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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Raga sudha rasa

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.

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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'.

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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

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.

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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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