O Enjoyer of recitation of sAma vEda! O Lord who is beautiful like the cupid! O Lord raghuvara!
Word Division - Word-by-word meaning
pallavi
endarO mahAnubhAvulu-
andariki vandanamu
There are countless (endarO) great personages (mahAnubhAvulu); I offer my salutations (vandanamulu) to all of them (andariki) (mahAnubhAvulandariki).
anupallavi
candra vadanuni-anda candamunu
hRdaya-aravindamuna jUci
brahmAnandamu-anubhavincu vAru-(endarO)
There are countless great personages who (vAru)–
experience (anubhavincu) Supreme Bliss (brahmAnandamu) (brahmAnandamanubhavincu)
beholding (jUci) the charm (anda) and manner (candamu) of the Moon (candra) Faced (vadanuni) (vadanuniyanda) Lord
in the Lotus (aravaindamuna) of their heart (hRdaya) (hRdayAravindamuna);
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam
caraNam 1
sAma gAna lOla manasija lAvaNya
dhanya mUrdhanyulu-(endarO)
O Enjoyer (lOla) of recitation (gAna) of sAma vEda! O Lord who is beautiful (lAvaNya) like the cupid (manasija)!
there are countless fortunate (dhanya) pre-eminent persons (mUrdhanyalu);
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam 2 & 3
mAnasa vana cara vara sancAramu salipi
mUrti bAguga poDaganE vAru-(endarO)
saraguna pAdamulaku svAntamu-anu
sarOjamunu samarpaNamu sEyu vAru-(endarO)
There are countless great personages who (vAru) -
behold (poDaganE) well (bAguga) the figure (mUrti) of the Lord, found (cara) in the woods (vana) of the mind (mAnasa), by remaining (in meditation) (vara sancAramu salipi) (literally performing sacred co-dwelling) with Him; and
immediately (saraguna) (literally quickly) surrender (samarpaNamu sEyu) the Lotus (sarOjamunu) of (anu) (their) heart (svAntamu) (svAntamanu) at His holy feet (pAdamulaku) (literally to the feet);
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam 4
patita pAvanuDu-anE parAtparuni gurinci
parama-arthamagu nija mArgamutOnu
pADucunu sallApamutO
svara laya-Adi rAgamulu teliyu vAru-(endarO)
There are countless great personages who (vAru) –
while singing (pADucunu) joyously (sallApamutO) about (gurinci) the Supreme Lord (parAtparuni) called (anE) sanctifier (pAvanuDu) (pAvanuDanE) of the fallen (patita),
in consonance with true (nija) path (mArgamutOnu) leading to highest knowledge (paramArthamagu),
know (teliyu) rAgas (rAgamulu) emanating from (Adi) the seven svaras and laya;
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam 5
hari guNa maNi-maya saramulu gaLamuna
SObhillu bhakta kOTulu-ilalO
telivitO celimitO karuNa kalgi
jagamu-ellanu sudhA dRshTicE brOcu vAru-(endarO)
There are countless great personages in this World (ilalO) who are excellent (kOTulu) (kOTulilalO) devotees (bhakta) –
in whose voice (gaLamuna) (literally throat) shines (SObhillu) series (lists) (saramulu) (literally strings) of excellent (maNi-maya) (literally precious stones) qualities (guNa) of Lord hari, and
who (vAru) protect (brOcu) entire (ellanu) World (jagamu) (jagamellanu) with their nectarine (sudhA) glance (dRshTicE),
with full understanding (telivitO), love (celimitO) and having (kalgi) compassion (karuNa);
(there are countless great personages in this World who are excellent devotees; they protect entire World with their nectarine glance with full understanding, love and compassion; they spread bhakti by singing the excellent qualities of Lord hari.)
I offer my salutations to them.
caraNam 6
hoyalu mIra naDalu kalgu sarasuni
sadA kanula jUcucunu pulaka SarIrulai
Ananda payOdhi nimagnulai
mudambunanu yaSamu kala vAru-(endarO)
There are countless famous (yaSamu kala) great personages who (vAru) –
beholding (jUcucunu) (literally look) always (sadA) with their eyes (kanula) the lovely Lord (sarasuni) having (kalgu) exceedingly (mIra) charming (hoyalu) gait (naDalu),
attaining horripilation (pulaka SarIrulai) (literally tingling sensation in the body) remain delightfully (mudambunanu) immersed (nimagnulai) in the Ocean (payOdhi) of bliss (Ananda);
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam 7
parama bhAgavata mauni vara SaSi
vibhA-kara sanaka sanandana
dik-ISa sura kimpurusha kanaka kaSipu
suta nArada tumburu
pavana sUnu bAla candra dhara Suka
sarOja bhava bhU-sura varulu
parama pAvanulu ghanulu SASvatulu
kamala bhava sukhamu sadA-anubhavulu gAka-(endarO)
There are countless great personages other than (gAka) (the following)-
great (vara) sages (mauni) who are Supreme (parama) devotees (bhAgavata) of the Lord,
the Moon (SaSi), the Sun (vibhAkara), sages sanaka, sanandana, the Lords (ISa) of the Quarters (dik) (digISa), the celestials (sura), attendants of kubEra (kimpurusha),
prahlAda – son (suta) of hiraNya (kanaka) kaSipu, sage nArada, the celstrial musician tumburu, AnjanEya – son (sUnu) of vAyu (pavana), Lord Siva – wearer (dhara) of young (bAla) moon (candra), sage Suka,
Lord brahmA – abiding (bhava) in Lotus (sarOja), great (varulu) brAhmaNas (bhU-sura), the supremely (parama) holy (pAvanulu) ones, the eminent persons (ghanulu), the eternal ones (SASvatulu) (all these) who –
always (sadA) have the experience (anubhavulu) (sadAnubhavulu) of Supreme bliss – brahmAnanda – (brahmA – one abiding (bhava) in Lotus (kamala) – bliss – Ananda (sukhamu));
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam 8
nI mEnu nAma vaibhavambulanu
nI parAkrama dhairyamula
SAnta mAnasamu nIvulu-anu
vacana satyamunu raghuvara nIyeDa
sad-bhaktiyu janincakanu dur-matamulanu
kalla jEsina-aTTi nI madini-
eringi santasambunanu guNa bhajana-
Ananda kIrtanamu sEyu vAru-(endarO)
O Lord raghuvara! There are countless great personages who (vAru) –
understanding (eringi) Your (nI) kind of (aTTi) mind (madini) (madineringi) which disproved (kalla jEsina) (jEsinaTTi) the wicked paths (dur-matamulanu),
in order that there could sprout (janincakanu) in them the true devotion (sad-bhaktiyu) towards You (nIyeDa),
happily (santasambunanu) sing (kIrtanamu sEyu) the blissful (Ananda) chant (bhajana) (bhajanAnanda) of Your virtues (guNa),
describing the greatness (vaibhavambulanu) of Your (nI) body (mEnu), Your name (nAma), Your (nI) prowess (parAkrama) and courage (dhairyamula), Your tranquility (SAnta) of mind (mAnasamu) and the truth (satyamunu) of words (vacana) uttered (anu) by You (nIvu) (nIvulanu);
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam 9
bhAgavta rAmAyaNa gItA-Adi
Sruti SAstra purANapu
marmamulanu Siva-Adi shaN-matamula
gUDhamulanu muppadi mukkOTi
sura-antarangamula bhAvambulanu-
eringi bhAva rAga laya-Adi saukhyamucE
cira-Ayuvul kalgi niravadhi sukha-Atmulai
tyAgarAja-Aptulu-aina vAru-(endarO)
There are countless great personages who (vAru) -
understanding the secrets of SrImad-bhAgavataM, rAmAyaNa, SrImad-bhagavad-gItA, vEdas, sciences, epics, etc (Adi) (gItAdi),
the secrets (gUDhamulanu) of the six methods (shaNmatamula) of formal worship like, Saiva (Siva) and others (Adi ) (SivAdi),
the state (bhAvambulanu) (bhAvambulaneringi) of mind (antarangamula) of thirty-three crores (muppadi mukkOTi) of celestials (sura) (surAntarangamula),
attaining (kalgi) a very long (cira) life (Ayuvul) (cirAyuvul) and being uninterrupted (niravadhi) experiencers of bliss (sukhAtmulai) along with joy (saukhyamucE) of bhAva (literally state of mind), rAga and laya etc (Adi) (layAdi),
have become (aina) the benefactors (Aptulu) (Aptulaina) of this tyAgarAja;
I offer my salutations to all of them.
caraNam 10
prEma muppiri konu vELa
nAmamu talacE vAru
rAma bhaktuDaina tyAgarAja
nutuni nija dAsulu-aina vAru-(endarO)
There are countless great personages who (vAru) –
meditate (talacE) (literally think) on the name (nAmamu) of the Lord at that time (vELa) when their love (prEma) redoubles (muppiri konu) and who (vAru) –
have become (aina) the true (nija) servants (dAsulu) (dAsulaina) of the Lord praised (nutuni) by this tyAgarAja who is (aina) devotee (bhaktuDu) (bhaktuDaina) of Lord rAma;
I offer my salutations to all of them.
Notes
Variations - (Pathanthara)
1 – candara vadanuni – canduru varNuni. The hue of the Lord is blue-black. SrI tyAgarAja has, nowhere, mentioned the hue of the Lord is white i.e. the hue of moon. He uses the word ‘canduru bOlu mukhamu’ in the kRiti ‘ennaDu jUtunO’ – rAga kalAvati. Therefore, while ‘canduru’ may be correct, ‘varNuni’ seems to be incorrect.
General – In some books, the first 9 caraNas are treated as svara sAhitya and the caraNa 10 as the only caraNa.
2 – salipi – nilipi : The words ‘salipi’ – ‘to perform’ and ‘nilipi’ - ‘to stop’ have totally opposite meanings. The wordings of the kRti do not seem to permit ‘nilipi’ (stopping) for the following reasons –
- There are two similar words – ‘cara’ (go about) and ‘sancara’ (go about together or remain with); if 'nilipi' is accepted, one of the words will become superfluous.
- If 'sancAra' (rambling of mind) is to be stopped (nilipi), then the qualifier 'vara' (vara sancAramu) would become wrong because 'vara' always indicates something auspicious and not negative. Therefore, 'vara' will become superfluous.
- SrI tyAgarAja uses the word ‘cara’ frequently to indicate where the Lord found - ‘Agama cara’ etc; here he uses ‘mAnasa vana cara’ to mean ‘one who is found in the woods of mind’
- In the kRti ‘sundara tara dEhaM’ – rAga pantuvarALi, SrI tyAgarAja states ‘tyAgarAja hRt-sancAraM’ – one who is found in the heart of this tyAgarAja.
- ‘sancara’ has been used by SrI tyAgarAja in another kRti ‘mAnasa sancararE rAmE’ – rAga punnAgavarALi which clearly indicates the meaning of the word ‘sancararE’ is ‘going along or remaining’.
- The famous kRti of sadASiva brahmEndra ‘mAnasa sancararE’ is also worth mentioning.
- The kRti is about great personages (mahAnubhAvulu) who have already achieved perfection. Therefore, 'stopping (nilipi) rambling of mind' contravenes the kRti substantially.
However, I may humbly submit that unless one has actually beheld (sancAra) the Lord in his mind (intellect), all these discussions would amount to intellectual verbiage only. From that standpoint, I cannot boldly make a statement as to what ‘sancAra’ actually means.
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10 –
santasambunanu – santatambunanu : ‘santasambunanu’ meaning ‘joyfully’ seem more appropriate in the present context.
14 –
talacE – talacu.
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References
11 - shaNmata – Worship of Lord Siva (Saivam), viSNu (vaishNava), Sakti (Sakta), kumAra (kaumAra), gaNapati (gANapatya) and sUrya (saura).
12 – muppadi mukkOti sura – (also known as ‘tridaSa’ – 12 Adityas, 8 vAsus, 11 rudras, 2 aSvins = 33; their lord – tridaSa-pati or adhipa – indra).
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Comments
3 – saraguna – this caraNa is to be read as continuation of the previous caraNa. SrI tyAgarAja states that as they behold the Lord, they immediately surrender their hearts at the feet of the Lord.
4 – pAdamulaku samarpaNamu – The place of a devotee is at the feet of the Lord. Otherwise, such beholding (poDaganE) of the Lord will be another ego-centric act.
5 – paramArthamagu nija mArgamutOnu – Please refer to kRti 'sogasugA mRdanga tALamu' rAga SrIranjani, wherein SrI tyAgarAja defines what a kRti is. Dikshitar, in his chAyAgauLa kRti 'sarasvatyA bhagavatyA' calls Mother 'sangIta sAhitya stana dvayayA'.
6 – hari guNa maNimaya saramulu gaLamuna – ‘gaLa’ means ‘neck’ and ‘throat’, ‘voice’. Accordingly what SrI tyAgarAja actually means is ‘with the voice describing the series of qualities of the Lord hari’. This caraNa seems to imply sage nArada.
7 – sarasuDu – Though this has been translated as ‘lovely Lord’, the implication seems to be the ‘Lord who is the pith and substance’.
8 – parama bhAgavata mauni vara – this may be taken as two – 'parama bhAgavata' (supreme devotees) and 'mauni vara' (great sages) or as a single 'great sages who are supreme devotees'. The latter version is more appealing.
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9 – durmatamulanu kalla jEsinaTTi – The word ‘mata’ should be seen in the light of ‘shaNmata’ given in caraNa 9. SrI tyAgarAja seems to reject all methods of approach to the Lord other than bhakti. As the path of bhakti is common for all the six modes of worship (Saiva, vaishNava etc), ‘mata’ here, does not denote shaNmata. In many kRtis SrI tyAgarAja rejects sacrifices performed with desires. By 'dur-matamulu', he might be referring to kaula mArga etc. involving esoteric rites etc.
As stated in caraNa 3 – ‘pAdamulaku svAntam(a)nu sarOjamunu samarpaNamu sEyu’, SrI tyAgarAja here seems to refer to the statement of SrI rAma at the time surrender of vibhIshaNa (vAlmIki rAmAyaNa – yuddha kaNDa) -
sakRdEva prapannAya tavAsmIti ca yAcatE |
abhayaM sarva bhUtEbhyO dadAmi Etat vrataM mama || XVIII -33
“To him, who comes to me, even once, yearning for protection (from me) saying ‘I am yours’, I vouchsafe his security against all living beings; such is my vow.”
The famous statement of SrI kRshNa in SrImad bhagavat gItA, Chapter 18 extolling ‘surrender’ as the sure means of redemption is also relevant -
sarva-dharmAn-pari-tyajya mAm-EkaM SaraNaM vraja ||
ahaM tvA sarva-pApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi mA SucaH || 66 ||
“Relinquishing all dharmas take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins; grieve not.” (Translation by Swami Swarupananda)
13 – bhAva rAga laya – bhAva – A true singing experience lies in understanding and expressing truly the mood (bhAva) encapsulated in the kRti. In the kRti 'svara rAga sudhA' – rAga SankarAbharaNaM, SrI tyAgarAja compares such singing, without understanding the bhAva, to 'mardala tALa gatulu teliyakanE mardincuTa' (beat the percussion instrument without knowing the pace (and/of) beat).
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