September 18, 2017: Bhavayami Raghuramam

|| svātitirunāḷviracita bhāvayāmi raghurāmam ||

bhāvayāmi raghurāmaṃ bhavyasuguṇārāmam ||

bhāvuka vitaraṇaparāpāṅga līlālasitam ||

 dinakarānvayatilakaṃ divyagādhisutasavanā-

vanaracitasubāhumukhavadhaṃ ahalyāpāvanam ||

anaghamīshacāpabhaṅgaṃ janakasutāprāṇesham

ghanakupitabhṛgurāmagarvaharamitasāketam ||

vihitābhiṣekamathavipinagatamāryavācā

sahitasītāsaumitriṃ shāntatamashīlam            ||

guhanilayagataṃ citrakūṭāgatabharatadatta-

mahitaratnamayapādukaṃ madanasundarāṅgam ||

Re-ordered word-by-word meaning

bhāvayāmi raghurāmaṃ bhavyasuguṇārāmam - I meditate upon the scion of Raghu dynasty, Rama, who is the repository of glorious virtues,

bhāvuka vitaraṇaparāpāṅga līlālasitam -who by his very side-glance gives great happiness, and who enacted the epic sport of Ramayana.

dinakara anvaya tilakaṃ - the toast(epitome) of the solar lineage,

divya gādhisuta savana avanaracita subāhumukha vadhaṃ 

-who slew the demons led by Subahu while protecting the fire sacrifice of the great Vishwamitra, son of Gadhi,

ahalyāpāvanam - who sanctified and liberated Ahalya,

anagham īshacāpa bhaṅgaṃ - the blemishless one who broke Shiva's bow,

janakasutā prāṇesham - the beloved of Sita, Janaka's daughter,

ghana kupita bhṛgurāma garva haram - who removed the pride of the very angry Parashurama, of Bhrigu lineage,

itasāketam - and then returned to Ayodhya.

vihita abhiṣekam atha āryavācā vipinagatam - who was chosen to be crowned as the prince, but then per his father's directive, went to the forest,

sahita sītā saumitriṃ  - accompanied by Sita and Lakshmana, and 

shāntatamashīlam  -who was the personification of composure and grace, 

guhanilayagataṃ - who visited Guha's abode, 

citrakūṭāgata bharata datta -

mahita ratnamaya pādukaṃ -who handed over, to Bharata (when he came to Chitrakuta requesting Rama to return), his sandals (to be placed as Rama's representative on the throne instead, to placate Bharata), made glorious (by his gift) and full of gems,

madana sundarāṅgam- charming in appearance like Manmatha.

This composition, tuned by Sri Semmangudi in several ragas, is an eternal favourite, especially around Ramanavami and Navaratri. It tells the story of Ramayana in the lyrical style typical of Swati Tirunal.

This song was sung gloriously by Smt. MSS, MDR, and many others, most recently by Vid. Amrutha Venkatesh.

We continue the song in the next posts.