Transliteration Scheme

rAma nIpai tanaku - rAga kEdAraM

Tamil Version
Language Version

pallavi
rAma nIpai tanaku prEma pOdu sItA (rAma)

anupallavi
tAmarasa nayana nId(E)mO mAya kAni (rAma)

caraNam
caraNam 1
1manasu nI padamulanE jEra kanulu nI rUpamunE kOra
2vinu nI pErulakE nOr(U)ra 3tanapai idi nI 4karuNErA (rAma)


caraNam 2
janani janak(A)ptul(a)nyulu dhana kanaka guru vElpulu
dinamu 5nIvE(y)ani mATalu 6anagha ivi nA bhUshaNamulu (rAma)
caraNam 3
bhOg(A)nubhavamul(a)ndu bAguga buddhi nI(y)andu
tyAgarAjuni hRdayam(a)ndu 7vAg-IS(A)nandam(a)ndu (rAma)


Meaning - Gist
O Lord sItA rAma! O Lotus Eyed! O Sinless One!

Word Division - Word-by-word meaning

pallavi
rAma nIpai tanaku prEma pOdu sItA (rAma)

O Lord sItA rAma! My (tanaku) (literally for me) Love (prEma) towards You (nIpai) shall never wane (pOdu) (literally leave) .


anupallavi
tAmarasa nayana nIdu-EmO mAya kAni (rAma)

O Lotus (tAmarasa) Eyed (nayana)! It is rather (kAni) some sort of (EmO) Your (nIdu) (nIdEmO) magic spell (mAya) (on me).
O Lord sItA rAma! My love towards you shall never wane.


caraNam
caraNam 1
manasu nI padamulanE jEra kanulu nI rUpamunE kOra
vinu nI pErulakE nOru-Ura tanapai idi nI karuNErA (rAma)

Please listen (vinu);
for my mind (manasu) to reach (jEra) only Your (nI) feet (padamulanE),
my eyes (kanulu) to long only for (kOra) Your (nI) form (rUpamunE),
my tongue (nOru) to thirst (Ura) only for chanting Your (nI) names (pErulakE) -
these (idi) are nothing but Your (nI) grace (karuNErA) towards me (tanapai);
O Lord sItA rAma! my love towards you shall never wane.


caraNam 2
janani janaka-Aptulu-anyulu dhana kanaka guru vElpulu
dinamu nIvE-ani mATalu anagha ivi nA bhUshaNamulu (rAma)

Utterances (mATalu) that (ani) You alone (nIvE) (nIvEyani) are always (dinamu) my mother (janani), father (janaka), friends and relatives (Aptulu), others (anyulu) (janakAptulanyulu), wealth (dhana), gold (kanaka), preceptor (guru) and Deities (vElpulu) -
O Sinless One (anagha)! these (ivi) are indeed my (nA) ornaments (bhUshaNamulu);
O Lord sItA rAma! My love towards you shall never wane.
caraNam 3
bhOga-anubhavamulandu bAguga buddhi nIyandu
tyAgarAjuni hRdayamandu vAg-ISa-Anandamu-andu (rAma)

Even amidst (andu) experiences (anubhavamulu) of worldly enjoyments (bhOga) (bhOgAnubhavamulandu), my intellect (buddhi) nicely (bAguga) dwells in (andu) You (nI) (nIyandu);
Indeed, Bliss (Anandamu) Supreme (bramhA) - the Lord (ISa) of Speech (vAk) (vAgISa) is experienced (andu) (literally attained) (vAgISAnandamandu) (literally reached) in (andu) the heart (hRdayamu) (hRdayamandu) of this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAjuni);
O Lord sItA rAma! My love towards you shall never wane.


Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
2vinu – vInula : In my pinion, the word ‘vInula’ seems to stand alone and the meaning is not complete. Therefore, ‘vInula’ may not be correct.

3tanapai – tanavai : In my opinion, ‘tanavai’ may not be correct as it does not convey any meaning.

4karuNErA – karuNarA : In ‘karuNErA’, ‘E’ indicates emphasis, ‘nothing but Your grace’. Therefore, ‘karuNErA’ may be correct.

5nIvEyani – nIvEyanu.

6anagha – anaga : In my opinion, the word ‘anaga’ does not fit in the context. Therefore ‘anagha’ seems to be correct.
Top

References
1manasu – kanulu – nOru – In this regard, the following verse from ‘SivAnanda lahari’ of Adi SankarAcArya is relevant –

pApOtpAta vimOcanAya ruciraiSvaryAya mRtyunjaya
stOtra dhyAna nati pradakshiNa saparyAlOkanAkarNanE |
jihvA-citta-SirOnghri-hasta-nayana-SrOtrair-ahaM prArthitO
mAm-AjnApaya tan-nirUpaya muhur-mAm-Eva mA mE(a)vacaH || 41 ||

“O destroyer of death! For the destruction of sin and for the attainment of great prosperity (ie., liberation), I am requested by the tongue to sing Thy praise, by the mind to contemplate on Thee, by the head to prostrate to Thee, by the legs. to circumambulate Thee, by the hands to worship Thee, by the eyes to see Thee and by the ears to hear Thy stories. Direct me to these endeavours, and remind of them. May I not become speechless (nor lose the powers of any of the organs mentioned above, so that I may practice devotion to Thee without impediment).” (Translation by Swami Tapasyananda)
Top

Comments
7 - vAgISAnandamu – vAgISa - brahmA; therefore brahmAnanda – Bliss Supreme – has been rendered as vAgISAnandamu.
Top