request for lyrics and meaning of Karpagame - Madhyamavati

[rshankar]

Narayan,

Here you go - a beautiful composition packed with philosophical concepts, and above all, very evocative of Mylapore, and its presiding deities:

pallavi
karpakamE kaDaikkaN pArAi (tiru mayilai)

Oh karpagAmbikA (karpagamE) of the holy (tiru) town of mylApUr (mayilai) [1], please look (pArAi) at me from the corner (kaDai) of your eyes (kaN).

anupallavi
shirparai yOgiyar sidhhargaL jnaAniyar
madhyama kaalam
tiruvuDai aDiyavar karudum varam
udavum tirumagaLum kalaimagaLum paravu tirumayilaik-(karpakamE"¦)

(Oh karpagAmbikA of the) holy (tiru) town of mylApUr (mayilai), praised (paravu(m)) by lakshmi (tirumagaLum) and sarasvati (kalaimagaLum), you are the one who grants (udavum) [2] the boons (varam) desired (karudum) by your (tiruvuDai) devotees (aDiyavar) including very knowledgeable souls (jnAyiyar), mystics (siddhargaL) and ascetics (yOgiyar) who exist in a state of conscious (cit) bliss (parai) [3].

caraNam
sattu citAnandam adAi sakala uyirkkuyirai avaL nI
tattuvamasyAdi mahA vAkkiya tatpara vastuvum nI
sattuva guNamoDu bhakti sheibavar bhava tApamum pApamum ara immaiyil vara
santAna saubhAgya sampattoDu marumaiyil niradishaya inbamum tarum (karpakamE...)

Oh karpagAmbikA, you (nI) are the one (avaL) who has become the essence of the concept of (adAi) 'existence (sat/sattu), thought (cit), and happiness (Anandam)', the very life-force (uyirAi) of all (sakala) living beings (uyirkku). You (nI) are the meaning/interpretation (tatpara [4] vastuvum) of grand (mahA) pronouncements (vAkkiya) like 'that (tat) thou (tvam) art/are (asi) [5]' and others (Adi). Oh devi, you not only cause the destruction (ara) of worldly (bhava) miseries (tApamum) and sins (pApamum) that beset the lives of people who show (Seibavar) their devotion (bhakti) to you with (ODu) excellent (sattuva) [6] moral character (guNam) in this birth (immayil), and bless them (vara) with the good fortune (saubhAgya) of progeny (santAna) along with (ODu) wealth (sampat), but you also grant (tarum) them unsurpassed (niradiSaya) bliss (inbamum) in their next birth (marumayil) as well.

FOOTNOTES
[1] mylai - mayilai - the name is supposed to have originated from the sthala purANam - where pAravti incarnates as a peahen (mayil) and worships Siva in form of lingam made of sand - 'mayilAi vanda iDam mayilApuri'
[2] udavum literally means (one who) helps
[3] parai is a state of consciousness where ascetics and mystics experience divine bliss by remaining inactive
[4] tatpara - I have taken this to be derived from tAtparya
[5] tat tvam asi is the basis of advaita - that preaches the oneness of the paramAtamA (that/tat) and the jIvAtmA (tvam/you).
[6] sattva guN, sAtvik guN refers to the superior character trait, which makes the person magnanimous, true, honest, wise and pure.

[niyer]

Thanks a ton Shankar . This composition is so profound

[priyaram78]

Thanks a lot for the meaning of this wondeful song. Have always wondered what it meant.

[HariKrishna]

Does anyone know to which deity this krithi is dedicated? I'm thinking it's to Parvati but I'm not sure. I'm only familiar with the Parthasarathi temple in Mylapore, but this does not sound like it's on Vishnu.

[Rajani]

Is is on Goddess Karpagambal(Parvati) in the Kapalishwarar temple in Mylapore.