Pariyaachakama maata

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?

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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.

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Ksheerasagara Shayana

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.

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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.

Speaking of the reclining form of Vishnu, there is a tradition that when Tyagaraja visited Sri Rangam, he was slighted by the throng during a Brahmotsava festival, and the Lord prevented the procession from moving forward. All attempts and prayers by the temple grandees failing to budge the Lord, Tyagaraja was found and the slight discovered. Tyagaraja pacified the Lord with his "Vinarada na manavini" and the procession could move forward. Thereafter, Tyagaraja was greatly honored by the temple staff and during an Ekantha darshana, rendered his "O Rangasayi". Fairly similar to the Tirupati incident during Tyagraja's travels.


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