Notes

Variations - (Pathanthara)
⁸ – mardala – maddaLa. In telugu it is called either ‘mardala’ or ‘maddela’ derived from saMskRta word ‘mardala’. In tamizh, this is called ‘mattaLam’. Therefore, the telugu word ‘mardala’ has been adopted here.
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References
³ – mUlAdhAra - graphic images of bodily cakras

⁵ – bahu janmamulaku – In this regard, the following verse of SrImad- bhagavad-gItA, Chapter 7 is relevant –

bahUnAM janmanAm-antE jnAnavAn-mAM prapadyatE |
vAsudEvaH sarvam-iti sa mahAtmA su-durlabhaH || 19 ||

“At the end of many births, the man of wisdom takes refuge in Me, realising that all this is vAsudEva (the innermost Self). Very rare is that great soul.” (Translation by Swami Swarupananda)

⁹ – tALa gati
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Comments
¹ – apavarga – a synonym of ‘mOksha’. For a detailed discussion on this word, please refer to kRti ‘kRpAlavAla’ rAga nAdavarAngiNi.

² – baka bhEka – crane and frog - Honey-bee is the rightful enjoyer of nectarine juice of (Lotus) flower. Interposing the pallavi wherein svara - rAga has been compared to nectarine juice, ‘a person endowed with devotion together with knowledge of svara – rAga’ corresponds to ‘honey-bee’.

Therefore, the purport, in my humble opinion, is ‘only a person endowed with devotion and knowledge of svara - rAga can enjoy the nectarine juice of the Lotus called the Supreme Bliss (paramAnanda) of nAda’. Contrari-wise, anyone else – though knowledgeable in music but not having devotion – cannot enjoy the Supreme Bliss of nAda – indeed, is an usurper on music like crane and frog (baka bhEka) on Lotus flower.

In one book, rasika has been compared to the bee. In the kRti ‘rAma nIyeDa’ – rAga kharaharapriya, SrI tyAgarAja asks ‘tana saukhyamu tAnu erugakanu orulaku tagu bOdhana sukhamA?’ - even without one self experiencing one's happiness, can appropriate advice to others produce happiness (to those who receive it)? A practising musician who does not enjoy the paramAnanda of svara rAga himself cannot transport a rasika to such heights. At least a rasika is not appropriating the ‘lotus of supreme bliss’ (paramAnandamanE kamalamupai) like a frog and crane.

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³ – mulAdhAraja nAdamu - "para nAda (vANi): (The Transcendental Sound). The Primal Sound’s seat is at the Muladhara plane of Kundalini. It is undifferentiated sound, though it is the source of root ideas or germ thoughts. It is not within the reach of ordinary consciousness. Nada Yogis claim that Para Nada is a high frequency sound, so high that it does not stir or produce vibrations; it is a still sound" -

“Anahata sounds are the mystic sounds heard by the Yogin during his meditation”. – ‘kuNDalini yOga’ by Swami Sivananda (download)

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⁴ – sapta svara gRhamulu – It is not clear whether the seven cakras are meant to represent the sapta svaras; if that be so the correspondence would be – mUlAdhAra – sa; svAdhishThAna – ri; maNipUra - ga; anAhata - ma; viSuddhi - pa; AjnA - da; sahasrAra – ni.

In the kRti ‘SObhillu sapta svara’ – rAga jaganmOhini, SrI tyAgarAja identifies five body locations in the passage of nAda as ‘nAbhi hRt kaNTha rasana nAsAdulayandu SObhillu sapta svara’ – (the divinities of sapta svara effulgent at navel, heart, throat, tongue and nose etc.).

"It is the recognition of a system of Yoga, called Nada Yoga, that the sound actually starts from the region of the navel, where it has its root, and gradually rises up into more and more audible forms, until it is expressed through the physical sound-box and the lips, the tongue, and the mouth. These various stages of the manifestation or the development of sound, right from the navel onwards, are known in Sanskrit as Para, Pasyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari. Para is a soundless seed, as it were, the very possibility of the production of sound. Pasyanti is a little more pronounced. And the more intensified form is Madhyama; and the audible manifestation of it is Vaikhari....." Source - nAda yOga

As sapta svara belong to the category of 'ahata nAda' (caused sound), it is only at vaikhari stage that nAda becomes audible.

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“The notes are viewed to have an organic unity. Thus sa is said to be the atman, ri the head, ga the arms, ma the chest, pa the throat, dha the lips, and ni the feet. These seven limbs evoke a presence, and give birth to the devas.” Source - sapta svara

Article in regard to sapta svaras and their relation to the seven cakras.

In the book ‘Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja’ by Sri C Ramanujachariar, ‘sapta svara gRhamulu’ has been translated as ‘various resonant sthAnas (parts of the body) from which emanate the glorious sapta svaras’.

"The 'nAradIya Siksha' presents this technical information in a colourful tapestry of mythological and cosmological references, in which each of the seven musical notes refers to a specific colour, animal cry, social class, place of resonance within the human body, sage and deity...." 'Garland Encyclopaedia of World Music' (South Asia - Indian Sub-continent) by James Porter et al - Page 32.

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⁶ – sahaja bhakti – Though ‘sahaja’ may be translated as ‘natural’ or ‘innate’, in my humble opinion, the kind of devotion which one imbibes from the childhood as that of prahlAda is what meant here. In this regard, the kRti of SrI tyAgarAja ‘cinna nADE nA ceyyi paTTitivE’ (You held my hand from my very young days) is relevant. prahlAda, dhruva, mArkaNDEya, rukmaNi, rAdhA, mIrA, ANDAL and tirujnAna sambandar (tamizh saint) are a few other examples of child bhaktAs. The bhakti of these personages is what SrI tyAgarAja terms as ‘sahaja bhakti’.

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⁷ – muktuDurA – liberated – Here it means ‘jIvan-mukta’ – living liberated. ‘jIvan mukti’ is also called ‘sadyO-mukti’ - instant liberation.

The wordings of caraNa 2 (as also pallavi), make it clear that devotion (sahaja bhakti) and/or jnAna (jnAniyai) might deliver one - but by the route of ‘krama mukti’ (liberation in stages over many births) (bahu janmamulaku paini). On the other hand, sahaja bhakti together with nectarine svara and rAga, bestows jIvan mukti – right here and now (sadyO-mukti) – through nAdOpAsana.

It may be noted that nAdOpAsana has a broader connotation transcending even music, which is called SrI-vidyA.

¹⁰ – svarArNava – Though literally this means ‘Ocean of svaras’, it is stated that a treatise by that name came in the possession of SrI tyAgarAja by the grace of sage nArada whom SrI tyAgarAja considered as his guru. The story of how the treatise came in the possession of SrI tyAgarAja is told by the great harikatha exponent Brahma Shri TS Balakrishna Sastrigal in his ‘Thyagaraja Charitram’.
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