Thyagaraja Kriti - Kanta Judumi - Raga Vachaspati

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

kaNTa jUDumI-vAcaspati

In the kRti ‘kaNTa jUDumI oka pAri’ – rAga vAcaspati or latAngi (tALa Adi) – SrI tyAgarAja tries to fathom the ecstasy experienced by lakshmaNa when SrI rAma praised him for the service rendered.

pallavi
kaNTa ¹jUDumI oka pAri ²krE (kaNTa)

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anupallavi
baNTuDai velayu bAgu kAni tappu
³taNTal(e)lla mAnukonna nannu krE (kaNTa)

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caraNam
⁴ala nADu saumitri pAda sEva
celarEgi cEyu vELa sItatO
palki jUcin(a)nta pulak(A)nkituDai
paragina(y)aTu tyAgarAjuni krE (kanTa)

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Gist

• Deign to look at me at least once by a side glance.
  
  
  • Other than the privilege of remaining as Your servitor, I have desisted from all kinds of faults and evils. Therefore, deign to look at me at least once by a side glance.
    
    
  • That day, while lakshmaNa was enthusiastically performing service at Your feet, the moment You looked at him, after mentioning (in appreciation) to sItA, he experienced a state of horripilation.
  
  
• In the same manner, deign to look at this tyAgarAja also at least once by a side glance.

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Word-by-word Meaning

pallavi
kaNTa jUDumI oka pAri krE (kaNTa)

Deign to look (jUDumI) at me (nannu) at least once (oka pAri) by a side glance (krE kaNTa).

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anupallavi
baNTuDai velayu bAgu kAni tappu
taNTalu-ella mAnukonna nannu krE (kaNTa)

By a side (krE) glance, at least once, deign to look at me (nannu) who -
other than (kAni) the privilege (bAgu) (literally speciality) of remaining (velayu) as Your servitor (baNTuDai ) (literally guard),
has desisted (mAnukonna) from all (ella) kinds of faults (tappu) and evils (taNTalu) (taNTalella).

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caraNam
ala nADu saumitri pAda sEva
celarEgi cEyu vELa sItatO
palki jUcina-anta pulaka-ankituDai
paragina-aTu tyAgarAjuni krE (kanTa)

That (ala) day (nADu), while (vELa) lakshmaNa - son of sumitrA (saumitri) - was enthusiastically (celarEgi) performing (cEyu) service (sEva) at Your feet (pAda),
the moment (anta) You looked (jUcina) (jUcinanta) at him, after mentioning (palki) (in appreciation) to sItA (sItatO),
in the same manner as (aTu) he experienced (paragina) (literally shine) (paraginayaTu) a state of horripilation (pulaka ankituDai) (pulakAnkituDai),
deign to look at this tyAgarAja (tyAgarAjuni) also at least once by a side (krE) glance.

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Notes –
Variations -
¹ – jUDumI – jUDumi : As ‘jUDumI’ is more appropriate, the same has been adopted.

² – krE – krI : ‘krE kaNTa’ means ‘side glance’; ‘krI kaNTa’ means ‘downcast glance’. As ‘downcast’ means ‘dejection’, this is not meant here. Therefore, ‘krE kaNTa’ is the appropriate word, and has accordingly been adopted.

References -
⁴ – ala nADu saumitri - The episode referred here is that when the trio (SrI rAma, sItA and lakshmaNa) reached pancavaTi, SrI rAma asked lakshmaNa to build a cottage for their living. When lakshmaNa finished the job, SrI rAma was so impressed by his dedication and craftsmanship that He (SrI rAma) embraced him and praised him in front of sItA. SrI tyAgarAja visualizes as to how lakshmaNa would have felt then. The relevant SlOkas in the vAlmIki rAmAyaNa – AraNyakANDa, Chapter 15 are -

prItOsmi tE mahat karma kRtam-idam prabhO
pradEyO yan-nimittam tE parishvangO mayA kRtaH
bhAvajnEna kRtajnEna dharmajnEna ca lakshmaNa
tvayA putrENa dharmAtmA na saMvRttaH pitA mama 28, 29

“O lakshmaNa! I am pleased with you. You have accomplished this great work, and, as a reward for which, I embrace you. You being the knower of (my) feelings, grateful and what is right, (I consider that) with you as his son, our pious minded father is not dead. (From the manner you look after our welfare, I feel as if our father is not dead but present here in your form.)”

Comments –
³ – taNTa – this is how it is given in all the books. However, the correct word seems to be ‘taNTA’. ‘tappu taNTalu’ as a single phrase is not found in the Telugu Dictionary.

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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. कण्ट जूडुमी ऒक पारि क्रे (कण्ट)

अ. बण्टुडै वॆलयु बागु कानि तप्पु
तण्ट(लॆ)ल्ल मानुकॊन्न नन्नु क्रे (कण्ट)

च अल नाडु सौमित्रि पाद सेव
चॆलरेगि चेयु वेळ सीततो
पल्कि जूचि(न)न्त पुल(कां)कितुडै
परगिन(य)टु त्यागराजुनि क्रे (कण्ट)

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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. கண்ட ஜூடு3மீ ஒக பாரி க்ரே (கண்ட)

அ. ப3ண்டுடை3 வெலயு பா3கு3 கானி தப்பு
தண்ட(லெ)ல்ல மானுகொன்ன நன்னு க்ரே (கண்ட)

ச அல நாடு3 ஸௌமித்ரி பாத3 ஸேவ
செலரேகி3 சேயு வேள ஸீததோ
பல்கி ஜூசி(ன)ந்த புல(கா)ங்கிதுடை3
பரகி3ன(ய)டு த்யாக3ராஜுனி க்ரே (கண்ட)

கடைக்கண்ணால் பாரேன், ஒரு முறை

(உனக்கு) சேவகனாய் விளங்கும் சிறப்பன்றி, தப்புத்
தண்டாவெல்லாம் தவிர்த்துவிட்ட என்னை,
கடைக்கண்ணால் பாரேன், ஒரு முறை

அந்த நாள், இலக்குவன், திருவடி சேவை,
ஆர்வத்துடன் செய்யும் வேளையில், சீதையிடம் (புகழ்ந்து)
பேசி, (அவனைப்) பார்த்தவுடன், புல்லரிப்படைந்து
(அவன்) ஒளிர்ந்தது போலும், தியாகராசனைக்
கடைக்கண்ணால் பாரேன், ஒரு முறை

தப்புத்தண்டா - குற்றம் குறைகள்

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Telugu

ప. కంట జూడుమీ ఒక పారి క్రే (కంట)

అ. బంటుడై వెలయు బాగు కాని తప్పు
తంటలెల్ల మానుకొన్న నన్ను క్రే (కంట)

చ అల నాడు సౌమిత్రి పాద సేవ
చెలరేగి చేయు వేళ సీతతో
పల్కి జూచినంత పులకాంకితుడై
పరగినయటు త్యాగరాజుని క్రే (కంట)

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Kannada

ಪ. ಕಂಟ ಜೂಡುಮೀ ಒಕ ಪಾರಿ ಕ್ರೇ (ಕಂಟ)

ಅ. ಬಂಟುಡೈ ವೆಲಯು ಬಾಗು ಕಾನಿ ತಪ್ಪು
ತಂಟಲೆಲ್ಲ ಮಾನುಕೊನ್ನ ನನ್ನು ಕ್ರೇ (ಕಂಟ)

ಚ ಅಲ ನಾಡು ಸೌಮಿತ್ರಿ ಪಾದ ಸೇವ
ಚೆಲರೇಗಿ ಚೇಯು ವೇಳ ಸೀತತೋ
ಪಲ್ಕಿ ಜೂಚಿನಂತ ಪುಲಕಾಂಕಿತುಡೈ
ಪರಗಿನಯಟು ತ್ಯಾಗರಾಜುನಿ ಕ್ರೇ (ಕಂಟ)

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Malayalam

പ. കണ്ട ജൂഡുമീ ഒക പാരി ക്രേ (കണ്ട)

അ. ബണ്ടുഡൈ വെലയു ബാഗു കാനി തപ്പു
തണ്ടലെല്ല മാനുകൊന്ന നന്നു ക്രേ (കണ്ട)

ച അല നാഡു സൌമിത്രി പാദ സേവ
ചെലരേഗി ചേയു വേള സീതതോ
പല്കി ജൂചിനന്ത പുലകാങ്കിതുഡൈ
പരഗിനയടു ത്യാഗരാജുനി ക്രേ (കണ്ട)

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Updated on 17 May 2010