pallavi
evarani nirNayincirirA ninn-
(e)Tl(A)rAdhincirirA 1nara varul(evarani)
anupallavi
SivuD(a)nO mAdhavuD(a)nO 2kamala
bhavuD(a)nO para-brahmam(a)nO ninn(evarani)
caraNam
Siva mantramunaku 3ma jIvamu
mAdhava mantramunaku rA jIvamu(y)I
vivaramu telisina ghanulaku mrokkeda
vitaraNa guNa 4tyAgarAja vinuta (evarani)
pallavi
evaru-ani nirNayincirirA ninnu-
eTla-ArAdhincirirA nara varulu-(evarani)
What did the most eminent (varulu) people (nara) determine (nirNayincirirA) as to who (evaru) You are (ani) (varulevarani)? And, how (eTla) did they worship (ArAdhincirirA) You (ninnu) (ninneTlArAdhincirirA)?
anupallavi
SivuDu-anO mAdhavuDu-anO kamala
bhavuDu-anO para-brahmamu-anO ninnu-(evarani)
What did the most Eminent people determine as to who You (ninnu) are –
whether (anO) Lord Siva (SivuDu) (SivuDanO) or (anO) Lord vishNu (mAdhavuDu) (mAdhavuDanO) or (anO) brahmA – One seated (bhavuDu) (bhavuDanO) in Lotus (kamala) or (anO) the Supreme (para) Lord (brahmamu) (brahmamanO)?
And, how did they worship You?
caraNam
Siva mantramunaku ma jIvamu
mAdhava mantramunaku rA jIvamu-I
vivaramu telisina ghanulaku mrokkeda
vitaraNa guNa tyAgarAja vinuta (evarani)
For the Siva mantra (mantramunaku) – (OM namaSSivAya) - ‘ma’ is the soul (jIvamu); for the vishNu (mAdhava) mantra (mantramunaku) –(OM namO nArAyanAya) – ‘rA’ is the soul (jIvamu);
I salute (mrokkeda) the great personages (ghanulaku) who understand (telisina) this (I) (jIvamuyI) detail (vivaramu);
O Munificent Lord (vitaraNa guNa) (literally having quality of munificence), praised (vinuta) by this tyAgarAja! What did the most eminent people determine as to who You are? And, how did they worship You?
Notes
Variations - (Pathanthara)
1 – nara varul(evarani) – nara varu (evarani) – nara vara (evarani). If ‘nara varu’ is correct, then it could be connected to pallavi. If ‘nara vara’ is correct, then it should be treated as an epithet of Lord and cannot be connected to pallavi.
It is stated that Gopalakrishna Bharati (Tamil composer) – a contemporary of tyAgarAja visted latter and sang a song (sabhApatikku) eulogising Lord Siva – that there is no God equal to Lord Siva. It is stated that then and there, SrI tyAgarAja extempore composed this song. If this is true, then ‘nara varulu evarani’ would be the correct rendering.
2 – kamala bhavuDu – kamalA bhavuDu : kamalA bhavuDu is not correct.
3 – ma jIvanamu – mA jIvamu . From the discourse referred below, it is clear that the (second) syllable of ‘namaSSivAya’ is referred – ie ‘ma’ and not ‘mA’. Similarly, ‘rA’ is the second syllable of ‘nArAyaNAya’; there ‘rA jIvamu’ is correct.
4 – tyAgarAja vinuta – tyAgarAja vinuta ninnu
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References
General – Siva mantra – mAdhava mantra - Please refer to discourse of kAnci paramAcArya candra SEkharEndra sarasvati on tAraka nAma - rAma
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Comments
There is a story about initiation of (the hunter who later became) vAlmIki by sage nArada. It is stated that he was so sinful that he could not repeat the mantra ‘rAma’; therefore, sage narada reversed it as ‘marA’ and asked him to repeat the same which when chanted repeatedly becomes ‘rAma’. Valmiki's Initiation (Invoke 'Dhyana')
Please also refer to kRti 'pEriDi ninnu' – rAga kharaharapriya wherein SrI tyAgarAja expresses the same wonderment.
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