Transliteration Scheme

rAma kOdaNDa rAma - rAga bhairavi


Tamil Version
Language Version

pallavi
rAma kOdaNDa rAma rAma kalyANa rAma1

caraNam
caraNam 1
rAma sItA pati rAma nIvE gati
rAma nIku mrokkiti rAma nI cE jikkiti (rAma)

caraNam 2
rAma nIk(e)varu jODu rAma 2krI kaNTa jUDu
rAma nEnu nIvADu rAma nAtO mAT(A)Du (rAma)

caraNam 3
3rAma nAmamE mElu rAma cintanE cAlu
rAma nIvu nann(E)lu rAma rAyaDE cAlu (rAma)

caraNam 4
rAma 4nIk(o)ka mATa rAma nAk(o)ka mUTa
rAma nI pATE pATa rAma 5nI bATE bATa (rAma)

caraNam 5
rAma 6nEn(e)nd(ai)nanu rAma vEr(e)nca lEnu
rAma(y)ennaD(ai)nanu rAma bAyaka lEnu (rAma)

caraNam 6
rAma virAja rAja rAma mukha jita rAja
rAma bhakta samAja rakshita tyAgarAja (rAma)


Meaning - Gist
O Lord rAma! O Lord kOdaNDa rAma! O Lord kalyANa rAma! O Consort of sItA! O Lord of garuDa! O Lord whose face vanquishes the moon in splendour! O Lord found in the assembly of devotees! O Protector of this tyAgarAja!

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
rAma kOdaNDa rAma rAma kalyANa rAma

P O Lord rAma! O Lord kOdaNDa rAma! O Lord rAma! O Lord kalyANa rAma!


caraNam
caraNam 1
rAma sItA pati rAma nIvE gati
rAma nIku mrokkiti rAma nI cE jikkiti (rAma)

O Lord rAma! O Consort (pati) of sItA! O Lord rAma! You alone (nIvE) are my refuge (gati);
O Lord rAma! I salute (mrokkiti) You (nIku)! O Lord rAma! I am caught (jikkiti) in Your (nI) hands (cE);


caraNam 2
rAma nIku-evaru jODu rAma krI kaNTa jUDu
rAma nEnu nIvADu rAma nAtO mATa-ADu (rAma)

O Lord rAma! Whoever (evaru) is equal (jODu) to You (nIku) (nIkevaru)? O Lord rAma! deign to look (jUDu) at me at least by Your side glance (krI kaNTa);
O Lord rAma! I (nEnu) am Your’s (nIvADu)! O Lord rAma! please speak (mATa ADu) (mATADu) to me (nAtO);
caraNam 3
rAma nAmamE mElu rAma cintanE cAlu
rAma nIvu nannu-Elu rAma rAyaDE cAlu (rAma)

The name (nAmamE) of Lord rAma is indeed superior (mElu); only thought (cintanE) of Lord rAma is enough (cAlu);
O Lord rAma! please govern (Elu) me (nannu) (nannElu); Lord (rAyaDE) rAma alone is enough (cAlu) for me;
caraNam 4
rAma nIku-oka mATa rAma nAku-oka mUTa
rAma nI pATE pATa rAma nI bATE bATa (rAma)

O Lord rAma! For You (nIku) it may be a single (oka) (nIkoka) word (mATa); but it is worth a (oka) sack-full (mUTa) for me (nAku) (nAkoka);
O Lord rAma! that song (pATE) sung about You (nI) is indeed a true song (pATa); O Lord rAma! that path (bATE) which leads to You (nI) is indeed the true path (bATa) (OR) only Your (nI) path (bATE) (the path adopted by You) is indeed true path (bATa);
caraNam 5
rAma nEnu-endu-ainanu rAma vEru-enca lEnu
rAma-ennaDu-ainanu rAma bAyaka lEnu (rAma)

O Lord rAma! I shall not (lEnu) think (enca) differently or anything else (vEru) (vErenca) wherever (or in whatever condition) (endu) may (ainanu) I (nEnu) (nEnendainanu) be;
O Lord rAma! I shall not be separated (bAyaka lEnu) from You on any occasion (ennaDainanu) (rAmayennaDainanu);
caraNam 6
rAma vi-rAja rAja rAma mukha jita rAja
rAma bhakta samAja rakshita tyAgarAja (rAma)

O Lord rAma - Lord (rAja) of garuDa – king (rAja) of birds (vi) (virAja)! O Lord rAma – whose face (mukha) vanquishes (jita) the moon (rAja) in splendour!
O Lord rAma – found in the assembly (samAja) of devotees (bhakta)! O Lord – the protector (rakshita) of this tyAgarAja!


Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
1'rAma sAkEta rAma rAma paTTAbhirAma' - also additionally found in some books.

References
3rAma nAmamE mElu – the name of rAma is superior - because it is ‘tAraka nAma’ at par with praNava. Please refer to Discourse of Kanchi mahAsvAmi
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Comments
2krI kaNTa – this means ‘down-cast eyes’ which implies dejection. ‘krE kaNTa’ is the word for side-glance. All the books mention ‘krI kaNTa’. However, the meaning derived is ‘side glance’. The meaning 'side glance' has been retained.

4 - nIkoka mATa nAkoka mUTa – may be it is one word of You; but it is worth a sack-full for me. The example is that of sudAmA. The Lord consumes just a handful of parched rice from sudAmA (that too by snatching from him because he was reluctant to offer such a measly thing to Lord kRshNa) and in return bestowed all the enjoyments of this World unasked. The Lord being sarva-sAkshi knows everyone’s desires and our prayer is superfluous, indeed; when necessary conditions are fulfilled, the desires fructify – we call this luck, but the Sanskrit word ‘adRshTa’ – ‘the unseen’ (hand of the Lord) is the apt description.

5nI bATE bATa – SrI rAma is called 'maryAda purushOttama' – this may mean two things – one that He never transgressed the limits of morality and two – He set (new) limits for morality, not necessarily transgressing the earlier standards. The privations undergone by the Lord are indeed self-imposed. From the arguments advanced by King daSaratha, Queen kauSalya, bharata, lakshmaNa and even sage vaSishTa and other priests against exile of rAma, it is amply clear that rAma would have been well-justified, by the (prescribed) standards of morality, not to go for exile. But, SrI rAma set new standards for morality. No wonder, therefore, SrI tyAgarAja states 'the path adopted by You is indeed the true path'.

6nEnendainanu vErenca lEnu - wherever (or in whatever condition) may I be, I shall not think otherwise. Kabir Dohas

Dukh Mein Simran Sab Kare, Sukh Mein Kare Na Koye
Jo Sukh Mein Simran Kare, Tau Dukh Kahe Ko Hoye

“In anguish everyone prays to Him, in joy does none To One who prays in happiness, how sorrow can come?”
That is why kunti prays to Lord kRshNa (SrImad-bhAgavataM, Book 1, Chapter 8) –
vipadaH santu naH SaSvattatra tatra jagatgurO |
bhavatO darSanaM yastyAdapunarbhavadarSanaM || 25 ||

“May calamities befall us at every step through eternity, O Teacher of the World! for it is in adversity alone that we are blessed with Your sight, which eliminates the possibility of our seeing another birth.”
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