pallavi
1Sara Sara samar(ai)ka SUra
2Saradhi mada vidAra
anupallavi
sura ripu mUla balam(a)nu tUla
girulak(a)nala samamau SrI rAma (Sara)
caraNam
toli jEsina pApa vana kuThAramA
3kalan(ai)nanu sEyaga lEni
balu vilunu virici velasina SrI raghu
kula vara brOvumu tyAgarAja nuta (Sara)
pallavi
Sara Sara samara-Eka SUra
Saradhi mada vidAra
O Lord who used blade of grass (Sara) (literally reed) as an arrow (Sara)! O Unique (Eka) (literally single) Hero (SUra) of battle (samara) (samaraika)! O Destroyer (vidAra) of the arrogance (mada) of Lord of Ocean (Saradhi)!
anupallavi
sura ripu mUla balamu-anu tUla
girulaku-anala samamau SrI rAma (Sara)
O Lord SrI rAma who is like (samamau) (literally equal) fire (anala) to the mountains (girulaku) (girulakanala) of cotton (tUla) called (anu) the core (mUla) strength (balamu) (balamanu) of rAvaNa – the enemy (ripu) of celestials (sura)!
O Lord who used blade of grass as an arrow! O Unique Hero of battle! O Destroyer of the arrogance of Lord of Ocean!
caraNam
toli jEsina pApa vana kuThAramA
kalanu-ainanu sEyaga lEni
balu vilunu virici velasina SrI raghu
kula vara brOvumu tyAgarAja nuta (Sara)
O Axe (kuThAramA) that destroys the forest (vana) of sins (pApa) committed (jEsina) earlier (or in previous births) (toli)!
O Lord who shone (velasina) as suitor (vara) of SrI raghu dynasty (kula) by breaking (virici) the huge (balu) bow (vilunu) – an act not (lEni) possible to perform (sEyaga) even (ainanu) in dreams (kalanu) (kalanainanu)!
Please protect (brOvumu) me, O Lord praised (nuta) by this tyAgarAja!
O Lord who used blade of grass as an arrow! O Unique Hero of battle! O Destroyer of the arrogance of Lord of Ocean!
Notes
Variations - (Pathanthara)
3 – kalanainanu – kalanaina.
Top
References
1 – Sara Sara – This refers to kAkAsura episode when rAma aimed a blade of grass as a missile against the crow demon. Please refer to SrImad-vAlmIki rAmAyaNa, sundara kANDa, Chapter 38.
Top
Comments
2 – Saradhi – In saMskRta, this word means ‘quiver’; however, ‘Sara’ also means ‘water’ and ‘dhi’ means ‘receptacle’ – joining these ‘Saradhi’ would mean ‘ocean’ – ‘receptacle of water’ – similar to ‘jaladhi’. In telugu, this word means ‘quiver’ and ‘ocean’. SrI tyAgarAja uses this word to mean ‘ocean’ in the kRti ‘niravadhi sukhada’ – rAga ravicandrika also.
Top