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Sri VenaktEsa SuprabhAtham : Part I

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • January 14, 2000 


Dear BhakthAs of Thirumalai-appan :

The Sri VenkatEsa SuprabhAtham composed by
Sri PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram ANNA is a splendid
Sri Sookthi that is recited every morning 
in front of the Sayana Mantapam at Thirumalai.
This was composed by Sri ANNA at the request of
his AchAryan , Sri MaNavALa MaamunigaL . The divine
inspiration for ANNaganrAryA came from ThoNDardippoDi
AzhwAr's ThirupaLLyezucchi Paasurams and some 
of GodhA Piratti's ThiruppAvai Paasurams . There 
are 29 slOkams in this SuprabhAtham composed by
ANNangarAryA for ThiruvEnkatamudayAn .AdiyEN
would give the general meaning for the individual 
slOkams and add brief comments on them .May Lord 
SrinivAsan bless this Kaimkaryam !

The structure of Sri Venkatesa SuprabhAtham
********************************************
In the first slOkam , the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam is 
awakened as Sri Raamachandran ( KousalyA Suprajai)
and in the second slOkam as Govindhan; The third 
and the fourth slOkams awaken Sri MahA Lakshmi.
>From the fifth slOkam onwards , ThriuvEnkatamudayAn
is awakened . 

In the fifth and the sixth slOkmas , the arrival
of sages like Adhri and Gods like Paramasivan to
participate in the SuprabhAtha darsanam of the Lord 
of seven hills is described.

The seventh focuses on the fragrant , morning breeze
and the eighth covers the parrots in house cages 
bestirring themselves . The tenth slokam talks about
Sage Naaradha playing deva ghAnam in praise of
the Lord.The tenth verse describes the bees emerging 
from their flower beds to be of service to the Lord.
The eleventh verse takes us to morning activities
in the house of cowherds , where churning for the curds 
is taking place. The twelfth slOkam reverts to
the bustle of the bees competing with the blue
lotuses to settle the issue of who has a  better 
blue hue. The thirteenth slOkam is a naamAvaLi 
of the great Lord of ThiruvEnkatam.

The fourteenth slOkam describes the devAs and
demi-gods waiting eagerly to enter the ardha- 
mantapam to join in the suprabhAtham function.
The fifteenth slOkam lists the seven hills 
associated with the Lord. The sixteenth talks
about the different Lords of directions
(Dhig PaalakAs) jostling to get into the temple.
The seventeenth slOkam is about nithyasooris
like Garudan, AdhisEshan waiting to perform
Kaimkaryam for their Lord.The eighteenth slOkam
focuses on the nava grahams waiting for the darsanam
of the Lord.The ninteenth slOkam refers to 
the navagrahams looking for oportunities 
to perform Bhaagavatha Kaimkaryam as 
a way to gain the approbation of their Lord.

The twentieth slOkam recalls the power of
Gopura darsanam at Thiruppathi.The tweny first
to the twenty third  slOkams are beautiful 
naamAnjalis to the Lord to cajole Him to awaken
and bless the world .

The twenty fourth slOkam is a celebration of
ThiruvenkatamudayAn as dasAvatharan . The twenty
fifth slOkam deals with the kaimkaryaparALs 
engaged in carrying the Thirumanjana theertham.

The twenty sixth slOkam covers the scene of 
Sri VaishNavAs waiting to perform mangaLAsAsanam 
for the Lord.The twenty eighth slOkam describes 
the Gods and the great Yogis ( Sanaka-SanathkumArALs)
waiting in the forecourt with auspicious objects
needed for the suprabhAtham in their hands.
The twenty eighth slOkam is a beautiful 
assembly of the NaamAs of the Lord  invoking
Him to awaken and bless the world. The twenty 
ninth verse is the Phala sruthi slOkam listing
the benefits of reciting this auspicious 
SuprabhAtham of Lord venkatEsA .  

Sri VenkatEsa SuprabhAtham
****************************

(1) KousalyA suprajA Raama poorvA sandhyA pravarthathE
    uthtishta narasArdhUla karthavyam dhaivamAhniakm 

Oh blessed child of Mother KousalyA ! praatha:
sandhya kaalam is fast approaching . Oh tiger 
among men! Oh PurushOtthamA ! Please wake up. 
The divine nithya karmAs have to be performed .

(Comments): This slOkam is from Adhi Kavi VaalmIki's
Srimadh RaamAyaNam . During the journey with sage
VisvAmithrA , both RaamA and LakshmaNA had rested
for the night on the banks of GangA river .As the dawn
was about to break, Sage VisvAmithrA endearingly 
awakens the brothers to perform SandhyAvandhanam .
The affectionate address of RaamA as "Kousalyaa
SuprajA " reminds one of KulasEkara AzhwAr's 
paasura vaakyam : " Mannu pukazh Kousalai tann
maNi vayiRu vaaytthavanE " .

(2)UtthishtOtthishta Govindha Utthishta Garudadhvaja
   Uthishta KamalAkAntha ThrylOkyam MangaLam kuru

Oh GovindhA , the Protector of all souls !
Oh Lord with Garudan on Your flag staff!
Oh Lord of MahA lakshmi! Please wake up 
from Your sleep and make all the three 
worlds auspicious .

(Comments): If the Lord does not open His
eyes and look at His creation , there will
be no auspiciousness . Hence this prayerful
request.

(3) Maatha: samastha jagadhAm madhukaiDabhArE:
    vakshOvihAriNi manOhara dhivyamUrthE !
    SrisvAmini! srithajanapriya dhaanaseelE 
    Sri VenkatEsa DayithE ! tava suprabhAtham 

Oh MahA Lakshmi , the Mother of all the worlds!
Oh the most beautiful One playing in the chest
region of VishNu , the destroyer of the demons 
Madhu and Kaitabhan ! Oh Consort of the Lord ,
who charms Him with Your divine soundharyam!
Oh Sri Devi , the dearest One to Your Lord ! 
Oh the most generous One , who hs the natural
disposition to grant the wishes of those , who 
seek them from You ! May this be an auspicious 
dawn to Thee!

(Comments): This is a prayer to Sri PadmAvathi
ThAyaar . It is similar to ANDAL's prayer 
in the 20th verse of Thiruppaavai:
"Nappinnai nangAi ThiruvE thuyil yezhAi". 

(4) tava suprabhAtham AravindhalOchanE !
    bhavathu prasannamukha  chandramaNdalE !
    Vidhi SankarEndra vanithAbhir archithE!
    Vrusha saila naatha dayithE! dayAnidhe! 

May it be an auspicious dawn to Thee ,
the dear consort of the Lord of Vrusha giri!
Oh MahA lakshmi with a beautiful face like
the full Moon ! Oh the most exalted One 
worshipped by the consorts of BrahmA , Sivan 
and Indran ! Oh Treasure house of dayA ! 
May this dawn be an auspicious one to Thee!

(Comments): Vrusha Sailam is one of the seven
hills . The names of all the seven hills will
be described in the fifteenth slOkam .

To Be Continued .