mANikyavInAm upalAlayantIm madAlasAm manjuLa vAgvilAsAm/
mAhEndranIladyuti kOmalAngIm mAtangakanyAm manasA smarAmi //
(I meditate (smarAmi) with my mind(manasA) on the mother zyAmaLA who sports (upalAlayantIm) the gem studded vINA (mANikyavInAm), who has become lazy (madAlasAm) due to her exuberance, who is blessed with sweet words (manjuLa vAgvilAsAm), who has a delicate (kOmala) body (anga) (kOmalAngIm) which shines like a blue gem (mAhEndra nIladyuti) and who is the daughter of the sage mAtanga (mAtangakanyAm).
(zyAmaLA danDakam)
The trinity of Carnatic music i.e. Tyagaraja Swami, Mutthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri have given shape to our music and have shown us the path of nAdOpAsana as a means to salvation. Their devotion to God got manifested in the form of sweet nectarine kritis which, I believe , we are lucky to be able to sing or even hear.
Tyagaraja Swami says:
“IlA gani vivarimpa lEnu cAlA svAnubhava vEdyamE” i.e. “ This cannot be explained to be of such and such nature. It has to be experienced by the self.”
When a mahAn like Tyagaraja Swami himself tells this, why should we think of alternate means to lead a life? We know that material pleasures are not permanent and that money and fame are of transient nature. What remains forever is bhakti.
In this blog, I wish to write about the kritis of the trinity and other vAggeyakArAs and maybe any anecdotes associated with them that I may know of. I am doing this to check whether I know the meanings of the kritis properly. And the best way to do this is to communicate to others. At this point of time, I can't guarantee that I may be 100% right in my interpretation. So kindly post your valuable comments. I will start by writing about a grand and popular kriti: “pAlincu kAmAkSi”
Shyama Shastri's kritis have always impressed me. His compositions are steeped in rAga bhAva and generally have really intricate laya patterns. His bhakti to the Goddess is reflected clearly in his compositions. His vidwat in music is evident not only from his compositions but also from his Guru Shri Adiappier’s compositions. Adippier was the one who gave us the famous aTa tAla tAna varNam viriboni in the raga bhairavi. Shyama Shastri uses the mudra : "zyAmakrSNa" (श्यामकृष्ण) in most of his compositions.
Let me begin on an auspicious note by writing about a wonderful composition of Shyama Shastr in an auspicious raga: "pAlincu kAmAkSi" . MadhyamAvati is a janyam of kharaharapriya raga and is usually sung at the end of the concert. My GurunAthar once told me that MadhyamAvati is sung at the end because the notes(A: S R2 M1 P N1 S ava:S N1 P M1 R2 S) are equally placed in frequency and once this raga is sung, all disturbances in the vocal chords would be removed and the voice will settle down.
Needless to say, the composition is a magnum opus in this rAga. Like Tanjavur Sankara Iyer Mama has said in one of his kutcheris( a recent one that I had the privilege to attend), when a rAga is taken by the Shastri family, be it Shyama Shastri, or his nephew, Subbaraya Shastri or Annaswami Shastri, their compositions in that rAga become attached to it. For example, you think of begada and one of the first few responses will include shankari nIvu. Think of bhairavi and probably the first thing that would come to your mind would be amba kAmakshi. Think of madhyamAvati and one of the earlier responses will include "pAlinchu". Here is the lyrics(I am posting here only the caraNam that is more popular):
pallavi :
pAlincu kAmAkSI ! pAvanI ! pApazamanI ! amba
anupallavi :
cAla bahuvidhamugA ninnu sadA vEDukOnEDi nAyandEla
IlAku jEsEvu vEta harincavE !vEgamE nannu [pAlincu…]
caraNam :
svAntambulOna ninnE dalacina sujanulakElla nIvEla -
santOzamulOsagEvani nIvu manOrathaphaladAyini vani //
kAntamagu pEru pOnditivi kAruNyamUrttivai jagamu
kApADina talligadA ? nEnu nIdu biDDanu lAlinci [pAlincu…]
sv-sA :
kanakagirisadana lalita ninu bhajana, santatamu sEya nijamuganu
vinumu nikhila bhuvana jananivi yipuDu mA duritamu dIrci varAlicci [pAlincu…]
pAlinchu kAmAkSi begins with a swarAkSaram at "pA" in the mandra sthAyi. This itself gives an early indication of a mammoth composition, steeped in bhakti, that is going to follow.
ShyAma shastri calls ambAL "pAvani": the embodiment of purity. He beseeches the kAmakOti pItha nivAsini, Sri kAmAkshi ambAL to protect(pAlincu) him. He describes ambAL as the dispeller of sins(pApazamani)
In the anupallavi, Shyama Shastri tells: “ I have always entreated (vEDukOnu) you (ninnu) in many (cAla) different ways(bahuvidhamuga), but still, why (Ela) do (jEsEvu) this (ilAku) to me(nA andu)? Please destroy( harincavE) all misery (vEta) and protect me (nannu) fast (vEgamE). “
Isn’t the bhakti here overpowering? Shyama Shastri pleads as if he were not already blessed with ambAL’s katAksham. That is the point that we all should look for here. Saints are saints because of God’s blessings, but they still yearn for His blessings!
Great saints have always shown us the path to bhakti in many different ways. Shyama Shastri has used vAtsalya to invoke the Godess. He considers himself the son of a mother who has neglected him for long, inspite of She being the one who bore him (He calls ambAL “kanna talli” meaning the mother who bore me). What can be more supreme than the love and affection between a mother and child?
In the caraNam, Shastrigal says: “Why (Ela) do you (nIvu) give (osagu) satisfaction (santOzamulu) to all (ella) those good people (sujanulaku) who meditate (dalacina) about you whole heartedly (svAntambulOna?). Because (ani) You (nIvu) have attained (ponditivi) the beautiful (kAntamagu) name (pEru) of the one who bestows (dAyini) the the fruits or results (phala) of the chariot of the mind (manOratha). You are the embodiment of compassion (kAruNyamUrti). Aren’t (gAdA) you the one who protected (kApAdina) this earth(jagamu)? I (nEnu) am your (nIdu) child (biDDanu), hence protect(pAlincu) me with affection (lAlinci).
The cittai swaram with sAhityam is the best part of any Shastri composition. The rhythmic patterns therein are so intricate with beautiful laya patterns and the sAhityam goes so well with the cittai swaram that I am always left marveling about the genius of ShastrigaL. Surely this cannot be possible without ambAL’s karuNa katAksham.
In the swara sAhityam, Shyama Shastri addresses ambAL as “ the resident of the golden mountain (kanakagirisadana )” and further as “lalita (the one who sports everything or the beautiful one)” and humbly tells: ”O mother(janani) of the entire( nikhila)universe (bhuvana)I listen to (vinumu) me while I am involved in (sEya) singing (bhajana) about you (ninu) and granting me boons(varAlicci), put an end to (dIrcci) my (mA) sins (duritamu) right away (ippuDu)!”
I can't think of what the golden mountain could refer to. Could it be the Meru or Himalayas? Any suggestions?
If anyone reading this post has not already listened to this kriti, please do so and enjoy the AnandA that this kriti is bound to give you!
Thanks for reading through this post! If you find any errors, please add a comment.
Next I may be posting gurulEka by Sri Tyagarajaswami in the raga Gowrimanohari.
Sri krishnArpaNamastu!
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