pallavi
ramA ramaNa bhAramA nannu brOva SrI-kara
anupallavi
1pumAnuD(a)ni kAd(a)ni nAtO
telpumA nar(O)ttama samAna rahita (ramA)
caraNam
caraNam 1
sari nIk(e)varu dorakar(a)ni 2garvamu
adiyu gAka dharalO janulu 3marmam-
erigi nammukona lEr(a)NTi 4dharm(A)di
mOksha varamul(o)sangi bhakta
varula kAcina 5kIrti viNTi mari mari
nann(i)ndarilO 6ceyi paTTi brOva
SaraNu jocciti(n)ayya dari nIv-
(a)nukonnAnu caraNamE gati(y)aNTi (ramA)
pallavi
ramA ramaNa bhAramA nannu brOva SrI-kara
O Beloved (ramaNa) of lakshmI (ramA)! Is protecting (brOva) me (nannu) a burden (bhAramA), O Lord who causes (kara) prosperity (SrI)?
anupallavi
pumAnuDu-ani kAdu-ani nAtO
telpumA nara-uttama samAna rahita (ramA)
Please tell (telpumA) me (nAtO) whether (ani) You are a man (pumAnuDu) (pumAnuDani) or not (kAdu ani) (kAdani), O Best (uttama) of men (nara) (narOttama)! O Peerless (samAna rahita) Lord!
O Beloved of lakshmI! Is protecting me a burden, O Lord who causes prosperity?
caraNam
caraNam 1
sari nIku-evaru dorakaru-ani garvamu
adiyu gAka dharalO janulu marmamu-
erigi nammukona lEru-aNTi harma-Adi
mOksha varamulu-osangi bhakta
varula kAcina kIrti viNTi mari mari
nannu-indarilO eyi paTTi brOva
SaraNu joccitini-ayya dari nIvu-
anukonnAnu caraNamE gati-aNTi (ramA)
I pride (garvamu) that (ani) none can be found (evaru dorakaru) (dorakarani) equal (sari) to You (nIku) (nIkevaru); further (adiyu gAka),
I heard (viNTi) about your fame (kIrti) of protecting (kAcina) great (varula) devotees (bhakta) by conferring (osangi) on them such (aNTi) boons (varamulu) (varamulosangi) –
which are otherwise attainable only as a result of objects of human pursuit – purushArtha – righteous conduct (dharma) etc., (Adi) (dharmAdi) (dharma, artha, kAma) and emancipation (mOksha),
which people (janulu) in the Earth (dharalO) would not (lEru) (lEraNTi) believe (nammukona) (excepting by) knowing (erigi) the secret (marmamu) (marmamerigi) (of Your true nature and/or SaraNagati);
O Lord (ayya)! Therefore, again and again (mari mari), I sought (joccitini) (joccitinayya) Your refuge (SaraNu) to protect (brOva) me (nannu) by holding (paTTi) my hand (cEyi) in the midst of these people (indarilO) (nannindarilO);
I am convinced (anukonnAnu) that You (nIvu) (nIvanukonnAnu) are my shelter (dari); I seek (aNTi) (literally say) Your feet only (caraNamE) as my refuge (gati) (gatiyaNTi);
O Beloved of lakshmI! Is protecting me a burden, O Lord who causes prosperity?
Notes
Variations - (Pathanthara)
3 - nammukona lEraNTi – nammukO lEraNTi.
5 – kIrti viNTi mari mari – kIrti mari mari. Without the word ‘viNTi’, the sentence is incomplete.
9 – Saraja lOcana – sarasija lOcana.
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References
1 – pumAnuDani – Are You man? sItA advanced the same argument to make SrI rAma relent to allow her to accompany the Lord to the forest. The following verse in SrImad-vAlmIki rAmayaNa, ayOdhya kANDa, Chapter 30 is relevant –
sItA asks -
kiM tvAmanyata vaidEhaH pitA mE mithilAdhipaH |
rAma jAmAtaraM prApya striyaM purusha-vigrahaM || (3) ||
“Securing you as his son-in-law, did my father, Janaka, the King of Mithila, recognize you to be woman in the form of a man?”
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4 – dharmAdi – righteous conduct (dharma), pursuit of wealth (artha), pursuit of desire (kAma) and final emancipation (mOksha) – these are called purushArtha – the objects of human pursuit. It is generally believed that emancipation is attainable only through pursuit of these methods.
11 - AjAnu bAhu – A regal person. One of the 32 sAmudrikA lakshaNa for a superior man.
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Comments
2 – garvamu – proud - In some books, this has been attributed to the Lord. As given in other books and as per my opinion, this refers to the pride of SrI tyAgarAja in his ishTa dEvata – SrI rAma.
3 – marmamu – this may either refer to true nature of the Lord (paramAtma incarnated to protect pious people) or to SaraNagati or both.
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3 –marmamerigi nammukona lEraNTi varamulosangi – The episodes of redemption of ahalyA, conferring of emancipation on jaTAyu, the vulture and also on Sabari are considered as exceptional grace of Lord SrI rAmA which could not be explained by way of SAstrAs; such grace which confers emancipation to those who were otherwise not qualified from the normal stand-point of purushArtha, is what SrI tyAgarAja calls ‘unbelievable’. Only those who know the secret of (marmamerigi) of true nature of the Lord and/or SaraNagati, would understand these acts of exceptional grace.
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Even SrI rAma denies existence of any such special powers with him – please refer to SrImad-vAlmIki rAmAyaNa, yuddha kANDa, Chapter 117 - 'sItA's fire ordeal' –
AtmAnaM mAnushaM manyE rAmaM daSarathAtmajam |
sO(a)haM yaSca yataScAhaM bhagavAMstad bravItu mE || 11 ||
"I account myself a human being, Rama (by name), sprung from the loins of (Emperor) Dasartha. And (yet) let the glorious lord (Brahma) tell me that which I as such (really) am and whence I have come."
6 – ceyi paTTi – holding hand – this generally means 'marriage'. This kRti is in nAyikA bhAva. This is further substantiated by the anupallavi wherein SrI tyAgarAja reiterates the words of sItA.
7 – smaraNa telisi – cognition of one’s life (memory) seems to start from around the age of four. This seems to be the implication of these words. Unless this is an exaggeration, this would be what SrI tyAgarAja calls ‘sahaja bhakti’ – devotion co-born – in the kRti ‘svara rAga sudhA’.
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8 – gOcaramula nE palkukonnAnu – The Lord is beyond the reach of senses, mind and intellect – He being the substratum of all; this has been aptly described by SrI tyAgarAja in the kRti ‘vAcAmagOcaramE’. However, in this kRti, SrI tyAgarAja says that he has been speaking of the Lord, like ignorant people (pAmarulu), as if He is perceivable by senses, mind and intellect (gOcaramulu); but prays that his words be proved true – that the Lord may actually manifest (in a perceptible form). Probably this is what described by SrI tyAgarAja in the ‘mOhanaM’ rAga kRtis – ‘nannu pAlimpa’ and ‘bhava nuta’ wherein he describes about the physical appearance of the Lord along with sItA and AnjanEya.
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10 - lAjamulu vEgaganEla – this is a phrase used to indicate rage – In tamizh it is called ‘eLLuM koLLuM veDikka’ – like grain or pulses (dry sesame, horse-gram etc) placed on a hot fry-pan, burst forth. This is compared to the countenance of an individual who feels enraged. SrI tyAgarAja uses the term ‘lAjamulu’ which means rice grain. The same is applicable to soaked paddy put on fry-pan as also pop-corn.
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