Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
³ – samayAniki – samayAlaku.

⁴ – EkincanaTu – EgincanaTu. In telugu, these two words (Eku – Egu) have different meanings. By softening the ‘ka’ it should not be made into ‘ga’ because the meaning will be distorted. In the present context ‘EgincinaTu’ is meaningless. Therefore, ‘EkincanaTu’ has been adopted.

⁸ – jEsE – jEseDu.

⁹ – muddu peTTa – muddu peTTu : In the present context, the correct word is ‘muddu peTTa’.

¹⁰ - svara sAhitya 4A - This is available only in the book ‘Compositions of Tyagaraja’ by SrI TK Govinda Rao.

¹⁵ – svaprakASa – suprakASa : In my opinion, ‘svaprakASa’ is the correct word.

¹⁶ – pogaDagA – pogaDaga.

¹⁸ – veta galgina – veta galgitE.
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References
⁵ – sad-gangA janakuDu - Regarding birth of river ganga, the following verse in SrImad bhAgavataM – Book 8 – Chapter 21 is relevant –

dhAtuH kamNDalu jalaM tad-urukramasya
pAdAvanEjana-pavitratayA narendra |
svardhunyabhUn-nabhasi sA patatI nimArshTi
lOkatrayaM bhagavatO viSadEva kIrtiH || 4 ||

“O King, the water from Lord brahmA’s kamaNDalu washed the lotus feet of Lord vAmanadEva, who is known as urukrama, the wonderful actor. Thus that water became so pure that it was transformed into the water of the ganga, which went flowing down from the sky, purifying the three worlds like the pure fame of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

SrImad-bhAgavataM (complete)

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⁶ – sangIta sAmpradAyakuDu – kRshNa is an expert flute player, hearing which the complete gOkula was mesmerised (vanitala sokka jEyucu). Please also refer to kRti ‘sAmaja vara gamana’ rAga hindOLaM, where SrI tyAgarAja praises the Lord as ‘nAdAcala dIpa’ – the lamp shining on the mountain of nAda.

⁷ – gOpI jana manOrathamosanga lEkanE – Please refer to SrImad bhAgavataM, Book 10, Chapter 39, wherein the Lord assures the gOpis that he would return to vraja, but He never ever returned –

tAstathA tapyatIrvIkshya svaprasthAnE yadUttamaH |
sAntvayAmAsa saprEmairAyAsya iti dautyakaiH || 35 ||

“Observing them suffering agony as aforesaid at His departure, SrI kRshNa (the foremost of yadus) comforted them with message full of love, sent through a messenger, saying ‘I shall come (back)’.”

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¹² – AjanmamanaghuDu – One who is sinless throughout his life. The following verse from SrImad bhAgavataM – Book 10 – Chapter 22 (gOpi vastra apaharaNa episode) refers –

saMkalpO viditaH sAdhvyO bhavatInAM mad-arcanaM |
mayAnumOditaH sO(a)sau satyO bhavitum-arhati ||
na mayyAvESitadhiyAM kAmaH kAmAya kalpatE |
bharjitA kvathitA dhAnA prAyO bIjAya nEshyatE || 25, 26 ||

“Your desire, O Chaste Girls, in the shape of eagerness to worship Me is (already) known to me. (Nay), it has been approved of by Me; (hence) it deserves to materialize.
The craving for enjoyment on the part of those whose mind is devoted to Me cannot lead to (further) enjoyment even as seeds of grain (once) fried or boiled are not as a general rule intended to be sown.”

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¹⁷ – sadbhaktula naDatalu – The conduct of true devotees - Please refer to kRti ‘karuNa ElAgaNTE’. The list is as given herein.

A true devotee will NOT -
utter falsehood; beseech mean-minded; worship even benevolent kings; forget the Sun (worship); touch meat; drink any intoxicants; cause injury to others; forget teachings; use or enjoy the three kinds of desires - wife, children and wealth; exhibit the delight of wandering as living free; deceive anyone; utter falsehood with blessed or pious people; abandon the truth even when his mind or intellect is disturbed; deviate from his aim with the understanding that he is only a witness.

Please also refer to kRti ‘manavinAlakinca’ rAga naLina kAnti, wherein SrI tyAgarAja states that ‘for the sake of suffering humanity, He exemplified by His conduct’ (kanipincinADE naData).

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¹⁹ – Sama dama - Six Virtues – shaDguNa sampat – Sama - control upon his own mind; dama - control upon his physical body; titiksha - forbearance for the odds and evens of the nature; samAdhAna - equanimity of all beings and having a sympathetic mind; uparati - indifference with a sAkshi type of mind; Sraddha - sincere adherence to the words of guru and SAstrAs, by word and deed. Source - shaDguNa sampat
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Comments
¹ – sAdhincenE – The word has been translated as ‘had His say’ and ‘maintained’ depending on the construction of sentence.

At the end of the kRti, SrI tyAgarAja mentions how the Lord ‘had His say’ – ‘centa rAkanE’ – without coming near – in spite of all the prayers etc. SrI tyAgarAja cites examples of the Lord’s behaviour in the svara sAhityas. Therefore, SrI tyAgarAja implies that this is usual for the Lord to behave so with devotees.

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² – sanmArga vacanamula bonku jEsi – svara sAhityas 1 to 4 of the caraNa are in praise of SrI kRshNa. The stark difference between conduct of SrI rAma and SrI kRshNa is what mentioned here. However, to understand the true purport of the sports which the Lord enacted as SrI kRshNa, it needs a frame of mind like those of SrI rAmakRshNa paramahaMsa, mIrA, ANDAL and other devotees of the Lord. Though SrI tyAgarAja seems to criticise the Lord in this kRti, if we read his ‘nauka caritra’ wherein he has dramatised the ‘rAs lIlA’, it would be clear that SrI tyAgarAja is pointing out only to ‘apparent’ contradictions. - Annie Besant’s comments on the episode of vastra apaharaNa -

“The Gopis were Rishis, and the Lord Supreme as a babe is teaching them a lesson. But there is more than that. There is a profound occult lesson behind the story. When the Soul is approaching the Supreme Lord at one great stage of initiation, it has to pass through a great ordeal. Stripped of everything on which it has hitherto relied, stripped of everything that is not its inner self, deprived of all external aid, of all external protection, of all external covering, the soul itself, in its own inherent life, must stand naked and alone, with nothing to rely on save the life of the Self within it. If it flinches before the ordeal, if it clings to anything to which it has hitherto looked for help, if in the supreme hour, it cries out for friend or help, or even the Guru himself, the soul fails in that ordeal. Naked and alone it must go forth, with absolutely none to aid it save the divinity within itself. And it is that nakedness of the soul as it approaches the supreme goal, that is told of in that story.”

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³ – samayAniki tagu mATalADeNE – spoke words suited to the occasion. In the kRti ‘Emani mATADitivO’ – rAga tODi, SrI tyAgarAja praises the speech of SrI rAma appropriate to the occasion which kept everyone attracted to Him. But, here, ‘tagu mATalu’ (words suited to occasion) refer to cleverness - which SrI tyAgarAja calls ‘sanmArga vacanamula bonku jEsi’ (falsifying dictums of true path) – rather a justification for what the Lord said in many occasions.

⁴ – dEvaki vasu dEvulanEkincanaTu – In some books, this has been taken to mean ‘He subjected his parents to trials and sorrow’. In my opinion, the corresponding word 'Ekincu’ does not convey any such meaning; it means ‘defame’ and similar meanings.

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⁹ – navvucuNDu – kRshNAvatAra is considered by vaishNavas as a pUrNAvatara (though SrI tyAgarAja considers rAmAvatAra to be so – please refer to his kRti ‘raghupatE rAma – rAga SahAna’ – caraNa 2) wherein the Lord fully exhibited His sports to the wonderment of one and all; yet He, for all His pretensions, was a babe. Therefore, the smile (navvu) on His face as if to mock at His ‘mother’. Please refer to pApanAsam sivan’s kRti ‘enna tavam seydanai yaSOdA’ wherein, he ecstatically sings ‘para brahmaM unnai ammAyenRazhaikka’ (what penances did you perform in order that the Supreme Lord would call you as ‘mother’?).

¹¹ – sArAsAra – as per Sanskrit Dictionary this word means - substance and (or) emptiness, strength and (or) weakness, worth and (or) worthlessness, strong and (or) weak. Please also refer to similar words ‘artha anartha’ (vishNu sahasranAmaM) etc which refer to the Supreme Lord (paramAtma).

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¹³ – hRdambujamuna jUcucuNDaga – This has been translated as ‘while I am beholding in my heart-lotus’; however, it could also mean ‘while I am looking forward for Him (to come) in my heart-lotus’. This goes with what SrI tyAgarAja tells in the end of the kRti ‘centa rAkanE sAdhincenE’ – ‘He had His say without coming near’.

¹⁴ – para nArI sOdara – In some books it has been taken as ‘one who behaves like brother with other women’. In my opinion, considering the context, this refers to ‘pArvatI’ – ‘brother of pArvathI’. ‘para’ also means ‘Supreme Being’.
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