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Follow up on Bhakti,Anugraham and Dayaa...

From the Bhakti List Archives

Murali Karamchedu • June 13, 1995 


Namasthe.

In my previous posting I mentioned the songs on Tyagaraja and Bhadrachala Ramadas.
I will make an attempt to collect the related songs of Tyagaraja and post
them along with the meaning,if others desire it.
I request others to correct my errors.

Etula Brothuvo reflects an intense retrospection;it is set in Chakravaakam,and
one can hear the tears of Tyagaraja.

	
		
			Etula Brotuvo(read 't' as in 'th')
			--------------


		eTula brotuvo teliya; ekAnta rAmayya!
		
		kaTakaTa nA caritamu, karNa katoramaya.(eTula brotuvo..)

		paTTigoddu rIti Bakshinci(chi) tirigiti;
		puTTu loBulanu poTTakai pogaDiti;
		duShTalato kUdi duShkrityamu salpi
		raTTujesina tyAgarAjuni dayato(eTula brotuvo...)
		--------------------------------------------------------------

		[How would you nurture(save?) me?I cannot see;ekAnta rAma.

		 my harsh caritam is unpleasent to the ear.
						( how would you nurture me..)

		I wandered  and ate like a buffalo,
		adulating insignificant men at the demands of my stomach;
		On  tyAgarAja,who has thus messed;
		who kept the company of duShtAs and fostered duShkarmAs;
		with dayA(how would you nurture me...).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I mentioned the bhakti of Prahlada and Dhruva.In an elegant song Tyagaraja
asks rama not to distract him from true bhakti and asks for his grace to 
receive such transparent faith.Like others have mentioned, proper bhakti
is a matter of Ishvara anugraham, but we can prepare ourselves for it by sadhana.
Tyagaraja asks in 'varalandukommani' if it proper for rama to deceive
him by offering him boons while he longs for true faith.

This song is in Gurjari.


			'varAlandu kommani'
			-------------------

	    varAladhu kommani nAyandu - vancanaseya nyAyamA?(read 'c' as in 'cha').

		
		surAsuravinuta! rAma ! nAmanasu
		suBaktini koriyundaga nannu( varAlandhu ...)

		manamuna nijamuga namminavAri
		manasu konca PhalamAsincagarA
		dhanucu Ghanuni cesina nI birudhuku
		kanakashipu-sutudu sAkshi kAdha?( varAlandhu ..)
		

		avivekamuto dhelisi teliyakanu
		Bhavasukamula kAshincinagAni
		Dhruvamaina Phalamosagu nI shaktiki
		Dhruvudu sAkshi kAdha? rAma nannu varAlandhu...)

		carAcarAtmaka! surapUjita !
		yika parAkulekanu satatamu nIdaya
		rAvalenanucu korina shri
		tyagarAjunipai krpaleka nanu( varAlandhu ....)

		-------------------------------------------------


By offering me boons to distract me, is it fair that you should deceive me?


surAsura vinutha rAma! while my mind longs for subhakti,(By offering me boons...).


To your glory of conferring beatitude on real devoties,
whose minds do not hanker after insignificant things,
Is not prahlAdha(kanakashipu-sutudu) a witness?(as one who did not descend low to
accept boons, but firmly prayed only for moksha).
							(By offering me boons ...)

To your magnanimity in conferring,
the highest and most permanent state,
even to one who prays for temporal gains in ignorance,
Dhruva stands  as a witness.			
						(By offering me boons ......)

carAcarAtmaka! surapUjita!
tyAgaraja prays,do not mercilessly offer boons,
to one who has been gasping for the constant flow of your grace.
						
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------



	(I have ruined a lot of beauty of these songs because of my translation;I 
hope someone more competent than me will post  better translations.)


Continuing on this issue of faith can I recommend that we study the seventeenth
chapter of the Gita - the shraddha traya vibhaga yoga.I request people who have
an access to sri-bhashyam to consider posting the english translation of 
Ramanujacharya's purport on this chapter.

with pranaams.
Murali Manohar.