[RaamaBhakthi] Thyagaraja Kriti - Nada Sudha Rasambilanu - Raga Arabhi

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information on the allied theoretical aspects of Carnatic Music .

 

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"vgvindan" <vgvindan

<RaamaBhakthi>

Friday, February 10, 2006 3:26 PM

[RaamaBhakthi] Thyagaraja Kriti - Nada Sudha Rasambilanu - Raga

Arabhi

 

 

Transliteration-Telugu

_____

Transliteration as per Harvard-Kyoto (HK) Convention

(including Telugu letters - Short e, Short o) -

 

a A i I u U

R RR lR lRR

e E ai o O au M (H or

 

(e - short | E - Long | o - short | O - Long)

 

k kh g gh G

c ch j jh J (jn - as in jnAna)

T Th D Dh N

t th d dh n

p ph b bh m

y r l L v

z S s h

 

Embodiment of nAdaM - nAda sudhA rasam

 

In the kRti `nAda sudhA rasambilanu' - rAga Arabhi, zrI

tyAgarAja ecstatically sings that zrI rAma is the embodiment of the

nectarine juice of nAda. (Please refer to notes for meanings of

musical terminologies along with their sources.)

 

P nAda sudhA rasamb(i)lanu nar(A)kRti(y)AyE manasA

 

A vEda purAN(A)gama zAstr(A)dulak(A)dhAramau (nAda)

 

C svaramul(A)runn(o)kaTi ghaNTalu vara rAgamu kOdaNDamu

dura naya dEzyamu tri guNamu nirata gati zaramurA

sarasa saGgati sandarbhamu gala giramulurA

dhara bhajana bhAgyamurA tyAgarAju sEviJcu (nAda)

 

P O My Mind! The nectarine juice of eternal sound (nAda) has

assumed a human form here.

 

A O My Mind! The nectarine juice of eternal sound (nAda) which

is the prop of vEda, epics, Agama and zAstras etc, has assumed a

human form here.

 

C The seven svaras as the bells (of the bow kOdaNDa); the

sacred rAga as the bow kOdaNDa; dura naya and dEzya as the three

(strands of) the bow string; the steady pace (tempo) are the arrows;

the sweet thematic variations as the words (spoken by the

Lord) appropriate to the occasion; and therefore, the performance of

chanting (of Lord's names) is a fortune;

O My Mind ! The nectarine juice of eternal sound (nAda)

worshipped by this tyAgarAja, has assumed a human form here.

 

Word-by-Word Meaning

 

P O My Mind (manasA)! The nectarine (sudhA) juice (rasambu) of

eternal sound (nAda) has assumed (AyE) (literally become) a human

(nara) form (AkRti) (narAkRtiAyE) here (ilanu) (literally Earth).

 

A O My Mind! The nectarine juice of eternal sound (nAda) which

is the prop (AdhAramau) of vEda, epics (purANa), Agama and zAstras

etc (Adulaku) (zastrAdulakAdhAramau), has assumed a human form here.

 

C The seven (ArunnokaTi) (literally six plus one) svaras

(svaramulu) (svaramulArunnokaTi) as the bells (of the bow kOdaNDa);

the sacred rAga (rAgamu) as the bow kOdaNDa;

dura naya and dEzya (dEzyamu) as the three (tri) (strands of)

the bow string (guNamu);

the steady (nirata) pace (tempo) (gati) are the arrows

(zaramu) (zaramurA);

the sweet (sarasa) thematic variations (saGgati) as the words

(girumulu) (spoken by the Lord) (giramulurA) appropriate to the

occasion (sandarbhamu gala); and therefore,

the performance (dhara) of chanting (bhajana) (of Lord's

names) is a fortune (bhAgyamurA);

O My Mind ! The nectarine juice of eternal sound (nAda)

worshipped (sEviJcu) by this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAju), has assumed a

human form here.

 

Notes -

P - narAkRti - Though zrI tyAgarAja describes the physical

person of zrI rAma in the kRti, it is worth mentioning that zrI

tyAgarAja beheld the Lord in his heart as his inner-self. He makes

mention of the `sAyujyaM' in many kRtis. Therefore, the mystic

relevance of this kRti needs to be understood in order to derive

appropriate meanings to the words used in the kRti.

C - rAgamu kOdaNDamu - An interesting mention in zrImad

vAlmIki rAmAyaNa about rAvaNa's musical talents that he can `play

upon the lute of his terrific bow with the sticks of his arrows' is

found in the website mentioned below. However, where this statement

occurs in zrImad vAlmIki rAmAyaNa, is not known -

http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Hindu_Music.htm

In the kRti `kOTi nadulu dhanuSkOTi' zrI tyAgarAja makes

mention of kuNDalini yOga. According to kuNDalini yOga, the

verterbral column is called mErudaNDa. Please also refer to kRti of

zrI tyAgarAja `Iza pAhi mAM' where Lord ziva is described as holding

bow of mEru - mErudaNDa - vertebral column (hEmAcala cApa). Source -

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/mws/mws_ch-38.html

C - ghaNTalu - Please refer to zrI tyAgarAj's kRti `svara

rAga sudhA rasa' zrI tyAgarAja mentions of `mUlAdhAra' as the cakra

from where `nAda' emanates. He also mentions therein about `sapta

svara gRhamulu' - It is not clear whether the seven chakras are meant

to represent the sapta svaras; if that be so the correspondence would

be - mUlAdhAra - sa; svAdhiSThAna - ri; maNipUra - ga; anAhata -

ma;vizuddhi - pa; AjnA - da; sahasrAra - ni.

In regard to sapta svaras and their relation to the seven

charkras, there is an interesting article in the website -

http://www.newtalavana.org/ebooks/saptasvarah.pdf#search='saptasvara'

In the book `Karnataka Sageetha Sastra' by Shri AS

Panchapakesa Iyer, it is mentioned that shadjam (sa) and panchamam

(pa) are considered as Sakti and Siva.

C - tri-guNamu - the word `guNa'

means `string', `strand', `bow string' and also `qualities - sattva,

rajas and tamas'. The three guNas - sattva, rajas and tamas are

indeed the three strands of the prakRti. The following verse from

zrImad bhagavat gIta, Chapter 14 is relevant -

 

sattvaM rajastama iti guNA: prakRtisambhavA: |

nibadhnanti mahAbAhO dEhE dEhinamavyayaM || 5 ||

 

"sattva, rajas and tamas - these guNas, O mighty-armed, born

of prakRti, bind fast in the body the indestructible embodied one."

 

C - dura - The dictionary meaning `one who opens or

unlocks', `giver', `granter' - these do not convey any meaning in the

present context. However, Shri Koteeswara Iyer, in his

kRti `ghananaya dEshika gAna rasika shikhAmaNi nIyE kandA'

mentions `ghana' in place of `dura'. Probably both mean same thing.

The following terminologies in regard to `ghana' are found -

ghanakaala - raagas meant to be sung at a particular time of

day. Each raaga is associated with at least one time of day (some are

sarvakaalika - any time). The times are early morning (4-6am),

morning after sunrise (6-9am), forenoon (9am-12pm), midday (noon-

1pm), afternoon (1-4pm), evening (4-7pm), and night (7-10pm)

ghanam - another term for taanam

ghana pancaka raagas - one type of ghana raaga (as opposed to

dwitiya pancaka raagas), which is heavy and elaborate. It has five

members: naaTTai, gowLa, aarabi, shree, and varaaLi. These 5 raagas

are often used in pancaratna kritis.

ghana raaga - a heavy and important raaga, in which the

swaroopam is brought out by taanam (ghanam) or madhyama kaalam. They

can be ghana pancaka or dwitiya pancaka raagas

Source - http://www.karnatik.com/glossg.shtml

C - naya - a raaga in which the swaroopam is brought out both

by aalaapanai and taanam, for example tODi, bhairavi, kaambhOji,

shankaraabharaNam, and kalyaaNi - Source -

http://www.karnatik.com/glossn.shtml

C - dEzyamu - Belonging to the country (desa). This term

denoted the folk music that was prevalent till the 12th century

Source -

http://www.carnatica.net/onlinedictionary/dicd.htm

dEsya (1) - a raaga whose swaroopam is brought out by just

aalaapanai, for example kaanaDaa, hameer kalyaaNi, hindustaani behaag

dEsya (2) - raagas that were brought to South India from

North India, for example paras, maanD, jhinjoTi, and shenjuruTTi

Source - http://www.karnatik.com/glossd.shtml

C - gati - Tempo of a musical piece - the speed and the gait

of a composition - source -

http://www.carnatica.net/onlinedictionary/dicd.htm

gati - the gait, or the number of subdivisions or swaras per

beat. There are 5 types: tishra, catushra, kanDa, mishra, and

sankeerna. It may also take 11, 8, etc. and is formed by taking the

beat and multiplying by the number (ex: aadi taaLa in catushra gati

is 8 times 4 = 32 beats). Not to be confused with naDai or jaati -

Source http://www.karnatik.com/glossg.shtml

saGgati - sangati - a particular variation of a phrase in a

kriti or song with slight or large changes in tune and gamakas. Each

phrase maybe repeated with different variations or sangatis. Source -

http://www.karnatik.com/glosss.shtml

saGgati - thematic variations - introduced by zrI tyAgarAja -

Source -

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5180/tnmusic1.html

saGgati - Tyagaraja's outstanding contribution to the

advancement of the kriti format was the introduction of the sangati

(lit. coming together) - a set of variations on a theme, gradually

unfolding the melodic potential of the musical phrase. Largely set in

the madhyamakala (middle tempo), Tyagaraja's kritis were more

appropriate for the modern concert paddhati. As vidwan G. N.

Balasubramaniam observed during his presidential address at the 32nd

conference of the Music Academy in 1958, nearly 60% of Tyagaraja's

kritis are composed in this kala and this speed "seems to be the best

for both the lay and the learned listeners." - Source

http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit05132002/musicarts1.asp

 

This Kriti is available as a MS Word or (Acrobat) PDF file in

Devanagari, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, Assamese, Bengali,

Gujarati, Oriya, Punjabi scripts. The meaning of the Kriti is also

available in Tamil. If anyone is interested to receive the same by e-

maill, please contact me at vgvindan specifying the format

required - MS Word or Acrobat PDF. Fonts for viewing the document in

MS Word may be downloaded free from www.cdac.in . Those who are

having CDAc's iLeap Indian Languages software may, if they so desire,

get that iLeap version of Kritis Indian Languages also from me.

Please indicate accordingly.

 

Please send in Your comments and suggestions.

May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all.

V Govindan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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