Sri Tyagaraja Kriti Series: Kriti: bhajana sEyu mArgamu Raga:nArAyaNi

[Guest guest]



 

SrI:

SrI raghunandana parabraHmaNe namaH

Song bhajana sEyu mArgamu

raaga nArAyaNi

In the kRti ‘bhajana sEyu mArgamu’ – rAga nArAyaNi, srI tyAgarAja asks Lord to show him the path of true devotion.

Pallavi:

bhajana sEyu mArgamunu jUpavE

parama bhAgavata bhAgadhEya sad-(bhajana)

Anupallavi:

ajuDu rudruD(A)khaNDala pavanaja

vijay(A)dulu gumi kUDi nIdu caraNa (bhajana)

CaraNam:

sakala vEda sAstra purAN(A)di dIpa

sakala mantra tantra rUpa sItA-pa

sakala dEva ripu samara pratApa sAdhu

tyAgarAja nuta srI rAma nija (bhajana)

Gist

O Fortune of supreme devotees! O Light that illuminates all vEda, sAstra and purANa etc! O Embodiment of all sacred verses and mystical formulations! O Consort of sItA! O Glorious One in the battle against all the enemies of celestials! O Lord srI rAma praised by this pious tyAgarAja! Please show the path of real chanting of names. Please show the path of chanting of the glory of Your feet as done by brahmA, siva, indra, AJjanEya, vijya and others by assembling together. Please show the path of true chanting of Your names.

 

Word-by-word Meaning

P O Fortune (bhAgadhEya) of supreme (parama) devotees (bhAgavata)! Please show (jUpavE) the path (mArgamunu) of real chanting of names (sadbhajana sEyu).

A O Fortune of supreme devotees! Please show the path of chanting the glory of Your (nIdu) feet (caraNa) as done by – brahmA (ajuDu), siva (rudruDu), indra (AkhaNDala) (rudruDAkhaNDala), AnjanEya – son of vAyu (pavanaja), vijaya and others (Adulu) (vijayAdulu) by assembling (kUDi) together (gumi) (literally flock).

C O Light (dIpa) that illuminates all (sakala) vEda, sAstra and purANa etc (Adi) (purANAdi)! O Consort (pa) of sItA (sItA-pa) - the Embodiment (rUpa) of all (sakala) sacred verses (mantra) and mystical formulations (tantra)! O Glorious One (pratApa) in the battle (samara) against all (sakala) the enemies (ripu) of celestials (dEva)! O Lord srI rAma praised (nuta) by this pious (sAdhu) tyAgarAja! O Fortune of supreme devotees! Please show the path of true (nija) chanting of Your names.

Notes –

A – rudruDAkhaNDala – this is how it is given in the book of TSV/AKG. However, in the book of TKG, it is given as ‘rudrAkhaNDala’. In view of the previous word ‘ajuDu’, ‘rudruDu’ seems to be appropriate and has been adopted. This needs to be checked. Any suggestions???

A – vijaya – This may refer to the gate keepers at vaikuNTha – jaya and vijaya - stated to be parama bhAgavata or to arjuna who is also called ‘vijaya’.

C – nija bhajana – When bhajana becomes way of life – Please refer to the story of padma pAda – disciple of Adi saMkarAcArya

http://www.eaisai.com/baba/docs/d980709.html

Additional Comments By SrI V Sadagopan:

BhagavAn is Bhaagavata Priyan. He is at the same time their good fortune (Parama BhAgavata bhAgadEyan). In a series of slOkams of the 12th chapter of Srimad Bhagavad GitA, Lord KrishNa reveals how dear such BhAgavtAs/yOgis are to Him:

SantushDa: satatam yOgI yatAtmA DhruDa-niscchaya:

Mayyarpita-manO-BuddhiryO Madhbhakta: sa ME priya: Slokam 12.14

(Meaning): “He who is content, who ever meditates and is self-restrained and who is firm in his convictions, who has his mind and reason dedicated to Me—he is dear to Meâ€.

In the next verse, our Lord identifies the attributes of this BhAgavatA as one free from all desires (anapEkshi), pure (Suchi), renouncer of every undertaking for material gains (SarvArambha-parithyAgi) and declares that such a noble being is very dear to Him. Our Lord calls such a BhAgavatan as “BhaktimAnya:â€, one who is full of devotion to Him. In the concluding slOkam of the 12th chapter of Srimad Bhagavad GitA, our Lord describes these BhAgavatAs as the nectar of virtuosity and states that they are exceedingly dear to Him (BhaktAstE ateeva mE priyA:). Examples of such BhAgavatAs, who excel in traveling by the noble path of bhajanam of the Lord’s names given by Saint ThyAgarAjA are BrahmA, SivA, IndhrA and AnjanEya. Saint ThyagrajA wants to join the company of these austere BhakthAs, who excel in Raama Naama Bhajanai and wants the Lord to reveal him the true path of eulogizing His sacred feet (bhajana sEyu joopavE) so that he can also reap the benefits of such unfailing sankeertanam.

With choice salutations identifying the Lord of SitA PirAtti as the JyOthi that illumines the VedAs,SaastrAs and PurANAs, ThyAgarAja SwamigaL asks for the revelation of the true margam of reaching Him through nAma sankeertanam.

Saint ThyagarAja addresses the Lord endaringly as “sakala Veda Saastra PiurANAdhi dheepaâ€. The Supreme Brahman, who incarnated as Raama is the JyOthi of JyOthis that illumines the Vedaas, SaastrAs et al.The pramANmas are:

Mundaka Upanishad passage, “TamEva bhAntam anubhAti saravm Tasya bhAsA sarvam idham vibhAti†(Him the shining One, every thing shines after; by this light all this is lighted); The BrahadhAraNyaka Upanishad passage, “taddhEva jyOtishAm jyOtirAyur hopAstE artham†(Him the gods worship as the light of lights, as the immortal).

Two additional eulogies of Lord Raamachandra in this kriti are delectable to our ears:

(1) sakala Mantra Tantra roopa and (2) Sakala dEva ripu samara pratApa.

The first eulogy relates to Him as the embodiment of all MantrAs and TantrAs as per the adage: “Sakala dEva namaskAram Raaghavam pratigacchatiâ€.

The second eulogy pays tribute to His heroism as Raghu Veeran. He is the victor in all battles against the enemies of the dEvAs. Swamy Desikan’s Sri Raghu Veera Gadhyam passages about the Yuddha KhANDam saluting the Lord’s matchless valour are to be remembered in this context: apratidhvandhva pourusha! (Oh Lord of matchless Valour); Tryambhaka samadhika ghOrAstraaDamBara! (Oh Lord who has the arrows that far exceed the sakti of Lord Sivaa); KumbhakarNa kulagiri vidhaLana dhambhOLi bhUta nissanka kankapatra! (Oh Lord who used the arrows that tore apart the broad chest of KumbhakarNa, the mountain of RaavaNa kulam, without any doubt!).

At the end of Sri Raghuveera Gadhyam, Swamy Desikan salutes the Lord as “bhava tapana tApita bhakta jana bhadra AarAma†(Oh Lord, who is the cool and comforting grove that chases away the unbearable heat generated by the samsAric Sun). ThyAgarAja Swamigal wants to rest in the shade of the same protective grove (the Lord) and asks the Lord to teach him the proper way to eulogize Him and thereby join the Bhajanai ghOshti of the true bhAgavatAs of the Lord.

SrI Raamabhadra! namastE punastE nama:

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/bhajanasEyumArgamu.doc

 

PDF:

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

 

AUDIO

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