Tyagaraja Kriti

Meaning - Gist

O yamunA dEvi!

It has all resulted in utter confusion.
Please relieve all our troubles.

We salute You, worshipping with jasmine flowers.
Please protect us.

Being lovelorn - unable to bear the troubles of cupid – we brought this prince thus far; but our subsistence has been upset.
How long shall we struggle?

The wind and rain have become very vigorous;
all our actions have given room for ridicule;
we had to be separated from our husbands who look after us affectionately.

We offer You all our jewels.
Please reach Him - this pleasant faced - shore.
Alas! Why at all did any of us bring Him forcibly here?

Whatever might be our fate, it is enough if our Lord remains alive.
Whatever action is undertaken by the damsels, it became disastrous.

We all offer our bodies.
Somehow reach our Lord kRshNa shore.
We have deceived Him - the charming limbed.

We hoped something, but our patron Lord thought something totally different.
However, we damsels will not be separated from Him – friend of tyAgarAja.

Please relieve all our troubles.

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
allakallOlamu-Ayenu-amma yamunA dEvi
mA-Artulu-ellanu tIrpu-amma

O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted (Ayenu) in utter confusion (allakallOlamu) (allakallOlamAyenamma);
O dEvi (amma)! Please relieve (tIrpu) (tIrpavamma) all (ellanu) our (mA) troubles (Artulu) (mAyArtulellanu).

anupallavi
mollalacE pUjinci mrokkedamu brOvumu-amma (alla)

O dEvi (amma)! We salute (mrokkedamu) You worshipping (pUjinci) with jasmine flowers (mollalacE); please protect (brOvumu) (brOvumamma) us.
O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted in utter confusion; O dEvi! please relieve all our troubles.

caraNam
caraNam 1
mAru bAriki tALa lEka-I rAja
kumAruni teccitimi-indAka
tArumAru-Aye bratuku tattaLincunadi-endAka (alla)

Being lovelorn - unable to bear (tALa lEka) the troubles (bAriki) of cupid (mAru) – we brought (teccitimi) this (I) (lEkayI) prince (rAja kumAruni) thus far (indAka) (teccitimindAka); but
our subsistence (bratuku) has been upset (tArumAru Aye) (tArumArAye); how long (endAka) shall we struggle (tattaLincunadi) (tattaLincunadendAka)?
O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted in utter confusion; O dEvi! please relieve all our troubles.

caraNam 2
gAli vAnalu niNDAru-Aye mA panulu-ella
gEli sEyuTaku-eDamu-Aye
mAlimitO mammu-Elu magani-eDa bAyanu-Aye (alla)

The wind (gali) and rain (vAnalu) have become (Aye) very vigorous (niNDAru) (literally very much) (niNDArAye); all (ella) our (mA) actions (panulu) (panulella) have given room (eDamu Aye) for ridicule (gEli sEyuTaku) (sEyuTakeDamAye);
we had to be (Aye) separated (eDa bAyanu) (bAyanAye) from our husbands (magani) (maganiyeDa) who look after (Elu) us (mammu) (mammElu) affectionately (mAlimitO);
O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted in utter confusion; O dEvi! please relieve all our troubles.

caraNam 3
sommulu-ella nIku-osagedamu-amma yamunA dEvi-I
sumukhuni gaTTu jErpumu-amma
emme kAni balimini-Ela teccitimi-amma (alla)

O yamunA dEvi! We offer (osagedamu) You (nIku) (nIkosagedamamma) all (ella) our jewels (sommulu) (sommulella); O dEvi (amma)! please reach (jErpumu) (jErpumamma) Him - this (I) (dEviyI) pleasant faced (sumukhuni) - shore (gaTTu);
O dEvi (amma)! Alas! Why at all (Ela) did any of us (emme kAni) (literally any woman) bring (teccitimi) (teccitimamma) Him forcibly (balimini) (baliminyEla) here?
O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted in utter confusion; O dEvi! please relieve all our troubles.

caraNam 4
naLina bhavuDu vrAsina vrAlu-eTlu-aina kAni
nAthuDu bratiki-uNTE cAlu
praLayamulu-ayyenu E pani cEsina bhAmalu (alla)

Whatever (aina kAni) might be (eTlu) our fate - ordained (vrAsina vrAlu) (literally fate written) (vrAluyeTlaina) by brahmA – resident (bhavuDu) of Lotus (naLina), it is enough (cAlu) if our Lord (nAthuDu) remains (uNTE) alive (bratiki) (bratikiyuNTE);
whatever (E) action (pani) is undertaken (cEsina) by the damsels (bhAmalu), it became (ayyenu) disastrous (praLayamulu) (praLayamulayyenu) (literally dissolution – at the end of the Universe);
O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted in utter confusion; O dEvi! please relieve all our troubles.

caraNam 5
dEhamulu-ellanu-osagedamu-amma O dEvi kRshNa
dEvuni gaTTu jErpumu-amma
mOhana-anguni mEmu mOsa-buccitimi-amma (alla)

O dEvi! We all (ellanu) offer (osagedamu) our bodies (dEhamulu) (dEhamulellanosagedamamma);
O dEvi (amma)! Somehow reach (jErpumu) (jErpumamma) our Lord (dEvuni) kRshNa shore (gaTTu);
O dEvi (amma)! We (mEmu) have deceived (mOsa buccitimi) (mOsa-buccitimamma) the charming (mOhana) limbed (anguni) (mOhanAnguni);
O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted in utter confusion; O dEvi! please relieve all our troubles.

caraNam 6
mEmu-okkaTi-enca pOtimi-amma mA pali dEvuDu-
EmEmO encukonnADu-amma
rAmarO SrI tyAgarAja-Aptuni bAyamu-amma (alla)

O dEvi (amma)! We (mEmu) hoped (enca pOtimi) (pOtimamma) something (okkaTi) (mEmokkaTenca), but our patron (mA pAli) Lord (dEvuDu) thought (encukonnADu) (encukonnADamma) something totally different (EmEmO) (dEvuDEmEmO);
O dEvi (amma)! However, we damsels (rAma) (rAmarO) will not be separated (bAyamu) (bAyamamma) from Him – friend (Aptuni) of tyAgarAja (tyAgarAjAptuni);
O yamunA dEvi! It has all resulted in utter confusion; O dEvi! please relieve all our troubles.

Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
General – ‘amma’ - All books have different versions of ‘amma’ at every occurrence as ‘amma’ or ‘ammA’. Therefore, for uniformity sake ‘amma’ has been adopted in all places.

¹ – Anupallavi is given as part of pallavi (last line) in some books.

⁴ – tattaLincunadendAka – tattaLincEdendAka.
⁵ – osagedamamma – osagEmamma.
⁷ – rAmarO – bhAmarO.
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References
² – molla – A kind of jasmine - jasminum multiflorum or jasminum pubescens.
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Comments
³ – bAriki – In telugu there are two distinct words ‘pAri’ and ‘bAri’ which have different meanings – ‘pAri’ means ‘time’, ‘season’ (maru pAri – might mean 'spring' – season of Love); ‘bAri’ means ‘troubles’. Though both these words seem to fit in the present context, ‘bAri’ seems to be more appropriate. Therefore, as given in the books the meaning of ‘bAriki’ has been adopted.

⁶ – emme kAni – 'This is how it is given in all the books. 'emme' means 'loveliness', 'charm', 'sport', etc. In the present context none of these meanings seem to fit. In one book, this seems to have been translated as 'why we'. It is possible that the word is 'Eme' and not 'emme'.
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This kRti is part of the dance-drama ‘nauka caritraM’ – The Boat Story.

Background – gOpis meet kRshNa at the yamunA river and travel in a boat happily. In their excitement of meeting kRshNa, gOpis become proud thinking that kRshNa is their property. In order to remove their proudiness, kRshNa creates a storm in the river and as the boat is tossed about, the boat develops a crack. Consequently, they are on the verge of being drowned. After all their attempts to reach the boat shore failed, they pray to yamunA dEvi in this kRti.
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allakallOlamu - rAga saurAshTraM