SrI:
Dear Sriman VaradharAjan :
Many thanks for snding me the lovely rendering
of the HarikAmbhOji Krithi of ThyAgarAja
SwamigaL by Ariyakkudi RaamAnuja IyengAr .
Like MaayaamaaLa gouLai MeLa Raagam based
Janya Raagams were dear to Sri Muthtuswamy
Dheekshitar , HarikAmbhOji and its Janya
Raagams
were dear to Sri ThyAga Brahmam . He composed
many moving krithis in this MeLa Raagam and
its Janya Raagams .
Thanks for sharing of the Krithti
of
"DinamaNi Vamsa Tilaka LaavaNyaa "
by the inimitable Ariyakkudi Sri RaamAnuja
IyengAr, who was a dear friend of our Family .
I am sure our Members are going
to enjoy listening to this precious rendering
:
I will now add a few observations on the anubhavam
of
Saint ThyagarAja in enjoying the Lord's dhivya
soundharyam.
Krithi :
Pallavi:
DinamaNivamsa tilaka! laavaNya!
dheena SaraNya !
Anupallavi :
manavini BhAguga madhini dalamchuchu
chanavanu nElu chAlugaa jAlu
CharaNam :
Sarvavinuta nanu samrakshimchanu
garvamu yEla gAchuvaa rEvarE ?
nirvikAra guNa! nirmala karadhruta-
parvata ! ThyAgarAja-sarvasvamou
(Meaning according to Sri
C.RamanujAchAri):
" Oh Refuge of the Meek ! Pray, give Your best
consideration to my appeal and protect me
with
affection .That will do and will also be
appropriate.
Why this pride in the matter of protecting me?
Who else there is to do it ? You are everything
to
ThyAgarAja ".
Comments: This is a dainyOkti krithi (
Plaintive
Pleading for protection by the Lord) . When Lord
Raaamachandran does not listen to his soulful
pleading , ThyagarAja will articulate his grievance
and anger in chosen words such as in the Bhiaravi
krithi ( IndhukA
BhuDDichitivi nannaindhukA
BhuDDimchitivi?)
: " Is it for this that you have
created me -for me to toss about and for You
to enjoy the fun at my expense ? ". This kind
of
protest of the aggrieved devotee for being
abandoned
by his Protector is known as the amarsha
rOsha
rOshOkti (ARR) . To this group of ARR kritis
belong the UmAbharaNa Kriti of
"Nijamarmamulanu"
which we will take up in a seperate posting
.
Now reverting to the DhainyOkti Kritis ,
they
convey the melancholic mood of
ThyAgarAja
SwamigaL arising from the feeling of neglect
and indifference of his Lord and Sarva
Swami ,
Lord Raamachandran . He will become
despondent
over the Lord's indifference and will feel like
a spurned pativrathai and angrily ask the
Lord :
" parAku jEsina neekEmi
phalamu galugurA ?".
In the pallavi Vaakyam of the JujAvaLi krithi ,
the upset devotee, ThyAga Brahmam asks :
" Oh the Most Supreme! What
indeed do you
gain by being indifferent to
me? ".
In another kriti set in ReetigowLai raagam
( chera rAvadEmirA ?
Raamayya !) ,
Thyaga Brahmam will ask with a great
sense of pathos : " How is it that You do not
come to me ( anymore ) ?" . It is not proper
conduct on Your part. I am like an orphaned
girl without any protection clinging to her
husband's feet as her sole refuge for
ptotection.
I rely on You totally for my samrakashaNam
.
I am implorign You so many times to protect me
and not abnadon me . Should you look away as
I meditate on Your bewitching face and pine for
You ? This kriti has been rendered beautifully
by
Aalatthur brothers movingly .
In a KaambhOji rAga
Kriti made famous by
SrI T.R. Mahalingam and his sihsyar , SrI
N.Ramani , one can resonate to the
soulful
cry of ThyAga Bhramam , when he questions
the Lord tightly and casts his doubts about
His power to protect His sincere
devotees
and claiming the title of Bhakta ParAdheenan
:
" yevarimADa vinnAvO,
raavO-yindhu lEvO?
bhaLi! BhaLi!"
(Meaning): " Oh Lord !
To whose words have You
listened ? Wont You come (to
me) ? Or is it that
You are not here ? well !
well ! "
Oh Lord ! I am dumbfounded at this mystery
.
Having been brought up in the Vedic and
Saastaic traditons , I find it very difficult
to
understand this mystery and unravel
this
paradox.
All Your dear bhakthAs , who were
blessed
to have Your saakshAthkAram have
asserted
that You are forever engaged in the service of
Your bhaktAs . I have been feeling happy that
You are the sarva saktan who is bhakta
parAdheenan
and one of saatvic frame of mind and reliable
.
What am I to think now ?
The Raagam SankarAbharaNam was often
Saint ThyagarAja Swamy's choice to express
his sense of desolation at being abandoned by
Lord Raamachandra . Three Examples of
such SankarAbharaNa
dhainyOkti krithis are :
1)
YENDHUKEECHALAMU "
Why are you cross with me , Your
dear devotee? To whom am I to appeal
to redress the situation ? Where has
Your legendary forbearance gone ?
"taaLa naa taramaa ? " ( It is not
possible
for me to bear this sufferign any longer ).
2) Yeevaraku juchinAdhi
chAladhA ?
inkanAreetiyaa ?
You have a silent witness to my long
sufferings
in thsi samsAric world . Is n't what You have
witnessed sofar sufficent for you to come
to
my help ? " ninu vinaa yevaru?" . Who is
there for me except Your noble Self as
my rakshakan ? Accepting that You are
my only protector , I have been directing
my plaintive prayers to you all this
time .
3) Raamaa-ramaNa raaraa Oh
!
Oh Lord of Mahaa Lakshmi ! Oh Raamaa !
Please come before me ! " RaNAdhiSoora
SarNagata TvaccharaNam
bhavatAraNamBhu
jEsunu "
( Oh greatest victor in the battles with
Your enemies ! adiyEn has surrendered
at
Your lotus feet with Mahaa ViswAsam
).
Can not You shower Your KaruNA
kaDAksham
on me and bless me promptly ?
We will continue with additional
thoughts
on the dhainyOkti Kritis of Saint
ThyagarAja
in the next posting .
Sri Raamachandra ParaBrahmaNE nama:
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
P.S: After this posting , the next series of
postings will appear only in Raama
Bhakthi
email group . Please enroll as Members
of
RaamaBhakthi group to access them by
sending email to:
That will enroll you as a Member directly
.
Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan http://www.sadagopan.org
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe __,_._,___ |
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |