Sri VenaktEsa SuprabhAtham : Part I

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of Thirumalai-appan :

 

The Sri VenkatEsa SuprabhAtham composed by

Sri PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram ANNA is a splendid

Sri Sookthi that is recited every morning

in front of the Sayana Mantapam at Thirumalai.

This was composed by Sri ANNA at the request of

his AchAryan , Sri MaNavALa MaamunigaL . The divine

inspiration for ANNaganrAryA came from ThoNDardippoDi

AzhwAr's ThirupaLLyezucchi Paasurams and some

of GodhA Piratti's ThiruppAvai Paasurams . There

are 29 slOkams in this SuprabhAtham composed by

ANNangarAryA for ThiruvEnkatamudayAn .AdiyEN

would give the general meaning for the individual

slOkams and add brief comments on them .May Lord

SrinivAsan bless this Kaimkaryam !

 

The structure of Sri Venkatesa SuprabhAtham

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In the first slOkam , the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam is

awakened as Sri Raamachandran ( KousalyA Suprajai)

and in the second slOkam as Govindhan; The third

and the fourth slOkams awaken Sri MahA Lakshmi.

>From the fifth slOkam onwards , ThriuvEnkatamudayAn

is awakened .

 

In the fifth and the sixth slOkmas , the arrival

of sages like Adhri and Gods like Paramasivan to

participate in the SuprabhAtha darsanam of the Lord

of seven hills is described.

 

The seventh focuses on the fragrant , morning breeze

and the eighth covers the parrots in house cages

bestirring themselves . The tenth slokam talks about

Sage Naaradha playing deva ghAnam in praise of

the Lord.The tenth verse describes the bees emerging

from their flower beds to be of service to the Lord.

The eleventh verse takes us to morning activities

in the house of cowherds , where churning for the curds

is taking place. The twelfth slOkam reverts to

the bustle of the bees competing with the blue

lotuses to settle the issue of who has a better

blue hue. The thirteenth slOkam is a naamAvaLi

of the great Lord of ThiruvEnkatam.

 

The fourteenth slOkam describes the devAs and

demi-gods waiting eagerly to enter the ardha-

mantapam to join in the suprabhAtham function.

The fifteenth slOkam lists the seven hills

associated with the Lord. The sixteenth talks

about the different Lords of directions

(Dhig PaalakAs) jostling to get into the temple.

The seventeenth slOkam is about nithyasooris

like Garudan, AdhisEshan waiting to perform

Kaimkaryam for their Lord.The eighteenth slOkam

focuses on the nava grahams waiting for the darsanam

of the Lord.The ninteenth slOkam refers to

the navagrahams looking for oportunities

to perform Bhaagavatha Kaimkaryam as

a way to gain the approbation of their Lord.

 

The twentieth slOkam recalls the power of

Gopura darsanam at Thiruppathi.The tweny first

to the twenty third slOkams are beautiful

naamAnjalis to the Lord to cajole Him to awaken

and bless the world .

 

The twenty fourth slOkam is a celebration of

ThiruvenkatamudayAn as dasAvatharan . The twenty

fifth slOkam deals with the kaimkaryaparALs

engaged in carrying the Thirumanjana theertham.

 

The twenty sixth slOkam covers the scene of

Sri VaishNavAs waiting to perform mangaLAsAsanam

for the Lord.The twenty eighth slOkam describes

the Gods and the great Yogis ( Sanaka-SanathkumArALs)

waiting in the forecourt with auspicious objects

needed for the suprabhAtham in their hands.

The twenty eighth slOkam is a beautiful

assembly of the NaamAs of the Lord invoking

Him to awaken and bless the world. The twenty

ninth verse is the Phala sruthi slOkam listing

the benefits of reciting this auspicious

SuprabhAtham of Lord venkatEsA .

 

Sri VenkatEsa SuprabhAtham

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(1) KousalyA suprajA Raama poorvA sandhyA pravarthathE

uthtishta narasArdhUla karthavyam dhaivamAhniakm

 

Oh blessed child of Mother KousalyA ! praatha:

sandhya kaalam is fast approaching . Oh tiger

among men! Oh PurushOtthamA ! Please wake up.

The divine nithya karmAs have to be performed .

 

(Comments): This slOkam is from Adhi Kavi VaalmIki's

Srimadh RaamAyaNam . During the journey with sage

VisvAmithrA , both RaamA and LakshmaNA had rested

for the night on the banks of GangA river .As the dawn

was about to break, Sage VisvAmithrA endearingly

awakens the brothers to perform SandhyAvandhanam .

The affectionate address of RaamA as "Kousalyaa

SuprajA " reminds one of KulasEkara AzhwAr's

paasura vaakyam : " Mannu pukazh Kousalai tann

maNi vayiRu vaaytthavanE " .

 

(2)UtthishtOtthishta Govindha Utthishta Garudadhvaja

Uthishta KamalAkAntha ThrylOkyam MangaLam kuru

 

Oh GovindhA , the Protector of all souls !

Oh Lord with Garudan on Your flag staff!

Oh Lord of MahA lakshmi! Please wake up

from Your sleep and make all the three

worlds auspicious .

 

(Comments): If the Lord does not open His

eyes and look at His creation , there will

be no auspiciousness . Hence this prayerful

request.

 

(3) Maatha: samastha jagadhAm madhukaiDabhArE:

vakshOvihAriNi manOhara dhivyamUrthE !

SrisvAmini! srithajanapriya dhaanaseelE

Sri VenkatEsa DayithE ! tava suprabhAtham

 

Oh MahA Lakshmi , the Mother of all the worlds!

Oh the most beautiful One playing in the chest

region of VishNu , the destroyer of the demons

Madhu and Kaitabhan ! Oh Consort of the Lord ,

who charms Him with Your divine soundharyam!

Oh Sri Devi , the dearest One to Your Lord !

Oh the most generous One , who hs the natural

disposition to grant the wishes of those , who

seek them from You ! May this be an auspicious

dawn to Thee!

 

(Comments): This is a prayer to Sri PadmAvathi

ThAyaar . It is similar to ANDAL's prayer

in the 20th verse of Thiruppaavai:

"Nappinnai nangAi ThiruvE thuyil yezhAi".

 

(4) tava suprabhAtham AravindhalOchanE !

bhavathu prasannamukha chandramaNdalE !

Vidhi SankarEndra vanithAbhir archithE!

Vrusha saila naatha dayithE! dayAnidhe!

 

May it be an auspicious dawn to Thee ,

the dear consort of the Lord of Vrusha giri!

Oh MahA lakshmi with a beautiful face like

the full Moon ! Oh the most exalted One

worshipped by the consorts of BrahmA , Sivan

and Indran ! Oh Treasure house of dayA !

May this dawn be an auspicious one to Thee!

 

(Comments): Vrusha Sailam is one of the seven

hills . The names of all the seven hills will

be described in the fifteenth slOkam .

 

To Be Continued .