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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Sri Narada Naada

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.

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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.  

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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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Alakallalalaadaga

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 sagely heart swelled.   As He rent evil Maricha's pride; All limits His charms did elide.   As curls His face lighted, The royal sage delighted. And so, the sage winked "Now!" Lo! He'd rent the Great Bow!

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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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Durmarga chara

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!

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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.

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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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Tyagararaja Yoga Vaibhavam

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!

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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!

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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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Nadasudha rasambilanu

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.

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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.

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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.

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Sobhillu Saptaswara

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.

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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.

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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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