Tyagaraja Kriti

Meaning - Gist

O Mother parA Sakti!
O Ancient One! O Mother dharma saMvardhani! O Presiding Deity of SrI pura! O Mother who wears digit of moon on the head!
O Beautiful Faced (mind-born) daughter of himavAn, whom even Siva, indra, brahmA and demons etc beseech for boons! O Mother worshipped by best of ascetics!
O Large Eyed Mother SAmbhavi, who watches calmly, while indra and others, having become eternal by happily undertaking Your service, exultingly salute You!
O Excellent One, praised by this tyAgarAja, who bestows auspiciousness! O Sister of Lord SrI rAma! O Daughter of himavAn!

Why don’t You take care of me?
Why this unconcern towards me?
Why don’t You protect me?
Won’t You make those wicked persons, who disregard (or disallow) innocent people, not to come here?

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
parA Sakti manupa rAdA nApai
parAku-Ela-ammA

O Mother (ammA) parA Sakti! Why don’t You (rAdA) take care (manupa) of me? Why (Ela) this unconcern (parAku) (parAkElanammA) towards me (nApai) (literally on me)?

anupallavi
purANi dharma saMvardhani SrI-
pura-a)dhi-ISvari rAja SEkhari (parA)

O Ancient One (purANi)! O Mother dharma saMvardhani (name of Mother at tiruvaiyAru)! O Presiding Deity (adhi ISvari) (adhISvari) of SrI pura (purAdhISvari)! O Mother who wears digit of moon (rAja) on the head (SEkhari)!
O Mother parA Sakti! Why don’t You take care of me? Why this unconcern towards me?

caraNam
caraNam 1
vara-ahi dhara dEva rAja jalaja
bhava rAkshasa-Adulu varAlu kOru
vara-Anana naga vara-Atmaja muni
vara-arcita nanu brOva rAdA O (parA)

O Beautiful (vara) Faced (Anana) (varAnana) (mind-born) daughter (Atmaja) of himavAn – best of (vara) (varAtmaja) Mountains (naga) -
whom even Siva - wearer (dhara) of SEsha – blessed (vara) serpent (ahi) (varAhi), indra – Lord (rAja) of celestials (dEva), brahmA – abiding (bhava) in Lotus (jalaja) and demons (rAkashasa) etc (Adulu) (rAkshasAdulu) beseech (kOru) for boons (varAlu)!
O Mother worshipped (arcita) by best of (vara) (varArcita) ascetics (muni)! Why don’t (rAdA) You protect (brOva) me (nanu)?
O Mother parA Sakti! Why don’t You take care of me? Why this unconcern towards me?

caraNam 2
viSAla nayanE kuSAlugA
nIdu sEva jEsi tri-daSa-adhipa-
Adulu SASvatulai paravaSAla nati
sEya SAntamuna jUcu SAmbhavi O (parA)

O Large (viSAla) Eyed (nayanE) Mother SAmbhavi – who watches (jUcu) calmly (SAntamuna) while
indra – chief (adhipa) of thirty-three (tri-daSa) Gods - and others (Adulu) (tri-daSAdhipAdulu), having become eternal (SASvatulai) by happily (kuSAlugA) undertaking (jEsi) Your (nIdu) service (sEva), exultingly (paravaSAla) salute (nati sEya) You!
O Mother parA Sakti! Why don’t You take care of me? Why this unconcern towards me?

caraNam 3
nir-aprAdhula nirAkarincu
durAtmakulanu-indu rAka
sEyaga rAdA vara tyAgarAja nuta
Subhada rAma sOdari dharA dhara sutE (parA)

Won’t You (rAdA) make (sEyaga) those wicked persons (durAtmakulanu), who disregard (or disallow) (nirAkarincu) innocent people (nir-aparAdhula), not to come (rAka) here (indu) (durAtmakulanindu)?
O Excellent One (vara), praised (nuta) by this tyAgarAja, who bestows (da) auspiciousness (Subha) (Subhada)! O Sister (sOdari) of Lord SrI rAma! O Daughter (sutE) of himavAn – Mountain - bearer (dhara) of Earth (dharA)!
O Mother parA Sakti! Why don’t You take care of me? Why this unconcern towards me?

Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
⁴ – varAnana – naga varAtmaja : varAnanE - naga varAtmajE.
⁵ – viSAla nayanE – viSAla nayana.
⁷ – nati – nuti.
⁹ – nirAkarincu – nirAkarincE.
Top

References
¹ - parA Sakti – Discourse of Kanchi Paramacharya Chandrasekharendra Saraswati on ‘parA’

² – SrI pura – Though tapastIrtha pura (present Lalgudi) is called SrIpuram, as per Introduction to lalitA sahasra nAma by Prof DS Sarma, SrI cakra (aka. SrI yantra) is also called SrI pura. Further as SrI tyAgarAja has addressed Mother at tiruvaiyAru - 'dharma saMvardhani', 'SrI pura' may not refer to tapastIrtha pura.

For details on SrI cakra, please refer to ibid discourse by Kanchi Paramacharya.

⁶ - tri-daSa – 3 x 10 (in round number for 3 x 11) – 12 Adityas, 8 vAsus, 11 rudras, 2 aSvins = 33; their lord – tridaSa-pati or adhipa – indra
Top

Comments
³ - varAhi dhara – the mention of Siva in the category of persons seeking boons from the Mother indicates that ‘lalitA mahA tripurasundari’ – the Supreme Mother is meant; Siva here being one of Trinity.

⁸ – SAmbhavi – Though this is generally translated as ‘wife of Siva – Sambhu’, this name has a special significance in Sakti Worship.

⁹ – nirAkarincu – disregard or disallow - this is a contextual statement and the exact significance is not clear.
Top

parA Sakti manupa - rAga sAvEri