Sri Tyagaraja Kriti Series: Kriti:cani tOdi tEvE Raga:harikAmbhOji

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SrI:

SrI raghunandana parabraHmaNe namaH

Song cani tOdi tEvE

raaga harikAmbhOji

In the kRti ‘cani tODi tEvE’ – rAga harikAmbhOji, srI tyAgarAja asks his mind to search for the Lord and bring him.

Pallavi:

cani tODi tEvE O manasA

Anupallavi:

kanikaramutO kani karam(i)Di cira

kAlamu sukham(a)nubhavimpa vEgamE (cani)

CaraNam:

patitula brOcu paTT(A)dhikArini

paramArtha mata vasiSTh(A)nusArini

dyuti nirjita zata sambar(A)rini

dhurINa tyAgarAja hRc-cArini (cani)

Gist

O My Mind! Go and fetch (the Lord).

Departing quickly, finding the Lord, holding His hand with kindness, fetch Him so that I may enjoy happiness for a long time.

OR

Go quickly and fetch the Lord so that I may enjoy happiness for a long time by beholding Him kindly and holding His hand.

Go and fetch the Lord – (1) the holder of the appellation of saving the fallen people, (2) the adherer of the sage vasiSTha (of) (who follows) the path of true knowledge, (OR) (2) the distinguished adherer of the path of true knowledge, (3) whose luster surpasses a hundred cupids, and (4) one who abides in the heart of the slave tyAgarAja.

Word-by-word Meaning

P O My Mind (manasA)! Go (cani) (literally going) and fetch (tODi tEvE) (the Lord).

A O My Mind! Go quickly (vEgamE) and fetch the Lord so that I may enjoy (anubhavimpa karamu) (literally experience) happiness (sukhamu) (literally comfort) (sukhamanubhavimpa) for a long (cira) time (kAlamu) by beholding (kani) Him kindly (kanikaramutO) and holding (iDi) His hand (karamu) (karamiDi).

OR

O My Mind! Departing quickly (vEgamE), finding (kani) the Lord, holding (iDi) His hand () (karamiDi) with kindness (kanikaramutO), fetch Him so that I may enjoy (anubhavimpa) (literally experience) happiness (sukhamu) (literally comfort) for a long (cira) time (kAlamu).

C O My Mind! Go and fetch the Lord – the holder (adhikAri) (adhikArini) (literally an official) of the appellation (paTTa) (paTTAdhikArini) of saving (brOcu) the fallen people (patitula), the adherer (anusAri) (anusArini) of the sage vasiSTha (vasiSThAnusArini) of (who follows) the path (mata) of true knowledge (paramArtha), (OR) the distinguished (visiSTa) adherer (anusAri) (anusArini) of the path (mata) of true knowledge (paramArtha), whose luster (dyuti) surpasses (nirjita) a hundred (sata) cupids – enemy (ari) of demon sambara (sambarAri) (sambarArini), and one who abides (cAri) (literally roaming) (cArini) in the heart (hRt) (hRccArini) of the slave (dhurINa) (literally beast of burden) tyAgarAja.

Notes –

P – tODi tEvE – tODi teccu – means ‘to fetch’;

P – tEvE – addressing form for a female companion.

A – kanikaramutO kani karamiDi – In the book of CR, this has been translated as ‘seek Him eagerly and lead Him to me with due respect’; in other books, this has been applied to the Lord ‘He may clasp my hand compassionately’. As per the website (see note below – General), as this kRti is in nAyikA bhAva, it should be applied to the mind which is further substantiated by the word ‘fetch’. Any suggestions???

C – paTTAdhikAri – Generally this is translated as ‘king’. However, this word seems to have been used in the sense of ‘birudu’ – ‘appelation’; accordingly, it has been translated as ‘holder of the appellation of saving the fallen’. Any suggestions???

C – paramArtha mata – In the website referred below (note – General), this has been taken to mean ‘surrender’ (SaraNAgati). However, when read in conjunction with ‘vasiSTha’ this may mean the philosophy as prescribed in ‘yOga vAsiSTha’. If ‘visiSTa’ is correct, then ‘surrender’ is the appropriate meaning. In any case, the word ‘paramArtha’ is defined differently by those who adopt the paths of advaita and dvaita (and visishThAdvaita). Any suggestions??? ViSishtA is more appropriate than Vasishta; the additional twist to Yoga Vaasishta are forced extensions and do not seem to fit well—V.Sadagopan

C – vasiSTha – In the book ATK – this word is given as ‘visiSTa’; in the book of CR, this is given as ‘vasiSTha’. From the flow of the language, ‘viziSTa’ may also be appropriate. Therefore, both the meanings are given.

C – vasiSTha – yOga vAsiSTha is a treatise on (advaita) vEdAnta linked to sage vasiSTha. The sage taught this yOga to his pupil srI rAma. For a brief on ‘yOga vAsiSTha’ visit – http://www.dlshq.org/religions/yogavasishtha.htm

C – sambarAri - Demon sambara was killed by – pradyumna – (son of kRSNa) – also known as kAmadEva (cupid reborn). For more details, please visit the site - http://www.mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/pradyumna.htm

C – dhurINa – Generally, this word is applied to the Lord – ‘one who carries the burden’ or ‘chief’, ‘master’ etc. However, in the book of CR, this has been applied to srI tyAgarAja – servant tyAgarAja. From the flow of the language, this seems to apply to srI tyAgarAja. Therefore, taking the meaning ‘beast of burden’, it has been translated as ‘slave’. Any suggestions??? DhAsan/Raama dhAsan seems a better word than beast of burden or slave –V.Sadagopan

General – For a detailed discussion of this kRti as a apart of the kritis composed in Hari KaambhOjji MEla Raagam, please visit –

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/mar99/0124.html

Additional Comments By SrI V Sadagopan:

This is one of the Maanasa SambhOdhana krithi, where the Saint assumes Naayaki Bhaavam and requests his mind to rush quickly to her Naayakan's (Sri Raaman's) side and bring Him back quickly for a happy union with Him. AzhwArs like ParakAlan (Swamy NammAzhwAr) and ParAnkusan ( Thirumangai Azhwar) have experienced this Bhaavam and have begged their minds to unite them with the Lord, Sriman NaarAyaNan, in their divya prabhandha Paasurams. They have also declared that the mind, body and beauty are of no use unless they are offered in service to the Lord. The AzhwArs have sent birds and bees (standing for AchAryAs) as messengers to the Lord to describe their state of desperation and to bring Him back to them. Sometimes, they have asked their minds to intervene before things go too far. The entire decad of 4.8 of NammAzhwAr's Thirumozhi is an example of the Naayaki's vipralambha srungAram.

The great AchAryan, AlawandAr summarized the spirit of this decad in the 57th slOkam of SthOthra Rathnam this way:

na dEham na prANAn na cha sukhamasEsha ahilashitham

nachAthmAnam naanyath kimapi tava sEshathva vibhavAth

bahirbhUtham Naatha KshaNamapi sahE yaathu sadathA

vinAsam tath Sathyam Madhumathana Vijn~Apanam idham

(Meaning): Oh MadhusUdhanA! This is the most truthful statement. I swear that my body, prANan, desire, sukham are for Your BhOgam, since my anAdhi sEshathvam is ubhayuktham (subservient) to You as sarva Seshi. If these are not used by You and if they fall outside Your desire, let them all disintegrate. What is the use of them? Sri AaLavandhAr reveals a deep saasthrArtham here, which focuses on the fact that for mumukshus, whatever that is not used for Bhagavath-Kaimkaryam is thyAjyam (to be abandoned).

NammAzhwAr has declared in this context:

aDalAzhi taDakkaiyaan paNi mAnam pizhayAmE adiyEnaip

paNi konDa maNimAyan kavaraatha mada nenjaal kuRaivilamE

(thiruvaimozhi: 4.8.2).

NammAzhwAr says: What is the use of this mind of mine, which has not longed for the experience of embracing the powerful Lord with the fiery disc on His hand? He reminds the mind of its uselessness, if it does not celebrate and enjoy the Lord.

NammAzhwAr is tough on his mind. Saint ThyagarAjA is more considerate and appeals gently to his mind and sends it on a mission to bring the Lord back, just as ANDAL did in NaachiyAr Thirumozhi.

Saint asks his mind to go quickly to the Lord's side and bring Him back rightaway to his side (tsanithODi dEvE Oh manasA). Naayaki gives a word of advise to her mind regarding how to bring the Lord to her side. She instructs the manas to hold the Lord's hand with karuNA and bring Him to her presence willingly so that they can enjoy each other's company for a very, very long time (chira kaalamu sukham anubhavimpa).

The mind asks the Naayaki a question. How am I going to recognize this Naayakan of yours? The Naayaki replies: It is not difficult to recognize Him. He is the One, who redeems those, who have strayed away from the path of righteousness. He will have the tejas of hundreds of Manmathans. He is ThyagarAja hruth sanchAri. Finally, He is the One, who observes PaaramArthika doctrines strictly (Paramaartha matha VisishtAnusArini). He strictly executes the doctrines related to parama hitham (saraNAgathi) as saraNAgatha vrathee. You won’t have any problem recognizing Him. He stands out with no one equal to Him or superior to Him.

The charaNam words used by Saint ThyagarAjA in this krithi to describe the Lord for the benefit of his mind are beautiful:

pathithula brOchE pattadhikAruni

Paramaartha Matha VisishtAnusArini

Dhyuthi nirjitha satha SambharaariNi

dhurINa Thyagaraaja hrucchArini

Raama DhAsan,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

 

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/cani_toDi.doc

 

PDF:

http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/tyagaraja_kritis_project/pdf/cani_toDi.pdf

 

AUDIO

http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/tyagaraja_kritis_project/audio/ChanitoditeveAlathur.mp3

http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/tyagaraja_kritis_project/audio/ChanitoditeveDKP.mp3