VarALi Pancha Rathnam : part 7.2

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Thai Month , Second Day

KrishNa paksham , Thrutheeyai Thithi

Aayiyam/Maham Nakshthtram

January 13 , 1998

 

Dear Raama BhakthAs :

 

After saluting Sri Ramachandran with a splendid

array of divya nAmAs in the sixth charaNam , Saint ThyagarAjA

celebrates here the Aasritha Rakshakathva guNam of the Lord.

This charaNam is a testament to Lord Raamachandra

as the SaraNAgatha Rakshakan , who declared :

 

" mithra bhAvEna samprAptham na tyajEyam kathanchana"

and , " Abayam Sarva bhUthEbhyO dadhAmyEtadh VRATHAM mama "

 

He declared that Even if one ( even an enemy ) seeks my protection

under the pretense (guise ) of a friend , I will ignore his erstwhile

enimity and will come to his rescue and ward off any dangers

that might come his way . Once again , he declared in Yuddha

KhAndam , " My vow ( deekshA/Vratham ) is to banish all the fears

from the one , who has performed SaraNAgathi to me and sought

my succour and protection . Even if he says once that he has

performed SaraNAgathi to me , I will come to his rescue without fail .

This is my dharmam . Bhaktha rakshaNam is my vratham .

 

Saint ThyagarAjA remembered these comforting words of the Lord

and said to us that Sri AnjanEya Swami , SitA Piratti , Lord SivA ,

His consort Paarvathi , Sages NaaradA , ParasaraA , Sukha Brahmam ,

Sounakar , GoudhamA and PurandarA stand by to offer their

own testimonies to Lord RaamachandrA "s Bhaktha RakshaNa

Vratham . Saint ThyagarAjA confesses that his mind is brimming

with AanandhAnubhavam over the darsana soubhAgyam of this

Asritha Rakshakan ( prapanna PaarijAtham , SaraNAgatha

RakshaNa vrathee ) .

 

Saint ThyagarAjA had great joy in reminding himself about

the unfailing protection of the BhakthAs by Lord RamachandrA .

He was never tired of singing about this kalyANa guNam of the Lord.

In one of his SourAshtra Raaga Krithis , He celebrated the Bhaktha-

RakshaNa LakshaNam of his Lord this way :

 

" Raama Raama Govindha , Rakshinju Mukhundha ,

kalee yuga manujulu neeku mahAthmyamu galathu

LEdanE kaalamAyagA "

 

( Meaning ) My dear One , RaamA ! In this Kali Yugam ,

the people have descended down to the level of questioning

and debating whether You have the power to come to their rescue .

I do not belong to this group of doubters. I will perform pradhakshiNams

to You , do kaimkaryam , meditate on You and take comfort from

the testimony of MahAthmAs like Lord SivA ( Raama Naama Rasikudu )

about your Bhaktha RakshaNa vratham and stay with MahA VisvAsam

that You will come to my rescue . I spend my days this way

without fear or doubt .

 

Raama Kothada Raama ! Raama KalyANa Raama !

Raama Pattabhi Raama ! In this lowly age of Kali ,

people celebrate the lives of rich adhamAs as exalted

lives ! Please listen to my eulogies on the meaning of

the sacredness of Your Lotus feet ( PoRRAmarRai

adiyE poRRum poruL kELAi ) . I stay at Your lotus feet

in full awareness of their Bhaktha RakshaNa parAkramam

as testified by AnjanEyA , ParamasivA and a host of other

devotees of Yours !

 

SitA Naayaka sritha Jana pOshaka Sri Raghu kula Tilaka RaamA !

 

Baala sasAnka kalAlankrutha nutha RaamA ! ( One worshipped

by the Kailaasa Nathan adorning the cresent moon on His Jatai ) ,

 

Saaregu Sangeetha yOga naigama parAnguthudaina Parama

pAvana Naarada Vandhitha RaamA ! ( One who is worshipped

by the great and pious NaaradA , who has mastered

the Gaandharva vEdam thru Sangeetha ( Naadha ) yOgam ) ,

 

Pavanaja Sthuthi paathra Paavana charithra Pattabhi RaamA !

( One who is the object of AnjanEyA's eulogy of Your

sacred charithram ) ,

 

" yOgijana hrudhayAbhja mithra Mythilee RaamA " ,

( One who is the Sun to the heart lotuses of yOgis ) ,

 

When I have Your darsanam , my heart jumps with

indescribable joy and I forget myself .

 

RaamAbhi RaamA , RamaNeeya NaamA ! Srikara

rUpa SudhAkara vadhana , sOkha nivAraNa Sundara

rathana RaamA ! SanakAdhi sumuni geetha sajjana

gaNa paarijAtha RaamA ! Ksheerbhdi nAthA ! Parama

Soundharya MUrthE ! SvaralayAdhi mUrchanOllasitha

Naarada Vinutha RaamA ! Sri Bhaaskara KulAdhri Dheepa!

Pavanaja dhrutha paadha Kamala DasarathE ! Mukkanti

nOda selakE nAma MahAthmya RaamA ! Kanakana ruchirA ,

Kanaka Vasana ninnu .

 

Oh Lord ! my heart runs after your soundharyam just like

the young calf runs after its mother and jumps with joy

around her . The intenesity of my desire to enjoy Your

beauty continually increases multifold .

 

The Final CharaNam ( Eighth CharaNam

**********************************************

After remembering the greatness of the glory of

his Lord as attested by the great bhakthAs of His ,

Saint ThyagarAjA was unable to continue with his

salutations . In other Pancha rathna krithis , he had

sung the Lord's glories with ten charaNams. Overcome

by the supreme aanandham of enjoying the Lord"s

divya soundharyam , he could not go on . Hence , he

stopped singing after the eighth charaNam and fell

into a deep and joyous trance as a result of his

unique anubhavam and soubhAgyam . This charaNam is

therefore a short one :

 

sathathamu prEma pUrithaDugu ThyagarAja nutha!

mukha jitha Kumudha ! Hitha ( natha ) Varadha!

ninnu ( Kana Kana ruchirA kanaka vasana ninnu )

 

KaruNA Rasa pUrNa nEthra RaamA ! Sri Kaantha RaamA !

nirvANa palatha RaamA ! You are the one , who watches over

with Your daya-laden eyes , Your aasritha janams and

grant generously all the boons that they seek and add a few more .

You are the Varadha Raajan , whose beautiful face beats

the beauty of the blue lotus flower easily .

 

This charaNam has a variation in Paatam ( PaatAntharam ) .

Mukha jitha Kumudha NATHA VARADHA and Mukha jitha

KumudhA HITHA VARADHA are the two variations preserved by

the sishya paramparais . This alternate usage reminds one

of the SankharAbharaNa krithi of the Saint , where he used

both Hitha and Natha next to each other to hint at

their interdependence :

 

Natha Maanasa Hitha kara , paalitha ThyagarAja

 

Here , the saint salutes Sri Raaman, the ThyagarAja--

Rakshakan as the noble Varadhan conferring

mangaLams to His natha Janams ( those prostrating

before HIm in reverence ) . There is thus not much of

a difference between the hitha kara Varadhan

and Natha Jana pOshaka Varadhan . With great longing and

prEmai , Saint ThyagarAjA addressed Sri RaamA as Varadha Raajan

in this charaNam and confessed that the Lord's soundharyam

is insatiable to experience and that his heart was jumping with

uncontrollable aanandham over His divya darsanam . Thus

concludes the VarALi Pancharathna Krithi .

 

Some fourty years ago , Only sangeetha KalAnidhi

MaharAjapuram VisvanAtha Iyer sang this krithi

at the BaguLa Panchami AarAdhanam for the Sadhguru

at ThiruvayyAu . Other vidhvAns did not have the command over

this krithi . They used to fall silent and listen to the mellifluent

voice of the MaharAjapuram VidvAn , who had learnt this krithi

from Sri UmayAlpuram SwaminAtha Iyer , the fourth generation

sishyA of Saint ThyagarAjA . Great VidvAns like Ariyakkudi RaamAnuja

IyengAr , GNB , Madhurai MaNi , AlatthUr brothers used to wait

unitl MaharAjapuram finished rendering VarALi and then joined

with him to sing the Sri Raga Pancharathnam , YendharO

MahAnubhAvulu " .

 

Sri Raamachandra ParabrahmaNE Nama:

Oppiliappan Koil VaradaAchAri SadagOpan