Today's Tyagaraja Kriti Series--24th Kriti: Aananda Saagara , Raagam : Garudhadhvani

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SrI:

SrI raghunandana parabraHmaNe namaH

 

Title: Ananda sAgara

rAgA: garuDadhvani

 

In the krti 'Ananda sAgaramIdani' – rAga garuDadhvani, SrI tyAgarAja states that the body of a person who does not swim in the Ocean of Supreme Bliss is a burden on the earth.

Pallavi

Ananda sAgaram(I)dani dEhamu

bhU bhAramu rAma brahm(Ananda)

Anupallavi

SrI nAyak(A)khila naigam-

(A)zrita sangIta jnAnam(a)nu brahm(Ananda)

CaraNam

SrI viSvanAtha SrI kAnta vidhulu

pAvana mUrtul(u)pAsinca lEdA

bhAvinci rAga lay(A)dula

bhajiyincE SrI tyAgarAja nuta (Ananda)

Gist

O Lord SrI rAma! O Lord nArAyaNa! O Lord praised by this tyAgarAja who worships rAga and laya etc by becoming absorbed in them (rAga and laya of Music)!

That (human) body which does not swim in the ocean of Supreme Bliss, is indeed a burden on the earth. That human body which does not swim in the ocean of Supreme Bliss, called the knowledge of music on which all vEdas are dependent, is indeed a burden on the earth.

 

Haven't the Trinity - Lord Siva, vishNu - Consort of lakshmI and brahmA and all the holy personages dedicate themselves to music?

 

Word-by-word Meaning

 

P O Lord SrI rAma! That (human) body (dEhamu) which does not swim (Idani) in the ocean (sAgaramu) (sAgaramIdani) of Supreme Bliss (brahmAnanda), is indeed a burden (bhAramu) on the earth (bhU).

A O Lord nArAyaNa - Spouse (nAyaka) of lakshmI (SrI)! That human body which does not swim in the ocean of Supreme Bliss, called (anu) the knowledge (jnAnamu) (jnAnamanu) of music (sangIta) on which all (akhila) vEdas (naigama) are dependent (ASrita) (naigamASrita), is indeed a burden on the earth.

C Haven't (lEdA) the Trinity - Lord Siva (SrI viSvanAtha), vishNu - Consort (kAnta) of lakshmI (SrI) and brahmA (vidhi) (vidhulu) and all the holy (pAvana) personages (mUrtulu) dedicate (upAsinca) (mUrtulupAsinca) themselves to music?

O Lord praised (nuta) by this tyAgarAja who worships (bhajiyincE) (literally chant) rAga and laya etc (Adula) (layAdula) by becoming absorbed (bhAvinci) in them (rAga and laya of Music)!

That human body which does not swim in the ocean of Supreme bliss (of music) is indeed a burden on the earth.

Notes –

General – brahmAnandaM – Some times one feels shudder at the thought of trying to make an intellectual excursion in translating this and other such similar words which are pregnant with meanings based on actual experience of such a bliss. Therefore, the readers might like to ponder for one moment and try to understand the state of mind of the SrI tyAgarAja in order to appreciate the full import of this and similar krtis.

P – bhU bhAramu – This is how it is given in the book of TKG; in the books of CR and ATK, this is given as 'bhUmi bhAramu'; in the book of TSV/AKG, this is given as 'bhU bhAramE'. This needs to be checked. Any suggestions??

C – viSvanAtha – this is how it is given in the books of TKG and TSV/AKG. However, in the book of CR and ATK, this is given as 'viSvanathAdi'. In the book of TKG, 'viSvanAthAdi' is given as an alternative word. This needs to be checked. Any suggestions???

C – viSvanAtha – name of Lord Siva at kASi kshEtra.

C – SrI kAnta – It is rather intriguing that while in the anupallavi, the Lord is addressed as 'SrI nAyaka' – meaning vishNu, in the caraNa, vishNu Himself is shown as part of Trinity. Therefore, the epithet 'SrI nAyaka' might have to be taken to indicate 'nArAyaNa' who is above the Trinity. Accordingly, the epithet 'SrI nAyaka' has been translated in the anupallavi.

C – bhajiyincE – this is how it is given in the books of TKG and TSV/AKG; in the book of CR, this is given as 'bhajiyincu'. This needs to be checked.

Additional Comments by SrI V.Sadagopan:

Garuda Bhagavan is a nitya Soori (eternally liberated soul) and performs kaimkaryam for Sriman NarayaNan as His vaahanam (transport). He holds our Lord’s sacred feet in His hands and shows them to us as the one and only refuge for us during the GaruDOtsavam in the temples. That is why the darsanam of Garudan is auspicious. Listening to His dhvani (sound) is equally auspicious. Garuda Dhvani is the Raagam chosen by Saint ThyagarAja for this kriti praising the bhAgyam of Sangita Jn~Anam. Garuda Dhvani is Janya Raagam of the 29th Mela Kartaa, Dheera SankarAbharaNam. Its arOhaNa /avarOhaNams are: S R2 G3 M1 P D2 N3 S/ S D2 P G3 R2 S.

 

Garudan is Veda Purushan and every limb of His body is one or other Vedic section. Garuda Mantram is very powerful for that reason. Swamy Desikan goes so far as to describe that Mantram as Brahma Vidhyaa in His Garuda Panchaasath stOtram (Saa Brahmavidhyaa na: Paathu). SaastrAs describe Garudan as amsam of the second VyUha Moorthy, SamkarshaNan and that the recitation of His Mantram yields chathurvidha PurushArthams (Moksam/apavargam and the trivargam/ dharmArtha Kaamam). He is ’AkunTha VaikunTha peeDikruta skandhan’. He has the shoulders, which have been selected by the limitless Lord as His seat). He has thus the loftiness based on the Lord using him as His Vaahanam but Garudan is also seated in the victory flag (vijaya dhavajm) of His Lord. Therefore anything related to Garudan is auspicious. Garuda Dhvani is referred to as having the sound waves of Saama Vedam and hence some have called it Brahma Dhvani.

 

Saint Thyagaraja has composed two more kritis in this raagam: Tatvameruga Taramaa and Garuda Gamana. In this kriti “Ananda Saagara meedhani dEhamu bhUmi bhAramu, BrahmAnandha Saagara meedhani dehamu bhUmi bhAramu ", ThyAga Brahamam, who chose His name as naadha Brahmam in sanyAsa Aasramam states that the body that does not swim in the blissful ocean of Sangita Jn~Anam linked to the VedAs (Saama Vedam) is indeed a burden to this earth. The dreary and wasted life of one, who has no sangita Jn~Anam is the subject matter of this Kriti. Swamigal attests to the greatness of Sangita jn~Anam by pointing out that the Trimurthis as well as Mahaa Lakshmi have adored and used their sangita Jn~Anam dealing with melody (rAgam) and rhythm (layam). SwamigaL states the reason for the Trinity’s worshipping Sangitam by revealing that Sangita Jn~Anam abides in all vedAs (naigamASrita Sangeeta Jn~amunu BrhamAnandha Saagaram) and therefore it was but natural for them to have engaged in such upAsanais rooted in their sangita Jn~Anam.

 

NamO SrI PakshirAjAya,

Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan

 

Audio is available at the link below:

http://sangeethapriya.org/tributes/thyagaraja/auth.php?file=audio/krithis/AnandasAgara--garudadwani--Adi--TKR.mp3

 

 

 

NOTE: Those who prefer to have a PDF or WORD document copy of this write-up can download either of the format from the following links:

WORD doc: http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/tyagaraja_kritis_project/word_docs/AnandasAgara.doc

PDF: http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/tyagaraja_kritis_project/pdf/AnandasAgara.pdf

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SrI:

Dear Sri Rangaswamy : Thanks very much for your elucidations about the Vaibhavam of Sri Pakshi Raajan !

V.Sadagopan

- Muralidhar Rangaswamy

Dr.V.Sadagopan

Sunday, September 27, 2009 10:55 AM

Re: Today's Tyagaraja Kriti Series--24th Kriti: Aananda Saagara , Raagam : Garudhadhvani

 

 

Sri:

 

Dear Sriman Sadagopan Swamin,

 

Thank you very much for sharing this piece about Garuthman. Please permit adiyen to share the following from an excellent exposition of the Taittriya Upanishad by Mahavidwan U.Ve. Sri. K.S. Narayanachariar Swamin.

The Brahmanandam described here is a reference to rasO vai saha declared in the Anandavalli section of the Taittriya Upanishad. The term valli means creeper and the reference here is to the creeper that yields Soma rasam, i.e., the Soma Lathai. This soma lathai is not readily available and can be found only in the lofty heights of the Himalayas and thus requires daring people to climb these peaks to procure them. The performance of Soma yagam is documented in the 9th mandalam of the Rg Vedam, where the crushing of the creeper is described. The result of this yajnam is the Soma rasam,w hich is sought after by thirsty Brahmins, who serve as Ritviks. This Soma rasam is exactly the BrahmAnanda anubhava rasam according to Sri K.S. Narayanachariar Swamin and thus the Anandavalli section is itself a succinct encapsulation of the Soma Mandalam of the Rg Vedam. Next, Sri Narayanachariar Swamin addresses the question of where this rasam can be found through the statements from the AitarIya and Taittriya BrahmaNa sections of the Vedam, which declare that this rasam flourished at the third foot of Trivikrama, and was brought by the high flying bird known as shyEna or Garuda. The puraNas equate the copious flow of this rasam to ganga which originated at the feet of Trivikrama.

 

Swami Desikan interestingly picks the nada paddhati of the Padhuka Sahasram to elaborate on this theme, wherein he states in one shloka "Oh Mother Padhukas! It appears from the sounds emanating from you that there is a competition between the left and right Padhuka (aham aham ikAm) in terms of who comes first in gracing the head of Bali (third foot of Trivikrama). The right Padhuka won out. However, this does not imply any manner of superiority of the right Padhuka since the anubhavam of Emperuman becomes possible only upon destruction of one's sins (which is enabled by the left Padhuka on account of ganga emerging from there due to the Sripada teertham performed by Brahma). Therefore, both the left and right Padhukas are equally sacred."The reference here is to each Padhuka being anxious to partake of the BrahmAnanda anubhava rasam that flourished at the third foot of Trivikrama. Swami Alavandar refers to this in the Stotra ratnam through the famous line "madhIya mUrDhAnamalankarishyati". A related tribute from Swami Desikan is verse 85 of the Daya Shatakam where Swami declares "charAcharamachIkarascharaNa pankajEnAnkitham".

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

 

 

PDF: http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/tyagaraja_kritis_project/pdf/AnandasAgara.pdf