aravindha nayana

[Guest guest]

Dear srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Many a times we have heard saint thyaagaraaja krithis glorifying raama, his

ishta dheivam. In few krithis he eulogizes my krishNa also. One such krithi is

the following 'thOdi' raagam krithi. The other day when I was listening to the

concert of one youngster by name master m.balamuralikrshna [please do not cofuse

with senior and well renowned name sake including the initial] he was giving a

very pleasing thOdi raagam. Of course the krithi rendered was ninnE nammi of

syaamaa sasthrigaL. But it triggered my senses to write on this krithi and hence

this article.

 

Raagam thOdi [8 hanumath thOdi mELam] taaLam: roopakam

Composer: thyaagaraaja Language: Telugu

 

pallavi

brindhaavana lOla gOvindhaa aravindha nayanaa [brin]

 

anupallavi

sundharaanga dhrtha rathaanga sujanaari thimira pathhanga [brin]

 

charaNam

maamava sree ramaNa maNi madhana asritha mithra

raamadhaasa dhaasa thyaagaraajanutha charithra [brin]

 

word by word meaning:

brindhaavana lOla - one who likes and plays in brindhaavanam - the thuLasi

garden.

[or one who likes and plays in gardens at brindhaavanam]

[or one who plays in the gardens at brindhaavanam - the place]

- means krishNa

 

gOvindha- the cowherd or gOpaalan krishNan who got a specific name given by

'dhEvEndhran' after being subdued by krishNa - this is the only pattabhishEkam

krishNa had, performed on krishNa by dhEvEndhran - that way this naamam is very

special.

 

aravindha nayana - one who has eyes like lotus

sundhara anga - one who has beautiful body

ratha anga dhrtha- one who carries the part of the chariot - the wheelbeing part

of a chariot so one who carries that wheel is a ratha anga dhrtha - who carries

the sudharsana chakra - the chakradhaari - vishNu or krishNa

 

sujanaari - a lady who is born well - [su + ja + naari, su = well, ja = born,

naari = woman] or that lucky woman sree mahaalkshmee

 

thimira pathha anga - krishNa - one who is well fed by the darkened eyes of that

mahaa lakshmee - means she is always showering her glances on him - mahalakshmee

kuLira kataakshiththu aruLum dhEhaththai udaiyavan -

 

maamava sree ramaNa maNi madhana - the husband of the gem like sree - the

mahalakshmee, krishNa

aasritha mithra - the friend of all who seek him.

raama dhaasa- servant of raama or a person named raama dhaasa

thyaagaraaja nutha - told by thyaagaraaja

charithraa - one who has a history

 

Meaning:

Pallavi:

Hey krishNa, gOpaala, one who plays in the gardens in bhrindhaavanam, having

eyes like lotus.

 

Anupallavi: hey krishNa, you, who has a beautiful body, who carries the chakra,

the wheel, the part of a chariot, who is being glanced by the dark eyes of that

well born mahalakshmee

 

CharaNam: krishNa, one who is liked by that gem of a women, that sree - maha

lakshmee, the friend of all who seek him, one who has a history told by

thyaagaraaja the servant of raama dhaasa.

 

Comments or Points:

1. The raagam thOdi is one of the gana raagam and to be enjoyed more in vilamba

kaalam - slow tempo, and that too in a peaceful atmosphere sung in visthaaram -

an elaborate manner- no rushing through.

2. This krithi though short is very rich in meaning as stated above.

3. On this 'aravindha nayana' meaning lotus eyed krishNa, Saint thyaagaraaja

[hereafter ST] uses many words - in many krithis like raajeevaaksha, vanaja

nayana, kamala nayana, saraseeruha nayana, ambujaaksha, vaarija nayana etc.

4. Few krithis having such exemplary words on the eyes which comes immediately

to the mind are:

O raajeevaaksha - aarabhi raaga krithi - starting as such

Raaraa raajeeva lOchana raamaa, [mOhana raaga krithi]

aravindha nayana [above],

vanaja nayana - [nannu paalimpa krithi in mohana raaga],

vanaja nayanudai - kEdhaara gowlai krithi starting as such

vaarija nayana - another kEdhaara gowlai krithi starting as such

saraseeruha nayana - bilahari krithi starting as such

neeraja dala nayana - in the krithi neeve kaani in bilahari

all meaning one who has lotus like eyes. Also ambOruha nayana, ambujaaksha,

kamala nayana, puNdareekaaksha are other naamaas meaning same.

 

5. On this sundhara anga - immediately mind goes to rukminee kalyaanam - where

she address my krishNa as "sruthvaa guNaan bhuvana sundhara" after having heard

about him - not seen in picture or any such thing but simply heard -in the mind

picture has come about that sundharan. Here ST also says sundhara anga: - having

beautiful body -azhagan.

 

6. Here thyaagaraaja says I am dhasan - servant of raamadhaasa. This may mean

a. bhadhraachala raamadhaasa who was also an ardent devotee of raama like

thyaagaraaja

b. bhakthaas of raama, - I am dhasa to the raama dhaasa-s. Servant of Servants

of Raama - thoNdar tham thoNdan - 'thoNdar adippodi' concept of aazhvaars

 

7. While writing the life of bhadraachala ramadhaas, or thyaagaraaja, this

krithi is often quoted by writers. Similar reference is also there in other

krithi of ksheera saagara sayana in dhEva gandhaari and kaligi yuntE gadhaa in

keeravani, which immediately comes to mind.

 

Dear bhakthaas, Meditate on that sundharan on the ensuing deepavali day, who has

aravinda nayanam and plays in brindhaavanam.

 

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g

 

PS: this incidentally fulfills partially the command of sriman sadagopan swamy

to adiyen to write about thodi raga krithis of ST and on bhadrachala ramadhas

krithis - here it is a combined one that too - on my krishna.

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear Members of the Oppiliappan & Raama Bhakthi Lists:

 

I am very happy to know that Sriman Vasudevan of Chennai

has commenced his writings on the Bhakthi bhAvam filled

(Thodi Raaga ) Krithis of Saint ThyagarAja and Bhaktha

Ramadas ; The aaradhana Moorthy for BHaktha Raama Daas

was BhAdrAchala Raaman .Thank you Sriman Vasudevan for your

welcome Kaimkaryam !

 

Regarding Bhadrachala Raam Daas , this great Raama Bhaktha

SirOmaNi , the inspiring model for Saint ThyagarAja,

was born in NelakoNdapaLLi , a small village in the Kammam

District of Andhra Pradesh in the year 1620 C.E. He lived for

68 years on this earth steeped in Raama Bhakthi .

 

At birth , He was known as Kancharla Gopanna .His Bhakthi for

Sri Vaikunta Raaman at the temple of BhadrAchalam was limitless .

His efforts to build a temple for BhadrAchala Raaman , paucity of funds

for the Kaimkaryam and borrowing money from the government

treasury of the Nawab of Golconda and being punished for

that by the Nawab to earn the name of "BandEkhana

Raama Daas " thru the forced jial residence are well

known. Sri Raama and LakshmaNa paid off this debt

and got the release for Raama Daas with special gold coins

( Raam Tanka coins) that are seen even today .

 

During his forced incarceration , Raam Daas missed

the Sevai of Sri Vaikunta Raaman of BhadrAchalam

temple nestled on the northern banks of the holy

river Godhavari . He was frustrated over the indifference

of the Lord for letting him languish in the Jail of the Nawab

and poured out his grief in many moving Krithis like

" IshvAku Kula Tilaka " set in Yadhykula KaambhOji

Raagam .

 

There are 56 keertanaas of Bhaktha Raama daas

available to us today :

 

http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/co1015.html

 

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Balamurali Krishna has made

a beautiful recording of at least 10 of these 56 songs

in his melodious voice :

 

http://musicindiaonline.com

 

Please link to vocal and artists ( Balamurali Krishna )

in this web site for the renderings of the krithis of

Bhaktha Raama Daas .

 

By seperate mail , I will send the images of Sri Vaikunta Raaman

of BhadrAchalam .Here , Lord Raamachandra , Sita PirAtti stayed

with LakshmaNa during their exile from AyOdhya . This is

the auspicious ( Bhadra) hill ( achalam ) in the middle of

the jungle , where Lord Raamachandra blessed Sage Bhadra .

 

The scenic beauty of this abode of Lord Raama with His DEvi

seated on His left lap is enchanting . The Vaikunta EkAdasi Uthsavam

and Sri Raama Navami Uthsavams are celebrated here with

pomp and circumstance . At this temple , Sri RaghunAtha BhattAchArya ,

the archkar of Sri Vaikunta Raaman initiated Bhaktha Raama Daas

into Sri Raama Taaraka Manthram & NadhOpAsanai some three

hundred years ago and we thrive through that anugraham of

Sri SitA SamEtha Vaikunta Raaman of BhadrAchalam .

 

The Choornika ( prose-poem) on SampoorNa RaamAyaNam ( Daasarathy

Sathakam) of Bhaktha Raama Daas is a treat for all Raama BhakthAs

to enjoy.

 

Raama Daya jUdavE ! Tava Paadha Bhakthim dEhi !

 

Raama Daasa Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan