Thyagaraja's song meaning needed

[Guest guest]

Dear members,

This is a request to members who are versed in Telugu. The

following is a krithi of Sri Thyagaraja. I request somebody to

post the translation for this.

 

toli janmamuna. rAga: bilahari. Jhampa tALA. Composer: Tyagaraja

 

pallavi:

toli janmamuna jEyu duDuku telisenu rAma (toli)

anupallavi:

phalamEmO (nI mahima) aracEti puNTi kaddamu valena (toli)

caraNam:

rAgi pairula centa ramyamau vari molaka rAjillu nErcu naTarA

nAga shayana tyAgarAja pApamutOnu nAma puNyamu celagunA nEnu (tOli)

 

 

Thank you very much.

Warm regards,

chandrasekaran.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri ChandrasEkharan:

 

The Bilahari krithi of Saint ThyagarAjA

of interest to you ( Toli Janmamun a--)

is a beautiful one , which has been

recorded by the Fluitsts , Sikkhil Sisters .

 

Telugu is not my Mother Tongue.

As a student Of Saint ThyagarAjA's krithis

and reverence for His Raama Bhakthi , I will

attempt however to translate this krithi .

 

Here are some preliminary comments :

 

This krithi was composed by Saint ThyagarAjA

in a mood (SanchAri BhAvam ) of NirvEdham (Dejection ,

Despondency ) .In this mood and the allied moods

of Aathma GarhaNam and NaiccyAnusandhAnam

(self depreciation ), a Bhakthan deplores

his pitiable lot and in a plaintive mood (DhainyOkthi)

seeks the Lord's dayA and karuNA katAksham .

 

In the mood of NirvEdam , Saint ThyagarAjA

pleads with the Lord in Maarga HindhOLa Raagam :

 

" ChalamElarA ? SaakEtha Raama!"

 

Here the Saint asks the Lord :

 

Oh SaakEtha RaamA ! Why are you angry with Me ,

who has always adored You and has been singing about

Your LaavaNyam (beauty) , ananatha KalyANa GuNams with

intense Bhakthi ? Where can I go , if You

turn away from Me? What can I do ( Yenthu BhOdhu nE ?

nEmi sEyadhunu?). To whom can I complain

about Your indifferrence ? Are you going to

waste my time with Your jaalam ? I can not

stand this treatment ( TaaLa jAlara )!

 

In a Poorna ChandrikA raaga Krithi , he will

articulate His ananyagathithvam this way and

express his state of dejection :

 

thvAm vinA naanyathra jAnE Raama

thvAm vinA kO gathirjAnakI JaanE ?

--5th CharaNam of PurNa ChandrikA Krithi,

Sri Raama Raama

 

In a krithi set in Raagam Maanavathi (EvaritO nEdelpudu ?),

Saint ThyagrAja writhing over the agony of indifference

shown by the Lord cries out:

 

Oh GuNa Maya RaamA ! Oh Embodiment of all

auspicious qualities ! To whom shall I unburden my

agony over your neglect ? My devout bhajanA sevai

has not produced the desired phalan --infact,

the opposite has happened .It is like the situation ,

when one tries to create a statue of VinAyakA

and ends up making a Monkey ( GaNa Naathu jEya gOraga,

gaDu Vaanarudai thIrEgA / Vinayakam prakurvANa:

prachayamAsa Vaaram in Sanskrit ).

 

In a Suddha BangaLA Raaga Krithi close

to the Krithi of interest to You in Raaga Bilahri ,

Saint ThyagarAja cries out:

 

" toli nE jEsina PoojA Phalamu

delisEnu ; naapAli dhaivamaa "

 

(meaning of the entire krithi):

 

Oh Raamaa ! It must be the result of my

defective worship in previous births that,

You have chosen to neglect me. here I am

thinking and doting on You in several ways

and You show no response whatsoever.You have made

me the object of ridicule by my neighbors .

You have abandoned me to a place devoid of devotees of

Yours and have cast my lot with people, whose only

concern is about the here and now .You have

steadfastly not shown me a way out of

my miseries . Is this Fair ?

 

In Raaga SvarAvaLi , the Saint again expresses his

nirvEdham this way :

 

When My past KarmAs are like this ,and You

too are looking away from me ,there is no

purpose in blaming others (PrAraBhdha miDDuNDaga

nOrula nana Bhani lEdhu neevuNDaga).

 

In the Kokiladhvani Raaga Krithi , " toli nEnu jEsina

poojA Phaala meelagO" , Sri ThyagarAja SwamigaL will

concede to Sri RaamA in a mood of nirvEdham that

" This after all is the phalan of worshipping You

in my previous births with all my heart".He will

lament and say : "Can I purchase with Money what I

seek from You ?".He will throw himself in an abyss

of misery and declare: " Will my distress

over separation from You ever end ? " . He will

address the Lord as KaruNAkarA and then conclude

the krithi this way : " You need not worry yourself

over my lot. Perhaps , I began my role of bhakthA

at an inauspicious time ".

 

With this lengthy introduction on

some of the NirvEdha Krithis of the Saint ,

I will focus on the Bilahari krithi of

interest to you . The meaning follows your

note below:

 

At 07:14 PM 10/24/00 -0000, you wrote:

>Dear members,

> This is a request to members who are versed in Telugu. The

>following is a krithi of Sri Thyagaraja. I request somebody to

>post the translation for this.

>

>toli janmamuna. rAga: bilahari. Jhampa tALA.

>Composer: Tyagaraja

>

>pallavi:

> toli janmamuna jEyu duDuku telisenu rAma (toli)

>anupallavi:

> phalamEmO (nI mahima) aracEti puNTi kaddamu valena (toli)

>caraNam:

> rAgi pairula centa ramyamau vari molaka rAjillu nErcu naTarA

> nAga shayana tyAgarAja pApamutOnu nAma puNyamu celagunA nEnu (tOli)

>

>

> Thank you very much.

> Warm regards,

> chandrasekaran.

 

Pallavi: Oh RaamachandrA ! I have now come to know

about the sins that I committed in my previous births

(toli Janmamuna jEyu-dhDuku delsEnu , Raama )

 

Anupallavi:The results of these sins are

very perceptible to me now. The situation is clear as

a fruit in the palm of my hand. One does not need a

mirror to see the boil in one's palm ( phalamEmO

yarachEthi pumDi kaddhamu valEnA ).

 

CharaNam : Will the superior Varahu SamphA crop

(fine paddy sprout) survive in the midst of raagi

crop? Will it be compatible with the Raagi crop?

No ! Similarly , the auspicious fruits resulting

from Your Naama SankIrthanam will be destroyed

by its association with the sins from poorva JanmAs .

The merit of Your holy name will be incompatible

with the company of my sins !

 

AzhwArs and AchAryAs have experienced intensively

this mood of dejection and despondency (nirvEdham)over

the Lord's indiffernce to them and have cried out

in their Paasurams and slOkams . The sorrow over

the VislEsham ( separation form BhagavAn's company )

is the subject of ParakAla Naayaki's and ParAnkusa

Naayaki's moving paasurams.

 

I will conclude this note with a summary of

nine main items that causes NirvEdham to

a Saadhakan/Bhakthan :

 

(1) SamSaram Causes artha-Kaama PraavaNyam

( Dominance of deep desire in perishable riches

and dominance of the mind by worldly desires)

 

(2) As a result , people take refuge in alpa janams

( powerless humans) and Kshudhra Dhaivams ( lowly dEvathAs).

instead of performing SaraNAgathi at the sacred

feet of the SvabhAva-Seshi , Sriman NaarAyaNan .

 

(3)SamsAra dhOshams causes nirvEdham by immersing

one's thoughts in perishable joys of the world

that interfere with the enjoyment of the imperishable

and eternal joy of Bhagavath GuNaanubhavam.

 

(4) SamsAra DhOshams causes nirvEdham by

goading people to trespass BhagavAn's saasthraic

commands (akruthya KaraNam ) and thus commit

Bhagavath apachArams.

 

(5) SamsAra DhOshams prevents one from gaining

the fruits of Bhagavath anubhavam and Bhagavath

Kaimkaryam and creates internal and external obstacles

for a saadhakan .

 

(6) SamsAra DhOsham makes one think that they

are highly qualified to receive the Lord's

anugraham , while being the abode of all dhOshams .

 

(7) Lets one stray from the Lord , who is

the embodiment of blemishless and limitless

auspicious attributes (akhila hEya prathyanIka

anantha kalyANa GuNa SvarUpi).

 

(8) SamsAra dhOsham causes nirvEdham by

confusing one's mind by encouraging one

to develop taste for Veda BhAhya Mathams and

Kudhrushti mathams.

 

(9) SamsAra DhOsham induces nirvEdham by

driving us towards companionship with

asaththus (dhurjanams) and destroys

sadh Buddhi (Mind known for its firm

attachmnet to the dhivya Dampathis and AchAryAs).

 

These are the reasons for the BhakthAs of

the Lord to cry out in NirvEdham and to seek

the mercy of the Lord just as in the NirvEdha

Krithis of Saint ThyagarAjA .

 

namo NaarAyanaaya !

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Satakopan,

Thank you so much for your informative posting on the essence

behind Sri Thyagaraja's krithi vAkhyams. Your correlation of it to

the mental state of an aspirant is spiritually educative.

 

adiyEn,

chandrasekaran.