August 31, 2017 - Dikshitar's Nilotpalanayike

(Tiruvarur Lord Tyagaraja and Devi Nilotpalamba - sreenivasarao's blogs)

śrīmuttusvāmīdīkṣitaviracita śrīnīlōtpalanāyike

śrīnīlotpalanāyike jagadambike

śrīnagaranāyike māmava varadāyike

dīnajanārtiprabhañjanarītigaurave

deśikapradarśitacidrūpiṇi natabhairave

ānandātmānubhave adrirājasamudbhave

sūnaśarārivaibhave jñānasudhārṇave śive

saṅkalpavikalpātmakacittavṝttijāle

sādhujanārādhitasadgurukaṭākṣamūle

saṅkaṭaharadhūrīṇataraguruguhānukūle

ṣamastaviśvotpattisthitilayādikāle

viṭaṅkatyāgaṛājamohitavicitralīle

saṅkari kṛpālavāle hātakamayacele

paṅkajanayanaviśāle padmarāgamaṇimāle
saṅkarasannutabāle śāradagāna lole

jagadambike śrī nīlotpala nāyike - Oh Universal Mother, the queen who has a blue lotus-like appearance!

śrī nagara nāyike - The goddess who lords over Srinagara, also the Sri Chakra, representing all creation, 

vara dāyike  - Kind Giver of boons, 

dīnajana arti prabhañjana rīti gaurave - The One famed for destroying the misery of the wretched (devotees),

deśika pradarśita cidrūpiṇi - The One who graced the learned with Your form of Abolute Consciousness,

bhairave nata  - (The One to whom) Shiva as Bhairava bowed, 

ānanda atmā anubhave - The embodiment of soul's experience of bliss,

adri rāja samudbhave - born to the Mountain king,

sūna śara ari vaibhave - the beloved of (Shiva) who was the enemy of Cupid/Manmatha wielding arrows of flowers, 

jñāna sudha arṇave śive - The Ocean of the nectar of wisdom, Oh Consort of Shiva!

saṅkalpa vikalpa ātmaka citta vṝtti jāle - The One who weaves the web of mind's tendencies for resoluteness and dissoluteness,

sādhu jan ārādhita sadguru kaṭākṣa mūle - The Source of Guru's grace, whom the virtuous and noble devotees supplicate to, 

saṅkaṭa hara dhūrīṇa tara guruguha anukūle - The One who facilitates Guruguha, adept at removing (my) woes, 

ṣamasta viśvotpatti sthiti laya ādi kāle -The Source called Time, responsible for all creation, sustenance and dissolution,

viṭaṅka tyāgaṛāja mohita vicitra līle - The One engaged in the divine/inscrutable play of bewitching the beautiful Lord Tyagaraja = Shiva of Tiruvarur, 

saṅkari kṛpālavāle hātaka maya cele - Oh Shankari, full of compassion, wearing golden raiments, 

paṅkaja nayana viśāle padmarāga maṇi māle - With big lotus-like eyes, wearing a necklace of rubies and gems!,
saṅkara sannuta bāle - The One to whom even Shiva bows down (as the Cosmic Source of all Creative energy),
śāradā gāna lole - The One addressed as Sharada*, and One who loves song, 

ava māṃ  - please save me!

* Sharada is the Goddess of the wintry lake, in Srinagar, also called goddess Mahasarasvati, the source of all human knowledge.

The great Carnatic composer, one of the Trinity, Sri Muttuswami Dikshitar, paid his tribute to Goddess Neelotpalambika, the other consort of Lord Tyagaraja in Tiruvarur, in a unique way. The main deity there is Kamalamba, the Devi in Yogic pose, in whose honour are his Navavarana kritis.

He offered Her songs in the eight Sanskrit declensions, and introduced  eight variations of gaula. This song is in Nari Ritigaula, addressed in the vocative declension, and you can hear it here. (Click  the link to watch/hear my favourite musician!)

August 30, 2017: Valmiki Ramayana

śrīmadvālmīkirāmāyaṇaṃ -kiṣkindhākāṇḍaḥ

saṃskārakramasaṃpannām adbhutām avilambitām |

uccārayati kalyāṇīm vācam hṛdayaharṣiṇīm || 4-3-32 ||

anayā citrayā vācā tristhānavyañjanasthayā |

kasya na ārādhyate cittam udyat ase areḥ api || 4-3-33 ||

uccārayati  vācaṃ- Rama tells Lakshmana: (This Hanuman) utters words

saṃskārakramasaṃpannāṃ -endowed with culture and orderly arrangement,

adbhutām avilambitāṃ - (hence these words are) remarkable, and not convoluted (not beating round the bush),

kalyāṇīm  hṛdayaharṣiṇīṃ - and therefore auspicious, gladdening our hearts;

vācā citrayā anayā - By these words, uttered by this gentleman, 

tristhānavyañjanasthayā - which has been intoned/articulated from the three centres (proper centres of speech, viz. the navel/pit of stomach, heart and vocal chord).

kasya cittaṃ na ārādhyate - whose (which listener's) mind will not be moved, favourably influenced (by these words),

api areḥ udyat ase  - even if the enemy's  sword has been raised to strike (i.e. the listener is an enemy and he is ready to strike)?

I have taken these shlokas from that portion of the Valmiki Ramayana wherein Hanuman, disguised as a mendicant, comes to enquire who Rama and Lakshmana are, and why they,of royal demeanour, dressed in barks themselves, and yet armed with powerful weapons, are wandering in the forest. He diplomatically and elegantly makes his enquiries, making a friendly overture, and also reveals that he is Hanuman, the minister of the Vanara king Sugriva. 

Rama is mightily pleased with his diplomatic speech, and tells Lakshmana how Hanuman has to be a Vedic scholar of great learning, maturity, astute diplomacy, and gift of speech. These two shlokas are just an extract.

Who will tire of reliving those poetic, epic, moments of Ramayana!?

August 29, 2017: Shiva Mahimna Stotra

śrīpuṣpadantaviracita
śivamāhimnastotram

atītaḥ panthānaṁ tava ca mahimā vāṅmānasayoratadvyāvṛttyā yaṁ 

cakitamabhidhatte śrutirapi       |
sa kasya stotavyaḥ katividhaguṇaḥ 

kasya viṣayaḥ pade tvarvācīne 

patati na manaḥ kasya na vacaḥ     ||2||

tava mahimā - (Oh Lord Shiva!), Your glory

vāṅmānasayoḥ panthānaṃ atītaḥ - (Is) beyond the reach/ambit of speech and thought ;

ca api śrutiḥ - and, whilst even the Vedas

cakitaṃ  abhidhatte  - in astonishment describe (actually give up describing)

yaṃ atad vyāvṛttyā  - whom=You by saying "not that", i.e. using exclusions;

saḥ stotavyaḥ kasya - such a person (=You, Lord Shiva) is extollable (with apt descriptions) by whom?

(saḥ)kati vidhaguṇaḥ - - such a person (=You, Lord Shiva) has how many varieties of attributes?

(saḥ)viṣayaḥ kasya - (such a person) can be perceived by whom?

tu kasya na manaḥ na vacaḥ - however, whose mind or word doesn't 

patati pade arvācīne  - drop/enter into that state of beyond (through Your contemplation)?

Pushpadanta, the poet here, is a heavenly musician (Gandharva) who loves flowers, visits a garden in his invisible form,  and robs many wonderful flowers. But the garden belongs to a king, Chitraratha, who grows the flowers only for Shiva's worship. The king finds flowers disappearing, and wants to catch the magical thief. He spreads nirmalya flowers (made sacred by being already used in worship the previous day) on the garden ground. Pushapadanta commits the sin of stepping on the sacred nirmalya flowers, and loses his magical invisibility. He is caught and tied up. He then bursts into the Shiva Mahimna Stotra, a wonderful poem extolling the indescribable glories of Shiva. He thereby pleases Shiva who releases him from the bondage.

You can see how the poet has managed to convey the transcendental glories of Shiva by using negatives and rhetorical questions.

August 28, 2017: Annamacharya's Bhavayami

annamācārya viracita bhāvayāmi gopālabālam

bhāvayāmi gopālabālaṃ manassevitaṃ tatpadaṃ cintayehaṃ sadā ||

 kaṭighaṭita mekhalā khacitamaṇighaṇṭikā paṭalaninadena vibhrājamānam |

      kuṭilapadaghaṭita saṇkulaśiñjitena tam | chaṭulanaṭanasamujjvalavilāsam ||

niratakarakalitanavanītaṃ brahmādisuranikarabhāvanāśobhitapadam |

      tiruveṅkaṭācalasthitaṃ anupamaṃ harim | paramapuruṣaṃ gopālabālam ||

Re-ordered Word-by-word Meaning

bhāvayāmi gopālabālaṃ manassevitaṃ - I adore that cowherd boy, who is worshippable in my mind itself. (i.e. no need for elaborate physical worship).

ahaṃ sadā tatpadaṃ cintaye - (and thus) I constantly meditate on His feet.

(His description follows):

taṃ  vibhrājamānam - (I meditate on) Him, who is resplendent, with

khacitamaṇighaṇṭikā mekhalā  kaṭighaṭitā paṭalaninadena -

a belt tied round His waist, which is studded with gems, and tinkling bells; and by the rustle of the upper cloth, the bells are making a sound.

chaṭulanaṭanasamujjvalavilāsam - (I meditate on Him) who is engaged in totally captivating and charming play, 

kuṭilapadaghaṭita saṇkulaśiñjitena - as He takes unsteady little steps (as a small boy) which occasion the soft sounding of his anklets,

niratakarakalitanavanītaṃ - (I meditate on Him) who is busy playing and eating butter filling his tender palms,

brahmādisuranikarabhāvanāśobhitapadam - and Lo! This tender boy's feet are luminous from the impassioned worship of gods, starting with Brahma himself!

anupamaṃ harim tiruveṅkaṭācalasthitaṃ - (I meditate on Him), Lord Hari/Vishnu, who is incomparable in glory, and is established atop the holy Venkatachala,

paramapuruṣaṃ gopālabālam - and who is the Supreme Lord, and yet is accessible to me as this tender cowherd boy, Krishna!

This prayer of Annamacharya has been immortalised in song by Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi, and her song has been rendered by many many singers of late. I heard her sing this in 1980/81 at Rama Seva Mandali, and was simply blown away by the sweetness of the tune, the words, and the way Smt. Radha accompanied her.

This text of the original words is based on iterative research, as no ready resources are free from mistakes. Anyway I am sure of the text as I have translated here. It has to be, in terms of the Sanskrit language, cintayehaṃ, and not cintayeyaṃ, as was sung.  The reason is that the poet is already in prayer (present tense, and has no need to suggest that he would like to pray in some hypothetical time (the optative verb form means that).

August 27, 2017: Kalidasa Shyamaladandakam

mahākavi kālidāsa viracita śrīśyāmalādanḍakam

jaya janani sudhāsamudrāntarudyanmaṇidvīpa saṃrūḍhabilvāṭavīmadhya kalpadrumākalpakādambakāntāravāsapriye kṛttivāsapriye sarvalōkapriye

sādarārabdha saṅgītasambhāvanāsambhramālola nīpasragābaddhacūlīsanāthatrike sānumatputrike

Re-ordered word-by-word meaning

jaya janani - Glory to you, Mother!

sudhāsamudrāntaḥ- In the middle of the milky ocean,

udyanmaṇidvīpa- on an island of shining gems that emerged,

saṃrūḍhabilvāṭavīmadhya - in the forest of Bilva trees that has sprung up,

kalpadrumākalpa - resplendent owing to the divine trees present,

kādambakāntāra - in the wood of Kadamba trees,

vāsapriye - You love to reside!

kṛttivāsapriye - You are the consort of Shiva, wearing animal skins,

sarvalōkapriye - You are the beloved of the whole world!

sādarārabdha - Begun with due a welcoming reverence, 

saṅgītasambhāvanāsambhrama- a very impactful and moving, celebratory music ālola - You are enjoying that music

nīpasragābaddhacūlī - a long pleat of your luscious hair adorned with neepa flowers,

sanāthatrike- that descends long to your seat (rear), sānumatputrike - (Glory to you, Oh )Daughter of the mountain!

The poet Kalidasa is perhaps the most eloquent and productive among the greats of Samskrita literature, living in post-Puranic times and telling us stories in highly imaginative poetry. The Shyamala-dandakam is a long recitation of prayer he is supposed to have burst into, on receiving the grace of Mother Kali or Durga, who conferred erudition and literary genius on him. The long poem is highly euphonic and alliterative, and challenges one to split the words correctly.

I will share more lines from the Dandakam as we go along.

August 26, 2017: Mukundamala

śrī  mukundamāla

mukunda mūrdhnā praṇipatya yāce

bhavantamekantamiyantamartham        |

avismṛtistvaccaraṇāravinde

bhave bhave me'stu bhavatprasādāt     ||

nāhaṃ vande tava caraṇayordvandvamadvandvahetoḥ

kumbhīpākaṃ gurumapi hare nārakaṃ nāpanetum  |

ramyārāmāmṛdutanulatā nandane nāpi rantuṃ

bhāve bhāve hṛdayabhavane bhāvayeyaṃ bhavantam       ||

Re-ordered word-by-word meaning

śrī  mukundamāla

mukunda - Oh Mukunda!

bhavantam ekantam    -Of You, in private audience,

 yāce praṇipatya mūrdhnā - I beg You, bowing down my head, (connotes absolute supplication)

iyantam artham - this much (of substance/value!)

bhave bhave bhavatprasādāt - birth after birth, by Your grace,  

avismṛtiḥ - (that) there shall not be any forgetfulness , ie let there be constant remembrance 

tvaccaraṇāravinde - of Your lotus feet

me astu  - (let it be so) for me.

 hare - Oh Hari! ahaṃ na vande - I do not pray

tava caraṇayoḥ dvandvam advandvahetoḥ - at your (pair of) feet that can instantly confer release from the duality of pleasure and pain that is a reality of all existence, (that)

na apanetum api- Not to eliminate either

nārakaṃ gurum kumbhīpākaṃ - (the prospect of suffering) Hell's terrible boiling oil baths,

 na api rantuṃ ramyā-rāmā-mṛdutanulatā-nandane - nor for the prospect of enjoying in heaven the company of lovely, charming, women, of slender limbs,

BUT I DO PRAY ONLY THAT

bhāve bhāve - I, birth after birth,

bhāvayeyaṃ - shall definitely cherish, by constant remembrance,

bhavantam -You, Oh Lord,  hṛdayabhavane  - in my heart's shrine.

These shlokas typify the devotee's constant prayer to God, to give constant remembrance. The joy and blessedness of that experience is paramount. Not salvation, liberation, heavenly pleasures, or escape from hell. 

Someone in Basavanagudi used to recite Mukundamala every morning as he cycled some 20 km to HAL factory. He would start early, and he would pass our home, around 6:00 am or so, in the chilly misty Bangalore morning, as he would be chanting these shlokas audibly. How blessed I was to listen to this, every morning, to add to the joy of praying at the Narayana temple opposite our home any time I wanted!

August 25, 2017: Vishnu Shatpadi

ādiśaṅkaraviracita śrī viṣṇuṣaṭpadī   (closing verse)

nārāyaṇa karuṇāmaya śaraṇaṃ

karavāṇi tāvakau caraṇau           |

iti ṣaṭpadī madīye

vadanasaroje sadā vasatu          ||

Re-ordered Word-by-word meaning

nārāyaṇa - Oh Narayana! 

karuṇāmaya - One full of compassion! 

tāvakau caraṇau - to your lotus feet

karavāṇi   śaraṇaṃ - I shall bow down

        |

iti ṣaṭpadī -  May These six words 

madīye vadanasaroje - in my lotus face/mouth

sadā vasatu  - dwell always  !   

The ṣaṭpadī ends with this prayer that I may utter these six words always. It has a second meaning, owing to clever Samskrita construction, that these six words are like a bee (shatpadi also means a six-legged creature!), and may that bee always dwell inside the lotus called my mouth. The mouth gets sanctified into a lotus by the utterance of these six words of prayer, and the prayer buzzes like a bee constantly in my mouth!

Glory to Shankara!

August 24, 2017: Ganesha Pancharatnam

ādiśaṅkarāviracita ganeṣapañcaratnam

mudā karāttamodakaṃ sadā vimuktisādhakam

kalādharāvataṃsakaṃ vilāsilokarakṣakam             |

anāyakaikanāyakaṃ vināśitebhadaityakam

natāśubhāśunāśakaṃ namāmi taṃ vināyakam       ||

Re-ordered Word-by-word meaning

namāmi taṃ - I bow down to Him,

mudā karāttamodakaṃ - who holds charmingly the modaka sweet in his hand, (modaka here symbolises ultimate knowledge=wisdom, and Ganesha holds it in His hand with ease, which shows his mastery)

sadā vimuktisādhakam - Always (dependable as) a means for liberation, 

kalādharāvataṃsakaṃ - wearing the crescent moon as an ornament,

vilāsilokarakṣakam  - He sportingly/playfully protects the world,

anāyakaikanāyakaṃ - He has no overlord as He himself is the lone Lord of all creation,

vināśitebhadaityakam - One who occasioned the killing of the elephant demon (by Shiva/Shiva ganas),

natāśubhāśunāśakaṃ - One who instantly destroys all evil for those who bow to him,

vināyakam - Lord Vinayaka! Lord Ganesha!

This wonderful prayer has been rendered musically by many stalwarts. Again, we see the great poetry of Adi Sankara.

Happy Ganesha Festival to all!

August 23, 2017: Vishnu Shatpadi

ādiśaṅkara-viracita   śri viṣṇu-ṣaṭpadī  (continued)

matsyādibhiravatārairavatāravatāvatāṃ

sadā vasudhām   |

parameśvara paripālyo bhavatā

bhavatāpabhīto'ham   ||

dāmodara guṇamandira

sundaravadanāravinda govinda   |

bhavajaladhimathanamandara  paramaṃ

daramapanaya tvaṃ me      ||

Re-ordered Word-by-word Meaning

matsyādibhiravatāraiḥ - Through Your splendid incarnations as Matsya and so on...

tāṃ vasudhām - her, Mother Earth ( i.e. all life-forms on earth)

sadā avatāravat āva - always did You save, as the declared vow of your incarnations

parameśvara - Oh Supreme Lord!

ahaṃ - I am bhavatāpabhītaḥ  - terrified of worldly suffering paripālyaḥ - (and hence) qualified to be saved 

bhavatā - by You (just as You saved the world many times).

dāmodara - Oh Young Krishna with the rope round your waist! guṇamandira - the abode of all virtues,

govinda - Oh Govinda! sundaravadanāravinda - of beautiful lotus-like face!

bhavajaladhimathanamandara - Oh Lord who as Mandara mountain churned the entire ocean of this world,

tvaṃ - You, apanaya - please remove  me - my 

paramaṃ daraṃ- great dread (fear of Samsara).

By now you must be able to enjoy the wonderful euphony of alliterative sounds and words in the Vishnu Shatpadi. This completes the six verses. The seventh one, we see tomorrow, to be the benediction.

August 22, 2017 : Vishnu Shatpadi

ādiśaṅkara-viracita   śri viṣṇu-ṣaṭpadī  (continued)

satyapi bhedāpagame nātha 

tavāhaṃ na māmakīnastvaṃ |   

sāmudro hi taraṅgaḥ kvacana

samudro na tāraṅgaḥ   ||

uddhṛtanaga nagabhidanuja

danujakulāmitra mitraśaśidṛṣṭe  |

dṛṣṭe bhavati prabhavati na

bhavati kiṃ bhava tiraskāraḥ     ||

Re-ordered Word-by-word meaning

nātha - oh Lord! satyapi - indeed, if it were to come about that bhedāpagame - the difference between you and me were removed, tavāhaṃ - I would become yours,

tvaṃ na māmakīnaḥ  - (but) not that you become mine. 

taraṅgaḥ sāmudro hi - It is just like that the waves are a part of the ocean.  kvacana na - But never

samudro  tāraṅgaḥ - does the sea become a part of the waves.

uddhṛtanaga - Oh Lord who lifted the (Govardhana) mountain! nagabhidanuja - And are (as Vamana) the younger brother of Indra who cleft the mountain,

danujakulāmitra - You are the enemy of the race of demons, 

mitraśaśidṛṣṭe - and Your eyes are the sun and the moon,

dṛṣṭe bhavati*- when You are seen (i.e. I have Your vision)- , prabhavati na bhavati kiṃ* - won't the cycle of births cease,

bhava tiraskāraḥ  - and I transcend/renounce this world?

*this is sati saptami prayoga

Will be further continued....😊

August 21, 2017 : Mukundamala

||    kulaśekharaviracita mukundamālāstotram   ||

kṛṣṇa tvadīya-pada-paṅkaja-pañjarāntam

adyaiva me viśatu mānasa-rāja-haṁsaḥ

prāṇa-prayāṇa-samaye kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ

kaṇṭhāvarodhana-vidhau smaraṇaṁ kutas te

kara-caraṇa-saroje kāntiman-netra-mīne

śrama-muṣi bhuja-vīci-vyākule 'gādha-mārge

hari-sarasi vigāhyāpīya tejo-jalaughaṁ

bhava-maru-parikhinnaḥ kleśam adya tyajāmi

Re-ordered Word -by-word meaning

kṛṣṇa - Oh Krishna! adyaiva - right now me mānasa-rāja-haṁsaḥ - (let) my mind, which ought to be like a royal swan tvadīya-pada-paṅkaja-pañjarāntam -inside the vault/cage of your lotus feet viśatu - rest/make its home. (For)

kutaḥ - How will it be possible for me , te smaraṇaṁ - to ensure my remembering and chanting your resurrecting name, prāṇa-prayāṇa-samaye - at the moment of my life-breath passing 

kaṇṭhāvarodhana-vidhau - as my vocal chords would be constricted kapha-vāta-pittaiḥ - by phlegm and wind and bile? 

bhava-maru-parikhinnaḥ - (I who am) wretched and distressed wandering in the inhospitable desert of worldliness, 

hari-sarasi - in the vast lake/ocean of God called Hari

kara-caraṇa-saroje - filled with the lotuses of His hands and feet, kāntiman-netra-mīne - with fishes brightly darting viz. his eyes, bhuja-vīci-vyākule - with His arms moving and busily engaged in śrama-muṣi - removing my hardship and tiredness, agādha-mārge - of vastness in size ( with no paucity to accommodate me)

vigāhya - having plunged into it āpīya - having drunk to my heart's content of tejo-jalaughaṁ - that potent and copious waters,  kleśam - my distress and difficulty, 

adya - rightaway tyajāmi - shall abandon.

The first shloka illustrates the wisdom of the devotee who pleads with God to grant him the grace to engage in devotional prayer right now, realising that there is no sense in postponing prayer to the moment of death, when one is unable to cope with illness and therefore unable to think of God and pray.

The second shloka is a prayer from the devotee who compares worldly troubles to a burning desert and the effect of engaging in prayer to a plunge into a cool, vast, lake which actively removes distress.

mukundamala is a wonderful prayer which I learnt as a kid!