pallavi
nAda sudhA rasamb(i)lanu
nar(A)kRti(y)AyE manasA
anupallavi
1vEda purAN(A)gama
SAstr(A)dulak(A)dhAramau (nAda)
caraNam
svaramul(A)runn(o)kaTi 2ghaNTalu
vara 3rAgamu kOdaNDamu
4dura naya dESyamu 5tri guNamu
nirata gati SaramurA
sarasa 6sangati 7sandarbhamu gala giramulurA
dhara bhajana bhAgyamurA
tyAgarAju sEvincu (nAda)
pallavi
nAda sudhA rasamb(i)lanu
nara-AkRti-AyE manasA
O My Mind (manasA)! The nectarine (sudhA) juice (rasambu) called nAda has assumed (AyE) (literally become) a human (nara) form (AkRti) (narAkRtiyAyE) here (ilanu) (rasambilanu) (literally Earth) (as SrI rAma).
anupallavi
vEda purANa-Agama
SAstra-Adulaku-AdhAramau (nAda)
O My Mind! The nectarine juice called nAda which is the prop (AdhAramau) of vEdas, epics (purANa), Agamas and SAstras etc. (Adulaku) (SastrAdulakAdhAramau), has assumed a human form here (as SrI rAma).
caraNam
svaramulu-Arunnu-okaTi ghaNTalu
vara rAgamu kOdaNDamu
dura naya dESyamu tri guNamu
nirata gati SaramurA
sarasa sangati sandarbhamu gala giramulurA
dhara bhajana bhAgyamurA
tyAgarAju sEvincu (nAda)
Seven (Arunnu okaTi) (literally six plus one) svaras (svaramulu) (svaramulArunnokaTi) are the bells (of the bow kOdaNDa);
sacred (vara) rAga (rAgamu) is the bow kOdaNDa (kOdaNDamu);
dura naya and dESya (dESyamu) are the three (tri) strands of the bow string (guNamu);
steady (nirata) pace (tempo) (gati) is (are) the arrow(s) (Saramu) (SaramurA);
sweet (sarasa) thematic variations (sangati) are the words (giramulu) (spoken by the Lord) (giramulurA) appropriate to the occasion (sandarbhamu gala);
chanting the names (bhajana) of the Lord (dhara) (literally one who wields – kOdaNDa) is a fortune (bhAgyamurA);
O My Mind! The nectarine juice called nAda worshipped (sEvincu) by this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAju), has assumed a human form here (as SrI rAma).
Notes
Variations - (Pathanthara)
References
1 – vEda purAna Agama SAstrAdulaku AdhAramau nAda – Refer to a Discussion on ‘sphOTa’ - sound and words.
2 – ghaNTalu – Please refer to SrI tyAgarAj’s kRti ‘svara rAga sudhA rasa’ wherein SrI tyAgarAja mentions of ‘mUlAdhAra’ as the cakra from where ‘nAda’ emanates. He also mentions therein about ‘sapta svara gRhamulu’ (body locations of seven svaras).
An article on 'Sapta svaras and their relation to the seven cakras' (download).
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3 – rAgamu kOdaNDamu – A mention in SrImad vAlmIki rAmAyaNa about rAvaNa's musical talents that he can ‘play upon the lute of his terrific bow with the sticks of his arrows’. (However, where this statement occurs in SrImad vAlmIki rAmAyaNa, is not known.)
In the kRti ‘kOTi nadulu dhanushkOTi’ SrI tyAgarAja mentions about kuNDalini yOga. According to kuNDalini yOga, the vertebral column is called mErudaNDa. Please also refer to kRti of SrI tyAgarAja ‘ISa pAhi mAM’ where Lord Siva is described as holding bow of mEru – mEru daNDa – vertebral column (hEmAcala cApa).
4 – dura – As per Monier’s Sanskrit Dictionary, it means ‘one who opens or unlocks’, ‘giver’, ‘granter’; the telugu word ‘duramu’ means ‘battle’, ‘war’. – these do not convey any meaning in the present context. However, Shri Koteeswara Iyer, in his kRti ‘ghana naya dESika gAna rasika SikhAmaNi nIyE kandA’ mentions ‘ghana’ in place of ‘dura’. Probably both mean same.
For definition of terms ‘ghana’, ‘naya’, ‘dESya’, ‘gati’ and ‘sangati’ - Defintions of Musical Terms-1; Defintions of Musical Terms-2
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5 – tri-guNamu – the word ‘guNa’ means ‘string’, ‘strand’, ‘bow string’ and also ‘qualities – sattva, rajas and tamas’. The following verse from SrImad bhagavat gIta, Chapter 14 is relevant –
sattvaM rajas-tama iti guNAH prakRti-sambhavAH |
nibadhnanti mahA-bAhO dEhE dEhinam-avyayaM || 5 ||
“sattva, rajas and tamas – these guNas, O mighty-armed, born of prakRti, bind fast in the body the indestructible embodied one.” (Translation by Swami Swarupananda)
6 - sangati – “Tyagaraja's outstanding contribution to the advancement of the kriti format was the introduction of the sangati (lit. coming together) - a set of variations on a theme, gradually unfolding the melodic potential of the musical phrase. Largely set in the madhyamakala (middle tempo), Tyagaraja's kritis were more appropriate for the modern concert paddhati. As vidwan G. N. Balasubramaniam observed during his presidential address at the 32nd conference of the Music Academy in 1958, nearly 60% of Tyagaraja's kritis are composed in this kala and this speed ‘seems to be the best for both the lay and the learned listeners’." Source - sangati and tyAgarAja
7 – sandarbhamu gala giramulurA – Please refer to kRti ‘Emani mATADitivO’ rAga tODi wherein SrI tyAgarAja describes how SrI rAma spoke to different people in different styles and kept them attracted to Him.
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