Lyrics-kAntimatim - kalyANi

[prashant]

This is a superb krithi with so many difficult and unconventional gamakas. I have heard a Brinda-Mukta rendition once ages back and the krithi left a lasting impression in my mind. I have pipe-dreams of learning it, and therefore I hope someone on thi sboard could oblige with a recording and lyrics. Thanks!

[meena]

kAntimatI. rAgA: kalyANi. rUpaka tALA. Composer: Subbarama Dikshitar.

P: kAntimatI karuNa mIra kAntimatI nosagumamma
A: kAnta rUpamE hrdayani shAntamuna bhAvincEda kAntAra
kAntAra kAnta shAlivATipurI kAnta kAntA vANIkAnta vinuta caraNa
C: parAkika nApai saluparAdammA nE birAna mAnasamu nanubbirAka kOritinammA
narAdhamula vEDiti vEyanarAdu sahimpumammA karAmbujamula gUrci golcEdA karAna
varamulimmA murAsurAri sOdari morAlaginca rAdA dharAdhara suta madhurA dharAdhArA dhara kaca

[prashant]

Thanks for the lyrics, Meenaji

[Lakshman]

There is a recording of this song by Brinda & Mukta on a CD. Details are here:
https://celextel.com/osc/shrimukhakirtanas-p-77.html

[Sahana-priyan]

Lakshman sir,
I visited the website and it says that this song is sung by somebody named Vidya etc. It is not by Smt. Brinda and Muktha. Does somebody have the krithi sung by them directly? I have read that they sang this krithi very well.

Thanks.

[Jigyaasa]

Could someone please provide the meaning of this song? It appears to have some beautiful shabdAlankAra.

[keerthi]

Jigyaasa,

Yes, as all of SubbarAma Diksitar's compositions, this one is full of alliterative sabda-camatkAra, and the use of devices like yamaka.

Please note some minor changes in the lyric.

|P: | kAntimatI! karuNamIra kAntimatI'nosagu'mamma||

A: | shAnta rUpamE hrdaya-nishAntamuna bhAvincEda |
| kAntAra-kAntAra-kAnta-shAlivATi-purI-kAnta-kAntA! vANI-kAnta-vinuta-caraNa! ||

C: | parAkika nApai saluparAdammA* nE - birAna mAnasamunanubbirAka kOritinammA |
| narAdhamula vEDitivEy’anarAdu sahimpumammA karAmbujamula gUrci golcEda karAna varamulimmA ||
| murAsurAri-sOdari morAlaginca rAdA! dharA-dhara-sutA! madhurAdhara dhArAdhara-kaca ||

------------------------

P: kAntimatI karuNamIra kAntimatIni -osagumu amma||

O mother Kantimati, take mercy, and illuminate my mind[1].

A: shAntarUpamE hrdaya-nishAntamuna bhAvincEda
kAntAra-kAntAra-kAnta-shAlivATi-purI-kAnta-kAntA! vANI-kAnta-vinuta-caraNa! ||

I have enshrined your tranquil form in the mansion of my heart,
O lover of the lord of shAlivAtipurI[2], resplendent with fields of streaked sugarcane;
Your feet are worshipped even by the lord of speech (Brahma).

C: parAku ika nApai saluparAdu ammA - Do not neglect me now,

nE birAna mAnasamunanu ubbirAka kOritinammA|
I beseech you with a mind swelling with emotion[?], and have sought refuge in you anon,

"narAdhamula vEDitivE!" anarAdu sahimpumu ammA
- Do not taunt me by saying “But you went and praised mortal wretches”, please bear with me;

karAmbujamula gUrci golcEdA karAna varamulimmA|
- I am but a plaything sitting in the palm of your hand. Do bestow boons with the same hand.

murAsurAri-sOdari morAlaginca rAdA!
O sister of ViSNu [the foe of MurAsura], won’t you heed to my entreaties?

dharA-dhara-sutA! madhurAdhara! dhArAdhara-kaca ||
O daughter of the earth-bearing mountains, with honey-sweet lips and tresses like the raincloud.


Notes:

* - In the Dhanammal family it is sung rAdA, not rAdamma.
1. kantimatinosagu - reminiscent of expressions like dhiyo yo naH pracodayAt
2. shAli-vAti is nel-vEli. The phrase calls kAntimati the consort of nelliyappar, the lord of tiru-nel-veli town, which is attractive with the streaked variety of Sugarcane[also known as puNDRekSu].

[aaaaabbbbb]

keerthi avare,

Thanks for the corrections.

adBhutavAda BhAShAntara.{excellent translation]

DhanyvAdagaLu.

Regards.

[rshankar]

Keerti - beautiful indeed!

[keerthi]

rshankar and Savitri avare, I am glad you liked it.

Hopefully more people will take it up to sing more of Subbarama diksitar's exquisite songs - not just the popular ones like SankarAcAryam, but the lesser known ones like tripurasundari in nAtakuranji and parAshakti parAkEla in sankarabharaNam. Simlarly his lovely varnas [balahamsa, khamas, suraTi, rAmakriyA] and rAgamAlikas [gAravamuga, nI sarilerani korina]

Smt. Savitri kindly pointed out a couple of corrections, and I have made those changes accordingly:


nE birAna mAnasamunanu ubbIraka kOritinammA


I beseech you with a mind free of ego, and have sought refuge in you anon,


birAna:: At once, hurriedly

ubbu ::swell,be puffed up, haughtiness


*************

karAmbujamula gUrci golcEdA karAna varamulimmA|

Grant me boons with your palm, while I will seat you in the lotus that is my palm,[and] worship you.

This expression conjures up images of Akkamahadevi/Basavesvara worshiping Shiva, while holding the linga in their hand, or of those drawings in old DipAvaLi special issues of Kalki or Amudasurabhi, with an image of a devotee/saint with an idol/ sAlagrama in the palm of their hand.

[rshankar]

Keerthi- the way these composers used languages is simply awe inspiring! My sincere thanks to people like you, Smt. Savitri, Rajani, Arasi, Pubarvasu and so many others for unlocking the beauty of these gems!

And yes, I wish more people would sing these gems, hopefully, after appreciating both the scholarship and the piety that went into them!

[Jigyaasa]

Keerthi and others,

Thanks a lot! It is interesting that he says

"narAdhamula vEDitivE!" anarAdu sahimpumu ammA

given that many of his compositions such as

lovely varnas and rAgamAlikas

are indeed nara stuti but the suraTi and balahamsa varNas have such beautiful sAhitya and melody that the Goddess would probably bear with him without his even explicitly beseeching her to that effect!

[CRama]

In post 10 above, Keerthi has mentioned that musicians should take up rare songs like Gaaravamuga. Gayathri Girish has sung this as the central piece in the concert of exclusive Ragamalikas. (See my review in Kutchery Reviews)

[keerthi]

Jigyaasa,that was probably the very reason for his saying so. On the other hand, I am not sure if Subbarama dIksitar would agree with your assessment of the ETTendra kings, JagannAtha Cetty, the Setupati and Kulashekhara Ramavarma as 'narAdhama-s'.

nara - yes, but adhama? If he had indeed felt that way, would he have sung about them?

It is a poetic convention of bhakti literature to refer to one's own kArpaNya (wretchedness) while trying to get a deity to show mercy. This could be by saying things like "I am fickle, I worshipped lesser gods for this and that trivial boon, please forgive and protect me" or "Out of greed for worldly gains, I praised lowly mortals, don't hold it against me; bless me O Lord/Mother/etc."

For instance consider the songs of ShyAma shAstri, who was purportedly of stable financial means, but who in whose songs this kind of expression is an enduring motif -

In ninnu vinagA - 'paramalobhulanu pogaDi pogaDi tirigiti etc'

In O jagadamba - pAlanArthamagu vEre daivamula lOlamatiyai nammiti

and in the CiTTaswara-sAhityam of O jagadamba [this CS-sAhityam was probably interpolated by someone else] - mariyAdalerugani duSprabhula kOriti

In nannu brovu lalitA - durAtma-janula kathalanu pogaDi sadA ne vArala cuTTi tirigiti

[Jigyaasa]

Based on this and this , Bhaskara Setupati or Ettendra certainly don't come across as adhama among men

Doesn't Thyagaraja also echo such sentiments in

durmadAndha janula kOri paritApamulacE dagili nogili durvisaya durAsalanu rOyalEka satatamaparAdhinai capala cittuDanaina duDukugala...