Tyagaraja's oeuvre quickly. Now, subject to health and other vagaries, I plan to write no more than 2-3 songs a week. But, the commentary on the songs will be much more elaborate and comprehensive. I think this will serve the purpose of this website more, as my intent is not to merely provide a compendium of the songs, but to impart, clarify and augment the songs and the wealth in their lyrics.

Final form of this website:
I receive many requests for the book form of this site (Volume 1) and also some questions. I used to send out what was mainly a download of this site, as a pdf document. I have been revising this book form into a much more readable actual book. I will start sending this revised 'Volume 1' out, once it is ready. Once I am sure that I have covered most of thematic content in the songs, on this website, I do fully intend printing this new approach as a serious academic work, as a book set in two volumes.

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Our New Address: www.lyricaltyagaraja.com

2010-01-08T03:35:00.000-08:00

Friends,
I am glad to tell you that we have a new URL for this blog, that will be easier to remember and find. Please update your bookmarks and also tell your friends and family who read this blog or may be interested. The present URL will also work. In time, we plan to clean up this site and move it from blogger to our own servers. Hopefully, this day will come soon. Our new address is:

www.lyricaltyagaraja.com

On Updates to the site: I have received a lot of emails asking why I am not updating the site regularly and am not posting new songs. Sadly, ill health and other professional troubles have prevented me from writing new material for some time. But, this website remains uppermost in my thoughts. The first chance I get, I will resume writing this site and will put our music archive online. Some readers have most kindly offered to help me, in the time I am unable to write. I am unable to avail of such help because of the nature of this site. The perspective of music I develop on this site is quite different. So, I have to write it to keep up the continuity of theme and coherence. Besides, it is most enjoyable to write this. I just hope I get some respite soon and am able to write extensively.

Ennadu Jutuno

2010-01-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

Raga Kalavati , 15 Chakravaham janya
Aa: S R1 M1 P D2 S Av: S D2 P M1 G3 R1 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
ennaḍu jūtunō? inakula tilaka!
nin(nennaḍū)

Anupallavi:
pannagaśayana! bhaktajanāvana!
punnama candurubōlu mukhamunu

Charanam:
dharaṇijā saumitri bharata ripughna vānarayūdhapativaruḍāñjanēyuḍu
karuṇanu okarikokaru varṇimpa
nādaraṇanu bilicē ninu, tyagarajārccita!

English verse:

When ever will I see You, when?
Finest of the sun-kings! When?

Reclined on the great snake,
You tend to Your flock's sake.
The bright full moon's wake,
Your visage shall soon atake.

In Your retinue, each sings
Of all that Your grace brings,
As kindly You draw each to Your side,
My worshipful Lord, glory betide!

Comments:
The context of this song, in popular legend, is Tyagaraja's desperate search for the missing idol of Rama. The idol of Rama with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, that was part of his daily worship, went missing one day in his middle age. In common legend, this is held to be the handiwork of his jealous brother. Tyagaraja lapsed into a state of shock, fearing that he had been deserted by his beloved Rama as punishment for some unknown trespass. In the months that followed, before he retrieved the idol from the banks of the Cauvery, came an outpouring of many of his most moving songs, as he pleaded with Rama to reveal Himself and not torture his devotee so. This song is one of the finest from that period and among the most moving of all of Tyagaraja's lyric poetry. The simple familiarity with which he begins, "When ever will I see You?", is most direct and most touching. It clearly conveys the theme that he was once one with Rama, and though removed from Him now, shall some day reunite with Him; there is neither doubt nor distance, only hope held for some remote day. Cf. with the notion in the hymn, Amazing Grace:

It is true that great many questions are raised about the historicity of many of the events popularly attributed to Tyagaraja. This song however, due to its power, seems to be, by itself, proof that Tyagaraja might well have lost his Rama, agonized long and eventually found Him again.

The slow and soft plaintive notes to which he has set the underlying melody, most naturally fit the lyrics and its situation. Few other choices could have existed. Due to its simplicity and appropriateness, I have even wondered if he might have just burst forth into the song and much later, worried about the musical structure he had given. Emotion might well have preceded method, much in the tradition of lyric poetry.

About the verses: I have mirrored the simplicity of the original lyrics in my verses. The only thing to note is "Rama's retinue". In most iconic representations of Rama with His retinue, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman are included. Here, Sugriva, king of the apes, Bharata and Shatrughna are also mentioned among the retinue. Incidentally, one of the icons of Tyagaraja's daily worship, is still preserved by some of his descendants, in the southern city of Thanjavur.

What makes a poet, one? As the legend goes, Tyagaraja felt that Rama, displeased with his service, had walked out of his home in anger. Penitence and plea filled Tyagaraja as he desperately searched for Rama and his outpouring showed a poet's extraordinary sentiment and sensitivity. This fineness of vision is not given to all. It is the sole preserve of the poet. A poet, one may say, sees the world very differently. It is far more panoramic to him. There is depth, color, beauty and reason to every speck and sparkle a poet sees. And so, we find Tyagaraja missing his Rama and seeing Him with His retinue, vividly in his mind's eye. Another would merely have had another idol made and invested it for worship the next day, as customs demand that a family icon must be replaced immediately. But, no, not to Tyagaraja. It is this gift of a unique vision, that empowers a poet with creativity and spontaneity.

Yet, there are times when even the most ethereally inclined poet, realizes that some in his audience might be of different turn of mind, and chained to the mundane. He then finds the need to reconcile the world as he sees it, with the colorless world that others without the gift of poetic vision and sensitivity, might see, for only when it reaches them too, can he really trumpet the transcendence of his art.

A comparative study: We have seen that Tyagaraja's songs often reflect how far away and above the world he was. Yet, here is a case where Kalidasa, the king of poets, wants to reconcile with the mundane and justify himself. One of the finest poems in Sanskrit, and indeed, in all of world literature, is his Meghadutam or "The Cloud Messenger". It contains some of the finest imagery ever written by man. Meghadutam tells the tale of a Yaksha (a celestial being akin to a demigod, who typically serves Kubera, the god of wealth), who has been exiled from the Yaksha city of Alakapuri in the Himalayas to the south of the country. He is separated from his beloved who is in Alakapuri, and convinces a passing cloud to carry a profession of his lasting love to her. Realizing it to be a beautiful but very unique conception, Kalidasa finds the need to justify himself. How can such a thing as a message carrying cloud be? From the first canto of Megadhutam:

dhūmajyotiḥ salilamarutāṁ sannipātaḥ kva meghaḥ |

saṁdeśārthāḥ kva paṭukaraṇaiḥ prāṇibhiḥ prāpaṇīyāḥ ||

ityautsukyādaparigaṇayanguhyakastaṁ yayāce|

kāmārtā hi prakṛutikṛupaṇaścetanācetaneṣu||

Whither a cloud,- a mess of lightning, water and wind! Whither the meaningful message of an articulate being!

Yet, with immeasurable anxiety did the Yaksha beseech the cloud. Verily, only the lovelorn fail to differentiate between the sentient and the insentient!

And so, we learn that it is not the poet who is flighty in making a messenger out of a cloud! No, it is his lovelorn subject who enlists the cloud. It is the Yaksha's fault! It is the fault of love itself.

Many such accounts of extraordinary messengers of love exist in Sanskrit literature. For example, in the older Mahabharata, Nala and Damayanti had a swan for a messenger. There were several imitations of the Meghadutam itself in the centuries that followed.

Extra Comments:
I am sorry for the long absence. It was triggered by acute illness and computer and other problems. But I simply couldn't resist writing something on the occasion of the Tyagaraja Aradahana at Tiruvaiyyar.

This post is dedicated to reader Karthik S., who sent some rousing comments from Gandhigram. We do get notes of appreciation and congratulations off and on, but none has been as profuse or as uplifting. It is always a pleasure to write for the discerning reader. His comments prompted me to write today about poets and their unique ways. Here are the gentleman's comments:

" I read your blog and I must say that I am a fan of yours. You have a deep knowledge of Western and Indian poets. I am reminded of Tilak's great work Gita Rahasya wherein which he effortlessly brings the work of Spencer, Mill and Kant and other Western philosophers to match with the Eastern philosophy of Vyasa, Valmiki, and other vedic seers.

Also you possess a poet's heart which makes the reading even more fantastic. The joy that you must have felt when translating his work should be unmatched and need no other trophies for it. May Sri Rama who gave such an ecstcasy to Sri Thyagaraja and Mahatma Gandhi (I am currently on the banks of Sabharmati, very near the Ashram sanctified by his feet - Ahmedabad) bless you ! "

He continued in another email:

"Was very happy to hear that your guru had been at the ashram and even also a freedom fighter. I am eagerly looking forward to your write up on Bhaja Govindam and MSS. I believe that your writings are simple and beautiful, very soon you will get a publisher and great reception for your writings... As you have included Mahakavi's work on the blog, similarly I am looking forward to read all the great Indian writings from Kabir's Andar Ram, Bahar Ram jahan deko vahan Ram to Appar's Kunitha puruvammum , Kovai Sevvayum !

Please continue your service, it's a great contribution to Indian Literature !
Dorakuna ituvanti seva !"

Thank you Karthik S., and to others who wrote. Thank you all, and do keep writing.

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Sogasu Juda

2009-11-15T00:58:00.000-08:00

Raga Kannadagowla, 22 Karaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 P N2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 S
Taalam: Deshaadi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
sogasu jūḍa taramā! nī

Anupallavi:
niganigamanucu kapōla
yugamucē merayu mōmu!

Charanam:
amarārcita pada yugamō!
abhaya pradakara yugamō!
kamanīya tanu ninditakāma!
kāma ripunuta! nī

vara bimba samādharamu
vakuḻa sumambula- yuramu
karadhṛta śara kōdaṇḍa!
marakatānga! varamaina

ciṛu navvō! mungurulu mari kannulatēṭō!
vara tyāgarājarcita! vandanīya! iṭuvaṇṭi

English verse:

Can another of such beauty be?
Glimmering cheeks and shining face
Feet adored by the celestial race,
Hands that are the saving grace;

Allures that Love does shame,
His Bane exalts Your name,
Kept, the Great Bow ever at hand,
Of crimson lips and bright blue arms,

O Finest Grace of divine charms!
A smile and curls over the face lie
As my worship's clear eyes rest high
Venerable past all is beauty such.

Comments:
A simple song that describes the beauty of Rama's Person. Here we see some poetic art in the similies drawn. We also note that this was lyricist writing, than a poet, for a poet of Tyagaraja's sub-culture, would have easily gone overboard with vivid imagery. Extensive imagery was indeed the state of the craft there. Tyagaraja instead, had to satisfy the melodic scheme intended for the song. We have encountered most of the other allusions in other songs.

Extra Comments:
Sorry for the long absence. This time, first I was out of town due to health problems and then it was my computer. The various in-house software I use for this project just wouldn't work on my other machines. It took a morbidly long time to type and format this song on one of my spare machines. But, now, we are back.

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Kannan piranthaan and art songs

2009-11-07T19:26:00.001-08:00

Lyrics:
kaṇṇaṉ pirandāṉ engaḻ kaṇṇaṉ pirandāṉ
inda kāṟṟathai eṭṭu disaiyilum kūṟiḍum

tiṇṇamuḍayāṉ maṇi vaṇṇamuḍayāṉ
uyar devar talaivaṉ puvimisai thōṉṟiḍa

paṇṇai isaippīr neñjil puṇṇai oḻippīr
inda pāriṉile tuyar nīṅgiḍum enṟidai

eṇṇisai koḻvīr naṉgu kaṇṇai viḻippīr
ini ēdum kuṟaivillai vedam tuṇai unḍu

sankaran vandān iṅgu maṅgalam enrāṉ
nalla candiraṉ vandiṅgu amudai poḻindanaṉ

baṅgam onṟillai moḻi maṅguvadillai
inda pārin kaṇmunbu vānattile niṉṟu

gaṅgaiyum vandāḻ kalai maṅgayum vandāḻ
inba ādiparāsakti anbudaṉ yendinaḻ

sengamalattāḻ engil poṅgum mugattāḻ
tirudēviyum vandiṅgu siṟappuḍan niṉṟaṉaḻ

English verse:
The Lord's come, our Lord's come,
Far and wide proclaims the wind,

Firm as ever, the Blue Hued's come
Has the Lord of the gods, says the wind.

Sing and heal the pain in your heart,
That, the grief of the world, shall begone;

Fixed on Him, awaken, for your part,
The Word's with us for all wants are gone.

Shiva blessed us with good tiding,
With the nectar of moonlight exceeding;

No blemish, no wane of the tongue,
Upon the sky, in the world's eye, sung.

The Ganges and Speech, were beheld
As Power, with love, the Babe, had held.

The red lotus, Her face shames,
As Wealth attends His myriad games.

Comments:
We cannot well appreciate art or music without a study of contrasts. We have throughout seen songs in the kriti form and reckoned them as poetry. Here we go the other way. We have a song by the poet patriot Subrahmanya Bharathi, on the birth of Krishna. This song is what one would call an "art song". It was first written as a poem and was then set to music for a solo singer or a small chorus. In common music genre parlance, it would fall in the classical easy listening and classical categories. In common performances, it is orchestrated and not improvised. The first line becomes a refrain. It does not well fall into the kriti form, such that one could attach embellishments at different points. It is also in a rare raga, Saranga tarangini, in which there are only a few kritis and uses the misra chapu talam. However, the song is generally rendered in only one precise way. So, the raga and taalam were not given earlier, nor were the ascent and descent of the raga. Nor were the lyrics put forth in our usual kriti, color coded format, as the music is mostly predetermined and this is different from what we have seen. I think this music setting was by the poet himself, but am not sure. In the west, many art songs and Leider of the 18th and 19th centuries are known, such as the Erlking, based on a Goethe poem, and famous for Franz Schubert's musical setting. These art songs were part of the large currents of change that flowed from one musical era to the next.

About the verses: Speech personified, Sarasvati, or Vakdevi, is the goddess of all the arts, including music, speech and rhetoric. The arts, in Hindu culture, are considered to be sixty four in number and include some trades and crafts as well, including, most strangely, thievery. Sarasvati, the consort of Brahma, who resides on a white lotus, as opposed to his red lotus, is the only Muse available in the Hindu pantheon; but she is a full goddess and also has some of the functions of Apollo. There are also certain classes of supernatural beings like the kinnaras, a horse-headed but otherwise anthropomorphic group, who form the hordes of Kubera, the celestial treasurer and live high in the Himalayas. They are proficient in music and with their animal like parts are reminiscent of figures from the west like Pan. The Greek centaurs were reversed in form from the Kinnaras, having a human head and equine body, but were also sometimes associated with learning. In this site of course, the main Muse that would watch over us, is Erato, the Muse of lyric poetry, who holds a lyre, as opposed to Sarasvati, who holds a Veena or the Indian lute.

Please note that we have followed the usual scheme of reckoning of gods by the personification of their domain of control. It may interest the inquiring reader to note that I adopted this convention not just for the ease of readers from different cultures and heritages. This convention actually has a firm basis. It is used even in the the Upanishads and the Vedas, in the Sanskrit. Cf. Kaatopanishad and how it refers to the god of death and righteousness, for one example.

Tamil Transliteration details: As we have seen earlier, in the romanization, note the hard "ṟ" sound as in "atrium", the unique ḻ sound as in Tamiḻ , the hard "ḷ" sound as in Glamorgan, the "ṅ" as in "bang", the "ñ" as in "banjo" and the soft ṉ sound as in "Great Dane", apart from the short and long u and o sounds, all not present in Sanskrit. The romanization is according to the National Library of Calcutta standard, as ISO 15919 doesn't cover these cases.

Krishna's advent in song: Incidentally, there are vast numbers of songs in Carnatic and related music about Krishna's exploits, but not many describing just the event of His birth. Here is the actual event as in the Bhagavatam (also called the Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavata Purana) 9:24:55-57. Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in prison (hence his patronymic Vaasudeva). Shuka narrates the Bhagavatam to King Pareekshith, the grandson of the Pandavas.

aṣṭamastu tayorasīt svayameva hariḥ kila|

subhadrā ca mahābhāgā tava rājan pitamahī||

yadayada hi dharmasya kśayo vruddhiśca pāpamanaḥ|

tada tu bhagavanīśa ātmānaṁ srujate hariḥ||

na hyasya janmano hetuḥ karmaṇo vā mahīpate|

ātmamāyāṁ vineśasya parasya druṣṭurātmanaḥ||

"To them, as the eight son, Vishnu(Hari) Himself was born. Subhadra, the fortunate, your grandmother, O King, (was also born).

Whenever goodness wanes and evil waxes, Vishnu personally comes down to this world.

Neither does He have a birth, nor an advent (cause). Nor is He bound to the fruits of His actions, O king! The omniscient, all pervading and omnipotent transcendent One, acts (came to earth), by His own grace." (cf. with the concept of "svatantra" in the song Nadopasance)

The Bhagavatam is the basis of many of the schools of modern Hinduism dedicated to Vishnu, irrespective of their underlying philosophies, such as the Gaudiya tradition in the east of India, and is a corner stone of all the others, such as the Sri Vaishnava tradition of the southern states. In the latter, the 4000 hymns of the Alwar saints are held as equal to the Vedas, and so, can be said to figure higher in precedence. The Bhagavatam is universally exalted, even among the non-Vishnu schools of worship. This book is where the incarnations of Vishnu and other exploits are described elaborately.

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Manavini Vinuma

2009-11-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

Raga Jayanarayani , 22 Karaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
manavini vinumā! marava samayamā?

Anupallavi:
kanugona kōri duṣkalpana māniti
kanikaramuna ninu pāḍucunna nā

Charanam:
parulaku hitamagu bhāvana gāni
ceracu mārgamula cintimpa lēnu
parama dayākara! bhakta manōhara!
dharādhipa karārcita tyāgarāju!

English verse:

Hark the cry from my heart, O Lord!
Now from Your mind, am I barred?
I purged evil but to see You, O Lord!
Mercy! For I sing of You ever 'n hard!

Nary an evil thought toward one and all,
Carry did I,- only goodwill toward all.
Most kind, Joy of the flock, the hands of all
Kings, in Your worship lock! Heed my call!

Comments:
A key focus of this site is viewing Tyagaraja as a lyric poet. This is close to the justifiably overworked description of Tyagaraja's songs as being Bhava or emotion filled, that is prevalent in Carnatic music circles. So, in this song, we return to that theme. What more emotion can a poet convey than to speak of the pain in his heart? Is emotional expression not the point of music? When Man first broke out into song, was it not a spontaneous expression of emotion?

One thing we did not note while discussing the kriti 'Raga Sudha Rasa' is the fact that it was in Andolika, a raga not used before Tyagaraja and therefore generally ascribed to him. That song is also the one popular song in that raga in the mainstream concert repertoire. The raga of this song, Jayanarayani, is also similarly ascribed to him. There is always a question about the eighty odd ragas in which he has only one or two songs, as to whether each was created or pioneered by him. Some explanations are given for this extensive introduction by Tyagaraja. There are interesting legends about how Tyagaraja came to possess many long lost books on music, often believed to be through the intercession of the celestial sage Narada. Tyagaraja had access to rare texts on the theory of music, imbibed them expertly and experimented successfully with then unheard ragas with unprecedented frequency- this much is clear. Of course, we shall hold back on musical details for some more time.

About the verses: There is not much mystery to this song. 'Marava Samayama':Literally, is this the time to forget? 'Bhakta manohara':He that enlivens the hearts of His worshipers- taken to be Rama, though he is not directly mentioned in the song.

A Comparative Study: The theme of this song is that Tyagaraja, having cleansed himself of all base thoughts and deeds, and armed with the power of virtue, now finds himself eligible for Rama's grace, and so registers his plea afresh. The merit of virtue is a frequent theme across all cultures. Here is Wordsworth, on "The Moral Law":

THE MORAL LAW

All true glory rests,

All praise of safety, and all happiness,

Upon the moral law. Egyptian Thebes,

Tyre by the margin of the sounding waves.

Palmyra central in the desert, fell !

And the arts died by which they had been raised.

Call Archimedes from his buried tomb

Upon the plain of vanished Syracuse,

And feelingly the sage shall make report

How insecure, how baseless in itself,

Is that philosophy, whose sway is framed

For mere material instruments : — how weak

Those arts, and high inventions, if unpropp'd

By virtue.

Tyagaraja makes his case to Rama based on his being virtuous. Virtue is universally seen thus, as a requirement for divine approval and bounty. Here is Milton, on the reward for virtue, in Paradise Regained:

This is true glory and renown, when God

Looking on the Earth, with approbation marks

The just man, and divulges him through Heaven

To all his Angels, who with true applause

Recount his praises.

Tyagararaja Yoga Vaibhavam

2009-11-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

Raga Ananda Bhairavi , 20 Natabhairavi janya
Aa: S G2 R2 G2 M1 P D2 P N2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam: Roopakam

##If formatting is off for the English verses and you see lines being split, please click on the picture below##

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
tyāgarāja yoga vaibhavaṁ sadāṣivaṁ
tyāgarāja yoga vaibhavaṁ sadāśrayāmi
tyāgarāja yoga vaibhavaṁ
agarāja yoga vaibhavaṁ
rāja yoga vaibhavaṁ
yoga vaibhavaṁ
vaibhavaṁ
bhavaṁ
vam

Samashti Charanam:
nāgarāja vinuta padaṁ
nādabindu kalāspadaṁ
yogirāja vidita padaṁ
yugapadbhoga mokṣapradam
yogarūḍha nāma rūpa
viśva srṣṭyādi karaṇaṁ
yugaparivṛtyabda māsa
dina ghaṭikādyāvaraṇam

śrī guruguhaguruṁ satcitānanda bhairavīśaṁ
śiva śaktyādi sakala tatva svarūpa prakāśaṁ
śaṁ prakāśaṁ
svarūpa prakāśaṁ
tatva svarūpa prakāśaṁ
sakala tatva svarūpa prakāśaṁ
śiva śaktyādi sakala tatva svarūpa prakāṣam

English verse:

King of sacrifices' penance fanfare, All abiding-
King of sacrifices' penance fanfare, I'm adoring,
King of sacrifices' penance fanfare,
King of mounts' penance fanfare
King of paths' penance fanfare,
Penance fanfare
Fanfare
Fare
Ar

Holy feet adored by the king of serpents,
Abiding in the musical elements,
Revered by the king of sages,
In an instant, liberates past the ages.
By the power of penance, the cause
Of creation of many forms and names,
They enthrall us past Time's games.

Bliss, Sire to the warlord, Lord to the startling
As Grace, Power and all truths shining,
Giving, shining,
In the True Form shining,
Form of truth and so shining
The form of all truths and so shining
As Grace, Power and all truths shining!

Comments:
Finally, Dikshitar makes his debut on our site. He is the sixth composer to figure here. My apologies to his many fans. His approach to music is vastly different, and would be tough to reconcile with the theme of this site. As small recompense, we have something flashy. For a change, I have posted a song that has more to do with poetry and word play than with esoteric concepts.

This song is about Tyagaraja, 'the king of renunciates', a form of Shiva and the presiding deity of the temple at Thiruvarur, where the Trinity was born. The main feature of the song are the two "yatis", roughly forms, used in the pallavi and the latter, faster Charanas. The Pallavi uses "Gopuccha yati", in that it elides syllable by syllable with each phrase, and so resembles the taper of a cow's tail or 'Gopuccha'. In the Charanas we find the "Srotovaha" or river yati, that accretes syllables with each phrase and so resembles a widening river.

About the verses: Before reading the English verses, please note a few things: There is a vast difference the alphabets of Sanskrit and English. Without getting very technical, we can simply say that the Sanskrit alphabet is more phonetic, as almost all letters make up a syllable. So, to show either of the yatis, we just need to elide or accrete by a letter, which will also be a syllable. But, in English this may not apply. Happen and open have 4 and 6 letters, yet two syllables each. Consider eliding the word 'phone' successively. We get phone->hone->one->ne, each with a very different pronunciation. This is what happens in English most often. So, in English, the nicer way to show the yatis, is to elide or accrete by a syllable. The effect will be consistent aurally. That is, in our verses, we will remove one syllable and not one letter, with each phrase.

Note that we could have made the verses a lot tighter to "look" more symmetric like the original; but wanted to preserve the word meaning and be faithful to the original, than paraphrase. Since the composer did not maintain the tightness he had earlier, in the Charanas, we too have followed suit. If you don't see the kriti or the verses in the proper shape, you need to maximize your browser window or make some other adjustment. This page is best viewed at a minimum width of 800 pixels. If you still can't see it clearly, there is a picture at the end of this song for you to see. I will remove this in a couple of days.

The verses and the words: Tyaga: Sacrifice. The practice of yoga is taken as a penance. Sadasivam-"The Eternal Shiva", or "Always pleasing", or "who holds all things". The word Shiva has myriad meanings. Later in the Charanas, Shiva is taken as Benevolence or Grace personified, to contrast with Shakti, the active force or Power. King of mounts: This refers to Kailasa, the abode of Shiva and hence Shiva. "King of paths": Raja Yoga is considered the "royal" path among the yogic paths. The two words "Bhavam" and "Vam" in the pallavi are tricky, as is how we have rendered them. Bhavam signifies many things, generally existence, a God etc. One way to take it, is to consider Shiva, the king of renunciation here, as delivering one across the ocean of worldly ties. In this sense, He is the "Fare" or passage, or even 'the fellow traveler' for this journey, taking two shades of the meaning. Again, "fare" as a noun also means state, or existence. So, this can also be taken. "Vam" is a syllable which stands for the cause of everlasting existence. Ar, pronounced the same as air, and which means "before", signifies that Shiva came before all things and all time, and so has has the same connotation as vam. Alternatively, we could use "air" instead of "ar", and could get the same meaning, as "air" is the root of existence too. This would also be acceptable while reading aloud. I used "ar" mainly for the visual effect, as it is contained in fare and fanfare. Warlord: Subhramanya, as the commander of Shiva's hosts. "Bhairavi": Fearsome, Startling. A form of Parvati or Shakti, Shiva's consort. "Sham": This syllable stands for munificence. "Tatvam":Truth(s) In the singular, it refers to the "mahavakyam" or "great statement" "tat tvam asi", or "Thou art that", which is the device by which the unity of all beings with the Brahman is arrived. In the plural, "sarva tatva" or all truths, there are 36 basic principles in Saivism or the school devoted to Shiva, from which they compose a theory of matter and the universe, and Godhead.

In the verses, a few other triplets which will work for the "Vaibhavam-bhavam-vam" elision, such as Glory, Glo(w), Lo; Bepraised, Praised, Raised and Renown, (K)nown, Own. Bhavam and Vam are a bit sketchy in this context and open to extrapolation, when compared to the rest of the pallavi. Own, as in all-pervasive and the cause of eternal existence and Lo! signifiying existence arising from nothingness by Shiva's will, will both sort of approximate to what vam stands for here and we can explain them away. Well, one isn't a real poet unless one can show that a microcosm exists in one's merest verse- particularly if one didn't actually put the microcosm there at the time of writing!

Extra Comments:
To better appreciate the English verses and the yatis, here is one plain translation that I found on the web (courtesy of www.guruguha.org). Note that I am not criticizing this site in anyway; in fact I am making no comments either way. Their focus and the focus of this site, are vastly different. I would think this is from TKG's book, but I have not checked. Also note that, in general, I go out of the way to stay close to the original, but for my practice of preferring personifications to names of beings and the import to names of concepts, to more readily convey the meaning to a new reader unfamiliar with the subculture of Carnatic music's domain. So, I write Wealth for Lakshmi and so on in the verses and catch these up in the comments.

Pallavi:
I always think of the yogic glory of tyagaraja who is the representation of SAdashiva.
The yogic glory of Tyagaraja.
The yogic glory of the Lord of the mountain ie Kailasha.
The glory of the path of rAja yoga. The glory of yoga.
The glory
The one named bhava or the one that helps cross the ocean of samsara
The beeja of Amrta

Charanam:
The feet praised by the king of serpents.
The one who establishes himself in the stages of nada, bindu and kala.
The feet known to the king of yogis.The feet that are capable of bestowing enjoyment and liberation instantly.
The one who created the myriad names and forms of this universe by his yogic prowess.
The form of differentiated time represented by yugas, changes in time and measures like years, months, day, and ghatikas.

The father of guruguha.The form of sacchidAnanda and the Lord of Bhairavi.
The one who is the embodiment of all the 36 tatvas beginning with shiva and shakti.
The auspicious. The one who shines forth.The one who shines forth as the true form.
The one who shines forth as the meaning of the tatvam [ in the tatvamasi traipada]
The one who shines forth as all the tatvas.
The one who shines forth as all the tatvas beginning with Shiva and Shakti.

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Brova Bhaarama

2009-11-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

Raga Bahudari, 28 Harikambhoji janya
Aa: S G3 M1 P D2 N2 S Av: S N2 P M1 G3 S
Taalam: Deshaadi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
brōva bhāramā? raghurāmā!
bhuvanamella nīvai nannokani

Anupallavi:
śrī vāsudēva! anḍa kōṭla
kukṣiṇi- yuncakō lēdā? nannu

Charanam:
kalaśāmbudhilō dayatō
namarulakai- yadigāka
gōpikalakai koṇḍaletta lēdā?
karuṇākara tyāgarājuni

English verse:

Scion of the Raghus, is it too much to bear,
Saving a single soul, kept by Your care?
Yet, You pervade all that exists,
And You are all that exists!

Blessed prince! The universe boundless,
You hold in Your Person endless.
Mountains you have moved and borne,
And that, twice at least, haven't I known-

The king of mounts,
For the gods, to find nectar,
A hill upon your finger,
To give Your flock, shelter.
Compassion for all You find,
This bard has You in a bind.

Comments:

The theme of this song is that, as the Lord has borne far greater preponderances and is all pervasive and omnipotent, could He not attend to the meager task of saving a humble bard?

About the verses: Blessed prince: As Vaasudeva, or the son of Vasudeva, Krishna was a prince of the Yadavas. "Kukshini": the stomach; literally "The corners (borders) of the universe are bound by Your stomach." or "You contain the universe within Your Person." One epithet frequently applied to Vishnu is "aparyapta" or limitless, He of the limitless form. He has appeared in this Cosmic Form, stretching across the universe, and embodying all of it, in a number of episodes. Mandara, the king of mounts was borne by Vishnu, as the churn, when the gods and demons churned the Ocean of milk for nectar. This was in his incarnation as the Great Tortoise (koormaavatara). "Your flock": The cowherd people of Gokula, ('gopikaas' in the original, signifying the women), among whom Krishna spent his childhood. In this episode, Krishna to humble the vain Indra, instructed his people to stop worshipping a vengeful and undeserving Indra. The wrathful thunderer Indra sent down torrential rain to wipe them all out. But, Krishna merely lifted up the Govardhana hill on His little finger and sheltered His people under it. For nine days Indra tried to drown them with his rains. Having failed, the humbled Indra sought and obtained Krishna's pardon. Here again Tyagaraja sees Rama as Krishna and Vishnu also.

We saw two different flavors of all-pervasiveness in the two previous songs. Here, we see two more flavors. In the first, totality, the Lord, is considered the sum total of the Universe ('You are all that exists'). So, He is "all the universe", as in the kriti. The next flavor is subsumption. The whole universe is said to be contained in His person. That is, He contains all that is in existence, and all that is existence, within Himself. He is above and beyond the universe. In a famous episode, on being chided by his mother Yashoda for eating sand, the child Krishna opened His mouth wide to reveal all the universe within it. But, this image of all the universe being contained in Vishnu's stomach, is from the Srimad Bhagavatam, specifically, verse 3:33:4.

Once again, here are the four flavors of all-pervasiveness we have seen:

He is within one or one is He.
He pervades all beings in the universe.
He is the sum total of all beings in the universe.
He contains the universe within Himself, as a small part.

Extra Comments:
Usually, in such discourse, the common practice is to quote from the relevant Hindu scriptures and sacred lore. Scholarly quotations would abound. Since our aim on this site is to reach a wide range of readers, from all heritages and persuasions, we will generally summarize what is relevant from those sources, in an accessible form and quote only when absolutely necessary. Sometimes we may give the verse number, so that the more interested reader may indeed try and should try, to read from the source too. We will quote more extensively, but from literature, in the comparative studies.

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Marugelara

2009-10-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

Raga Jayantashree, 20 Natabhairavi janya
Aa: S G2 M1 D1 N2 S Av: S N2 D1 M1 P M1 G2 S
Taalam: Deshaadi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
marugēlarā ō rāghavā!

Anupallavi:
marugēla carācara rūpa parātpara
sūrya sudhākara lōcana!

Charanam:
anni nīvanucu- anatarangamuna
tinnagā vētagi telisikoṇṭinayya
ninnēgāni madinennajāla norula
nannu brōvavayya tyāgarājanuta!

English verse:

Son of Raghu, must You still evade?
All beings alive, Your Person make.

You transcend all; All you pervade.
The sun and moon, for eyes, You take.

You are all that is, now I've learned,
Looking hard within, as my mind turned.
You fill my mind; all others I've spurned,
Save this bard,- for so much, I've earned.

Comments:
In this song, as in the previous one, Tyagaraja continues his quest for Rama. Here, he searches hard within himself and finds a slightly different answer to the question, "Where is Rama?".

About the verses:"Son of Raghu": Literally, a descendant of Raghu. "Charachara": All living things, those that move (generally fauna) and those that don't (generally flora). Interestingly, as we have cases such as coral reefs that don't move, and some diatoms that can move, we cannot say one class is fully motile and the other is not. "Paratpara": Literally superlative of superlatives, hence, transcendent. "Sudhakara": literally nectar giving; usually the moon, due to moonlight being cool; "Antarangamu": Anything that is interior; here, Tyagaraja's mind, in the sense of looking within himself.

I have said before that though, true to his lineage, there are abundant Advaitin (Monist/Non-dualist) references in Tyagaraja's songs, here and there he does make some allusions more typical of Vishistadvaita (Qualified Monism/Non-Duality) and other schools. He is somewhat syncretic, as are many modern Hindus. Here, he clearly describes how the various beings and entities of the universe, fill the person of Rama, that is the Brahman, which notion is often considered a trademark of the Vishishtadvaita school, though not exclusively so. In this school, the Paramatma can thus be called that Supreme Being who is the sum total of all beings and things in the universe, (as the universe is His Person), and he is the "Sarva-vyapi" or the all-pervasive Being. The Paramatma is also the "Sarva Sheshi" literally, He that is the Final Remainder or the only everlasting Being, the essence of all.

The discussion from the last song continues here. As Tyagaraja saw the light within himself there as the Lord is all pervasive, he now sees him pervade all other elements of the universe, that is all other elements save Tyagaraja himself. In that song, he restricted himself to seeing the Paramatma only within himself. Here he is moving close to pantheism, seeing the Paramatma everywhere. Now, if we loosely reckon the relevant Vedanta concept here as pantheism, we can find a few parallels to it in the rest of the world. Also, while Advaita usually is practised through the Shanmata or six-path worship or six-level worship, this school explicitly offers a single path, that of directly seeking refuge in the Lord, forsaking all other paths, in line with an injunction from the Gita. Tyagaraja's statement in the Charanas, that he shall no longer turn to anyone else in his mind but Rama, is reminiscent of this teaching about the one true path.

Extra Comments:
I may be making bold a bit here, in deriving syncretism in Tyagaraja and see him swerve from Advaita, but I think this is an interesting line of discussion, even if I receive trenchant refutations. Any credible line of inquiry that facilitates greater understanding of our august subject, I think is good.

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Maaru balka

2009-10-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

Raga Sriranjini , 22 Kharaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 D2 N2 S Av: S N2 D2 M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
mārubalka kunna- vēmirā mā manōramaṇa

Anupallavi:
jāracōra bhajana jēsitinā sākēta sadana

Charanam:
dūra bhāramandu nā hṛdayāravindam
andu nelakonna

English verse:

Quiet You remain, O joy of Wealth! But, why?
For, never have I hailed loot and lust!

At once here, there, afar and hard by,
And now seated in my chest in must,
Quiet You remain, for I've seen the light.
And so, I sing of my Lord and delight.

Comments:
This is a moving song. The sentiments expressed in this song are typical of a lyric poet, because Tyagaraja is expressing his innermost feelings. He did live during the time of English lyric poetry and was contemporary to the younger Romantic poets, although history tells us also, that he was far removed from those happenings.

Looking all around for it, and then finding something hidden in plain sight, is something all of us have experienced. In this case, Tyagaraja finds God Himself within him.

About the verses:"Joy of Wealth": In the kriti, mother is given. Mother in Tyagaraja's context refers to Sita or alternatively, to Lakshmi or Wealth (personified). "Loot and lust":In the kriti, "philanderers and thieves". "Saketa sadana": resident of Saketa or Ayodhya, hence Rama (licensed out). "Chest in must": must here is a noun, meaning new juice. Tyagaraja's heart, may be said to have been overflowing with the new juice of new found joy of realization. "I have seen the light": In the original, "I have seen the path", i.e. he realizes that the all-pervasive Lord, pervades within him too. Also, with some license, I infer with the second, "Quiet You Remain", that Rama knows Tyagaraja would soon find Him within, and so did not trouble Himself to respond to Tyagaraja's calls; or Quiet, He remained, leaving Tyagaraja to his devices, i.e. I hearken back to the initial statement of the song, the pallavi.

Unexpected subtlety: This is the shortest song we have seen. But, note that two deep philosophical statements are subtly intertwined here. First, by finding God within himself, Tyagaraja evokes many Advaitin or Monist(Non-Dualist) teachings in the song. "Aham Brahmasmi", or "I too am Brahman" is one of the tenets of Vedantic philosophy common to all three schools. It is an often stated and expounded vakya or assertion. In line with Tyagaraja's heritage, let's keep close to the Sankara or Advaita version here. It may seem for a second that I am seeing too much in Tyagaraja's casual statement in finding God within him. But, consider how he characterizes Rama- as being all pervasive, at once here, there and everywhere, and in his own heart. This is purely a trait of Brahman, the Supreme Self. And then, more tellingly, he states he is overjoyed that he now knows the path and is no longer despondent that Rama doesn't answer his call. He now realizes that Rama, considered Brahman, abides in him too, and there is no need for any further fruitless quest or supplication to Rama. Speaking quite loosely but not inaccurately, this is really the state of seeker, steeped in enquiry and slowly ascending the path of self-realization. Towards the end, he starts to view himself as one with the Brahman, and one with all of existence, and all that is in existence, as that all dissolves away. In short, he finds the light within himself. As Tyagaraja does here. The points that Tyagaraja makes about finding God everywhere and hence within us, are all often made in the mundane daily speech of pious Hindus. But, they are in fact laced with such a deep meaning if we consider their origination.

Note that the Vishistadvaita and Dvaita schools give us a slightly different route for seeing the light.

A comparative study: So we have the teaching, "I am Brahman", as a central principle in Hindu Philosophy. This is fairly unique among philosophical systems of some antiquity in the world. Although we may find related conceptualizations in philosophical discourse, if we look through both the secular and the religious poetry and music of the west, we may not find many examples we can relate the Hindu concept to. A visualization of God as a Master and judge over all, to be obeyed than realized is more common in the west. So, we have Milton saying this in his sonnet "On His Blindness", i.e. God is "Kingly":

...
God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts, who best
Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o're Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and waite.

"Who only stand and wait" is now a famous phrase to describe vacillators and those of little faith. Note also, that in line with the sonnet form, Milton asks a question then digresses and resolves it in the sestet, just as Tyagaraja himself asks the question and resolves it in the Charanas.

Now, here is a verse from Emily Bronte's "No Coward Soul Is Mine", that is fairly close to what we saw in the song.

O God within my breast,
Almighty ever-present Deity!
Life, that in me hast rest
As I, undying Life, have power in thee!

Even in philosophy, the classic problems discoursed in the west vastly differ from the Hindu (Vedantic) system. The primary philosophical problem in the Indian or Hindu systems current today, pertains to the Supreme Self and the particular Self, and then only produces a theory of matter and the universe, as an aid and afterthought to that discussion.

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Janani Ninnuvina

2009-10-27T15:46:00.001-07:00

Raga Reetigowla, 22 Karaharapriya janya
Aa: S G2 R2 G2 M1 N2 D2 M1 N2 N2 S Av: S N2 D2 M1 G2 M1 P M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam: Mishrachaapu

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
jananī ninnu vinā amba
trilōka dikkevarammā jagamulōna gāna

Anupallavi:
manasija mānasa sammōdini vinavō nā manavini vini nannu brōvumu

Svarasāhityam:
niravadhika sukha dāyaki yanucu
vini ninnu cāla goliciti
niratamuga tanayuni moralu vini nī valanē brōcuṭaku evarika dharalō
vinumā idi ghanamā taruṇamidi
kṛpa salupa durusuga
sarasīruha lōcani suvāsini
tāmasamu sēyakane brōvumu

Charanam:
varadāyaki kadā okkani
brōva karudā daya rādā
nera nammina nātō vādā
sarasija bhava hari haranuta pāda

karuṇānidhi nīvu vēganē vacci
karuṇatō nannu brōvu
girirāja kumārivainavu paritāpamula
nella pariharicēvu

vanajāyata nētri kumāra janani
kāmitadātri ghana pāpa latālavitri
sanakādi munulella sannuta pātri

English verse:

Mother of the three worlds! Save You,
To whom would I turn to?

You caused Love's heart to flutter,
Hear my plea; save me,- come hither.

Who else is my savior in the world?
Who lends an ear to my pain unfurled?
Do I wear You thin?
But, this is the moment!
Grant without delay!
O lotus eyed graceful Goddess!
Save me this day!
As You bestow limitless pleasure;
My faith's upon You in full measure.

O Benevolence, cease mulling!
Save this single soul, can You not?
Pity me who swerves not!
Even the Trinity's at Your feet, hailing.

Ocean of compassion! Rush to me!
With Your grace, save me!
Child of the Mountain King,
Out of Your limitless mercy,
May I atone for each travesty.

Lotus eyed Mother of the boy fierce!
You grant all our desires!
Cleanser of great sins of the ages!
Adored of the Four and all the sages!
O Mother! My sole refuge!

Comments:
Manasija: Literally, "mind born". Hence, Kama, the god of love, or love personified as in the verses. Sarasija: He who was born on a lotus. Brahma was born in a lotus arising from Vishnu's navel. Parvati was once born the daughter of Himavan, the king of mountains or the Himalayas personified. She married Siva as the fruit of her severe penances. Her penances were so intense that for a time, she survived by consuming not even a leaf' hence the epithet, Aparna. She is also called Gauri, "the fair" and Devi, the goddess. In the main, she represents Shakti, that is energy or vital force. 'Boy fierce':Kumara or Subhramanya, is considered the commander of Siva's hosts and a handsome youth. 'The Four': The four sages, mind born sons of Brahma, led by Sanaka, whom we have encountered earlier. In this song, we see that this composer takes his chosen deity, Devi or Shakti, from her element as Parvati the consort of Shiva, and sees her as the Goddess above all else. This is in line with the Hindu praxis we saw earlier.

This song is a staple of the mainstream concert repertoire. The composer Subbaraya Shastri studied with all three of the Trinity of music. I thought it might be a nice break to see a song that "came after" Tyagaraja. We have seen one or two that preceded him. In terms of musical detail, we can see that the kriti form of songs has by now developed fully, due to the Trinity's works. This was one of their key contributions, particularly Tyagaraja's. This kriti, for instance, has an elaborate structure, with several charanas and the swarasahitya-chitteswaras, all of which predetermine many of the elements of its final embellished rendition.

Meter and Rhyme: As a change from the familiar couplets and stanzas I use on this site, in this poem, although I have still rhymed, I have moved a bit closer to free verse. This was first by accident and then by intent. I have mentioned 'lyrical imprint' in my introductory post. This pertains to how much poetical strength is there in the original kriti, that can be transferred into English well, in a faithful and 'word order preserving' rendering like mine. When I started writing this song, I noticed that without taking a lot of license or ripping up the word order and the order of allusions in the kriti, I could not write it in my usual style. So, in line with my objectives on this site, I chose faithfulness over style and symmetry, and let the flow of the kriti guide the English rendering. This is how the poem developed. To me, for one, it was an interesting contrast.

Extra Comments:
This song wasn't originally intended to be featured on this site. It was posted upon a request from a reader. Requests for songs are welcome at lyricaltyagarajablog@gmail.com

I know that the formatting is a bit off for the kritis and verses. The longer a kriti, the more terrible blogger's formatting gets. Somehow it doesn't seem to like nested tables in this template. I will find a fix soon. But first, I want to fix the orphaned "pronunciation guide".

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Ksheerasagara Shayana

2009-10-27T00:47:00.000-07:00

Raga Devagandhari, 29 Dheerashankarabharanam janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P D2 S Av: S N3 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
kṣīrasāgara śayana!
nannu cintala beṭṭavalēna rāma?

Anupallavi:
vāraṇa rājunu brōvunu vēgamēvaccinadi vinnānurā rāma!

Charanam:
nārīmaṇiki jīraliccinadi nāḍē nē vinnānurā dhīruḍau rāmadāsuni bandhamu
dīrcinadi vinnānurā
nīrajākṣikai nīradhi dāṭina nī kīrtini vinnānurā tārakanāma tyāgarājanuta
dayatō nēlukōra rāma!

English verse:

In the Ocean of Milk, when Your bard is vext,
Should it please You to languidly repose?

You rushed on the king-tusker's pretext,
For so I've heard; now may I impose?

You clothed a queen, when her kings failed.
You saved another bard, when he was jailed.
To save your doe-eyed bride,
You crossed the ocean;
Your mere name takes me
Across the worldly ocean.
Your exploits are famed far and wide.
In Your grace, Lord, may I abide.

Comments:
Tyagaraja cites several 'precedents' in this song, asking for Rama's intercession on his behalf. Without going into fine musical details, as a rudiment of music appreciation, we can still remark that the pallavi when sung, clearly conveys the mood and graphic description of Vishnu resting amid the mildly turbulent waves of the Ocean of Milk. We can actually notice a little wave in the phrases and a marked and appropriate languor to the start of the kriti. Just visualize the image described in the song.

About the verses: The Ocean of Milk, is considered the site of Vishnu's home, Vaikunta. There, He is seen reclining on the many headed great white serpent Adi Sesha, with His consort, Lakshmi or Wealth, seated at His side. "The king-tusker": A celebrated exploit of Vishnu, from the Bhagavatam was when He rushed to the aid of the king of elephants, Gajendra. Gajendra had been a great devotee of Vishnu in his previous birth, and was born in that form, due to a curse. One day, when he went to the waterfront for a drink, a crocodile attacked him. Gajendra, receiving the worst of it, prayed to Vishnu, who alacritously interceded on his behalf. The point is that the Lord hears the prayers of all beings. Allegorically, Gajendra may be taken to be man, and the crocodile, the burden of sins, or just the coils of worldly existence. We may conclude from the story that Vishnu may deliver man from his sins and help him see the light, if only man would appeal fervently.

"Clothed a queen": The kriti alludes to a "nari mani" or gem among women. In the Mahabharata comes the episode in which, Draupadi, the queen of the Pandavas is dragged into the Kaurava court, to be the slave of the Kauravas. The Pandavas had lost her, and their own freedom, in a game of dice. The Kaurava Dushasana sought to disrobe her, being so instructed by his senior, Duryodhana. The Pandavas, now slaves, being barred from fighting for her dignity, she appealed to Krishna, the all knowing. He, from afar, miraculously clothed her in an endless robe, that much as Dushasana kept disrobing her, she still remained fully clothed. In the end, Dushasana fainted tired from his efforts. This divine intercession prompted the Kuru elders to annul the game of dice, and return their kingdom to the Pandavas. But, the Pandavas were again tricked into a game of dice, which they lost and were forced into a thirteen year exile. Their kingdom not being restored after the agreed term of exile, the great war of the Mahabharata was fought. At its beginning, the Gita was taught. At the end of the terrible war, every house in Aryavarta or ancient India, had suffered at least one of its own dead. The Pandavas gained both kingdoms, theirs and the Kauravas' and ruled well for decades. Eventually, they ascended to Heaven. Krishna, the prime mover of the Mahabharata, met a mortal end, accidentally shot in the foot, by a hunter in a forest, as he was resting. Thus, this incarnation or Avatara of Vishnu, is considered the only Purnavatara, or Complete Incarnation, for all the others culminated in a miraculous ascent to Heaven or merging with Vishnu. One avatar, Parashurama, is considered immortal and still penancing in the Mahendra hill of the Himalayas. However, his "amsa" or "incarnated element" of Vishnu, is thought to have merged with Vishnu, once the purpose of that avatara was fulfilled.

"Another bard": Tyagaraja refers to a saint-composer named Bhadrachala Ramadas, who preceded Tyagaraja by about a century. The popular version of his story is this. Being appointed the tax collector for a district in Golconda, a post of some consequence in those times, he chanced upon the dilapidated but historic and important, Rama temple in Bhadrachalam. He proceeded to renovate the temple. The local ruler presumed that Ramadas had squandered some of the tax money on the temple and sought to be compensated. Ramadas, having exhausted his personal wealth, could not do indemnify the ruler and so, was incarcerated. After twelve years of jail, it is said, Rama deigned that Ramadas had paid for his sins in a previous birth and so was fit to be liberated. He and Lakshmana appeared miraculously one night, before the ruler, and compensated him with gold coins bearing Rama's own seal. The overwhelmed ruler released Ramadas and made a rich donation to the temple. Ramadas lived out his life singing the praises of Rama. Ramadas was a learned composer who has left behind hundreds of songs in Telugu. He used the earlier Keertanam form of songs, as opposed to the Kriti form used since Tyagaraja's time. Some of his works are more correctly shlokas or verses. Tyagaraja draws a parallel between his life far from Rama, being the same as Ramadas' incarceration.

"Your mere name": Rama Naama or Rama's name is considered a Taraka Mantra, or a prayer that can stop even death. It can also deliver man, over the ocean of worldly ties, and into enlightenment. Incidentally, some of the most famous songs of Bhadrachala Ramadas, such as E teeruga nanu, and Tarakamantramu, refer to Rama and Rama's Name delivering one across worldly ties and into bliss. This is a common theme for poets and composers who belong to the school of devotion to Rama (Rama Bhaktas). Those devoted to Krishna, by contrast, speak of his various Leelas or life exploits, for the key difference between the philosophy of these two avataras, is that the Rama incarnation had implicit divinity- Rama lived as a mere mortal and exemplar. Never once is Rama described as having using divine powers. Krishna on the other hand, led a life full of divine miracles, commencing with his birth. Thus, to those who synthesize both schools, which is the majority of modern Hindus, as the lines are not strictly drawn, Rama is meant to be followed in life as a model, and Krishna is meant to be prayed to as a god and Supreme Teacher.

"Crossed the ocean": This is the famous episode of Rama crossing the ocean, over a floating bridge of stones, into Lanka, to fight Ravana, who had abducted Sita. Sita is referred to as "lotus eyed" in the kriti, which I have given as "doe eyed", the implication of either being, large, beautiful and kindly eyes.

"The worldly ocean": In Hindu literature, material life, or family life is often viewed as an ocean to be crossed, in the process of attaining enlightenment. The Taraka Mantra of Rama's name, is considered particularly potent to deliver one from death and across the worldly delusions.

There is another song by Tyagaraja, "Ksheera Sagara Vihara", in the Ananda Bhairavi raga, in which too he expresses similar sentiments.

One strange point is that we don't encounter the Ocean of Milk in the Rig Veda. We encounter it in the Epics, the Bhagavatam and other books. We can make several incidental observations about this song. Although, canonically, Rama is seen as an incarnation of Vishnu and all but one of the episodes mentioned here, are considered exploits of Vishnu rather than episodes of the Ramayana, Tyagaraja, in his devotions, sees Rama as being Vishnu Himself, as well as Krishna. This is a frequent practice in Hindu worship; the deities of daily praxis, eventually lead to the concept of the eternal and unknowable Brahman.

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Nadasudha rasambilanu

2009-10-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Raga Arabhi , 29 Dheera Shankharabharanam janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P D2 S Av: S N3 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
Taalam: Roopakam

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
nādasudhā rasambilanu narākṛti yāyē manasā!

Anupallavi:
vēda purānāgama śāstrādulaku ādhāramaina

Charanam:
svaramūlu ārunnokaṭi ghaṇṭalu
vara rāgamu kōdaṇḍamu;
dura naya dēśyamu triguṇamu
niratagati śaramurā;
sarasa sangati sandarbhamu
gala giramūlurādhara;
bhajana bhāgyamurā tyāgarāju sēvincu.

English verse:

The nectar of Music, O Mind,
Here, in human form, find!

For Scripture and Epic, the basis,
The seven notes, the bells of stasis,

To such music and its Maker, I bow-
The blessed melodies make the Great Bow,
Their note, tone and join, the bow string,
A steady taut beat, the true arrow speeding,
His fitly said word, the sweetly varied phrase,
A boon it is to sing in His praise.

Comments:
This is a song in which Tyagaraja combines his path of Ramabhakti or Devotion to Rama with his method or vehicle of Nadopasana or music as worship. He sees Music as arising from the Person of Rama.

About the verses: "Bells of stasis": Unlike the European crossbow of the Middle Ages, the Indian great bow or longbow, was unique to each great archer, was considered to have its own signature, and was celebrated along with him. Even the twang of each bow was said to be unique and identified its wielder. Thus, Rama had the Kothanda bow referred to here, and Arjuna of the Mahabharata had the Gandeeva. Shiva has the Pinaka. Among the many names of Rama and Siva are Konthandapani and Pinakapani, signifying that the bow each wields. Each such bow, was also heavily ornamented, and was part of the warrior's usual attire, even during social or festive occasions. It was also custom to tie two little bells, one at either end of the bow, where the bowstring was lashed to the bow's frame. Detailed sculptures and paintings will often show these bells. "Scriptures and Epics": Tyagaraja mentions the Vedas, Puranas, Agamas and Shastras. Usually, only the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the two Itihasas (literally Histories) are called Epics, because they deal with a common thread of a single family of heroes. The Puranas are also epic-like works that, more anecdotally, develop the mythology of the Trinity. Each of the Trinity is given one set of Puranas, the "Srimad Bhagavatam" or Bhagavata Purana of Vishnu being one of the largest, and the most widely read. Agamas are books that codify worship such as in temples. Separate Agamas exist for the worship of Siva temples and Vishnu temples. The Shastras lay out extensive rules for general life, function and conduct including law and the arts. "The Great Bow": Here, the Kothanda of Rama.

Some concepts of music: From this point, several musical concepts pertaining to Carnatic music and improvisation are mentioned in succession in the kriti. Since we are not looking at musical detail yet, I shall only briefly mention them. We know that Raga stands for the melodic scale or schema in which songs may be composed. "Note, tone and join": Tyagaraja mentions dura(ghana), naya and deshya. These correspond to the three ways in which ragas might be appreciably demonstrated in a concert. Some times only syllabary or tone based exposition using syllables such as "ta","na","aa" is done; sometimes note based exposition, using key phrases comprised of the notes allowed in that raga is used and sometimes both. Which of these expositions is chosen depends on the raga, and to an extent on the performer. Hence, "note, tone and join", with some license being taken. These three are said to make the three strands of the bowstring of the Kothanda. The arrows then denote the temporal variations or gatis. Sangatis constitute the different methods in which the phrases in the lyrics might be sung elaborately, expounding the features of a raga. So they may be seen as short musical statements, that are varied and return in various forms, but often serially and not interleaved, when a kriti is being rendered. Usually, a phrase of the lyrics is picked up and expanded in this form, then another phrase is picked and so on. The lyrics stay the same- the same phrase, but the music is varied each time and the phrase is stylized and rendered differently. An analogy would be the many ways the same statement, "How is the dinner?" could be asked, stressing each different word, thereby altering the meaning. E.g "How is the dinner?" and "How is the dinner?", might mean two different things. Although sangatis may be freely interpreted by a performer, for most of the songs in the mainstream concert repertoire, there are sangatis tied to each song that are familiar to or expected by the listeners. Tyagaraja sees the art of sangatis in Rama's words to those around Him. Tyagaraja is said to have invented Sangatis. (see extra comments)

Thus, in Rama's Person, Tyagaraja finds the origins of Music, reconciling his devotion to Rama with Nadopasana. We may also note from what Tygaraja has described in this song almost 200 years ago and the history of the art during his times, that, what are considered the major elements of the Carnatic art have remained fairly constant since then, shorn of the major upheavals in the music of the other parts of the world.

Extra Comments:
As mentioned earlier, we don't follow any canonical order in posting songs here. We actually go by the lyrical imprint and the development of common themes in Tyagaraja's oeuvre. So, here, we see another flavor of his Nadopasana or music as worship. We have seen many kritis of Nadopasana already.

Tyagaraja is generally said to have invented sangatis. But, in my opinion, which is in line with the view of only a minority, he was only probably the first well known proponent to use them extensively. Due to the fundamental nature of the sangati concept, it is well possible that in the centuries before him, sangatis were known in some form, but not widely studied or adopted.

/\

Dvaitamu sukhama

2009-10-20T19:00:00.001-07:00

Raga Reetigowla, 22 Karaharapriya janya
Aa: S G2 R2 G2 M1 N2 D2 M1 N2 N2 S Av: S N2 D2 M1 G2 M1 P M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam:Deshaadi

Lyrics:
Pallavi:
dvaitamu sukhamā?
advaitamu sukhamā?

Anupallavi:
caitanyamā vinu sarvasākṣi vistāramugānu delupumu nātō!

Charanam:
gagana pavana tapana bhuvanādyavanilō nagadharāja śivēndrādi surulalō
bhagavadbhakta varāgrēśarulalō bāga ramincē tyāgarājārcita!

English verse:
Are we one, or are we two?
Is one path to bliss true?

O Soul of all, that sees all!
Reveal all, heed my call!

In earth, air, fire, water and ether,
The Trinity, the gods and their king,
And in the most blessed seeker,
You of my worship, abide delighting.

Comments:
This song is about another eternal question, "Which is the right path to salvation?". This is the pleasure (sukham), alluded to in the song. The story of modern Hindu philosophy begins with the resurgent school of Vedanta rising to ascension towards the middle of the first millennium, along with the Bhakti movement of personal devotions. There are six Darshanas('paths') or schools of Hindu philosophy, usually mentioned in pairs due to the common threads, viz Sankhya-Yoga, Nyaya-Vaisheshika and Mimamsa-Vedanta. These schools encompass various methods from logic, to the empirical to reflective philosophical inquiry, as in the Vedanta. Sankhya, literally counting up or enumeration, is the serial conceptual development of the One and the universe and the primordial particles, the tanmatras(literally molecules) etc., such as in a theory of matter. Yoga literally the act of blending or joining, has come to mean contemplation or seeking the One through various paths, such as that of knowledge. In the modern day, it has become a composite of other systems, and is seen advocated by adherents of Vedanta as well. Nyaya, literally logic or justice, is the school of pure logic or reason, similar to some of the western systems in employing mainly syllogisms, modus ponens, modus tollens and other methods, starts developing its theory from sixteen aspects of inquiry. Vaisheshika or distinction, uses similar methods, but develops a theory of matter, nature and all things, with fewer aspects. Mimamsa (or more correctly "purva mimamsa", mimamsa of the first part). literally investigation, deals with reflective philosophical inquiry. Vedanta, ("uttara mimamsa" or mimamsa of the latter part) develops such inquiry into the now familiar theses on the Brahman, the Supreme Self, and the nature of all matter and beings. Vedanta uses an abundance of the methods of logic and reason in its development of concepts.

Central to Vedanta is the concept of the Paramatma, the Supreme Self, (the Brahman), who pervades the universe, created and sustained it, and is omnipotent and omnipresent, and the concept of the Jivatma, the particular self of a person. Advaita or the school of non-Duality or Monism, which came first, teaches that these two are but one and the same and all the world is an illusion. Vishistadvaita, the school of Qualified Monism or non-duality, holds that while they seem two different entities, with different identities, the former is immanent in the latter, and they are not truly separate, and that the world is not an illusion but represents the person of the Supreme Self. Dvaitam or Dualism which came last, teaches that the two are distinct and that the particular self should strive to attain the former. Many times, Vedanta is wrongly conflated with just Advaita or Monism. It must be kept in mind that there are three very different schools. Each school of Vedanta bases its theories chiefly on the Gita and the Brahmasutras or Aphorisms on Brahman, ascribed to Baadarayana. The principal teacher of each school, i.e. Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva, has commented extensively on either book, each interpreting the books as showing the theories and conclusions of his school. Also invoked frequently are the Upanishads and less frequently, the Vedas and other texts.

Today, Vedanta is the school of choice for virtually all Hindus. We must note another difference. These six darsanas or paths are systems of philosophy- often considered esoteric. Vedanta is of daily interest only to active seekers and those learned in it. Praxis, worship and liturgy, as seen in temples and homes on a day to day basis, are entirely different. In general, Advaitins are votaries of Siva, though, as we have seen earlier, six deities are allowed for them. Vishistadvaitins and Davitins are votaries of Vishnu, the latter often invoking Him in the aspect of Krishna. While the philosophies differ, most of the liturgy and rites, such as the fire sacrifices, are common to votaries of all three schools of Vedanta. Additionally, rites, practices and worship differ across the various regions of India.

About the verses: In this song, Tyagaraja wants to know from the Supreme Self, which path leads to salvation. He was raised in Advaita, but finds himself questioning. "Are we one or two":The 'we' refers to Tyagaraja, as a Jivatma and the Paramatma. As Tyagraja addresses the Supreme Self directly, I have taken the references to Dvaita and Advaita as asking whether he and the Supreme Self, were one and the same, or two separate entitites. Sarvasakshi, literally witness to all, is the notion that the Paramatma sees all. Earth, fire, air (wind), water and ether (or sky), are the pancha-bhutas, or the five basic elements, of which all matter is composed. Nagadharaaja- Nagadhara+aja- "He who bears the mountain"+ the prime "mover". The first is Vishnu, for his having held up the Govardhana hill to shelter the cowherds from Indra's wrath of torrential rains or the Mount Mandara, as the Great Tortoise, during the churning of the ocean. "Bhagavadbhakta", literally devotee of the Lord, hence the most eminent "seekers". Note that in this song, Tyagaraja is not directly referring to Rama. Interestingly, though Tyagaraja has made many statements in his songs, in line with his Advaita heritage, a few statements may be taken as being more in line with Vishistadvaita. We shall look at some along the way.

Since this is a song that deals with the deepest, weightiest and most consequent matters of philosophy, and concepts unique to the Hindu system, your servant does not dare to search for parallels elsewhere. But, still, the methods of Vedanta can sometimes descend into circuitous dialectics and grammatical gymnastics, confounding all but the most persistent. In fact, they might seem forbidding to the average devout Hindu, who is usually not guilty of extensive philosophical inquiry, as is not the bulk of humanity. Which calls to mind this 18th century epigram on the feud on technical niceties between the Baroque composers Handel and Bononcini:

Some say, compar'd to Bononcini
That Mynheer Handel's but a Ninny
Others aver, that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle
Strange all this Difference should be
'Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!

These characters also appeared in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. Another that comes to mind is Ibsen's Peer Gynt confronting the Boyg. During Peer Gynt's fantastic journeys, he runs into the Boyg, an invisible troll with no real features- as if he were a void come alive. Peer Gynt's conversation with the Boyg is hilarious. He repeatedly asks "Who are you?" and receives the answer "Myself". In the darkness, the Boyg is blocking his way forward. He asks the Boyg to let him pass, but the Boyg tells him to "go around". He tries to cut the Boyg down, to no avail. He falls, and then rises, and finds the Boyg is blocking him on all sides now. From Act II:

PEER GYNT. Answer ! Who are you ?
A VOICE IN THE DARKNESS. Myself!
PEER GYNT. Let me pass, then !
VOICE. Go round about, Peer ! Room enough on the mountain.
[PEER GYNT tries to pass another way, but runs up against something.]
PEER GYNT. Who are you ?
VOICE. Myself. Can you say as much ?
********

PEER GYNT. Backward or forward, it's just as far
Out or in, the way's as narrow.
It's there '.and there ! and all about me !
I think I've got out, and I'm back in the midst of it.
What's your name ! Let me see you ! Say what you are !
VOICE. The Boyg.
PEER GYNT [feeling round him] . Neither dead, nor alive ; slime and mistiness ;
No shape or form ! It's as if one were smothered
Amidst any number of bears that are growling
At being waked up ! [Shrieks. ]
Why don't you hit out at me !
VOICE. The Boyg's not so foolish as that.
PEER GYNT. Oh, strike at me !
VOICE. The Boyg doesn't strike.
PEER GYNT. Come, fight ! You shall fight with me !
VOICE. The great Boyg can triumph without any fighting.
PEER GYNT. I'd far rather it were the Brownies tormenting me !
Show fight, will you !
VOICE. The great Boyg can get all he wishes by gentleness.
PEER GYNT [biting his own hands and arms]. Oh, for claws and teeth
that would tear my flesh !
I must see a drop of my own blood flow !
(R.F. Sharp translation. Your servant is guilty of many things in life, but not of Danish.) (PS. To clarify an email I got from a reader- that was a joke... Peer Gynt was of course written in Norwegian.)

*********
Eventually, with the 'assistance' of some 'women', the Boyg is made to vanish, and Peer Gynt continues his journey when he wakes. And, as the Boyg taught him, he continues to "go around" all things in life.

/\

Nidhi chaala sukhamaa

2009-10-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Raga Kalyani, 65 Mechakalyani janya
Aa: S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3 S Av: S N3 D2 P M2 G3 R2 S
Taalam:Mishrachaapu

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
nidhi cāla sukhamā?
rāmuni sannidhi sēva sukhamā?
nijamuga balku manasa!

Anupallavi:
dadhi navanīta kśīramulu rucō? dāśarathi
dhyāna bhajana sudhārasamu rucō?

Charanam:
dama śamamanu gangā snānamu sukhamā? kardama durviṣaya kūpa snānamu sukhamā?
mamatā bandhana yuta narastuti sukhamā?
surapati tyāgarājanutuni kīrtana sukhamā?

English verse:

What should sate you truly, O Mind?
Wealth or the service of His Kind?

Should milk, curd and butter, the palate cheer?
Or the nectar of singing about the Sire?

Subduing the baser instincts,
Is a dip in the holy Ganges;
Giving in to carnal instincts,
Into a pit of refuse one submerges.

Should it please to sing a mortal frail,
Bound by egotist cords,
Or should it please to forever hail,
The Lord of the gods?

Comments:
The song and its context are very famous. Serfoji II, (Sharabhoja in Sanskrit), the scholar king of Tanjore, in whose domain Thiruvayyaru, Tyagaraja's hometown fell, is said to have invited him to perform at the palace and to be rewarded with much gold, in the early 1800s. Performing at the palace meant performing at the king's pleasure and not purely in the worship of the Lord. It might also have meant panegyrizing a mortal, or "narastuti". Tyagaraja, predictably, refused the king's offer with this song. Eventually, the king, himself a composer, visited his hometown and listened to Tyagaraja sing. Serfoji II, the last king of Tanjore to have had monarchical powers, was a widely read scholar, with an Indian and a western education. It has even been recently claimed that he had pioneered cataract surgeries. A less enlightened king of that time might have considered Tyagaraja's refusal an insult and jailed and tortured him. As another version of the legend goes, after his offer was declined, Serfoji II ordered his soldiers to fetch him, but immediately suffered a searing pain in the stomach. This remained incurable, until Tyagaraja prayed for him, when Serfoji II visited him.

About the verses: There is a subtlety in my using 'His Kind' for, "Rama's Sannidhi" or Rama's abode. One meaning of kind is 'family' or class. Rama is the only major god in the Hindu pantheon, who is generally depicted in his temples with his entourage, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman etc- the "Rama parivara" or the Rama family. In most other temples, the Lord, be that Siva or Vishnu, will almost always have a separate shrine set apart from His consort. This is according to the laws governing structural and liturgical practices in temples. In the South of the country there are two main sets of rules or Agamas for Vishnu temples, that apply to Rama temples too, the Vaikanasa and the Pancharatra Agamas. Some famous temples precede the known redactions of these rules, for example the famous and wealthy Tirupati temple. Again, you may take service to 'His Kind', as meaning service to any and all of the Gods, which is probably what Tyagaraja meant. A dip in the River Ganges, in North India, is said to expiate all sins. Many holy towns lie on its banks. Some "licensed out" words: Daasharathi- son of Dasaratha, Rama; dhyana- meditation; dadhi- milk curd, yogurt.

While Tyagaraja's point in the earlier parts of this kriti, is about being discerning and serving God, we can see his wider context of the ephemerality of material objects, true to his Advaitin heritage. In fact, man's conflict with his baser instincts, mainly the lust for wealth and power, and the teaching that succumbing to them, could only to be one's detriment in the long run, is a very ancient and very common theme in all cultures, from the earliest literature known to man. We know that Tyagaraja did not choose the path of the craven and lived his life out a saint. What happens if one does choose the craven path?

A Comparative study: Faust is a very well known example and warning in the west, against such choice. Faust makes a pact with the Devil, attains material success and is snatched in a ghastly way at his peak, though he lately may have seen the light. Two Fausts are famous. In English, Marlowe's play, 'Doctor Faustus' from 1592, ends with this chorus, a clear word of caution:

Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,
And burned is Apollo's laurel-bough,
That sometime grew within this learned man.
Faustus is gone: regard his hellish fall,
Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise,
Only to wonder at unlawful things,
Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits
To practise more than heavenly power permits.

So, Faustus could have thrived and achieved on his own; but temptation forced him to go over to the dark side and he paid the price. Some of Goethe's Faust, in German, the most celebrated work in that language, was actually written during Tyagaraja's own time. Goethe is said to have taken almost 60 years writing and revising his work. It ends with an amount of redemption for Faust, as he does go to Heaven. Interestingly, Goethe was also a competent scientist for some of his life, and an administrator.

The two Fausts and Tyagaraja's song may differ in some of the contextual details, but the message is that we should not yield to temptation. While Faust takes an explicit shortcut against the law of Nature, and probably Man's law too in some places, Tyagaraja is warning us to not seek even justly gained material pleasures. The king, himself a connoisseur and a composer, would only have been rewarding his genius, and no dishonesty or shortcuts were involved. But among pious Hindus, then as now, all material wealth, whether rightly or wrongly gained, is itself considered a pollutant and an evil at a par with the ways of the deal Faust makes with the devil. It is a long held Hindu belief, that without austerity there can be no enlightenment. The pursuit of enlightenment and not the pursuit of happiness, is the Hindu way of life.

/\

Jagadanandakaraka

2009-10-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

Raga Nata , 36 Chalanata janya
Aa: S R3 G3 M1 P D3 N3 S Av: S N3 P M1 R3 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
jagadānanda kāraka
jaya jānakī prāṇanāyaka

Anupallavi:
gaganādhipa satkulaja
rājarājēśwara
suguṇākara surasēvya
bhavyadāyaka sadāsakala

Charanam:
amara tāraka nicaya kumudahita
paripūrṇānagha sura surabhūja
dadhipayodhi vāsa haraṇa sundarataravadana
sudhāmaya vacovṛnda govinda sānanda
māvarājaraāpta śubhakarānēka

nigama nīrajāmṛtaja poṣakā-
nimiṣa vairivārida samīraṇa
khagaturaṅga satkavi hṛdālayā
gaṇita vānarādhipa natāṅghriyuga

indranīlamaṇi sannibhāpaghana
candrasūrya nayanāpramēya
vāgindra janaka sakalēśa śubhra
nāgēndra śayana śamanavairi sannuta

pādavijita mauniśāpa
savaparipāla varamantra grahaṇalola
paramaśānta citta janakajādhipa
sarojabhava varadākhila

sṛṣṭi sthityantakārakāmita
kāmita phaladāsamāna gātra
śacīpatinutābdhi madaharānurāga
rāgarājita kathāsārahita

sajjana mānasābdhi sudhākara
kusuma vimāna surasāripu karābja
lālita caraṇāvaguṇāsuragaṇa
madaharaṇa sanātanājanuta

oṅkāra pañjarakīra purahara sarojabhava kēśavādirūpa vāsavaripu janakāntaka kalādhara kalādharāpta ghṛṇākara śaraṇāgata jana pālana
sumanoramaṇa nirvikāra nigama sāratara

karadhṛta śarajālā-sura
madāpaharaṇa avanīsura surāvana
kavīna bilaja mauni kṛta caritra
sannuta śrī tyāgarājanuta

purāṇa puruṣa nṛvarātmajāśrita
parādhīna khara virādha rāvaṇa
virāvaṇānagha parāśara manoharā
vikṛta tyāgarāja sannuta

agaṇitaguṇa kanakacēla śāla vidalanāruṇābha samāna caraṇā
pāra mahimādbhuta sukavijana hṛdsadana suramunigaṇa vihita
kalaśa nīranidhijā ramaṇa pāpagaja nṛsiṃha vara tyāgarājādinuta

English verse:

Joy to the world, do You cause!
Joy to the world, for You are its cause!
By You, all extant beings delight!
Hail the Mother 's life giving wight!

As the sun, over the sky, lords,
O king of kings and god of gods!
O noble scion of the solar race of yore!
Your bounty keeps all, for ever and ever more!

As the moon, the stars, so the gods, You surpass!
Perfect and sinless! Yet no milk, no curd may pass,
Even as You pilfer with the robes of each Gopi lass.
You grant the gods' desires without compass.
Nectar-sweet speech fills the finest visage;
Blissful, must You, the humble cow, engage.
Timeless lord of Wealth! Pleasures manifold,
You bestow, in measures untold!

You sustain the eternal, the lotus,- the Heard,
As the clouds, by the wind, are scattered,
So did You, the rivals of the unblinking.
The Great Bird carries you speeding,
To live forever in the hearts of poets pristine,
At Your feet, is the lord of simians umpteen.

Of the hue of divine blue gems is Your person.
Exalted of Death's bane and the creator, Your son,
O Inscrutable! The sun and moon Your eyes make.
O Lord of all! Gently repose on the white king-snake.

Cleansed is the sage's curse, by the dust of Your feet,
Saved is another's rite; by the bow, the demons are beat.
Learned keen is the great chant, O lord of exceeding calm!
O blesser of the creator, O lord of all-pervasive form!

You make, keep and end, O limitless one of peerless form,
You humbled the Ocean as he moved to uncalm!
You, the king of gods worships; You bestow all that's sought!
You, the saga of love and desire, 'lone, have wrought!

Moon-like You light the minds of the virtuous,
Astride the flying chariot, most lustrous.
As the lotus hands that rent the sea serpent caress Your feet,
O Eternal one, even the creator worships at Your feet.

As a parrot in a cage, are You to the sacred syllable,
To each of the Trinity, the form venerable.
You slew the sire of the scourge of the king of heaven,
O patron of art, friend of the moon-crested and ashen,
Featureless, kindly guardian of those who pled refuge,
O Vedic acme, joy to those void of subterfuge!

Fearsome arrows in hand, you humbled the demons,
And protected the gods and godlike humans,
The saga by he of the ant-hill, exalts You,
As one voice, this bard, joins him too.

O timeless Supreme Being, once the great king's offspring,
Beholden to the faithful; Khara, Ravana and all conquering,
Stolen is the infallible redactor's heart by endearing,
This flawed bard, still hails You with a spring.

Infinite virtues, azure robes the eye greet,
Red as the dawning sun, shine your feet,
In a stroke, piercer of the seven trees,
Your wonders unbound, never cease,
Filling the hearts of each good minstrel;
Abiding in the heart of a damsel.
Of all the gods and sages, patron,
That damsel is, the child of the ocean.
When the rogue elephant of sin runs amok,
As the man-lion You wreak havoc.
Your glory, this blessed bard sings,
Joy to all Your very name brings.

Gloss to the verses:
Verse 1: Wight: human; Mother refers to Sita; Tyagaraja considered Sita, or Janaki, his mother and the mother of all. (Cf. Sitamma maayamma)

Verse 3: Amara:immortals- gods. Krishna, while growing up in Gokula, was a naughty cowherd whose exploits of stealing butter and milk and heckling the cowherdesses (gopis) are sung to this day. Wealth personified is Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu, of whom Sita,(the Mother), was an
incarnation. "Surabhuja", literally something that sprung from the celestial soil or a tree, refers to the miraculous wish-fulfilling tree of heaven.

Verse 4: The Heard: the Vedas. The Vedas belong to the Shruti group of scriptures, which were said to be directly revealed to, i.e. first "heard by" different sages. The eyes of the gods, (the devas) do not blink. They are in constant war with their cousins the demons (the asuras). Amrutaja- Arising from nectar, or figuratively, something that is immortal or can cause immortality. cf. the herb amrutajaa (myrobalan) of which such claims are made. Here, the meaning is that the vedas are eternal, perhaps, arising lotus like from the muddy lake of mundade life. (This phrase is probably a Tyagaraja neologism.) Garuda, the king of birds, is Vishnu's vehicle. Lord of simians umpteen: Sugreeva, the then deposed king of the Vanaras (literally man-apes), sought asylum with Rama, from his brother and harasser, Vali.

Verse 5: Of the Trinity, Siva has overlordship of Death and may overrule him, hence "samana vairi" or Death's bane. Brahma the creator, emerged from a lotus that sprung from Vishnu's navel. Vishnu, the protector, reclines on Sesha, the king of snakes, in his abode in the ocean of milk. He is marked by His blue person (literally, limbs in the lyrics), yellow or golden robes, the Srivatsa curl, the unwithering Vaijayanti garland and so on.

Verse 6: The sage Gautama had with a curse, turned his wife, the spotless Ahalya, into a stone. He had suspected her of infidelity. As Rama walked through the forest, at the mere touch of his feet, her curse was removed. She turned into a woman again, and rejoined Gautama. While in the forest, he prevented several demons from sullying the fire sacrifice of another sage Viswamitra. This sage rewarded Rama with the knowledge of two secret chants Bala and Adibala which controlled hunger and fatigue. This episode preceded his marriage to Sita and his exile. Brahma the creator, was himself created and sustained by Vishnu. Rama was distinguished by his calmness in all situations.

Verse 7: Here Rama is seen by Tyagaraja, in the aspect of a personal diety, as a Great God, above the Trinity and the pantheon. This is a common practice in Hinduism, where the one Supreme Spirit or Brahman is seen in the manifest forms of one's chosen diety. When Rama came to the ocean with his army and had to cross it to Lanka, he fasted and prayed to the the ocean god, for days. This god was not obliging due to Rama's being a mere human and Rama threatened to dry up the ocean with a divine weapon. Deflated, the god appeared before Rama and offered to support a bridge of floating stones inscribed with Rama's name, so that Rama and his army could cross over to Lanka. Sachi is Indra's wife. The Ramayana is here called a saga of love, that of Rama, versus lust, that of Ravana.

Verse 8: The Pushpaka Vimana or flying chariot, was heavely vehicle that Ravana had coopted and Vibheeshana, his brother who defected to Rama, placed at Rama's service after the war. "Surasa-ripu"- foe of Surasa, Hanuman. Surasa was a great sea monster who posed one of the many strange demons Hanuman had to overcome, while flying over the ocean to Lanka. Cf The Odyssey. After the war, Hanuman remained forever in Rama's service.

Verse 9: The sacred syllable Om, is said to empower all the gods. Perhaps Tyagaraja says here that Rama has to enliven Om itself, thereby causing all action in the universe, just as a parrot enlivens an empty cage with its talk. As mentioned earlier, Tyagaraja now sees Rama as a great god, his god. "Vaasava ripu": Foe of Indra. Indra is called Vaasava, or chief among the vasus or guardians of the eight regions of space. Indrajit, or "victor over Indra", a son of Ravana, had many magical powers. Siva has a crescent moon in his matted locks and is covered with ash. "Omkara panjara kira" is a loaded phrase. It is also a direct allusion to "Omkara panjara shukhi", a phrase which too means "parrot bound by the sacred Om syllable" that was reputedly used by Sankara to describe Parvati. The reference to the caged bird and Parvati in her aspect of Tripurasundari, the Mother Goddess, is quite common. Generally, a prayer called a panjara is considered something powerful, that binds the propitiated divinity to aid the devotee. Panjara is almost always used in the metaphorical sense. In this case, many meanings arise, with different levels of tenuousness, rather than certainty, due to the ambiguity of context. We can take the most direct that Rama is propitiated and bound by chanting Om, that he is as a caged parrot to it. Now, Om is also the primordial sound, that as Tyagaraja tells us throughout his work, energizes the universe, and is also a generator of music. Since it leads to the conclusion that Rama may be attained through Om and so music, this is consistent with Tyagaraja's Nadopasana approach. In this tradition, parrots generally represent wisdom, transcendence and prosperity. A cage, unlike this case, is often a metaphor for man bound by mortal coils.

Verse 10: Valmiki, who wrote the Ramayana, was previously a highwayman, who was counseled by a passing sage, into cleansing his sins by penance. This he did so intensely and still, that an ant-hill grew over him in time. When finally Brahma appeared before him, pleased with his penances, he had to break Valmiki out of the ant-hill, to bless him.

Verse 11: The great king- Dasaratha, father of Rama. Ravana was not the only formidable demon vanquished by Rama. Khara, Virada and Mareecha were some others. The "redactor" is the sage Vyasa, literally "arranger". It was Vyasa who compiled and codified the Vedas and also wrote the Mahabharata. He was the son of sage Parashara and a kinsman of the Pandavas.

Verse 12: Rama had promised to slay Vali, for Sugriva's sake. However, this could not be done in single combat, as befits a warrior. Vali had a divine necklace that deprived his opponents of their strength. So, Rama had Sugreeva challenge Vali to combat, and slew him with a single arrow that pierced seven huge Sal trees. Lakshmi herself emerged from the ocean of milk, hence child of the ocean. The Nru-simha or Man-lion was Vishnu's most terrifying incarnation, in which he slew a demon who had gained dominion over the three worlds by a strange boon from Brahma. He could not be slain by man, beast, god or his kind, at day or night, inside or outside, or by any weapon, nor upon earth, heaven or hell. This demon was Hiranyakashipu. Vishnu solved the problem by incarnating as a man-lion, placing him on his lap, ripping him apart with his claws, at the doorway to his palace, at the hour of dusk. All his boons were thus not violated and he met his end. His son, Prahalada however, was a great devotee of Vishnu, who had invoked him, upon being tortured by his father. Vishnu appeared thusly, to save his devotee. The Prahalada Bhakti Vijayam, or the Cycle of Prahalada's victorious devotions, is one of the cycles of Tyagaraja kritis. Today, amongst many Hindus, propitation of and the signs of Nrusimha, are considered a protection against any form of evil spirits or evil-doing.

Comments:

Since today is Diwali, the most joyous festival, I was saving this kriti, about the "Joy of all the world" and its engineer, for this day. Happy Diwali to one and all.

There is little that I can say to introduce this kriti. To many who like vibrant, expansive numbers, it is "the" kriti. I will confess that it took many hours to write just these sixty lines- many hours of pure pleasure, that were never mine, while learning, singing or listening to the song over the years, as I just couldn’t stop ruminating and lingering over the lyrics and the notation. It may sound needlessly lofty to say so, but Tyagaraja must indeed be experienced with every fiber of one's being. We must strive to see what he saw in his mind's eye.

This kriti is the first of the Pancharatnas. Pancharatnas literally means “five gems”, but it is better translated as “pinnacle”. These five are indeed the gems among the 2000-5000 kritis and other songs, that some estimates say are in the mainstream concert repertoire. To compare, what influence and popularity, Beethoven's 3rd, 5th and 9th combined would have in the Western world, these kritis have in their sphere. These five songs are also in “Ghana ragas” or weighty ragas, namely Naata, Gaula, Arabhi, Varali and Sri. These ragas lend themselves to extensive improvisation and exposition.

This is probably the kriti among the five with the densest lyrics. The kriti is eminently singable even in its slightly quick paced charanas, but when one sits to break down its lyrics, that is when we note the often straightforward Tyagaraja, could pull off a Wagner as well. To borrow a term from science, the "packing density" of lyrics into the underlying melody is very high :)

If you look at it another way, this kriti does a merry dance towards many corners of Hindu mythology and even some philosophy and the gloss shows this. I am sure the lyrics and my verses to the other four kritis will be less challenging.

The nature of the kriti:
This kriti starts with bright, bold colors. Tyagaraja bursts forth, declaring that Rama causes the joy of all the world. He is not speaking humbly, personally, to his personal deity, as is his norm. He is now speaking for all humanity about the joy of the world. He is booming from the rooftops. The tempo picks up in the charanas with some interesting tongue twisters. Eventually, Tyagaraja ceases to see Rama as a godly king and incarnation and sees him as a great god and the Brahman or Supreme Spirit. There is much more to be said about this kriti in both literary and musical detail; I plan to revisit each of the pancharata kritis at a later time, looking at each, from a new angle on each revisit. I shall post a comparative study of this kriti with some landmark western pieces when we revisit it.

About the verses
Due to its familiarity, I have evoked the hymn "Joy to the world" in the opening lines, than write something more original- expressly because my business here is to spread the joy of Tyagaraja, than show off my tricks of the trade. Since the subject is a hero, I have retained couplets here in the structure, although not the heroic couplet. Since there is so much lyrical detail in this song, I chose not to evoke anything from English or other western literature. As the lyrics are dense, particularly in the charanas, some of my middle verses are tight and tough too. The charanas' intensity eases only from the eighth one.

Alternate meanings:
Given the usage and the declensions in the song, many of the epithets in it, could admit alternate readings and meanings. One or two are shown here. If and when we revisit this song, we can look at other readings. For example, we can take Jagadanandakaraka to be a single epithet meaning "He who causes joy to the world" or two epithets, "Joy of the world" and its "Prime Mover". References to Brahman and great gods in the charanas, may even point to this second, more sublte meaning. Grammar doesn't forbid it. As Rama himself means he who gives pleasure (or enjoyer), jagadanandakara is taken literally, and that is well justified. But the more subtle meaning is richer and more befitting. The second line of my poem must be read in this second sense. We can defend the alternate reading by saying, though a long vowel "a" is apparent while singing, it really is not present in most printings, thereby not causing a vocative declension, requiring us to group the phrase together. We can similarly reason out many alternative meanings throughout the song such as Rajarajeshwara.

An ode to joy:
The famous "Ode to joy" in Beethoven's 9th, speaks about joy and universal brotherhood. We may similarly consider this kriti as Tyagaraja's "Ode to joy", because for him, Rama was the world, Rama was life, and Rama was joy.

Extra Extra Comments:
An aside: While cross-checking some of the lyrics in my texts, I came across an instance where "Purana Purusha" in the 9th charana, was comically translated as Primaeval male! Surely, Tyagaraja couldn’t have been so literal, and spoken of Adam or Manu, than speak of Brahman! Sure, there are many possible interpretations in this song; but this wasn't one of the possible ones :)

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Sri Narada Muni

2009-10-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Raga Bhairavi, 20 Natabhairavi janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S Av: S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
śrī nārada muni guru rāya! kaṇṭi-
mē nāṭi tapamō, guru rāya !

Charanam:
manasāra kōriti, guru rāya! nēḍu
kanulāra kanukoṇṭimi, guru rāya!

mī sēva dorikenu, guru rāya! bhava
pāśamu dolagenu, guru rāya!

nīvē sujnāna sukhi guru rāya!
nīvēyajnāna śikhi, guru rāya!

rājillu vīṇe gala guru rāya! tyāga-
rājuni brōcina sadguru rāya!

English verse:

Master of masters! Your boon to me O sage,
Is perhaps by penance of an unknown age.

Long, for you, was my heartfelt search,
But this day, my eyes well up in joy.
As you came down from your divine perch,
I gained a door to your employ,

And all my worldly coils lay ripped.
The bliss of wisdom lights your face
As nescience burns in the fire of your grace.
Radiant's your veena twice-tipped,

O great guru whom I've ever craved,
By your hand, now, am I saved!

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer:
Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne:
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez, when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

Comments:
The Devarishi, or celestial sage Narada, is considered the father of classical music. Narada is a much beloved character in Hindu mythology. He is a frequent intercessor in both epics and several of the Puranas. He appears in various shades of character. He is a benevolent peacemaker, and a sprightly mischief maker whose tricks always end well and once, his arrogance over his supreme devotion to Vishnu was even put down. He is still considered a great bhakta. To Narada is also ascribed the Narada Bhakti Sutras, which laid out 84 tenets on the attainment and benefits of pure devotion and love for God. These sutras or rules are important to many schools of the Bhakti or Devotional movement. Narada is also said to have invented the Veena, which is the fundamental instrument of Carnatic music, to have laid the foundations of classical music by codifying its theoretical elements and to have constantly sung the praises of the gods.

Thus, to a Nadopasaka, who practised music as worship like Tyagraja, Narada is both the ideal or role model and the guru of gurus . There is even a legend about how Narada miraculously appeared before Tyagaraja, first as an old man and then as himself, and bequeathed to him, long lost treatises on music, including the 'Swararnava' and his own book, the 'Naradiya'. This served as a Rosetta stone for Tyagaraja to understand the higher intricacies of music; and so, Tyagaraja says, that his innermost wish was fulfilled in meeting Narada.

I have alluded to Narada's appearing before Tyagaraja as a boon; Tyagaraja considers his appearance the fruit of some "tapas" or penance he had unknowingly done. In Hindu mythology, one's intense penance to please the gods is eventually rewarded by their appearance and their granting of a boon.

This is not a kriti that is very frequently heard, and is sometimes heard as "Sri Narada mouni", but we learn a lot about Tyagaraja from it as below. Since Narada enables Tyagaraja's Nadopasana or music as worship, and Tyagaraja prays to him in this context, this song too can be considered an example of Nadopasana.

A comparative study: Let's consider another of Keats' poems, the sonnet "On first looking into Chapman's Homer". In the West, Homer had returned to wide reading among the educated, with the Renaissance. Education, then, mainly meant study of the classical Greek and Latin, philosophy, art appreciation and so on, unlike the more scientific education of modern days. So, most well educated people could read Homer in the Greek. Interestingly, Keats seems to have needed an interpreter for an intimate understanding of Homer. Scholarly translations of Homer by Pope and others existed long prior to Keats. But, the older Chapman's free translation of Homer, the first English translation, was innovative in making Homer's archaic turn of phrase, and circuitous descriptions, more accessible to lay readers, through simple paraphrase. Keats, as we may conclude from the poem, only "connected" with Homer's poetry and imagery, only when Chapman took him by the hand.

This is a well known sonnet, which, as could be tritely but truly said, is often quoted to describe the simple unadulterated pleasure a work of art can bring. Keats is said to have written this in spontaneous reaction to his delight at understanding Homer well. Quite parallel to Keats' joy at "meeting" Homer, Tyagaraja's too tells us of his spontaneous joy of "meeting" Narada and an innermost desire being fulfilled. In both works, we see the joy of a creative person, in being inspired by another light from an age past- Homer and Narada, that he is able to create many works of his own. Each now feels newly empowered to create many more works of art.

Extra Comments:
Keats' poem is an Italian sonnet, a poem split into two parts, an 'octet' of eight lines and a 'sestet' of six lines. The octet introduces a main idea, and the sestet departs from it slightly, but resolves the theme of the poem. Interestingly, when made aware of the error that Balboa sighted the Pacific and not Cortez, Keats still left Cortez in, probably pleading license to keep his intended rhyme scheme and meter.

We could even reckon that, rather than in person, Tyagaraja "met" Narada in the words of the Naradiya, much like Keats found Homer, and so, is speaking figuratively.

Note on rhyme and structure: In some of the last few songs, I have strictly maintained a rhyming couplet scheme- "aabb" or "aa". This was more an artifact of the songs chosen, due to our intent to maintain line and word order as much as possible and to resemble the original and retain the flavor. After all, I am translating, and not writing my own. For instance, one of the first songs here, the Sanskrit "Manasa sancharare" itself was fully of rhyming couplets and I held that structure. Tyagaraja too, as here, seemingly rhymes often in couplets and this is apparent if he is read and not sung. We shall break the pattern here and in the next few kritis and also experiment when possible. We shall also look at more modern, free verse at some point, although that is a poor fit for something as structured as classical music. Here, I have used aa-bcbc-deed-ff.

Ancient veenas or more generally, lutes were often with two upturned ends, hence "twice tipped".

Why call Tyagaraja a "bard": Often, I render Tyagaraja's mudra ('stamp') of naming himself in his Kritis, as "bard". There is a hidden meaning in this. Historically, though a bard was a poet and singer, a bard was also someone who sang of kings, heroes and their exploits, just as Tyagaraja sang of Rama, a hero and a king, his virtues and his exploits, as well appealed to his divine mercy. Particularly, in the Utsava Sampradaya kritis, Tyagaraja speaks in the voice of a bard and Rama's court poet.

"Extra" Extra Comments:
Friends, I am sorry for not posting over the last 4-5 days. I was down with a virus.

There is an indentation in the even numbered lines of the sonnet. But, even if I use the 'pre' tag, blogger seems to override it.

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Alaipaayuthe Kanna

2009-10-11T23:30:00.000-07:00

Raga Kanada , 22 Kharaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 D N2 S Av: S N2 P M1 G2 M1 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
alaipāyudē kaṇṇā! eṉ maṉammiga alaipāyudē!
uṉ āṉanda mōhaṉa vēṇugāṉamadil (alai pāyudē)

Anupallavi:
nilai peyarādu en uḷḷam silai polavē niṉru
nēramāvadaṟiyāmalē miga
viṉōdamāṉa muraḷīdharā! Eṉ maṉam
(alai pāyudē)

Charanam:
theḷinda nilavu paṭṭappagal pōl eriyudē - uṉ
dikkai nōkki eṉṉiru puruvam neriyudē
kaṉinda uṉ veṇugāṉam kāṟṟil varugudē
kaṇgaḻ sorugi oru vidamāi marugudē

kaḍitta maṉattil urutti padattai
eṉakku aḷittu magiḻtta vā!
oru taṉitta vaṉattil aṇaittu eṉakku
uṇarcci koḍuttu mugiḻtta vā !

kaṇaikaḍal alaiyiṉil kadiravaṉ oḻiyeṉa
iṇaiyaṟu kaḻal eṉakku aḷittavā!
kadaṟi maṉamuruga nāṉ azhaikkavō !
idara mādarudaṉ nī kaḷikkavo!
idu thagumō? idu muṟaiyō? idu dharmam dāṉō?
kuḷalūdiḍum poḷudu āḍiḍum kuḷaigaḻ pōlavē
maṉadu vēdaṉai migavodu (alai pāyudē)

English verse:

Aflutter, O Lord! My mind is all aflutter!
As your joyous flute strains come hither!

Rooted like a statue stood I, spellbound,
Knowing not the sun was homeward bound,
For, the piper of intrigue hath me in thrall!
Now, even cool moonbeams singe my all,

As the sun at high noon; my 'brows are knit searching,
As your mellow strains, in the breeze come wafting.
My eyes droop; into an unknown trance I step.
To an elfin grot, embrace and take me in step.

And there, my heart, now fallow,
Fill with feelings of love's halo.
Heal and gladden my rent heart!
Grant, so we may never part!

As sunlight on the wind tossed waves of the sea,
Are the peerless twin jewels you gave to me!

Must I weep, and heartbroken, call out to you?
Cavorting with other maidens, are you?
Is this form? Is this upright, your caper?
Leaving me wan, is this proper?

To your flute when I dance, as much my tresses thresh,
So much my mind flutters, as pangs of love enmesh.

Comments:
For a change of pace, let's sample a very popular song on Krishna, by Oothukkadu Venkata kavi. This kriti describes a woman, perhaps a gopika, or a cowherdess, pining for her beloved, Krishna. Venkata kavi composed in Tamil and Sanskrit. One detail is that he predated Tyagaraja, though it is uncertain by how much and led a life of obscurity by choice. He composed mainly on Krishna. This particular kriti is very reminiscent of the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva, popularly called Ashtapadi or 'Eight footed' or 'Eight stepped'. Separation from and entrancement by Krishna's music is a frequent theme in compositions dedicated to Krishna, particularly in the bhajans of the north of India.

A comparative study: I chose to evoke the famous literary ballad, "La Belle Dame sans Merci" by Keats here, because its underlying theme is mortal love, experienced once, that is now unattainable. Allegorically, the artist too, once he has seen art, can no longer make do with the mundane, nor can he relapse into the reverie of his first experiences with art. Similarly, in this song, we encounter a more chaste and subliminal divine love, experienced once, that now seems far away. Like an English ballad, this song too ends abruptly. There is no signing off, or 'resolution' for the thematic tension (parallel to musical tension and resolution), like you see in a Tyagaraja kriti, where he usually signs off with his stamp or mudra.

I considered rewriting my poem with the structure of a ballad, but eventually decided to leave it as its, as it fits the lyrical narrative better. You may find several references to Keats' poem here, such as "hath me in thrall", "elfin grot", unknown trance and being left wan. Since Krishna is considered a great deceiver in his play with the gopis, I have paralleled Keats' fairy's mystique in calling him a 'piper of intrigue' ('vinodamana muralidhara') who entranced the gopi. While Keats' knight was taken to an enchanted place, here, the gopi would like to be taken to a grove where she can be alone with Krishna. Of course, Keats' fairy seems to have been a negative character; whereas Krishna, was God the Perfect and such enchantment, abandonment and an eventual union, were all considered part of his Leela or Divine pastime. So, I retain all elements of the original and dally no further with the more mundane and baser pathos of Keats' theme. It is however an interesting study to compare the two ballads. They were composed not more than fifty to seventy years apart. Keats wrote his in 1821. Venkata Kavi is thought to have been most active in the first half of the 18th century.

You may also find that I have blended and used several meters here, including the iambic, as a trimeter, rather than the common 'iambic pentameter'. Note also that the penultimate verse closely follows the questioning last charanas, and can be read at the raised tempo of the song, as it moves towards the tension in the finale, that is characteristic of Venkata kavi. I have however, "resolved" the verses partially in the final foot.

Keats' ballad is too long to post here. So, here is a link to La Belle Dame sans Merci.

Word meanings: 'Kanna' is Krishna. 'Thanitta vanam' literally means a private grove. So, in the sense of an exotic or enchanted grove with the bewitching Krishna, I have given Keats' 'elfin grot'. 'Kanaikadal' loosely refers to "the febrile, fervid sea with lashing waves", or the "the darting, battering wave-filled sea". 'Kaḻal' in the next line means a toe-ring or anklet. However, this meaning is questionable. If it is taken as a toe-ring, that signifies the interlocutor's marriage with Krishna, and that she is now a forlorn wife, separated from Krishna. Yet, from the sentiments expressed in the Charanas, the interlocutor's being the wife of Krishna is very plausible. "Venu gaanam" or music from the flute- cf. "murali ravam" in the charanas from 'Manasa Sancharare'. That song however conveys a Bhakti bhava or devotion, and not a saki(companion) or gopika's viraha taapa bhava (emotion of separation and longing). I shall spare you any more details on bhava.

Tamil Transliteration details: In the romanization, note the hard "ṟ" sound as in "atrium", the unique ḻ sound as in Tamiḻ , the hard "ḷ" sound as in Glamorgan, the "ṅ" as in "bang", the "ñ" as in "banjo" and the soft ṉ sound as in "Great Dane", apart from the short and long u and o sounds, all not present in Sanskrit. The romanization is according to the National Library of Calcutta standard, as ISO 15919 doesn't cover these four cases. This standard will be reused for other Tamil kritis also.

I am not certain about the lyrics. I don't have a reliable print source for this song handy.

Extra "Extra" Comments:
Oothukkaadu is not far from where your servant's forebears hail. Your servant shares Venkata kavi's gifts of solitude, anonymity, poverty, frugality and absence of an audience of any form; but in your servant's case, these gifts were certainly not sought! :)

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Nadopasance (Nadopasana)

2009-10-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Raga Begada, 29 Dheera Shankarabharanam janya
Aa: S G3 R2 G3 M1 P D2 N2 D2 P S Av: S N3 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
nādōpāsanacē śaṅkara
nārāyaṇa vidhulu velasiri ō manasā

Anupallavi:
vēdōddhārulu vēdātītulu
viśwamella niṇḍiyuṇḍē vāralu

Charanam:
mantrātmulu yantra tantrātmulu
mari manvantramulennō galavāralu
tantrīlaya swara gāna vilōlulu
tyāgarāja vandyulu swatantrulu

English verse:

Know O mind, through worship by music divine,
The Trinity, over all other beings shine.

The Vedas, they could uplift, sustain and transcend,
And the universe, pervade from end to end,

Fill every mystic chant, rite and tablet,
And witness many eons of the planet.
Free masters of the strings, voice and beat!
This bard worships their feet.

Comments:
This is a kriti in which Tyagaraja directly names Nadopasana, worship of music, and describes its power. The kriti seems simple, but there is a lot of subtlety to its lyrics and to its rendition. Today, most of the concepts mentioned in the lyrics, would only be known in Tyagaraja's own hinterland, that too among a select few. In a cross-cultural context, or for those not of "the few", much explanation is needed. Some of this is given here.

Shankara as we have seen, means "He who does good". Narayana (patronymic of 'nara' or Man) is an epithet of Vishnu, that interestingly corresponds to "the son of Man", a phrase from elsewhere. Brahma is called "Vidhi" here. The word 'Vidhi' literally means a rule or destiny. When personified, it refers to Brahma, or the creator, because he creates and orders life in the universe i.e. he 'ordains' the destiny of all beings. Further, he is said to be responsible for keeping the four vedas that vest him his authority, and for executing the injunctions or rules ('vidhi' again) in them.

Mantra, Yantra and Tantra are the three ways in which mystical power might be used or accessed in Hinduism. Mantra refers to sacred chants. Yantra refers to sacred amulets, tablets, diagrams and plaques with sacred pictures, said to be invested with mystical force. Tantra refers to certain rites (and secret sciences) that allow the performer access to mystic powers. Yantra and Tantra are particularly esoteric in modern Hinduism, and are no longer widely sought as attainments. Modern Hindus mostly adhere to the more philosophical and less mystical schools of devotion, such as Vedanta.

Manvantara: To understand the concept of Manvantara, we need to know the Hindu time scale. The Hindu time scale is astronomical. One of the most common scales from the Srimad Bhagavatam, is given here. The internal details and the numbers might differ in other versions.

There are four ages of men or yugas, starting with the Satya, followed by Treta, Dwapara and Kali. Each of the succeeding ages is diminished by an extra quarter in length from the first. The Satya yuga is 1, 728,000 years long. The Kali yuga, the age we live in, is 432,000 years long and about 6000 years have lapsed since its onset. The four yugas correspond to the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron ages, and in each succeeding age, Dharma or righteousness diminishes by a quarter. The Satya yuga was when all mankind was pure; in the Kali, less than a quarter is. A cycle of these four ages is said to be a Mahayuga or a Great Age. A thousand cycles or Mahayugas, is said to make up a Kalpa or cosmic day. A Kalpa makes for a day in the life of Brahma, the creator. At the end of the Kalpa, there comes the Pralaya literally 'Deluge' or 'Dissolution', in which all creation is destroyed, and Brahma sleeps. A Pralaya or cosmic night is of the same length as a Kalpa. A Kalpa or a Pralaya is about 4.3 billion years long. When Brahma wakes up, another Kalpa starts and there is new life and new creation.

Fourteen Manvantaras make up each Kalpa. Each Manvantara has a unique Manu or progenitor. Manvantara literally means "the interval between two Manus or progenitors" or "the period of a Manu". Each Manvantara consists of 71 yugas. Each Manu is said to repopulate the world and preside over the life of his time.

In a Pralaya or Dissolution, life still exists in the heavens. For example, the first incarnation of Vishnu, the Matsyavatara or the Great Fish incarnation, which is the Hindu 'flood legend', mostly happens during a cosmic night as He delivers a Manu, across the floods of the deluge, to the new age.

Brahma is more a post than a unique person. Different personages have been Brahmas in the different ages. The Brahma of this age is said to be Hiranyagarbha, or "he born of the golden egg" (literally 'golden fetus'), signifying rejuvenation.

In their daily rites, each Hindu is required to identify to the gods, the temporal and spatial coordinates in which they offer their propitiation. The latter include identifying the continent, reckoning from the holy Mount Meru, the city, the river or temple tank, the temple and the temple spire by which they are then situated. The former include identifying the time of day, the star, the waxing or waning phase of the moon, season and so on, culminating in identifying the Manvantara and the Kalpa and so the present Manvantara is Vaivasvata, named after Vaivasvata Manu, a progenitor, and the Kalpa is Shwetavaraha or the Kalpa of the "white boar". This is said to be the seventh Manvantara of the present Kalpa.

Although there is rich mythology and a superabundance of aspects of daily worship, note that in their most pristine (and esoteric) forms, Hindu philosophy and religious practice focus purely on realizing Brahman or the one Supreme Self.

Cf. The concept of Kalpa and Pralaya with the now well known cyclic universal singularities, the Big Bang and the Big Crunch.

Due to the connection of a Manvantara with repopulation, in the verses, I have tied it to a geological "eon of the planet", in each of which a new kind of life-form seems to emerge and dominate the earth.

Tantri refers to any stringed instrument, generally the veena and 'laya' refers to percussion. A santoor was for instance called, a "Shata Tantri Veena" or 'the lute of a hundred strings'. Tyagaraja is describing experts of the various elements of music such as voice, melody and beat.

Svatantra means "independent" or "of free will". Svatantrin, or an autonomous agent, is a loaded word in the religious context. It does not merely refer to independence. It refers to such beings considered outside the orderly heirarchy of the cosmos and the control of preordained Fate. For example, Vishnu's frequent intercession on Earth in His different incarnations or avatars, and changing of the existing order of things, may be explained by His being Svatantra, i.e uncontrolled, or being able to act on free will, or by the "power of free will" alone, and so being able to seemingly tinker with Fate. Sometimes, great monks and sages are also conferred the title of "svantantra" to signify they are autonomous and unattached, such as to a monastery or a religious chair.

Lastly, note that in Hindu theology, the source of the power of the Trinity and other gods is said to be the sacred syllable 'OM', and the primordial sound or "nada" that it generates. This primordial sound is said to have led to music too. Hence, the connection made in this kriti.

Extra Comments:
This short kriti is a study in cultural displacement, as mankind scattered across the globe. It contains many parallels to other cultures, such as progenitors, but still engenders a vast amount of explanation to demystify it.

Note that in this site, we capitalize pronominal references to Siva and Vishnu, but not those of Brahma. This is to reflect the status of the former as "great gods" whose daily worship, including in substantiated form, in temples and homes, is permitted. Such worship of Brahma is not permitted. In most of the Puranas and in the epics, he is always subordinate to one of the others. In fact, Brahma is son of Vishnu, having arisen from his navel in a divine lotus.

Strictly speaking, Nadopasana should be termed 'worship through music', 'worship by music' or 'music as worship'. I have preferred 'worship of music', employing "of" in the sense of "to speak of something", and certainly don't mean that music alone is worshiped.

We are very cautious not to be interpretive or speculative in this site, and to be faithful. But, we may note in passing, that some of the "strange" and loose usages in this kriti may be explained, or given alternate meanings so:

vedoddhara- Could refer to the Matsyavatara where Vishnu explicitly saved the Vedas. Could also refer to Vedavyasa who compiled the Vedas; or to Brahma himself, as he "executes" the Vedas and so uplifts them.
vedatitulu- "He, who is beyond the vedas"- usually refers to Vishnu and sometimes Siva, when considered "great gods". Can also refer to someone who has imbibed all the vedas, such as the seven sages, for having crossed or 'exceeded' the vedas and seen the light.
vishwamella nindiyunda varalu- This conveys omnipresence. Could refer to the fifth incarnation of Vishnu when He stretched across the universe in His cosmic form. Could also refer to Siva, from an episode in which He too stretched across the universe in a fiery form. Or a being such as Indra, Agni, Garuda, Agastya, Durvasa etc. who could appear anywhere at will, crossing the universe.

So, in a way, the three descriptions could, in order, qualify one of the Trinity. We may thus continue and attribute expertise in music to sage Narada (tantri villolu), and take that "living past eons" could refer to the devas or the seven sages or some such, and conclude that the kriti says such miracles were wrought for so many beings, by the power of worship through music alone.

This meaning makes it a more consistent narrative- because there is no need to inconsistently say in the Charanas, that the Trinity is long-lived past the Manvantaras, when the Trinity is said to be eternal. We could infer a consistent descending order of divine beings that match the attributes. It is also not wrong, because the grammar in the kriti, admits to such meanings too.

But before "decoding" the lyrics like this, I will however make two comments as a linguist of some part. Tyagaraja was not very precise in his lyrics as some other composers have been. He always prioritized the underlying melody over the lyrics; he used fillers and strange usages in many places. In his new phrase creation, we could see something of a Shakespeare in him. Secondly, two hundred years may have caused an amount of elision and juxtaposition. So, my personal opinion is that, absent a contemporary printing or such first hand sources, any radical interpretation, starting with mine, must be taken with a very large grain of salt.

So, we could simply take the reference to eons as a harmless allusion to the Trinity being eternal. He might merely have used manvantara to rhyme with mantra, given that much of the lyrics is indeed rhymed. The other clue is that, only gods could reside in and empower mantra, yantra and tantra.

As long as we are sailing in the ship of speculation, we can make a few interesting observations on Hindu chronology, but at the cost of perfidy to both theology and science... well anything to speak of 'out there' ideas or to have a good laugh :)

The length of a Kalpa of Cosmic day is about 4.32 billion years, which is not far off from the actual geologic age of the earth of about 4.7 billion years. This is the closest any of the ancient cultures came, to giving a time scale that matched matched the astronomical age.

Going further, only one or two Kalpas are known. Given that the age of the universe is about 13-14 billion years by present estimates, there has just been time for 1 Pralaya and 2-3 Kalpas.

As a Pralaya follows a Kalpa, so has another final singularity, the Big Crunch been postulated.

The 6000 odd years since the onset of Kali ties in with certain other calendars- such as the 4004 B.C. date given by some Christian Chronologies such as Ussher in the 17 century, when Adam and Eve sinned and were cast out of Paradise. Ussher's and other such chronologies are not widely accepted. But, I also think the 420,000 years left in Kali, is too much time for mankind to nuke itself out.

Each Manvantara, a new Manu takes over and repopulates the world. There is rejuvenation. Similarly, in the geological time scale, many mass extinctions and subsequent repopulations by newer life forms have been proved. Different kinds of life forms have emerged and dominated the earth in different "eons" in that time scale for example, aquatic life, insects, reptiles and mammals, all have had their period of dominance, culminating in the appearance of Homo Sapiens in the Quarternary period. If we neglect that a Manu is human and populates the world with human life, and consider all life, and that each Manu's reign is fixed, we could see some correspondence with what happens in geology over a 'geologic eon'. The 300 million years a Manu gets doesn't fit too badly with events such K-T extinctions and repopulation by other life-forms over "eons".

Flood legends are common in almost all ancient cultures. In some Amerindian and other cultures, it lasts no more than 2 days. In Hindu culture, it lasts the longest- 4.32 billion years.

Quite a bit of western Indological research literature, reflecting both the vigor of the 'Renaissance Man' romantic ideal of the 19th century, and the absence of tempering scientific rigor upon overenthusiastic speculation, deigned that Brahma and Saraswati as known in India, were learned, adopted and mistakenly deified, from contact with older West Asian peoples, who spoke of the patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah. Today it seems a whole lot tougher to state and prove such things, though there are basket cases who "psycho-analyze" the god Ganesha, whom they personally haven't met, and then get a lucrative professorship in Texas. :)

Lastly, Hindu theology describes most geneses and creation, (such as in the Purusha Sukta, Brahma and Prajapati episodes), as being mind-born or being 'willed' into existence. This is not the same as the material and highly specific creation in six days described in the Genesis of the Old Testament. Though certain births and certain specific creations are described, much of this is more the creation of a concept, or a template, than substantiated entities. So, I flatter myself into thinking the mind-born method explicitly allows for evolution to work within the Hindu creator's framework, without making him obsolete! It doesn't seem as black and a white battle as between biblical creationism and evolution have in the United States.

Ok, now, let's cease this voyage of fancy, before we fall off the flat earth and wake up :) Thank you all for choosing to travel in our ship, the 'S.S. Speculation'.

I think this is the first and last time you will hear me on this site, with my speculative hat on and I will be scrubbing this speculation in a few days.

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Sobhillu Saptaswara

2009-10-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

Raga Jaganmohini , 15 Mayamalavagowla janya
Aa: S G3 M1 P N3 S Av: S N3 P M1 G3 R1 S
Taalam: Roopakam

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
śōbhillu sapta swara
sundarula bhajimpavē manasā

Anupallavi:
nābhi hṛt kaṇṭha rasana
nāsādulayandu

Charanam:
dhara ṛk sāmādulalō
vara gāyatrī hṛdayamuna
sura bhūsura mānasamuna
śubha tyāgarājuniyeḍa

English verse:

O mind! Of the seven notes shining,
Of their charming forms, must you sing!

From the navel, heart, throat, nose and tongue,
Arise these seven notes, when sung.

They pervade in Rik, Saman and the others,
In the very heart of the most sacred verse,
In the minds of gods and the godlike,
And in this goodly bard, alike.

Comments:
This is another kriti on Nadopasana or worship through music. In the Carnatic music tradition, the seven notes of the scale, Sa-Ri-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni are each personified and said to be resident in (i.e. arise from) a part of the vocal faculty in the human body. Each note is also associated with a presiding deity. It is this concept that is alluded to here. The text in the Pallavi literally reads something like "adore the beautiful (persons) of the lustrous seven notes". So I have given it equivalently as forms and have used "sing" as in a context of worship.

The four Vedas viz. Rg, Yajur, Sama and Atharva veda are alluded to in the Charanas. The Gayatri mantra or prayer is considered the most sacred of all. Note that the two vedas, Rg and Sama, and this mantra are all referred to by their poetic meters- Rik, Saman and Gayatri (literally 'trifold' song) respectively. Bhusuras or literally 'gods on earth' are mentioned along with the Suras or gods of Heaven. Bhusura is usually an epithet for Brahmans or the priests and scholars. But to be called a "Brahman" in adulation, as in the kriti, actually indicates a most holy and venerable attainment. It certainly does not refer to everyone of that station. To convey this particular sense, I have given Bhusura as 'the godlike'. These seven notes, i.e. music, is said to pervade and sustain all of them, as well as Tyagaraja himself.

Extra Comments:
We may also note that this song on the sublimity of music, is incidentally set in a raga called 'Jaganmohini', which literally translates to "Enchantress of the world".

Lastly,

I plead for some license,
In the Anupallavi,
To convey the sense. :)

Literally, the seven notes are said to shine in the corresponding parts of the body.

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Bantu reeti kolu

2009-10-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Raga Hamsanadam, 60 Neetimati janya
Aa: S R2 M2 P D3 N3 S Av: S N3 D3 P M2 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
baṇṭu rīti koluviyyavayya rāma

Anupallavi:
tuṇṭa-viṇṭivāni modalaina
madādula koṭṭi nēla kūla jēyu nija

Charanam:
rōmāñcamane ghana kañcukamu
rāma bhaktuḍane mudra biḷḷayu
rāma nāmamane vara khaḍgamivi
rājillunayya tyāgarājunikē

English verse:

O Lord Rama, as an orderly sentry,
Into your service, may I gain entry,

For, so shall I strike and blow to pieces,
Lust, arrogance and all of the six vices!

With fine armor that leaves one tingling,
'His devotee', the seal on my signet ring,
The power of your name, my sword transcendent,
Thus may I serve you truly, always resplendent.

Comments:
This is again a beloved kriti, that is mostly the reason that its raga has become known. Hamsanadam literally means 'call of a swan', or more figuratively, a 'swan song'. The six vices are lust, anger, greed, delusion, arrogance, and envy. In the lyrics, they are indicated as the vices 'beginning' from lust, as in the canonical order. Cf. Sangita Jnanamu, the previous kriti posted, where too, similar sentiments are expressed, but in the context of Nadopasana or worship through music. Here the context is 'Rama Bhakti' or devotion to Rama. There is some significance to the power of Rama's name or "Rama nama". Its mere utterance is said to be a 'taraka mantra' or 'life saving prayer' or 'liberating prayer' in itself, precluding the need for any other worship. Tyagaraja in particular, is said to have been formally initiated into chanting it daily, and is said to have done so millions of times in his life. 'His devotee' signifies 'Rama's devotee'- for Tyagaraja admitted no other deity to his most devoted worship.

Extra Comments:
"Signet ring" is used with some license for more literally an "identifying disc", which could be a badge, seal, standard or any royal token.

Lust is again figuratively mentioned in terms of the 'sugarcane bow' wielder or Kama. Cf: Heccharikaga ra ra, "green bow" wielder, incidentally, a favorable mention. In Telugu, there are a number of epithets for Kama that mention his bow.

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Sangita Jnanamu

2009-10-08T04:15:00.000-07:00

Raga Dhanyasi , 8 Hanumatodi janya
Aa: S G2 M1 P N2 S Av: S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R1 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
saṅgīta jñānamu bhakti vinā
sanmārgamu galadē manasā

Anupallavi:
bhṛṅgi naṭēśa samīraja ghaṭaja
mataṅga nāradādulupāsincē

Charanam:
nyāyānyāyamu telusunu jagamulu
māyāmayamani telusunu durguṇa
kāyajādi ṣaḍ-ripula jayiñcu
kāryamu telusunu tyāgarājuniki

English verse:

To know music without devotion,
Is from the right, grave deviation.

The son of Wind and the lord of dance,
The bee and the dean of musical nuance,
And he that emerged from a vessel,-
From their worship, comes this counsel.

In the world, I discern right from wrong,
And see it's been an illusion all along.
The six vices corporeal, have but one subjugation;
This, I find, is the path of musical dedication.

Comments:
This powerful and popular kriti is one of the greatest examples of Tyagaraja's Nadopasana or worship through music. The "right path", is of course, an allusion to the path to salvation. Thus, the message of this kriti is that music with devotion, is the path to salvation.

Natesha, literally, "the lord of dancers", is a reference to Siva. Hanuman is the son of the god of wind (or wind personified). The celestial sage Narada, a frequent intercessor in both epics and in several puranas, is also said to have invented the Vina and musical structure, and to have written the first work on the theory of music. Tyagaraja considered him the guru of gurus (hence the 'dean'), and composed a few kritis in his praise. The sage Bhringi, one of the chiefs of Siva's retinue, took the form of a 'bee' during his penances. Agastya, one of the Seven Sages, was said to have been miraculously born in a pitcher. He is mentioned by similar epithets in other kritis as well. Another great sage, Maatanga, whom I left out claiming poetic license, is also mentioned in this kriti. He too has appeared in several episodes in both the epics and in the puranas. Kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya are said to be the six great vices, or "six enemies" as in the kriti. They correspond in order to, lust, anger, greed, delusion, arrogance, and envy. In the pallavi, literally, he says if music is practiced without devotion, the right path shall remain elusive. So, to Tyagaraja, music is sublime.

Extra Comments:
There is a vast difference between Nadopasana or worship through music, and 'sacred music' or music written for worship, such as chants and hymns. The latter is an aid to religion. But, to a Nadopasaka or votary of Nadopasana, music itself is the religion. The latter is intended to supplement select religious services, and general adoration. But, a Nadopasaka is totally immersed in the study of music and the musical exaltation of God. A Nadopasaka might still compose or perform 'sacred music'.

"Kayaja" is an unusual usage to signify "born of the body"; kaaya or a form of it like kaayam, refers to the body in several Indian languages. As Kama or lust is always mentioned first among the among the vices and as Tyagaraja frequently described persons and entities by specifying their origination, using the suffix "ja", and was fond of avoiding enumeration by using the et cetera or "aadi", this meaning is quite in line. He also mentions exactly six "enemies", which are unmistakable for anything other than the six great vices, given the context of this kriti, and the frequent mention they find in religious and philosophical literature.

As accents and pronunciations abound these days, note that I have required nuance and dance to be read as nuɑns/noo-ahns and dɑns/dahns respectively, to keep with the rhyme scheme in the Anupallavi verse.

Note that Tyagaraja's advaitin or monist heritage is apparent in his description of the world as a great illusion in the Charanas.

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Hechcharikaga rara

2009-10-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Raga Yadukulakamboji, 28 Harikamboji janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P D2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
Taalam: Kandachappu

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
heccarikagā rārā hē rāmacandra
heccarikagā rārā hē suguṇa sāndra

Anupallavi:
pacca viltunikanna pālita surēndra

Charanam:
kanaka mayamau makuṭa kānti merayaganu
ghanamaina kuṇḍala yugambulu kadalaganu
ghanamaina nūpura yugambu ghallananu
sanakādulella kani santasillaganu

āṇi mutyāla sarulallalāḍaganu
vāṇi patīndruliru varusa pogaḍaganu
māṇikya sōpānamandu mellaganu
vīṇa palkula vinucu vēḍka cellaganu

ninu jūḍa vaccu bhagini karambu ciluka
manasu rañjilla nī mahimalanu paluka
minu vāsulella virulanu cāla jiluka
ghana tyāgarāju kanugona muddu guluka

English verse:

Gingerly, gingerly, advance O Rama like the moon, full!
Gingerly, gingerly, advance O Rama, of virtues full!

O sire of the god of love,
He that hath the green bow;
O savior of the lord of the gods,
From overpowering odds,

As your azure crown shines forth,
Sway, your pendent earrings both;
As your fine anklets jingle, every great sage,
With the Four, rejoices at your visage.

As jewels of flawless pearls, quiver on your bosom,
Lightly descend the gem studded steps fulsome.
As the Creator and Indra exalt you on either side,
So goes the sight; hark the veena notes tide.

In her hand is a poll,
That doth, you, extol,
As your sister, to see you, draws near,
Whose words, to the mind, bring cheer.
All the celestials, from heaven, shower flowers profuse.
This noble bard watches on, as all, your allures suffuse.

Comments:
Kama, the god of love, is said to wield a green sugar cane bow and to be a son of Vishnu. The sister alluded to, is Parvati, probably, in her aspect as Meenakshi worshipped at Madurai, who has a parrot in her right hand. The italicized charanas are not usually sung. Poll is a domesticated parrot. "The Four"- Sanaka, Sana, Sanatkumara and Sanandana were four great sages and sons of Brahma who always appeared together.

This kriti is from the Utsava Sampradaya cycle of kritis. "Utsava Sampradaya" literally means (temple) festival tradition. These kritis constitute a complete set of songs describing all the celebrations and activities on a festive day in Rama's court, from his retinue waking the King from His sleep for a dip, to His marriage to Sita, to receiving worship and offerings, and to finally retiring for the day. Tyagaraja sees himself as one of the bards at court, witnessing these divine events. He addresses Rama and describes each event vividly. Generally simpler in melody and more direct in lyrics than his other cycles, the Utsava Sampradaya kritis correspond well to the nityaaradhana or daily services and festivities of Vishnu temples and are ideally suited for singing at those events, as well as on days of elaborate worship at one's home. In this kirti, Tyagaraja conducts Rama, from his palace, to his throne or presumably, his seat at court.

Extra Comments:
Extol is pronounced like "toll" in some parts of the world, and with an o sound like that in "golly" in others. I have required the latter sound here to keep with the rhyme.

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Raga sudha rasa

2009-10-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

Raga Andolika , 28 hairkhambhoji janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N2 S Av: S N2 D2 M1 R2 S
Taalam: Deshadi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
rāga sudhā rasa pānamu jēsi rañjillavē
ō manasā

Anupallavi:
yāga yōga tyāga bhōga phalamosaṅgē (rāga)

Charanam:
sadāśiva mayamagu nādōṅkāra swara
vidulu jīvanmuktulani tyāgarāju teliyu (rāga)

English verse:

The nectar like juice of melody sip, O my mind,
And joy therein, why don't you find?

Rites, Meditations, austerity and pleasure,
In such music, do their fruits come together.

That in which Sadashiva pervades unbound-
The notes from Om the primordial sound,
They that are versed in them, the art profound,
To the cycle of life and death are no longer bound.
This is a verity, this bard has found.

Comments:
There is a lot of subtlety to this kriti. This is again a Tyagaraja kriti focusing on Nadopasana or worship through music as the means to salvation, and is about the sublimity of music itself.

"Yaga, yoga, tyaga, bhoga" in the anupallavi, refers to the different paths of realizing God, namely, Ritualism, Meditations, Renunciation and pleasure. Music (Raga) is deemed to give all their fruits combined. See fuller description below. Om, the mystic syllable, generates the primordial sound. Shiva is described as permeating this primordial sound. From this sound, come the seven notes. Experts in the art of these seven notes, are said to be Jivanmukthas or those freed from the cycle of death and rebirth.

I have written 'manasa' literally. But, the literary device at play in "O Manasa" is soliloquy, though he also later says "Tyagaraja knows" in a more declarative form. It might be better to write addressing manas as addressing oneself is English.

Cf. the meter and structure I have written the anupallavi in, with the refrain in the English ballad "Scarborough fair", starting, "Parsley... love of mine" and the Charanas with portions of another famous ballad, 'The Solitary Reaper'.

Extra Comments:
Due to the subtlety in the lyrics, I did a quick sweep of all my textbooks and some of the larger websites, and have this to say:

In the pallavi, the book by Prof. T.K. Govinda Rao, my main source for the lyrics (we write the translations from scratch), gives "rajillave" or shine. But, I have heard some of my favorite singers render it as "ranjillave" or rejoice. In Telugu, ranjillave is a better fit due to its meaning. To reason this more technically, I think "ranjillave" is a better fit, philologically. The original sanskrit expression comes from the association of "manas", mind, with the root "ranj". This root means gladden, redden, charm etc. and is often associated with manas, as in 'manoranjani'. These are loan words into Telugu and as the association of the two has also followed into Telugu, we can take the meaning directly from the original. In fact, Tyagaraja himself has used this expression in other places, such as the next kriti we post: Heccharikaga rara. It is most possible that this was just a typo in the said book, and not a variation in the lyrics needed such argumentation. But, isn't it nice that we can technically argue the point out too?

The reference to bhoga or pleasure in this kriti among well known religious paths like yagnya, yoga and tyaga might be counter-intuitive. But, this is so, if we think only about those common in Vedanta. If we include well known Tantric paths, even in some of the reputed schools, various pleasures, may be experienced- not base enjoyments- but those like the different levels of ecstasy arising out of various methods, like in Hatha or the rising Kundalini or certain other worships and propitiations. Alternatively, but less forcefully, we could tie 'bhoga' to 'phalam' as an adjective. But, as we know that statistically, Tyagaraja subordinated his lyrics to the underlying melody frequently, we could just innocuously take bhoga to be a filler and take it literally. It is always much more prudent with this composer, to take the more direct meaning as opposed to his junior contemporary in the music trinity. But we must always humbly remember that without a contemporaneous printing, we are only reasoning a posteriori.

Note that Meditations is in plural, to signify different contemplative and equivalent Yogic paths or the different Yogas, and is not in singular, to signify extended Meditation, ie Tapas or Penance.

Sadashiva means "Always pleasing", "Always auspicious or kind" and figuratively "Eternal Siva" or "The Eternal One in Whom all things abide". Sadashiva is certainly not the Siva of the Trinity. No, he is actually a Great God, one above the pantheon. But, though He is reckoned to be the Brahman in this distinct form by his adherents, He is not exactly synonymous with the concept of Brahman. This is similar to the notion of the all pervasive "Mahavishnu" among Vaishnava sects, as different from "Vishnu, the second of the Trinity" or the Vedic Vishnu. Cf. "Pratyaksham Brahman" or the "manifest/visible Supreme Self".

Jivanmukthas are noble souls freed from the cycle of rebirth and death. In some legends, they are said to inhabit one of the higher worlds above the earth and shine as stars. Souls that have attained salvation or mokhsa, are said to transit through their world before merging with the Paramatma. The order and depiction of these higher worlds and the positions of Jivanmukthas could vary.

The Charanas have always seemed to me like oddly befitting Sadashiva Brahmendra, a well known saint, music scholar and a reputed jivanmuktha who lived some time before Tyagaraja.

Actually, so much discussion comes up in this kriti because, many of the concepts mentioned in this kriti are very familiar in the prevalent sub-culture of Tyagaraja's region to this day, but are not known in other cultural contexts.

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Nada tanumanisham

2009-09-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

Raga citta ranjani , 22 karaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:

Pallavi:
nāda tanumaniśaṃ śaṅkaram
namāmi mē manasā śirasā

Anupallavi:
modakara nigamottama sāma-
vēdasāraṃ vāraṃ vāram

Charanam:
sadyojātādi pañcavaktraja
sarigamapadhanī vara saptaswara
vidyālolaṃ vidalita kālam
vimala hṛdaya tyāgarāja pālam

English verse:

To Sankara, the embodiment of the musical art,
I bow my head with all my heart.

Of delightful Sama Veda,
The acme of the Vedic domain,
As He is the essence,
I bow time and time again.

From Sadyojata and the others of His five faces,
The scale Sa-Ri-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni, arises.
Etudes of the fine seven notes, Death's bane, titillate,
That guardian of Tyagaraja the immaculate.

Comments:
As a Nadopaska, or one whose music was his worship, Tyagaraja frequently praised music itself, or its elements, and considered it the most exalted. This kriti is an example. Sama Veda is considered the origin of music, as singing its verses was the first sacred music. The other vedas are not sung. In his five headed form, Siva is considered the creator of music. Such themes appear in many places in Tyagaraja's kritis. Strangely, though Tyagaraja calls Siva the essence of Sama Veda, in his form as Rudra, or as one of the Rudras, Siva appears in the Sama Veda in only eight or nine verses of nearly two thousand. Sankara literally means "He who does good". Usually, the allusion to crushing Death, is taken as a specific reference to Siva saving the boy-sage Markandeya. But more generally, Siva as the destroyer of the Trinity, has overlordship over Kala, Yama, Dharma or Death, and is described as having saved several other devotees from death. That is why he is called Mrityunjaya, and when someone is at death's door, the Mrityunjaya Homa is performed to save them. Allusion to Mrityunjaya is more frequent. Vidalita Kaalam can in fact, be alternately given as Mrityunjaya literally, Victor over Death. Studies of the seven notes is a figurative reference to music, and literally can be taken as an etude.

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Nagumomu Ganaleni

2009-09-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Raga Aabheri, 22 karaharapriya janya
Aa: S G2 M1 P N2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:
Pallavi:
nagumōmu ganalēni nā jāli telisi
nanu brōvaga rādā śrī raghuvara nī

Anupallavi:
nagarājadhara nīdu parivārulella
ogi bōdhana jēsē-vāralu gārē yiṭu luṇḍudurē

Charanam:
khagarāju nī yānati vini vēga canalēdō
gaganāni kilaku bahu dūrambanināḍō
jagamēlē paramātma evaritō moraliḍudu
vaga jūpaku tāḷanu nannēlukōra
tyāgarājanuta nī

English verse:
Knowing that bereft of Your smiling face,
Distraught is my state,
Foremost of the Raghus, won't You
Come to me, to alleviate?

Bearer of the king of mounts!
The members of Your retinue,
They who give good counsel,
Could they fail to remind You?

Does not the king of birds
Hasten to do Your bidding?
Or did he find, Heaven to Earth,
A distance too forbidding?

O Supreme Self who rules over all,
Who else but You, can I invoke!
Elude and leave me not in a pall,
Take your bard under Your yoke.

Notes:
Nagaraaja is frequently interpreted as the Govardhana hill of the Krishnaavatara. But Govardhana is only described as a hill. Nagaraaja literally means king of mountains. So, Mount Mandara, which is one of the 7 major mountains, and can be called the king of mountains, is more appropriate. Vishnu in the Kurmavatara, as the Great Tortoise, supported Mandara on his back, when it was used to churn the Ksheera Saagara or ocean of milk. The king of the birds is Garuda. Also, there are more references to Vishnu and Heaven in the kriti, like retinue, Garuda's abode in the heavens etc, than to Krishna and Earth. So, Mandara is again more consistent. Rather than give the literal but convoluted, "one praised by Tyagaraja" for the last line, I have given the much nicer "bard". I have similarly varied my rendition of his "mudra" or lyrical stamp, in the remaining kritis too.

Word for word meaning:
Several readers have asked for a word-for-word presentation of this song. However, we have pointed out two things, viz., the word-for-word meanings are already embedded in the verse translation and that, this song, as it is among the first few in this site/book, represented our old approach to this work, and we did not want to alter it for historical reasons. Nevertheless, for the sake of these readers, given below is a word-map from the Telugu lyrics to the English verse, that roughly shows the word-by-word correspondence between the two. Note that these are not the word-for-word meanings, but approximations. The interested reader can easily pick out the literal word-for-word meanings where they differ from our own turn of phrase. Sufficient information is contained in our verses and elsewhere in this work, for this to be done quickly. Just click on the image below to see it in a large size. The usual color coding is used again.

Maanasa Sancharare

2009-09-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

Raga: shyaamaa, 28 harikAmbhOji janya

Aa: S R2 M1 P D2 S Av: S D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:
Pallavi:
मानस सन्चररे।
ब्रह्मणि मानस सन्चररे॥
mānasa sancarare |
brahmaṇi mānasa sancarare ||

Charanam:
मदशिखि पिञ्छालन्क्रुत चिकुरे।
महणीय कपोल विजित मुकुरे॥
madaśikhi piñchālankruta cikure |
mahaṇīya kapola vijita mukure ||

श्री रमणी कुच दुर्ग विहारे।
सेवक जन मन्दिर मन्दारे॥
śrī ramaṇī kuca durga vihāre |
sevaka jana mandira mandāre ||

परमहम्स मुखचन्द्र चकोरे।
परिपूरित मुरली रवधारे॥
paramahamsa mukhacandra cakore |
paripūrita muralī ravadhāre ||

English verse:

"In your mind, must you ponder,
the Highest, in your mind, ponder.

A fine peacock feather adorns His hair,
Surpass a bud, His celebrated cheeks fair.

In His consort Lakshmi's bosom, does he reside,
As a wish fulfilling tree is He, where His devotees reside.

Nectar, His moon like face is to the highest sage,
Sweet music from His flute completes this visage. "

Word for Word:
"Approach in your mind, the Brahman, approach in your mind, He who sports a beautiful peacock feather in His hair, whose illustrious cheek surpasses a blossom, Who resides in His consort Lakshmi's bosom, is the wish-fulfilling tree of His devotees' abodes, Whose moon-like face delights the eyes of the highest ascetic like drinking nectar, and (which visage) is filled by the stream of music heard from His flute."

Comments:
This famous kriti is by the great 18th century saint Sadashiva Brahmendrar. Even when it is not sung, this poem is exceedingly beautiful in the original Sanskrit. To match its meaning and flow better, I have given a more poetic verse translation, that takes some license. So, I have given a separate word-for-word translation also. The allusion of course, is to Sri Krishna. The 'paramahamsa' is actually Sadasiva Brahmendra's stamp. Although I have literally translated paramahamsa, perhaps we can also respectfully take it to denote he himself. Hamsa or the swan is particularly important in Hinduism and is often associated with the mystical Manasa Sarovar lake. Swans signify purity, spiritual development and liberation. So, enlightened scholars are called Paramahamsa, to indicate transcendence and that they can at once reach the ethereal spheres. For the phrase "kuca durga", I have taken the more direct meaning.

/\

Sri Ganapatini

2009-09-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

Raga: sowraashtram,17 suryakantam janya
Aa: S R1 G3 M1 P M1 D2N3 S Av: S N3 D2 N2 D2 P M1 G3 R1 S
Taalam: Adi

Lyrics:
Pallavi
śrī gaṇa patini sēvimpa rārē
śrita mānavulārā

Anupallavi
vāg-adhipādi su-pūjala cēkoni
bāga naṭimpucunu veḍalina (śrī)

Charanam
panasa nārikēḷādi jambū
phalamulāragiñci |
ghana tarambuganu mahipai padamulu
ghallu ghallananuñci |
anayamu hari caraṇa yugamulanu hṛday-
āmbujamunanuñci |
vinayamunanu tyāgarāja vinutuḍu
vividha gatula dhittaḷāṅgumani veḍalina (sri)

English verse:
Let's worship Lord Ganesha,
O come all ye faithful!
Accepted is the worship of the Lord of Speech,
As He continues His dance beautiful.

Having savored jack-fruit, coconut, rose-apple and fruits all,
Heavily upon the Earth, to a jingle, do His feet fall.

Ever the Feet of Lord Hari in His lotus heart enshrined,
Let us humbly (worship the One) Tyagaraja has enshrined,

As, to the varied beats sounding
"Dhittalaangu", He is proceeding.

Another version:
Come, come, off your goodly posts,
For we worship the lord of hosts.

The Creator's prayers are heard;
He dances now with such grace!

A feast of fruits was offered;
He steps with a jingle, apace.

Hari's ever in His heart,
All hail,- I offer my art,
In two-step fall His feet,
As sound many a beat.

Notes:
This is from the Prahalada Bhakti Vijayam cycle of kritis. Speech, when personified as here, refers to Sarasvati. So, the Lord of Speech is Brahma. 'Dhittalangu' is a typical dance beat sound or call. In the English verses, note that words within parentheses are implied and not part of the original lyric. The two uses of enshrined each has a different shade of meaning. I have eschewed the "aadi" in the anupallavi, as I thought "others" didn't add much here.

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Welcome, What and How to use

2009-09-30T01:37:00.000-07:00

Note: This introduction remains here only for what may glamorously be called archival reasons. It has been superseded by several introductory pages, which begin with this page.

Welcome! Tyagaraja sangeeta amrta is so much better enjoyed if we understand his lyrics well. This blog is our humble effort to aid such understanding by providing authentic lyrical translations of his kritis. Many good prose translations exist. But they can only deliver the meaning. A poetic translation can convey the beauty, intricacy and fervor of Tyagarja Swami's kritis much better. In the Carnatic tradition, as the composer is the librettist as well, a lyrical translation will highlight the beauty of the poetic aspect which may not often be fully enjoyed while listening to the music.

This is even truer, when we encounter extraordinarily beautiful poetry as kritis- such as the evergreen 'Manasa Sancharare'. It is such good music, that we often may not realize it is such good poetry too! A skillfully written lyrical translation can capture the beauty of the original Sanskrit verses in a way, no paraphrase or prose synopsis can. How else can we match the ebb and flow of the original? How else can we convey so fine an imagery like "mukhachandra chakore"? For me, personally, I have heard people sing even this short song, without a clue about its meaning, or just a rudimentary understanding, particularly in the years after it was featured in a famous movie. This to me was sad, because they just missed the joy of the original poetry! Nor could they fully communicate it to their listeners. For many years, I had wanted to translate this song into verse, and then one fine day, did do it. Then I sent it off to a friend. Eventually, this blog came into being. (As an aside, I have preferred the blog format as opposed to print, so that I may receive feedback, criticism and suggestions as the work is in progress and so can improve it; and if health issues and others do prevent me from completing this work, at least the portion I have completed, might still be available on the web.)

Another use of lyrical translations, is the cross-cultural context. Perhaps, someone from another culture interested in Carnatic music, may be able to "get" the kritis much better through lively poetry in a familiar language like English, than from a dry but faithful prose summary.

So, I will provide lyrical translations of Tyagaraja and other kritis in uncomplicated rhymed English verse here. I will also maintain sentence and line order, as in common printings and for the most part maintain even the word order, so that you don't need a separate word-for-word translation or other resources. I shall also include after each Kriti any pertinent cultural, literary and historical notes and gotchas. Once we have a sufficient number of kritis here, I shall try to provide notation and some manodharma improvisation examples, so that anyone trying to learn the kritis, can easily understand and sing. I will also experiment with metrically equivalent translations when possible and applicable. We will not restrict ourselves to Tyagaraja alone on this website, though he is the focus. Some other kritis will be included. The content here is being proofread. So, we can reasonably vouch for its authenticity. If you still find errors, let me know.

Poetry is a finer art than music, in the sense that, music being more fundamental, almost all people can appreciate it. Appreciating fine poetry is an acquired taste, needing some discernment. Even many well-educated people, read in music, do not have the turn of mind for poetry- and I have seen this personally, at the highest levels of science- PhDs who "get" music, but can't "get" poetry. But, if Tyagaraja's lyrics, i.e. his poetry had not been so powerful and evocative, would we even be speaking of him, two hundred years later? If one is not born with musical talent, there are so many academies and teachers, that may train one to be a musician. But there is no school, nor any training for becoming a poet. A poet must be born. We know that Sonti Venkatramana was Tyagaraja's main guru for music. But, whether it is Tyagaraja or your humble servant, there is no guru for writing poetry that we could speak of. Yet, over the centuries, we can name only one or two musicians like Tansen, but we can name many poets like Kalidasa, Dandin, Magha, Valmiki, Potana, Kambhar, Homer, Virgil etc. for each language. Ironically, more poets have gone down in history. Still, Poetry is an under-appreciated art; with Tyagaraja, an almost criminally neglected aspect. We hope the verses here fill some of that void. To sing Tyagaraja well by rote is one thing. To sing Tyagaraga with complete understanding and control, is completely another,- one that tells the Triton from the minnows.

Ultimately, Tyagaraja's music should not be listened to; Tyagaraja's music must be experienced as a whole!

About 600 of Tyagaraja Swami's kritis are now available. My estimate is that about 100-200 of his kritis lend themselves well to such lyrical translation. And strangely, some melodious and well liked kritis do not have much translatable lyrical content. An example is the popular "Sitamma maayamma"... where most of the kriti names the divinities and holy persons who, to him, make up Tyagaraja's circle. The sentiment is so nice, but still, we can't translate much beyond the literal. So, this blog will not contain kritis in any particular canonical order, but shall evolve on the basis of the transferable lyrical imprint in them. I hope to include as many of the 600 as possible.

I shall, I shall, I surely shall....
One of my foci for this attempt is this. Most often, writers on Carnatic music, because most of it is devotional, and the audience almost homogeneous culturally, presume an element of praxis in their intended readers, and may include praxis or devotional details, than only the musical, literary or critical. I shall try to respect the line between musical details and religion, so that the content here is still accessible and relevant to even those from cultures or beliefs. I shall not presume a kind of reader, and though rendering respectfully, I shall keep to one side of the line. For instance, for so many kritis, we may quote cross-references from Gita, Upanishads or puranas. That makes the work more re-interpretive commentation than a faithful presentation of musical, lyrical or literary detail. I shall provide such references only if they are absolutely necessary to convey the meaning of the original. I shall try to maintain a balance between the critical, academic and dispassionate, and the faithful and lively. I shall also claim some uniqueness in this regard, even for my small attempt, along with the few works in Carnatic music that are faithful, yet dispassionate.

A key feature of this site, is that I am presume no knowledge of Indian culture on the part of the reader. I would like to make Tyagaraja accessible to anyone, from anywhere, who is curious about Carnatic music. Therefore, the verse translations are intentionally uncomplicated and evoke familiar themes like "O come all ye faithful", "Joy to the world", "Ode to joy", "La belle dame sans merci", Shakespeare and "Scarborough Fair". The reader may well come from the opposite end of the world; I shall endeavor to gently introduce him to the culture of Tyagaraja's region, as we go along.

While we are looking mainly at the literary, philosophical and cultural aspects of Tyagraja here, I do plan to post musical details such as notation and improv examples from the past at some point. I am considering 100-150 kritis being posted here, as the threshold to cross before including musical detail, because by then, this blog would have met its purpose. Until then, you'll only find perfunctory musical details here.

It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours to edit, translate, commentate, format and post a kriti. It may take up to 3 hours for a Pancharatna kriti. The actual time to translate and write the poetry is quite little. Much of the time goes towards cross-validation of the lyrics, in case that is required for a kriti. This depends on the number of known versions and any history of pitfalls. Depending on the subtlety of the kriti, it might take much time to commentate- the notes for the Pancharatna kriti are particularly copious. It takes so much time because we are trying to keep the content here as error-free and authentic as possible and to be the definitive source. In fact, I recall just the pronunciation guide on the left sidebar taking several hours although, the material in it, came from one of my books and I could just cut and paste from the manuscript. It still took several hours to wrestle with blogger and finally rewrite it from scratch in the pidgin-HTML that blogger will allow. The point is certainly not the time and effort we spend on the website, but the intent. Our intent is not to provide a compendium. but to provide a complete, reliable and enjoyable resource. Our aim, by casting new light on him, is to spread another dimension of the joy of Tyagaraja. Otherwise, when many books and websites already serve as compendia, there is no need for us to do this work afresh, that too, in the 21st century. But, besieged by endless professional and health trauma as I am, I can only spend an hour or two on this work each day. So, it will take some months before we finish this work.

We shall begin with 'Sri Ganapati ni' and end with 'Ni naama rupamulaku', as is appropriate. We will thus begin and end our journey in Sowraashtram. In some places, to give a better translation, we do take poetic licenses from the literal translation. So, always check the remarks after the kriti, where we will mention such cases. Once we have enough content in this blog, we shall move it to a dedicated website. If you would like any particular kriti posted, please email me.

When translating between two very different languages, it is not easy to maintain word order and still be readable. So, if you like our work, please let me know.

The format:
I shall post the sahityam (lyrics) for each kriti in Roman script, followed by the translation. If it is a Sanskrit kriti, I shall try to include Devanagari version also. Following this will be the notes. The Roman scripts used are IAST for Sanskrit and ISO 15919 for other languages. Tamil in particular, is given in the National Library of Calcutta standard, that is congruent with ISO 15919, but includes alphabets peculiar to Tamil. Follow the label on Tamil Transliteration in the left sidebar for the details. The reason to use IAST is that many readers of 'Sanskrit in Roman' are long familiar with this standard and we need not go to the ISO super-set unless needed. Also, many of my own scripts and programs to process and render Sanskrit are already fixed to IAST. A pronunciation guide for this script is always available on the left sidebar. For the Telugu and Tamil kritis here, I shall only provide the lyrics in Roman. I think this is enough because... you are reading this blog in English!! Duh! :)) When you want other scripts, it is always possible to use online tools to do the conversion, so that we can keep this website as uncluttered and usable as possible. Also, I shall use appropriate fonts and transliteration only in the lyrics. In the comments and elsewhere, I shall revert to more familiar phonetic transliterations using only the English alphabet, so that even the new reader can read quickly. So, intentionally, Siva shall be naṭēśa in the lyrics, but Natesha in the notes, so that it is not a taxing read. But, the actual pronunciation must always be kept in mind.

We may have grouped the lines differently for easier reading in the English version. So, the pallavi, anupallavi and charanam will be color coded in red, blue and green respectively, so that you can read them distinctly. To ensure the accuracy of our content, after preparing our material, we do check it with the main texts and popular sites as necessary. If we had any remarks to make on our findings, we shall include an "Extra Comments" section. Note that, to a reader, the "Comments" section is critical for understanding the kriti, and the content there, if the reader is not already privy to it, may only be missed at the cost of fully understanding the kriti. The "Extra Comments" section is used to provide more detailed information, our observations and notes on other books and websites. These may be useful to the more interested reader, but are not as critical as the "Comments" notes.

Definitions of key concepts: Many of the recurring themes and concepts in Tyagaraja's kritis, such as Nadopasana, or Utsava Sampradaya, are generally explained at the first or second occurrence. You may find any definition, by navigating this blog using the labels in the left sidebar. A glossary for those concepts commonly known in Indian culture, but not known in other cultures, such as the differences among Brahma of the Trinity, Brahman or the Supreme Self and Brahmans or the priests and scholars, is provided in the downloadable pdf versions.

PDF version: Each time we manage to complete a set of 20 kritis on this site, a new downloadable pdf version shall be provided. [PDF 'book' version of first 20 songs now available, as of Nov 1, 2009. Email us if you would like a copy]

Speed of delivery: At this point we are only going at the rate of 1 kriti a day; we hope to pick it up soon, and cover the whole in a few months.

Sources: The main, but by no means the only source of the original lyrics is the encyclopedic book by Prof. T. K. Govinda Rao. I have a handful of other print sources to cross-check lyrics. All other content, including the translations, be it verse or word-for-word, is original content written from scratch, just so you know who to blame.

Gotchas: There are some words in the lyrics of the kritis like "galade" which some would insist is more accurately "kalade" and "ganaleni" which is more accurately "kanaleni". There are also issues with the declensions of certain words. The more familiar versions are given here, often in agreement with the aforementioned book. The more fastidious reader may choose to prefer the latter versions. We shall provide a list of such aliters only in the pdfs, to keep the clutter in the blog low. Only obvious errors in common parlance may have been corrected in our lyrics. When our primary sources are contradictory and deadlocked, we may even resort to our skills in linguistics and philology. So, please note that we are aware of alternate versions and make a case-by-case decision on what to include in this site.

If you see boxes in the Roman lyrics instead of diacritics: This is a rare problem. We don't use special fonts. The original lyrics with the diacritics use only the Georgia or the Times font. The character encoding is set to the Unicode encoding, UTF-8. On most browsers this shouldn't pose a problem. They will probably be configured for UTF-8 encoding or to "auto detect" the encoding on the web page. Most probably your browser isn't taking Unicode and is reading the page as some other encoding. If you reconfigure it to read Unicode encoding, and/or to accept the encoding in the page, you should be fine. If this still doesn't work, you can email me your browser settings and other computer details like operating system etc, and I will look into it.

Lastly, blogger's formatting is terrible. I format content here for Firefox for a widescreen machine. If the formatting is bad on any other browser or screen setting, please let me know. The pdfs, if and when they come, may be better with formatting.

Contact: Requests and comments:email lyricaltyagarajablog@gmail.com We love to hear from you!

I shall sign off each post with /\ [the sign for namaste, or folded hands]

संगीतम् सर्व सिद्धाञ्जनम्। Music clarifies all. Music cleanses all.

Last updated- Nov 1 2009.

UPDATE, April 20, 2010:

Changes to style: Based on feedback from readers and a review of the new approach I use here, I am making two key changes. Previously, I used to write one song each day and planned to write up to five, so that I covered most of Tyagaraja's oeuvre quickly. Now, subject to health and other vagaries, I plan to write no more than 2-3 songs a week. But, the commentary on the songs will be much more elaborate and comprehensive. I think this will serve the purpose of this website more, as my intent is not to merely provide a compendium of the songs, but to impart, clarify and augment the songs and the wealth in their lyrics.

Final form of this website:
I receive many requests for the book form of this site (Volume 1) and also some questions. I used to send out what was mainly a download of this site, as a pdf document. I have been revising this book form into a much more readable actual book. I will start sending this revised 'Volume 1' out, once it is ready. I do concur with some readers that this is a sufficiently researched work of some academic merit, in a sadly neglected aspect of Indian music. So, once I am sure that I have covered most of thematic content in the songs, on this website, I do fully intend printing this new approach as a serious academic work, as a book set in two volumes.

/\
Last updated and permanently superseded-May 30, 2010.