Transliteration Scheme

kAla haraNa - rAga Suddha sAvEri

Tamil Version
Language Version

pallavi
kAla haraNam(E)larA harE sItA rAma

anupallavi
kAla haraNam(E)la suguNa jAla karuN(A)lavAla (kAla)

caraNam
caraNam 1
cuTTi cuTTi pakshul(e)lla ceTTu vedaku rIti bhuvini
1puTTaganE nI padamula paTTukonna nannu brOva (kAla)

caraNam 2
poDavuna(y)ent(A)Dukonna 2bhUmini tyAgambu rIti
kaDu velasi(y)unna nIvu gAka(y)evaru nannu brOva (kAla)
caraNam 3
dina dinamunu tirigi tirigi dikku lEka SaraNu jocci
tanuvu dhanamu nIdE(y)aNTi tyAgarAja vinuta rAma (kAla)

Meaning - Gist
O Lord sItA rAma! O Ocean of mercy with a lot of virtues! O Lord rAma well-praised by this tyAgarAja!

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
kAla haraNamu-ElarA harE sItA rAma

Why (ElarA) delay (kAla haraNamu) (literally holding time) (haraNamElarA), O (harE) Lord sItA rAma?

anupallavi
kAla haraNamu-Ela suguNa jAla karuNA-AlavAla (kAla)

Why (Ela) delay (kAla haraNamu) (haraNamEla), O Ocean (AlavAla) of mercy (karuNA) (karuNAlavAla) with a lot (jAla) of virtues (suguNa)?
Why delay, O Lord sItA rAma?

caraNam
caraNam 1
cuTTi cuTTi pakshulu-ella ceTTu vedaku rIti bhuvini
puTTaganE nI padamula paTTukonna nannu brOva (kAla)

In the same manner as (rIti) all (ella) birds (pakshulu) (pakshulella), circling again and again (cuTTi cuTTi), search (vedaku) for the tree (ceTTu) (where their nest is located),
O Lord sItArAma! why delay in protecting (brOva) me (nannu) who has got hold (paTTukonna) of Your (nI) holy feet (padamulu) right from birth (puTTaganE) in this World (bhuvini)?

caraNam 2
poDavuna-enta-ADukonna bhUmini tyAgambu rIti
kaDu velasi-unna nIvu gAka-evaru nannu brOva (kAla)

No matter how much (enta) highly (poDavuna) one might speak (ADukonna) (poDavunayentADukonna) of You,
who else (evaru) is there to protect (brOva) me (nannu) than (gAka) (gAkayevaru) You (nIvu) who is shining (velasiyunna) highly (kaDu) in this World (bhUmini) as (rIti) personification of sacrifice (tyAgambu)?
O Lord sItA rAma! why delay?
caraNam 3
dina dinamunu tirigi tirigi dikku lEka SaraNu jocci
tanuvu dhanamu nIdE-aNTi tyAgarAja vinuta rAma (kAla)

Every day (dina dinamunu), having roamed everywhere (tirigi tirigi) and finding no other go (dikku lEka),
seeking (jocci) Your refuge (SaraNu), I surrendered (aNTi) (literally said) unto You (nIdE) (literally Yours) (the care of) my body (tanuvu) and wealth (dhanamu);
O Lord rAma, well-praised (vinuta) by this tyAgarAja! O Lord sItA rAma! why delay?

Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
1 – puTTaganE – puTTu lEkanE : ‘puTTaganE’ seems to be appropriate.
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References

Comments
2 – bhuvini tyAgambu rIti – It is not clear whether SrI tyAgarAja states that ‘the Lord is the shining example of tyAga’ or whether ‘He is peerless like tyAga among all qualities’. Therefore, this caraNa may also be interpreted as ‘No matter how much one might speak highly (of other qualities), in the World, no quality is equal to sacrifice (tyAga); similarly, You are shining in this World peerlessly’.

In one of the books, one more caraNa is given – see below – the same is not found in any other book. In this additional kRti, mudra of ‘tyAgarAja’ is repeated. Also, there is a contradiction between caraNas 3 and this additional caraNa. Whereas in caraNa 3, SrI tyAgarAja states that ‘he surrendered the care of his body and wealth unto the Lord’, in the additional caraNa, he requests Lord ‘to bestow him material wealth (kAmita artha phala)’. Therefore, the authenticity of the additional caraNa is questionable.
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ishTa daivamA man(O)bhIshTam(I)ya lEka(y)inka
kashTamA tyAgarAju kAmit(A)rtha phalam(o)sanga (kAla)

O Lord of my liking! Why trouble me yet without bestowing my wishes? Why delay in granting the fruits of material objects desired by this tyAgarAja?

O Lord (daivamA) of my liking (ishTa)! Why trouble (kashTamA) me yet (inka) without bestowing (Iya lEka) (lEkayinka) my wishes (manObhIshTamu) (literally wishes of mind) (manObhIshtamIya)?
O Lord sItA rAma! why delay in granting (osanga) the fruits (phalamu) (phalamosanga) of material objects (artha) desired (kAmita) (kAmitArtha) by this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAju)?
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