Syama Sastry Kriti

Meaning - Gist

O Supreme Sanctifier! O Merciful! O Mother whose feet lotus have been extolled! O Queen Consort of Siva - praNatArti hara! O dharma saMvardhani! O Blemish-less Virtuous! O Mother tripura sundarI!
O Destroyer of all sins! O praNava embodied!
O kAmAkshi!
O Mother with shining dark tresses like rain-cloud! O Mother who has plentifully been extolled through sweet poetry! O Mother with a sweet smile like (the fragrance of) camphor! O Mother with a comely face like a bunch of lotuses! O Mother praised by brahmA! O Mother supplicated by dependents! O nArAyaNI! O Mother praised SyAma kRshNa! O Daughter of Mountain!
O Lotus Eyed!

Please show mercy quickly and make me always healthy and strong bodied.
Please pay attention. Please listen to my appeal.

Is it possible for me to state as to what kind of fortune it is for those pious devotees who come to Your holy presence and extol You and think of You always?
I do not know as to what is ordained.
Who is equal to You in this Universe?
I extolled You incessantly.

Being somewhat mentally agitated, as I did not find any refuge anywhere, having earlier heard a lot about Your greatness and all, in order get relief from this inner grief, I extolled You thinking that, at this time, You alone are great expert and that it is none else.

As vEdAs proclaim that You are the protector of those who supplicate, who else is there?
Now You should not still remain unconcerned to my appeal to show compassion.

Please show mercy quickly and make me always healthy and strong bodied.

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
durusugA kRpa jUci santatamu-
arOga dRDha SarIramuga salupu nanu

Please show mercy (kRpa jUci) quickly (durusugA) and make (salupu) me (nanu) always (santatamu) healthy (arOga) (literally disease free) (santatamarOga) and strong (dRDha) bodied (SarIramuga).

anupallavi
parama pAvani kRpAvani vinuta
pada sarOja praNata-Arti haru rANI
parAku dharma saMvardhani bahu
parAku-amala guNA tripura sundarI (duru)

O Supreme (parama) Sanctifier (pAvani)! O Merciful (kRpAvani)! O Mother whose feet (pada) lotus (sarOja) have been extolled (vinuta)! O Queen Consort (rANI) of Siva – praNata Arti hara (praNatArti haru) (literally one who relieves the distress of those who supplicate) (name of Lord Siva at tiruvaiyAru)!
Please pay attention (parAku), O dharma saMvardhani (literally one who makes dharma flourish) (name of mother at tiruvaiyAru)! Please pay more (bahu) attention (parAku). O Blemish-less (amala) (parAkamala) Virtuous (guNA)! O Mother tripura sundarI!
Please show mercy quickly and make me always healthy and strong bodied.

caraNam
caraNam 1
nI sannidhini jEri golicina
ninnu-epuDu talacE sujana
dAsa jana bhAgyamu-eTu telupudunO
O sakala pApa SamanI vinu
OMkAri niyati eTulanO
nI sATi-evarE jagambulanu
nE niratamu ninu goliciti (duru)

Is it possible for me to state (telupudunO) as to what kind of (eTu) fortune (bhAgyamu) (bhAgyameTu) it is for those (jana) pious (sujana) devotees (dAsa) who come (jEri) to Your (nI) holy presence (sannidhini) and extol (golicina) You and think (talacE) of You (ninnu) always (epuDu) (ninnepuDu)?
Please listen (vinu), O Destroyer (SamanI) of all (sakala) sins (pApa)! O praNava embodied (OMkAri)! I do not know as to what (eTulanO) is ordained (niyati). Who (evarE) is equal (sATi) (sATevarE) to You (nI) in this Universe (jagambulanu)? I (nE) extolled (goliciti) You (ninu) incessantly (niratamu).
Please show mercy quickly and make me always healthy and strong bodied.

caraNam 2
EmO kalata jendi manamuna
nEnu-eccaTa gati gAnakanu
nI mahimalu-ella cevulAraga vini
I manasulOni veta dIrcuTaku-
I vELa bahu nipuNA-ani
kAmAkshI nIvE vEru-evaru
kAduani talaci golicitini (duru)

O kAmAkshi! Being somewhat (EmO) mentally (manamuna) agitated (kalata jendi), as I (nEnu) did not find (gAnakanu) any refuge (gati) anywhere (eccaTa) (nEneccaTa), having earlier heard a lot (cevulAraga vini) about Your (nI) greatness (mahimalu) and all (ella) (mahimalella), in order get relief (dIrcuTaku) from this (I) inner (manasulOni) grief (veta), I extolled (golicitini) You thinking (talaci) that (ani) at this (I) (dIrcuTakI) time (vELa) You alone (nIvE) are great (bahu) expert (nipuNA) (nipuNAvani) and that (ani) it is none else (vEru evaru kAdu) (vErevaru kAdani).
Please show mercy quickly and make me always healthy and strong bodied.

caraNam 3
dhArA dharavi nIla kaca lasitA
sarasa kavitA nicitA
sAra ghana-sAra sita dara hAsitA
vAri ruha vAri vadana-ucitA
vAg-ISa vinutA bhRta natA
nArAyaNI SyAma kRshNa vinutA
nA manavini vinu giri sutA (duru)

O Mother with shining (lasitA) dark (nIla) tresses (kaca) like (avi) rain-cloud (dhArA dhara) (dharavi)! O Mother who has plentifully (nicitA) been extolled through sweet (sarasa) poetry (kavitA)!
O Mother with (sita) a sweet (sAra) smile (dara hAsitA) like (the fragrance of) camphor (ghana-sAra)! O Mother with a comely (ucitA) face (vadana) (vadanOcitA) like a bunch (vAri) of lotuses (vAri ruha)!
O Mother praised (vinutA) by brahmA – Consort (Isa) of sarasvati (vAk) (vAgISa)! O Mother supplicated (natA) by dependents (bhRta)! O nArAyaNI! O Mother praised (vinutA) SyAma kRshNa! O Daughter (sutA) of Mountain (giri)! Please listen (vinu) to my (nA) appeal (manavini).
Please show mercy quickly and make me always healthy and strong bodied.

svara sAhitya
sarOja nayana nata jana pAlinivi-ani
vEdamulu moralu-iDagA-
itarulu-evaru manavi vinu kRpa salupa
parAku salupa rAdu-ika nIvu-ipuDu (duru)

O Lotus (sarOja) Eyed (nayana)! As vEdAs (vEdamulu) proclaim (moralu iDagA) that (ani) You are the protector (pAlinivi) (pAlinivani) of those (jana) who supplicate (nata), who (evaru) else (itarulu) (moraliDagAnitarulevaru) is there?
Please listen (vinu). Now (ipuDu) You (nIvu) (nIvipuDu) should not (rAdu) still (ika) (rAdika) remain unconcerned (parAku salupa) to my appeal (manavi) to show compassion (kRpa salupa).
Please show mercy quickly and make me always healthy and strong bodied.

Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
¹ – durusugA – durusuga.
⁴ - dharma saMvardhani - dharma saMvardhini.
⁵ - sakala pApa SamanI - sakala lOka janani.
⁶ - niyati eTulanO – niyatiyaTulanO.
⁷ - nI sATevarE jagambulanu - nI sATevaru I jagambulanu.
⁸ - nE niratamu ninu goliciti - nE niratamunu goliciti.

⁹ - kalata jendi - kalaka jendi : ‘kalaka’ and ‘kalata’ mean almost same; however, in view of the ensuing word ‘jendi’, it should be ‘kalata’ and not ‘kalaka’.
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¹⁰ - cevulAraga vini - cevulAra vini.
¹¹ - vELa bahu nipuNAvani - vELa nipuNAvani.
¹³ - dara hAsitA – dara hasitA - dhara hasitA : ‘dhara’ is not appropriate here.
¹⁴ - vAgISa vinutA - vAgISa nutA.
¹⁵ - SyAma kRshNa vinutA - SyAma kRshNa nutA.
¹⁶ - nA manavini vinu - nA manavini vini.
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References
⁴ - dharma saMvardhani – name of Mother at tiruvaiyAru – Consort of Siva – praNatArti hara.

¹² – sarasa kavitA nicitA – plentifully extolled through sweet poetry. One of the shining examples is SyAmaLA daNDaka by kavi kALi dAsa.
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Comments
² – kRpAvani – The usage is not very clear. However, it has been translated as ‘Merciful’.

³ – parAku – bahu parAku – ‘parAku’ generally means ‘unconcern’. This is also an utterance by attendants in the King’s Court to draw attention of audience about arrival of King. In the books, this word seems to have been used in the latter sense. Accordingly, it has been translated here also.
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durusugA - rAga sAvEri