Sri Tyagaraja Kriti Series: Kriti:bhajana sEya rAdA Raga:aThANA

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SrI:

SrI raghunandana parabraHmaNe namaH

 

Song bhajana sEya rAdA

raaga aThANA

In the kRti ‘bhajana sEya rAdA’ – rAga aThANA, srI tyAgarAja exhorts his mind to chant the name of srI rAma which is the mantra even for the Trinity.

Pallavi:

bhajana sEya rAdA rAma

Anupallavi:

aja rudr(A)dulaku satatam-

A)tma mantramaina rAma (bhajana)

CaraNam 1:

karagu baGgAru valva

kaTin(e)ntO merayaga

ciru navvulu kala mogamunu

cintinci cintinci (bhajana)

CaraNam 2:

aruN(A)bh(A)dharamunu

surucira dant(A)vaLini

merayu kapOla yugamunu

niratamunanu talaci talaci (bhajana)

CaraNam 3:

bAguga mAnasa bhava

sAgaramunanu tarimpa

tyAgarAju manavini vini

tArakmagu rAma nAma (bhajana)

Gist

O My Mind!

Why don’t you chant the name of Lord rAma?

Why don’t you chant the (name) of Lord rAma which (the name) is always the personal mantra even for brahmA, Lord siva and others?

Contemplating repeatedly on the smiling face of the Lord, as garments of unalloyed gold shine well in his waist, why don’t you chant the name of Lord rAma?

Meditating again and again unceasingly on – the lips resembling the color of sky at early dawn, the splendid rows of teeth and His shining cheeks, why don’t you chant the name of Lord rAma?

By heeding to the appeal of this tyAgarAja, why don’t you chant well the name of Lord rAma which is the raft to cross the Ocean of Worldly Existence?

 

Word-by-word Meaning

P Why don’t you (rAdA) chant (bhajana sEya) the name of Lord rAma?

A Why don’t you chant the (name) of Lord rAma which (the name) is always (satatamu) the personal (Atma) (literally one’s own) (satatamAtma) mantra (mantramaina) even for brahmA (aja), Lord siva (rudra) and others (Adulaku) (rudrAdulaku)?

C 1 Contemplating repeatedly (cintinci cintinci) on the smiling (ciru navvulu kala) face (mogamunu) of the Lord, as garments (valva) of unalloyed (karagu) gold (baGgAru) shine (merayaga) well (entO) (literally much) in his waist (kaTini) (kaTinentO), why don’t you chant the name of Lord rAma?

C 2 Meditating again and again (talaci talaci) unceasingly (niratamunanu) on – the lips (adharamunu) resembling (Abha) the color of sky at early dawn (aruNa) (aruNAbhAdharamunu), the splendid (surucira) rows (AvaLini) of teeth (danta) (dantAvaLini) and His shining (merayu) cheeks (kapOla yugamunu) (literally pair of cheeks), why don’t you chant the name of Lord rAma?

C 3 O My Mind (mAnasa)! By heeding (vini) to the appeal (manavini) of this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAju), why don’t you chant well (bAguga) the name (nAma) of Lord rAma which is the raft (tArakamagu) to cross (tarimpa) the Ocean (sAgaramunu) of Worldly Existence (bhava)?

 

Notes –

C1 – mogamunu – This is how it is given in the books of CR and ATK. However, in the books of TKG and TSV/AKG, it is given as ‘mukhamunu’. ‘mogamu’ is the telugu version of Sanskrit word ‘mukhamu’.

 

Additional Comments By SrI V Sadagopan swami:

This kriti is about the Naama MahAtmyam of Lord Raamachandra. It is a Maanasa samBhOdhana kriti, where the Saint of ThiruvayyARu asks his mind to engage in dhyAnam about the dhivya MangaLa Vigraham of Lord Raamachandra. He tells his manas that Raama Naama sankeertanam will enable it cross the tumultuous ocean of SamsAram.

This kriti is one of the many Naama MahAtmya Kritis. The others are: (1) Paahi maam HarE in Raaga SourAshtram (2) YeemEnu galiginanduku in Raaga VarALi (3) RamincchuvArEvaruraaa? RaghUtthama in Raaga SupOshiNi (4-5) The two Kaapi Raaga Kritis: “inta soukhyamani nE jeppajala†and “Raama! Raghukula Jalanidhi-sOma! (6) ChintistunnADE YamuDu in Raaga MukhAri (7) SaaramE ghAni yanyamArga vichAramEDikE in Raaga PantuvarALi (8) another sourAshtra Raaga Kriti: mElu mElu Raama nAma sukhamee dharalO manasaa (9) Telisi RaamachintanatO in Raaga PoorNa chandrikaa (10) Raama neeyEDa prEma rahituluku naama ruchi delusunA in Kharahara Priyaa raagam (11) Sukhi yEvarO Raama Naama –sukhi yEvarO in Raagam Kaanada (12) “Naama KusumamulachE BhUjinjE nara janmamE janmamu, Manasaa“ in Sri Raagam (13) Raama Naamam bhajarE in MadhyamAvati (14) SmaraNE Sukhamu Raama Naama naruDai BuDDi nanduka in Jana ranjani raagam and (15) Hariyanuvani sariyevvarE in Raaga ThOdi.

The sukham arising from the meditation of Raama Naamam is celebrated in the above kritis by the Sadhguru. He instructs his mind that for a human being, the chanting of the sacred name of the Lord of AyOddhi is bliss itself. In the MadhyamAvati Kriti, the Sadhguru points out to his mind that there is no refuge for one in this world except Lord Raamachandra. In the Kannada Raaga kriti, he informs us that the most blessed human being is the One that enjoys the bliss (Sukham) of Raama Naamam that releases one from samsAric bondage. In his Kharahara Priya kriti, the Sadhguru Swami states that a man devoid of Bhakti for the Lord can not experience the sweetness of Raama Naamam. In the kriti set in PoorNachandrikaa rAgam, SwamigaL reveals that one will be blessed with jayam through the dhyAnam and sankeertanam of Raama nAmam. In the Melu Melu kriti set in SourAshtram, SwamigaL provides a rare insight about the superiority of saguNa Brahma upaasanai over nirguNa BrahmOpAsanai. Sadhguru Swami states that the bliss that the recitation of Raama NaamA gives to one is positively higher than the bliss one derives from realization of NirguNa Brahmam. In the PantuvarALi raga Kriti, SaaramE gaani yanyamArga vichAra mEDikE, SwamigaL assures that Raama Naama alone is the most precious fortune to be coveted. He asks his mind to reject all other paths and not get deluded by the upadEsams of all and sundry. In his delectable Kaapi Raaga Kriti, inta soukhyamani, SwamigaL confesses that it would not be possible for him to describe the joy one would derive from the chanting of the tAraka nAmam of Raama. He goes on to confess in one of his SourAshtra Kriti, PaahimAm HarE, that, he has secured the precious pearl of Raama naama and was born uttering Raama naama to gain Parama Padham.

 

Bhakti rasam flowed like delectable honey through the saahitya vaakyams of SwamigaL’s kritis. Having tasted that nectar, SwamigaL wanted all of us to enjoy that unparalleled sukhAnubhavam of Raama Naama Sankeertanam and dhyAnam. He was nonplussed by our reluctance and indifference and invited us again: Bhajana sEya RaadhA? Why do not you recite the Lord’s name and reflect on his dhivya soundharyam, matchless guNams and unparalleled Iswaryam as Ubhaya VibhUti naathan? Lord Raamachandra’s sacred feet was his firm Aalambanam (substratum to hold on to). AchArya RaamAnuja once revealed a secret: Hold on to Lord’s Thiruvadi and then He can not shake you off. Saint ThyagarAja seems to have followed that counsel and held on to the Lord’s sacred feet and performed Kaimkaryam for the Lord and these kaimkaryams made him excited (Uddhipanam) and his bhakti grew multifold. The anubhavams arising from those prema-laden kaimkaryams were precious for him. Bhakti rasam in all its sanchAri bhAvams flowed through his mind and filled it with nectar and made him climb through many saatvika sanchAri bhAvams (emotional plateaus). His eyes became filled with tears of joy; his hair stood on ends as a result of Bhagavath SaakshAthkAram; he will declare through his kritis that he had followed the right path in pursuing “Saatvika Bhakti†as the only means for crossing the fearsome samsAric ocean. Out of all these glorious anubhavams, Thyagaraja SwamigaL climbed many peaks in a blissful state and out of his compassion for us suffering the samsAric afflictions, he invited us to engage in Raama Naama sankeertanam and thereby get rid of our sufferings.

Great indeed is the MahAtmyam of Raama Naamam!

NamO SrI RaaghavAya anisam,

DhAsan, Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan

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