కృతి : అల్లా శ్రీరామ శుభకరుడు సురుచిరుడు
వాగ్గేయకారుడు: భద్రాచల రామదాసు
సినిమా: శ్రీరామదాసు
అల్లా శ్రీరామ
శుభకరుడు సురుచిరుడు భవహరుడు భగవంతుడెవడూ
కళ్యాణ గుణగనుడు కరుణా ఘనాఘనుడు ఎవడూ...?
అల్లాతత్వమున అల్లారుముద్దుగా అలరారు అందాల చద్రుదయూవాడు
ఆనందనందనుడు అమృతరసచందనుడు రామచంద్రుడుగాక ఇంకెవ్వడు....
తాగారా శ్రీరామ నామామృతం... ఆనామమే దాటించు భవసాగరం
తాగారా శ్రీరామ నామామృతం... ఆనామమే దాటించు భవసాగరం
ఏ మూర్తి మూడుమూర్తులుగ వెలసిన మూర్తి, ఏ మూర్తి ముజ్జగంబులకు మూలమౌ మూర్తి
ఏ మూర్తి శక్తీ చైతన్య మూర్తీ....,
ఏ మూర్తి నిఖిలాండ నిత్యసత్య స్ఫూర్తి, ఏ మూర్తి నిర్వాన నిజధర్మ సమవర్తి
ఏ మూర్తి జగదైక చక్రవర్తీ...
ఏ మూర్తి ఘన మూర్తి, ఏ మూర్తి గుణకీర్తి, ఏ మూర్తి అడగించు జన్మజన్మల ఆర్తి....
ఆ మూర్తి ఏ మూర్తి.... ఉనుగాని రసమూర్తి...
ఆ మూర్తి శ్రీరామచంద్రమూర్తి
తాగారా శ్రీరామ నామామృతం... ఆనామమే దాటించు భవసాగరం
శ్రీరామ కోదండరామ సీతారామ ఆనందరామ రామ జయరామ రామ రామ పావననామ
ఏ వేల్పు ఎల్లవేల్పులును గొలిచెడి వేల్పు, ఏ వేల్పు ఏడు ఏడు లోకాలకే వేల్పు
ఏ వేల్పు నిట్టుర్పు ఇలను నిల్పు, ఏ వేల్పు నికిల కల్యాణముల కలగల్పు
ఏ వేల్పు నిగమ నిగామలనన్నిటిని తెల్పు, ఏ వేల్పు నింగి నేలలను గల్పు
ఏ వేల్పు ధ్యుతిగొల్పు, ఏ వేల్పు మరుగోల్పు, ఏ వేల్పు దేమలుపులేని గెల్పు
ఏ వేల్పు సీతమ్మ వలపుతలుప్ల నేర్పు, ఆ వేల్పు దసనుదసులకై ఓర్పు
తాగారా శ్రీరామ నామామృతం... ఆనామమే దాటించు భవసాగరం
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
kRITI: Allah Srirama
Composer: Bhadrachala Ramadasu
Movie: Sriramadasu
Allah Srirama
Subhakarudu suruchirudu, bhavaharudu, bhagavanthudevadu
Kalyana Gunaganudu, Karuna GhanaGhanudu evadu...?
Alla tatvamuna Allarumudduga
alaraaru andala chadrudu evadu
Aananda nandanudu, amrutarasa chandanudu
Ramachandrudu gaaka inkevvadu....
taagara Srirama Namamrutamu...
Aa naamame daatinchu bhavasagaram
taagara Srirama Namamrutamu...
Aa naamame daatinchu bhavasagaram
Ae moorthy moodu moorthuluga velasina moorthy
Ae moorthy mujjagambulu moolamaou moorthy
Ae moorthy sakthi chaitanya moorthi....
Ae moorthy nikhilanda nitya satya sphoorthy
Ae moorthy nirvaana nija dharma samavarthy
Ae moorthy jagadaika chakravarthy
Ae moorthy Ghana moorthy
Ae moorthy Guna keerthi
Ae moorthy adginchu janma janmala aarthi....
Aa moorthy Ae moorthy.... unukani rasa moorthy...
Aaa moorthy Sriram chandra moorthy...
taagara Srirama Namamrutamu...
Aa naamame daatinchu bhavasagaram
Srirama
Kodanda Rama
Sita Rama
Ananda Rama
Rama Jaya Rama
Rama Rama
Pavana Naama
Ae Velpu Ella velpulunu golichedi velpu
Ae velpu edu edu lokalake velpu
Ae velpu nitturpu ilanu nilpu
Ae velpu nikila kalyanamula kalagalpu
Ae velpu nigama nigamalanannitini telpu
Ae velpu ningi nelalanu galpu
Ae velpu dhuythi golpu
Ae velpu maru golpu
Ae velpu de malupu leni gelpu
Ae velpu Seethamma valapu talupla nerpu
Aa velpu dasanu dasula kai orpu
taagara Srirama Namamrutamu...
Aa naamame daatinchu bhavasagaram
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One God! Sriram!
Doer of good, Beautiful smile, destroyer of fear, Ultimte God.
Who is it?
One with Auspecious attributes at best,
The greatest of the great ocean of Mercy
Who is it?
In oneness, with all warmth
shines like moon of beauty
Who is it?
A Blissful Son, Besprinkler of heavenly feeling
Who can it be other than Sriram
Drink the nector of name of Sriram
The name itself will take one over the ocean of Samsara
Drink the nector of name of Sriram
The name itself will take one over the ocean of Samsara
Which figure has nascency as Trimoorthy
Which figure for the three worlds is the source figure
Which figure is the strength & unity symbolizing figure
Which figure around the universe is everlasting true spirit
Which figure is equivalent to Nirvana, Truth, Justness
Which figure for the entire world is the Emperor
Which figure is the Greatest personality
Which figure has repute for good attributes
Which figure dissolves the wishes of several births
Which figure is the figure with endless forms
That figure is moon like figure of Sriram
Drink the nector of name of Sriram
The name itself will take one over the ocean of Samsara
Drink the nector of name of Sriram
The name itself will take one over the ocean of Samsara
Sriram! Weilder of Kodhanda!! Lord of Sita!!!
Blissful Sriram! Vicotorious Sriram!!
Sriram The Auspecious name!!!
Which deity is worshipped by all other deities
Which deity is for all seven world the deity
Which deity keeps dissatisfaction at ground level
Which deity will bestow all auspecious things
Which deity will reflects all Vedas and Shastras
Which deity will merge the earth and the sky
Which deity gives eternal light
Which deity makes all forms
Which deity undeviated vicotry
Which deity is origin for Sita's fantacies
That deity to all the devoted servants, is the power
Drink the nector of name of Sriram
The name itself will take you over the ocean of Samsara
Drink the nector of name of Sriram
The name itself will take you over the ocean of Samsara
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Pahi rama Prabho
కృతి: పాహి రామప్రభో
రాగం: ఆనందభైరవి
తాళం: అట
వాగ్గేయకారుడు: భద్రాచల రామదాసు
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
ఇందిరా హృదయరవిందాదిరూఢ, సున్ద్రకర నానంద రామప్రభో
ఎందు నేజూడ మీ సుర్న్దరనందముల్ కందును కన్నులింపొంద రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
బృందారకాది సత్బృందార్చిత పాదారవింద సందర్శితానంద రామప్రభో
తల్లివి నీవే మా తండ్రివి నీవే మా దాతవు నీవే , మా బ్రాత రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
నీదు బాణంబులను నాదుశత్రుల బట్టి, బాదిమ్పకున్నావు అదేమీ రామప్రభో
ఆది మధ్యాంత బహిరంతరాత్ముడనుచు వాదింతునే జగన్నాధ రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
శ్రీరామ రామేతి శ్రేష్ట మంత్రము సారెసారెకులు వింతగా చదువు రామప్రభో
శ్రీరామ నీ నామ చింతనామృతపాన సారమే నాదు మదిగోరు రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
కల్కి రూపము దాల్చి కలియుగంబున నీవు వెలసితివి భద్రాద్రినిలయ రామప్రభో
అవ్యయుదవన నీఅవతారములన్ దలంచి దివ్యులైనారు మునులయ్య రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
పాహి శ్రీరామ నీ పాదపద్మాస్రయుండా పాలిమ్పుమే భద్రశైల రామప్రభో!
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Paahi Rama Prabho…
Raagam: Aananda Bhiravi
taaLam: Ata
Composer: Bhadrachala Ramadasu
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Indira hrudayaravindaadhi roodha
Sundrakara naananda Rama Prabho
Endu ne jooda mee surndaranandamul
Kanduno kannul imponda Rama Prabho
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Brundarakaadi satbrundaarchita
padaravinda sandarsitaananda Rama Prabho
Tallivi neeve, maa tandrivi neeve,
maa dhaatavu neeve, maa bratha Rama Prabho
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Needu baanambulanu naadu satrula batti
baadhimpakunnvu ademi Rama Prabho!
Aadi madhyanta bahirantaraatmudanuchu
vadhintu ne Jagannadha Rama Prabho!
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Srirama Raamethi Sreshta mantramu
Saare saarekulu vintage chaduvu Rama Prabho
Srirama nee naama chintanamruta paana
Saarame naadu madhi goru Rama Prabho
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Kalki roopamu daalchi kaliyugambuna neevu
velasitivi bhadraadri nilaya Rama Prabho
Avyayudavana nee Avataaramulan dalanchi
divyulainaaru munulayya Rama Prabho!
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Paahi Srirama Nee Paada Padmaasrayunda
paalimpume Bhadrasaila Rama Prabho!
Pahi Rama probho paahi Rama...
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho!
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meaning:
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Known for residing in the Lotus like Heart of Sita
Beauteous form of Bliss, Lord Sriram
Where ever I see, the Bliss of your Beauty
I watch your beauty as a feast to my eyes.
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
True devotees like Brundarak etc, worship
Your lotus feet and happily take darshan of your lotus feet, Lord Sriram
You are the mother, You are the father,
You are the Lord, our brother, Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Pointing your arrows against my enemies
you not threatening them, what is this Lord Sriram
You are first, middle and last, external, internal and Atman and everything
is what I say
And I argue, Lord of the World, Lord Sriram!
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Srirama Ramethi the auspicious mantra
Is recited wonderfully again and again by sages, Lord Sriram
Sriram, meditation on your name is like drinking "amrut"
Meaning of the name Sriram is what my heart seeks, Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Taking the form of a Human, in Kaliyuga, You
Incarnated on Bhadrachala Hill as Your residence, Lord Sriram
Thinking of all your Incarnations, Auspicious Lord Vishnu
The saints have become stars in Heaven, Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Asylum Lord Sriram, I have worshipped your feet
Rule me my Lord Sriram residing on Bhadrachala Hill
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
రాగం: ఆనందభైరవి
తాళం: అట
వాగ్గేయకారుడు: భద్రాచల రామదాసు
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
ఇందిరా హృదయరవిందాదిరూఢ, సున్ద్రకర నానంద రామప్రభో
ఎందు నేజూడ మీ సుర్న్దరనందముల్ కందును కన్నులింపొంద రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
బృందారకాది సత్బృందార్చిత పాదారవింద సందర్శితానంద రామప్రభో
తల్లివి నీవే మా తండ్రివి నీవే మా దాతవు నీవే , మా బ్రాత రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
నీదు బాణంబులను నాదుశత్రుల బట్టి, బాదిమ్పకున్నావు అదేమీ రామప్రభో
ఆది మధ్యాంత బహిరంతరాత్ముడనుచు వాదింతునే జగన్నాధ రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
శ్రీరామ రామేతి శ్రేష్ట మంత్రము సారెసారెకులు వింతగా చదువు రామప్రభో
శ్రీరామ నీ నామ చింతనామృతపాన సారమే నాదు మదిగోరు రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
కల్కి రూపము దాల్చి కలియుగంబున నీవు వెలసితివి భద్రాద్రినిలయ రామప్రభో
అవ్యయుదవన నీఅవతారములన్ దలంచి దివ్యులైనారు మునులయ్య రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
పాహి శ్రీరామ నీ పాదపద్మాస్రయుండా పాలిమ్పుమే భద్రశైల రామప్రభో!
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి రామప్రభో పాహి భద్రాద్రి వైదేహి రామప్రభో
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Paahi Rama Prabho…
Raagam: Aananda Bhiravi
taaLam: Ata
Composer: Bhadrachala Ramadasu
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Indira hrudayaravindaadhi roodha
Sundrakara naananda Rama Prabho
Endu ne jooda mee surndaranandamul
Kanduno kannul imponda Rama Prabho
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Brundarakaadi satbrundaarchita
padaravinda sandarsitaananda Rama Prabho
Tallivi neeve, maa tandrivi neeve,
maa dhaatavu neeve, maa bratha Rama Prabho
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Needu baanambulanu naadu satrula batti
baadhimpakunnvu ademi Rama Prabho!
Aadi madhyanta bahirantaraatmudanuchu
vadhintu ne Jagannadha Rama Prabho!
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Srirama Raamethi Sreshta mantramu
Saare saarekulu vintage chaduvu Rama Prabho
Srirama nee naama chintanamruta paana
Saarame naadu madhi goru Rama Prabho
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Kalki roopamu daalchi kaliyugambuna neevu
velasitivi bhadraadri nilaya Rama Prabho
Avyayudavana nee Avataaramulan dalanchi
divyulainaaru munulayya Rama Prabho!
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
Paahi Srirama Nee Paada Padmaasrayunda
paalimpume Bhadrasaila Rama Prabho!
Pahi Rama probho paahi Rama...
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho!
Paahi Rama prabho Paahi Rama Prabho
Paahi Bhadradri Vaidehi Rama Prabho
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meaning:
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Known for residing in the Lotus like Heart of Sita
Beauteous form of Bliss, Lord Sriram
Where ever I see, the Bliss of your Beauty
I watch your beauty as a feast to my eyes.
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
True devotees like Brundarak etc, worship
Your lotus feet and happily take darshan of your lotus feet, Lord Sriram
You are the mother, You are the father,
You are the Lord, our brother, Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Pointing your arrows against my enemies
you not threatening them, what is this Lord Sriram
You are first, middle and last, external, internal and Atman and everything
is what I say
And I argue, Lord of the World, Lord Sriram!
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Srirama Ramethi the auspicious mantra
Is recited wonderfully again and again by sages, Lord Sriram
Sriram, meditation on your name is like drinking "amrut"
Meaning of the name Sriram is what my heart seeks, Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Taking the form of a Human, in Kaliyuga, You
Incarnated on Bhadrachala Hill as Your residence, Lord Sriram
Thinking of all your Incarnations, Auspicious Lord Vishnu
The saints have become stars in Heaven, Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Asylum Lord Sriram, I have worshipped your feet
Rule me my Lord Sriram residing on Bhadrachala Hill
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
Asylum Lord Sriram, Asylum Lord Sriram
Asylum Lord Sriram along with Sita on Bhadrachala Hill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: This Kriti by Bhadrachala Ramadasu has 61 stanzas. Artists will be
reciting of their own choice few of these 61 stanzas. In the movie
SriRamadasu, there are a few stanzas which are different from what Dr. M
Balamuralikrishan recited. Here I offered the verses recited by
Balamuralikrishna as they are in a classical in style.
Artist: Dr. M Balamuralikrishna
CD: Bhadrachala Ramadasu Keertanalu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
reciting of their own choice few of these 61 stanzas. In the movie
SriRamadasu, there are a few stanzas which are different from what Dr. M
Balamuralikrishan recited. Here I offered the verses recited by
Balamuralikrishna as they are in a classical in style.
Artist: Dr. M Balamuralikrishna
CD: Bhadrachala Ramadasu Keertanalu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurai Onrum Illai
కృతి: కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై
రాగం: రాగమాలిక
తాళం: అది
వాగ్గేయకారుడు: రాజాజీ
Raagam: Ragamalika
Talam: adi
Composer: Rajaji
రాగం: రాగమాలిక
తాళం: అది
వాగ్గేయకారుడు: రాజాజీ
ప:
కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై మరైముర్తికన్నా కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై కన్నా కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై గోవిందా
అ:
కన్నుక్కు తెరియమల్ నిర్కిరై కన్నా కన్నుక్కు తెరియమల్ నీన్రాలుం ఎనక్కు
కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై మరైముర్తికన్నా
c1:
వెండియడై తండిడ వెంకటేసన్ ఎన్రిరుక్క వెండియాడు వేరిల్లై మరైముర్తి కన్నా
మణివణ్ణా మళయాప్ప గోవిందా గోవిందా
c2:
తిరైయిన్ పిన్ నిర్కిన్రై కన్నా ఉన్నాయ్ మరి ఒడుం జ్ఞానియర్ మట్టుమే కం పర ఎన్రాలుం
కురై ఒనృం ఏనాక్కిల్లై కన్నా ఎన్రాలుం కురై ఒనృం ఏనాక్కిల్లై
c3:
కున్రిన్ మేల్ కల్లాగి నిర్క్కిన్ర వరద కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై మరైముర్తి కన్నా
కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై మరిమూర్తి కన్నా మణివణ్ణా మళయాప్ప గోవిందా గోవిందా
c4:
కలినలుక్కిరంగి కల్లిలే ఇరంగి నిలైయగా కోయిలిల్ నిర్కిన్రై కేశవ
కురై ఒనృం ఇల్లై మరైముర్తి కన్నా
c5:
యదుం మరుక్కడ మలైయప్ప ఉన్మర్బిల్ ఏదుం తర నిరక్కుం కరుణై కడలన్నై
ఎనృం ఇరున్దిడ ఏడు కురై ఎనక్కు ఒనృం కురై ఇల్లై మరైముర్తి కన్నా
మణివణ్ణా మళయాప్ప గోవిందా గోవిందా గోవిందా గోవిందా గోవిందా గోవిందా గోవిందా
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raagam: Ragamalika
Talam: adi
Composer: Rajaji
pa:
kurai onrum illai maraimUrti kaNNA kurai onrum illai kaNNaa kurai onrum illai gOvindA
a:
kaNNukku teriyAmal nirkkinrAi kaNNA kaNNukku teriyAmal ninrAluum enakku
kurai onrum illai maraimUrti kaNNA
c1:
vEnDiyadai tandiDa vEnkaTEsan enrirukka vEnDiyadu vErillai maraimUrti kaNNA
maNivaNNA malaiappA gOvindA gOvindA
c2:
tiraiyin pin nirkinrAi kaNNA unnai marai Odum jnAniyar maTTumE kAN pAr enrAlum
kurai onrum enakkillai kaNNA enrAlum kurai onrum enakkillai
c3:
kunrin mEl kallaAgi nirkkinra varadA kurai onrum illai maraimUrti kaNNA
kurai onrum illai marai mUrti kaNNAmaNivaNNA malaiappA gOvindA gOvindA
c4:
kalinALukkirangi kallilE irangi nilaiyAga kOyilil nirkinrAi kEshavA
kurai onrum illai marai mUrti kaNNA
c5:
yAdum marukkAda malaiyappA un mArbil Edum tara nirkkum karuNai kaDalannai
enrum irundiDa Edu kurai enakku onrum kurai illai maraimUrti kaNNA
maNivaNNA malaiappA gOvindA gOvindA gOvindA gOvindA gOvindA gOvindA gOvindA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meaning :
Pallavi: I do not ("illai") have any ("onrum") problem ("kurai") Oh, KaNNa the vEdAs ("marai") personified ("murthi")! I do not have ("onrum illai") any problem ("kurai"), kaNNA! I do not have any ("onrum illai") complaint ("kurai"), Oh, gOvindA!
Anupallavi: You are ("nirkinrai") invisible ("kannuku theriyaada"), Oh, kaNNA! But even ("ninraalum") when you remain invisible("kannuku theriyaada"), I ("yenakku") do not have any ("onrum illai") problem ("kurai"), Oh, kaNNA!
Caranam1: When there is ("enrirukka") Venkatesan to give us ("thandhida") what we want ("Vendiyadhai"), we shall not want ("Verillai") anything ("Vediyadhu"), Oh, kaNNA! maNivaNNa! malaiyappA! gOvindA!
Caranam2: You are standing ("nirkinrai") behind ("pin") a screen ("tiraiyin"), kaNNa! Only ("mattume") the wise men ("jnaaniyar") who are well-versed in the vEdAs ("marai Odum") can "see" ("kaan paar") you ("unnai"). Still ("enraalum") I do not have a ("onrum illai") problem ("kurai") (if I cannot see you).
Caranam3: You ("varadaa") are standing ("nirkkinra") like a stone ("kallaagi") on the hilltop ("kunrin mel"). I do not have any problem ("kurai onrum illai") still.
Caranam4: You have taken ("kalinaalukkirangi") this stone-form ("nilayaaga") recognising this kaliyugA ("kalile"). You are permanently here ("nirkinrai") in this temple ("koyilil").
Caranam5: You do not refuse ("marukkaada") the request ("yAdum") from your devotees. The ever-merciful ("karunai-kadal") Goddess Lakshmi ("kadal annai") is residing in your ("un") chest ("maarbil"). In that situation ("enrum irundida") what ("Edu") deficiency ("kurai") can I ("ennakku") have? I do not have any complaint ("kurai onrum illai"), kannA, maNivaNNa, malaiyappA, gOvindA!
General comments:
This song is unusual in several ways. First of all it is a rare composition by a person who is not a regular composer or a musician. Although Rajaji was a popular writer, he was not recognised as a composer. Secondly, unlike other devotional songs which lament the status of the composer and request the Lord to save them (authors) in this and the next life, this song does not lament nor request special favours. Instead, the song describes the contented state of mind of the composer. The composer does not want anything. He is just content with seeing and worshipping the Lord. He just admires the everlasting grace of Lord Venkatesa of Tirupati.
Rajaji does not make any distinction here between Lord Venkatesa of Tirupati and the incarnation Krishna (known as kaNNAn in Thamizh). He uses the names interchangeably. He expresses only a common concept that the Lord, though present in the stone form, is taking care of the needs of the devotees. However, the concept comes out so crystal-clear when one hears the song. Perhaps it is the melody because there is no splendour of diction in this song. The words used are so commonplace.
Another distinctive feature of this song is that this was sung by MS Subbulakshmi at her United Nations concert in 1969 arranged by the then UN Undersecretary-general C V Narasimhan. The song was set to music by Kadayanallur Venkataraman who has worked with MS for decades. It is now a highly popular song in the concert circuit. Almost every musician keeps it in his/her repertoire to be rendered either as a regular item towards the end or to be rendered at the request of the audience.
Rajaji also composed a benediction verse in English to be rendered at the same UN concert by MS.
Listen to this song from the CD: Sri Venkateswara Balaji Pancharatnamala (CD 2) sung by MS Subbalakshmi.
Thanks to several websites which hosted / posted this great song and mean. Here I only have written the telugu version. The rest is taken from various website. Thanks to all.
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Ramaa rama rama rama
కృతి: రామా రామ రామ రామ
రాగం: చెంచురీతి
తాళం: మేళ
వాగ్గేయకారుడు: త్యాగరాజ
రామా రామ రామ రామ, రారా సీతారామ
సంతతంబు పదముల అర్చింతు, ఏకాంతమునను నిను ఆరాధింతు
తనివితీరా నిను కౌగిలింతు, నాడు దాహమేల్ల దీర్చిసేవింతు
కనులు చల్లగాను నినుగాంతు, నాడు తనువు పులకరించ మెచ్చుకొందు
అడుగడుగుకు ముడుపులన్ అందింతు, నిన్ననుసరించి మెల్ల బల్గనిత్తు
కన్నుల జాడలనుదెలిసి నడుతు రామ! కదమజాలి దూరమునను విడుతు
పామర విషయాదుల నేమరుదు రామ! ని మనసున జెలిమిజేసి కరతు
కొసరి కొసరి సన్నిధినే కొలుతు రామ! కోరి సురతిచేవసరుచు బిలుతు
తొడరి మేనోసంగి తోటలననుటు నిన్నేడబాయక భావమునను దలతు
సమ్మతమును నిత్తునుచేయివ్రాలు రామ! కమ్మని విడమిమ్మని నన్నేలు
ఇటులు దొరకునా బ్రహ్మకైన నేను ఇలను వెలసి నీవేనేనైతే
నిక్కముగా తాళజాలరట్టు రామ! ఎక్కువగా నాదు చేతబట్టు
జాడల విన్నపము తెకుసుకోరా, నీవాడుగాక త్యాగరాజు వేరా?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Rama Rama Rama Rama
Raagam: Chenchuruti
taaLam: Mela
Composer: Thyagaraja
Rama Rama Rama Rama, ra ra SitaRama
Santatambu padamula archinthu, Ekantamunanu ninu aaradhinthu
Taniviteera ninu kougilintu, naadu daahamella deerchi sevinthu
Kanulu challagaanu ninu gaantu, naadu tanuvu pulakarincha mecchukondu
Adugaduguku madupulan andhintu, ninnanusarinchi mella balganittu
Kannula jaadlanu delisi nadutu Rama! Kadamajaali dooramunanu vidutu
Paamara vishayaadula ne maraud Rama! Ni manasuna jelimi jelimi jesi karatu(melt)
Kosari Kosari sannidhine kolutu Rama! Kori suratiche vsaruchu bilutu
Todari menosangi thotalananutu ninnedabayaka bhavamunanu dalatu
Sammatamunu nittunu cheyi vralu Rama! Kammani vidamimmani nannelu
Itulu dorakuna brahmakaina nenu ilanu velasi neeve nenaite
Nikkamuga taala jaala rattu Rama! Ekkuvaga naadu chetabattu
Jaadala vinnapamu tekusukoraa, neevaadu gaaka Thyagaraju Vera
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
రాగం: చెంచురీతి
తాళం: మేళ
వాగ్గేయకారుడు: త్యాగరాజ
రామా రామ రామ రామ, రారా సీతారామ
సంతతంబు పదముల అర్చింతు, ఏకాంతమునను నిను ఆరాధింతు
తనివితీరా నిను కౌగిలింతు, నాడు దాహమేల్ల దీర్చిసేవింతు
కనులు చల్లగాను నినుగాంతు, నాడు తనువు పులకరించ మెచ్చుకొందు
అడుగడుగుకు ముడుపులన్ అందింతు, నిన్ననుసరించి మెల్ల బల్గనిత్తు
కన్నుల జాడలనుదెలిసి నడుతు రామ! కదమజాలి దూరమునను విడుతు
పామర విషయాదుల నేమరుదు రామ! ని మనసున జెలిమిజేసి కరతు
కొసరి కొసరి సన్నిధినే కొలుతు రామ! కోరి సురతిచేవసరుచు బిలుతు
తొడరి మేనోసంగి తోటలననుటు నిన్నేడబాయక భావమునను దలతు
సమ్మతమును నిత్తునుచేయివ్రాలు రామ! కమ్మని విడమిమ్మని నన్నేలు
ఇటులు దొరకునా బ్రహ్మకైన నేను ఇలను వెలసి నీవేనేనైతే
నిక్కముగా తాళజాలరట్టు రామ! ఎక్కువగా నాదు చేతబట్టు
జాడల విన్నపము తెకుసుకోరా, నీవాడుగాక త్యాగరాజు వేరా?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Title: Rama Rama Rama Rama
Raagam: Chenchuruti
taaLam: Mela
Composer: Thyagaraja
Rama Rama Rama Rama, ra ra SitaRama
Santatambu padamula archinthu, Ekantamunanu ninu aaradhinthu
Taniviteera ninu kougilintu, naadu daahamella deerchi sevinthu
Kanulu challagaanu ninu gaantu, naadu tanuvu pulakarincha mecchukondu
Adugaduguku madupulan andhintu, ninnanusarinchi mella balganittu
Kannula jaadlanu delisi nadutu Rama! Kadamajaali dooramunanu vidutu
Paamara vishayaadula ne maraud Rama! Ni manasuna jelimi jelimi jesi karatu(melt)
Kosari Kosari sannidhine kolutu Rama! Kori suratiche vsaruchu bilutu
Todari menosangi thotalananutu ninnedabayaka bhavamunanu dalatu
Sammatamunu nittunu cheyi vralu Rama! Kammani vidamimmani nannelu
Itulu dorakuna brahmakaina nenu ilanu velasi neeve nenaite
Nikkamuga taala jaala rattu Rama! Ekkuvaga naadu chetabattu
Jaadala vinnapamu tekusukoraa, neevaadu gaaka Thyagaraju Vera
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meaning:
Rama, Rama, Ramaa, Rrama, Come, Come Sitarama
I will pay homage at your feet with flowers and divine names,
in solitude (Ekanta Seva), I will worship you.
To my heart's content I will embrace you, to quench all the thirst, I will server you.
I will feast my eyes with cool Darshan of your fascinating form and
in ecstatic thrill that runs in my body, I will extol you.
At your every step I will offer "tambula" to you, and
follow you to your soft-spoken words.
I will recognize and perform as per gestures of your eyes, Srirama!
I will leave physical suffering at bay!
I will forget all happenings around, Sriram!
I will melt in communion with you giving free vent to devotion.
Soliciting your permission again and again,
I will worship and fan you with a round hand fan, calling your divine name.
Dedicating my body to you on my own initiation, I will have the pleasure of
massaging your feet and thighs gazing at you, with devotion, I will imprint
you in my heart and mind.
Slide your hand towards me and I will assure that
I will not shun mydevotion towards you Rama.
Rule me to offer you tasty and fragrant"Tambula"!
In this manner, will even Brahma get blessed of my fortune,
in this world if we merge in you without distinction.
Really, I am unable to stand your rating Rama.
Moreover, I need your camaraderie.
Get to know the different ways I appeal to you!
Is Thyagaraja not yours? Is he different?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rama, Rama, Ramaa, Rrama, Come, Come Sitarama
I will pay homage at your feet with flowers and divine names,
in solitude (Ekanta Seva), I will worship you.
To my heart's content I will embrace you, to quench all the thirst, I will server you.
I will feast my eyes with cool Darshan of your fascinating form and
in ecstatic thrill that runs in my body, I will extol you.
At your every step I will offer "tambula" to you, and
follow you to your soft-spoken words.
I will recognize and perform as per gestures of your eyes, Srirama!
I will leave physical suffering at bay!
I will forget all happenings around, Sriram!
I will melt in communion with you giving free vent to devotion.
Soliciting your permission again and again,
I will worship and fan you with a round hand fan, calling your divine name.
Dedicating my body to you on my own initiation, I will have the pleasure of
massaging your feet and thighs gazing at you, with devotion, I will imprint
you in my heart and mind.
Slide your hand towards me and I will assure that
I will not shun mydevotion towards you Rama.
Rule me to offer you tasty and fragrant"Tambula"!
In this manner, will even Brahma get blessed of my fortune,
in this world if we merge in you without distinction.
Really, I am unable to stand your rating Rama.
Moreover, I need your camaraderie.
Get to know the different ways I appeal to you!
Is Thyagaraja not yours? Is he different?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Archetypal Power of Tyagaraja's Life and Lyrics
A wonderful article, talks about bhakti, meditation, yoga, mind, suprapersonal consciousness, connecting power, music, life of Thyagaraja, the experience I closely can relate to and above all about my Ishtadevata Lord Sriram. This article by Jackson of Austin Thyagaraja Aradhana (ATA), which celebrated the thirteenth annual Thyagaraja Aradhana a couple of years ago. It became a task in itself to cut short the article by 50% to make it from huge to big. I felt the need to retain the reference notes at the bottom as; it contained some interesting philosophical references.
The Archetypal Power of Tyagaraja's Life and Lyrics
The first time I ever heard the sound of Tyagaraja's songs being sung I was struck by a strangely familiar voice; it had an archetypal quality. It was profoundly expressive, almost embarrassingly personal; it seemed ancient and primal, yet also formal, though following rules I did not know. 2 This study is a chance to go back to those roots, so to speak. It is concerned with roots in more ways than one. Since I first started studying Tyagaraja in the late 70s, I have studied other singer-saints and also deepened my understanding of creativity, aesthetics and psychology. In this paper I am exploring Tyagaraja's life and work in relation to psychological concepts from Indian traditions and from Western depth psychology. I want to examine Tyagaraja's life and work for elements that relate to such terms as the "unconscious" or "suprapersonal unconscious," and "archetypes" in this "collective unconscious."
This may seem a difficult endeavor-- to talk about obscured aspects of creative life hidden from the conscious mind. It involves looking into texts for hints of places where a deeper undercurrent or subtext is partly visible. To focus on aspects of Tyagaraja's life and works, which reveal deeper dimensions of psyche, 3 to make ourselves more conscious of things usually left unexamined is rewarding. It takes careful attention to find the right vocabulary. A term like "the unconscious" can be confusing, because in ordinary unreflective parlance we use the word "unconsciousness" for states of non-awareness, being comatose, passed out, or deep sleep. 4 But in yoga and depth psychology the unconscious means subconscious activities of a person's mind, including dreams, fantasies, idea impulses, etc. And the term "collective unconscious" used by Jung has very specific meanings, denoting the shared images, the paradigmatic memories of the human race. Jung speaks of it like this:
This unconscious, buried in the structure of the brain 5 and disclosing its living presence only through the medium of creative fantasy, is the suprapersonal unconscious [which I take to mean the suprapersonal consciousness of which we are usually unconscious]. It comes alive in the creative man, it reveals itself in the vision of the artist, in the inspiration of the thinker, in the inner experience of the mystic. The suprapersonal unconscious, being distributed throughout the brain structure, is like an all-pervading, omnipresent, omniscient spirit. It knows man as he always was, and not as he is at this moment; it knows him as myth. For this reason, also, the connection with the suprapersonal or collective unconscious means an extension of man beyond himself; it means death for his personal being and a rebirth in a new dimension, as was literally enacted in certain of the ancient mysteries. It is certainly true that without the sacrifice of man as he is, man as he was--and always will be-- cannot be attained. And it is the artist who can tell us most about this sacrifice of the personal man... 6
In this view creative persons -- a poet composing, a composer discovering a melody, an artist catching a wave of creativity-- forget themselves, immersed in the realm of archetypal images. 7 The suprapersonal unconscious in this sense gives rise to creativity; the religious imagination phantasizes about the archetypes of the divine. Put in another way "Phantasy [is] the clearest activity whence issue the solutions to all answerable questions; it is the mother of all possibilities, in which too the inner and the outer worlds, like all psychological antitheses, are joined in living union."
(Abhinavagupta similarly states that the imagination (pratibha) is the source of all creative work.)8 Imagination is highly valued; it creatively turns the chaotic flux of life and impressions into stories, meanings involving compelling images, shaping jangling noise into melodies. 9 I believe these concepts can help us appreciate the creative life of Tyagaraja in ways that do not diminish the religious dimension of his art. I will leave the subject of archetypal musical associations of melodies and rhythms, etc., to musicologists who have the necessary expertise in matters of musical dhvani.10 I have always found that listening to Tyagaraja's music puts me in a contemplative mood or state of mind, but as a student of comparative religion I am better prepared to explore aspects of the deep images in Tyagaraja's lyrics, and in his life story, rather than the music. In my previous works on Tyagaraja this was an implicit theme, here I am focusing on it more directly. 11
Speaking about Tyagaraja a rasika said: "The greatness of great people is that they reflect truths [which are] in us. By suggestion, they enable us to see within ourselves. The object ceases to be Tyagaraja, [it becomes] us." How does that response happen? How do certain aspects of his life and work resonate in us? There is something hidden and something shared in the unknown realm of the unconscious. How are we to inquire into the secrets of this long-enduring resonance between the saintly composer and the little-known depths within us? How does a great singer-saint such as Tyagaraja make such a strong and long-lasting impression on so many psyches? 12
As we discuss Tyagaraja's power it will be useful to consider some of the main qualities associated with the terms "subconscious" or "unconscious," "collective unconscious" and "archetypes" and see what they may reveal about Tyagaraja's experiences and artistic expressions still vital in South India today. What do the stories of Tyagaraja and his songs (usually taken at face value) reveal when we focus on them in light of the psychological insights of India and the West 13 regarding the nature of the basic and elusive collective (or suprapersonal) unconscious?
Fancies, Reveries, Dreams and Visions
A key term in Patanjali's Yogasutras is chitta, mind-stuff, both conscious and unconscious. In yoga the subconscious is made up of chittavritti the whirlwinds of consciousness, and these states of mind are said to be of three types: confused, restrained, and mixed. Yoga's practices are meant to remove the confusion. A yogi uses various means to work with the vritti, the mindwhirls. Through samadhi the yogi is said to go beyond human conditioning, from suffering to freedom. Enchained in samsara human beings seek deliverance, through yogic disciplines such as meditation and devotional music. Another way to say this is that if the unconscious is made up of memories, then memories are conditionings which are transcended in processes involving "forgetting," eliminating, purifying, calming the whirling, awakening to the clarity of samadhi.14
Here are some lines from Patanjali on yogic ways of transcending mental agitations: "Mind attains peace, when meditation produces extra-ordinary senseperceptions; or by meditation on the inner light that leads beyond sorrow; or by meditation on saints who have attained desirelessness; or by meditation on the knowledge gained through dream or sleep." 15 Thus, though it is a mystery, the subconscious can partially be discussed by conscious minds, and the mind can be pacified by powerful experiences, including glimpses which come unsubmerged in meditation and dreams. 16
Even in Tyagaraja's earliest biographies dreams play a significant role. His parents' dreams announced his birth, and his father's dream led to the location where the family would settle, in Tiruvaiyaru. It is said that as a baby Tyagaraja dreamily stopped nursing whenever he heard music being played. It is said that while playing with children in the street the child Tyagaraja daydreamed about Lord Sriram. 17
Bhakti is a path of befriending the subconscious with the help of mantra, music and meditation on the beloved. The bhakti practice of repeating the name of one's istadevata, culminates in dreams or visions of one's favorite form of the deity.
In Tyagaraja's case twenty years of repeating the Sriram taraka mantra 960 million times led to his seeing Lord Sriram in dream or vision and receiving inspiration.
Perhaps we can say this spiritual exercise of japa with a target number to precipitate a vision is a conscious experiment performed to know in vision the transcendent in the form of the istadevata in the depths of the suprapersonal unconscious.18 It is believed by many that Tyagaraja composed songs while immersed in a deeper state of consciousness, and that his pupils wrote and learned what he sang spontaneously in that state. A dreamlike state is not always used to describe this, but sometimes it is trance or samadhi, or some higher consciousness beyond the mundane.19 Traditions seem to imply that immersed in bhakti with music as second nature to him, he sang his compositions only semi-aware of the world around him.
Indian artists traditionally have a yogic practice in their artistic process, a way to know directly the divine images they are supposed to depict, deriving them from ideal forms or archetypes. So too, from all accounts Tyagaraja sang out of directly experienced moods the taste of the emotional flavors, conveying them musically by becoming an instrument of bhakti experiences. He was in harmony with the tradition but was carrying the tradition forward rather than merely using conscious musical technique to maniplate the response of listeners.
Another important term in yoga is vasanas, impressions from past experiences. The term itself suggests subtlety "perfumings of the mindfolds" -- odors are invisible yet precise, and they stir memories. ( Samskara is another term for these lasting impressions made in the past.) Hindu traditions try to come to terms with Tyagaraja's extraordinary musical abilities by thinking of him as an incarnation of a previous great devotee, especially Valmiki, voicing Lord Sriram's story in a mode suitable to the times. "Purva janma vasana" means impression from previous birth, memories and tendencies carried over from past life. These are essential in the Hindu explanation for child prodigies, latent talents, and a variety of predispositions and inexplicable abilities. (Since our memories are colored by rasas, ourvasanas, the subtle hidden dimensions of citta, are presumably inextricable from rasas. 20) In the Hindu view each person has different adhikaras, whether from past actions, or from grace or luck, as seen in the common South Indian belief in "headwriting," fate written at birth on the forehead. In the text Sangita Ratnakara the lotus petals of the seven chakras situated along the spine are open or closed to signify a person's karmic talents or disabilities. Obviously a saint's self-aware adhikara s are different from an ignorant criminal's blindly unconscious drives and impulses. The saint's personal unconscious with its compassionate scenarios activated would be more benevolent than the more rebellious archetypes active in a criminal's unconscious. 21 Understanding Tyagaraja in terms of a previous great exponent of Lord Sriram devotion -- Valmiki-- conveys the people's explanation of his greatness, as do the legends that Narada gave Tyagaraja special musical knowledge.
In a Sanskrit account of a poignant moment in Tyagaraja's life we can also see a portrayal of how Tyagaraja's intense personal experiences of Lord Sriram may have seemed dreamlike to ordinary people: The scene depicts the culmination of years of devotion, mantra and meditation. At milking time as Tyagaraja removed old flowers from his home shrine, he was struck by the overwhelming beauty of the images of Lord Sriram and Lakshmana, and he saw a blue river rising like the light of a beautiful blue moon. Lord seem to come to life as twelve year old with mesmerizing features and Tyagaraja stands transfixed as they look at him while "a ray of light filled the four directions with blue and golden beams." Realizing he is in the presence of Lord Sriram, Tyagaraja feels confused and starts to bow, and they disappear. Tyagaraja "covered with darkness" now gets up and looks around bewildered, "losing consciousness." Very sad he searches everywhere in the darkened house and runs out into neighbors' courtyards, hurrying along streets calling his name. Not finding them he keeps exerting himself, with a tearful look on his face. Returning home he hurries in, frantically hoping they're still there. Not finding them he staggers out and asks his students "Where is heroic Lord Sriram? He was just here. You must have seen Him -- answer me! Where are He?" Seeing him so beside himself with agitation the students were saddened. Others seeing him in this mentally disturbed state laughed. His distressed students, unaware of the reason for his bewilderment and anguish followed but couldn't ask him about it.
After a while, still unsuccessful, he returned home, exhausted. 22 The experience thus depicted in these memorializing stories is dreamlike in that Tyagaraja alone sees the divine hero with great splendor and strange lights, while to everyone else he seems to be talking about and reacting to imaginary phantoms. (As the Bhagavad Gita says, the yogi is awake in that which is night to all beings; that in which all beings wake is night to the self-realized sage.) The scene has pathos, and listeners react with karuna rasa, the emotional flavor of compassion.
Another, more mundane example of evidence that Tyagaraja was entranced, his awareness immersed in the depths of the suprapersonal unconscious, is the fact that he was known for his anger. 23 Like Beethoven he is remembered for becoming irritated or enraged when interrupted by intrusions into the process of composing. The episode of a boy walking on drying sesame seeds causing his temper to flair up is an example of this anger at the spell of enchantment being broken. The bhakta immersed in devotion's deeper aesthetic moods prefers inspiration's flow to the rude disturbance of the trivial mundane world making its demands on him. The vivid enthusiasm of the enthralled bhakta's immersion in the religious imagination, the archetypal unconscious makes an incongruous impression on others.
For example, Kulashekhara, an alvar (early South Indian Vaishnava saint) who was a poet and king living in the 9th century, is remembered for listening so intently to, and being so moved by, the story of Lord Sriram, that at one point he jumped up and exclaimed "Come on! Let's go help him fight Ravana!" How could his subjects tell him that the war had been won many centuries before? The forgetfulness of self and surroundings when the archetypal reality in stories and music stirs one dramatically shows the power of images and scenarios brought to life by bhakti arts using rhythmic words.24 Jung wrote "The borderline between conscious and unconscious is in large measure determined by our view of the world." 25 A Kulashekhara, a Chaitanya, or a Tyagaraja seem to be able to experience the hidden realm of suprapersonal consciousness as vividly as they do the obvious world. In India the greatest kavis (poets) are thought of as transcending time—they have a timeless vision, an ever relevant expression of truth so they are placed beyond. Jung's view of the collective unconscious is also outside the limits of the individual person, and ordinary time. Not an ordinary composer, the hermit Valmiki heard the story of Lord Sriram from rishi Narada. Brahma asked Valmiki to write Lord Sriram's story. Valmiki through yoga attained deeper insight into the story, and saw Lord Sriram and Sita in action, the whole story being visualized in his mind. It was after these experiences that he is said to have shaped the great epic in shlokas.
The Archetype of the Cosmic Hero Lord SriRam as Ishtadevata
The traditional Indian conception of a work of art is to make something which is a
"means of re-integration," a samskarana, something sacramental. 33 Such art typically presents archetypal images of the transcendent to which seekers can relate. 34 Adarshamurti ("ideal form") and drashtanta rupa ("a type or pinnacle of personified idea") are terms in Sanskrit with similar meanings to the term "archetype," 35 denoting a symbolic image, representative likeness capable of multiple appearances. The archetypal image is attractive, compelling. 36 Through shared archetypes each life participates in deeper patterns. According to this view humans are endowed with the collective unconscious because (like the memories stored in DNA) it fits a person into the world we all participate in, and it also relates the person to the transcendent. 37 Much in bhakti depends upon activating the religious imagination. The psyche is activated by strong images; archetypes are considered by Jung and Hillman to be "the deepest patterns of psychic functioning, the roots of the soul governing perspectives we have of ourselves and the world." Archetypes are able to set up inclusive patterns, "organizing events from different areas of life in a comprehensive world view." 38 Thus archetypes are called "systems of readiness for action, and at the same time images and emotions. They are inherited with the brain-structure -- indeed, they are its psychic aspect." 39 Furthermore, "all activity of the psyche is an image and an imagining; otherwise no consciousness and no phenomenality of the process could exist. Imagining is a psychic process." 40 In this view soul and images are integral—one and the same. (In the Hindu view the atman is transcendent and samadhi is a state beyond images, of that ultimate formless consciousness.)
"The archetype does not proceed from physical facts; it describes how the psyche experiences the physical facts... and in so doing the psyche often behaves so autocratically that it denies tangible reality or makes statements that fly in the face of it." 41 The central archetype of Lord Sriram, Tyagaraja's ishtadevata, described by Valmiki in the first chapter of the first book of the Ramayana , powerfully embodies the divine ideal of human life:
Lord Sriram is self-restrained, majestic, firm, wise, well behaved, eloquent, charming, able to destroy opponents, with broad shoulders, long arms, expansive chest, a skillful archer, with beautiful head and forehead and attractive stride. He has an agreeable blue color, large eyes, prosperity and is replete with auspicious signs. He is righteous, true to his promises, beloved, concerned for the welfare of his people, renowned, endowed with wisdom, having a holy radiance, dutiful, profound in his meditation. He is the guardian of the world soul, endowed with Dharma's protection, knower of the truth of the Vedas and branches of Vedic knowledge, having the meaning of the Shastras, having the tradition ( smriti). Beloved of all the world he has an un-depressed spirit, is good, wise, bright. Good people approach him as the bestower of blessings, as the ocean is approached by the rivers. Honorable, treating all fairly, he is the one whose darshan is always beloved. He is endowed with all good qualities, multiplies his mother's joy, he is deep like the sea, and calm like a snow-crested mountain. His firmness is like Vishnu's, his anger is like Kalagni's (the fire at the end of the world), in endurance he is like the earth. He is as great in his renunciation as Dhanada, in truth he is like the highest Dharma, he is full of all the best virtues, and has the strength of Truth. 42 Lord Sriram has all the martial and ethical virtues a prince needs, knowledge of weapons, law, truth and beauty, benevolence and honor. He always knows what he must do and is ready and able to do it. He always puts the wishes of others before his own, he is loved by all who know him, and only he can break the bow and win Sita, which enables the marriage of heaven and earth. Lord Sriram linked to greatness and glory, vibhutis, he is divinely noble, the epitome of masculine ideals, as Sita is the feminine ideal.
In some songs Tyagaraja emphasized that Lord Sriram is a rasika, a lover of music. By constant devotion to his ishtadevata Lord Sriram, with mantra and music, meditation and puja, Tyagaraja drew to himself experiences of this archetypal image of God. Archetypes "are complexes of experience that come upon us fatefully, their effects being in our most personal life." 43 By all accounts Lord Sriram was at the very heart of Tyagaraja's life. The world is beyond an individual's control, often even in simple matters, let alone the catastophic famines and wars occurring during Tyagaraja's times.
The focus on Lord Sriram as protector, and the bhakta seeking his protection, is found in the refrain of many songs: " Pahi mam-- please protect us." Bhakti faith can show a kind of magical power in a changing unpredictable world. Tyagaraja's lifelong devotion to Lord Sriram gave him many roles to play and inspiration in the playing of them. There is an innocent unselfconscious childlike quality in surrender to the divine king or in the relationship of a son to a father. There is motivation, striving to live up to high standards in the fulfilling of one's duties as a servant of Lord Sriram. There are sublime possibilities in being the musician praising Lord Sriram. There are deep feelings involved in relating to Sriram as the beloved-- longing, hope, disappointment, grief, exultation, and enthusiasm. Bhakti artists convey these: "The creative process... consists in the unconscious activation of an archetypal image, and in elaborating and shaping this image into the finished work. By giving it shape, the artist translates it into the language of the present, and so makes it possible for us to find our way back to the deepest springs of life." 44 The image of Lord Sriram, needless to say, filled Tyagaraja with finely nuanced enthusiasm, and he sang of their unfolding bhakti relationship.
Reference Notes:
1.The Bhagavad Gita, tr. Swami Chidbhavananda, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna
Tapovanam, 1970, p. 203.
2.When I first heard a Tyagaraja kriti it was chanted without musical accompaniment. It was an a formal setting at Harvard University, and was full of emotion, an ancient voice in the modern world. It was in about 1978; C.V. Narasimhan was singing one night at the Center for the Study of World Religions. Soon after that I heard M.S. Subbalakshmi sing at MIT.
3.We have to admit that since Tyagaraja is not personally here to discuss his own life and work we can only make educated guesses and speculate about some matters. But a work of art is a reflection of the artist and of the artist's vision of the life, world he inhabits. "Only in the image which we create do we ourselves appear. Only in the image which we create do we step fully into the light and become recognizable to ourselves as a whole being. We never give the world any other face than our own, and this is just why we have to do so, i.e., in order to discover ourselves. For above science and art as an end in themselves stands man, the creator of his tools." Carl. G. Jung, Psychological Reflections, Jolande Jacobi, ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1961, p. 248.
4.I have the sense that although "the Unconscious" is very important in Jung's view, to Hindus it may sound like something anchored in the lowest, the hard to control vasanas to which people are ordinarily blindly subject. "Unconscious" sounds like lack of higher consciousness, the tamas or darkness referred to in the Shanti mantra ("from darkness lead me to the light"), but to Jung it means a subtly hidden conscious activity of primordial images. To many people of both East and West the unconscious may be associated with shameful humiliation and confusion, though Jung argues for its great importance as source of all inspiration. To Hindus the "suprapersonal unconscious" might indicate some awareness anchored in the highest-- the ultimate saccidananda -- the reflection of which makes intellect possible. The atman or spirit is trancendent, even when sheathed in bliss, intellect, mind, body, etc., which entangle the soul.
5.James Hillman writes: "Elusive, mercurial, the unconscious is not a place, not a state, but a dark ironic brother, and echoing sister, reminding." "The Unconscious," Eranos Yearbook, vol. 54, 1985, p. 309.
6.Carl G. Jung, Civilization in Transition, Collected Works, vol. 10, p. 10.
7."Through the sacrifice of ourselves we gain ourselves, the Self; for we only have what we give." Carl G. Jung, Psychological Reflections, p. 296.
8.C.G. Jung, Psychological Reflections, p. 12.
9.Abinavagupta similarly states that the imagination (pratibha) is the source of all creative work, in Dhvanayaloka-lochana. Cited in V. Raghavan, and Nagendra, An Introduction to Indian Poetics, Bombay: Macmillan, 1970, p. 64. Albert Einstein famously said:"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited; imagination can encircle the world."
10.Dhvani, a term used in Hindu aesthetics, means suggestion, overtone, reverberations in the associative mind.
11.For example in the book Tyagaraja -- Life and Lyrics, I explored a series of archetype-like episodes found in a number of South Indian's singer-saints' lives.
12.Even in our fast-paced and market-driven world Tyagaraja is important to many people. He continues to resonate comfortably among people who are very careful in discerning and appreciating music with spiritual power. Tyagaraja provides an example of spiritual values and experiences powerful enough to communicate to many succeeding generations of musicians and listeners. At the end of a thoughtful letter Prabhakar Chitrapu of InterDigital Communications Corporation, in Philadelphia, raised the question in quotation marks.
13.A Hindu response to this topic: "Superconscious and unconscious and subconscious need to be kept separate. Subconscious has a conglomeration of vasanas, desires for satisfaction of cravings of the ten senses. Superconscious is close to the core of individual-divinity, coiled in illusion of sensual cravings, delusion of doership and false identification with limited self which includes chitta, besides body, mind and intellect. The past samskaras are above vasanas, but closer to delusions [of] deluded perception rather than conception. When one reaches superconsciousness ... one drops the coil of delusion, gets transformed and eventually identifies with the Self. All the archetypes - - of water, Sriram, Beauty, Divinity etc., are but words used to describe one common archetype of Self (which is an ocean of bliss, etc.) There are no adequate words to describe the state of Self, but the yogi, bhakta, poet, musician try to portray the Self with the help of words and images known to common people. It is a communication that helps create communion-- one out of many." Dr. Chandrahas Shah, Arlington, Massachusetts, Feb. 2002, in correspondence.
14.In this sense the unconscious relates to the concept of maya, as a veil of confusion and allurement, clouding by attachments, forgetfulness of divine reality. The process of realizing maya's meaning is like the Purusha seeing through Prakriti's dance and waking to clarity, consciousness.
15.Yogasutras I.35-38.Aphorisms of Yoga by Bhagwan Shree Patanjali, tr. Purohit Swami, London: Faber & Faber, 1938, p. 42-3.
16.Hindu ideas about dreams are found in the Agni Purana, "O thou Lord of all the gods, teach me in dreams how to carry out all the work I have in my mind." (Chapter XLIII) See also Patanjali's Yogasutras I.38, Katha Upanishad V.8, and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.3,9-18. Cited by A. K. Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Shiva, New York: Noonday Press (Farrar Straus), 1963, pp. 27, 175.
17.William J. Jackson, Tyagaraja-- Life and Lyrics, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, p. 4.
18.R.D. Ranade, Pathway to God in Kannada Literature, Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1989, pp. 239ff, pp. 265ff, pp. 271ff. Jung writes "Just as the love experience is the real experience of a real fact, so is the vision. Whether it's object be of a physical, a psychic, or a metaphysical nature does not concern us. It is psychic reality, having the same dignity as the physical. The experience of human passion stands within the frontiers of unconsciousness; the object of the vision, however, lies beyond. In the emotion we experience known things but intuition leads us to unknown and hidden things, to things that are secret by nature, and which, if they are ever conscious, are intentionally hidden and secreted away; for this reason there clings to them, from time immemorial, mystery, strangeness, and illusion." Psychological Reflections, p. 178.
19.Paradoxically one of his breakthroughs in this otherworldly state was to perfect the kriti form, known for it's concise miniature make-every-note-and-syllable-
21.The saint has befriended his unconscious, and good works are produced from its workings; the killer is driven blindly in compulsive passionate tragedy. D.T Suzuki has written about the unconscious in Zen. Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings of D.T. Suzuki, ed. William Barrett, Garden City: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1956. "Zen and the Unconscious" pp. 157-226.
33 .Discussed by A.K. Coomaraswamy in Selected Papers , vol. I, p. 145. The term is used in the Brahmanas, for example, Shatapatha Brahmana VI.1.2.29.
34 .Jung writes that mental processes involving primordial images exist at a deeper level than calculative logic. The deeper thinking involves "symbols which are older than historical man, which have been ingrained in him from earliest times, and, eternally living, outlasting all generations, still make up the groundwork of the human psyche. It is only possible to live the fullest life when we are in harmony with these symbols; wisdom is a return to them." Carl G. Jung, Psychological Reflections, p. 42. The story and image of Sriram is such an archetypal symbol.
35 .A likeness to archetypes is found in Book 10 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna identifies with the most prominent or renowned of each class of things is held up as the vibhutis or glorious attributes of God. There is an archetypal quality in being Sriram among weapons weilders, Narada among deva rishis, Meru among mountains, the Ocean among bodies of water, Time among reckoners, the thunderbolt among weapons, etc.
36 .There are articles discussing archetypes as strange attractors, a term used in the study of chaotic processes, in mental dynamics. For example, J.R. Van Eenwyk, "Archetypes: the strange attractors of the psyche," Journal of Analytical Psychology , 1991, vol. 36, pp. 1-125
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