Meaning of ALalAgAdA - hATakAmbari - Koteeswara Iyer

[narayara000]

AlalAgAdA - hATakAmbari (sung in madhyama sruthi) - Adi (2 kaLai) - Koteeswara Iyer

pallavi

ALalAgAdA aDiyEnai nAthA nI tAn

anupallavi

ALAi nin ponnaDikkaDimai pUNDanudinam Arumukha hara guruguha pannIrukara muruga enruruga tan

caraNam

digambari trishUladhari jagam tarum jaTAdhari hATakAmbari harasakhi hari sOdari sundari taru sutanE
aham tanil ninainda nal varam tara ishainda nAyAsa kavi kunjaradAsa vishvAsanai nEshamoDu

[rshankar]

Here you go:
pallavi
ALalAgAdA aDiyEnai nAthA nI tAn
Will it not be possible (AgAdA) for you (nI tAn) to admit me, a devotee/servant (aDiyEnai), into your grace (ALal) [1]?

anupallavi
ALAi nin ponnaDikkaDimai pUNDanudinam
Arumukha hara guruguha pannIrukara muruga enruruga tan
Please do admit into you grace (ALAi) this servant/slave/devotee (aDimai) who, bound (pUNDu) to your (nin) golden (pon) feet (aDikku), melts with love (uruga) as he calls out (enRu) ‘Arumukha (the six-faced one)’, ‘hara (destroyer)’ [2], ‘guru (preceptor)’, ‘guhA (the one who lives in the deep caverns of our consciousness)’, ‘pannirukarA (the one with 12 hands)’.

caraNam
digambari trishUladhari jagam tarum jaTAdhari hATakAmbari harasakhi hari sOdari sundari taru sutanE
aham tanil ninainda nal varam tara ishainda nAyAsa kavi kunjaradAsa vishvAsanai nEshamoDu
The son (sutanE) of unwavering integrity (nayAsaA) that was given/granted (taru) (to us) by the beautiful lady (sundari) who wears the directions (dik) as her garments (ambari), who bears (dhari) a trident (triSUla), the one with matted locks (jaTAdhari) who gives (tarum) the world (jagam) (to her devotees), the beloved companion (sakhi) of Siva (hara), the sister (sOdari) of vishNu (hari), the one with golden (hATaka) garments (ambari) [3], who deigned (isaindu) to grant (tara) sterling (nal) boons (varam) that are requested (ninainda) in (tanil) this world (aham), (will it not be possible to admit) the composer, kavi kunjaradAsa [4], one who believes in you (viSvAsanai) (into your divine grace) with (ODu) love (nEsam)?

FOOTNOTES
[1] ALutal also means to reign or govern – devotees typically ask the lord to rule over them as a benevolent king, which in essence is the same as being admitted to the divine grace of the Lord
[2] destroyer of evil
[3] The text in red describes pArvati, while the rest pertains to murugA
[4] The aMkita/mudra of Sri Koteeswara Iyer

[Rajani]

Thank you Ravi for the detailed and beautiful translation. The explanation for Alutal is lovely.
Two small additions :

1. "nAthA" in the pallavi would mean addressing Muruga as "O Lord!"
2. sutanE would be "O son" ( of Parvati )!
I feel the meaning of the charanam would be (based on the Tamil translation of the composer) :
" O Son given by (tarum) Parvati who wears the directions, has a trident and matted locks, is the companion of Shiva and sister of Hari and wears golden garments!
(Would it not be possible to admit) lovingly (nEsamOdu) this servant of Kavi Kunjara( the effortless poet), who has faith in you, and agreeing to give the good boons sought in my mind!

The epithet anAyAsa kavi is not given to himself but to Kavi Kunjara Bharati whose Dasa he describes himself as.

[rshankar]

Rajani - thank you for the clarifications. I had forgotten the word 'nAthA' in the pallavi!

And in the caraNam, is the word anAyAsa (with ease) OR nayAsa (steadfast)? I could not tell.

[Rajani]

I am quite sure it is isaindhu + anAyAsa .

[narayara000]

thank you