vanitha svabhavam 1

[Guest guest]

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

It is usual in this world when a `courageous, brave and valiant male'

member, for some reason or other, suddenly goes into shell and then

expresses his fear in doing something, to be suddenly adjudged

as `pottaip payal' – `a female in a male form' by others simply with

that sarcastic name or remark. I do not intend to offend any lady

member nor lower their courage or bravery or any other such daring

attitudes. What I intend is to point a `lOkaayatham' – a simple

practice of people.

 

This something can be an act of bravery like

§ a competition

§ a fight

§ a sports event

or some such thing wherein he is supposed to exhibit his

§ valour,

§ bravery

§ superiority in the training he received etc in earlier days.

 

In modern day `management jargons' these can be said as

§ `exhibiting high degree of core competency

§ `applying cutting edge technology and capability in meeting

challenges',

§ `showing extra-ordinary leadership qualitites when the going

becomes tough'

§ `accepting challenges when they are coming in the way and

turning them into opportunities for success'.

And such a person who withdraws with a little `vanitha svabhaavam' -

to put it in sanskrit - will be termed as a `laggard' and

a `liability' for the organization.

 

Next minute, perhaps, that very same person, who was ridiculed

as `female', may make amends and prove himself greater, than his own

earlier achievements. For that sarcastic calling may affect his ego

and motivates him to better his achievements than earlier carried

out. But that singular judgement passed remains as a `memoir'

or `stigma' throughout his life.

 

That sree raama, who, in his young age, proved his valour by

§ killing subhaahu the demon,

§ almost killed maareecha [subdued to that extent and later he

advices raavaNan not to pick up any fight with raama, for he,

maareecha, having witnessed his valour is sure that raama is capable

of killing raavaNan himself]

§ eliminating the women monster thaataka

§ tried in stringing that very special siva dhanu: and as a

result broken it and won seethaa as his `bravery award'

§ restraining very effectively and bravely, that parasuraamaa,

that too, when his own father and the great and famous dhasaratha

goes on just begging parsuraama to leave his son raama for he is

just a newly wed

is suddenly adjudged as `sthriyam purusha vigraham' – a female in a

male garb – or in simple terms a `pottaip payal' in colloquial

parlance. This is not by certain unknown or unqualified or jesters or

others, but by his own beloved wife seethaa, for whose sake he later

fought raavaNa by building `sEthu - the bridge in Ocean'.

 

That is an interesting part of sreemadh raamaayaNam, which we saw

earlier in the writeup "Bow story" series by this very person, who

writes this article.

Perhaps my dear bhakthaas and readers, you may all ask `why then a

repetition'? `or same old story'. Here is a beautiful krithi by saint

thyaagaraaja on this `sthriyam purusha vigraham'. That is why this

repetition, and I feel it is more worth enjoying that small episode

between the divine couple again through this krithi. Now the krithi.

 

`vanaja nayanuDani' raagam: kEdaara gowLa

28 harikaambhOji janya

Aa: S R2 M1 P N2 S

Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S

taaLam: aadi Composer: Tyaagaraaja Language: Telugu

 

pallavi

vanaja nayanuDani valachithivO

vaani manasuna dhayalEdhE – vanaja

 

meaning: Have you loved Him since He is beautiful with lotus eyes?

But He does not have sympathy in His heart.

 

anupallavi

munubaTi charithamulanu viniyunna [viniyunnaavu]

vanitha svabhaavamO velayu sree raamuni [dhEvaraaju] --vanaja

 

meaning: I ("you" for viniyunnavu) have heard the previous stories of

sree raamaa (dhEvadhirAja), with ladies' characteristics -of `as

though showing sympathy', [have you --- sympathy in his heart].

 

charaNam

orula baadhalanu Orvaka yuNduTa [OrvakuNDuTayE]

parama dharmamani baaguga balkuchu

varadhuDu aasritha vathsaluDani pErE

dhara jaya mosangu sree thyaagaraaja vinuthuni -- vanaja

[DharaNija lOluDu thyaagaraaja archithuDu]

 

meaning: sree raama talks nicely that the greatest dharma is not

being able to bear others' suffering and helping them. (But that is

not His true nature). But this is only for namesake that

§ He is varadhan [meaning - who gives boons] and

§ aaSritha vatsalan [meaning – one who helps when sought

after].

{Suddenly ST turns to praising Him now} – The Lord praised by sri

thyaagaraaja, who gives us victory in this earth – [Have you ----

sympathy in heart]

 

[for the other line `DharaNija' meaning is - the Consort of the

daughter of earth, worshipped by sri thyaagaraja --- [Have you —

sympathy in his heart]

 

Points:

1. Perhaps you will find that there are too many `bracketed' matter.

In the krithi lines, the words in bracket are another version of the

krithi as in web site www.karnatik.com I have used the lyrical

version from the book of `A.K.Gopalan publishers' as the main part

included under title vishNu keerthanaas.

[**vaarija nayanudani is yet another version of this krithi, in yet

another book I referred, and also indexed as such instead of vanaja

nayanudani]

 

2. This krithi with beginning as `vaarija' is included in the chapter

of `prahlaadha bhakthi vijayam' - the opera written by thyaagaraaja -

in the second book mentioned above. Dr. V.V.Srivathsa, the famous

musicologist, corroborates this version in his lecture on the

raagam `kedhaara gowla' which I will quote now.

 

start quote -- "Kedaragowla is a tri-sthayi raga, which is

reconfirmed in Dikshitar's "Neelotpala ambikayai". One discerns

adequate conceptual similarity between Tyagaraja and Dikshitar, in

their compositions in this raga. Tyagaraja's "Venugana loluni" is

well known, while "Vanaja nayana" and "Siggumali", are rarely heard.

There are three Divyanama Sankeertanas - "Raghunandana", "Dharmatma

Nannipudu" and "Ramuni maravakave". A lali-kriti of Tyagaraja is

found in the Utsava Sampradaya group. Two kritis "Vanaja nayana"

and "O Jagannatha" are a part of Prahlada Bhakti Vijaya. There is

also a Mangala-kriti by Tyagaraja. Dikshitar's "Neelotpalambikayai"

is complex, "Abhayaambikayah" majestic and "Neelakantam"

popular. "Abhayamba Nayaka Varadayaka" is a delectable Dikshitar

kriti, rarely heard. Syama Sastri's "Parakela" has a cascading swara

passage. Mention should be made of Swati Tirunal's "Deva Maamayi"

and "Taavaka namami", Papanasam Sivan's "Samikki sari evvare"

and "Balasubramanya" and a rarely heard Javali "Kopametula". Failure

to cite Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar's "Saragunapalimpa" will amount to

an omission". – unquote.

 

3. A.K.Gopalan publishers have included this krithi in the group

of `Vishnu keerthanaas' and NOT in the prahlaadha bhakthi vijayam as

stated above. Why I point out all this is to make all

understand `there are many variations in presenting the krithi

itself' and in its interpretations. On this somebody should not start

a discussion that the krithi lines what I used is wrong.

 

Let us see the points and comments on the krithi, raagam selection by

ST etc in next post.

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g.