Guest guest Posted May 9, 1996 Report Share Posted May 9, 1996 In the last posting , I referred to an incident in Dikshithar"s life that led to the creation of the Danyaasi Krithi , Mangala Devathayaa Tvyaa Bahumaanithoham ".One of the members of our group kindly pointed out that the salutation of Maha Lakshmi as Mangala Devatha was done by Adi Sankara in the first slokam of Kanaka Dhaaraa stotram. Dikshitar took then his cue from Adi Sankara. In this Krithi, he expressed his thanks to Maha Lakshmi for Her intercession to cure the infatuation that his second wife had for Jewelery and Gold . He had composed the night before a krithi in Ragam Lalitha requesting such an intercession. There he declared his resolve that he will not approach any wealthy person and beg for favors. Maha Lakshmi responded to that firm Bhakthi/Vairagyam of Dikshithar and appeared in the dream of his wife , who thereafter lost her desire for worldly wealth. Hence the Lalitha Raga Krithi and the Dhanyaasi Krithi are very closely connected to that incident in Dikshitar's life. We will focus on the Lalithaa Raga krithi in this posting. Dikshitar chose the ragam Lalithaa for saluting Maha Lakshmi and expressing his resolve about approaching the wealthy ones of dubious conduct. This is a Panchama Varja Ragam with the five svarams of Suddha Daivatam, Suddha Rishabham, Suddha Madhyamam , Antara Ghaandhaaram and Kakali Nishadham . This is sung in the Jaamam before Sunrise typically for getting the full blessings of the svara Devathaas. Although the goals of this group is focussed more on Bhakthi as opposed to Sangitham , I will mention in passing for the sake of completion that Lalitha Raagam and Vasanthaa Ragam are very close to each other. They differ only in the Daivatha Svaram. Vasantha has Chatusruhti Daivatham and Lalithaa has Suddha Daivatham. The sahityam of this Lalithaa Raga Krithi are as follows: Pallavi: HiraNmayeem Lakshmeem sadhaa bhajaami Heena manavaasrayam tyajaami Anupallavi: Chiratara sampath prathaam Ksheerambhudi Tanayam Hari Vakshasthala Aalayaam Harineem charana Kisalayaam Kara Kamala dhruta Kuvalayaam maragatha mani Valayaam Charanam: Sveta Dwipa vaasinieem srikalaambhikaam Bhootha bhavya vilaasineem bhusura pujithaam varaam Mataram Abjamaalineem maanikya Aabharanadharaam Gita Vadhya vinodhineem girijaam taam Indiraam seetha kirana nibha vadanaam sritha chintaamani sadhanaam Peetha vasanaam Guru Guha Maathula Kaanthaam LALITHAMM (HiraNmayeem Lakshmeem Sadhaa Bhajaami ) The eduppu for this krithi is Suddha Daivatha Svaram for which this Ragam is famous. In the spirit of Sri Suktha Vakhyams, " HiranyavarNaam Harineem Suvarna Rajathasrajaam ", Dikshitar hails her in Pallavi as" HirNmayeem Lakshmeem ". Sri Suktham visualizes Herwith golden hue and adorned with jewelery made of Gold and Silver (Sarvaalankhaara Bhooshithai ). Dikshitar visulized Her as being decked in Gold(Svarna Mayam/ HiraNmayee) , since his intent was to relate to his wife's desire for the acquisition of a large quantity of Golden Jewelery. He says that he always meditates on Maha Lakshmi as HiraNmayee (HiraNmayeem Lakshmeem Sadhaa Bhajaami ) . In the next line of the Pallavi, He expresses his resolve ( Heena Maanava Aasrayam Thyajaami) that he will not approach wealthy ones, praise those and seek his fortune from those lowly ones. He states that he rejects that route to acquire wealth to please his wife's cravings for gold. . In Anupallavi, He salutes Maha Lakshmi"s place of birth , Her Divya mangala Vigraham and Her Divya AabharaNams. He points out that the riches obtained with Her blessings are not of a perishable nature ( Chira Tara Sampath Pradhaam ). He recognizes Her place of birth as the milky ocean (Ksheeraambhudhi Tanayaam ) and salutes Her as the daughter of the milky ocean. He praised next her TENDER feet that are soft like a young, green shoot of plant ( Harineem Charana Kisalayaam ). Her place of rest is the chest (Vaksha sthalam ) of Sriman Naarayana . Her tender feet with the red dye (MaruthaaNi or Red sandal wood paste ) rub on the chest region of Her Lord and leave a red hue as visualized by Swami Desikan:"PoorNam Teja: Spurathi Bhavathi Paadha Laakshaa-- rasaangam ". Dikshitar praised those tender feet , which are like soft petals of Lotus. In the next salutation, Dikshitar visualized Her as holding the Bhoomandalam in one of Her Lotus hands (Kara kamala Dhrutha Kuvalayaam ) to represent Her duties to protect the Earth and its chetanaas and Achetanam. In the last salutation of the Anupallavi (Maragatha Mani Valayaam ) and in the Charana Vaakyams , he enjoys and describes the DivyaabharaNams of Maha Lakshmi, while She is seated in Her throne at Her Residence celebrated a s Chintaamani Graham (Sritha Chintaamani Sadhanaam ) . Next, he explains as to where the Chintamani Graham is and states that it is in Sveta Dwipam (Sveta Dwipa Vaasineem ). He goes on to describe Her decorations and Jewelery through the words, " Abhja Maalineem, Maragatha Mani Valayaam, Maanikya Aabharana Dharaam ". She is wearing a garland made of Lotus flowers (Abhja Maalini ). She is adorned by a waist band (OttiyaaNam ) made of Emeralds ( Maragatha Mani Valayaam ). She is wearing AabharaNams made up of precious red stones ( Maanikya Aabharana Dharaam ). During this time of holding court in Chintamani Graham, Dikshitar says that Her face looked as though it was defeating the cool, full Moon in its beauty (Seetha Kirana Nibha Vadanaam ) . Her status as Jagan Maathaa and Her affection for Her devotees -- both the Devaas and Humans-- and their Aaraadhanams are covered by Dikshitar through the Charana Vakhyams " Bhootha Bhavya Vilasineem , Bhusura Pujithaam Varaam Matharam ". The rest of the Charana Vakhyaams are: " Guru Guha Maathula Kaanthaam, Varaam, Girijaam, Taam, Indiraam, Gita Vadhya Vinodhineem, Srikalaambhikaam , Paraam, Lalithaam , HiraNmayeem , Lakshmeem sadhaa bhajaami ". He recognizes Her as the wife of the uncle of Murugan . He describes Her as being inspired by Sama Gaana Music and the music generated by various instruments like VeeNaa, VeNu , Mrudhangam et al. He bows before Her giving Darsanam to him in the forms of Jagadhambhikai, Lalithaambhikai and with the Kalaas of Sri Devi. He states that he worships that golden-hued Maha Lakshmi always. In the next posting, I will cover the Krithi set in the Uphanga Rakthi ragam known as Madhava Manohari (Maha Lakshmi Karunaa rasa Lahari ). Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 9, 1996 Report Share Posted May 9, 1996 Let me take this opportunity to thank Sri Sadagopan for describing Muthuswami Dikshitar's kritis on Mahalakshmi. I am eagerly waiting for his description of the Madhavamanohari kriti "Mahalakshmi Karuna rasa Purna" - mainly because I want to know the lyrics of the lriti and don't have any sources with me right now! > Gita Vadhya vinodhineem girijaam taam Indiraam ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I have heard this as girijAptAm = girijA + AptAm, friend of girijA, the daughter of the mountain, i.e. Parvati. This seems to make more sense, because Sri Dikshitar is always extremely careful about references to mythology of the various Gods and Goddesses. Is there a story of Lakshmi being born as the "daughter of a mountain"? S. Vidyasankar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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