pallavi
ninnE nera namminAnurA O rAma rAmayya
anupallavi
1anni kallal(a)nucu 2ADi pADi vEDi
pannaga Sayana nE cinna tanamu nADE (ninnE)
caraNam
caraNam 1
vEda SAstra purANa vidyalacE 3bhEda
vAdamulu tIraka 4bhramayu vArala jUci (ninnE)
pallavi
ninnE nera namminAnurA O rAma rAmayya
O Lord rAma! O Lord rAmayya! I have much (nera) trusted (namminAnurA) You alone (ninnE).
anupallavi
anni kallalu-anucu ADi pADi vEDi
pannaga Sayana nE cinna tanamu nADE (ninnE)
O Lord reclining (Sayana) on the couch of SEsha – the snake (pannaga)! O Lord rAma! O Lord rAmayya!
Considering (anucu) everything (else) (anni) as untrue (kallalu) (kallalanucunu), right from my childhood (cinna tanamu) days (nADE), I (nE) have much trusted You alone,
beseeching (vEDi) You by dancing (ADi) and singing (pADi).
caraNam
caraNam 1
vEda SAstra purANa vidyalacE bhEda
vAdamulu tIraka bhramayu vArala jUci (ninnE)
Seeing (jUci) those (vArala) who are confounded (bhramayu) –
unable to resolve (tIraka) their arguments (vAdamulu) about (religious) controversies (bhEda) with their (academic) knowledge (vidyalacE) of vEda, SAstra and purANa,
O Lord rAma! O Lord rAmayya! I have much trusted You alone.
Notes
Variations - (Pathanthara)
rAga – pantuvarALi - kAmavardhini.
4 – bhramayu – bhramasE.
7 – tyAgarAja rAja – tyAgarAja vandya.
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References
3 – bhEda vAdamulu – This may either mean religious controversies in general, or with particular reference to bhEda vAda and abhEda vAda. ‘dvaita’ as propounded by madhvAcArya is considered as ‘bhEda vAda’; ‘advaita’ is known as ‘abhEda vAda’. ‘bhEda vAda and madhvAcArya’
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5 – rAjasammuna yAgAdulu onarinci – Performing sacrificial oblations passionately. In this regard the following verse from SrImad-bhagavad-gIta, Chapter 3 is relevant –
yajnArthAt-karmaNO(a)nyatra lOkO(a)yaM karma bandhanaH |
tadarthaM karma kauntEya mukta sangaH samAcara || 9 ||
“The world is bound by actions other than those performed for the sake of yajna; do thou, therefore, O son of kuntI, perform action for yajna alone, devoid of attachment.” (Translation by Swami Swarupananda)
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Comments
1 – anni kallalanucu – considering all else to be untrue. This would refer to statements in caraNas 1 (academical arguments about ‘Reality’) and 2 (performance of sacrificial oblations etc for the sake of enjoyment).
2 – ADi pADi – the typical bhAgavata approach of collective singing bhajans etc to the accompaniment of music and dance. Here the word ‘dance’ does not mean mere ‘postures’, but spontaneous, rapturous, totally involuntary movements. Such dances are recorded in the life of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
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6 – ninnu rAji jEsukona lEka – Without Your consent - Whether one follows the path of knowledge or path of karma, unless it is done with a sense of surrender, the grace of the Lord – a sine-qua-non for apprehension of ‘Reality’ – will not be forthcoming. SrI tyAgarAja calls this ‘grace’ as ‘consent’. By stating that ‘therefore, I have trusted You alone’, SrI tyAgarAja emphasises the pre-eminence of bhakti over other paths.
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