Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Place to go if you want to ask someone identify raga, tala, composer etc or ask for sāhitya (lyrics) or notations or translations.
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seetalak
Posts: 21
Joined: 21 Oct 2010, 11:00

Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by seetalak »

Dear Sir / Mam

Could you please help me with the lyrics and meaning of the song - Ramachandram Bhavayami Raghukula Thilakam Upendram in Vasantha?

thank you

Seetha

Lakshman
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Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by Lakshman »

rAmacandram bhAvayAmi. rAgA: vasanta rUpaka tALA.

P: rAmacandram bhAvayAmi raghukula tilakam upEndram
A: bhUmijA nAyakam bhukti mukti dAyakam nAmakIrtana tArakam naravaram gatamAyikam
C: sAkEta nagarE nivasantam sAmrAjyaprada hanumantam rAkEndu vadanam bhagavantam ramaNIya kalyANa
guNavantam kAkustham dhImantam kamalAkSam shrImantam nAgEshanutam anantam nara guruguha viharantam

seetalak
Posts: 21
Joined: 21 Oct 2010, 11:00

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by seetalak »

Thank you Sir for the lyrics.....Could you also help me on the meanings of the same?

Rajani
Posts: 1193
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 19:52

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by Rajani »

rAmacandram bhAvayAmi - I meditate upon Sri Ramacandra
raghukula tilakam upEndram - the ornament of the Raghu clan, the younger brother of Indra

bhUmijA nAyakam - the husband of Sita(daughter of earth),
bhukti mukti dAyakam - the giver of enjoyment and liberation,
nAmakIrtana tArakam - the one who takes one across ( the worldly life and its miseries) , with the simple act of singing his names,
naravaram - the best among men,
gatamAyikam - the one who has conquered Maaya.

sAkEta nagarE nivasantam - the resident of Ayodhya,
sAmrAjyaprada hanumantam - the one who gave his entire empire to Hanuman (symbolised by his embrace)
rAkEndu vadanam - the one whose face resembles the full moon,
bhagavantam - the supreme lord,
ramaNIya kalyANa guNavantam - the one full of pleasing virtues,
kAkustham - the scion of the king Kakutstha,
dhImantam - the intelligent one,
kamalAkSam - the lotus-eyed one,
shrImantam - the auspicious one,
nAkEshanutam anantam - the infinite one praised by Indra,
nara guruguha viharantam - the one who delights men and Guruguha.

aaaaabbbbb
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Joined: 31 Jan 2010, 14:19

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by aaaaabbbbb »

Very fine translation,as sweet as the kriti.

PUNARVASU
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Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by PUNARVASU »

The rAga mudra is embedded in the words-sAkEta nagarE ni'vasantham'.

seetalak
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Joined: 21 Oct 2010, 11:00

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by seetalak »

Dear Ms. Rajani

thank you so much for such a detailed explanation and meaning of the song.

Rajani
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Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 19:52

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by Rajani »

Thanks Savitri and Seetha, you are welcome. It is a pleasure, really!

srinath G
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Joined: 13 Aug 2010, 12:31

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by srinath G »

Could you please forward Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha to me , srinath.g82@gmail.com Thanks

classicallover
Posts: 374
Joined: 21 Nov 2010, 00:05

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by classicallover »

Rajani ( & others ) !!

There are some mistakes in the meanings offered by you.

Upendram does not mean brother of Indra here. It means 'king' . It means simply that he is the best king of the raghukula.

It is not 'nakeshanutam' , but nageshanutam which does not mean Indra at all. Nagesha is Lord Shiva. So it means he is close to Shiva.

Samraajyaprada hanumantam means one who thinks Hanuman is everything for him.

Shrimantam is not auspicious. It means he is a wealthy one and a giver of all goodness ( shri = shubham = dhanam = lakshmi ).

keerthi
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Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by keerthi »

1. The only meaning of the word upEndra, is as an epithet for viSNu, [as evidenced by countless sources, including the sahasranAma stOtra, with commentaries by shankarAcArya and parAshara bhaTTA]

The source of the name, as given (correctly) by Rajani is the story of the vAmana/ trivikramAvatara-s. ViSNu was born to aditi, the mother of indra and the other dEva-s, and hence is referred to as the younger brother of indra, hence upEndra.

2. It is indeed nAkEshanutam, as seen in subbarAma dIkSitar's 1904 tome, the sangIta-sampradAya-pradarshini.

3. While one can argue how shrImantam can mean 'giver of prosperity' [possessor of prosperity actually, but whatever], I would really like to see an explanation as to how it does not mean auspicious.

aaaaabbbbb
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Joined: 31 Jan 2010, 14:19

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by aaaaabbbbb »

nAka means heaven.nAkEsha is Indra,the king of heaven.

classicallover
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Joined: 21 Nov 2010, 00:05

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by classicallover »

Keerthi & others,

Just don't take the meanings of the words only by their presence. Take it by context also instead. You will realise what I said. Going by Shri Dikshitar's style, he will not venture to refer to a single event or individual repeatedly in one kriti. So " raghukula tilakam upendram " really signifies that he is the best known king of the vamsa. You must also remember that Lord Shiva chants the "Raama taaraka mantram" as a symbol of their oneness and unity. "Shivaaya vishNuruupaaya, shivaruupaaya vishNave" & "Hariharau ubhayadveShiNaam aachandraarkam narakapraaptihi" amply tell this. Hence not wrong to say naageshanutam. I don't know about your proficiency in English. The term auspicious is generally given to events and the time that they are held. It is not attributed directly to persons. You cannot say Lord Raama is auspicious or Parvati is auspicious. But you can say Raama Navami is an auspicious day or such a puja is an auspicious event. No need to argue about the meaning " rich one - possessor hence giver of prosperity" . You are handling the bull by the tail, instead of by the horns.

You must remember that any text chat is a dispassionate medium which is incapable of expressing the true moods and emotions. Your reaction can be interpreted ( apart from others ) that it stinks of fanatical, offensive, argumentative nature and tendency for literal translation. Before attacking, please clarify the intent.

Please shed all such inhibitions & restrictions and acquire knowledge with open mind.

srkris
Site Admin
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Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by srkris »

Classicallover, your clarifications are welcome on their own merit. But your tone sounds patronizing, which is not welcome.

Keerthi's scholarship and history on this forum is well known and appreciated for the last several years. You do not have to advise any member to "acquire knowledge with an open mind", as that is not your concern. We would like to read your scholarly views without having to go through your patronizing pontifications.

Thanks,
Administrator

Rsachi
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Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 13:54

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by Rsachi »

Respected rasikas,
I would like to add my thoughts, hoping it will not offend anyone:
This extremely beautiful song is a lovely meditation of Dikshitar on Rama. It is great religious poetry.
For example, Rama is the consort of Bhumija=Sita (hinting that as Vishnu is he the consort of Bhudevi) and Sriman=consort of Sri or Lakshmi...and he gives Bhukti and Mukti (worldly enjoyment and liberation)!
He is Upendra=the younger brother of Indra (my father's translation based on Madhwa's commentary also states so) and yet is also worshipped by Indra (Nakeshanuta)!
Dhiman, Sriman = the truly intelligent are liberated! Rama is Purushottama hence Naravara and so is Bhagavan! No wonder he is extolled as the ultimate among men.

Lateral thought: in Bhgavadgita, Krishna says he is rAmo ShatrabhRtAm vara. So among those powerfully endowed with weapons, Rama is the ultimate. Why? Because he never used his power to conquer and possess. In this context I am reminded of Osho's beautiful saying. Ravana was killed by Rama. The beauty of this is that it is unusual: one conquerer is generally conquered by another, and they are indeed not different from each other, because they are all after power. But Rama was uniquely different, as he was not after anything! So Osho says that Ravana, at the moment of his death, bows down to Rama and says that it is in the fitness of things that truly Right has won over Might.

Rama gave the ultimate Samrajya to Hanuman=Ramabhakti!

He is infinite=Anantha yet also human=Nara!
He dwells within Guruguha and hence is worshipped by Dikshitar through his Ishtadevatha.
The alliterations and rhymes, the contrasts and comparisons, all are as beautiful as the melody in the Vasantha song.
And Rama was born in the spring time or Vasantha (most of India has spring bloom at the time of Feb-April, with lovely yellow and marigold and red flowers), although technically its on the ninth day of the new year or Chaitra.

So on.......

krishnaa
Posts: 958
Joined: 13 Sep 2007, 20:22

Re: Lyrics & meaning - Ramachandram Bhavayami - Vasantha

Post by krishnaa »

Very nice krithi and translation Rajani akka!

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