Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music—25 ஸ்ரீ சக்ர ராஜ சிம்ஹாசனேஸ்வரி--- SrI cakra rAja simhAsanESwari

Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music—25

ஸ்ரீ சக்ர ராஜ சிம்ஹாசனேஸ்வரி--- SrI cakra rAja simhAsanESwari

Composer: agaththiar

I surrender unto you akhilANDESwari …….

Composition:  SrI cakra rAja simhAsanESwari

Composer:        agattiyar

mudrA:          

(signature):    none

rAgam:   rAgamAlikai (senjcuruTTi -janyam of harikAmbhOji, 28^th mELam,                                   punnAgavarALi—janyam of hanumattODi, 8^th mELam,                                                     

nAdanAmakkriyA—janyam of mAyAmALava gowLai, 15^th mELam,                                

sindu bhairavi—janyam of nATakappriyA, 10^th mELam)         

tALam:           Adi

பல்லவி:

 ராகம்: செஞ்சுருட்டி

ஸ்ரீ சக்ர ராஜ சிம்ஹாசனேஸ்வரி ஸ்ரீ லலிதா அம்பிகே புவனேஸ்வரி

அனுபல்லவி:

ஆகம வேத கலாமய ரூபிணி அகில சராசர ஜனனி நாராயணி

நாக கங்கண நடராஜ மனோஹரி

ஞான வித்யேஸ்வரி ராஜ ராஜேஸ்வரி                                    (ஸ்ரீ….)

சரணம்:

1. ராகம்: புன்னாகவராளி

பலவிதமாய் உன்னை ஆடவும் பாடவும்

பாடிக் கொண்டாடும் அன்பர் பத மலர் சூடவும்

உலக முழுதும் உன்னை அகமுரக் காணவும்

ஒரு நிலை தருவாய் காஞ்சி காமேஸ்வரி                           (ஸ்ரீ….)

2. ராகம்: நாதநாமக்ரியா

உழன்று திரிந்த என்னை உத்தமனாக்கி வைத்தாய்

 உயரிய பெரியோருடன் ஒன்றிடக் கூட்டிவைத்தாய்

நிழலெனத் தொடர்ந்த முன் ஊழ்க் கொடுமையை  நீங்கச் செய்தாய்

 நித்ய கல்யாணி பவானி பத்மேஸ்வரி                                                           (ஸ்ரீ….)

3. ராகம்: சிந்து பைரவி

துன்பப் புடத்திலிட்டுத்  தூயவனாக்கி வைத்தாய்

தொடர்ந்த முன் மாயை நீக்கி பிறந்த பயனைத் தந்தாய்

அன்பைப் புகட்டி உந்தன் ஆடலைக் காணச் செய்தாய்

அடைக்கலம் நீயே அம்மா அகிலாண்டேஸ்வரி                           (ஸ்ரீ…)

                        

Lyrics in Roman script

Pallavi:

 rAgam: senjcuruTTi

SrI cakra rAja simhAsanESwari SrI lalitAmbikE bhuvanESwari

Anupallavi:

Agama vEda kalAmaya rUpiNi akhila carAcara janani nArAyaNi

nAga kangaNa naTarAja manOhari

gnAna vidyESwari rAja rAjESwari                                                                (SrI….)

CaraNam:

1. rAgam: punnAgavarALi

palavidamAy unnai ADavum pADavum

pADik koNDADum anbar pada malar sUDavum

ulaga muzhudum unnai agamurak kANavum

oru nilai taruvAy kAnjci kAmESwari                                                            (SrI….)

2. rAgam: nAdanAmakkriyA

uzhanRu tirinda ennai uttamanAkki vaittAy

uyariya periyOruDan onRiDak kUTTivaittAy

nizhalenat toDar^nda mun Uzhk koDumaiyai  nIngac ceydAy

nitya kalyANi bhavAni padmESwari                                                              (SrI….)

3. rAgam: sindu bhairavi

tunbap puDattiliTTut  tUyavanAkki vaittAy

toDar^nda mun mAyai nIkki piRanda payanait tandAy

anbaip pugaTTi undan ADalaik kANac ceydAy

aDaikkalam nIyE ammA akhilANDeSwari                                                  (SrI…)      

                               

Meaning:

Pallavi:  This line is just a salutation to dEvi, also called lalitAmbikai and bhuvanESwari (one who rules the whole world).

Anupallavi:  You are the manifestation of the religious scriptures and arts. You are the generator of all life forms in the universe. You are the beloved of Lord Nataraja. You wear the snake as a wrist ornament.  You are the repository of all learning and knowledge, Oh rAja rAjESwari!

CaraNam 1:  Please enable your devotees to sing and dance your praise. Let those singing devotees offer flowers at your feet. Enable the whole world to visualize you in their hearts with deep understanding, Oh kAnjci kAmESwari!

CaraNam 2:  I was wallowing in sin. You made me a person of integrity. You helped me associate myself with great people. You eliminated the cruel fate, which followed me like a shadow. You are really great, Oh, bhavAni, padmESwari!

CaraNam 3:  You threw me into the crucible of misery in order to make me come out pure. You also removed the delusion that followed me in order to enable me to understand the meaning of my birth. You showered your love on me and made me see your glorious dance. I surrender unto you, akhilANDESwari!

General Comments:

While we have covered pure Thamizh songs and maNipravALam songs before in this series, in this song we see Sanskrit verses in Pallavi and Anupallavi lines. However, the caraNam verses are pretty much pure Thamizh. It is interesting that agattiyar, who is credited with giving life to the Thamizh language including the infrastructure (in the work agattiyam, which is probably extinct to a large extent), chose to mix both Sanskrit and Thamizh in this song.

No one is sure if this song was composed by the original agattiyar, who was sent  (according to religious lore) to the south when Lord Siva’s wedding with Parvati took place in the Himalayas and the resulting geo-physical  imbalance made Lord Siva to instruct agattiyar to go  south in order to equalize the load. This is how, it is thought, the Aryan culture was carried to the South. It may be that a descendant of the original agattiyar wrote the song since it is difficult to establish the authenticity of the writings of mythological figures.

It is not clear though whether the sense of the song reflects the experience and feelings of the composer or was intended for the average devotee to experience the grace of dEvi amidst all the daily grind of life.

Composer’s Bio:

The timeframe of agattiyar (also called agasthiyar) runs into the purANic ages and hence cannot be ascertained for sure.  He created a treatise in Thamizh which described the division of the language into its three main segments: iyal (prose), isai (music), and nATakam (drama), collectively known as muttamizh.

agattiyar had 12 disciples of whom tolkAppiyar(T) was a prime disciple. tolkAppiyar wrote tolkAppiyam, the primal Thamizh grammar treatise on which all subsequent Thamizh works were based. tolkAppiyar is believed to have lived around 3^rd century BCE. tolkAppiyam is still very much a standard text that is referred to in grammatical discussions of the Thamizh language.

Biographical information on agattiyar is scarce except what is gathered from religious literature.

Some audio and video links:

Listen to Mambalam Sisters  here  

Listen to Bombay Sisters here

Listen to Sudha Ragunathan here

Listen to Priya sisters here

For a rendition with good diction by a female duo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz3ghv8E0uI

To listen to Maharajapuram Santhanam sing this song please visit

https://soundcloud.com/sethu-subramanian/16-shri-chakra-raja-simhasaneshwari-ragamalike-adhi-agasthiyar

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqm3-_HCnY

or              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24_-83-n7CU

Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music—24 --- பராமுகமேனம்மா –parAmukhamEnamma

Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music—24

பராமுகமேனம்மா –parAmukhamEnamma

rAgam: KalyANi (கல்யாணி)     tALam: tripuTa (திரிபுட)

Composer: ShyAma SAstri (ஸ்யாமா சாஸ்திரி)

Why are you neglecting me, Oh, mother?

Composition:  parAmukhamEnamma

Composer:     syAmA sAstiri

mudrA:           syAmakrishnNa

(signature):   

rAgam:           kalyANi (janyam of mecakalyANi , 65^th mELam)   

tALam:           tripuTa

ArOhaNam:   SR₂G₃ M₂PD₂N₃ S

avarOhaNam: SN₃D₂PM₂G₃R₂S

பல்லவி:            

பராமுகமேனம்மா பார்வதியம்மா

அனுபல்லவி:   

 பராத்பரி பரமபாவனி பவானி அம்பா

 பாரில் நான் உன்னையே நம்பினேன்

சரணம்1:     

அகிலமெங்கும் நிறைந்த ஜ்யோதியே அம்பிகையே

அன்னையே இனி நான் தாளேனேன் சொன்னேன்

சரணம்2:     

உனது பாதமின்றி வேறு துணையுண்டோ

உந்தன் மனமிரங்கவும் நான் சொல்லவோ

சரணம்3:     

ஸ்யாமக்ருஷ்ண சோதரி க்ருபாகரி

சரணம் என்று சொன்னேன் தாயே

Lyrics in Roman script

Pallavi:            parAmukhamEnamma pArvatiyammA

Anupallavi:    parAtpari paramapAvani bhavAni ambA

                        pAril nAn unnaiyE nambinEn

CaraNam1:     akhilamengum niRai^nda jyOtiyE ambikaiyE

                        annaiyE ini nAn tALEnEn sonnEn

CaraNam2:     unadu pAdaminRi vERu tuNaiyuNDO

                        undan manamirangavum nAn sollavO

CaraNam3:     syAmakrishNa sOdari krupAkari

                        caraNam enRu sonnEn tAyE

                       

Meaning:

Pallavi:             Oh. Mother Parvati, why are you ignoring me?

Anupallavi:     You are at the pinnacle. You cleanse every soul, Oh, Bhavani mother! In                                                  this world I place my trust only in you.

CaraNam1:      You are the light which pervades the whole world, Oh mother. I can’t                           bear my plight any more. I have to tell you that.

CaraNam2:      Is there another source of solace other than your feet? What can I say                          so that you shall take pity on me?

CaraNam3:     You are SyAma Krishna’s sister full of grace. I declare that I take                                                             refuge in you.

General Comments:

This kriti is in praise of dEvi. Since Syama Sastri (SS) literally grew up in the Kamakshi amman temple, first in Tiruvarur and then in Thanjavur, he was enchanted with thoughts of dEvi all the time.  Many of his kritis are on dEvi Kamakshi. The idol that was brought from Kanchipuram had a history of being stolen from the family and then recovered. It was known as “BangAru Kamakshi”—bangaru meaning gold in Telugu.

There is an interesting anecdote behind what made him address Devi Kamakshi at Thanjavur as his sister (syamakrishna sOdari—which incidentally became his mudrA). King Tulaja was the ruler in Thanjavur at that time and he built the Kamaksh temple at Thanjavur. SS would practice his songs sitting on the temple bell tower. It seems one day his aunt sent some milk to him through her little daughter. The girl came calling him “aNNA’ (brother), placed the milk beside him and disappeared. SS noticed the divine charm in her face with the golden necklace of the deity adorning her neck. SS went home and chided his aunt for sending the little girl bedecked with the deity’s jewel. When his aunt denied having sent her daughter with milk or the jewel, SS knew that the goddess herself played a trick on him to enslave him forever.

The first kriti started flowing from his lips soon after, “Oh, jagadamba nannu..” in the rAgam Ananda Bhairavi, which was followed by 300 more. They all carried the mudrA, “syAmakrishNa sOdari”---in recognition of Devi calling him “aNNA”.

This particular kriti “paramukhamEnamma” is reflective of SS’s constant rumination of Devi--- while awake as well as asleep. It is not an appeal in the regular sense seeking relief from misery but he was looking for the Devi to be with him in real time all the time—not just in thoughts alone but also to appear before him in true form.

Composer’s Bio:

Syama Sastri (1762-1827) was born in Tiruvarur in an ancestral Telugu family which settled in Thamizh Nadu a couple of centuries before he was born. While his mother tongue is not settled as to whether it is Thamizh or Telugu, it was the time when the court language of the Thanjavur kingdom was Telugu even though the rulers were Maratta kings. Accordingly Syama Sastri (SS) learnt Telugu and Sanskrit while growing up and learnt the Vedas and music. SS’s ancestral family had been the priests of the Kamakshi amman temple in Thanjavur and guardians of the golden Kamakshi icon brought over from Kanchipuram when they had to flee the Muslim invasion in 1566.

SS was christened “venkatasubramanian” at birth. He was given the nickname of “syama Krishnan” which he used as his signature in his compositions. In his later life he was known as Syama Sastri.  It is said

jananAt kamalAlayE dharshanAt aprasadasi

smaraNAt aruNAcalam KAshi tu maraNAn muktih…

(—i.e., it is glorious to be born in tiruvArUr (kamalAlayam), worship in Cidambaram (aprasadasi), meditate in tiruvaNNamalai (aruNAcalam) and die in KAshi to attain salvation). It is a coincidence that the trinity (Thyagaraja, Dikshitar, and Shyama Sastry were all born in tiruvArUr.

SS’s ancestors settled in tiruvArUr after running through several places in Thamizh Nadu.  In 1781 the family moved to Thanjavur where SS’s father got the king’s (Tulaja) support. Kamakshi temple was built in Thanjavur and the family was given the care of the temple worship services. In his early life SS was helping his father out in the temple activities. One noteworthy feature is that the current priesthood of the Kamakshi amman temple in Thanjavur is still in the hands of SS’s posterity.

One Sangeetha Swami came from Varanasi and encouraged music training for SS. The family was fairly well-to-do (with income from the temple and landed property) and hence SS could afford music lessons. Later Pachimiriyam Adiyappaiyah (the Thanjavur samasathana vidwan) recognized SS’s musical talent and gave him training. Bobbili Kesavayyah, another great musician of that time challenged saint Tyagaraja in Tiruvaiyaru, lost and then came to Thanjavur court and challenged the musicians there. SS met his challenge upon King Sarabhoji’s request and defeated Bobbili. SS spent his time mostly at the Kamakshi amman temple singing so many kritis on Her. He also traveled to a few places like Pudukkottai, Madurai, Chennai, and Kanchipuram and sang on the deities there.

SS composed mostly in Telugu and Sanskrit. He wrote just 5 kritis in Thamizh which are crisp and emotionally devotional. His disciples include his own son Subbaraya Sastri, Alasur Krishnayyar, and Tarangampadi Panchanatha Iyer.

SS is enshrined in the Carnatic music institution as a member of the Trinity which includes Saint Tyagaraja and Muttuswami Dikshitar. Of the three among the Trinity, only SS wrote kritis in Thamizh.

Some of Syama Sastri’s compositions that are very popular in music concerts are: dEvi brOva samayamidE (cinTAmaNi), kAmAkshI (bhairavi), himAdrisutE, and talli ninnu nera (kalyANi), kanaka shaila (nAdanAmakriyA), palincu kAmAkshI (madyamAvati), mAyamma yani nE (Ahiri), and sarOjadaLanEtri (sankarAbharaNam). His other Thamizh songs are: taruNam IdammA (gauLipantu), ennEramum un pAda (punnAgavarALi), santatam ennai (paras), and ennEramum un nAmam (pUrvikalyANi).

References:

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2002/05/10/stories/2002051000870600.htm   

Some audio/video links

Listen to G. Srikanth here

Listen to a group singing here

Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music ---23--- Niddiraiyil soppanattil----நித்திரையில் சொப்பனத்தில்

                    Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music ---23                              Niddiraiyil soppanattil----நித்திரையில் சொப்பனத்தில்

Composer: Ghanam Krishnaiyer (கனம் கிருஷ்ணய்யர்)

rAgam: pantuvarALi (பந்துவராளி)   tALam: Adi  (ஆதி)

This song is a padam wherein the heroine bares her heart out to her friend (human or a domesticated bird or animal) about her dream when she had the company of her lover which gave her lot of comfort. She keeps ruminating over that dream and not having consummated that comfort in real time she  sports a fatigue which shows in her body complexion and making her unable to indulge in her normal daily activities.

As opposed to the general theme in padams this one does not mention a particular deity with whom our heroine has an embracing relationship. It appears to be a generic divine entity.  It is also likely that the composer perhaps intended this to be a tribute to the king who was his benefactor. The anupallavi line mentions this with an implication that the sponsor king is a very generous patron of his. It may also imply that the king is the intended lover of our heroine, without mentioning it explicitly since the praise for the king comes in the words of our heroine. Either way she suffers from love pangs.                                                                                    

பல்லவி:                                                                                                                           நித்திரையில் சொப்பனத்தில் நேற்று ராத்திரி வேளை மீதினில்                               

நேர்த்தியா யுகந்திருந்த ஆறுதலை நினைந்து—நினைந்துருகுதடி

  

அனுபல்லவி:                                                                                                                  முத்தமிழும் கீர்த்தி சொல்லும் முத்தனமர சிம்மேந்திர பூபன்                                                   புத்ரன் ப்ரதாபன் ராமதுரை  போஜனென்று எண்ணடி மான் குயிலே                                                 

சரணம் :

பாலையோ  இளம் பசலைக்கொடி  படர்ந்ததெங்கோ

மலர்ந்த முகமோ என்னமோ நானறியென்

நாலு ஜாமமும் நாலு யுகமாகுதடி

நடையோ பிடி இடையோ---பட்டுடையோ

Lyrics in Roman script

Pallavi:

Niddhiraiyil soppanattil nETRu rAttiri vELai mIdinil

nErttiyA yugandirunda ARudalai ninaindu—ninaindurugudaDi

anupallavi:

muttamizhum kIrtti sollum muttanamara simmEndira bhUpan

putran pratApan rAmadurai  bOjanenRu eNNaDi mAn kuyilE

CaraNam :

pAlaiyO  iLam pasalaikkoDi  paDarndadengO

malarnda mukhamO ennamO nAnaRiyEn

nAlu jAmamum nalu yugamAgudaDi

naDaiyO piDi iDaiyO---paTTuDaiyO

Meaning:

Pallavi:  I had a dream in my sleep last night. It gave me immense pleasure and thinking about it now makes my heart ache, oh friend!

Anupallavi: Oh sweet bird, think that PratApan Ramarajan, the son of amara simhan (king of ThanjAvUr) whose fame is well-known, is a very generous person.  (This line may just have been included to praise the benefactor without making any direct connection to the song)

CaraNam: My body is getting pale. My face has lost its charm. The day lasts forever without end. I have lost interest in myself or my garments.

Audio clips are given below.

Listen to Subhashini Parthasarathy here

Listen to Charumathi Ramachandran here 

                          Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer sings here  (click on item #3 in the list that appears)