Syama Sastry Kriti

Meaning - Gist

O Elephant gaited! O Mother dharma saMvardhani! O Consort of Sambhu!
O Lotus Eyed! O Excellent One! O Sakti having a number of (exploits of) great Divine Sports!
O Mother! O Merciful! O Mother who is dear to Siva! O Mother whose feet are adorned with many jewelled crowns of Emperors and indra!
O Beloved of Lord Siva! O Mother whose Exploits are auspicious to hear! O Pleasant Faced! O Mother replete with Mercy! O Mother who is always in the thought of SyAma kRshNa! O Daughter of himavAn! O Mother umA resident on the banks of river kAvErI of five distributaries! O Mother extolled by Lord bhairava of tiruvaiyAru! O Mother born of himAlaya! O SupremE SaktI!

How much shall I describe Your greatness in this Earth!

Please listen.

Even celestials could not know Your mAyA.
Your greatness is indeed wonderful.

In this Earth, people who had established You in their hearts, indeed became fortunate!
Kindly protect me and show mercy publicly.
I trusted You much.
You alone ever bring happiness.

In this Earth, one’s life indeed fructifies if he meditates on syllable ‘OM’.
Please, now protect those who, hearing Your exploits, remain fascinated.

How much shall I describe Your greatness in this Earth!

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
Emani migula varNintu I mahini nE nI mahimalu

How (Emani) much (migula) shall I (nE) describe (varNintunE) Your (nI) greatness (mahimalu) in this (I) Earth (mahini)!

anupallavi
sAmaja gamanA dharma saMvardhani (ambA) surulaku
nI mAya teliya lEru SAmbhavI nI mahAtmyamu-atiSayamu (Emani)

O Elephant (sAmaja) gaited (gamanA)! O Mother (ambA) dharma saMvardhani! Even celestials (surulaku) could not (lEru) know (teliya) Your (nI) mAyA (mAya) (literally Grand Illusion). O Consort of Sambhu (SAmbhavI)! Your (nI) greatness (mahAtmyamu) is indeed wonderful (atiSayamu) (mahAtmyamatiSayamu).
How much shall I describe Your greatness in this Earth!

caraNam
caraNam 1
nIraja lOcanA lOkamulO ninu hRdayamulO
nilupina lOkulu dhanyulu-airigA nalugurilO
sAramatI nanu dayatO gAnci karuNincumu talli nera nammiti
cAlA mahA lIla galigina Sakti santatamu nIvE santOshavati (Emani)

O Lotus (nIraja) Eyed (lOcanA)! In this Earth (lOkamulO), people (lOkulu) who had established (nilupina) You (ninu) in their hearts (hRdayamulO) indeed became (airigA) fortunate (dhanyulu) (dhanyulairigA)! O Excellent One (sAramatI)! Kindly (dayatO) protect (gAnci) me (nanu) and show mercy (karuNincumu) publicly (nalugurilO) (literally in the midst of all), O Mother (talli)! I trusted (nammiti) You much (nera). O Sakti having (galigina) a number of (cAlA) (literally much) (exploits of) great (mAhA) Divine Sports (lIla)! You alone (nIvE) ever (santatamu) bring happiness (santOshavati).
How much shall I describe Your greatness in this Earth!

caraNam 2
O janani karuNi bhava priyA vinumu-avani
OM anina janma sAphalyamu-AyE nIdu kathalanu vini
O mOha-AvRtalai-unna janulanu talli ipuDu brOvumu
O rAja-adhi rAja-indra makuTa paTali maNi viracita padA (Emani)

O Mother (janani)! O Merciful (karuNi)! O Mother who is dear (priyA) to Siva (bhava)! Please listen (vinumu). In this Earth (avani) (vinumavani), one’s life indeed fructifies (sAphalyamu AyE) (sAphalyamAyE) if he meditates (anina) (literally says) on syllable ‘OM’. O Mother (talli)! Please now (ipuDu) protect (brOvumu) those (janulanu) who, hearing (vini) Your (nIdu) exploits (kathalanu), remain (unna) fascinated (mOha AvRtalai) (mOhAvRtalaiyunna). O Mother whose feet (padA) are adorned (viracita) with many (paTali) jewelled (maNi) crowns (makuTa) of Emperors (rAja adhi rAja) and indra (rAjAdhirAjEndra)!
How much shall I describe Your greatness in this Earth!

caraNam 3
kanjanada-antuni kAmitA Subha caritA prasanna vadanA
ghana kRpA sahitA SyAma kRshNa cintA giri tanayA
panca nada kAvErI tIramuna nivasincE umA
panca-Apaga-ISa muni nutA haimavatI parA SaktI (Emani)

O Beloved (kAmitA) of Lord Siva – vanquisher (antuni) of kAma (kanjanada) (kanjanadAntuni)! O Mother whose Exploits (caritA) are auspicious (Subha) to hear! O Pleasant (prasanna) Faced (vadanA)! O Mother replete (ghana) with (sahitA) Mercy (kRpA)! O Mother who is always in the thought (cintA) of SyAma kRshNa! O Daughter (tanayA) of himavAn (giri) (literally mountain)! O Mother umA resident (nivasincE) on the banks (tIramuna) of river kAvErI of five (panca) distributaries (nada) (literally rivers)! O Mother extolled (nutA) by Lord (ISa) bhairava (muni) of tiruvaiyAru – five (panca) rivers (Apaga) (pancApagESa)! O Mother born of himAlaya (haimavati)! O SupremE (parA) SaktI!
How much shall I describe Your greatness in this Earth!

Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
³ – surulaku nI mAya teliya lEru – This is how it is given in all the books. This is grammatically incorrect. It should either be ‘surulu nI mAya teliya lEru’ or ‘surulaku nI mAya teliya lEdu’.

⁴ – nera nammiti – ninu nera nammiti.
⁵ – santOshavati – santOshavatI.

⁷ – kanjanadAntuni kAmitA – This is how it is given in all the books. In some books, the meaning derived is ‘Beloved of Siva who vanquished kAma’. This word (kanjanadAntuni) is to be split as ‘kanjanada+antuni’. Accordingly, ‘kanjanada’ should mean ‘kAma’. But, there is no such word. Therefore, in my opinion, it should be 'kaM+janita+antuni’ (kanjanitAntuni), wherein ‘kaM janita’ would mean ‘kAma’. However, in the absence of any confirmation, the wordings have been left as it is.

⁸ – pancApagESa – It is given as ‘pancApakESa’ in all the books. The correct form is ‘pancApagESa’.
Top

References
¹ – dharma saMvardhani – name of Mother at tiruvaiyAru.

⁸ – pancApagESa muni – in tiruvaiyAru, Lord Siva is stated to be worshipped as ‘kshEtra pAla’ – In the kRti ‘paramESvara jagadISvara’ rAga calanATa, in praise of tiruvaiyAru praNatArti hara, Dikshitar says ‘vIra kshEtra pAla vinuta caraNa’. ‘bhairava’ and ‘muni’ are other names of ‘kshEtra pAla’. Accordingly, ‘pancApagESa muni’ has been translated as ‘bhaira of tiruvaiyAru’.

⁹ – parA SaktI – ‘parA’ is the fountainhead of speech. In lalitA sahasra nAma, mother is called ‘parA, paSyantI, madhyamA, vaikharI rUpA’ – the four stages of speech. Please refer to - discourse of kAnci mahAsvAmi on ‘saundarya lahari’.
Top

Comments
² – ambA – this word is given in brackets in all the books, the purpose of which is not understood.

⁶ – makuTa paTali maNi viracita padA – probably this refers to nUpura (anklet) of Mother; the crowns of Emperors and indra being jewels of nUpura.
Top

Emani migula - rAga tODi