Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music—11a varmamA en mIdil---- வர்மமா என்மீதில்

Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music—11a

varmamA en mIdil---- வர்மமா என்மீதில்

Composer(s): Anai-Ayya Brothers

                   

Why this malice towards me?

Composition: varmamA enmIdil ….

Composer:     Anai Ayya Brothers

mudrA:           umAdAsan

(signature):   

rAgam:           sAvEri (janyam of mELam 15, mAyAmALava gauLai)

ArOhaNam:     SR₁M₁PD₁S

AvarOhaNam: SN₃D₁PM₁G₃R₁S

tALam:            rUpakam

பல்லவி:           

வர்மமா  என்மீதில்  தர்மசம்வர்தனி  ஈஸ்வரி                            (வர்மமா)

அனுபல்லவி: 

கர்மம் விலக்கும் நிர்மல சிவ-காரணி என்னைக்

காக்க இன்னமும்                                                                        (வர்மமா)

சரணம்1:    

அஞ்சு வயது முதலாயுனது கஞ்ச மலர் பதம் தனை யான்

 தஞ்சமென்றே அஞ்சித் துதிக்கும் நெஞ்சம் அறிந்தும்

 கொஞ்சிடும் சுகம் ஒழியாயிந்த வஞ்சகம் செய்வதென்ன நியாயம்

 பஞ்ச நதீசர்க்குகந்த பஞ்சாக்ஷரி கருணை பொழிய             (வர்மமா)

சரணம்2:     

செஞ்சடையினில் பிஞ்சு மதியும் நெஞ்சில் கொடு நஞ்சணிந்திடும்

செஞ்சொல் மதுரத்தமிழ் வாக்கருள் சப்யேசர்க்கு ராணிமானே

செஞ்சிலம்பொலி மிஞ்சியதால் கொஞ்சும் என் மொழி கேட்டிலையோ

என் சொல்லுவேன் உன் சரித்திரம் என் சொல்லைக் கேட்டருள் இன்னமும்           (வர்மமா)

சரணம்3:    

 மஞ்சடர் தென்னஞ்ச் சோலையும் கஞ்ச மலர்த்தடவாவியும்

 மஞ்சள் கதலி இஞ்சி மாத்துருஞ்சி பலாக்கனியும்

 ரஞ்சிதமாயோங்கும் எங்களஞ்சு நதிக்கரசாகிய

 வஞ்சி உமாதாசன் துதிக்கும் சஞ்சீவி அபரஞ்சி இன்னமும்                (வர்மமா)

Lyrics in Roman script

             

Pallavi:            varmamA enmIdil dharmasamvardhani Isvari           (varmamA)

Anupallavi:    karmam vilakkum nirmala siva-kAraNi ennaik kAkka innamum   (varmamA)

CaraNam1:     anju vayadu mudalAyunadu kanja malar padam tanai yAn

                        tanjamenRE anjit tudikkum nenjam aRindum

                        konjiDum sukham ozhiyAyinda vancakam seyvadenna nyAyam

                        panca nadIsarkkuganda pancAkshari karuNai pozhiya             (varmamA)

CaraNam2:     sencaDaiyinil pinju matiyum nenjil koDu nanjaNindiDum

                        sencol madhurattamizh vAkkaruL sabyEsarkku rANimAnE

                        sencilamboli minjiyadAl konjum en mozhi kETTilaiyO

                        en solluvEn un carittiram en sollaik kETTaruL innamum           (varmamA)

CaraNam3:     manjaDar tennanj cOlaiyum kanja malarttaDavAviyum

                        manjaL kadali inji mAtturunji palAkkaniyum

                        ranjitamAyOngum engaLanju nadikkarasAgiya

                        vanji umAdAsan tudikkum sanjIvi aparanji innamum                (varmamA)

Meaning:

Pallavi:            Oh, dharmasamvardani, Iswari, do you entertain malice towards me?

Anupallavi:     You, blemishless consort of Siva who can cure all ills, hesitate to offer                                your protection to me!        

           

Caranam1:     

You are aware that I have been seeking refuge at your lotus feet right  from the age of five and yet you do not cure my ills—Why this cruelty? You, the consort of pancanadIswarar (of Tiruvaiyaru), are reticent to  shower your grace on me!

Caranam2:     

You are the queen of Lord Sabesan who has the tender moon on his red locks of hair, the primordial poison at his throat, and who has sweet Thamizh words to utter to his devotees. Is it because the sound of your anklets overwhelms the sound of my request that you do not hear my  appeal? How can I speak effectively of your greatness? Please pay heed  to my request.

                       

Caranam3:     

You are the consort of the Lord who is the ruler of this Tiruvaiyaru which is resplendent with tall coconut trees which touch the clouds, lotus flowers-filled pond, turmeric, plantain, and ginger plants, mango and jack  fruit trees. I, umAdAsan, worship you the dispenser of relief from all ills.

           

General Comments:

This song is typical of the age in which the Anai-Ayya Brothers were living. Most people agonized over their fate and aspired to achieve salvation by worshipping their favorite deities. It is customary for composers to believe they did something wrong in not receiving divine grace. In general, their songs appealed to the Lord or Devi to take pity on them and offer solace.

This particular song addresses Dharmasamvardhani, the consort of the presiding deity at Tiruvaiyaru. The song describes the splendor of the town Tiruvaiyaru, surrounded by the five rivers (KAviri, KudamuruTTi, VeNNAru, VeTTAru, and VadavAru with all the plantations fostered by the fertile soil around the five rivers. Anai-Ayya brothers sing the glory of Dharmasamvardhani and invoke Her blessings.

It is noteworthy that the pallavi and Anupallavi lines have the same rhymes (etugai) for the two lines while the 12 caranam lines have a different sequence of rhyme but all of them same, containing significantly precise syllables.

Composer’s Bio:

Anai Iyer and Ayya Iyer were the cousins of Doraiswamy Iyer, the father of the composer-musician brothers, Ramaswami Sivan and Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan. They lived in the early to mid-part of 19^th century and taught music to the two Sivans. They were junior contemporaries of the composers, Thyagaraja, Syama Sastri, and Muttuswamy Dikshitar, collectively known as the Trinity of Carnatic music. They lived in Vaiyacheri and Tiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district. They were patronized by the king Serfoji II of Thanjavur. Together they wrote at least 26 Thamizh and 12 Telugu compositions that are currently available.

Their theme was devotion sprinkled with philosophy. They sang as a pair on Lord Siva and Devi. Their favorite deities are Mangalambika of Vaiyacheri, Dharmasamvardhani (aRam vaLartta nAyaki in Thamizh) of Tiruvaiyaru (the subject of the song under discussion), and PranatArtiharA/pancanadIswarar (also known as ayyArappan in Thamizh) of Tiruvaiyaru.

Other songs of Anai Ayya Brothers that are devotional and philosophical are: paruvam pArkka (dhanyAsi) http://inikkumtamizhisai.blogspot.com/2016/07/thamizh-songs-in-carnatic-music11.html

 bhajanai seyyavE (kEdAram), inda paraka (nAdanAmakriyA), and amba nannu, a Telugu song (tODi).

Audio clip

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