Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Thyagaraja Kriti - Varadaa Navaneetaasa - Raga Ragapanjaram

Transliteration–Telugu
Transliteration as per Modified Harvard-Kyoto (HK) Convention
(including Telugu letters – Short e, Short o) -

a A i I u U
R RR lR lRR
e E ai o O au M (H or :)

(e – short E – Long o – short O – Long)

k kh g gh n/G
c ch j jh n/J (jn – as in jnAna)
T Th D Dh N
t th d dh n
p ph b bh m
y r l L v
S sh s h

varadA navanItASa-rAgapanjaraM

In the kRti ‘varadA navanItASa’ – rAga rAgapanjaraM, SrI tyAgarAja extols the Lord.

pallavi
varadA 1navanIt(A)Sa pAhi
vara dAnava mada 2nASa Ehi


anupallavi
Sara-d(A)bha kara vidhRta
Sar(3A)Sara-d(A)Suga suma Sara-d(A)Sa rahita (vara)


caraNam
dvirad(A)dbhuta gamana pura dahana nuta
sphurad-AbharaN(A)jar(A)vana para
gara-d(A)Sana turaga ratha 4dyuti jita
vara dAsa jan(A)grEsara tyAgarAja (vara)


Gist

  • O Bestower of boons! O Lord who is fond of fresh butter! O Excellent Lord who destroyed the arrogance of the demons!

  • O Lord who resembles rain-cloud! O Lord who wields arrows in His hands! O Wind that blows away clouds called demons! O Father of Cupid! O Lord bereft of desires!

  • O Lord who has a wonderful gait like that of an elephant! O Lord praised by Lord Siva! O Lord wearing lustrous ornaments! O Lord who is best in protecting celestials! O Lord who has garuDa as carrier which moves fast! O Lord who has conquered (the minds of) the blessed eminent devotees by his splendour! O Bestower of boons to this tyAgarAja!


    • Please protect me; please come near.



Word-by-word Meaning

pallavi
varadA navanIta-ASa pAhi
vara dAnava mada nASa Ehi

O Bestower of boons (varadA)! O Lord who is fond (ASa) of fresh butter (navanIta) (navanItASa)! Please protect (pAhi) me;
O Excellent (vara) Lord who destroyed (nASa) the arrogance (mada) of the demons (dAnava)! Please come near (Ehi).


anupallavi
Sara-da-Abha kara vidhRta
Sara-ASara-da-ASuga suma Sara-da-ASa rahita (vara)

O Lord who resembles (Abha) rain-cloud (Sara-da) (SaradAbha)! O Lord who wields (vidhRta) arrows (Sara) in His hands (kara)! O Wind (ASuga) that blows away clouds (da) called demons (ASara) (SarASaradASuga)!
O Father (da) (literally producer) of Cupid – One who has flower (suma) arrows (Sara)! O Lord bereft (rahita) of desires (ASa) (SaradASa)!
O Bestower of boons! O Lord who is fond of fresh butter! Please protect me; O Excellent Lord who destroyed the arrogance of the demons! Please come near.


caraNam
dvirada-adbhuta gamana pura dahana nuta
sphurad-AbharaNa-ajara-avana para
gara-da-aSana turaga ratha dyuti jita
vara dAsa jana-agrEsara tyAgarAja (vara)

O Lord who has a wonderful (adbhuta) gait (gamana) like that of an elephant – the twin-tusked (dvirada) (dviradAdbhuta)! O Lord praised (nuta) by Lord Siva – one who burnt to ashes (dahana) the three fortresses (pura)!
O Lord wearing lustrous (sphurat) ornaments (AbharaNa)! O Lord who is best (para) in protecting (avana) celestials (ajara) (literally who have no old age) (sphuradAbharaNAjarAvana)!
O Lord who has garuDa – eater (aSana) of snakes – having poison (gara-da) (garadASana) – as carrier (ratha) (literally chariot) which moves fast (turaga)!
O Lord who has conquered (jita) (the minds of) the blessed (vara) eminent (agrEsara) devotees (dAsa jana) (janAgrEsara) by his splendour (dyuti)!
O Bestower of boons to this tyAgarAja! Lord who is fond of fresh butter! Please protect me; O Excellent Lord who destroyed the arrogance of the demons! Please come near.


Notes –
Variations
1 – navanItASa – navnItASA.

2 – nASa – nASA.

Comments -
3 – ASaradASuga (ASara+da+ASuga)– SrI tyAgarAja, in many kRtis uses ‘ASara’ to mean ‘demons’; similarly he uses ‘ASuga’ to mean ‘wind’. In the book 'Compositions of Tyagaraja' by Sri TK Govinda Rao, this epithet seems to have been translated as ‘wind that dispels the clouds of rAkshasas’. In order to have such a meaning, a word to mean ‘cloud’ should be there. But there seems to be no such meaning to the word ‘da’. If it is 'Sara-da' (ASara+Sara-da+ASuga), then only it would be correct to derive such a meaning. Is word 'Sara' missing here?

‘da’ means ‘to cut off’; if it is taken in that sense, then ‘ASuga’ does not seem to fit. ‘Wind that cuts off demons’ does not seem to be appropriate.

‘ASuga’ also means ‘arrow’. In that sense, it is possible to interpret as ‘one whose arrows (ASuga) cut off (da) demons (ASara)’.

Therefore, the epithet seems to be doubtful.

4 – dyuti jita vara dAsa janAgrEsara – In keeping with translation as given in the ibid book, this has been translated as ‘one who has won the hearts of his great devotees by his splendour’. But, ‘dyuti jita’ is always attached to an object like ‘moon’ which is compared to the ‘face’ or ‘body’. There is some doubt about this epithet also.

General – According to Grouping of kRtis in the ibid book, this kRti seems to have been sung on kAnci varadarAja.



Devanagari

ऎ,कॆ,चॆ.. - e,ke,ce..(short);
ए,के,चे.. - E,kE,cE..(long);
ऐ,कै,चै.. - ai,kai,cai..;
ऒ,कॊ,चॊ.. - o,ko,co..(short);
ओ,को,चो.. - O,kO,cO..(long);
औ,कौ,चौ.. -au,kau,cau..;

प. वरदा नवनी(ता)श पाहि
वर दानव मद नाश एहि

अ. शर(दा)भ कर विधृत
श(रा)शर(दा)शुग सुम शर(दा)श रहित (वर)

च. द्विर(दा)द्भुत गमन पुर दहन नुत
स्फुर(दा)भर(णा)ज(रा)वन पर
गर(दा)शन तुरग रथ द्युति जित
वर दास ज(ना)ग्रेसर त्यागराज (वर)


Tamil

க,ச,ட,த,ப - 2-ख छ ठ थ फ; 3-ग ड द ब; 4-घ झ ढ ध भ
(ச3 - ஜ)
ஸ1 श - शिव - சிவன்
ரு2 ऋ - कृप - கிருபை

ப. வரதா3 நவனீ(தா)ஸ1 பாஹி
வர தா3னவ மத3 நாஸ1 ஏஹி

அ. ஸ1ர(தா3)ப4 கர வித்4ரு2த
ஸ1(ரா)ஸ1ர(தா3)ஸு1க3 ஸும ஸ1ர(தா3)ஸ1 ரஹித (வர)

ச. த்3விர(தா3)த்3பு4த க3மன புர த3ஹன நுத
ஸ்பு2ர(தா3)ப4ர(ணா)ஜ(ரா)வன பர
க3ர(தா3)ஸ1ன துரக3 ரத2 த்3யுதி ஜித
வர தா3ஸ ஜ(னா)க்3ரேஸர த்யாக3ராஜ (வர)

வரதா! வெண்ணெய் விரும்புவோனே! காப்பாய்;
அரக்கரின் செருக்கினையழித்த மேலோனே! அருகில் வாராய்

முகில் வண்ணா! கையில் அம்பேந்துவோனே!
அரக்கரெனும் முகிலை விரட்டும் புயலே! மலர்க் கணையோனை யீன்றோனே! இச்சைகளற்றோனே!
வரதா! வெண்ணெய் விரும்புவோனே! காப்பாய்;
அரக்கரின் செருக்கினையழித்த மேலோனே! அருகில் வாராய்

வியத்தகு களிறு நடையோனே! புரமெரித்தோனால் போற்றப் பெற்றோனே!
சுடர்விடும் அணிகலன்களோனே! மூப்பற்றோரைக் காப்பதில் வல்லவனே!
நச்சரவுண்போனின் விரைவுத் தேரோனே! தன்னொளியினால்
தலையாய தொண்டர்களின் (மனத்தினை) வென்றோனே! தியாகராசனின்
வரதா! வெண்ணெய் விரும்புவோனே! காப்பாய்;
அரக்கரின் செருக்கினையழித்த மேலோனே! அருகில் வாராய்

மலர்க் கணையோன் - மன்மதன்
மூப்பற்றோர் - வானவர்
நச்சரவுண்போன் - கருடன்


Telugu

ప. వరదా నవనీతాశ పాహి
వర దానవ మద నాశ ఏహి

అ. శరదాభ కర విధృత
శరాశరదాశుగ సుమ శరదాశ రహిత (వర)

చ. ద్విరదాద్భుత గమన పుర దహన నుత
స్ఫురదాభరణాజరావన పర
గరదాశన తురగ రథ ద్యుతి జిత
వర దాస జనాగ్రేసర త్యాగరాజ (వర)


Kannada

ಪ. ವರದಾ ನವನೀತಾಶ ಪಾಹಿ
ವರ ದಾನವ ಮದ ನಾಶ ಏಹಿ

ಅ. ಶರದಾಭ ಕರ ವಿಧೃತ
ಶರಾಶರದಾಶುಗ ಸುಮ ಶರದಾಶ ರಹಿತ (ವರ)

ಚ. ದ್ವಿರದಾದ್ಭುತ ಗಮನ ಪುರ ದಹನ ನುತ
ಸ್ಫುರದಾಭರಣಾಜರಾವನ ಪರ
ಗರದಾಶನ ತುರಗ ರಥ ದ್ಯುತಿ ಜಿತ
ವರ ದಾಸ ಜನಾಗ್ರೇಸರ ತ್ಯಾಗರಾಜ (ವರ)


Malayalam

പ. വരദാ നവനീതാശ പാഹി
വര ദാനവ മദ നാശ ഏഹി

അ. ശരദാഭ കര വിധൃത
ശരാശരദാശുഗ സുമ ശരദാശ രഹിത (വര)

ച. ദ്വിരദാദ്ഭുത ഗമന പുര ദഹന നുത
സ്ഫുരദാഭരണാജരാവന പര
ഗരദാശന തുരഗ രഥ ദ്യുതി ജിത
വര ദാസ ജനാഗ്രേസര ത്യാഗരാജ (വര)


Updated on 03 Aug 2009

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Sri Govindan
தியாகரானின் வரதா! Is a typographical error.
P- vara dAnava mada nASa- Is not vara an adjective for which you have taken the meaning excellent Lord. The adjective ‘vara’ (சிறந்த) can qualify anything. However this adjective appears to directly qualify dAnava, thereby giving unacceptable meaning. Does Sanskrit leave out many things for the imagination and interpretation of the reader, unlike a spoken and living language like Tamil?
Regards
Govindaswamy

Anonymous said...

Dear Sri Govindan
P- vara dAnava mada nASa- Is not ‘vara’ both a noun and adjective. If taken as an adjective it appears to qualify dAnava, which follows immediately and thereby not proper. However you have taken the adjectives vara to mean 'O Excellent (vara) Lord '.
AP- Similarly for suma Sara (flower arrows) the meaning has been given as 'one who has flower arrows'. As I have not studied sanskrit I wonder whether one reading sanskrit has to assume lot of implicit words and interpret the meaning after filling in the blanks.
Regards
Govindaswamy

V Govindan said...

Dear Sri Govindaswamy,
1. I have given correctly as 'தியாகராசனின் வரதா'.
2. The word 'vara' - like 'SrI' need not be a qualifier for the word immediately following. For example 'SrI tyAgarAja nuta' - in this, 'SrI' does not qualify 'tyAgarAja', but 'tyAgarAja nuta' ie the Lord. In the case of present kRti also, 'vara' would qualify 'dAnava nASa' as a whole and not 'dAnava'.
3. Re 'suma Sara' - I agree with you that often the epithets used are very cryptic. In tyAgarAja kRtis, 'suma Sara' would mean 'cupid'; such usage occurs in many Kritis.
In any case, I am very sceptic about the whole kRti - there are so many observations that I doubt whether this kRti was indeed composed by Tyagaraja. However, in the book of Sri TK Govinda Rao, this kRti is not listed as 'doubtful'. Therefore, I have left it as it is.
Regards,
V Govindan

Ramakrishnan P A said...

Dear Sri Govindan,

In the book by KVS (sahityam only), Adi Tyagaraja kirtanaikal, the anupallavi is given as:
SaradaAbha kara vidhruta Sar(A)Sara
SaradASuga...

This will fill the gap you were finding in the sahityam (missing "cloud").

I could not find this in other books. Also, not in recordings.

With Pranams

Ramakrishnan