Meaning for Bharatiar's dikku teriyada kaatil

[jandancer]

I understand the overall meaning, but need the word to word meaning!! Thanks

[Lakshman]

dikku teriyAda kATTil. rAgA: hindustAnitODi / rAgamAlikA. Adi tALA.

P: dikku teriyAda kATTil unait-tEdit-tEdi iLaittEnE
1: mikka nalamuDaiya marangaL pala vindai shuvaiyuDaiya kanigaL endap-
pakkattaiyu marakkum varaigaL angu pADi nagarnduvaru nadigaL
2: nenjil kanal maNakkum pUkkaL engum nILak-kiDaikkumilaik-kaDalgaL madi
vanjittiDum agazhi shunaigaL muTkaL maNDit-tuyar koDukkum pudargaL oru
3: Ashai pera vizhikkum mAngaL uLLam anjak-kural pazhagum puligaL nalla
dEshak-kavitai shollum paravai angu nINDE paDuttirukkum pAmbu oru
4: tanniccai koNDalaiyum singam adan shaddattinirk-kalangum yAnai adan
munninrODu mina mAngaL ivai muTTAdayal padungum tavaLai oru
5: kAlkai shOrndu vizha vAnEn iru kaNNUm tuyil paDaralAnEn oru
vEl kaik-koNDu kolai vEDan uLLam veTkam koNDozhiya vizhittAn oru
6: peNNE unadazhagaik-kaNDu manam pittam koLLudenru naghaittAn aDi
kaNNE enadiru kaN maNiyE unaik-kaTTit-tazhuva manam koNDEn
7: shOrndE paDuttirukkalAmO nalla tuNDak-kari shamaittut-tinbOm avai
tErndE kanigaL koNDu taruvEn nalladEngaLLUNDinidu kaLippOm
8: enrE koDiya vizhi vEDan uyir iTrup-pOgha vizhitturaittAn tani
ninrE iru karamum kuvittu anda nIcan munnarivai sholvEn
9: aNNA unadaDiyil vIzhvEn enai anjak-koDumai sholla vENDA piran
kaNNAlan sheiduviTTa peNNai unran kaNNArp-pArttiDavum taghumO
10: EDI shAttirangaL vENDEn ninadinbam vENDumaDi kaniyE ninran
mODi kirukkudaDi talaiyai nalla mondaip-pazhaiya kaLLaip-pOlE
11: kAdAl indavurai kETTEn aDa kaNNA venralari vIzhndEnmighap-
pOdAgavillai idarkkuLLE enran bOdham teLiya ninaik-kaNDEn
12: kaNNA vEDanengu pOnAn unaik-kaNDE alari vizhundAnO maNi
vaNNA enadabhayakkuralil enai vAzhvikka vanda aruL vAzhi

(for stanzas generally sung, the ragas are: behAg, bauLi, kuntalavarALi, shahAnA, kApi and paraju)

[rshankar]

This is a beautiful composition (which of the mahAkavi's isn't?), where I am amazed at the catholicity of his interests - under the pretext of describing the path taken by the nAyikA who is lost, he captures the verdant beauty of the forest - flora described in caraNams 1 and 2, and fauna in caraNams 3 and 4, but none as fearsome as the human animal who is described from caraNams 5 on, with the grace of the Lord captured in the final couple.

I was very surprised that the only person who has sung 10 of these 11 caraNams (exception is caraNam 2) is Maharajapuram Sri Santanam. In a concert in Indianapolis many years ago, when Sri TNK played this song, he said that based on his experiences in the US, he would be substituting the word 'nATTil' instead of 'kATTil'!

The GNB school (Sri GNB himself, and Sri TVR) sing 4 of these caraNams, but the wording of the last caraNam is changed so much by them, the meaning changes entirely!

pallavi
dikku teriyAda kATTil unait-tEdit-tEdi iLaittEnE (kaNNA)

Oh krishNA (kaNNA), I have wearied/exhausted (iLaittEnE) myself, searching (tEDi tEDi) for you (unai) in this forest (kATTil), where I do not know (teriyAda) of any refuge (dikku).

caraNam 1
mikka nalamuDaiya marangaL pala vindai shuvaiyuDaiya kanigaL endap-
pakkattaiyum maraikkum varaigaL angu pADi nagarnduvarum nadigaL

In this forest, I behold trees (marngaL) that are extremely (mikka) good/useful (nalamuDaiya) and fruits (kanigaL) with many amazing/wondrous (vindai) tastes (SuvaiuDaiya). The forest is shrouded with mountains (varaigaL) that seem to offer cover (maRaikkum) from all/any (enda) direction (pakkattaiyum), with rivers (nadigaL) that seem to sing (pADi) joyously as they flow (nagarnduvarum) down those (angu) slopes.

caraNam 2
nenjil kanal maNakkum pUkkaL engum nILak-kiDaikkumilaik-kaDalgaL madi
vanjittiDum agazhu shunaigaL muTkaL maNDit-tuyar koDukkum pudargaL oru

The flowers (pUkkaL) in this forest give off heady fragrances (maNakkum) that warm (kanal) one's heart (nenjil) and everywhere (engum) one turns, one finds (kiDaikkum) long (nILa) layers (kaDalgaL) of leaves (ilai) that form screens. Lest one think that everything here is wonderful and benign, the forest also has some apparently beautiful (azhagu) pools (SunaigaL) that can deceive (vanjittiDum) one's mind (madi), and one is certain to be bothered/troubled by (tuyar koDukkum) closely placed (maNDi) obstacles (muTkaL) in the form of dense shrubs/bushes (pudargaL) in the undergrowth.

caraNam 3
Ashai pera vizhikkum mAngaL uLLam anjak-kural pazhagum puligaL nalla
nEshak-kavidai shollum paravai angu nINDa paDuttirukkum pAmbu oru

In this forest, there are deer (mAngaL) that gaze (vizhikkum) at one in order to engage (pera) one's affections (ASai), and tigers (puligaL) that seem to practice (pazhagum) their fearsome (anja) roars (kural). There are birds (paravi) which seem to voice (Sollum) excellent (nalla) love (nESa) poems (kavidai) when they sing, and one can also see long/elongated (nINDA) snakes (pAmbu) that lie (paDuttirukkUm) about there (angu) as well.

caraNam 4
tanniccai koNDalaiyum shingam adan shattattinirk-kalangum yAnai adan
munninrODum iLa mAngaL ivai kokkaraiyil padungum tavaLai oru

In this forest, as a lion (Singam) roams (alaiyum) and roars around wherever his (tan) desire (iccai) takes him (koNDu), an elephant (yAnai) cringes (kalangum) as it (adan) roars (shattattinir), young (iLa) deer (mAngaL) take fright and flee (ODum) from it (munninru), and frogs (tavaLai) hide out (padungum) in nooks and crannies (kokkaraiyil).

caraNam 5
kAlkai shOrndu vizhal AnEn iru kaNNUm tuyil paDaralAnEn oru
vEl kaik-koNDu malai vEDan uLLam veTkam koNDozhiya vizhittAn oru

After roaming about in this nerve-racking forest, my limbs (kAl - feet, kai - arms) [1] grow (AnEn) weary (SOrndu vizhal), both (iru) my eyes become laden (paDaralAnEn) [2] with sleep (tuyil), and as I curl up, a hunter (vEDan) from these mountains (malai) wielding/holding (koNDu) a spear (vEl) in his hands (kai) stares (vizhittAn) unabashedly (uLLam vetkam koNDozhiya) [3] at me.

caraNam 6
peNNE unadazhagaik-kaNDu manam pittam koLLudenru nagaittAn aDi
kaNNE enadiru kaN maNiyE unaik-kaTTit-tazhuva manam koNDEn

He leered (nagaittAn) at me saying these words (endru): "oh woman (peNNE)! My mind (manam) is filled (koLLudu) with delirium (pittam) as I behold (kaNDu) your (unadu) beauty (azhagai). My dear (kaNNE), you are like a gem (maNiyE) to my (enadu) (two (iru)) eyes (kaN)! My mind (manam) is filled (koNDEn) with thoughts of embracing (kaTTi tazhuva) you (unai)!"

caraNam 7
shOrndE paDuttirukkalAmO nalla tuNDak-kari shamaittut-tinbOm avai
tErndE kanigaL koNDu taruvEn nalla tEngaLLuNDinidu kaLippOm

He continues, "How can you continue to languish (SOrndE) and lie (paDuttirukkalAmO) there? Let us cook (Samaittu) and eat (tinbO) tasty (nalla) morsels (tuNDu) of meat (kari). I will collect/choose (tErndE) delicious fruits (kanigaL) and bring (koNDu taruvEn) them to you. We will enjoy (kaLippOm) ourselves consuming (uNDu) these excellent (nalla) dishes including honey (tEngaL)."

caraNam 8
enrE koDiya vizhi vEDan uyir iTrup-pOga vizhitturaittAn tani
ninrE iru karamum kuvittu anda nIcan munnarivai sholvEn

So (enrE) saying (uraittAn), the hardened (koDiya vizhi) hunter (vEDan) glared (vizhittu) at me, and I felt as if I was being robbed (iTRu pOga) of my very life (uyir). Gathering up my courage, I moved away (tani ninrE) from him, and folding (kuvittu) both (iru) my hands (karamum), I tried to preach (SolvEn) some wisdom (munnarivai) to that (anda) uncouth (nIccan) man.

caraNam 9
aNNA unadaDiyil vIzhvEn enai anjak-koDumai sholla vENDAm piran
kaNNAlam sheiduviTTa peNNai unran kaNNArp-pArttiDavum tagumO

"Oh brother (aNNA)! I will fall (vIzhvEn) at your (unadu) feet (aDiyil) if you want, but please do not (vENDAm) speak (Solla) such words that are fearsome (anja) and harsh (koDumai) to me (enai). Is it appropriate (tagumO) for you to even raise your (undan) eyes (kaNNAl) and look (pArttiDavum) at a woman (peNNai) who is married (kaNNAlam SeiduviTTa) to another man (piran)?"

caraNam 10
EDI shAttirangaL vENDEn ninadinbam vENDumaDi kaniyE ninran
mODi kirukkudaDi talaiyai nalla mondaip-pazhaiya kaLLaip-pOlE

Hearing this, the hunter snarled, "You fool (EDi)! I did not ask (vENDEn) you for the rules of engagement (SAttirangaL) [4]. All I desire (vENDum) is to enjoy the pleasures (inbam) you offer (ninadu), my dear (kaniyE). Your (ninran) manner (mODi) is as intoxicating as (pOle) excellently (nalla) fermented (pazhaiya) [5] toddy (kaLLai) from a earthen vessel (mondai), it is making my head (talaiyai) spin (kirukkudaDi)."

caraNam 10
kAdAl inda urai kETTEn aDa kaNNA enralari vIzhndEn migap-
pOdAgavillai idarkkuLLE enran bOdham teLiya ninaik-kaNDEn

Even as I heard (kAdAl kETTEn) these (inda) words (urai), I wailed/called out (alari) your name (aDa kaNNA enru) and fainted (vIzhndEn) from fright. But, when I came to (enran bOdham teLiya) before (idarkuLLE illai) the passage (Aga) of too much (miga) time (pOdu), I beheld (kaNDEn) you (ninai).

caraNam 11
kaNNA vEDanengu pOnAn unaik-kaNDE alari vizhundAnO maNi
vaNNA enadu bhayakkuralil enai vAzhvikka vanda aruL vAzhi

"Oh krishNa (kaNNA)! Where (engu) did the hunter (vEDan) disappear (pOnAn) to? Did he scream (alari) with fright, and fall (vizhundAnO) when he caught sight (kaNDE) of you (unai)? Oh emerald (maNi)-hued (vaNNA) one! Hail (vAzhI) to the divine grace (aruL) that came (vanda) here to save (vAzhvikka) me (enai) in response to my (enadu) call (kuralil) of distress (bhaya) [6]!"

FOOTNOTES
[1] In most versions this is enunciated as 'kAlgaL' - meaning feet
[2] Many versions enunciate this as 'vaLaralAnEn' with the same meaning
[3] uLLam veTkam koNDozhiya - taking (koNDu) shame (veTkam) and banishing (ozhiya) it from his heart/mind (uLLam)
[4] Alternately, this could be interpreted as ' I do not want (vENDEn) to have the scriptures (SAttirangaL) quoted to me'
[5] pazhaiya - old, which in this context means 'more fermented'
[6] In many versions, this phrase is enunciated as 'enadabhaya kuralil', which doesn't make sense, because, if the heroine is fearless (abhaya) there would be no need for kirshNa to come to her rescue. So, I have translated this contextually. Please correct me if I am wrong

[vasanthakokilam]

Good work Ravi. I will spend some more time later soaking in the lyrics and your translation.

Without thinking too much about it, I have been hearing it all along as 'tikku teriyAda kATTil unait-tEdit-tEdi iLaittEnE' to mean 'I have become lean looking for you in a forest where I can not sense the direction'!!

[sridhar_ranga]

VK - you may be right and wrong! dikku should mean direction as it comes from Sanskrit (cf. ashTa dig gaja etc.). When the meaning is refuge, I'm not sure if the Tamil word for it dikku or tikku - if it is not of Sanskrit origin, then it probably is tikku (I remember Rajaji's novel - tikkaRRa pArvati, or should it be dikkaRRa pArvati?)

I listed this as my favourite song in letter D in the other thread by ArunK! I'm not sure if it is t or d now!

[sridhar_ranga]

forgot to compliment rshankar for this great translation! bravo!

[rshankar]

Thanks Sridhar and VK..as I see it, it should be 'dikku' - refuge going by the usage in compositions from other languages, i.e. telugu, where phrases like 'dikk(u)evarammA', 'dikk(u)evaraiyyA', 'dikku lEdu' etc. abound (and it is dikku and not tikku).

As I understand it with my rather limited knowledge of sanskrit, the word for direction is diSA, and it is contracted to dik, and when combined with 'pAlak' (keeper/protector), it becomes dikpAlak. When dik is combined with words that start with a vowel, the k becomes g, like in dik+ambar=digambar, dik+antar=digantar. Rajani or Keerthi can help more in this regard.

[sridhar_ranga]

Now that you mentioned it, I can recall DKJ singing '*dikku* vErillai dheena SaranyA, dEvar munivar paNi subrahmanyA' in the Abhogi kriti, nekkurugi unnai panindAl...

[vasanthakokilam]

Irrespective of tikku or dikku, are we saying 'dikku' means 'refuge' and not the literal 'direction'? The phrase 'dikku teriyada' is qualfying the word 'kAttil' and not the subject 'I' of the song. If I stretch it, I can bring in the subject 'I' into the picture by interpreting it as 'I do not have any refuge in that forest but other may' so the 'direction/refuge' part of it is not a characteristic of the forest itself but only when applied to 'I' in the 'forest'...Then 'personal refuge' makes sense. I know I am over thinking this...

[rshankar]

Having extended the meaning from the telugu usage of dikku when I first tanslated, VK's posts made me check the official meaning of the word 'dikku/tikku' in the Cologne online tamizh dictionary, and here is what is given there:
03 1. cardinal and intermediate points, eight quarters; 2. protection, shelter, aid, asylum, refuge; 3. season. opportunity

(other meanings for tikku- 02 stuttering, halting in speech [and this is what I mean when I use tikku, or tikku-tal: 01 1. to stutter, stammer; 2. to err or hesitate, as in recitation reading, etc,])

So, technically, dikku eTTu makes sense in refering to the 8 quarters/directions. But in the context of this composition, 'dikku teriyAda' is not synonymous with 'vazhi teriyAda', IMO.

[vasanthakokilam]

Ravi:

- Does "dikku theriyada" refer to 'a forest where it is hard to find direction' or does it refer to 'me not knowing any refuge'.

- Second, the word 'iLaitthenE'. It is due to 'thEdi thEdi' but why so much 'thEdal' is needed? Normally you search for something repeatedly when you do not have directions.

I grant you that kAttil, iLaitthenE, thEdi thEdi, dikku are all metaphorical and so there are two parallel interpretations. One straight and the other what it really stands for. bhArathi has nicely combined the straight and metaphorical with the bridge word dikku which has meaning in both contexts. the straight context ('direction') and the metaphorical context ('refuge').

[rshankar]

Ravi:

- Does "dikku theriyada" refer to 'a forest where it is hard to find direction' or does it refer to 'me not knowing any refuge'

To me, 'dikku teriyAda kATTil' refers to a forest where one is not able to find what one is seeking, i.e., a place of refuge - sort of like bumbling through the forest of life seeking salvation.

Second, the word 'iLaitthenE'. It is due to 'thEdi thEdi' but why so much 'thEdal' is needed? Normally you search when you do not have directions.

iLaittEn can certainly be interpretted as losing weight/becoming emaciated, but since these processes take SO much longer to happen (or, maybe never, given the current obesity epidemic ), I felt that becoming weary/tired (which is another legitimate meaning for iLai-tal) was more appropriate.

[keerthi]

Lovely translation, rshankar.. As you say, the mahAkavi uses the context to sing about the beauties of the woods.. I am constantly reminded of my shameful inadequacy in reading literary tamizh, when I stumble through the transliterations, understand next to nothing, and then look to the translations for help..

dik and disha etc are forms of the same root word.. derived from the root word dish - to direct, point out, bestow etc..

other words derived from it are dEsha, upadEsha,AdEsha deshika.. compounds involving dik/dig are digIsha = dikpAlaka, diganta, digambara = digvastra.. the k-> g transmutation happens when followed by a vowel or by a soft consonant..

The use of the word dik/ dikku to denote refuge/sanctuary/shelter/support is unique to South Indian languages, as far as i know..

Does "dikku theriyada" refer to 'a forest where it is hard to find direction' or does it refer to 'me not knowing any refuge'.

As the forest is both, a place which is -

1. A place where one can't find any shelter.

2. A place where one is lost. the word bewildered for lost/confounded is evidence of the ability of the forests to befuddle us..

I think both interpretations are quite appropriate..

[smala]

From another Bharathiyar song............

thEDiyunaic caraNaDai^ntEn, dEsa muttumAri!
kEDadanai nIkkiDuvAi, kETTa vara^n taruvAi


is given as :

I searched for you and took refuge in you, Oh, muttumAri! Please remove all my ills and grant me my wishes.

http://archives.chennaionline.com/music ... song03.asp

Perhaps in the allegorical representation i. e. an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete/ material forms in the song....... as suggested by the lyrics (such as.. when I lay down to rest, a Velan stood before me, staring shamelessly at me.....) - and - since the forest is the setting/central for this entire allegory, could the physical meaning be viewed as -- wandering listlessly, without direction in this forest searching for you.....(the physical aspect of the song abounds in the forest imagery itself, as Ravi has captured it, in the flora, fauna and plethora of other elements).......

Thank you for the great translation.


I thought I should clarify -- in the allegorical representation, Ravi's use of "refuge" should hold for the jeeva wandering in search......on the same note..... (the shock of) seeing this Velan standing before me and staring shamelessly at me is significant as in.....this very Lord I am in search of shocks me by appearing before me......as who, other than the Lord, would have the audacity to stand and stare searingly at this lost soul.....

[vasanthakokilam]

Thanks Ravi, Keerthi and shyama-priya.

If we want to look at it allegorically ( there is always that dimension ), then either interpretation easily fits. We are still on line 1, but Ravi had beautifully captured the rest of the essence in his superb translation-interpretation-commentary.

I guess my difficulty initially was with 'teriyada'.. Had it been 'dikku illAda' or 'dikku atra' etc. then refuge is a clean fit. Anyway......

shyama-priya, Assuming it is confirmed that the author of this poem is Bharathi, Bharathi usually may not go too far in the straight paramatma-jeevatma model like say a Jayadeva. Bharathi's metaphors are multi layered and multi dimensional and it reveals itself at different times as you link the ideas from later in the poem to reinterpret the initial ideas.

Thanks everyone. Morning was well spent thinking about this stuff.

[rshankar]

Assuming it is confirmed that the author of this poem is Bharathi

There is not an iota of doubt that this is Bharati's!

[vasanthakokilam]

Got it Ravi. Hey, I got that doubt and put in that CYA because you asked 'mahakavi, isn't it'

[rshankar]

Got it Ravi. Hey, I got that doubt and put in that CYA because you asked 'mahakavi, isn't it'

Absolutely! Asked and answered through this personal channel of communication I use...(less informed minds call it a ouija board)

[smala]

.........because you asked 'mahakavi, isn't it'......this personal channel of communication I use.

So Mahakavi prefers not to surface these days ? Or has he passed the baton ?

[rshankar]

Just to clarify, mahAkavi in my book means the one and only great poet, Sri Subramanya Bharati!! And as far as I can tell, he's not passed on any batons, or if he has, there's been too may fumbles and dropped batons!

[mohan]

The GNB school (Sri GNB himself, and Sri TVR) sing 4 of these caraNams, but the wording of the last caraNam is changed so much by them, the meaning changes entirely!

Are these stanzas usually sung by the GNB school? :

Pallavi - Behag
Caranam 5 Bowli (or is it bhupalam/revagupti?)
Caranam 6 Kuntalavarali
Caranam 9 Sahana
Caranam 10 Kapi
Caranam 11 Paras

[rshankar]

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