Tyagaraja Kriti

Meaning - Gist

O Lord praised by Lord Siva!
O Lord who carries across the ocean of Worldly Existence! O Virtuous One! O Lord praised by brahmA!
O Lord who destroys sins! O Lord SrI raghuvara! O Lord who utters sweet words! O Wealth of humble people! O Holy One!
O Merciful Lord!

How hardened my sins should be!

Your holy feet turned a stone into a blessed woman (ahalya); also, Your arrow spared a demon (mArIca or kAkAsura).
Yet, I do not know, how hardened my sins are, for You to protect me by driving away my sins!

Why wouldn’t You feel indignant when people, highly conceited by their youth, sneer at me, who is in this condition? With whom shall I appeal that You would not feel indignant?

How hardened my sins should be -

that it did not occur to You to give me refuge;
that Your heart did not melt seeing my pitiable condition of, yearning for Your protection and yet, not getting it;
that Your grace did not descend on this tyAgarAja who, in this birth, without being deluded, has abhorred all such Worldly excuses which are impediments for chanting Your names!

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
bhava sannuta nAdu-aghamu-enta ghanI-bhavamO

O Lord praised (sannuta) by Lord Siva (bhava)! How (enta) hardened (ghanI-bhavamO) my (nAdu) sins (aghamu) (nAdaghamenta) should be!

anupallavi
bhava nIradhi tAraka suguNa
nAku-abhayamu-iyyanu tOcani-anduku-abja (bhava)

O Lord who carries across (tAraka) the ocean (nIradhi) of Worldly Existence (bhava)! O Virtuous One (suguNa)!
O Lord praised by brahmA – abiding (bhava) in Lotus (abja) (tOcanandukabja)! How hardened my sins should be,
that (anduku) it did not occur (tOcani) to You to give (iyyanu) me (nAku) refuge (abhayamu) (literally freedom from fear) (nAkabhayamiyyanu)!

caraNam
caraNam 1
pApa haraNa SrI raghuvara
madhura-AlApa dIna jana dhana pAvana nI
prApu kaluga kOri dorakani
paritApamu kani manasu karagani-anduku (bhava)

O Lord who destroys (haraNa) sins (pApa)! O Lord SrI raghuvara! O Lord who utters sweet (madhura) words (AlApa) (madhurAlApa)! O Wealth (dhana) of humble (dIna) people (jana)! O Holy One (pAvana)!
O Lord praised by Lord Siva! How hardened my sins should be,
that (anduku) Your heart (manasu) did not melt (karagani) (karagananduku) seeing (kani) my pitiable condition (paritApamu) of, yearning (kaluga kOri) for Your protection (prApu) and yet, not getting (dorakani) it!

caraNam 2
karuNAkara nI caraNamu Silanu
vara nAriga jEsinadi gAkanu
Saram(a)suruni kAcenE nIku nA
duritamulanu pOgoTTi brOcuTaku (bhava)

O Merciful Lord (karuNAkara)! Your (nI) holy feet (caraNamu) turned (jEsinadi) a stone (Silanu) into a blessed (vara) woman (nAriga) (ahalya); further (gAkanu),
isn’t it that Your arrow (Saramu) spared (kAcenE) (literally protected) a demon (asuruni) (Saramasuruni)?
O Lord praised by Lord Siva! (I do not know) how hardened my sins are for You (nIku) to protect (brOcuTaku) me by driving away (pOgoTTi) my (nA) sins (duritamulanu)!

caraNam 3
ivvidhamunanu-uNDu nanu jUci
yauvana garvamu mincina narulu
navvagAnu rOsamu-Ela rAdO-
evvari tODanu vinnavintunu rAdu-ani (bhava)

Why (Ela) wouldn’t You feel indignant (rOsamu rAdO) (rOsamEla) when people (narulu), highly conceited (garvamu mincina) (literally with excessive pride) by their youth (yauvana), sneer (navvagAnu) at me (nanu jUci) (literally looking at me) who is (uNDu) in this condition (ivvidhamunanu) (ivvidhamunanuNDu)?
With (tODanu) whom (evvari) (rAdOyevvari) shall I appeal (vinnavintunu) that (ani) You would not feel (rAdu) (literally come) (rAdani) indignant?
O Lord praised by Lord Siva! How hardened my sins should be!

caraNam 4
I janmamunanu mOsa pOkanu
nI japamulaku vighAtamaina bhava
vyAjamuluellanu rOsina
tyAgarAjuni paini daya rAni-anduku (bhava)

O Lord praised by Lord Siva! How hardened my sins should be,
that (anduku) Your grace (daya) did not descend (rAni) (rAnanduku) on (paini) this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAjuni) who –
in this (I) birth (janmamunanu), without being deluded (mOsa pOkanu), has abhorred (rOsina) all (ellanu) such Worldly (bhava) excuses (vyAjamulu) (vyAjamulellanu) which are (aina) impediments (vighAtamu) (vighAtamaina) for chanting (japamulaku) Your (nI) names!

Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
¹ – tOcananduku – tOcenanduku : ‘tOcenanduku’ gives an opposite meaning. In the present context, ‘tOcananduku’ is appropriate.

² – prApu – dApu.
⁴ – vinnavintunu – vinnavintu.
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References
³ - Saramu asuruni kAcenE – This may refer to crow demon who was saved from death by SrI rAma or it may refer to mArIca who was not killed by the arrows of SrI rAma at the time when He was protecting yAga of sage viSvAmitra.
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Comments
⁵ – rAdani – this refers to ‘rOsamu rAdO’.
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bhava sannuta - rAga varALi