Lyrics and meaning-mUdhiraigal sAkshI

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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Valli
Posts: 15
Joined: 17 Mar 2006, 09:14

Post by Valli »

I am performing my arangetram next year and would like to know the lyrics for Meenakshi thalattu in Neelambari. I have the tape but its is a bit unclear. Does anyone know the lyrics. If so, I would really appreciate it if they could give the to me. My email is [email protected] Thankyou! ;)

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Is there an audio link available for this song?
Ravi

Valli
Posts: 15
Joined: 17 Mar 2006, 09:14

Post by Valli »

I have the tape. Is there anyway I can trnsfer the music from the tape onto the computer? The words on the tape are a bit vague and hard to distinguish. Perhaps someone who knows the song could help.
Thanks for the reply Ravi.
Valli :)

vasanthakokilam
Posts: 10958
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Valli:

Get audacity from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ and install.

Your computer should have an audio in port (or mic ). Connect your tape player to that port. Pick the right option in Audacity to tell it where the audio is coming from ( Mic most probably ) and click Record on Audacity and start the tape. When done, click on stop on audacity and save the file in either .mp3 or .wav.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Valli,
Do you know the composer?
If you post the audio, we can come up with the lyrics based on our collective auditory skills!
Ravi

meena
Posts: 3326
Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

shankar
the composer is unknown

valli
the text was posted on narthaki.com bboard maybe a search or posting there may help u.

Valli
Posts: 15
Joined: 17 Mar 2006, 09:14

Post by Valli »

Thanks for the advice, Ravi and shankar.
I shall try trnsferring the music to the computer when I have time.
Valli

Lakshman
Posts: 14184
Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Post by Lakshman »

There is some information on this song here:
http://www.carnatica.net/kalavardhini/Cas19.htm

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Valli,
Here is a version I have: the words are not clear and may need other ears to clarify.
Hope this helps:
http://rapidshare.de/files/16274627/03_ ... I.m4a.html

mUdhiraigal sAkshI
mUvulagam un Atshi
madhurai mInAkshI
thAlelO thAlO

thAmarai un pAdhangal
thandai oLi nAdhangaL
mAmaraiyil pErezhilE
AraNaNgaL thAlO
madhurai mInakshI thAlElO thAlO

mANikka thottil katti
maNi kaNNil mai thIti
ANi pOn mEniki aNikalangaL pUtti
varuNikka(?) un pakkam sokkanATHar varuvArO
madhurai mInakshI thAlElO thAlO

g~nyAlam aLandhAn un thamayan
hAlam undAn arumai nAyakan
nIla(?) praNava poruL uraitha kandhan undhan bAlakan
kola gaNapathi pazham kandu unai valam vandhArO
madhurai mInakshI thAlElO thAlO

Ravi

Valli
Posts: 15
Joined: 17 Mar 2006, 09:14

Post by Valli »

Thankyou sooooo much Ravi! They are the exact words. Now I can actually understand what I'm dancing. Knowing the lyrics and their meaning is very important in conveying the emotions of the dance. Once again, thank you very much.
Valli :) :D

supri00
Posts: 3
Joined: 24 Feb 2009, 00:31

Post by supri00 »

The composer of Muthuraigail is Sai, Adayar K.Lakshman's younger brother.
meena wrote:shankar
the composer is unknown

valli
the text was posted on narthaki.com bboard maybe a search or posting there may help u.

supri00
Posts: 3
Joined: 24 Feb 2009, 00:31

Post by supri00 »

mUdhiraigal sAkshI - composer Sai

kmrasika
Posts: 1279
Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 07:55

Post by kmrasika »

Can someone be kind to repost the audio link? I recall seeing this performed by a dancer but the stanzas were moved around.

The 3rd line of the last stanza should read: kOla gaNapati pazham kaNDu

Nia Rmohan
Posts: 86
Joined: 11 Jul 2009, 18:58

Post by Nia Rmohan »

This song can be found (a very good recording of it) in Nrityopasana - 20. It's a Kalavardhini production.
Perhaps if i knew how, i would post it for you.

Nia Rmohan
Posts: 86
Joined: 11 Jul 2009, 18:58

Post by Nia Rmohan »

http://rapidshare.com/files/254596984/0 ... u.m4a.html

This should be good.

If someone could post the meaning of this song in english i would greatly appreciate it. My mum wrote the lyrics out from the recording but she has been busy so we never got to translate it properly. I want to do this for a bharathanatya program. However i am not sure if it will be appropriate if the son is about calming down kali...

Thank you!

Nia Rmohan
Posts: 86
Joined: 11 Jul 2009, 18:58

Post by Nia Rmohan »

http://rs338l3.rapidshare.com/cgi-bin/u ... 7266899391

or try this if the above link does not work...

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Nia,

Here you go:

pallavi
mUduRaigaL sAkshI mUvulagam un ATSi
madurai mInAkshI tAlElO tAlO


Oh mInAkshI of Madurai, sleep my little one (tAlElO tAlO)! The ancient (mUdu) texts (uRaigaL) [1] bear witness (sAkshi) to the fact that your dominion (ATSi) extends across the three (mu) worlds (ulagam)!

anupallavi
tAmarai un pAdangaL tanDai oli nAdangaL
mAmaraiyin pErezhilE AraNaNgaL tAlO
(madurai mInakshI tAlElO tAlO)


Your (un) feet (pAdangaL) are like lotus flowers (tAmarai), and the sounds (oli) from your anklets (taNDai) form the basis of all music (nAdangaL)! Oh famed beauty (pErezhilE), the very form of the mighty (mA) vEdAs (maraiyin), the chapters/segments of the vEdAs (AraNaNgaL) are singing lullabies to you (tAlO)! (Oh mInAkshI of Madurai, sleep my little one (tAlElO tAlO)!)

caraNam 1
mANikka toTTil kaTTi maNi kaNNil mai tITi
ANippOn mEnikku aNikalangaL pUTTi
varuNikka un pakkam sokkanAthar varuvArO
(madurai mInakshI tAlElO tAlO)


Having made (kaTTi) a cradle (toTTil) encrusted with rubies (mANikka), and applied (tITTi) kAjal (mai) to your beautiful (maNi) eyes (kaNNil), and having adorned (pUTTi) yourself with jewels (aNikalangaL) to enhance the beauty of your skin (mEnikku) which is as lustrous as gold of the highest quality/purity (ANippon), are you wondering if the handsome Lord Siva (sokkanAthar) [2] will come (varuvArO) to you/your (un) side (pakkam) to describe (varunikka) your beauty? (Oh mInAkshI of Madurai, sleep my little one (tAlElO tAlO)!)

caraNam
nyAlam aLandAn un tamayan hAlam uNDAn arumai nAyakan
SIla praNava poruL uraitta kandan undan bAlakan
kOla gaNapati pazham kanDu unai valam vandAnO
(madurai mInakshI tAlElO tAlO)


Your (un) brother (tamayan) is the one who took the measure (aLandAn) of the universe (nyAlam) [3], and your beloved (arumai) husband (nAyakan) is the one who consumed (uNDAn) the deadly halAhalam (hAlam/Alam) [4], while virtuous/principled (SIla) murugan (kandan), who expounded (uraitta) the essence (poruL) of the praNava is none other than your (undan) son (bAlakan). Did the handsome (kola) gaNapati, spying (kaNDu) the mango fruit in sage nArada’s hand, circumambulate (valam vandAnO) [5] you (unai)? (Oh mInAkshI of Madurai, sleep my little one (tAlElO tAlO)!)

FOOTNOTES
[1] The 'old texts' include the Agamas, purANas and vEdAs
[2] 'sokkanAthar' - Siva in madura is called sundarESvarar or sokkanAthar - meaning the Lord (nAthar) who caused women to swoon (sokka) - a reference to the fact that sundarESvarar was the epitome of male good looks causing women who set eyes on him to pass out with infatuation
[3] Refers to the vAmana avatAra of vishNu - vishNu is pAravti’s brother
[4] halAhalam is the poison that came up first when the ocean was churned by the gods and demons in their quest for the nectar of immortality
[5] Refers to the story of the mango brought by nArada to mount kailAS - both the young gaNapati and muruga wanted it, and refused to share it. Siva sets them a task and announces that the fruit will be given to the one who would go around the world first. Secure in his knowledge that the speed of a peacock was several orders of magnitude more than that of a tiny mouse, muruga took off to go around the physical world, while the clever gaNapati went around his metaphysical world, Siva and pArvati, symbolizing that parents form the world for children. He completes his circumambulation well in time to be eating the fruit when muruga returns...

EDITED with corrections to the sAhitya, courtesy DRS.
Last edited by rshankar on 12 Jul 2009, 18:38, edited 1 time in total.

Nia Rmohan
Posts: 86
Joined: 11 Jul 2009, 18:58

Post by Nia Rmohan »

Mr. Shankar sir

There are some verses in there that do not make sense to me.
If meenakshi is the little girl depicted in this song, how can you talk about shiva consuming poison? or her children? If she is a little girl that would not have happened yet. It is true devi is all knowing and she probably knew what was coming in her life, but the singer? how could they have known?

Please donate some advice.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Nia,

You have captured the inherent contradictions in contemporary depictions of the dEvI as mInAkshI - she is always seen as a triumvirate of a child (innocence), a princess/queen (dignity) and a goddess (divinity) all rolled into one - so, when the composer is singing her a lullaby, he invariably sees her as a combination of all these aspects.

Alternately, you can imagine this to be part of the Sayana sEvai to the dEvi, where she is laid to sleep every evening. (I have only seen these sEvais in bAlAji temples...)

Nia Rmohan
Posts: 86
Joined: 11 Jul 2009, 18:58

Post by Nia Rmohan »

That was what I was considering.
My mediocre thamizh could translate bits and pieces.

So my first impression was that i was rocking devi on an oonjal like the Balaji temples you referred to.

I wanted to know my approach as a dancer.

Thank you so very much.

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Lyrics and meaning-mUdhiraigal sAkshI

Post by rshankar »

The first half of this clip offers a take on this tAlATTu...

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