Sri Tyagaraja Kriti Series: Kriti: bhava nuta Raga: mOhanaM

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SrI:

SrI raghunandana parabraHmaNe namaH

Kriti bhava nuta

Raga mOhanaM

In the kRti ‘bhava nuta nA’ – rAga mOhanaM, SrI tyAgarAja calls Lord, who is tired, to relax in his hrudhyAkAsam.

Pallavi

bhava nuta nA hRdayamuna ramimpumu baDalika tIra

Anupallavi

bhava tAraka nAtO bahu palkina baDalika tIra kamala saM(bhava)

Charanam 1

pavana suta priya tanakai tirigina

baDalika tIra

bhavanamu jEri nanu verapiJcina

baDalika tIra kamala saM(bhava)

Charanam 2

varamagu naivEdyamulanu jEyani

baDalika tIra

parava lEka sari pOyinaTT(A)Dina

baDalika tIra kamala saM(bhava)

Charanam 3

prabala jEsi nanu brOcedav(a)nukonna

baDalika tIra

prabhu nIvu tyAgarAjuniki

baDalika tIra kamala saM(bhava)

Gist

O Lord praised by Lord Siva! O Lord who carries across the Ocean of Worldly Existence! O Lord praised by Lord brahmA! O Lord who is dear to AnjanEya! Deign to relax in my heart to overcome Your fatigue – (a) of conversing a lot with me; (b) of wandering for my sake; © for astounding me by coming to my house; (d) of (my) not preparing sacred food items to You; and (e) for talking (to such a great Lord), without offering food, as if it is alright. You are Lord of this tyAgarAja; You protected me by making me famous; deign to relax in my heart to overcome Your fatigue for having so intended.

Word-by-word Meaning

P O Lord praised (nuta) by Lord Siva (bhava)! Deign to relax (ramimpumu) (literally sport) in my (nA) heart (hRdayamuna) to overcome (tIra) Your fatigue (baDalika).

A O Lord who carries across (tAraka) the Ocean of Worldly Existence (bhava)! O Lord praised (nuta) by Lord brahmA – born (saMbhava) in Lotus (kamala)! Deign to relax in my heart to overcome (tIra) Your fatigue (baDalika) of conversing (palkina) (literally talking) a lot (bahu) with me (nAtO).

C1 O Lord who is dear (priya) to AnjanEya – son (suta) of vAyu (pavana)! O Lord praised (nuta) by Lord brahmA – born (saMbhava) in Lotus (kamala)! Deign to relax in my heart to overcome (tIra) Your fatigue (baDalika) of – wandering (tirigina) for my (tanakai) sake; astounding (verapiJcina) (literally alarming) me by coming (jEri) to my house (bhavanamu).

C2 O Lord praised (nuta) by Lord brahmA – born (saMbhava) in Lotus (kamala)! Deign to relax in my heart to overcome (tIra) Your fatigue (baDalika) of – (my) not preparing (jEyani) sacred (varamagu) food items (naivEdyamulanu) to You, and for talking (ADina) (to such a great Lord) without offering food (parava lEka) (literally spread) as if (aTTu) it is alright (sari pOvu) (sari pOyinaTTu) (pOyinaTTADina).

C3 O Lord praised (nuta) by Lord brahmA – born (saMbhava) in Lotus (kamala)! You (nIvu) are Lord (prabhuvu) of this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAjuniki); You protected (brOcedavu) me by making (jEsi) me (nanu) famous (prabala); deign to relax in my heart to overcome (tIra) Your fatigue (baDalika) for having so intended (anukonna) (brOcedavanukonna).

Notes –

General – In the book of Shri CR, the ‘tiredness’ (baDalika) has been attributed to SrI tyAgarAja. In my humble opinion, it is the tiredness of the Lord that SrI tyAgarAja is mentioning in the kRti.

V.Sadagopan: I agree with the above interpretation by the commentator. ThyAgarAja SwamigaL was moved by the soubhAgyam of the direct visualization of Lord Raamachandra, SitA PirAtti and AnjanEya as YaatrikAs arriving at his house in ThiruvayyARu Thirumanjana Veedhi, conversing with him all night, AnjanEya preparing satthumaa as food for all of them and him partaking that Mahaa prasAdham and the departure of the vistors at the crack of dawn. As they left, SwamigaL realized who the distinguished vistors to his home were and was overcome with a sense of sorrow that he did not offer adequate upachArams to his upAsana Murthy and His parivAram. As a belated request, the contrite Saint ThyagarAja invites Lord Raamachandra to rest in his heart lotus to overcome the fatigue from their yaatrai to his house from distant AyOdhyaa.

C2 – parava lEka – This is how it is given in all the books. ‘parava’ has two different roots – (1) ‘paracu’ – to spread (like food items); (2) ‘paranA’ – regard, respect. In the case of ‘paranA’, the ending vowel would be elongated as ‘paravA’.

If it is taken in the first sense ‘to spread’, then it should be joined to the first half of the caraNa and interpreted as ‘for not preparing nice (sacred) food items and not offering (parava lEka) (literally spreading) the same and talking as if it is alright’.

If it is taken in the second sense ‘regard’, then the second half could be interpreted separately – ‘talking without regard (paravA lEka) as if it is alright’. As the ending vowel of the word ‘parava’ is not elongated, it has to be taken in the first sense only.

C2 – saripOyinaTTu – this is how it is given in all the books. This is mostly a colloquial usage. This is used idiomatically to mean ‘it was alright’, ‘it didn’t matter’. Any suggestions???

C3 – brOcedavanukonna – This is how it is given in all the books other than that of Shri TKG, where it is given as ‘brOcenanukonna’. As the version given here seems to be appropriate, it has been adopted. Any suggestions???

C3 – anukonu – This has been translated as ‘intention’; however, in fact, as the Lord is ‘satya sankalpa’, His very intention or thought is as good as accomplished. This is also called ‘cittamu’ – ‘will’ – please refer to SrI tyAgarAja kRti ‘nI cittamu nA bhAgyamu’ – rAga vijayavasanta.

C3 – kamala sambhava – In the book of Shri TKG, this is given as ‘jalaja sambhava’ whereas, it is given as ‘kamala sambhava’ in all other books. Though both mean same thing, this needs to be checked. Any suggestions??? Kamala Sambhava sounds better.

General – According to great hari-kathA exponent Brahma Shri TS Balakrishna Sastrigal, this song was sung by SrI tyAgarAja after the Lord visited his house one evening together with sITa and AnjanEya in the garb of an old couple and a young sanyAsi (respectively). According to him, SrI tyAgarAja spoke to the Lord throughout the night without offering any proper seat or food and when they left early in the morning next day, he beheld them as Lord rAma, sItA and AnjanEya. Regretting his action of not showing proper respect to the Lord, SrI tyAgarAja sang this song asking the Lord to relax in his heart.

Additional Comments by Sri V. Sadagopan:

This is a DhainyOkti (Plaintive pleading) kriti asking for forgiveness for the rare opportunities missed in serving Lord Ramachandra, when He came to Sri ThyagarAjA’s house and conversed with him during the entire night until ushath kaalam. When the visitors took leave and merged with the first light of dawn, ThyagarAja realized who the visitors were and what a great bhAgyam he had and was overcome with regrets over not extending the rajOpachArams that they deserved. SwamigaL was overwhelmed by the dayaa of the Lord on one hand and on the other hand felt miserable about the missed opportunity to recognize who these vistors were and to perform kaimkaryams in the form of viSEsha upachArams for the divine vistors and HanumAn (who came as the servant of the old Yaatrika couple: The Lord and His divine consort, SitA Piraatti) in the SaastrOkta manner. SwamigaL invites in this kriti for the Lord to come and rest in the lotus bed of his heart to overcome the fatigue of travel. The Thirumanjana Kattiyams at different dhivya dEsams invite the Lord to have a comforting Thirumanjanam (abhishEkam) to overcome the fatigue accumulated by the Lord during his sishta ParipAlana-Dhushta nigraha activities during His various avatArams:

http://www.sundarasimham.org (52nd ebook on Thirumanjana Kattiyams)

In dhainyOkti mood, Saint ThyagarAja has complained to the Lord for His indifference and not coming to him in many dhainyOkti kritis: “How is it that You do not come to me. This is not proper. Should You be looking indifferently at my meditating on Your benign face and pining? (Cera raavadEmiraa? Reethi GouLai raagam)â€. In a HindhOLa raga Kriti (ManasulOni Marmamaunu delusukO Maana Rakshaka! MaragatAnga), Saint Thyaagaraaja would plaintively plead to the Lord for taking him by His hand with compassion. In a Bhairavi Raaga Krithi, “SrI Raghuvara, SuguNAlayaâ€, Sadhguru SwamigaL will make a similar request: Why should You not take me by the hand for protection and speak to me lovingly?â€. In a heart rending kriti (Enta Vedukondu Raaghava) set in Sarasvati ManOhari Raagam, our sadhguru will declare that he has reposed all his faith in the Lord and will ask the Lord as to how long he has to wait for Him to come.

In the Karahara Priya kriti, “Raama KodhaaNda Raama paahiâ€, Saint ThyagarAja will plead with the Lord to appear before him and bless him. He will state that he longed for and pined to see his Lord’s Young face. In a moving Ghantaa Raaga Kriti, “InnALLu nannEli-yEndhu keegEliâ€, Thyagaraja Swamigal will ask in desperation: “Where have You gone now? You gave the promise to be with me alwaysâ€.

In the SourAshra Kriti, “Raaraa NannElukOraaâ€, SwamigaL will plead with the Lord to come to him without tarrying. In the MadhyamAvati kriti, “Raama! Samayamu BrOvaraaâ€, He will advance his case to the Lord and tell him that this is the just time to come and save him. In the Yadhukula KaambhOji kriti, “Yentanuchu sourintunu SeetAkAntu dayarAdhuâ€, the bhakta ThyagarAja will question the Lord movingly: “Wont You still have the mind to come to me? Am I a stranger to You?

In the Suddha SaavEri Kriti, “KaalaharaNa mElaraa? SeethA Raamaâ€, He would plaintively ask the Lord as to why there is such a delay in appearing before him. After complaining about kaala haraNam, SwamigaL will ask in a SaavEri Raaga Kriti, “Inta tAmasamaitE yentani sairintu yEmi chEyudhu Raamaâ€, he will complain this way: “If You delay like this, how long can I bear and what can I do, Oh Raama? Oh You of beautiful form! Where can You be seen? Why do not You appear before me, at least now, in a loving manner to honor me? In a chAyaa NaaDDa Kriti, “idhi samayamurA inakula Tilakaâ€, Swamigal will remind the Lord that this is the time for Him to carry out truly the promise made to him to come before him and manifest His grace.

Sri Jaanaki ManOharan / SrI Raghavan / DhAsarathi/ Raaga-rahita Raghu Raaman now decided not only to appear before His adhyanta bhaktan, who was pleading with Him to appear before him many times but He also brought His Piraatti (SitA Devi) and His dhAsan, AnjanEyan with Him to bless ThyAgarAja. He came with Jaanaki mAthaa as a Yaatrika couple assisted by Their servant, conversed at length with ThyAgarAja on the pial of his dear devotee’s house about sadh-vishayams until dawn. Saint ThyAgaraja had no idea that the elderly couple in front of him were Saara Saara. UdhAra, AkhilAdhAra Raamachandra Parabrahmam and Jaanaki PirAtti and the young servant accompanying Them was none other than AnjanEyar. Once he realized who it was that sought him out and sat on the pial of his house for so many hours conversing with him until dawn, Saint ThyAgarAja’s mind was overwhelmed and he addressed the Lord with Naama kusumams: KaruNAkaraa! Sri Raghuveeraa! CharAchara Roopaa! KousalyA suputrA! Kamaneeya gAthrA! DinamaNi Vamsa TilakA! Dheena SaraNyA! mama PraNa nAthA! PrabhO! and invited the Lord to rest in his heart lotus to overcome all His fatigue in travelling all the way to his house and blessing him (bhavanuta naa hrudhayamuna ramimpumu –BaDalika dheera).

Raama DhAsan,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

 

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