Thyagaraja Kriti - Durmarga Chara - Raga Ranjani

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

durmArga cara-ranjani

In the kRti ‘durmArga cara’ – rAga ranjani (tALa rUpakaM), SrI tyAgarAja criticises those who sing praises of humans for the sake of wealth.

pallavi
durmArga car(A)dhamulanu
dora nIv(a)na jAlara

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anupallavi
dharm(A)tmaka ¹dhana dhAnya
²daivamu nIvai(y)uNDaga (dur)

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caraNam
³paluku bOTini sabhalOna
patita mAnavulak(o)sagu
khalulan(e)ccaTa pogaDani SrI-
kara tyAgarAja vinuta (dur)

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Gist

• O Embodiment of Virtue!
  
• O Lord who causes of prosperity!
  
• O Lord well-praised by this tyAgarAja!
  
  
  • You are the dispenser of wealth and food.
    
  • Therefore, I can’t call those ignoble persons treading the path of vice as my Master (for the sake of reward).
    
  • Neither I, anywhere, extol such vile wretches who barter sarasvati to the morally degraded persons in an assembly (for the sake of reward)!

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Word-by-word Meaning

pallavi
durmArga cara-adhamulanu
dora nIvu-ana jAlara

I can’t (jAlara) call (ana) those ignoble persons (adhamulanu) treading (cara) the path of vice (durmArga) (carAdhamulanu) - ‘You (nIvu) (nIvana) are my Master (dora)’.

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anupallavi
dharma-Atmaka dhana dhAnya
daivamu nIvai-uNDaga (dur)

O Embodiment (Atmaka) of Virtue (dharma) (dharmAtmaka)! You being (nIvai uNDaga) (nIvaiyuNDaga) the dispenser (daivamu) of wealth (dhana) and food (dhAnya) (literally cereals),
I can’t call those ignoble persons treading the path of vice - ‘You are my Master’.

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caraNam
paluku bOTini sabhalOna
patita mAnavulaku-osagu
khalulanu-eccaTa pogaDani SrI-
kara tyAgarAja vinuta (dur)

O Lord who causes (kara) of prosperity (SrI), well-praised (vinuta) by this tyAgarAja –
who does not extol (pogaDani) anywhere (eccaTa) those vile wretches (khalulanu) (khalulaneccaTa) –
who barter (osagu) (literally offer) sarasvati – the Goddess (bOTini) (literally woman) of Speech (paluku) - to the morally degraded (patita) persons (mAnavaluku) (mAnavulakosagu) in an assembly (sabhalOna) (for the sake of reward)!
I can’t call those ignoble persons treading the path of vice - ‘You are my Master’.

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Notes –
Variations -
¹ – dhana dhAnya daivamu – dhana dhAnyamu daivamu : former version seems to be more appropriate.

Comments -
² - daivamu – The word ‘daiva’ means ‘belonging to or coming from the Gods’, ‘divine power’, ‘destiny’. The wealth and other possessions procured by us are indeed those bestowed on us. Therefore, any intermediaries – like Kings etc – are not the real bestowers, but only a channel.

There is a story of Akbar - the Emperor. One of the Emperor's ministers eulogised Akbar that he (Akbar) is God indeed because Muslims pray 'allAhu akbar' – meaning 'God is Great'. Akbar thought it preposterous to call him God.

Once a mendicant came to the Court of Akbar to beg for alms. He was told that the Emperor was praying to the God (allAh). The mendicant returned without waiting for the Emperor. When Akbar enquired as to why the mendicant did not wait for him, his courtiers said that the mendicant said 'Hearing that Akbar is God, I came to the Emperor to beg for alms; but found the Emperor himself begging from the God; therefore, I would as well beg directly from Him”. Then Akbar realised that his minister was only flattering him.

³ - paluku bOTi – SrI tyAgarAja states that indulging in praise of any human by panegyrical songs, amounts to bartering sarasvati – the Goddess of Speech - for the sake of reward.

tyAgarAja refers to two sets of people – (1) kings (or the rich) treading the path of vice and (2) those who display their literary talents to such kings (or the rich) for the sake of reward.

‘Ignoble persons treading the path of vice’ (durmArga cara adhamulu) (mentioned in pallavi) and ‘morally degraded persons’ (patita mAnavulu) (mentioned in caraNam) seem to refer to the kings or the rich.

Please also refer to kRti ‘kAsiccEdE’ rAga gauLipantu.

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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. दुर्मार्ग च(रा)धमुलनु
दॊर नी(व)न जालरा

अ. ध(र्मा)त्मक धन धान्य
दैवमु नीवै(यु)ण्डग (दु)

च. पलुकु बोटिनि सभलोन
पतित मानवुल(कॊ)सगु
खलुल(नॆ)च्चट पॊगडनि श्री-
कर त्यागराज विनुत (दु)

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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. து3ர்மார்க3 ச(ரா)த4முலனு
தொ3ர நீ(வ)ன ஜாலரா

அ. த4ர்(மா)த்மக த4ன தா4ன்ய
தை3வமு நீவை(யு)ண்ட3க3 (து3)

ச. பலுகு போ3டினி ஸப4லோன
பதித மானவுல(கொ)ஸகு3
க2லுல(னெ)ச்சட பொக3ட3னி ஸ்ரீ-
கர த்யாக3ராஜ வினுத (து3)

தீய நெறி செல்லும் இழிந்தோரை
'துரை நீ'யென மாட்டேனய்யா

அறவுருவே! செல்வம், உணவுப் பொருட்கள்
வழங்குவோன் நீயாகவிருக்க,
தீய நெறி செல்லும் இழிந்தோரை
'துரை நீ'யென மாட்டேனய்யா

கலைமகளினை, அவையினில்,
(அறத்தினின்றும்) வீழ்ந்த மானவருக்களிக்கும்
கடையரை எங்கும் புகழாத,
தியாகராசன் சிறக்கப் போற்றும், சீரருள்வோனே!
தீய நெறி செல்லும் இழிந்தோரை
'துரை நீ'யென மாட்டேனய்யா

கலைமகளினையளித்தல் - நூல்கள் மற்றும் கவிதைகளை, பரிசு வேண்டி, பண்டமாற்று போன்று வழங்குதல்.

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Telugu

ప. దుర్మార్గ చరాధములను
దొర నీవన జాలరా

అ. ధర్మాత్మక ధన ధాన్య
దైవము నీవైయుండగ (దు)

చ. పలుకు బోటిని సభలోన
పతిత మానవులకొసగు
ఖలులనెచ్చట పొగడని శ్రీ-
కర త్యాగరాజ వినుత (దు)

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Kannada

ಪ. ದುರ್ಮಾರ್ಗ ಚರಾಧಮುಲನು
ದೊರ ನೀವನ ಜಾಲರಾ

ಅ. ಧರ್ಮಾತ್ಮಕ ಧನ ಧಾನ್ಯ
ದೈವಮು ನೀವೈಯುಂಡಗ (ದು)

ಚ. ಪಲುಕು ಬೋಟಿನಿ ಸಭಲೋನ
ಪತಿತ ಮಾನವುಲಕೊಸಗು
ಖಲುಲನೆಚ್ಚಟ ಪೊಗಡನಿ ಶ್ರೀ-
ಕರ ತ್ಯಾಗರಾಜ ವಿನುತ (ದು)

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Malayalam

പ. ദുര്മാര്ഗ ചരാധമുലനു
ദൊര നീവന ജാലരാ

അ. ധര്മാത്മക ധന ധാന്യ
ദൈവമു നീവൈയുണ്ഡഗ (ദു)

ച. പലുകു ബോടിനി സഭലോന
പതിത മാനവുലകൊസഗു
ഖലുലനെച്ചട പൊഗഡനി ശ്രീ-
കര ത്യാഗരാജ വിനുത (ദു)

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Updated on 09 May 2010