pallavi
bAg(A)yen(a)yya nI mAyal(e)ntO
1brahmak(ai)na koniyADa taramA
anupallavi
I 2gAruDamunu(y)onarincucunu
3nE kAd(a)nucu palkuTayu (bAgAye)
caraNam
ala nAdu kauravulan(a)Naca(m)ana
4alari dOsam(a)nu 5naruni jUci 6pApa
phalamu nIku tanaku lEd(a)ni cakkaga
pAlanamu sEya lEdA tyAgarAja nuta (bAgAye)
pallavi
bAgAyenu-ayya nI mAyalu-entO
brahmakaina koniyADa taramA
O Lord (ayya)! Very (entO) grand indeed (bAgu Ayenu) (bAgAyenayya) is Your (nI) magic (mAyalu)! Is it possible (taramA) even (aina) for brahmA (brahmakaina) to really comprehend (koniyADa) (literally praise) it?
anupallavi
I gAruDamunu-onarincucunu
nE kAdu-anucu palkuTayu (bAgAye)
While prescribing (onarincucunu) this (I) secret formula (gAruDamunu) (gAruDamunuyonarincucunu), You also say (palkuTayu) ‘I (nE) am not (kAdu) (kAdanucu) (saying)’.
O Lord! Very grand indeed is Your magic! Is it possible even for brahmA to really comprehend it?
caraNam
ala nAdu kauravulanu-aNacu-ana
alari dOsamu-anu naruni jUci pApa
phalamu nIku tanaku lEdu-ani cakkaga
pAlanamu sEya lEdA tyAgarAja nuta (bAgAye)
Looking at (jUci) arjuna (naruni) (literally man), who said (anu) that war (alari) is a sin (dOsamu) (dOsamanu), when You asked (ana) him that (ala) day (nAdu) to subdue (aNaca) the kauravas (kauravalunu) (kauravulanaNacamana),
didn’t You nicely (cakkaga) explain (pAlanamu sEya lEdA) (literally protect) that (ani) ‘results (phalamu) of sins (pApa) do not touch (lEdu) (lEdani) you (nIku) and Me (tanaku)’?
O Lord praised (nuta) by this tyAgarAja! Very grand indeed is Your magic! Is it possible even for brahmA to really comprehend it?
Notes
Variations - (Pathanthara)
References
2 – gAruDamu – secret formula - a spell to remove poison, delusion etc. ‘garuDa mantra’
3 – nE kAdanucu – the following verse from SrImad-bhagavad-gItA is also relevant –
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Lord kRshNa said -
vRshNInAM vAsudEvO(a)smi pANDavAnAM dhananjayaH |
munInAmapyaham vyAsaH kavInAm-uSanA kaviH || X.37 ||
“Of the vRshNis I am vAsudEva; of the pANDavas, dhananjaya; and also of the munis I am vyAsa; of the sages, uSanas the sage.”
vRshNi is the lineage of kRshNa. The implication is that ‘though apparently, I am kRshNa of the lineage of vRshNi, I am also You, therefore I am not I (and similarly, you or not you).’
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4 – alari dOsamu - The following verses of SrImad bhagavad gItA are relevant –
arjuna said –
dRshTvEmaM svajanaM kRshNa yuyutsuM samupasthitaM |
sIdanti mama gAtrANi mukhaM ca pariSushyati ||
ahO bata mahat pApaM kartuM vyavasitA vayaM |
yadrAjya sukha lObhEna hantuM svajanam-udyatAH || I. 28, 45 ||
“Seeing, O kRshNa, these my kinsmen gathered here eager for fight, my limbs fail me and my mouth is parched.
Alas! We are involved in a great sin, in that we are prepared to slay our kinsmen, out of greed for the pleasures for a kingdom.”
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5 – naruni jUci – The word ‘nara’ used for arjuna is not to be taken in literal sense as ‘man’. arjuna – kRshNa are known as ‘nara - nArAyaNa’; gItA propounded by SrI kRshNa is known as ‘kRshNa – arjuna samvAda’ and also ‘nara nArAyaNa samvAda’. bhagavad-gItA
Please refer to SrImad-bhAgavataM, Book 12, Chapter 8 about sages nara, nArAyaNa.
“They that were nara and nArayaNa in days of yore are now arjuna and kESava.” – mahAbhArata –Book 5, Chapter 96
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– pApa phalamu nIku tanaku lEdu – The follwing verses from SrImad-bhagavad-gItA are relevant -
Lord kRshNa said –
ya EnaM vEtti hantAraM yaScainaM manyatE hataM |
ubhau tau na vijAnItO nAyaM hanti na hanyatE || II. 19 ||
“He who takes this Self to be the slayer, and he who takes It to be the slain, neither of these knows. It does not slay, not is it slain.”
(All translations by Swami Swarupananda)
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Comments
1 - brahmakaina koniyADa taramA – is it possible even for brahmA to applaud it – being incomprehensible.
2 – gAruDamunu – The statement of Lord kRshNa as brought in caraNa is meant here. Therefore, the caraNa should be read first and then the anupallavi – that is the sequence in this kRti.
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4 – alari – this is how it is given in all the books. In one book, this has been translated as ‘trembled’; in another book, as ‘hesitated’. But, the word ‘alaru’ does not have any such meaning. Purely from prAsa – anuprAsa point of view, word beginning with ‘ala’ seems to be correct. The meaning of the word (alari) is ‘unprotected’, ‘destitute’, anAtha’ – none of these words fit in the context. Therefore, the word seems to be doubtful.
‘alaru’ in Telugu means ‘blossom’, ‘please’, ‘gratify’. The word ‘adaru’ in Telugu means ‘frighten’ etc. However, the Tamil word ‘alaru’ means ‘frighten’. The nearest telugu word ‘allari’ means ‘quarrel’, ‘affray’ etc. It is not clear whether this word has been used in the meaning of ‘war’.
Has SrI tyAgarAja used a Tamil word ‘alari’ here or is the word ‘adari’ or ‘allari’? In any case, it has been translated as ‘war’ here.
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