Thyagaraja Kriti - Raksha Pettarae - Raga Bhairavi

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

raksha peTTarE-bhairavi

In the kRti ‘raksha peTTarE’ – rAga bhairavi, SrI tyAgarAja sings utsava sampradAya song of an evening routine of warding off evil sight.

P ¹raksha peTTarE doraku

A vaksha sthalamuna velayu
lakshmI ramaNuniki ²sAya (raksha)

C sItA karamunu paTTi celagina doraku
vAt(A)tmajuniki ³ceyi vaSamaina doraku
puruhUt(A)dula rakshimpa ⁴bAhujuD(ai)na doraku
sangIta priya tyAgarAja gEyuD(ai)na dorak(ai)Svarya⁵ (raksha)

Gist
Let’s apply auspicious mark to ward off evil to the Lord.
Let’s apply auspicious mark to ward off evil at dusk to the beloved of lakshmI shining in His chest.
Let’s apply auspicious mark to ward off evil for the prosperity -
(a) to the Lord who shines as consort of sItA,
(b) to the Lord who is in the control of AnjanEya,
(c) to the Lord who became a king in order to protect indra and others,
(d) to the Lord who is fond of music, and
(e) who is sung about by this tyAgarAja.

Word-by-word Meaning

P Let’s apply (peTTarE) auspicious mark to ward off evil (raksha) to the Lord.

A To the beloved (ramaNuniki) of lakshmI – who shines (velayu) in His chest (vaksha sthalamuna),
let’s apply auspicious mark to ward off evil at dusk (sAya).

C To the Lord (doraku) who shines (celagina) as consort (karamunu paTTi) (literally holding hand in marriage) of sItA,
to the Lord (doraku) who is (aina) in the control (ceyi vaSamu) (vaSamaina) of AnjanEya – mind-born (Atmaja) of Wind God (vAta) (vAtAtmajuniki),
to the Lord (doraku) who became (aina) a king (bAhujuDu) (bAhujuDaina) in order to protect (rakshimpa) indra (puruhUta) and others (Adula) (puruhUtAdula),
to the Lord (doraku) who is fond of (priya) music (sangIta) and who is (aina) sung about (gEyuDu) (gEyuDaina) by this tyAgarAja,
let’s apply auspicious mark for His prosperity (aiSvarya) (dorakaiSvarya) to ward off evil.

Notes –
Variations –
¹ – raksha peTTarE doraku - raksha peTTarE doraku raksha peTTarE ² – sAya –jaya : sAya - is appropriate.

References –
² – sAya raksha – performed at time of evening twilight (sandhyA) in tamizh it is called ‘andikkAppu’. Please visit the website for complete explanation about how periyAzhvAr also sang of ‘sAya raksha’, assuming himself to be yaSOdA –
For all the ten pAsurams of ‘andikkAppu’, please visit site –
http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/sep2002/0200.html
For original Tamil version, please visit website –
http://www.srivaishnavam.com/4000pdf/mudhalayiram.pdf (Page 33)

³ – ceyi vaSamaina – a true devotee can bind the Lord – there are many such instances – sahadEva binding kRshNa is one such example; that is why SrI tyAgarAja states that the Lord is in the control of AnjanEya.
The following assurance of Lord from SrImad-bhagavad-gItA, Chapter 9 is relevant –
ananyAScintantO mAM yE janA: paryupAsatE
tEshAM nityAbhiyuktAnAM yOgakshEmaM vahAmyahaM 22

“Persons who, meditating on Me as non-separate, worship Me in all beings, to them thus ever zealously engaged, I carry what they lack and preserve what they already have.”
Notes – ‘I carry etc’. Because while other devotees work for their own gain and safety, those who do not see anything as separate from themselves, do not do so; they even do not cherish a desire for life; so the Lord secures to them gain and safety. (Translation and Notes by Swami Swarupananda)

⁴ – bAhuja – literally this means ‘arm-born’; the warrior (kshatriya) race is stated to sprung up from the arms of the Lord – Please refer to purusha sUktaM http://www.ramanuja.org/purusha/sukta-intro.html

brAhmaNO asya mukhamAsIt bAhU rAjanya: kRta:
Uru tadasya yad vaiSya padbhyAM SUdrO ajAyata 13

“The Brahmin was the mouth and Rajanya, the warrior-princes were both arms, His thighs became Vaisya and His feet became Sudra.”

⁵ – aiSvarya – prosperity or wealth. It is believed that there are eight kinds of these (ashThaiSvarya), but there seems to be no uniform definition as to what these eight are.
In Tamil (Internet) Dictionary, these are given as – dominion, off-spring, relations, gold, gems, grains, conveyance and attendants. Wives, cows and long-life are mentioned in lieu of some of these.
In Monier’s Sanskrit Dictionary, the state of being mighty Lord which includes sovereignty, supremacy, power, sway, dominion, super-human powers etc are mentioned. Also, such powers as vision, audition, cogitation, discrimination, and omniscience; and of active powers such as swiftness of thought, power of assuming forms at will, and faculty of expatiation.
Eight kinds of Siddhis – aNimA etc are also considered as ashThaiSvarya.

Comments -
¹ – rAksha – this is one of the activities performed at regular intervals by mothers to their children (and to newly-wed couples or at any other auspicious occasions like house-warming ceremony etc) to ward off evil (eye) and to bring prosperity. It is generally applied on the fore-head. This is done after a harathi with water mixed with turmeric. harati with a smouldering worn-out broom-stick is also made. Sacred ash is also applied as raksha. After hOma, the ashes of sacred fire mixed with water or ghee is applied on the fore-head. raksha is some-times worn at the wrist – rakshA bandhan (North India) and garuDa pancami (South India) performed by sisters for long-life of their brothers. karvA cauth (North India), kAraDaiyAn nOnbu (Tamil Nadu) and nAga pancami (South India) performed by wives for the long-life of their husbands is also a raksha. raksha is also worn as amulet either on the upper arm or as attachment to chain. A black-mark with anjana (colliriyum) is applied on the cheeks of babies against evil-eye. The tilaka worn by girls is sometimes applied a little off-centre as a raksha.


Devanagari Version

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. रक्ष पॆट्टरे दॊरकु

अ. वक्ष स्थलमुन वॆलयु
लक्ष्मी रमणुनिकि साय (रक्ष)

च. सीता करमुनु पट्टि चॆलगिन दॊरकु
वा(ता)त्मजुनिकि चॆयि वश(मै)न दॊरकु
पुरुहू(ता)दुल रक्षिम्प बाहुजु(डै)न दॊरकु
संगीत प्रिय त्यागराज गेयु(डै)न दॊर(कै)श्वर्य (रक्ष)


Tamil Version with Meaning

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. ரக்ஷ பெட்டரே தொ3ரகு

அ. வக்ஷ ஸ்த2லமுன வெலயு
லக்ஷ்மீ ரமணுனிகி ஸாய (ரக்ஷ)

ச. ஸீதா கரமுனு பட்டி செலகி3ன தொ3ரகு
வா(தா)த்மஜுனிகி செயி வஸ1(மை)ன தொ3ரகு
புருஹூ(தா)து3ல ரக்ஷிம்ப பா3ஹுஜு(டை3)ன தொ3ரகு
ஸங்கீ3த ப்ரிய த்யாக3ராஜ கே3யு(டை3)ன தொ3ர(கை)ஸ்1வர்ய (ரக்ஷ)

காப்பிடுவீர், துரைக்கு!

மார்பிலொளிரும் இலக்குமியின் மணாளனுக்கு
அந்திக்காப்பிடுவீர்!

சீதையின் கரம் பற்றி விளங்கிய துரைக்கு,
வாயு மைந்தனுக்குக் கைவசமான துரைக்கு,
இந்திரன் முதலானோரைக் காக்க, அரச குலத்துதித்த துரைக்கு,
இசையை விரும்பும், தியாகராசனால் பாடப்பெற்ற, துரைக்கு,
செல்வக்காப்பிடுவீர்!

காப்பிடுதல் - கண்ணூறு கழிப்பதற்கு
அந்திக்காப்பு - விளக்கேற்றும் வேளையில் குழந்தைகளுக்கிடுவது


Telugu Version

ప. రక్ష పెట్టరే దొరకు

అ. వక్ష స్థలమున వెలయు
లక్ష్మీ రమణునికి సాయ (రక్ష)

చ. సీతా కరమును పట్టి చెలగిన దొరకు
వాతాత్మజునికి చెయి వశమైన దొరకు
పురుహూతాదుల రక్షింప బాహుజుడైన దొరకు
సంగీత ప్రియ త్యాగరాజ గేయుడైన దొరకైశ్వర్య (రక్ష)


Kannada Version

ಪ. ರಕ್ಷ ಪೆಟ್ಟರೇ ದೊರಕು

ಅ. ವಕ್ಷ ಸ್ಥಲಮುನ ವೆಲಯು
ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ರಮಣುನಿಕಿ ಸಾಯ (ರಕ್ಷ)

ಚ. ಸೀತಾ ಕರಮುನು ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಚೆಲಗಿನ ದೊರಕು
ವಾತಾತ್ಮಜುನಿಕಿ ಚೆಯಿ ವಶಮೈನ ದೊರಕು
ಪುರುಹೂತಾದುಲ ರಕ್ಷಿಂಪ ಬಾಹುಜುಡೈನ ದೊರಕು
ಸಂಗೀತ ಪ್ರಿಯ ತ್ಯಾಗರಾಜ ಗೇಯುಡೈನ ದೊರಕೈಶ್ವರ್ಯ (ರಕ್ಷ)


Malayalam Version

പ. രക്ഷ പെട്ടരേ ദൊരകു

അ. വക്ഷ സ്ഥലമുന വെലയു
ലക്ഷ്മീ രമണുനികി സായ (രക്ഷ)

ച. സീതാ കരമുനു പട്ടി ചെലഗിന ദൊരകു
വാതാത്മജുനികി ചെയി വശമൈന ദൊരകു
പുരുഹൂതാദുല രക്ഷിമ്പ ബാഹുജുഡൈന ദൊരകു
സങ്ഗീത പ്രിയ ത്യാഗരാജ ഗേയുഡൈന ദൊരകൈശ്വര്യ (രക്ഷ)

Updated on 07 Oct 2008