pAhi mAm ratnAcalanAyaka - mukhAri - Adi

As I write this post, I strum my guitar on a rainy Sunday morning watching the birds outside finding shelter from the rain and the cold. The month of December especially is paradoxical as on one side you have the darkness and the gloom associated with the winter that settles in here in Europe, while on the other hand, so does a feeling of Holidays and Festivity leading into Christmas and the New Year. As snowflakes start to descend, the Christmas Markets open up in pretty much every town square, filled with an array of shops and small trucks where you find the local artisans/foodies selling exactly that (local art and food). These markets are especially beautiful in the night as the lights turn on on the Christmas Trees, kids and parents skating in ice rinks with unabated joy and the boulevards leading to the square lit up with Stars and Ribbons.

While the past few weeks have been "heavy" from a work perspective, it has also been dotted with some very nice happenings as I have started reconnecting not only with my blog space but also with quite a few of my cherished friends who, more than being just friends have been a constant source of inspiration. Last week, I spoke to my dearest friend Shreekrishna, a fellow contributor on this blog and one of the most knowledgeable and sharpest musical brains ever. Even though we reconnected after 5 long years and realized how much we probably missed talking to each other, I felt like nothing had changed and we pretty much took off from where we had left off. And of course, needless to say, the conversation reinvigorated some beautiful thoughts from the mid-2000s including singing Shri kAntimatIm at the Galveston beach, while sitting on rocks amidst the waves, dedicating this song to the majestic Atlantic Ocean and what we called as "hemavati on the rocks" :).

And this was followed by a few e-mail exchanges with our dear Bala Sir, from whom, I had the privilege of learning metallurgical sciences at NIT, Trichy and who has been a friend, philosopher and guide for the past 15 odd years. He and his daughter Varshita's music are the real reasons behind today's post on this beautiful composition. So, thank you Bala sir and Varshi :). The composition that I am going to write about, pAhi mAm ratnAcalanAyaka was composed by dIkshitar in the early 1800s at the auspicious Shiva shrine of Ratnagiri at Iyermalai/vAtpokki. I first heard this composition in 2006 from an old recording in which shri DK Pattammal had rendered the kriti so beautifully. As always, it was love and reverence at first listen, as I was dumbstruck with so many observations that I possibly cannot describe with sufficient adjectives here. Needless to say, I listened to this kriti probably non-stop for a few weeks, uncovered another version rendered by Musiri and did my own research  on pretty much every syllable that dIkshitar has used in this composition to understand and fully appreciate the depth and the musical import of this masterpiece, some of which, I hope to share in today's post.

Before jumping into the composition, a few words about the temple, its history and folklore. As the name suggests, this temple sits beautifully perched on top of a hill in Karur district along the kAvEri river and is believed to be 1300 years old making it one of the oldest and most significant saivite shrines in Tamil Nadu. The main deities of Lord Shiva in the form of ratnagirIswarar and Parvati in the form of Goddess araLakESi reside on top of the hill and only with ardent devotion can one endure the arduous climb of 1000+ steps to get to the top and get darshan. The temple is steeped in tradition and history with first references to this shrine in the holy saivite treatise of "Thevaram" by ThirunAvukkarasar in 7th century AD. It is also believed that the sage Agastya worshipped Lord Shiva at this holy place.

The temple also has multiple specialties that even dIkshitar references in this composition. Viewed form different locations, the hill resembles various forms of Lord Shiva and Parvathy with temple itself being said to be in the form of the pranava mantra (Om) and Lord Shiva being seen as a form of the Shri Chakra here. The main deity is surrounded by eight rock temples inside the main mandapam  and in combination with the main lingam in the sanctum sanctorum, these appear spectacularly like a garland of nine gems. The Lingam itself is tall, is believed to be a svayambhu (originated naturally by itself) and has a prominent scar at the top, which folklore attributes to the result of King AryarAjan having cut it with a sword, hence giving this temple the other name of "vAtkoppi" as it is referenced in Thevaram.

The folklore associated with the king's story results in another tradition that dIkshitar sings about in this composition about members of the Arya community providing water to anoint the Lingam here. It is believed that King Aryarajan lost his crown that was studded with nine gems and he came to Iyermalai and prayed to Shiva. Shiva came in the guise of an old Brahmin and asked the king to fill a big bowl called Kopparai with water from the Kaveri. Despite the king bringing water from the river and trying to fill the bowl repeatedly, the bowl would strangely never become full even after pouring water endlessly. The angry king is then believed to have taken his sword and threw it on the Brahmin, who immediately showed his swarupam, blessed the king, gave his crown back and turned into the form of the lingam here (and hence the scar on the lingam). Till date, this fascinating tradition continues with someone from the village going to the river, which is eight kilometers away, carrying the water all the way, climbing up the hill and finally emptying it into a large cauldron kept beside the Linga. With all this background, I will now move on to the composition itself, structured fully in sambodhana pratama, the eighth vibhakti.

Pallavi:
pAhi mAm ratnAcalanAyaka bhaktajana shubhapradAyaka

Meaning:
dIkshitar starts the composition by seeking refuge and singing "Oh Lord of the jewel ("ratna") mountain ("acala"), please protect ("pAhi") me ("mAm")". He describes the compassionate and merciful nature of the Lord in this kSEtra by referring to Him as "the one who bestows ("pradAyaka") welfare and good fortune ("shubha") on his devotees ("bhaktajana")".

Just like how the initial steps leading to the hill top of this temple, the pallavi starts off with a simple gradient to help the listeners ease into the majestic mukhAri that follows. While he establishes the kSEtra of the composition in the pallavi itself, dIkshitar also clearly establishes the rAga bhAva of mukhAri musically with the opening phrases of "pdpMGR" at "pAhi mAm" and "sndSRM pmdd" at "rathnAcala nAyaka". Straight off the bat, dIkshitar starts of with the swara sAhityam of "pA" hi hinting that something more beautiful is coming in this composition. Also, in line with the folklore and history associated with this temple, the Lord is believed to have shown extreme compassion and patience and blessed King AryarAjan even after his devotee threw a sword on His face in a fit of anger. dIkshitar again emphasizes this characteristic of the Lord in the pallavi by referring to Him as one who gives welfare to his devotees. A final comment on the pallavi would be in reference to how beautifully the rhythm scheme of the retta kaLai Adi tALa fits in with the prAsa rhyme scheme that dIkshitar establishes in the pallavi, which sort of lays the foundation for this masterpiece to take shape in the anupallavi.

Moving on to the anupallavi,
Anupallavi:
mOhajArALakEshi varadhava 
muktiprada nata viriHnci mAdhava
rOhiNIsha ravi vahninayana
bhavarOgaharaNa nipuNatara caraNa shiva

Meaning:
dIkshitar continues to establish the physical precincts of the temple complex by referring to the Lord as "the divine husband ("varadhava") who is enchanted/smitten by ("mOhaja") Goddess araLakEshi and the one who bestows ("mukti") salvation ("mukti") and is worshipped ("nata") by Brahma ("viriHnci") and Vishnu ("mAdhava")". Goddess pArvati is given Her own shrine in the temple, midway along the walk up the hill. She takes the form of a beautiful Goddess with curly hair and hence Her name of one with the curly ("araLa") hair ("kEshi"), referred to by the locals in tamizh as Surumbar Kuzhali.

dIkshitar then proceeds to start the madhyamakAla sAhitya referring to the Lord's three eyes and describing Him as "the one who has the sun ("ravi"), moon ("rOhinIsha") and fire ("vahni") as his eyes ("nayana")". dIkshitar again beautifully cherry picks his words here showing his mastery over the language. For example, to keep the prAsa and rhyme scheme intact with "mOhaja" and bhava"rOga", dIkshitar uses the word "rOhinIsha" to refer to the moon as the consort of the star Rohini and this reference deserves a parentheses here which I will delve into. In Hindu mythology, there are multiple legends surrounding the moon and dIkshitar uses one such reference here. The moon is always known to have a direct influence on the mind, triggering lustful thoughts and hence dIkshitar sings candram bhaja mAnasa ("Oh mind!! medidate on the moon") in the navagraha kriti. In one of these mythological portrayal of the moon, he impregnates tAra, the wife of Brihaspati (planet Jupiter), giving birth to Budha (planet mercury). This upsets Brihaspati, who declares a war leading to the dEvas intervening and returning tAra to Brihaspati. The moon is said to have had an emotional breakdown because he couldn't satisfy his lustful feelings and so he pursued Daksha's 27 daughters to curb his ever-growing desires for sexual union. Hence the Indian monthly calendar has the 27 stars associated with the 27 days splitting the waxing and waning cycle of the moon. After marrying all the 27 daughters, the moon is said to have preferred only Rohini (one of the stars) among all of His 27 wives and dIkshitar uses this reference here to describe the moon. The other 26 wives become upset and complain to their father, Daksha who then curses the moon for His terrible sins. To overcome this sin, the moon becomes a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, who partially releases him from the curse by giving the moon a place in His Head.

Coming back to the composition, dIkshitar nicely rounds off the anupallavi by describing the Lord as "the one whose feet ("caraNa") are incomparably skilled ("nipuNa-tara") at destroying ("haraNa") the disease ("rOga") of wordly existence ("bhava")". These words are in reference to the great sages who have attained salvation and relief from the world existence by worshipping the Lord at this shrine such as appar, thirunAvukkarasar (the one who composed thevAram) and sage Agastya who is known to have visited this shrine on his way to podhigai malai.

Final comments on the musical beauty that dIkshitar weaves through the anupallavi. The unique phrase to begin the anupallavi, "pdNdp" at "mOhaja" kind of leaves a buzz in the listener's ears, generating a feeling of smitten-ness that dIkshitar uses to describe the Lord Himself in these lines. Personally for me, on many occasions I have felt that the sound that this phrase generates feels like a deep humming sound that a bee might generate when wafting through the curly locks of Goddess araLakEShi here. The madhyamakAla is again mesmerizing with phrases such as "ndsrm gr" at "rOhinIsha ravi" and "mpSS ndp" at "bhavarOga haraNa" before concluding the anupallvi with "rm" at "Shiva" and beautifully using this as a bridge to loop back to the swara sahityam of "pA"hi at the beginning of the pallavi. In the interest of the length of this post, I will move on to the caraNam.
   
caraNam:
sadyOjAtAdi paHncamukhAri-SaDvargarahita hRtsaHncAra
avidyOdaya viyadAdi prapaHnca vikalpAtIta tatva vicAra
vidyAtmaka shrI cakrAkAra vicitra navaratna girivihAra
gadyAnuviddha padyAdivinuta gaHNgAdhara Agama sAra
adyApyAryavamshajAta tUryajAti bhRtAkhaNDa kAvErI-
nadyOdakAbhiSikta sharIra anAdi guruguha kumAra mArahara

Meaning:
Just like many other of his kritis, dIkshitar kind of "escalates" and takes the composition to a whole new paradigm in the caraNam and leaves you dumbfounded in the process. He starts off the composition with a Grand Slam Home Run by describing the Lord as "the one who has five faces ("paHncamukha") starting with sadyOjAta etc ("Adi")" and as "the one who resides ("saHncAra") in the hearts ("hRt") bereft ("rahita") of the six ("SaD") categories ("varga") of enemies ("ari")". While it is impossible to do justice to describing the beauty of this one line in this composition except probably prostrating at the brilliance of dIkshitar. This line has to be probably in the top 10 usages of hidden rAga mudras that dIkshitar has used among all his compositions as he brings out the rAga name split between two words at paHnchamukha-ari SaDvarga while conveying great meaning and depth in the process. He refers to the form of Lord Shiva where He is described as having five faces signifying the five elements and thereby representing the entire universe. The top face is known as Ishana or Sadashiva, who is rarely depicted and governs zenith and the sky ("AkASa"). The east face that is referenced in this composition is Sadyojata or Mahadeva, the regent of the earth ("pritvi"). The west face is Tatpurusha or nandivaktra (the face of Nandi), denoting the wind ("vAyu"). While Vamadeva or Umavaktra (the face of Parvati) faces north and represents water ("varuNa"), aghora or bhairava looks south and denotes fire ("agni").

The brilliance of dIkshitar does not come in just using the five-faced reference but in actually linking it with the reference to the six evils/enemies of the mind and thereby using this combination to produce the rAgamudra. In Hindu theology, arishadvarga are the six enemies of the mind, which are: lust ("kAma"), anger ("krodha"), greed ("lobha"), attachment ("mOha"), pride ("mada") and jealousy ("matsarya"); the negative characteristics of which prevent man from attaining moksha or salvation. Again, in the interest of the length of this post and inability of English words to describe the brilliance of this line, I move on to the next lines of the composition.

dIkshitar continues to describe the Lord as "the one who is beyond the diversities ("vikalpa-atIta") of the universe ("prapaHnca") that results from ignorance ("avidya-udaya"), and is made of the elements starting with space ("viyat-Adi")" and as "the one is the scientific embodiment ("vidyAtmaka") of inquiring ("vicAra") the truth/origin ("tatva")". He continues to describe the Lord as "the one who takes the form ("AkAra") of the Shri Cakra signified ("vihAra") in the resplendent ("vicitra") mountain ("giri") of the nine gems ("navaratna")". As I had mentioned at the beginning of this post, the temple and the mountain structure in itself is supposed to signify the Shri cakra when viewed from above and dIkshitar uses this reference. Here, on a surface level vicitra stands for "resplendent/beautiful". But we can contemplate and come up with a slightly deeper meaning too. The lingam here is a swayambu and it emerges from amidst eight other rocks in the sactum. Hence, the lingam itself becomes the ninth rock and hence it is referred to as navaratnam. In order to differentiate the lingam (the 9th rock) from the other eight rocks, dikshitar has probably chosen the word "vicitra" referring to the lingam as a rock which is different/weird compared to the other eight.
 
dIkshitar then goes on to describe the Lord as "the one who wears ganges on his head ("gaHNgAdhara"), is the essence ("sAra") of all the scriptures ("Agama") and one who resides in/permeates through ("anuviddha") and is praised/worshipped ("vinuta") by all prose ("gadya") and poetry ("padya")". These lines go together. Since He is the origin of all knowledge in the first place ("Agama sAra"), it only makes sense that He is worshipped and praised by all forms of literature (prose and poetry). Further, the scriptures show high reverence for this temple as it is mentioned in the works of thirunAvukkarasar, appar and the famous tirupugazh by arunagirinathar.

dIkshitar then creates magic in the madhyamakAla sAhitya, invoking the references to the traditional practices carried out in the temple. He writes it in a "pesudo present tense" that actually makes us feel that he is right there narrating this whole thing. He refers to the act of the Lord being bathed by waters of the Kaveri by Brahmins by describing Him as "the one whose form ("sharIra") is bathed ("abhishikta") in the waters of the vast, inexhaustible Kaveri ("akhaNDa kAvEri") river carried by ("bhRta") the ones of the arya vamsa and washed by the brahmins ("turya jAti"), even today ("adya api")". turya jAti here refers to the brAhman priests who eventually perform the abhisheka with the water brought from the river. dIkshitar refers to the brAhmans as turya jAti or as a race born from the fourth state of consciousness (state of silence beyond the state of wakefulness(gross body), dream(subtle astral plane) and dreamless sleep(causal body)). He then completes the composition by bringing in the composer mudra and describing the Lord as "the destroyer ("hara") of cupid ("mAra") and the one whose progeny ("kumAra") is the beginning-less ("anAdi") guruguha".

The caraNam is a one of the most dense, intense and esoteric set of words that we encounter in dIkshitar kritis. A grand theme that seems to run as a single thread throughout the caraNam is the contrasting ends and dichotomy that dIkshitar portrays showcasing his great mastery over the language, perhaps signifying the vicissitudes of human life. Some of these dichotomies being:
1. Specific and Generic: The caraNam is steeped in references that are both generic to Lord Shiva such as "paHNcamukha" and "AgamasAra" as well as being specific to this particular temple such as references to the tradition in the temple, "vicitra navaratna girivihAra".
2. Five Six, pick up the sticks: Using "panHncamukha" (five) and ari"SaD" (six) one after the other, creating a sequence of numbers while at the same time bringing in the rAgamudra in one master stroke.
3. Knowledge and Ignorance: He refers to the Lord using both references to knowledge ("vidyAtmaka") and the lack of it ("avidyOdaya") again showing that the Lord resides in both these dichotomies equally.
4. Prose and Poetry: Apart from the only similarity that both are forms of expression, prose and poetry can't be more distinct and different from each other in structure, emotional content and grammar. However, just like how dIkshitar weaves poetry with prose in each of his compositions, he refers to the Lord also as one who is worshipped by both these different forms of grammar.
5. Beginning and End, Birth and Death: In the final lines of the caraNam, dIkshitar conveys these huge, oxymoron-ic concepts using a combination of four words back to back, while in the process bringing in the composer mudra of guruguha. He describes the Lord as a creator by showing Him as the one who brings about the birth of the beginning-less guruguha while at the same time describes Him as the destroyer who brings an end to cupid.

Musically, the caraNam is again extremely rich as it pretty much exhausts the whole spectrum of prayOgams that mukhAri has to offer. The DKP and the Musiri versions I mentioned capture the beauty of the caraNam in its entirety and I would also recommend listening to this beautiful version rendered by Ramakrishnan Murthy. I wind up my explanation on this composition here and leave it to the listening experience of the readers to transport themselves to an alternate dimension the next time they hear this kriti being rendered by anyone. As I sign off for today, I make a note to myself to visit Iyermalai in my next visit to India and sing this kriti at the abode of Lord Rathnagiriswarar :). In my next post which I target to publish within the next 10 days, based on request from one of my dearest friends, I will write about a beautiful composition on Goddess kAmAkSi which also happens to be one of my favorites as well. Until then, enjoy the beautiful month of mArgazhi :). shrI gurubhyO namah!!           
           

shrI varalakSmI namastubhyam - shrI - rUpaka

After a hiatus of four long years, the musical scientist is back with a post :). While I am definitely trying to make a come back to my good old blogging days with today's post, I do not want to stake claim that I am fully back yet, as I have made such claims in the past and have failed miserably to live up to them. But for some reason, it definitely does feel different as I can feel the enthusiasm rush through my veins as I write these words, just like how I used to feel in those golden good old days probably 10 years ago.

So, the reader might wonder, what made me go into hibernation and just disappear off the radar like that? I would attribute it to a combination of many things (primarily professional life) that made me succumb to a banal, mundane lifestyle which further resulted in a lack of time and creative urge to express myself like I used to. In all fairness, it was more of my doing driven by my choices in life than anybody else's. And trust me when I say this, I did try to resuscitate the blog and my creative juices quite a few times in the past 4 years but somehow, I never could get that enthusiasm and love for writing back.

The next question (that I am asking myself), would be what has changed since the last time I blogged and the answer would be nothing much :) !! The world continues to go around its axis, probably a bit more dirtier, hotter and closer to its eventual destruction and a geopolitical situation that is not helping its cause. If anything, as a person, I have become more mature and my love for our music and the nAdajyOti (and the trinity) has increased further, up to a point where nothing else really seems to matter any more in life :).

A final question would probably be, what has made me come back now and the answer to that one would be straightforward. In the last 4 years, I would have received at least a hundred comments and requests from the rasikAs who follow this blog, mentioning how they have benefited and learnt from this blog, requesting for new posts and my thoughts on specific compositions. So, in a way, you can definitely say that I am back by popular demand and thanks to all of you who have pushed me and helped me wake up and come back to writing about these great compositions. Of course, now that I am writing this, I know how much I missed this feeling of having a high/getting a kick and feeling on top of the world, while at the same time feeling grounded/humble and like a tiny speck of dust in front of these magnum opuses and the brilliance of the nAdajyOti. And so without further ado, let me jump into the composition for today, shrI varalakSmI in the rAga shrI.

There are three primary reasons why I am beginning my comeback with this gentle yet powerful composition. The first one being the fact that I miss my mom, sitting 7000 kilometers away in Luxembourg (which is where I have been for 2.5 years now) and hence I wanted to resume with a composition on the divine mother, seeking strength and Her love in the physical absence of my mom. The second one being it is deepavali season and Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in the form of Lakshmi puja during this part of the year. The last reason I chose this composition was I thought I should resume with a nice, auspicious composition and what better a rAga to choose than the most auspicious rAga of them all, shrI, whose very name itself means auspiciousness :). And before jumping into the composition, as always, I will start with a bit of background about the deity and the temple where this was composed which will better explain some of the references that dIkshitar uses in the composition to describe the divine mother.

Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu signifies predominantly wealth and well-being and like the other divine mothers (pArvati and saraswati), is worshipped in many forms and amshAs signifying prosperity, strength and well-being. The first references of Lakshmi are seen in both Rig and Atharva vEda (transcribed ~1000 BC) as "bhadraiṣāṁ lakṣmīrnihitādhi vāci" in which, more than referring to Her as a Goddess, the word is used to signify "auspicious fortune". The first references of Goddess Lakshmi as a consort of Lord Vishnu comes much later in some Hindu texts believed to have been written around 500 BC. Since then, the Goddess has been depicted as one either sitting/standing on a red lotus, wearing red attire (signifying auspiciousness) and having four hands signifying the four ways of Hindu life, dharma, artha, kAma and mOksha.

As the consort of Vishnu, in VishnupurANa, Lakshmi is described in two primordial forms of bhUdEvi and shrIdEvi, who both reside along with Lord Vishnu in vaikunTam and are basically considered the energy forms that help Vishnu protect the universe, very similar to Goddess pArvati being the the shakti force supporting Lord Shiva. As the names suggest, bhUdEvi is considered to signify all that is physical and material matter while shrIdEvi is considered to be pure auspicious energy of the spiritual world. From these two primary manifestations, came eight more secondary manifestations, with each form signifying the eight different forms of wealth, namely, (1) primordial (AdiLakshmi), (2) monetary (dhanaLakshmi), (3) granary (dhAnyaLakshmi), (4) courage (dhairyaLakshmi), (5) progeny/continuity (santAnaLakshmi), (6) fertility, raw power and memory (GajaLakshmi), (7) victory (vijayaLakshmi) and (8) knowledge/education (vidyALakshmi). While different treatises and scriptures have different stories behind origins of Lakshmi, the primary two versions are (1) emergence of Lakshmi from the ocean when dEvAs and asurAs churned the ocean during Lord Vishnu's kUrmAvatar and (2) birth of Goddess Lakshmi as the daughter of sage bhrigu and hence aptly named bhArgavi, on whom dIkshitar composed the magnum opus "shrI bhArgavi" in the beautiful rAga mangaLakaishiki (oh what a kriti, need to go in depth for another time). In this particular composition of shrI varalakSmI, dIkshitar refers to all these amshAs of the Goddess, describing her as pure wealth and auspiciousness.

Another quick and very important mention with reference to this particular composition is how dIkshitar beautifully brings in the allusion to varalakshmI vratam, a divine occasion when the Goddess is celebrated across every household in India during the monsoon months. Unlike other countries in the world, India is unique, for it is the only country blessed with two monsoon seasons. It is the two months of the "second/return" monsoon, Shravana and Bhadrapada on the traditional Hindu calendar that are considered as time for prayers and celebrating nature and life. While a 16 day fast is observed in North India during the month of Bhadrapada (September/October), in South India, the Friday before the full moon night in the month of Shravana (second monsoon in August/September) is celebrated as 'Varalakshmi Vratam' to commemorate Shravana Shukravara and pray for wealth, prosperity and long, healthy life for their husbands. dIkshitar starts off the caraNam with this reference addressing the Godddess as "shrAvaNa paurNamI pUrvastha shukravArE", as the one who is worshipped on the Friday ("shukravArE") before ("pUrvastha") the full moon night ("paurNamI") in the month of shrAvaNa.

With that, let us get into the composition itself and go through the three traditional parts of the composition, the pallavi, anupallavi and the caraNam.

Pallavi
shrI varalakSmI namastubhyam vasupradE
shrI sArasapadE rasapadE sapadE padE padE

Meaning
dIkshitar sings "Salutations ("namastubhyam") to the auspicious ("shrI") Varalakshmi! The one who bestows ("pradE") fortunes and wealthy dwelling ("vasu"), whose divine ("shrI") feet ("padE") are like a beautiful lotus ("sArasa"), the one from whose feet ("padE") originated the essence ("rasa") of life, the one whose feet is graceful at every step ("sapadE"), and protects in every occasion/step ("padE padE") of all lives."

Just like many other occasions, dIkshitar starts off the composition with the most apt and beautiful word "shrI", thereby achieving at least three different purposes. The first being the literal meaning of the word "shrI" which translates to "auspiciousness", the single most important quality that is attributed to Goddess Lakshmi and hence the best word to address the divine mother. The second, being the esoteric fact that Goddess Lakshmi is also called shrI or thirumagaL in tamizh, because she is endowed with six auspicious and divine qualities, or gunas, and as I mentioned before, is the divine strength of Lord Vishnu himself. The third being the musical reference to the rAga shrI in which the composition itself is structured, thereby becoming the rAga mudrA.

dIkshitar again brings in multiple possible interpretations by using the word "vasupradE" due to the fact that the word "vasu" itself can be interpreted in multiple ways. One meaning as I have mentioned in the explanation is reference to fortunes and wealthy dwelling. The other meaning can be made in relation to the eight primordial elements or "ashTavasu" referenced in both mahAbhArata and brhadAranyaka upanishad" alluding to the eight elements of earth ("prithvi"), fire ("agni"), wind ("vAyu"), water ("varuNa"), sky/ether ("AkAsa"), sun ("Aditya"), moon ("candramAs") and stars ("nakSatrANi") with Goddess Lakshmi being referred to as the one who gave rise ("pradE") to all these eight elements, in relation to the material bhUdEvi that I mentioned earlier.

Then comes probably the highlight of the pallavi, the beautiful wordplay showing the mastery that dIkshitar had over Sanskrit. As I have mentioned in my many previous posts, dIkshitar exploits the yatis structure in Sanskrit in many compositions and in this composition, he employs the gOpuchcha yati, called so due to its resemblance to a cow's tail which starts thick and trims down, while conveying infinite meanings in the process. This can be better imagined as shown below where he starts off with the main word and peels off one letter at a time to generate infinite more meanings:

Musically, again, this structure yields itself beautifully to the rUpaka tALa, giving musicians the ability to sing this sAhitya in all the three speeds with even a khanda version possible once again showing why he is the master and by far the greatest composer in Sanskrit in history. The words of "padE" and references to "rasa" and "sa" that he uses in the process of developing this yati can again be interpreted in infinite different ways which will probably require a separate post in itself.

Finally, a comment on the swaraprasthAras that make the pallavi flow like this beautiful stream. He starts off with the majestic "Rgrss" at "shrI varaLakshmi" that establishes the shrI rAga in the very first phrase itself. At "namOsthubyam", he uses "Rsnp" and ventures into the mandira sthAyi, coming back to the middle pitch by using "rsNsR" at "vasupradE", a mellifluous swarasAhitya of r"S" at shrI "Sa"rasa before launching into the tAra sthAyi and the gopuchcha yati formation completing the structure and rounding up the pallavi as I mentioned like a beautiful river that resumes its flow after going over some rapids. All in all, I would say, this pallavi is heavily underrated, as you can see, the brilliance, the majesty and the comprehensiveness of it is unparalleled.

Moving on to the anupallavi,
anupallavi
bhAvaja janaka prANavallabhE suvarNAbhE
bhAnukOTisamAna prabhE bhaktasulabhE
sEvakajanapAlinyai shritapa.nkajamAlinyai
kEvalaguNashAlinyai kEshavahRtkhElinyai

Meaning

As in many other compositions, dIkshitar uses the anupallavi to describe the physical references of the Goddess, establishing Her with reference to how She is known in daily life and described in the scriptures. He begins the anupallavi, describing Her as "the one who is the soul/primordial force and beloved ("prANa vallabhE") of Lord Vishnu". He refers to Lord Vishnu as the father ("janaka") of cupid ("bhAvaja") and goes on to describe the physical beauty of the Goddess as "one who shines like molten gold("suvarNAbhE") and as the one whose effulgence ("prabhE") is equal to ("samAna") that of a crore ("kOTi") of suns ("bhAnu")". dIkshitar then brings up Her protective and devotee-loving qualities by describing her as "the one who is easily accessible/grants virtues ("sulabhE") to Her devotees ("bhakta")", following which he starts the madhyamakAla sAhitya again on a similar note describing Her as "the one who protects ("pAlinyai") those who are devoted to Her and serve Her ("sEvakajana"). He continues with the madhyamakAla sAhitya by describing the Goddess as "the one who is adorned ("shrita") with a garland ("mAlinyai") of lotus ("pa.nkaja"), the one who is a resplendent paragon ("shAlinyai") of good virtues ("kEvalagunA") and sports/finds a spot ("khElinyai") in the heart ("hRt") of Lord Vishnu ("kEshava")".

In the anupallavi, dIkshitar again shows his linguistic prowess as he cherry picks words that convey the right meaning while maintaining the prAsam of the grammar, such as "bhAvaja" and "kEshava" to refer to Lord Vishnu. Musically, the phrases are again mesmerizing as he begins the anupallavi with "Pnpmpm" at "bhAvaja janaka" before using a beautiful "Grs" at "prANa" and then landing with "RNsR" at "suvarNAbhE". The smooth "Grs" again at "bhAnu" setting up the sudden ascent to "nmp" at "kOTi" before going into the tAra sthAyi with "RgrsnPsnsr" at "sEvakajanapAlinyai". He follows it with a beautiful descending prayOga of "srnspnmprmp" at "shritapan.kaja" before finally bringing in the first dhaivata prayOgam with "Pdnpm" at "kEshava" to stamp the gOvindAcharyA version of mELakartas, with this dhaivata prayOgam being the main and only way to make shrI rAga the rAgAnga version of the 22nd mElakarta and establishing it as the equivalent to the other school's karaharapriya.

The anupallavi sets up a strong platform for the caraNam to build on and crescendo.

 

caraNam
shrAvaNa paurNamI pUrvastha shukravArE
cArumatI prabhRtibhih pUjitAkArE
dEvAdi guruguha samarpita maNimayahArE
dInajana sam.rakSaNa nipuNa kanakadhArE
bhAvanAbhEdacaturE bhAratIsannutavarE
kaivalyavitaraNaparE kA.nkSitaphalapradakarE

Meaning
As I mentioned in the introduction to the composition, dIkshitar begins the caraNam by bringing in the reference to varalakSmI vratam by describing the Goddess as "the one who is worshipped ("pUjitAkArE")  by suvAsinis ("cArumatI prabhRtibhih") on the Friday ("shukravArE") before ("pUrvastha") the full moon night ("paurNamI") in the month of shrAvaNa". He then brings in his composer mudra of "guruguha" by describing Her as "the one who wears a garland of gems ("maNimayahArE") offered by Lord kArtikEya ("Guruguha") and other celestial beings ("dEvAdi") . He again brings forth the compassionate form of the divine mother by describing Her as "the one who is an expert ("nipuNa") in protecting ("sam.rakSaNa") the afflicted ("dInajana") and resembles a shower (“dhAre”) of gold ("kanaka")". dIkshitar then sets up the crescendo for the composition by moving on to the madhyamakAla sAhityam where he describes the Goddess as "the one who is smart and capable ("caturE") in differentiating ("bhEda") emotions ("bhAvanA"), is worshipped ("sannutavarE") by Goddess Saraswati ("bhAratI"), is a path to/bestower of ("vitaraNaparE") liberation ("kaivalya") and bestower of ("pradakarE") desired boons ("kA.nkSita phala")".

Musical highlights are when dIkshitar explores some amazing phrases in the caraNam such as "snnpNM" at "shrAva Na paurNamI" and "MpnsRGrs" at "dEvAdi guruguha". The madhyamkAla sAhityam as always is a treat with phrases such as "Pmrgrsrpm" at "bhAvanAbhEdacaturE" and predominantly tAra sthAyi "nsrgrsnprsr" at "kaivalyavitaraNaparE". I love the TNS version with kalpanaswaras at "bhAvanAbhEdacaturE" and the more sedate and clean version of the composition presented by the young Ashwath Narayanan here and would recommend listening to these renditions to soak in the composition in its entirety.

I will conclude this post by saying that this composition ranks way high up and among the six beautiful dIkshitar compositions in shrI rAga , probably second in the list, right after the magnum opus "shrI tyAgarAja mahAdhvajArOha" composed at the tiruvArUr temple. I hope some of you musicians who are reading this post are able to re-visualize this composition, expand further on it and present it on the music stage giving this composition the full status and depth that it rightfully deserves :).

Writing this post has definitely reinvigorated the passion for dIkshitar and my love for explaining his compositions. I hope this is the beginning of a new purple patch for me as I expound my creativity by immersing myself in the great man's compositions and bring forth the gems that adorn the magical horizons of dIkshitar's star-studded night sky. I will set myself a target to publish the next post before the end of November, take it one post at a time and see how it goes before I can proudly claim "I am back"!!