Rendering of Kritis

[vgvindan]

kriti cakkani rAja mArgamu - kharaharapriya.
I have heard this kRti sung by Maharajapuram Santhanam. While singing the charana portion tyAgarAjiNTanE nelakonna he repeats four times jiNTanE. The words are tyAgarAju iNTanE - the house of tyAgaraja. All that is needed is to drop the consonant j and repeat iNTanE without affecting the metre and sahitya.

This is from my earlier post. I request views to hear the rendering of the same kRti by MDR wherein he correctly splits the word and repeats and how sweet it is! - Indeed when cakkani rAja mArgamuluNDaga sandula dUranEla - why take short cuts?

V Govindan

[vgvindan]

vandanamu raghu nandana -zahAna

This kRti contains 9 caraNas. However, only three are sung - caraNas 1, 8 and 9. The error in rendering the last caraNa is explained. The pallavi and caraNa 9 along with meanings are given below:-

P vandanamu raghu nandana sEtu
bandhana bhakta candana rAma

C9 vEga rA karuNA sAgarA zrI
tyAgarAja hRday(A)gArA rAma (vanda)

P O Lord raghu nandana! O Lord who built (bandhana) cause-way (sEtu) across the Ocean! O Lord rAma who is excellent (candana) for the devotees (bhakta)! I salute (vandanamu) You.

C9 O Ocean (sAgarA) of mercy (karuNA)! O Lord rAma who is resident (AgArA) in the heart (hRdaya) (hRdayAgArA) of this tyAgarAja! Please come (rA) quickly (vEga).

In the caraNa 9 (last caraNa), the word tyAgarAja hRdayAgAra (abiding in the heart of tyAgarAja) is rendered as tyAgarAja hRdayAgara (Agara means day of new moon).

I request viewers to ponder

May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

Books referenced are -
CR - The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja by Shri C Ramanujachariar
ATK - Adi Tyagaraja Kirtanams by Shri KV Srinivas Iyengar (Telugu)
TKG - Compositions of Tyagaraja by Shri TK Govinda Rao
TSV/AKG - Sadguru Shri Thyagaraja Swamy Keerthanaigal (Tamil) by Shri TS Vasudevan and Shri AK Gopalan

[sr_iyer]

Regarding comments on dArini telusukoNTi tripura sundari, I would like to add that I have heard a disciple of Prof SRJ sing the sangatis for the first part using dArini telusukoNTi tripura sundari (dArini) rather than dArini telusukoNTi tripura sun(darini), maintaining the 'intended' musical structure.

E.g. - the portion of sangati r , m ,,, p,,, d, s, dsr, usually have the syllable 'sun' for d, s, dsr, . This version had d, s, (syllable 'sun') ds (syllable 'da') r, (syllable ri)

On the other hand, in my opinion, drshrikaanth's comment on the pun (and similar occurences in the kRti) is relevant in this context too.

[vgvindan]

Using puns for effect in literature or music is well known and well appreciated. Is there a need to split hairs here between dArini and sundarini? I can see tyAgarAja punning on dari and dAri. In music, there is some lenience in stretching of sAhitya. Now one can sing "darini" in such a manner as to hear it both as dari and dAri (without opening the mouth too much). "dArini telusukoNTi", "mOkSha dArini" are all very well. But I can certainly see him wanting the word to be combine with tirpura sun-- to bring the effect of sundari. I first heard the kRti rendered by Bombay sisters in seshadripuram Rama navami concert in Bangalore about 12-13 years ago. And I tell you, the effect was electrifying when sundari appeared . The use of maruni/mAruni janakuDaina in anupallavi is also supportive of this. In telugu, as you will know. both mAru & maru(maruganna srI rAmacandra in "mAKElarA", ravicandrike, marubAri and countless other examples) mean manmatha/Cupid. ANd that word blends with kumAruni. So I say, tyAgarAJa deliberately punned on the words here.

Mr SR-Iyer,
I refreshed my knowledge about pun just now. Probably you have been carried by the example quoted Dr.Srikaanth about maru and mAru which is not very convincing because maruDu and mAruDu mean cupid only. On the other hand sundari and sundAri do not mean same. Neither dari - meaning refuge and dAri meaning path are same.
In this regard, I would like invite your attention to my posting on kRti cakkani rAja, in which I mentioned about Maharajapuram Santanam splitting unnaturally the compound word tyAgarAjiNTanE which could be split only as tyAgarAju + iNTanE; he splits the word as tyAgarA + jiNTanE. I also brought about the same kRti being rendered by MDR correcly splitting the word tyAgarAju + iNTanE.
Obviously musicians have the wherewithal to ensure integrity of sAhitya without affecting the rAga.
I am not able to bring myself to believe that zrI tyAgarAja would have made pun - rather fun - of his own kRti by changing the word tripura sundari as tripura sundAri. If musicians want to take liberty with the kRtis of the Saint, I would only beseech them to be frank about it and not attribute it to the possible pun by the Saint.
I was anticipating such responses; therefore, I prefaced my postings with the advise of Kanchi Mahaswami to Sri Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar. If even that is not convincing, God save.

V Govindan

[drshrikaanth]

I refreshed my knowledge about pun just now. Probably you have been carried by the example quoted Dr.Srikaanth about maru and mAru which is not very convincing because maruDu and mAruDu mean cupid only.---

Your knowledge is sadly out of date. Maybe it was never up to date. I had not posted any response to you, not because I agreed with you but because I decided it was pointless. You are "Convinced" about your findings. Good for you that you are pleased as punch about it. Read my post again. If you do not gain anything from it, thats fine. Have a good day.

[srkris]

I am not able to bring myself to believe that zrI tyAgarAja would have made pun - rather fun - of his own kRti by changing the word tripura sundari as tripura sundAri

vgvindan,

I am sure Sri Tyagaraja knew this... that the avartana would end with sun-, and it only adds to the musicality, IMHO. In some cases being too factual or picky in a concert can backfire, since a concert is more a work of art than of science.

Another kriti like this is nidhicAla sukhamA where the avartana breaks with san- (sannidhi).

There are other similar songs which employ this, and we (again IMHO) must treat such occurences as poetic license in favour of the composer. As far as the artists are concerned, we shouldnt be too picky. Maybe they know this and they do it willingly feeling that it should be sung in that way (I am not talking about blatant errors per se but about things like this which cant be absolutely called errors)!

Also, since the older group of musicians are only the 3rd generation or so from the composer's sishya parampara, maybe such was the way Thyagaraja himself taught his disciples, and perhaps his own reasoning for such "apparent" errors would not have been passed down through the generations.

[sr_iyer]

Dear Sri Govindan,

I read your informative posts with great interest; in this case, the purport of your remarks was quite clear in the initial post. I look forward to reading more of your posts on the subject.

Thanks.


Ps: My previous post intended to point to a version I had heard where the word tripurasundari was uttered in full before the succeeding dArini sangatis was repeated, which avoids the wrap around 'tripurasundarini'. Of course, even here, the full semantics comes in when tripurasundari ninnE s'araNaNTi appears. However, I also remember that Prof Sambamurthy had written about musical license occasionally taken when words are spread across parts of Avartanas or across Avartanas (though he may have not cited this particular example). However, let us not get into that if you feel it is not in keeping with the theme of this thread. The example in cakkani rAjamArgamu of course is accepted without any comment. Please continue the informative posts.

[vgvindan]

ninnu vinA nA madi-navarasakannaDa

This kriti contains 3 caraNas. I have heard only the pallavi, anu-pallavi and first charaNa being sung by an eminent musician. I am giving hereunder the pallavi, anu-pallavi and caraNa 1 along with meanings.

P ninnu vinA nA madi(y)endu niluvadE zrIhari hari

A kanulaku nI sogas(e)ntO grammi(y)unnadi ganuka (ninnu)

C1 nIdu kathalu vInul(a)ndu niNDi(y)unnadi rAma
zrIda nI nAmamu nOTa celagi(y)unnadi ganuka (ninnu)

P O Lord zrI hari! O Lord hari! My (nA) mind (madi) would not stay (niluvadE) on anything (endu) (madiyendu) other than (vinA) You (ninnu).

A Your (nI) charm (sogasu) is (unnadi) so much (entO) (sogasentO) pleasurable (grammi) (grammiyunnadi) to my eyes (kanulaku);
therefore (ganuka), Lord zrI hari! O Lord hari! My mind would not stay on anything other than You.

C1 O Lord rAma! Your (nIdu) stories (kathalu) are (unnadi) filled (niNDi) (niNDiyunnadi) in (andu) my ears (vInulu) (vInulandu);
O Bestower of Wealth (zrIda)! Your (nI) names (nAmamu) are (unnadi) shining (celagi) (celagiyunnadi) in my tongue (nOTa) (literally mouth); therefore (ganuka),
O Lord zrI hari! O Lord hari! My mind would not stay on anything other than You.

I have observed two variations in rendering of the kriti. In the pallavi, the word madiyendu is rendered as madendu and in caraNa 1, the word vInulandu is rendered as vInulentO.
madiyendu - This is how it is given in all the books other than that of TKG, wherein it is given as madendu; in my humble opinion, madi+endu cannot be joined as madendu but as madiyendu only.
vInulandu - This is how it is given in all the books including that of TKG. vInulentO is, in my humble opinion, grammatically not correct.

I request viewers to ponder

May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

Books referenced are -
CR - The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja by Shri C Ramanujachariar
ATK - Adi Tyagaraja Kirtanams by Shri KV Srinivas Iyengar (Telugu)
TKG - Compositions of Tyagaraja by Shri TK Govinda Rao
TSV/AKG - Sadguru Shri Thyagaraja Swamy Keerthanaigal (Tamil) by Shri TS Vasudevan and Shri AK Gopalan

[arasi]

vgvindan,
As ever, your shraddhA and the time you devote to bringing tyAgayyA closer to the hearts of music lovers is commendable. Some write rAma nAmA. To me, this is even better. Music is divine (the ultimate, if that is what some like to call it) and TyAgarAjA gave it new dimensions. Your work certainly is in his service, Thank you

[Ashwin]

I have heard a disciple of Prof SRJ sing the sangatis for the first part using dArini telusukoNTi tripura sundari (dArini) rather than dArini telusukoNTi tripura sun(darini), maintaining the 'intended' musical structure.

I am probably not the disciple of Prof. SRJ that sr_iyer was referring to, but indeed, I have been taught to sing the first line of the pallavi as "dhAriNi telusukoNTi tRpurasundari" when repeating, but to sing it as "dhAriNi telusukoNTi tRpurasundari ninnE SaraNaNTi" when singing the full line. The supposed controversy in this might be resolved just by considering whether it is in fact our modern compulsion to apply sangatis for every Avartanam that is at odds with the intentions of the composer.

Although my memory of the lesson is vague, I think SRJ Mama also mentioned that it is improper to repeat "kumAruni sOdhari dayApari mOkSha" since the complete reference would be "daSaratha kumAruni sOdhari..." Of course, such a repetition of the sangati (if indeed, I am recalling it correctly) could not be done within the constraints of the tALam (unless perhaps "mOkSha" is replaced with "daSaratha" until finally it is sung as "mOkSha dhAriNi telusukoNTi...").

I agree that meaning should not be sacrified, and that singing the line with correct sAhitya and with bhava need not be mutually exclusive. If a sangati cannot be accommodated within the framework of meaning, we should exclude it. However, if there is an aesthetic way to achieve both that doesnt sound contrived, then we should be open to it.

Ashwin

[ganeshbhuvana]

Sir,
your explantion for the meaning of the song Chakkani raja margamulundaga is very nice and useful. As a tamilian, having lived in andhra and having studied in telugu and relocting in tamilnadu after marriage has given me an advantage in that i can at least get the plain meaning of a krithi, especially of Thyagaraja when I read one. One thing I see here is the mistake in the uchharana, which is due to the fact that Tamil has limited letters and no differentiation between sounds Ph, bh, Th, dh etc. If one knows the meaning as well how to pronounce the words, then only one can sing the keerthanas, with devotion. My daughter's music master was teaching her the krithi siva siva sivayanaraadaa and there were so many mistakes in the pronunciation. So it is a basic requisit that one should have the knowledge in the language in whic the krithi is composed.

[vgvindan]

Today I shall bring out rendering of Tyagaraja kriti - sAramEgAni - rAga pantuvarALi (kAmavardhini) - I give hereunder the pallavi, anupallavi and the gist of meaning of the kriti.

pallavi
sAramE gAni(y)anya mArga
vicAram(E)TikE O manasA

anupallavi
vAru vIru teliya lEka balku
vArtalu vinan(E)lE rAma nAmamu (sAramE)

caraNa 1
mAra kOTi lAvaNyuD(ai)na raghu
vIruni nAma sudhA rasamunanu
sAreku pAnamu jEsi jagad-
vihAruDai velayu nArAyaNa
nArAyaNa(y)anucunu vAramu
Sarad(a)mbuda nibhuDau SrI
nArada muni valmIka jAtuniki
gUrimin(u)padESinca lEdA (sAramE)

carana 2
parama pAvanuni SaraN(A)gata jana
paripAlana birud(A)nkuni sItA
varuni nAma sudhA rasa pAnamu
niratamunanu jEsi hari hari
hari(y)anucu santatambunu
sariyu lEni kIrti gAnci dEhamu
paravaSambu jendi Suka brahma
parIkShittuk(o)saga lEdA vAdA (sAramE)

carana 3
sAma gAna lOluDau rajata giri
dhAmuDaina tyAgarAja SivuD(a)ti
nEmamutO nAm(A)mRta pAnamu-
(y)Emarakanu jEsi rAma rAma
rAma(y)anucu satatamu
SrImad-Adi gauriki SRngAriki-
(y)A mahimalan(A) rahasyamulan(a)ti
prEman(u)padESiJca lEdA (sArmE)

Gist
O My Mind! The name of Lord SrI rAma alone is the essence of everything and why even think any other path?
Sage nArada, who ever drinks the nectarine essence of the name of SrI rAma, wanders about all the Worlds ever chanting ‘nArAyaNa, nArAyaNa, nArAyaNa’; he initiated sage vAlmIki in the name of SrI rAma.
Sage Suka brahma who ever drinks the nectarine essence of the name of the supremely holy sItA rAma, attained unrivalled fame by ceaselessly chanting the name ‘hari hari hari’. He initiated King parIkShit in chanting the name of Lord SrI hari by narrating SrImad-bhAgavata purANa and all the while experiencing state of bodily trance.
Lord Siva, the enjoyer of sAma gAna, the resident of himAlaya, the bestower auspiciousness to this tyAgarAja, ever drinks the nectar of the name of SrI rAma; He initiated pArvatI in those mights and secrets of chanting the name ‘rAma rAma rAma’.
Therefore, why should You listen to words uttered ignorantly by anyone else?

Views
The pallavi by itself is IMHO meaningless without adding the word rAma nAmamu which is given only in anupallavi. In all the books referenced by me rAma nAmamu does not form part of either pallavi or any of the three caraNas.
The words rAma nAmamu, nArAyaNa nArAyaNa, hari hari hari, rAma rAma rAma are the real essence of this kriti. I have heard noted musicians repeating pallavi any number of times wherein the essence is not brought out. Therefore, IMHO such repetition of pallavi without including the words rAma nAmamu is not in the best traditions of music. How this could be achieved, is for the musicians to debate.I place this before the viewers for their comments.
May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

[vgvindan]

SAntamu lEka - SAma

tyAgarAja kRtis are often compared to upaniShads. Here is a proof of that. I am giving hereunder the whole kriti and the gist of meanings.

P SAntamu lEka saukhyamu lEdu
sArasa daLa nayana

A dAntunik(ai)na vEdAntunik(ai)na (SA)

C1 dAra sutulu dhana dhAnyamul(u)NDina
sAreku japa tapa sampada galgina (SA)

C2 Agama zAstramul(a)nniyu cadivina
bAguga sakala hRd-bhAvamu delisina (SA)

C3 yAg(A)di karmamul(a)nniyu jEsina
bhAgavatul(a)nucu bAguga pEr(ai)na (SA)

C4 rAj(A)dhi rAja SrI rAghava
tyAgarAja vinuta sAdhu rakShaka tanak(u)pa(SA)

Gist
O Lotus petal Eyed! O Lord of Kings, SrI rAghava! O Lord praised by this tyAgarAja! O Protector of the pious people!
Be one an ascetic or an adherer of vEdAnta, without tranquility of mind, there is no comfort.
(1) Even if one has wife, children, wealth and food items, (2) even if one ever attains wealth of chanting of names of Lord and asceticism, (3) even if one has mastered all the Agama SAstras (4) even if one knows well all their true purport (5) even if one performs all sorts of vEdic actions of sacrifical oblations etc (6) even if one attains the name as a great devotee of the Lord,
without attaining quietitude of one’s mind, there is no comfort.
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C4 - upaSAntamu (tanaku+upa+SAntamu) - The literal meaning of this word is ‘tranquility’ etc. However, in Saint tirumUlar’s tamil work ‘tiru mandiram’, this is a subject by itself. Verses 2506 to 2511 deal with ‘upaSAnta’. The verse 2506 gives a brief definition of the word -

muttikku vittu mudalvan2tan2 jnAn2amE
battikku vittup paNinduRRup paRRalE
siddikku vittuc civaparan dAn2Adal
sattikku vittut tanadupa sAntamE (2506)

"Seed of mukti is knowledge of Primal One; seed of bhakti is intense adoration meek; seed of siddhi is Self, Siva-para becoming; seed of sakti is State of UpasAnta."

[jayaram]

Dear Govindan,
Thank you for that wonderful exposition of Santamu leka. I wonder if you could do something similar for the 'Dvaitamu sukhama' kriti in Ritigowla. It seems this one has quite a philosophical bent to it too.

Looking forward to your article on Anuraga.

[Lakshman]

vgvindan wrote:
It is an unwritten rule among musicians to sing the last caraNa only (where there is more than one caraNa).

Maybe in most of the cases. Ela nI dayarAdu is one that comes to mind readily where only the first caraNa is is sung. There must be other such exceptions with Tyagaraja's kritis.

[ramakriya]

vgvindan wrote:
It is an unwritten rule among musicians to sing the last caraNa only (where there is more than one caraNa).

Maybe in most of the cases. Ela nI dayarAdu is one that comes to mind readily where only the first caraNa is is sung. There must be other such exceptions with Tyagaraja's kritis.

Another such kriti is IMO is rAma ninnu nammi nA in mOhana. I have never heard anyone sing the carana with tyAgarAja signature.

-Ramakriya

[drshrikaanth]

In some SyAmA SAstri's compositions also, the last caraNa is not sung.

[vgvindan]

enta vEDukondu-sarasvatimanOhari
I am giving hereunder the kRti along with the gist of meaning.

P enta vEDukondu rAghava
pantam(E)larA O rAghava

A cinta dIrcuTak(e)nta mODirA
antarAtma nA centa rAnu nE(nenta)

C cittam(a)ndu ninnu jUcu saukhyamE-
(y)uttamamb(a)nucun(u)ppongucunu
satta mAtramA cAla nammitini
sArvabhauma SrI tyAgarAja nuta (enta)

Gist
O Lord rAghava! How much shall I beseech? Why this obstinacy, O Lord rAghava!

O Indwelling Lord! How much cross are You in relieving my distress? O Lord rAghava! How much shall I beseech You to come near me? Why this obstinacy, Lord rAghava!

I totally believed priding that the comfort of beholding You in my mind or intellect is the best one. O Pure Existence! O Single Ruler of the Universe! O Lord praised by this tyAgarAja!
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SrI tyAgarAja considers that ‘beholding the Lord in the mind is the best comfort’ (cittamandu ninnu jUcu saukhyamE uttamambu). He addresses the kRti to his ‘antarAtma’. He beseeches the Lord to come near (centa rAnu). He asks Him ‘why this stubbornness’ (pantamElarA)?
How the ‘antarAtma’ is to come any further near when He is the ‘nearest one’? The answer lies in the caraNa 2 of kRti ‘endarO mahAnubhAvulu’. SrI tyAgarAja calls the Lord ‘one dwelling in the woods of mind’ (mAnasa vana cara). He cites the example of those eminent persons (mahAnubhAvulu) who behold well, in their minds, the form of Lord (mUrti bAga poDaganE vAru) by performing co-wandering with him (sancAramu salipi).
The prefix ‘sam’ in ‘sancAramu (sam+cAramu)’ means ‘together’, ‘along with’. Therefore, ‘sancAramu’ is ‘being together’ with one who is the ‘wanderer’ in the woods of mind. This aspect of ‘being together’ is besought by SrI tyAgarAja (in the kRti ‘enta vEDukondu’) by asking the Lord to come near (centa rAnu).
The implication is that ‘I know that You are there in the woods of my mind (antarAtma); I consider it the greatest comfort to behold you in my mind; but, I am unable to be with you because I am unable to stop wandering of the mind; therefore, in order that I could be with you, You come near (appear before) me - don’t be stubborn’.
The stubbornness is actually attributable to the mind and not to the Lord. Whether the devotee beholds the Lord by stopping his thoughts (talapulanni nilipi - kRti ‘telisi rAma cintanatO’) or whether the Lord comes before the devotee of his own volition out of compassion, the end result is same.
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The purpose of my writing is that this act of being together is called sancAramu salipi - literally performing (salipi) being together (sancAramu). SrI tyAgarAja amplifies the significance of ‘sancAramu’ by adding ‘vara’ - ‘sacred’ to it (vara sancAramu salipi).

Unfortunately, what is being sung is sancAramu nilipi - to stop (nilipi) being together.
How far are we truthful to the kRtis of SrI tyAgarAja?

May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

[vgvindan]

anurAgamu lEni-sarasvati
This kRti has already been listed along with the meanings in this website. However, I am presenting the same again here -

P anurAgamu lEni manasuna
su-jnAnamu rAdu

A ghanul(ai)na(y)antara-
jnAnulak(e)rukE gAni (anu)

C vaga vagagA bhujiyincu
vAriki tRptiyau rIti
saguNa dhyAnamu paini
saukhyamu tyAgarAja nuta (anu)

Gist
O Lord Praised by this tyAgarAja! Real knowledge cannot be attained by one in whose mind there is no divine love. Only those inward looking great personages will have this understanding. In the same manner as satiation experienced by those who taste variety of food items, so is the comfort experienced in the meditation on Lord with form (qualities).
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The following couplet from nArada bhakti sUtras explain this term anurAgamu -

sA tvasmin paramaprEmarUpA || 2 ||
amRtasvarUpA ca || 3 ||
yallabdhvA pumAN siddhO bhavati
amRtO bhavati tRptO bhavati || 4 ||
yat jnAtvA mattO bhavati stabdhO bhavati
AtmArAmO bhavati || 6 ||
anirvacanIyaM prEmasvarUpaM || 51 ||
tat prApya tadEva avalOkati tadEva SruNOti
tadEva bhAShayati tadEva cintayati || (55) ||

“That (Divine Love) is of the nature of supreme Love of God.(2) And in its own intrinsic nature, Divine Love is nothing less than the immortal bliss of freedom (mukti) itself, which comes unsolicited by the grace of God and by self-sacrifice.(3) Gaining that, man realises his perfection and divinity and becomes thoroughly contended.(4) Realising that, man becomes intoxicated and fascinated, as it were, because he is completely immersed in the enjoyment of the bliss of the Atman, the truest and highest self.(6) The intrinsic nature of love is incapable of being described precisely.(51) Attaining that (prEma svarUpaM - intrinsic nature of Love) one sees and hears only that and thinks only that." (55) (Translation by Swami Tyagaisananda)

anurAgamu or Divine Love is called mukhya bhakti in nArada bhakti sUtrAs.
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The word anurAgramu brings to mind another tyAgarAja kRti bhakti biccamiyyavE rAga SankarAbharaNam. I am giving hereunder the kRti and the gist of the meaning -

P bhakti biccam(i)yyavE bhAvukamagu sAtvIka

A muktik(a)khila Saktiki tri-mUrtulak(a)ti mElmi rAma (bha)

C prANamu lEni vAniki bangAru pAga cuTTi
ANi vajra bhUShaNam(u)ram(a)ndu beTTu rIti
jhANalaku purAN(A)gama SAstra vEda japa prasanga
trANa galgi(y)Emi bhakta tyAgarAja nuta rAma (bha)

Gist
Deign to grant me alms of pure or desireless devotion towards rAma which is like a fortune and which is much superior to emancipation, all kinds of powers and even the Trinity.
In the same manner of tying a golden turban to a corpse and decorating it on the chest with exquisite diamond ornaments, what is the use if clever persons are bestowed with the capability of knowledge of epics, Agama, sciences, vEda, chanting of names and discourse? O Lord praised by this tyAgarAja!

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P - sAtvIka bhakti - In the nArada bhakti sUtras, two types of bhakti are defined - mukhya bhakti - Supreme or Primary Love and gauNa bhakti - Secondary Love. The following verse is relevant -

gauNi tridhA guNa bhEdAd-ArtAdi bhEdAd-vA || 56 ||

“Secondary devotion is of three kinds, according to the qualities of the mind of person in whom it manifests itself; either it may be classified as sAttvika, rAjasika, and tAmasika; or it may be divided as Arta, jijnAsu and arthArtin as per statement in SrImad-bhagavad-gItA, Chapter 7.16"
“....As this differentiation is based on the qualities of mind (sattva etc).....these three expressions of bhakti (satta, rajas, tamas) are called gauNa bhakti as distinguished from mukhya bhakti which is devotion bereft of all taint.....The second classication is based on the differences in the motives (Arta etc). (Translation and notes by Swami Tyagisananda) (brackets mine)

SrI tyAgarAja states that sAtvIka bhakti is superior (mElmi) to even emancipation mukti which is the ultimate human realisation. When a devotee does not even seek emancipation, then it is mukhya bhakti and not gauNa bhakti. Therefore, neither of classifications stated above (based on qualities of mind - sattva etc and motives - Arta etc) would apply. This is explained in the following verse of nArada bhakti sUtras -

bhaktA EkAntinO mukhyA: || 67 ||

“Those are primary devotees who have one pointed love of God for His own sake." (Translation by Swami Tyagisananda)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his bhakti rasAmRta sindhu bindu" „¢, verse 14 states that there are two types of bhAvAs - sAttvika bhAvas that arise when the heart is overwhelmed by mukhya-rati from direct contact with SrI kRShNa and sAttvika-bhAvas that arise when the heart is overwhelmed by gauNa-rati that are induced by a circumstance in which KRShNa is somewhat apart". Accordingly, the sAttvika bhAva encompasses both mukhya and gauNa ratis.

(This book (PDF) can be downloaded free from site -
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/down ... p/free.htm )

A - muktiki mElmi (greater than mukti) - In this regard, please refer to tirumAlai of vaiShnava saint toNDaraDippoDi AzhvAr in praise of Lord of SrI raGgaM -

paccai mAmalai pOl mEn2i* pavaLavAy kamalac cengaN*
accutA! amarar ERE!* Ayar tam kozhundE! en2n2um,*
iccuvai tavira yAn2pOy* indira lOgam ALum,*
accuvai peRin2um vENDEn2* arangamA nagar uLAn2E! (2)

பச்சை மாமலை போல் மேனி பவளவாய்க் கமலச் செங்கண்
அச்சுதா அமரர் ஏறே ஆயர்தம் கொழுந்தே என்னும்
இச்சுவை தவிர யான்போய் இந்திர லோகம் ஆளும்
அச்சுவை பெறினும் வேண்டேன் அரங்கமா நகருளானே


“Green great mountain-like body; coral mouth; lotus eyes; O Lord acyutA - the lion of celestials - the tender one of the cow-herds; other than the relish of uttering these words, even if I happen to attain the great joy of ruling the World of celestials, I do not desire it, O Lord abiding in the holy SrI rangam."

(Please visit the sites -
http://www.srivaishnavam.com/texts/tmalai_roman.htm The PDF version in Tamil may be downloaded from site -
http://www.prapatti.com/slokas/tamil/na ... Tirumaalai )

The following quote from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna clarifies how bhakti is greater than mukti -

“Hanuman kept the servant ego after realizing God in both His Personal and His Impersonal aspects. He thought of himself as the servant of God. The great sages, such as nArada, sanaka, sananda, sanAnana, and sanatkumAra, after attaining the Knowledge of Brahman, kept the servant ego and the ego of Devotion" „¢. They are like big steamships, which not only cross the ocean themselves but carry many passengers to the other shore." (pp 500)

The is further certified by nArada bhakti sUtras -

sa tarati sa tarati, sa lOkAMstArayati || 50 ||

“He crosses indeed, he crosses this mAyA and carries also the world across it." (Translation by Swami Tyagisananda)

This explains why SrI tyAgarAja states saguNa dhyAnamupaini sukhamu - comfort is experienced in the meditation on Lord with form (qualities).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This brings to mind the purandara dAsa kRti kELanO hari tALanO rAga SyAma - The kRti is reproduced below from tamil script (please pardon errors if any)

kELanO hari tALanO
tALa mEla gaLiddu bhakti illada gAna

tambUri mudalAda akhila vAdya gaLittu
kombu koLalu dvani svara gaLittu
tumburu nAradaru gAna kELuva hari
nambalArayI Dambakada kUkADA

IMHO, the essence of the kRti is To the Lord who is fond of hearing the devotion laden songs of nArada and tumburu all those so called music which is bereft of bhakti is but cacophony".

That sums up anurAgamu and sAtvIka bhakti.

May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

[ramakriya]

This brings to mind the purandara dAsa kRti ‘kELanO hari tALanO’ rAga SyAma - The kRti is reproduced below from tamil script (please pardon errors if any)

kELanO hari tALanO
tALa mEla gaLiddu bhakti illada gAna

tambUri mudalAda akhila vAdya gaLittu
kombu koLalu dvani svara gaLittu
tumburu nAradaru gAna kELuva hari
nambalArayI Dambakada kUkADA

IMHO, the essence of the kRti is ‘To the Lord who is fond of hearing the devotion laden songs of nArada and tumburu all those so called music which is bereft of bhakti is but cacophony’.

That sums up anurAgamu and sAtvIka bhakti.

May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

Just posting some corrections on kELanO hari

kELanO hari tALanO
tALa mElagaLiddu bhakti** illada gAna

**The version I know says prEmavillada gAna (singing without love) , but bhakti illada gAna (singing without devotion is equally apt)

tambUri modalAda akhila vAdyagaLiddu
kombu koLalu dhvani svara gaLiddu
tumburu nAradar gAna kELuva hari
nambalAra I Dambakada kUgATA


There are two more charaNas.

Here is one of my favourite renditions of this song from a Kannada movie - gAnayOgi rAmaNNa

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/k ... name.2425/

-Ramakriya

[chalanata]

tiruppavai is recited in Tirumala by Telugu Battacharyas. though it is possible that thier mother tongue is Tamil because of their domicile they may recite the verse flawfully.
Saint Thyagaraja was a Tamilian by birth and domicile though his mother tongue was Telugu.
I have the following questions:
1. Is Thiagaraja's Telugu chaste or a mixure of Tamil and Telugu?
2. Is is true that to suit the swara composition he himself has permitted breaking of words? Some say this is very obvious in the Pancharatna kritis and that is why Aparathamu is sung after the rendition of the pancharatna.
3. When we say about music the same is applicable for Vedas also. Some say that the Vedas have to be decyphered and followed in life and there is another school of thought which says that the recitation without understanding the meaning will do since the sound itself will create positive vibrations. Which school of thought is more logical?
4. Balamurali Krishna is presumed to sing correctly but his Prakala Nilapadi and Atamodi Galatha sound odd. This is only because of the habit of listening to the song sung faultily. How to rectify this?
5. Balasubramanya in Bilahari is sung my many vidwans as 'Balasubramanya Gacha Grahanya" which asks subramanya swami to get away whereas the correct rendition will be 'Balasubramanya AaaGacha Grahanya...'. So the vidwan is expected to learn atleast about 5 to 6 languages. Is it possible?

[srkris]

About Q #3, the Vedas are totally archaic, and we have to make do with interpretations of later saints, since some of the dominant schools of Vedic thought advocate against literal interpretation of the Vedic verses. Even speaking rationally, there is still some mystery since AFAIK literal translation does not seem to make sense of all the vedic verses, nor do they explain why those verses were sought to be preserved so meticulously in the first place.

About Q #4, except Sanskrit, the other 4 main languages are bound together by their dravidian roots, and I find that with a bit of sanskrit, one can comfortably make do with all the other languages since the performers usually are familiar with one of the other 4 languages. It takes just a little more effort to link together one's understanding of all dravidian tongues. Tamils who know Sanskrit also, are in an enviable position in this regard since these are two extremes (dissimilar from each other), and the other 3 languages come between these three. So in short, yes it is possible to gain a fair understanding of all 5 languages within a year if one puts full attention.

[gravikiran]

i personally feel that first and foremost the emphasis _must_ be the musical and poetic prAsa which should come out faultlessly. the lyrical beauty should come next strictly _within_ the musical framework. i think a keerthana is not the place to enhance the lyrical aspect - we have poetry where the words are after all the _only_ focus.
my 2 paise

[srkris]

I agree with gravikiran.... in music recitals, musicality should be pradhAnam.

[rshankar]

I don't think a performer need learn 5-6 languages, but, should, I think use the services of experts in different languages appropriately, to learn proper splitting and enunciation of words.
Ravi

[arasi]

And unlike old times when you had nothing but the teacher's way of pronouncing the words in a song, these days we have books with translations by experts to refer to. Easier for singers to emote when they know the drift of the feeling of the song...

[vgvindan]

When we say about music the same is applicable for Vedas also. Some say that the Vedas have to be decyphered and followed in life and there is another school of thought which says that the recitation without understanding the meaning will do since the sound itself will create positive vibrations. Which school of thought is more logical?

In this regard please refer to words of Kanchi Mahaswami Chandra Sekharendra Saraswati -

There are various methods in Vedhaadhyayana (memorising the Veda mantras) which help to preserve the number an d the order of the words and letters of each Veda Mantra. There are specifications regarding the time interval (matra) for the utterance of each letter in a word; the part of the body from which each of the sounds in the word should emanate by the exhalation of the breath in an appropriate manner ; the affinities between the Swaraas in the Vedas and the Swaraas in Sangeeta (music) and the affinities of both (Veda Swaraas and Sangeeta Swaraas) to the natural Swaraas in the sounds produced by animals , birds, etc. These methods of memorising the Veda Mantras are known as Vaakya, Pada, Krama, Ghana, Jata, Swara,etc.

The Vedas are not like the sounds of common speech to undergo periodical changes by usage; on the other hand, they have been meticulously preserved as a result of being protected by definite prescriptions and indices relating to the sound measures, their nature, sequence, manner of utterance, etc., which have been preserved by oral transmission from generation to generation. The injunctions relating to the persons who should do the Adhyayana, and the Aachaaraas such persons should observe, are intended to promote this objective. To approach the study of the Vedas with out a clear knowledge of all ramifications and to adopt rough and ready methods for estimating their age will amount to proceeding on a basis which has no bearing on the subject of the study.

http://www.kamakoti.org/acall/ac-ageofvedas.html

[vgvindan]

Is Thiagaraja's Telugu chaste or a mixure of Tamil and Telugu?
Is is true that to suit the swara composition he himself has permitted breaking of words? Some say this is very obvious in the Pancharatna kritis and that is why Aparathamu is sung after the rendition of the pancharathna

I am at loss to understand the thrust of the author. Particularly, looking from the context in which these questions are raised (rendering of kritis), makes me shudder whether I should post anything at all. May be I should not.

[chalanata]

come on VGV, don't take it too much to heart. like a fellow member (!) i'm 'completely clueless' about all these things. thyagayya is too great to be questioned by people like me. i can only rever him. you seem to have misunderstood my inquisitiveness.
i'm envious about the profound knowledge of many of the fellow members like you and for heaven's sake please do not be a spoil sport and stop your posts!

[rajumds]

vgvindan

i too don't see any thrust in the post ,just a curiosity to know. In the absence any recorded evidence & having to rely on passed on information, (on many aspects of our heritage & culture) it is neccessary to view such issues with a open mind & debate so that atleast this generation can pass on correct information to future geneartions.

[vgvindan]

chalanata,
Thanks for assuring that the posts are not taking wrong direction. In regard to your first query, I give hereunder some of the views found in the Thesis of Dr V Raghavan published as part of the book 'The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja'.

...Some Telugu scholars do not attach equal importance to the Telugu of Tyagaraja (The Telugu part of the texts also has some knots still unsolved) but it should be remembered that Tyagaraja was born in a Telugu family long domiciled in Tamil districts and he wrote the simple colloquial Telugu that was spoken by these Telugu families in Tamilnad

...Even so are involved compounds like 'upavalAri-mAyAvilAsini' which means viShNu-mAyA-vilasini. All this, like some other features too, may fall within the scope of litereary flaws according to alankAra SAstra........

In this regard the following SlOka from SrImad bhAgavatam (Book One - Chapter 5 - sage nAradA’s advice to sage vyAsa) is relevant -

tadvAgvisargO janatAghaviplavO yasmin pratiSlOkamabaddhavatyapi |
nAmAnyanantasya yaSOnkitAni yacchRNvanti gAyanti gRNanti sAdhava: || (11)

"That composition which, even if though faulty in diction in every SlOka, if it consists of verses each of which contains the names of the immortal Lord, bearing the impress of His glory, wipes out the sins of the people; it is such composition that pious men love to hear, sing and repeat."

It is not possible to segregate music and bhakti in Sri tyAgarAja much like heat and light of fire. However, the guiding principle in the kRtis of Sri tyAgarAja is bhakti. I would dare say that had Sri tyAgarAja not been endowed with knowledge of music, he would have attained the stage of jIvanmuktA (mOkSha while embodied) by other means as brought out in Srimad-bhagavad-gItA and other treatises. Therefore, while we can keep on harping on the flaws, it would be much like missing the wood for the trees.

The Telugu part of the texts also has some knots still unsolved

These knots are what I am trying to straighten in the parallel posts 'Thyagaraja Kritis with Corrupted Lyrics'.

[chalanata]

thanks and regards VGV!

[vgvindan]

nidhi cAla sukhamA-kalyANi

I am giving hereunder the famous kRti along with gist of meaning.

P nidhi cAla sukhamA rAmuni
sannidhi sEva sukhamA nijamuga balku manasA

A dadhi navanIta kShIramulu ruciyO
dASarathi dhyAna bhajana sudhA rasamu ruciyO (nidhi)

C dama Samam(a)nu gangA snAnamu sukhamA
kardama dur-viShaya kUpa snAnamu sukhamA
mamata bandhana yuta nara stuti sukhamA
su-mati tyAgarAja nutuni kIrtana sukhamA (nidhi)

Gist
O My Mind! Tell me truthfully whether wealth is very comforting or the service in the holy presence of Lord SrI rAma?
Are curd, fresh butter and milk etc. tasty or the nectarine juice of meditation and (collective) singing of praises of Lord rAma tasty?
Is a bath in the river gaGga called (practice of) self control and tranquility comforting or is a bath in the water of well called the filthy evil natured objects of senses comforting? Is extolling humans who are under the yoke of egotism comforting or is singing songs of the Lord praised by this pure minded tyAgarAja comforting?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are two errors in rendering of the kRti –
(1) Pallavi – Musicians sing nidi cAla sukhamA rAmuni sannidhi cAla sukhamA. Here nidhi and rAmuni sannidhi sEva are two aspects compared by the Saint. He asks whether wealth is comforting or service the presence of SrI rAma is comforting. By singing in the manner (as brought out), the whole meaning is twisted.

(2) Anupallavi – There are two occurrences of ruciyO. This is being rendered as rucO. However, in this regard, the fault may not wholly lie with musicians because even books are giving conflicting versions. In the book of TKG and TSV/AKG, it is given as ‘rucO’ and in the books of CR and ATK, it is given as ‘ruciyO’. In my humble opinion, ‘ruciyO’ is the correct declension of the word ‘ruci’ and not ‘rucO’. This however needs to be comfirmed whether ‘rucO’ is also acceptable usage.

Please place your comments
May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

Books Referred -
CR - The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja by Shri C Ramanujachariar
ATK - Adi Tyagaraja Kirtanams by Shri KV Srinivas Iyengar (Telugu)
TKG - Compositions of Tyagaraja by Shri TK Govinda Rao
TSV/AKG - Sadguru Shri Thyagaraja Swamy Keerthanaigal (Tamil) by Shri TS Vasudevan and Shri AK Gopalan

[chalanata]

VGV
When this was sung? Was it when Sarafogi's chieftain came offering money and wealth to Thyagaraja Swami?

[vgvindan]

Brahma Sri TS Balakrishna Sastrigal, in his discourse 'Thyagaraja Charitram' says that Sri Tyagaraja sang this song at that time as stated by you.

[chalanata]

thanks VGV. In fact I get confused between this and the occasion when 'Rama Bhakthi Samrajyam' was sung.

[vgvindan]

nAda sudhA rasam-Arabhi

I am giving hereunder the kriti, the gist and notes thereof. This kriti consists of many musical terminologies, the meaning of which need to be ascertained before posting. I am posting the kRti here in order to invite comments on the special music terminology.

P nAda sudhA rasamb(i)lanu nar(A)kRti(y)AyE manasA

A vEda purAN(A)gama SAstr(A)dulak(A)dhAramau (nAda)

C svaramul(A)runn(o)kaTi ghaNTalu vara rAgamu kOdaNDamu
dura naya dESyamu tri guNamu nirata gati SaramurA
sarasa sangati sandarbhamu gala giramulurA
dhara bhajana bhAgyamurA tyAgarAju sEvincu (nAda)

Pallavi O My Mind! The nectarine juice of eternal sound has assumed a human form here.

Anupallavi O My Mind ! The nectarine juice of eternal sound which is the prop of vEda, epics, Agama and SAstras etc, has assumed a human form here.

Charanam The seven svaras as the bells (of the bow kOdaNDa); the sacred rAga as the bow kOdaNDa; dura naya and dESya as the three (strands of) the bow string; the steady pace (tempo) are the arrows; the sweet thematic variations as the words (spoken by the Lord) appropriate to the occasion; therefore, the performance of chanting of His names is a fortune; O My Mind ! The nectarine juice of eternal sound worshipped by this tyAgarAja, has assumed a human form here.

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

C – rAgamu kOdaNDamu – An interesting mention in SrImad vAlmIki rAmAyaNa about rAvaNa’s musical talents that he can ‘play upon the lute of his terrific bow with the sticks of his arrows’ is found in the website mentioned below. However, where this statement occurs in SrImad vAlmIki rAmAyaNa, is not known - http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Hindu_Music.htm

In the kRti ‘kOTi nadulu dhanuShkOTi’ SrI tyAgarAja makes mention of kuNDalini yOga. According to kuNDalini yOga, the verterbral column is called mErudaNDa. Please also refer to kRti of SrI tyAgarAja ‘ISa pAhi mAM’ where Lord Siva is described as holding bow of mEru – mErudaNDa – vertebral column (hEmAcala cApa). Source –
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resourc ... ch-38.html

C – ghaNTalu – Please refer to SrI tyAgarAj’s kRti ‘svara rAga sudhA rasa’ SrI tyAgarAja mentions of ‘mUlAdhAra’ as the cakra from where ‘nAda’ emanates. He also mentions therein about ‘sapta svara gRhamulu’ – It is not clear whether the seven chakras are meant to represent the sapta svaras; if that be so the correspondence would be – mUlAdhAra – sa; svAdhiShThAna – ri; maNipUra - ga; anAhata - ma;viSuddhi - pa; AjnA - da; sahasrAra – ni.
In regard to sapta svaras and their relation to the seven charkras, there is an interesting article in the website –
http://www.newtalavana.org/ebooks/sapta ... saptasvara'

C – tri-guNamu – the word ‘guNa’ means ‘string’, ‘strand’, ‘bow string’ and also ‘qualities – sattva, rajas and tamas’. The three guNas – sattva, rajas and tamas are indeed the three strands of the prakRti. The following verse from SrImad bhagavat gIta, Chapter 14 is relevant –

sattvaM rajastama iti guNA: prakRtisambhavA: |
nibadhnanti mahAbAhO dEhE dEhinamavyayaM || 5 ||

“sattva, rajas and tamas – these guNas, O mighty-armed, born of prakRti, bind fast in the body the indestructible embodied one.â€

[vgvindan]

Rendering of dIkShitar kriti ardhanAreeSvaram - rAga kumuda kriya

I was under the impression that it is only tyAgarAja kRtis which are wrongly rendered by musicians because they do not understand telugu. But today, I hear (in Shruti channel) a musician rendering as ardhanArISvaram ArAdhyAmi instead of ArAdhayAmi.

God Save Carnatic Music.
May Saint Thyagaraja Bless us all
V Govindan

[munsarma]

nidhi cAla sukhamA-kalyANi

Dear Sri V Govindan,

As far as my knowledge in Telugu goes, "RucO" and "Ruchiyo" convey same meaning. RuciyO is grandhika telugu and RuchO is colloquial usage.

Regards,
Sarma

[vgvindan]

RuchO is colloquial usage

munsarma,
Thanks for your clarification. I shall incorporate necessary remarks in the kRti accordingly.
I shall be highly obliged, if you could peruse other posts where I have pointed out possible errors and give your opinion.

[vgvindan]

I may inform viewers that from today onwards my blogs in the following websites will contain the transliteration of Thyagaraja Kritis in all the South Indian Languages and Devanagari. I am posting here a sample of the Kriti. As I have no knowledge of Kannada and Malayalam scripts, I request concerned viewers to make any suggestions regarding improvements thereof.
Website where the kritis are posted are -
http://thyagaraja.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
http://thyagaraja-vaibhavam.blogspot.com/
http://vgovindan.spaces.live.com/Person ... c=blogpart

प. नीवाड ने गान निखिल लोक निदान
निमिषमोर्व गलना
अ. दे(वा)दि देव भू-देव वर पक्ष
राजी(वा)क्ष साधु जन जीवन सनातन (नी)
च. सत्यम्बु नित्यम्बु समरमुन शौर्यम्बु-
(न)त्यन्त रूपम्बु(न)मित बलमु
नित्योत्सवम्बु गल नीकु निज दासु(ड)नि
तथ्यम्बु बल्कु श्रीत्यागरा(जा)र्चित (नी)

ப. நீவாட3 நே கா3ந நிகி2ல லோக நிதா3ன
நிமிஷமோர்வ க3லநா
அ. தே3(வா)தி3 தே3வ பூ4-தே3வ வர பக்ஷ
ராஜீ(வா)க்ஷ ஸாது4 ஜன ஜீவன ஸனாதன (நீ)
ச. ஸத்யம்பு3 நித்யம்பு3 ஸ1மரமுன ஸௌ1ர்யம்பு3-
(ன)த்யந்த ரூபம்பு3(ன)மித ப3லமு
நித்யோத்ஸவம்பு3 க3ல நீகு நிஜ தாஸு(ட3)னி
தத்2யம்பு ப3ல்கு ஸ்ரீத்யாக3ரா(ஜா)ர்சித (நீ)



ప. నీవాడ నే గాన నిఖిల లోక నిదాన
నిమిషమోర్వ గలనా
అ. దే(వా)ది దేవ భూ-దేవ వర పక్ష
రాజీ(వా)క్ష సాధు జన జీవన సనాతన (నీ)
చ. సత్యమ్బు నిత్యమ్బు సమరమున శౌర్యమ్బు-
(న)త్యన్త రూపమ్బు(న)మిత బలము
నిత్యోత్సవమ్బు గల నీకు నిజ దాసు(డ)ని
తథ్యమ్బు బల్కు శ్రీత్యాగరా(జా)ర్చిత (నీ)

ಪ. ನೀವಾಡ ನೇ ಗಾನ ನಿಖಿಲ ಲೋಕ ನಿದಾನ
ನಿಮಿಷಮೋರ್ವ ಗಲನಾ
ಅ. ದೇ(ವಾ)ದಿ ದೇವ ಭೂ-ದೇವ ವರ ಪಕ್ಷ
ರಾಜೀ(ವಾ)ಕ್ಷ ಸಾಧು ಜನ ಜೀವನ ಸನಾತನ (ನೀ)
ಚ. ಸತ್ಯಮ್ಬು ನಿತ್ಯಮ್ಬು ಸಮರಮುನ ಶೌರ್ಯಮ್ಬು-
(ನ)ತ್ಯನ್ತ ರೂಪಮ್ಬು(ನ)ಮಿತ ಬಲಮು
ನಿತ್ಯೋತ್ಸವಮ್ಬು ಗಲ ನೀಕು ನಿಜ ದಾಸು(ಡ)ನಿ
ತಥ್ಯಮ್ಬು ಬಲ್ಕು ಶ್ರೀತ್ಯಾಗರಾ(ಜಾ)ರ್ಚಿತ (ನೀ)


പ. നീവാഡ നേ ഗാന നിഖില ലോക നിദാന
നിമിഷമോര്വ ഗലനാ
അ. ദേ(വാ)ദി ദേവ ഭൂ-ദേവ വര പക്ഷ
രാജീ(വാ)ക്ഷ സാധു ജന ജീവന സനാതന (നീ)
ച. സത്യമ്ബു നിത്യമ്ബു സമരമുന ശൌര്യമ്ബു-
(ന)ത്യന്ത രൂപമ്ബു(ന)മിത ബലമു
നിത്യോത്സവമ്ബു ഗല നീകു നിജ ദാസു(ഡ)നി
തഥ്യമ്ബു ബല്കു ശ്രീത്യാഗരാ(ജാ)ര്ചിത (നീ)

[jayaram]

Dear Shri Govindan,

Thank you for this wonderful service.

May I point out, however, a small error in the Malayalam version -
in the first line you have: നീവാഡ നേ ഗാന നിഖില ലോക നിദാന

The നേ and ലോ are incorrectly written - the 'vaLLi' should be before the main letter (na and la above), not after. (hope that's clear!)

[chalanata]

VGV,
the future generations are going to praise your yeomen service!

[vgvindan]

jayaram,
I am appending below the letters the Malayalam version of alphabets न ल -

न ना नि नी नु नू नॆ ने नो नै नॊ नौ
ल ला लि ली लु लू लॆ ले लै लॊ लौ

ന നാ നി നീ നു നൂ നെ നേ നോ നൈ നൊ നൌ
ല ലാ ലി ലീ ലു ലൂ ലെ ലേ ലൈ ലൊ ലോ ലൌ


This rendition is as per the scheme implemented in Unicode
Can you please check these and let me know

[jayaram]

Govindan:
In all these cases, the Malayalam version is incorrect:
नॆ ने नो नै नॊ नौ
लॆ ले लै लॊ लौ
(btw, isn't one entry missing for 'la' above?)

The vaLLis for these should be before, not after the main letter. (That is, for the sounds 'eh' to 'au')

Maybe worth going thru the rest of the alphabet also...

Hope that is clear.

[jayaram]

Dear Govindan,

Please refer to the unicode file for Malayalam that Arun provided in a different thread:
http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0D00.pdf

As you can see all the Eh, Ei, O, Au letters have the vowel sign (the 'vaLLi') on the left of the consonant. Take a look at OD46, OD47, OD48, OD4A, OD4B, OD4C entries.

Hope that makes it more clear.

[gn.sn42]

Jayaram,

The letters look right to me.

Perhaps your browser is rendering them incorrectly - I had a similar problem before, and fixed it using the instructions here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... ic_scripts

[drshrikaanth]

They look wrong to me too.

[drshrikaanth]

Jayaram
I think you can set it right by following instructions as gn.sn42 has said. Its fine in my laptop now while before all I saw was question marks. But I faced the same problem as you at work. Will have to check tomorrow.

[jayaram]

Shrikanth,

I tried to do go thru the installation outlined but got stuck at a step where it was looking for a file. I use my office laptop, so don't have this file or the CD handy. Will need to check with the IT folks at work tomorrow.

Thank you gn.sn42 for the tip.

Ah, the joys of technology!