Pancharathnam Series -JagadhAnandhakAraka - Part 1

Dear All, Sri SeethA lakshmana hanumath SamEtha Sri Sathguru prAnanAthAya jagadhAnandhakArakAya Sri Kothanda kalyAna pattAbhirAmachandra parabrahmanE nama: (Let us all invoke the blessings of the one who is always with SeethA dEvi, Lakshman and Hanuman and The one who is the Lord of Sathguru thyAgabrahmams life and the One who is the creater of all the Joy in this world. The one who is worshipped and (enjoyed) as KOthanda RAman,kalyAna rAman and PattAbhiRAman and The one who is none other than the para brahmam.) I am very pleased indeed to invite you all to be here and read,enjoy and benefit from the series of posts that I will be writing up on from this post onwards, for many weeks and months together, on the great pancharathnams of sathguru thyagabrahmam. With the blessings of my mAnasIka guru, sathguru thyAgabrahmam and all the sathbhAgawathAs of the present and past and with the permission and blessings of Sri Oppilappan KOil varadhAchARi Sriman V. SadagOpa Iyengar, who has authored a 350 page book(monograph) in tamil on the pancharathnams of Sathguru. Not very long time back, the book was made available online for the benefit and the enjoyment of all. This write up will most likely be an abridged and a customized version of the monograph along with my own personal anubhavams. I am sure that this write-up will bring the anugrahams of Sathguru and seethArAmachandran to everyone who reads with/ without great interest. Just as a reminder, let me alert the reader to please read the Pancharathna mAhAthmyam post that i wrote a few weeks back. (archived) Before I start, I would like to salute all the great souls, both present and pAst. EndarO mahAnubAvulu, Anthariki Vandhanamulu. (Of course, we will all learn the greatness of this krithis for which alone nithyArAdhanA can be performed for sathguru) The first pancharathnams that our Sathguru composed was set to tune in the nAtAi rAgam , that symbolifies veerya rasam (heroism). We all know that one main reason bhagawan takes an avathar is for dhusta nigraham (defeat/destroy the evil).In rAmA avathar the greatest evil force was present in the form of rAvanan, who was a slave of the ten senses. Thus, Sriman nArAyanan willed to take avathAR as a human by the request of all the dEvAs to defeat rAvana and establish peace and happiness on earth. He could have done that very easily just like he killed hiranyakasipu in narasimha avathARam. But, he chose to be born to Dasharatha Chakravathy (the one who has controlled to 10 senses) , slained the rAkshasAs like ThAtakA, subAhu and marEEchan, married SeethA dEvi, observed 14 years of vAna vAsam (of exile), sought for the golden deer that seethA dEvi wished for and while doing so , he lost his dear seethA dEvi to RAvanan. He then went searching for his beloved. While doing so, he blessed and gave mOksha to jatAyu, the great old bird and then he went to old shabari's hut, tasted the fruits offered by her and granted her liberation. After that he helped Sugrivan and got rid of his grief by killing his enemy VAli. He befriended the monkeys and then gave Hanuman the power to cross the sea, who gave sita DEvi, her Lords ring, comforted her and made her happy by chanting ramA nAmA. Finally , he crossed the sea with help of the bridge built by monkeys and fought war with rAvana and his army , performed abhaya pradhAnam(protection) to Vibheeshan and killed rAVanan by using brahmAsthram. He also offered his sandals to bharathan and removed his suffering. He also have absolution(ShApa VimOchanam) to Ahalya when he stepped on a stone, which was none other than ahalya who was cursed to a stone by GauthamA. This is real heroism, saving some one who can never be saved by anyone else. (sooran). Our sathguru introduces such a valiant rAman , his ishtanAthan as jagadhAnandhakArakan , the one who gives happiness to everyone in this world in his first nAtai pancharathnam. In this krithi, there are 10 charanams with a pallavi and anupallavi. In this post we will discuss the pallavi and anupallavi. The charnams will be covered and completed in small steps in later posts. Out of the 10 charanams , three of them have the mudra of Sathguru as "ThyAgarAjanutha, Sri ThyAgarAja sannutha and ThyAgarAjAthinutha" >Prof SAmbamoorthy says that "This krithi in nAtai is a garland of panegyrics on Sri RAma, a Sangeetha Rahasya pradarshini ( Musical revelations) and as ideal for voice-training exercises. It is also a belief that this krithi and the ARabhi RAgA krithi, Saadhinchane were composed by Sathguru by the request of ThanjAvur RAmA rAo, one of his primary disciples. Sri rAmA rAo requested his guru to compose some krithis for bhagawath ArAdhanam(worship) and sthuthi (praise) and to fulfil his request it is beleived that Sathguru has composed the krithis and blessed him. One of the less known facts about this krithi is that when the group of words praising the Lord are separated, one ends up with Ashtothra Shatha nAmAvali like Om jagandhAnandhakArakAya nama: Om Jaya jAnaki prAnanAthAya nama: Om gaganAthipa sathkula jAya nama: Om rAja rAjeshwarAya nama: Om SugunAkarAya nama: Om SuraSEvyAya nama: (Click here to listen ) Our sathguru has embellished the krithis with lots of beautiful swarAlankArAs. Prof SAmbamoorthy has observed the following 1. Starting from the third charanam ," Indra neela mani sAnnipApa" until the 7 the charanam "PurAna pursha" , the charnams start uniformly with "PA pa SA PA pasA" 2 .In the 8th charanam, when one hears the sound of the pranavA (OM), there is a UllAsitha Gamaka prayOgA ( a blissful tune) that rises from madhya shadjama ( Sa) to thArasthAyi ShadjamA. Let us now start with the pallavi. JagadhAnadhakArakA jaya JAnaki PrAna nAyakA" Our Sathguru introduces his ishtanAthan as jagadhAnandhakArakan ,who destroys the fear and blesses happiness and to the ones who have come seeking his refuge, even when one has done so many aparAdhams (sins). He is the one shows no disctinction between his friends and enemies. For eg, he gave mOkshA to rAvana just like he gave mOkshA to jatAyu and simlarly he gave mOksha to ThAtakA in the same way he gave MOksha to Shabari. He is the one who removed the fear of the monkey king , Sugreevan and blessed him with happiness. He removed the troubles of Vibheeshanan, who sought his feet and blessed him with the kingdom of LankA. By killing rAvanan, he gave mOkshA to him and happiness to the world and beyond. Sathguru, thus worshipped, SReeRAmachandran, the one who was born in the Raghuvamsa , the one who blesses and comforts his devotees like the moon and the one who gives happiness to the heart (kumudha pushpam) of SeethA dhEvi as "jagadhAnandhakArakA, jaya jAnaki prAna nAyakA , hey rAmA". The following slOka highlights the same SreeRAmachandra karunAkara rAghvEndra RAjendra Chandra raghuvamsa samudra | Sugreeva NEthrayugaLothpala Poornachandra SeethAmana: Kumudha chandra nAmO NamasthE || When the krithis is rendered, the pallavi is rendered for the longest time with lots of different variations (sangathIs) . The sangathis are for us to enjoy the sree rAmachandran as myriad of ways. Everytime one sangathi is rendered, there is a bhAva attached with it. Each of them, allows us to enjoy sreerAmachandran as jagadhAnandhakArakan in a myriad of different ways, the gunA that is highly enjoyable. Click here to listen. Let us go to the anupallavi gaganAdhipa sathkulaja rAja rAjeswarA| SugunAkara SurasEvya bhavya dhAyakA sadhA sakala || Here sathguru celebrates SriRAmachandran as the one who rose out of the Surya vamsa( SUryA race) and as king of all the kings. In SandhyAvandhanam, the sun (sooryan) is introduced as parabrahamam.(AsAvAdhithyO brahma) It is beleived that the one who worships the sun as parabhramam during the its rising and setting time will be blessed with everything (Taithreeya brAhmanam). SreerAmachandran is born out of such a race. The same emotion is expressed by hanumAn is Sri SeethA rAma sthOthram RaghUnAm Kuladheepam cha,NimeenAm kuladheepikAm | SUrya Vamsa Samuthbutham, SOma vamsa SamuthbavAm || In the next part of the anupallavi, our sathguru praised and enjoys his Lord as SugunAkara SEvya bhavya dhAyakA sadhA sakala He praises him as sugunAkaran , the one who as per , ramayathE Ithi RAma:, blesses everyone and makes them happy by his sathgunAs (SugunAS). This is also reflected in the following slOkam of vAlmIkIs Tvam Hee sathya vrathasUrO: dhARmikO Thrta Vikrama: | PareekshyakAri SmrithmAn NisrushtAthmA SUharuthSucha || He praises SreerAmA as the one who keeps up the word, the one who always stick to the truth, the one with unlimited valuor, the one who always comes to the right conclusion and the one who always remembers the helps of his friends. In the next part, sathguru thyAagabrahmam praises his Lord , with such sugunAS as the one praised and worshipped by the SuRAs (dEvAS) In the last verse, he worships him as "SadhA sakala dhAyakA" . The word rAma is made up of a RA and a mA. There are so many evidences about the benfits derived out of chanting this thARaka nAmA. In RAmayana written by the tamil poet, kamban, it is said that "Nanmayum Selvamum nALum NalkumE Thinmayim pAvamum Sithanthu ThEyumE | Jenmamum marnamum IndriTheerumEy Inmayey IrAma Endru Irandu EzhuthinAl || He says that , by uttering the "RAma", we will all be blessed with eveything auspicious even within this birth. Also, all the evil and ill luck will vanish, there wont be birth and death and will certainly attain MOkshA (Liberation). Click Here to listen to the anupallavi. (Will be continued) With sathguru dhivya kamala pADha smaranams, AdiyEn thyAgayya and rAmAnuja dAsan Sarvam Sathguru prAnanAthAya JagadhAnandhakArakAya SeethARAmchandrArpanam.

RAga Rathna mAlikache - bhAga sEvimpa rArE

Dear Friends, srI: jai sathguru sWAmina: jAnakI kAntha smaranam, jai jai rAma rAmA. The 59th dasakam in the SrinArayaneeyam composed by the great devotee of guruvAyoorappan,srinArAyana bhattathiri goes like this rAgasthAvajyAyathey hi swabhAvAth mOkshOpaya: yatratha syAnnavAsyAth thAsam tvEkam tadvayam labdhamAsIth bhAgyam bhAgyam pAhi mAm mArutheshA || He says that all the gOpikA sthrees went to krishna bhagavan only with intense love and desire to be with him. They left everything else behind. Friends, relatives, wealth ,everything behind. This is rAgA in its highest form. Thinking bhagwan as ones bharthA (husband)and this bhAvam is refered to as nAyakA- nAyakI bhAvam. This kind of intense desire towards bhagawan gives jnAnam and mOksham.(mOkshOpAya) whereas the desire for anything else gives only bhandham (attachment) and pApam (sin). Only very few mahAthmAS have shown this kind of highest for of bhakthi bhAva. SRi nammAzhvAr, Sri AndAL, Sri RAmAnujAchArya are some of the mahAns in the vaishnava sampradAya who enjoyed this kind of sAThvikA nAyaka- nAyaki bhAvam. A pathivrathA (a chaste and loyal wife) will always think about her husband when separated even while performing the daily chores. Just like that, these mahAns performed all the karmAs but were always immersed in thoughts about bhagwAn. Just like that sathguru has melted his ishtanAthan, sriRAmachandran with hundreds of krithis in the nAyaki bhAvam. Not only that, he has lived along with sreeRAman and has enjoyed him as koThanda Raman , kalyAna RAman, pattAbhi RAman,bAlya rAman, vEEra rAGhavan, sharanAgatha vathsalan and so on. When he enjoyed him so and so, all the bhAvam and the RAgam came out as beautiful krithis shining brilliantly like the rays of the morning sun. Here, in this post, we are going to enjoy one such moving and highly enjoyable krithi in reethigowla rAgA , which i heard and learnt from brahmsri TS bAlakrishna sAstrigals upanyAsm in tamil. The krithi starts with a special gift for sreerAmachandran. pallavi: rAGA rathna mAlikache ranjillunata hari shatha (rAGa) Sathguru says he is offering rathna mALikAS to sree rAmachandran. Being very poor, how can he afford rathnA mAlAs? Not just one rathna mALA, but hundreds of them. Also, there are only 9 rathnaS right? (navarathnAs). Stop wondering! He himself says what are those rathnAS. Shatha rAga rathna mAlikachE i.e 100s of rAgAs. Each rAgam is a rathnamAlika to sree rAmachandran.One doesn't need to have money to offer these garlands but sathbakthi and sangItha jnAnam. rAgam also mean intense love for bhagawAn like those of the gOpikA sthrees. Thus, he is offering hundreds of rAGa rathna mAlikAs representing 100s of bhAva rAgAs. bhagavAnukku romba Aasapattu pOtta rAga rathna mAlAigal. (These are the garlands of rAga that our sathguru offered to bhagawAna with Thus singing sathguru's krithis without those bhAva rAgAs is like flowers decorating a dead corpse. Both rAGam(musical sound) and anurAgam (desire to be with god) should be present. rAga lakshana can be obtained by constant practise but anurAgam can not be obtained so. anurAgam can easily be obtained through the anugrahAs of utthamAs like sathguru thyAGabrhmam. Let is move further in the krithi. When one offers us something, we should thank him for that and we should feel happy that he has given us something. It can even be a very small thing. bhagAvan showed this in rAma avathARa when he tasted the fruits offfered by old shabari and in krishna avathARa when he partook food with vidhuran. Just like that, we should feel happy and content when someone offers us something. Sathguru says that his ishtanAthan will listen to his krithis with joy. (ranjillunata) The anupallavi goes like this bAga sEvinchi sakalabAgyamandu dAmu rArE. He invites us all to his little house in thiruvaiyARu to enjoy the darshanam of sreerAmachandran adorning the rathna mAlikAs. More importantly and rightly, he asks us to listen, sing and enjoy those krithis, which adorn his rAGhavan. He asks us to enjoy those krithis, which gave joy to him and to sreeRAman. Somebody might ask, sir. why should i do that? Let us see what our sathguru says. sakalabAgyamandu dAmu rARE. He says that one will be blessed with everything. (sakala bhAgyamandu ). Another person is asking already, athu eppadi avar appadi sollalAm , appadi enna thAn irukku andha krithigalil ( what is there after all in his krithis so that one can be blessed with everything). Brahmasri TS BAlakrishna sAstrigal says in his upanyAsam that some of his gurus had the perception that "thyAGaiyer krithis la appadi enna irukku. rAma enna kaapAthu, avana kApathiniyey, athey madhiri ennaiyum kApAthu, deekkshithavAL thaan neraiya sollirkAr ( what is there in his krithis, RAma,please save me, you saved gajEndrA on that day, just like that save me too.Only deekshithar has told us lot of things). Let us see sathgurus answer in the charnam, which goes like naigama sath-SAshthra purAna sahithamada He gives a foreword on his krithis , "vEdam,shat-Sastram, purAnam, Aagamam " everything is present in his krithis. He doesn't have to tell us. It is there but we are not digging those things. We are digging only " neravals, swarams, rAgAlApanA,tAnam pallavis et al". We quickly sing the keerthanam and rush to the swaram part so that we can display our manOdhArmic skills and our proficiency in music, which we got only through bhagawath and bhAgawatha katAkshams not just because we did hours of sAdhakam. We seldom realize that the saptha swarAs emerge from pranava nAdham . By getting closer to the pranava nAdham,we also gain mastery over the saptha swarAS. More importantly, we get sathbhakthi and are directed in sanmArgA. Thus, the main ingredients of sathgurus krithis are the sArAms of those veDAs and upanishads and the rAGAs are just spices that add flavour to the truths that are bitter to an average samsArin. Just like a mother who feeds her child with healthy but bitter food by mixing it along with something that the child likes and by uttering sweet words, our sathguru feeds us those krithis rich in the true values of life, which are bitter to an average samsArin by giving it rAGam and anurAGam. Let us continue with the charnam yOgivarulu Anadhamu nondhE sanmArgamata We are all bOGis. He says that ,yOgis, who have sacrificed everything will forget themselves and enjoy these krithis. bhAGavathOthamulu koodi pAdE keerthanmulata These krithis are sung in chorus by sathbhAgawathAs just like the group rendition of pancharathnams. When such a group renders his krithis, the joy we get knows no bound right? thyAgarAju kadathEra thARakamani chEsina Why did he sing those krithis? to please us or his contemporaries? or to impress his contemporaries and to get name and fame? Not at all. He himself says, "ThyAgarAju kadathEra thARakamani chEsina" . For getting his ishtanAthans krupai to get closer to him and to attain vaikunthA( kadaithEra). What a beautiful krithi? One has to enjoy the taste of his krithis word by word. Not just stick to the notes and do sAthakam to attain musical harmony,melody and perfection. This article is 90% based on Brahmasri TS BAlakrishna sAstrigals upanyASam and I have added my own comments occasionally. If there are mistakes in this write- up, it is only because of my ignorance and all credits go to Sathguru and Brahmasri. I have attempted to render the krithi, based on what i heard from the upanyAsam,which will, of course will not be musically perfect as a seasoned carnatic musicians rendering. I am recording and sharing the audo just to share my anubhavams. SreerAman will listen to it anyway:) You may download it here. Having known the greatness of sathgurus krithis from himself , i will most likely start posting on the pancharathnams one by one from the next post. Also, I have recently added a podcast(streaming music) to the blog. Some of you might not like the auto-play feature that i have enabled. If you are one of them, let me alert you that the sound can be played, stopped, and paused anytime using the XSPF player. ( located on the left sidebar) .There is also a volume slider to control the volume. with sathguru dhivya kamala pAdha smaranams, adiyEn thyAgayya and rAmAnuja dAsan. sarvam seethArAmachandrARpanamasthu.

Sukhi EvarO Sukhi EvarO! EvvarO - RAma NAma

What will happen if you start uttering a word repeatedly even without knowing   Whether it is a mere sound or some thing else   What is the content of the word   What is the meaning of the word   What is the essence behind the word This repeated speaking of the same word in simple terms is called japam, with a count. If without count then it is dhyaanam. Generally it is believed, why believed, to a good extent proved also, that all sounds "produce vibrations" around that subject utterer [one who speaks that word]. These vibrations create to human beings a positive or negative benefit depending on the word, the nature of it, and the good and bad intention of the person behind that word. In such a situation, when that word is the name of our pet lord, and the intention of the person behind that uttering is simple and pure devotion to that lord, will it not produce immense benefits for him, around him, and confer benefits through him to the entire mankind? That "maraa" by vaalmeeki gave him the eternal fame linked with the epic raamaayaNam. That "raamaa" by saint thyaagaraaja gave him the very "su-darsanam" of the lord raamaa. But has this continuous uttering of raamaa gave him the "sukham" - the enjoyment, the happiness, or welfare to him? Perhaps the answer will be a big "NO" for he himself asks "sukhi evarO, raama naama - sukhi evarO". Since he raised this question in the form of a krithi, the question itself makes clear he is the not sukhi. Then who else was it? Further question arises, if he is not the enjoyer - sukhi - why then he continued that repeated uttering - japam. Dear bhakthaas, if, he has not continued that, perhaps we, you and I, need not worry about this person, discuss his "point" of "who is the sukhi?", sing his krithi with deep devotion on that raamaa, shed tears singing his krithi or hearing his krithi. That is the benefit he got, the name and fame even after his physical removal from this world. Now the full krithi. raagam: kaanadaa taaLam: dhEsaadhi 22nd mELa karthaa kharaharapriya janya Aa: S R2 G2 M1 D N2 S Av: S N2 P M1 G2 M1 R2 S Composer: Sri thyaagaraajaa Language: telugu: pallavi sukhi evarO raama naama sukhi evvarO -- (sukhi) meaning: who is the raamaa naama enjoyer? anupallavi sukhi evarO sumukhi evarO akhila saaramagu thaaraka naama -- (sukhi) meaning: Who is the raamaa naama enjoyer? Who is that person having the good face [as a result of uttering the raama naama]? Like the pupil of the eye that liberating naama, which is the entire essence of all - that liberating raamaa naama, the enjoyer who is it? charaNam sathyamu thappaka sakala lOkulaku Bhrthyudai dhaiva bEdhamu lEka nithyamaina susvarapu gaanamuthO nirantharamu thyaagaraaja nutha raama -- (sukhi) meaning: that naamaa eulogised by thyaagaraaja, which is truth and nothing but truth in the entire world, guiding all people, without creating any difference or distinction between different gods, the eternal, with good quality singing made permanent, the enjoyer of that naamaa, who is he? The question in the krithi is some thing fantastic - who is the happy person enjoying the raamaa naamaam. Not only that sukhi but the sumukhi - one who has a good face? Dear bhakthaas, now perhaps you will be clear that he is not the sukhi - the enjoyer. But he has not answered this question he himself raised, just left it unanswered. Does it mean that he is not aware of the answer? One thing he made clear in this krithi- he is not the enjoyer but he continued to do that raamaa naama japa, for he said, realised that it is thaaraka naamam- life saving naamam. Is this not the real karma yOgam - just doing the duty - my duty is to do japam - not enjoy the fruits of the japam - but really not aspiring for the fruits of that action of doing the japam. karmaNi Eva aDhikaarasthE maa phalEshu kadhaachana| maa karma phala hEthur Bhoormaa thE sangO~sthva karmaNi || 2 -47 of srimadh bhagavath geethaa. Now the scenes get changed. Scene 1: Read the dialogue, taking place in kailaayam, the abode of sivan. Paarvathi - Hey - praBhO! aham srOthum ichchhaami! Meaning - Hey lord I want to hear [from you] Sivan - Yes, dear, what is that you want to hear from me? Paarvathi - This is what it is - paNdithai: nithyam vishNo: naama sahasrakam kEna upaayEna laghunaa patyathE? Meaning - These learned persons, with what easy means, daily can read the 1000 naamaas of sri vishNu? Now the slOkam: [dear bhakthaas, you all know this slokam is part of the phala sruthi slOkams in sri vishNu sahasra naamam] kEna upaayEna laghunaa vishNOr naama sahasrakam| patyathE paNdithai: nithyam srOthum ichchaami aham prabhO|| Sivan - vara aananE! Meaning - hey charming faced lady, sri raama raama raama ithi ramE raamE manOramE raama naama sahasra naama thath thulyam" meaning: I enjoy telling sri raama raama raama, and thereby delighted to repeat that raama naamam. For that is equivalent to telling 1000 naamaas of sri vishNu. Now the slOkam- "sri raama raama raamEthi ramE raamE manOramE sahasra naama thath thulyam raama naama vara aananE" Doubt no.1: Is it that the "raama naama sukhi" is no body else other than sivan? This doubt comes because thyaagaraaja asked the question sukhi evarO? and completed the krithi without answering the question. Scene 2: The very first sargam [chapter] of the first of the seven kaaNdam - divisions - baala kaaNdam of sreemadh vaalmeeki raamaayaNam starts with thapa: svaadhyaaya nirathaam thapasvee vaagvidhaam varam | naaradham paripaprachchha vaalmeeki: muni pungavam || 1-1-1 Meaning: the sage-poet Vaalmeeki, inquisitively inquired the divine sage naaradha, who is - the thoughtful person even in meditation, - an eternally studious sage in scriptures [about the truth and untruth] - a sagacious thinker - a sublime elucidator among all expert enunciators, - a man who is a composite in his form for all merited endowments. ka: nu asmin sampratham lOkE guNavaan ka: cha veeryavaan | Dharmajna: cha krtajna: cha sathya vaakyO dhrDa vratha: || 1-1-2 Meaning: vaalmeeki to naaradha - Who really is that person in this present world who is - a principled one - a potential one, - a conscientious one, - a redeemer, - a truth-teller - who is determined in his deeds chaarithrENa cha kO yuktha: sarva bhoothEshu kO hitha: | vidhvaan ka: ka: samartha: cha ka: cha Eka priya dharsana: || 1-1-3 Meaning: the question "who he is" is continued - - conduct- wise blended with good-conduct - benign in respect of all beings - adept - able - uniquely goodly to look to aathmavaan ka: jitha krOdhO dhyuthimaan ka: anasooyaka: | kasya biBhyathi dhEvaa: cha jaatha rOshasya samyugE || 1-1-4 Meaning: the question "who he is" is continued - courageous - controlled his ire, - brilliant, - non-jealous - by whom even the gods are afraid when provoked to war Ethath ichchhaami aham srOthum param koutoohalam hi mE | maharshE thvam samartho~asi jnaathum Evam vidham naram || 1-1-5 Meaning: oh! Great Sage [to naaradha], all this I wish to listen from you, for you are a mastermind to know such kind of a man, for immense is my inquisitiveness, indeed. When this question is asked by sri vaalmeeki to sage naaradha, naaradha maharshi immediately starts pouring out the sankshEpa raamaayaNam. From slokam 8 to 97 of first sargam is an abridged version of raamaayaNam. Doubt no. 2: The doubt now comes to mind - is naaradha, the raama naama sukhi referred by thyaagaraaja, for unless he has enjoyed that taste, he can not just start and pour out at one go that "raama amirtham". Scene 3: Sreemadh raamayaNam Baala kaaNdam sargam 2 [chapter 2] maa nishaadha pratistaam thvam aagama: saasvathee: samaa: | yath krouncha mithunaath Ekam avadhee: kaama mohitam || 1-2-15 meaning: Oh! No! Hunter, you will get an ever-lasting reputation for ages to come, by which deed of yours, you killed one male bird of the couple, when it is in its lustful passion. aajagaama thatha: brahmO lOka karthaa svayam prabhu: | chathur mukhO mahaa thEjaa dhrashtum tham muni pungavam || 1-2-23 meaning: Then lord brahma, the creator and lord of worlds, that great resplendent four-faced deity, arrived on his own, to see that eminent saint vaalmeeki. [1-2-23] Comment: The presiding deities like brahma usually do not arrive on their own, but present themselves after long and great effort on penance. Otherwise he visits the scene when demon devotees do a big hue and cry as is general. But here brahma, the creator of worlds, one of the three trinities arrives in front of vaalmeeki on his own. slOka evaasthvayaam badhDhO na athra kaaryaa vichaaraNaa || mathchchhandhaath eva thE brahman pravrththE ayam sarasvathee | 1-2-31 meaning: oh! brahma rishi, the above verse [sarasvathee] is composed by you at my wish alone, and there is no need to think otherwise. raamasya charitham krthsnam kuru thvam rishi saththama | Dharma aathmanO bhagavathO lOkE raamasya Dheematha: || 1-2-32 meaning: oh! The best sage, you shall render raama's legend in its entirety, of raama, who in the world is a virtuous, godly and sagacious person. vriththam kathaya dheerasya yathaa thE naaradhaath srutham | rahasyam cha prakaasam cha yadh vrththam thasya dheematha: || 1-2-33 meaning: Tell the legend unknown or known of that valiant, ingenious raama, as you heard from naaradha,. raamasya saha soumithrE raakshasaanaam cha sarvasa: | vaidhEhyaa: cha Eva yadh vrththam prakaasam yadhi vaa raha: || 1-2-34 meaning: raama's legend along with lakshmana, and of those demons also in its entirety, with that of vaidhEhi, that legend which is either revealed or un-revealed so far. Point: That sage vaalmeeki uttered a slOkam on seeing the male bird fell by a hunter and after that brahma "on his own" appears in front of that sage and says "on my behest only you composed that slOkam. Now pour out that story of raama", he also complies with that. Later a slokam is composed to highlight the contribution of vaalmeeki and also to pay respects to him at the beginning of reading raamaayaNam as the guru vandhanam - koojantham raama raamEthi madhuram madhura aksharam aaroohya kavithaa saakhaam vandhE vaalmeeki kOkilam || meaning: My prostration to the nightingale vaalmeeki who cuckoos 'raamaa, raamaa' the sweet honey letters [aksharam] among the sweet, in the form of branches of poetry [srimadh raamaayanam]. ya piban saththam raama charitha amrutha saagaram| athrupthastham munim vandhE praachEthasam akalmasham|| meaning: To that faultless muni praachEthas [vaalmeeki- son of prachEthas], I always prostrate, who did not get satisfied even after drinking from the nectarian ocean called raama charitham. Doubt no.3: one thing is clear here - perhaps the raama charitham is not that sweet and giving the sukham like that of the raama naamam. That is why he is still a non-satisfied person- athruptha: and cuckoos the naamaa "raama raama". This leads to the doubt, is sri vaalmeeki the raama naama sukhi said by thyaagaraaja? - For other wise how that brahma will come in front and say now you start telling that raamaa's story. Scene 4: Now let us see the maaruthi anjali slOkam yathra yathra raghunaathha keerthanam thathra thathra krutham hasthaka anjalim baashpa vaari pari poorNa lOchanam maaruthim namatha raakshaasa anthakam meaning: where all raama's naama is being sung [or told or spoken], there maaruthi [the enemy of raakshasaas] [or] who annihilated raakshaasaas, stands bowing to raamaa with folded hands in anjali mudhra, eyes completely filled with tears. Doubt no 4: Point: This leads to the doubt and question that, is he not the raama naama sukhi. But if he is the sukhi, why he has to wander where all raghunaathaa's name is uttered? yathra yathra raghunaatha keerthanam thathra thathra maaruthi. Further why he denied himself the mOksham when offered by the very raama, so that he can stay always with that raamaa in front, whom he now enjoys by going places. Scene 5: Now let us see another krithi by another very staunch raama bhaktha. "O raamaa nee naamam entha ruchi raa, Emi ruchi raa raamaa - O raamaa" says bhadhraachala raama dhaasa [BRD] in his krithi in the raaga poorvi kalyaani. Doubt no.5: Since by time period BRD is senior to saint thyaagaraajaa, perhaps ST had in his mind BRD to state "sukhi evarO raama naama sukhi evarO?". But as history goes, BRD suffered so much at the hands of the muslim ruler of that place where BRD served as the official, whereas that muslim ruler had the dharsana sowbhaagyam of two youths coming and paying BRD's dues to the ruler. These two are raama and lakshmaNa. This also gives rise to a doubt that may be BRD may or may not be the raama naama sukhi addressed by ST. By considering the above 5 scenes it has become very difficult who is the raama naama sukhi? Also where to look for the answer? Now see another krithi of same thyaagaraaja raagam: suruti 28 harikaambhOji janyam Aa: S R2 M1 P N2 S Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G3 P M1 R2 S thaaLam: dhEsaadi Composer: thyaagaraaja Language: Telugu pallavi geethaarthamu sangeetha aanandhamu nee thaavuna joodaraa O manasaa -- geethaarthamu geethaa arthamu - the meaning of sri bhagavath geetha sangeetha aanandhamu - the pleasure or happiness derived from music nee thaavuna joodaraa - please see the path O manasaa - hey mind meaning: hey mind, please see the meaning of bhagavath geetha, the pleasure [or is it happiness?] out of music. [it is understood here that 'hey mind without enjoying these why you are jumping places?']. anupallavi seethaapathi charaNaambujamulu idukonna vaathaathmajuniki baaga thelusuraa meaning: The son of wind god [that vaayu puthran hanumaan] knows very well, who has the lotus feet of seethaa's husband, the great raamaa in his mind always. charaNam hari hara bhaaskara kaalaadhi karmamulanu mathamula marmamula neringina hari vara roopudu harahaya vinuthudu vara thyaagaraaja varadhuDu sukhi-raa meaning: That hanumaan is the enjoyer the raama naama sukhi -who   has the boon of having monkey face,   knows well about hari the naaraayaNa, hara the siva, bhaaskara the sun god, yama the kaala or death god et al closely   knows the work and secrets of all religions, the meaning of bhagavath geetha.   is the boon giver to thyaagaraaja Points: 1. hari vara roopudu sukhiraa - monkey faced hanumaan is the sukhi - raa - the enjoyer. 2. It is also said that hanumaan is another avathaaram of siva - rudhra avathaaram - so siva who claims one raama naama is the equivalent of 1000 names of sri naaraayaNa is the raama naama sukhi. 3. hari vara roopudu sukhi raa - it can also be said that naaradha is also hari vara roopudu - for once it is said naaradha met sri naaraayaNa and asked a boon to have a face like hari -the vishNu - hari aananam - bhagavaan also said - ok, granted. What naaradhaa had really is also hari aananam - the monkey face. Then naaradhaa has to do a lot more to get rid of that monkey face. [For hari also mean a monkey, a lion, a tiger, vishNu etc.] so hari vara roopudu can also be naaradha. See how nicely the question put in one krithi is answered in another krithi. Dear bhakthaas, Now enjoy the raama naama sukham by singing both krithis one after the other. dhaasan, Vasudevan m.g.

SreeRAma pAdha mahimA

Dear All, As I mentioned yesterday in my previous post, starting this post, this blog will also feature bhakthi-rich "sathguru krithi anubhavams" of Sri MG. VAsudEvan, an active civil engineer and Carnatic music rasikA who spends his free time in learning and enjoying sathgurus krithis. It is indeed a great bhAgyam to archive such devout bhakthAs experiences over here because this blog is a place to express and share ones bhAvam (emotion). In his first post , let us all enjoy the mahAthmyam of SreerAma pAdham, courtesty Sathguru and Sri MG VAsudEvan. The previous post was on bhAva bhakthi and here in the krithi for this post, we will soon discover that our sathguru has taken the bhAVam of VibheeshanA and converses with SreerAmA. Krithi : Sree RAma pAdhama Many bhakthaas have given verses glorifying the holy feet of God. Recently we also had a new meaning for the `adi' - feet linked proverb - `adi udhavgiraarpOl aNNan thambi kooda udhava maattaargaL'. - Even brothers also will let down but once the lord's feet is taken as the refuge that will help in big way. Adi does not mean 'beating' here. In this article we are going to see a krithi, which glorifies the feet of the lord. raagam: amrutha vaahini thaaLam: aadhi composer: thyaagaraaja language: Telugu pallavi: sree raama paadhamaa nee krupa jaalunE chiththaaniki raavE [sree raama paadhamaa] meaning: hey, feet of sri raamaa, your sympathies [or mercy] on me is enough, please come into [or enter into] my mind. anupallavi: vaarija bhava sanaka sanandhana vaasavaadhi naaradhaadhulella poojinche [sree raama paadhamaa] meaning: the lotus flower born brahma, his sons sanaka and sanandhana, the dhEvendhran, the other son naaradha et al worship you, hey, feet of sri raamaa -- charaNam: dhaarini silayai thaapamu thaaLaka vaaramu kanneerunu raalchaga soora ahalyanu joochi brOchithivi aa reethi dhanyu sEyavE thyaagaraaja bhaagyamaa [gEyamaa] - [sree raama paadhamaa] meaning: that ahalyaa, who was turned as stone, who was the patience personified, could bear the heat [of her husband's curse] and shed tears in that stone form for long time. You saved that `brave' `stone' ahalya [by turning her back to human form]. In the same way let me also be saved, thyaagaraaja, has the credentials to adore you, [sing] oh the feet of sri raama. Note: the word 'gEyamaa' is a paata bEdham - another version of krithi - meaning singing. Points or comments on the krithi: 1. About the raagam selection: The raagam is amrutha vaahini - `a river of nectar', or an army of nectar. This is a smooth and joyous raagam expressing happiness -`aanandham' - a raagam without much twists and turns, and very matching for the situation given below. 2. Situation: VibheeshaNan, the noble brother of wicked raavaNan, when standing in the sky, is anticipating the final nod from Sri raama, for having accepted vibheeshaNan's surrender, since he is coming from enemy camp. As such he is anxiously waiting in the sky along with 4 of his companions. It appears or becomes an `endless wait' for him, for, there is considerable argument between raama, lakshmaNa and vaanara congregation. The arguments are mostly against his induction and a small quantum in favour, and is led by the vaanara king sugreevan, assisted by his prince angadhan, and other seniors like nalan, neelan, jaambhavaan, dhvividhan, maindhan, et al [about inducting vibheeshaNan into the group of raama and lakshmaNa, or the army of nectar]. VibheeshaNa is meanwhile thinking `hey raama - are you listening to such talks well well - evari maata vinnaavO balee balee' - kAmbOdhi Krithi of thyaagaraaja. 3. Acceptance of his surrender by sri raama is the flow of nectar: Finally, the wise hanumaan speaks. Sri raama also rules in favour of accepting vibheeshaNan, he descends and falls at the feet of raamaa. At this stage thyaagaraaja places this song, as sung by vibheeshaNan about the glory of raamaa's feet, which accepts his surrender.   Hearing that he, has been accepted as a member of raamaa's team,   the descending from sky on a positive note,   falling at the feet of raamaa are all joyous matter for him Or to put it in a different language - is all `river like flow of nectar' - `amrutha vaahini' - to vibheeshaNa. As such the raaga selection for this krithi is very apt. Please note the sri thyaagaraaja has selected raagaas for his krithis, which are simply beautiful and matching to the situation and the predominant expression - `rasam' in the composition. 4. On the lyrics of krithi: vaarija bhava is lotus born - brahma. vaarija is lotus - the feet also appears as lotus. That `lotus feet' is being worshipped - poojinche. Who all do that pooja? bhava - sivan, vaasava - indhra, sanaka, sanandhana, naaradha, aadhulu ella. So it is clear in one interpretation - it is brahma, indhra, sanaka sanandhana naaradha. In another interpretation - the list includes sivan also. That may be a specialty here. [inclusion of sivan in the list is not mentioned in the translations or meaning given in books.] Another specialty - vibheeshaNa says - how ahalya is rescued from the thaapam - heat - aa reethi - in the same way let me be saved. In the ahalaya episode - raama asked visvaamithra - what is this place - why it appears so much deserted, a good look in this place also has the appearance that somebody lived here for some time etc. But suddenly from that stone ahalya came out. In the same way, why not save me?For ahalya, no formal request to raama from her to save her, raama has no knowledge on who is being saved, etc. VibheeshaNa thinks `why not in same way of ahalya, me also? But what went just now as I witnessed from above is a rigorous questioning and counters within the team. I am worried what will happen for raama is listening to all these arguments and counters - evari maata vinnaavO?' When vibheeshaNan, standing in the sky, is called to come down to earth, since his asylum is granted by sri raamaa, sri vaalmeeki states [in 2 slokams] raaghavEna abhayE dhaththE samnathO raavaNa anuja: | vibheeshaNO mahaapraajnO bhoomim samavalOkayath || 6-19-1 [note: 6 is yudhDha kaaNdam, 19 is chapter or sargam, 1 is the slokam number] Meaning: While the assurance of protection having been given by Raama, the highly sagacious Vibheeshana the brother of RaavaNa bent down and glanced the earth. khaath papaatha avanim hrushtO bhakthair anucharai: saha | sa thu raamasya dharma aathmaa nipapaatha vibheeshaNa: || 6-19-2 Meaning: The virtuous vibheeshaNan descended joyously from the sky to the ground along with his faithful companions and alighted in the vicinity of raama. Points: 1. Even while descending from the sky, joy flows like a river to vibheeshaNa and his company - so, is it not 'amrutha vaahini', as for as he and his team is concerned? 2. In the website www.valmikiramayan.net the author says for slokam two above papaatha = descended nipapaatha = alighted Whereas for same word 'nipapaatha' in slokam 3 the author gives a meaning nipapaatha = fell prostrate. Of course Sanskrit English Dictionary gives both meanings. But I will use the slokam 3 meaning here also, viz. in slOkam 2 - since 'raamasya avanim nipapaatha' means he fell prostrate on raamaa's land. For he was all these days in raavaNa's land, now he has distanced himself [as he himself says in following slokam], flown himself and landed in a different land, which is raamaa's land. So as soon as he landed, he fell prostrate on the land - fell flat on the raamaa's land - to get that touch of the land, the feel of the land, the puNyam of the land. Like these days, the VIPs when they land in a different country or place, then they touch that land, kneel down on the land; give a kiss to that land. {as the previous pope did once when he visited his homeland, and this incident and the photo became famous}. So what we do today is all nothing new or without precedence. We simply copy the yesteryears. We do these acts, perhaps, even without understanding the significance. 3. The same can be interpreted differently also, vibheeshaNa landed where raama's feet were there [or where raama was standing]. For a person surrendering, the lord's feet are more important. That is why 'sri raama paadhama nee krupa' - so 'raamasya avani' is raama's feet for vibheeshaNa. Continuing - paadhayO: saraNa anvEshee chathurbhi: saha raakshasai: | abraveeth cha thadhaa raamam vaakyam thathra vibheeshaNa: || 6-19-3 dharma yuktham cha yuktham cha saampratham sampraharshaNam | Meaning: Thereafter, vibheeshaNa, along with the 4 demons, fell prostrate and spoke to raama the following words, which were equally suitable and delightful. anujO raavaNasya aham thEna cha asmi avamaanitha: || 6-19-4 bhavantham sarva bhoothaanaam saraNyam saraNam gatha: | Meaning: "I am the younger brother of raavaNa and was humiliated by him. I sought refuge in you, who is the refuge for all the beings". parithyakthaa mayaa lankaa mithraaNi cha dhanaani cha || 6-19-5 bhavadh gatham hi mE raajyam cha jeevitham cha sukhaani cha | Meaning: Abandoning Lanka, friends and possessions, I place my kingdom, life and happiness at your disposal. Point: VibheeshaNa now introduces himself as to 'who he is, what he did before this act of surrendering, what all he expect out of this surrender etc'. Here, it is also understood, 'hey raama, how you did that saving act of ahalya without any questions, in the same way you accept me also without much questioning. Already a lot of discussions took place, which I also observed from the sky' -'aa ahalyaa reethi dhanyu chEyavE'. raama also does respond in the same way, simply, by an easy smile and soothing eyesight on vibheeshaNa. See slokam of vaalmeeki. thasya thadhvachanam sruthvaa raamO vachanam abraveeth || 6-19-6 vachasaa saanthvayithvainam lOchanaabhyaam pibanniva | Meaning: Hearing those words of vibheeshaNa, raama in a soothing tone and with a refreshing look in his eyes, spoke these words. [What he spoke is not relevant to us from the krithi point of view and hence not considered] Point: there in the ahalya episode - the eyesight was set on the stone and the paadha rajas - raamaa's feet dust - did the savior act. Here the eyesight was offering the soothing comfort, the 'bhagavath kataaksham' as it is called in 'paribhaashai' -- and assuring words then flows. How was the words - lOchanaabhyaam piban iva - amrutha vaahini - nectar flowing from eyes and mouth of raama for vibheeshana to drink and be saved in that 'krupa'. Is it necessary to call 'chiththaaniki raavE'. Yes. For us it is necessary - to bring that scene into our vision. Dear bhakthaas - realize thyagaraaja has just poured heart and soul in his krithis, word by word following the srimadh raamaayaNam as could be seen above. Is it thyaagaraajaa's bhaagyam that he has done such krithis or is it our bhaagyam to have such krithis form such a raama bhaktha. I feel it is our bhaagyam. So enjoy that 'raama' amrutham, raama krupa, as well the krithi in full, that amrutha vaahini. Dhasan Vasudevan m.g. Many thanks to Sri vASudEvan MG. adiyEn thyAgayya and rAmAnuja dASan P.S Please spread and share your experiences with fellow bhakthAs and bhakthins.

BhAva Bhakthi, pancharathnams and ThyAgarAja RAmAyanam

Dear Friends, srI: In the last post, we enjoyed the greatness of the pancharathnams and the thAna varna paddhathi. We also came to know that our sathguru composed the pancharathnams for the quick upliftment of his sishyAs sangeetham and bhakthi levels. As we all know, our sathguru believed that an increase in levels of nAdhoPAsana should be accompanied and enlivened by an equal/ greater bhakthi levels. Keeping this in mind , he has blessed his disciples (sishya paramapara) and all of us with the pancharathnAs. All that is required from the practitioner/listener is prapatti, which will give rise to humility and bhakti. Our Sathguru has wrapped up the essence of upanishadic truths which are very bitter to an average samsArin in his pancharathnams and asks us to feep up on them just like a mother who feeds her child with healthy but bitter stuff for the childs growth by wrapping/concealing it with a tasty food(something the child likes). One doesnt have to know about any VEda ShAstrAs nor should have done any tapas/ observe any vratAS/perform yAga yagnAs/ visit punya sthalAs. They all require a high degree of discipline and focus , which is hardly achievable to a common man in this kali yugA.Keeping all this mind, the great dAsas and AchAryAs have devised a simple way through sravanam and keerthanam by surrendering into the lotus feets of all dAsAs and AchAryAs. Our punya bhoomi has given birth to sishyAs who have revered the pAdukAS (sandals) of their AchAryAs more than the lord himself. One should listen (sravanam ) to the stories of god like the bhAgwatham and rAmAyanam . One should sing in praise the glories of the lord. (keerthanam). Here "bhAvam" (emotion) is very important. For ex, when a mother plays with her child, she embraces the child,hugs and kisses him and utters sweet words. A child would love to goto such a person. This act is full of bhAvam. Instead, one might buy a hundred dollar toy from singapore/usa and give it to a child. The child will touch something here and there and breaks the toy within seconds. Will the child be happy? This kind of bhAvam should be there when listening and singing the glories of the Lord. There are so many different kinds of bhAVams one can develop and express by singing krithis in suswara sangeetham. Seing god as the upanishadic antharyAmin, as ones own child, as ones own father/mother(thalli/thandri),as ones friend, as ones intimate lover are some of the ways to express the sanchAri bhAvA. Old parents usually complain about their problems to their children and not to any one else. A mothers joy when seeing her new born baby knows no bounds. Even greater is her joy when her child grows old and becomes a noble person. Just like these one can express all kinds of bhAvAS by imagining god in different forms. This is not so easily achievable. Can we enjoy the beauty and the valour and feel proud for seethaRAmachandran the way kausalyA would have felt when she would have seen her son break the Shiva dhanu or the way Vasishtar felt when sreerAma wielded a bow to kill maricha or the way old shabari felt when bhagawan tasted the fruits she had collected for him. A mother rejoices the way her son eats the food to her husband, "Atho pArungo annA, namba kozhandha eppadi nannA sAppadarAnnnu,pAvam romba pasi pOla irukku". (Beloved, look at the way our son is eating the food, poor fellow, he should have been very hungry). How then would have shabari enjoyed when empurumAn himself was tasting the fruits after he searched and walked all around for SEethA dEvi. The lord is not easily accessible even to the greatest of the rishis. How can a person who is dominated by rAjasa and thAmasa gunAS enjoy such bhakthi? Our sathguru had enjoyed all such bhakthi and bhAvAS and during that time, the krithis filled with pRAsA (poetical skills) and su-swara sangeetham will start to flow from his mouth. He did not have notebook and pen to sit ,think and compose those krithis. One well known and often quoted example is the krithis "ElA nee daya rAdhu" in the melting AthAna rAga when he starts the krithi magnificiently by singing "Bala kanaka maya (O BAla! Adorned with rich garments!) ChEla sujana paripAla ( O Protector of the virtuous)shri ramA lOla ( O Joy of ramA(lakshmi)) vidhritha sharajAlA (Wielder of Arrows) shubadha (Bestower of Auspiciousness) karunAlAvAla ( Treasure of Companinon) ghana neela navya ( O sky like hued) vana mAlikA bharana! (the one adorned with vanamAla ),ElA nee daya rAdhu". after he had a darshan of his compassionate Lord seethaRama for a split second in the thirumanjana veethi (street) at thiruvaiyARu at noon time. Until ElA nee dayA rAdhu it is all sanskrit and they can be rendered with meter and felicity even without music. Where did it all come from? After chanting Rama nAma crores of times and with such bhakthi, the devaThA called "prASA" and the saptha swara dEvathas all get seated in the tongue. He has described all the delightful qualities of sreerAman here. One doesn't have to read the entire rAmAyana thousands of times. Even if one does read it , if one cannot enjoy its essence, who is sree rAman, what is the use of reading rAmAyan? I have just given you one example based on a wonderful upanyAsam of Brahmasri TS BAlakrishna sAStrigal. I wouldnt have done enough justice to the way he had given it in his upanyAsam. Now, it is for enjoying such kinds of bhakthi bhAvams for a common man in kaliyuga, our sathguru has blessed us with the pancharathnams. Some might ask, sir , "naa nithyam kAlaila endhirchu, andha pRatah-kAlahthila pancarathna krithigalai sAdhakam pannitA pOdhumA" (would it be sufficient for me to wake up early in the morning and before sunrise, practise the pancharathnams). Athukku pEsAma neenga Paal dippOku poi pAl vAngittu vandhu thirumba paduthukkOngO. (You can instead goto your milk depot for buying some milk and go back to sleep). FYI, especially in Tamil Nadu, milk has to be purchased early in the morning before sunrise) Practising/ listening to the pancharathnams with the appropriate bhAvams (will be discussed in future posts) of each krithi will lead to the experience of other advanced bhakthi bhAvams as quoted above. Thus, the pancharathnams are krithis that cleans up ones mind of the rAjasic and thAmasic gunAS that are inherently present in a common man in the kali yugA. Just like one takes bath to clean ones body, practising the pancharathnams with the bhAvams will clean up the mind so that one can advance to higher levels of bhakthi. This should be done in a daily basis. How to experience the bhakthi bhAvAS? The bhakthi bhaVAs are nothing but imagining and enjoying the lord as ones child, ones friend, ones parents, ones intimate lover and the like. These are nothing but taking the roles of King dasharatha, Mother KausalyA, Brothers lakshmana and bharathA, sage vasishTA and vishwamitra et al, citizens of AyOdhyA, as king janakA, as parashuRAmar, even as rAvana (for eg, when rAvAna approached SeethA dEvi who is none other than jegathAmbAl , he felt to himself, Amma , please come and rescue me from samsARa( because no one else can do it for him. He felt so because he was a gayathri dEvi upAsaka,So when he approached seethA DEvi, he saw for an instance the jegadhAmbAl). Imagining as one child , lover etc in not sufficient. One should express it. How then would one know it? The emotions were expressed as beautiful krithis in the case of our sathguru and this is what brahmasri T.S bAlAkrishna sAstrigal, a great devotee of Sathguru thyAgaybrahmam had rendered upanyAsams on so many times during his life time as "ThyAgarAja rAmAyanam". Being a great devotee of sri Rama, unlike other rAma bhakTas like tulasi dAs et al, it is often believed that sathguru didnt write a version of rAmayanAm ,which is untrue. Sathguru is considered as Sage vAlmiki's amsam. He is known as the AdhikaVi and rAmayanam is aAdhikAvyam(first poem).Sage VAlmiki rendered RAmAyanam with a flow after chanting crores of rama nAma. Just like that the sathguru rendered his krithis with a flow as he enjoyed being the differnt characters in rAmAyanA. Listening and practises such krithis with sathbhakthi will bring such a nearness to SreerAman and will give all the benefits of <b>RAmAyana pARAyanam (FYI, Parayanam is the repetition of any scripture or sacred words with complete concentration.) Such perception of sathgurus krithis were not well known until Brahmasri Sri TS Balakrishna sAstrigal gave upanyAsams in temples on thyAgarAja rAmAyanam for days together. Here is an abridged biography of him --quote-- A retired Senior Executive of State Bank of India, Brahmasri Sastrigal started learning the wide spectrum of fundamentals required for performing Harikatha at the very tender age of 8 under the guidance of his father, himself a doyen in Puranic Upanyasakams called Brahmasri Sambamoorthi Ganapaadigal. The training included Vedas, Puranas, Sastras, Karnatic Music, and Multiple Languages like Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, Malayalam, Kanada and English. His Tyagaraja Ramayana discourse is worth listening to a thousand times, such was his repertoire of the saint's kriti-s. His explanations and illustrations attracted pundit and illiterate alike. Honours : ' 'Sat Kathamrita Kalanidhi & Bharat Kesari - Sri Sankaracharya of Kanchipuram "'Bala Vyasa' - Sri Sankaracharya of Sringeri 'Harikatha Ratnakara - Sri Sankaracharya of Kanchi & Sringeri Kalaimamani - Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Mandram 'Sangita Kala Sikhamani' - Indian Fine Arts Society 'Gayaka Sikhamani' - Sabhas of Bombay 'Madhura Kala Praveena' --Unquote-- Very recently, a punyavAn had uploaded and shared 10 volumes of Brahmasris "tyAgarAja rAmAyanam" (more than 10 hours). Brahmasri upanyAsams are all in Tamil, the native language of tamil nadu. You can download all othem from here . Thus, Brahmasri always recommended to sing those krithis (krithis from thyAgarAja rAmyanam) during thyAgarAja utsavams instead of the pancharathnams because the best way to remember sathguru is to listen and render the krithis that our sathguru liked the most. The pancharathnams are for us and are supposed to be practised and listened daily not only on bahula panchamis/ other thyAgarAja utsavams. I have one more pleasant information to share with you. Starting next post, I will also include articles on sathguru's krithis as experienced by another rasika who is devoted to carnatic music (esp our sathgurus). His name is M.G VAsudEvan. He is a civil engineer in active service and he has already been contributing to the "Raama bhakthi" yahoo groups and www.karnatik.com . He has agreed to be a co-author of this blog. By this way, the readers can enjoy more of sathgurus krithis in a more frequent basis. He also writes on the krithis of devout krishna bhakta sri Oothukkadu VEnkata kavi. I am sure that this will add to another bhakthi rasA. EndharO mahAnubAvulu, Anthariki Vandanamulu with sathguru dhivyakamala pAda smaranams, adiyEn thyAgayya and rAmAnuja dASan.

Pancharathna MahAthmyam

Dear Friends, srI: I concluded my previous post by stressing the greatness of the pancharathna krithis as the quickest and the easiest way to enjoy rAmabhakthi along with sathguru thyagabrahmam and his blessings. Only if one yearns for such a rare gift, the pancharathnams are always available to a person skilled/unskilled,vocally trained/untrained and to even the greatest of the sinners because the pancharathnams were specifically created by sathguru for the sake of his disciples with full mercy. His discilples are not only his direct disciples belonging to the 3 schools(umayAlpuram, thillaisthAnam and wAlllajAhpet) but also the whole sishya parampara(familiy of discliples) and in fact to everyone who doesn't know the sanmArgam (righteous path). PancharathnAs - Five gems that glorify the Seven sWarAs. Usually it takes years of vocal training to become a great carnatic music vidwAn/vidushi. The great vidwAns/vidushis of the past were able to achieve mastery over the sapthaswarAs by doing sAdhakAm (practise) at least 8-10 hrs everyday and even with such practise only after many decades they were able to become maestros. By soaking us with krithis in su-swara sangeetham they allow us to enjoy good music. They have gained wide recognition and they were all given titles like sangeetha kalAnidhi,padmasri et al. That is the greatest influence they have had upon the society. The great musicians of the lore (during thyaGayyaS period) have been forgotton but we still remember thyagayyA and pay homage to him at least on every bahula panchami day. This is because he was a mahAnubAvar. He enlightened us on what could be achiveable through naadhOpasanA with sathbakthi. Our sathguru composed the pancharathnams for 2 reasons. 1. His contemporaries were doubting his musical skills. In fact , some of his contemporaries who were experts manodharmists(skilled in rAGa alApana) , who were not able to see the greatness of Sathgurus krithis considered his krithis as "light poetry". 2. Some of his dicliples requested our sathguru to compose a set of krithis to advance their musical skills. Thus , with both the above mentioned thoughts in mind, our sathguru decided to compose the five pancharathnams rich in musical,philospohical and lyrical depth and beauty so that he could change the perception of his contemporaries by showing them what is true sangeetham and at the same time bless his disciples with krithis that would not only enhance their musical skills but also educate them the righteous and royal path leading to rAma bhakthi sAmrAjyam. Prof P SAmbamoorthy has described the greatness of such pancharathnams as given below --quote-- "The pancharathnam,(five gems) in the ghana rAgAs,nAta,Gaula, Arabhi,VarAli and Sri rAgA- is the ThyAgarAjA's most scholarly contribution to SOuth Indian music. There is nothing to surpass them from the point of view od richness of musical composition or the flowing character of the SAhityA. His talent for conceiving melodies of variefated beauty, interwoven with phrases of sparkling designs is seen clearly in these pieces. Even ragas of admittedly limited scope like Gaula become major rAGAs in his hands. The pancharathnam has earned for him universal admiration Lofty heights have been reached in the sphere of Sangita Kavitham in these compositions. The sAhithyAs herein are noted for their fine poetic imagery.These five compositions serve to reveal the depth of his learning and his gifts in Sanskrit and Telugu. To the student of RAga and rasa, these compositions are monumental examples to show how such feeligns as rapture, self-introspection,prudence, admiration , sustained joy and humility resulting from the recognition of greatness in others could effectively portrayed by particular rAgAs and special phrases in them. The pancharathnams has powerful appeal.A high degree of technical skill is required to render them. They constitute fine examples of musical architectures. They are noted for their peerlessness." --unquote-- Thus for obtaining greatness in carnatic music, the practise of the pancharthanams is the best and the easiest way. It is my belief that the practise of pancharathnams each and every prAthah kAlam (early morning) before sunrise after taking shower will help the CM aspirant advance quickly in carnatic music. That's not it.The icing on the cake is yet to come. The greatness of TAnavArna paddhathi Our sathguru chose the thAnavarna padhathi(style) for his pancharathnams. The thAnavarna padhathi is the recommended style for musical pracitce and are typically set in madhyama (middle) or duritha(fast) kAlA/tempo. There are 2 reasons for him to choose the thAnavarna padhathi. 1. He is a skilled vainika. This fact is not known to many people. He used to play the poojArka veena in the thAna style. After knowing his Veena skills, his popular discliple, sri veena kuppaiyer, did not even say to his guru that he also knew to play veena for several years. There are 2 important skills a good vainika should have. 1. The usage of gamaka 2. The skill in thAna style. So, what is this thAna/thAnam style? The name "thaanam" comes from a false splitting of anantham repeated.The thAnam is a form of improvisation originally developed for the veena and consists of repeating the word anantham ("endless") in an improvised tune.The laws of sandhi dictate that the consonant at the end of the first word be dropped, hence "ananthaanantham". When the rule is applied to a long string of ananthams, you get "ananthaananthaananthaananthaa..." which got falsely split as "thaananthaananthaanan...", or "thaanamthaanamthaanam...". This thAna is a sangeetha sampradAya that is used to glorify the universal form of god as "Endless thou art"(Anantham tvam).Both the Veda SamhithAs and the sageetha sampradAyam are 2 ways to worship God. That is why, sangeetham is called as "upa-vEdam". Both the vEdAs and the sangEethA represent the forms of God (nAdha and thAna roopams). By knowing ,understanding the secrets behind the vEda samhithAs and for imprinting those tathvAs the AChAryAs (refered as GhanapAdis) use Ghanam and they show this way to their disciples. Just like that the great NAdhOpAsakAs like sathguru thyAgabrahmam use/recommend the ThAna varnAs for imprinting the meaning behind the krithis and the musical subtleties. For having accelerated success in vEda SamhithA and Sangeetha jNAnA, both Ghana pAtam and ThAna varnam are higly important.The similarities between the above mentioned abhyAsAs(practises) are skillfuly identified by John Barlow and VeeNai Nageswara Rao: --quote-- The endlessness (anantham tvam ) reflects that manner of reciting a chant , which involves the breaking up of a text into syllables and the subsequent reordering of them in all combinations , both as a means of obtaining mastery over the sound (aural ) system of the chant and of acquring insight into the truths behind the text . This technique is known as Ganam. This technique of ganam and the resulting rhythm through the singing of taana varNams represent an instrumentalization of the voice , that is , an emphasizing of the articulative possibilities of the vocal apparatus( the consonants of the language) at the expense of the tonal capabilities (vowels and diphthongs ).The hierarchical rhythymic structure known as taanam (based on gana gaanam of vedic tradition ) consists of melodic lines built up over a constant pulse from short phrases of 2 or 3 beats in length ...... from these building blocks , larger architectonic units (melodic lines , sections ) are shaped. The(musical ) phrases , when properly ordered , acquire a vector-like quality , which points towards silence. This silence is a positive rhythymic entity ,somewhat akin to a cadence , but with its temporal force removed . This silence is both the end of the preceding line or section and the beginning of the following , just as the ultimate in musical control is the mastery of silence , so silence is the resolution of the endlessness(anantham ) of taanam " This is the central goal of naadhOpaasanaa and nirvikalpa samaadhi , where Raama chaitanyaas like Saint Thyagaraaja are deeply immersed and have bhagavadh saakshaathkaaram and experience samslesham and vislesham (union and separation from the Lord ) and experience rapture during the sambhogam and despair during the occasions of the loss of that experience . --unquote-- Thus by practising the pancharathna krithis with the above mentioned tathvams , one would not only progress in nAdhOpAsanA but more importantly it will bring all kinds of ShREyas with the blessing of Sathguru and that is exaclty why our sathguru has blessed us with the pancharathnAs not just to pay homage to him on bahula panchamIs. If one practises the pancharathnAs with bhakthi and shradhA , there is absolutely no doubt that SAtghuru ThyAgabrahmam will be along with us always and shower his blessings. A Quick note about the RAga selection Our sathguru chose the ghAna rAgAs (nAtai,gaulai,Arabhi,varAli and sri) for his pancharathnAs. The ghana rAgAs are known to be conducive to the ThaAnA style of music as discussed above. VainikAs always practise ghana RagA thAnams to gain mastery over the instrument.More imporatntly , the rAgAs very perfectly suit the bhakti ,sangeetha and sAhitha bhAvAs of each of the pancharathnams The majestic nAtai pancharathnam, "jagadhAnandhakArakA " ,is a nAmAvali of 108 verses composed and set to tune by our sathguru to invoke the blessings of sreerAmachandran by performing sangeethOrchana and abhishEka. The pancharathnam "Dudukugala" is set to tune in the self-remonstrative "Gaulai" raGA. The next one , "SAdhinchanE" is set to tune in one of sAthgurUs favorite RAgAs, i.e Arabhi expressing how the leelAs of God have to be enjoyed and pleading and teasing him to show mercy upon us. The fourth pancharathnam set to tune in the varAli rAGam clearly brings to life the kind of intense love a bhaktha should have for "RAma darshanam". And finally, the sri rAga pancharathnam performs nAdhObhishEkam to all the mAhAnubAvars, bhAgawathAs and AchaRyAS. I will be writing more and more on the pancharathnams in the upcoming posts. There is so much to learn and enjoy as one goes deeper and and deeper into pancharathna territory, the territory ruled by rAma and sathguru bhakthi. I once again take pleasure to invite you all to be part of it and experience it with me only with the blessing of my ishtanAthan and mAnasikA guru, sathguru thyAgabrahmam. Primary credit goes to his katAksham for he has made me not only to experience the greatness of pancharathnams but also to share them with you. SEcondly, I would like to thank Sri Oppiliappan Koil varAdAchAri Sri V.sadagOpan for happily granting me permission to use content from his Tamil book featuring 350+ pages on the pancharathnams. with sathguru dhivya kamala pAdha smaranams, adiyEn, thyAgayya and rAmAnuja dAsan