sUryamUrtE namO&stu tE

japA-kusuma-sankAsham
kAshyapEyam mahAdyutim |
tamO&rim sarva-pApaghnam
praNatO&smi divAkaram ||

"My salutations to the sUrya (divAkaram praNata: asmi) , he, who is like the flower of meditation (japA-kusuma-sankAsham), the son of kashyapa (kAshyapEyam (=kashyapasya ayam)), he who is of greatest brilliance and brightness (mahAdyutim), he, who is the enemy of darkness and evil (tama: arim), and he, who is the destroyer of all sins (sarva-pApaghnam)."

The first of the navagraha krithIs is on sUrya, who is the source of all the dynamic energy for the existence of life and the 9 planets and exerts control on all the elements within the solar system. The grandeur and the power of sUrya is seen in innumerable instances in the hindu mythological literature, and his position as the primary sustainer of life on Earth is undisputed. He is also hailed as the incarnation of nArAyaNa, in the form of savitA (Note - savitA is a masculine term and not feminine), to whom, since the vEdic ages, arghya is offered by brahmins thrice a day (during intersticial moments in the period of the day - sandhi) and thru whom prayers to the Goddess gAyatrI are routed, as can be seen in the gAyatrI mantram.

Lord sUrya is also said to be the trimUtris incarnate as described by -

udayE brahmaroopO&yam madhyAhnE tu mahEshwara: |
antyakAle swayam viShNu: trayI moorti: divAkara: ||

"sUrya is a qualitative incarnation of the three forms - brahmA, viShNu and shiva. He is like the creator, brahmA at rise; he is like shiva at noon, with his brilliant rays portraying the cosmic energy of shiva as shall be seen during laya; he is like viShNu at sunset, portraying the poise and calmness of viShNu, and the one whose energy during the day shall maintain "sthithi" till the rise".
Worshiping sUrya is hence equivalent to worshiping these three big-guns.

It is only apt that such a central deity be worshiped and sung in praise of, in the rAga saurAShTram, which is a bhAShAnga janyam (a sub-scalar rAgam permitting alien notes) of sUryakAntam, the 17th mELakarta rAgam, which literally means "Brilliance of the sun". The rAgam saurAShTram however possesses the delicate kaishiki niShAdham, the judicious usage of which perhaps provides a wave of comfort and grace due to sUrya, who is in more than one sense, the cause of existence and sustenance of life as we know it.

dIkShitar sings in praise of sUrya thus -

|pallavi|

sUryamUrtE namOstu tE | sundara-ChAyA adhipatE || (sUryamUrtE)

Hey Surya, salutations to thee (namO&stu tE), the one who is espoused to the beautiful ChAyAdEvi ....

{The story of ChAyAdEvi in Hindu mythology is that one which is commonly told about in the context of the sun's brilliance. ChAyAdEvI is apparently hailed to be the shadow cast away by sUryA's wife, sanjanA (also referred to as sanjnA dEvI, sandhyA dEvI), unable to bear his incendiary rays during his prime in the day. The son of sUrya and ChAyAdEvI is shani. This relation is highlighted in the navagraha krithi on shani - kalpita-ChAyAdEvi-soonum divAkara-tanujam - There is hence very clear reference to ChAyAdEvI being a kalpita (in loose terms), conjured, form of sUryA's wife, sanjnA, and shani being their son.}

|anupallavi|

kArya-kAraNAtmaka-jagat-|-prakAsha-simharAshyAdhipatE |
Aryavinuta-tEjasPhUrtE ArOgyAdi phalada-keertE || (sUryamUrtE)

.... The one who is a form of kArya (activity/effect) and kAraNa (cause) (kArya-kAraNAtmaka)
(The one who is responsible for the cause as well as effect in nature),

.....The one who provides light and enlightenment (secondary meaning) to the world (jagat-prakAsha)

..... The adhipati of simha rAshi (simha-rAshyAdhipatE) .....

..... The one who is sung in praise of by the erudite (Arya-vinuta), the one with abundant tEjas, (tEjasphUrtE), (tEjas = mystical brilliance, roughly)

..... The one who bestows good health and all prosperity (ArOgyAdi-phalada-keertE)...
............. To you, sUryA, I salute (sUryamUrtE namO&stu tE).

|charaNam|

sArasamitra-mitra bhAnO | sahasrakiraNa-karNasoonO |
kroorapApahara kRushAnO | guruguhamOdita-svabhAnO |
soorijanEDita-sudinamaNE | sOmAdi-graha-shikhAmaNE |
dheerArchita-karmasAKShiNE | divyatara-saptAshwa-rathine |
saurAShTrArNa-mantrAtmanE sauvarNa-swaroopAtmanE |
bhAratIsha-hariharAtmanE bhakti-mukti-vitaraNAtmanE || (sUryamUrtE)

To you, one who sustains lotuses (and other water beings, and is hence their friend - sArasamitra), mitra! (sUrya - not to be misunderstood as friend here), bhAnu! (yet another synonym for sUrya)...........

(The word mitram in sanskrit, which is of neuter gender means a friend. Addressing a friend would hence be hE mitram/mitram, while the term mitra used as a masculine noun form denotes the Sun, and is one of the 12 AdityAs (so called since they are offsprings of aditi - adityA: apatyam pumAn iti Aditya: - Aditya is the one who is male child of aditi).

........... The one who is the source of infinite number of brilliant rays (sahasrakiraNa)

[Note that the term sahasra does not literally carry the meaning "thousand". Such references are common in literature. One classic example may be quoted from puruShasooktam which starts off as "sahasra-sheerShA puruSha: | sahasrAksha: sahasrapAt" - talking about the supreme force of the universe - puruShOttama - the highest and the most perfect amongst all masculine forms - explaining his physical appearance of countless (sahasra) number of heads (sheersha:), eyes (akSha:), limbs (pAt); hence the verbatim meanng is not to be taken)]

....... The one whose son karNa is = the father of karNa (karNasoonu:)

[Here again, the term karNasoonu: can be misleading. It is not to be interpreted as karNasya soonu: = karNa's son (which is in sanskrit grammar, an example of tatpuruSha samAsa in the sixth case (ShaShThI). The interpretation should be karNa: soonu: yasya sa: = One whose son karNa is (which in Sanskrit grammar, would be an example of bahuvreehi samAsa)]

....... The one who can incinerate all evil, all vices and all sins (krUrapaapahara - kRushAnO) .....

[kRushAna: is another synonym for agni, the God of fire in Hindu mythology. Other synonyms would be anala:, pAvaka: etc. The split here would be krUrapaapahara: kRushAna: - a samAsa which "qualifies" the capacity of someone/something - karmadhAraya samAsa]

....... The one who brings happiness to guruguha (Lord subrahmaNya), the one who generates energy in a self-sustained manner (swabhAnu) ..........

[The concept of swabhAnu makes me opine that our ancestors had information regarding the mechanism of generation of solar energy. The fact that the term swabhAnu has been used liberally in Hindu mythology could signify knowledge of nuclear fusion as the source of sustained mass-energy conversion that occurs in the solar core. This is only a conjecture and there is nothing evidential.]

........ The one who is praised by the erudite intelligentsia (sUrijanEDita), one who is noble and virtuous (su) and the jewel of the day (dinamaNE).......

......... The one who governs and exerts control on the moon and other planets and is the jewel in the crown of the solar system (somAdi-graha-shikhAmaNE)
[Note the ambivalence of the statement, depending on how the samAsam is interpreted]

........ The one who is worshiped by the wise (dheerArchita), the one who stays witness to all karma (karmasAkShiNE)........

......... The one who rides in a chariot pulled by seven very auspicious horses (divyatara-sapta-ashva-rathinE) ......

.......... The one whose benevolence and grace is essential for a land to be prosperous (saurAShTrArNa-mantrAtmanE) ......

.......... The one who shines and glitters as gold, both physically and also in terms of varchas and tEjas (mystical brilliance and intellectual brilliance) (sauvarNa (gold)-swarUpAtmanE (possessor of the form of)) ......

.......... The one who possesses and adorns the form of the trimUrtIs (bhAratIsha - brahma, hari, hara = shiva) (Ref back to the shlOkam - udayE brahmarUpO&yam etc...)

.......... The one who instills in mortals, devotion and positive energy (bhakti), the one who is responsible for eternal bliss (mukti) ......
............... To you, sUrya, I bow.... (sUryamUrtE namO&stu tE).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are a few interesting points I wish to make about the metric in the song. The krithi is set to chaturashra jAti dhruva tALam, which is a 14 beat cycle, consisting of 1 4-beat laghu, 1 2-beat dhrutam (flat palm + flipped palm), and then 2 more 4-beat laghu cycles. This is the grandest tALam, in that, for a given jAti (composition of laghus), dhruva tALam is the longest. It is but natural that sUrya, the source of all energy in the solar system, deserves to be sung in praise of in this grand a tALam.

With reference to the 14 beat structure, there is a rather uncanny correlation, as regards the cases employed in the song. The song runs exclusively in the sambOdhana prathamA (case of addressing) (something like a pseudo-1st case) and the chaturthI vibhakti (), the 4th case. Could there be a correlation between cases used (1 and 4) and 14 ? A nice thought, but the conjecture fails to hold for chandram bhaja mAnasa - the krithi on chandra. Yet, nice symmetry :)

-----------
To comment on the krithi is impudence. To opine is foolishness. What is in my capacity is to enjoy, live, cherish and get consumed by the krithi and the sheer wholesome brilliance and energy radiated by the song. There's nothing in the song that can go unnoticed and unenjoyed. The immaculate rhythm and meter (For eg., the metric structure employed by Dikshitar in the faster temporal sangatIs in the krithi are, for lack of better vocabulary, majestic), the usage of Sanskrit in terms of the grammatical beauty and structural well-definedness and smoothness, are all the consequence of Dikshitar having let his lyrical and musical flamboyance flow unhindered like the rays of sUryA. Such brilliance, such precision in meter, such a choice of rAgas, such craftsmanship in weaving together the choicest of saurAShTram into an irresistible platter, all this only lets one hungry for more.

And more, shall come, in the form of chandram bhaja mAnasa in asAvEri in the next post on navagraha krithis.

Till then,

kurvannEva iha karmANi |
jijeevishEt shatam samAh ||
Evam tvayI na anyathEtO&sti |
na karma lipyatE narE ||

- (IshAvAsyOpanishat - 1.3)

|| SrI sUryanArAyaNArpaNam astu ||
|| SrI kamalAmbA jayati ||

Shreekrishna (Aug 31st 2007)

navagraha krithIs - Preface

guru: brahmA guru: viShNu: guru: dEvO mahEshwara:
guru: sAkShAt parambrahmA tasmai SrIguravE nama: ||

The navagraha krithis are amongst the most esteemed krithis in carnatic music as well as musicology. In addition, they are great pieces of sanskrit literature and encapsulate almost all of vEdic astrology. Neither these krithis, nor their composer, SrI muthuswAmi dIkShitar, need any introduction. It is just apt to say here that there are very few krithis with the grandeur of the navagraha krithis, and almost none to equal dIkShitar, save the trinity and perhaps, the dAsAs.

This and the next 9+ posts on the navagraha krithis would be a humble and sincere attempt towards achieving 3 tasks.

• Explanation and substantiation, within the domain of human limitation, of the lyrical and musical extravaganza in the navagraha krithis.
  
• Exposition into the musicology with respect to the rAga in which the krithi is composed.
• (This is more of a selfish motive.) Realization of how much mortal we all are and how incomparable my life and knowledge, if any, is, with respect to the infinitude of the divine art, as presented by dIkShitar towards the moral and spiritual uplift of the ignorant humanity.
  

I would also like to add here that what I would write about, is that which I've attempted to understand with this "human" brain of mine, by the grace of God and dIkShitar and blessings of my parents and guru, and encouragement of my good friends. By virtue of being a mere minion, what I can write is, but highly limited, with near zero cross-section, relative to what dIkShitar has desired to convey. Additions and comments will most surely necessitate, and are more than welcome.

IshAvAsyam idam sarvam
yat kim cha jagatyAm jagat |
tEna tyaktEna bhU~njIthA:
mA gRudha kasyasvit dhanam ||

IshAvAsyOpanishat (1.1)

SrIguru-preeyatAm preeyatO bhavatu
SrI kamalAmbA jayati

bAlagOpAla-bhairavi

A peaceful week at work followed by a nice, relaxing weekend. I got a lot of time to spend with music. Last week, I was exclusively in hEmavathi mood. Thanks to the infectious enthusiasm passed on by Aishu, I played and recorded a decent AlApana and was very satisfied with the outcome :). On friday night I had a really nice session with Vijay and shAmbhavi. We discussed some nice rAgams and my love for lathAngi, chakravAham and saraswathi grew to an obsession :). Especially the r R P M R S n d p phrase in saraswathi :) Total range it is. Today has been exclusively a tODi day. I started the day off by listening to koluvamaregatha sung by Sanjay sir. Also listened to some nice cine songs from the film bheemA and a low-budget film called Amirtham. IlayarAjA's compositions in this film are mind-blowing. A beautiful rIthigowLa and an enchanting naTabhairavi filled my saturday. So, musically it has been a nice week :). I am also feeling a lot confident playing the guitar these days as I am able to understand completely what I am playing..some definitely positive steps in the right direction for me :).

Coming to the krithi bAlagOpAla, it is a masterpiece which leaves me a little confused about what aspect of the krithi to praise and rave..whether the beauty of bhairavi or the brilliance of sAhityams or the divine bhakthi flowing through the krithi. I can see that dIkshithar himself is very proud about this composition because he ends the charanam with an authoritative reference to himself as "vainika gAyaka guruguha". Since I was in tODi mood today, I was singing the krithi in tODi :). It was funny but I was able to find some beautiful sanchArAs and prayOgams.

The krithi was composed by dIkshithar in praise of the Lord at the beautiful rAjagOpAlaswamy temple at mannArguDi. This puNya sthalam was visited by dIkshithar and he has further embellished the temple's beauty with 2 other masterpieces..shrI rAjagOpAla in sAveri(perhaps the best sAveri ever) and hiranmayIm lakshmIm(perhaps the best lalithA ever). mannArguDi is called "dakshina dwArakA" and is equivalent to being the birthplace of Lord Krishna. This shrine's specialty is that if you spend 1 night at this sthalam, you get the puNyam equivalent of giving a 1000 cows as dhAnam. Pulasthiyar explains this to bhIshma in the mahAbhAratha as "thathrOshya rAjanImaikAm go-sahasra balam bhavEthi". The famous OothukADu compositions are also in praise of the deity here.

Coming to the krithi itself, the pallavi is as usual a shtud one-liner in which dIkshithar captures the rAga bhAva in its entirety. The simple sAhityam fused with the rAga gives an artiste infinite scope to improvise and show all his/her skill and knowledge in just the pallavi itself.

Pallavi:
bAlagOpAla pAlayAshu mAm bhaktavatsala kripAjaladhE hari

Meaning:
"Oh Lord bAlagOpAla, protect("pAlayashu") me("mAm"). You are the ocean of compassion and mercy("kripAjaladhE") guiding all your devotees and children("bhaktavatsala")."

Just a simple start from dIkshithar as usual. I can visualize this as if he is entering the temple and just throwing himself at the feet of the Lord seeking refuge. The kalAnidhi("treasure-house of arts") surrenders to the kripAnidhi("ocean of compassion"). A wonderful " S n S G R" start and when DKP sings this in her baritone, it is just pure bliss. Moving on to the anupallavi(which happens to be yet another of my favorites :))

Anupallavi:
nIla nIrada sharIra dhIratara nIrajakara nirUpamAnandakara
lIlaya gOpa vEshadhara muraLIdhara shrIdhara dAmOdara vara

Meaning:
dIkshithar starts of the anupallavi by describing the Lord and hence bringing Him right in front of your eyes. He sings "Your body("sharIra") is in dark blue colour("nIla") just like the rain-bearing clouds("nIrada") and you are the wisest("dhIrathara"). Your lotus-like("nIraja") hands("kara") bestow("kara") infinite, supreme and incomparable("nirUpama"-formless) bliss("Ananda"). The one who incarnated for the folklore("lIlAya") disguised as("vEsha dhara") as the cowherd("gOpa"). You are the one holding the flute("muralIdhara") and the one adorned by Goddess Lakshmi("shrIdhara"). You are dAmOdara, the precious one("vara")."

The beauty of the anupallavi according to me is the tight rhythm maintained by the exquisite rhyme scheme of the sAhityams which just fuse into the rAga and the rendu kalai Adi tAlam gets its own beauty in these lines :). dIkshithar once again displays his grammatical acumen and authoriy with metaphors while describing the Lord's body and rhythmic patterns by repeatedly employing kara and dhara. The phrase "muraLIdhara shrIdhara dAmOdara vara" becomes a sort of unintended madhyamakAla sAhityam and the word "dAmOdara" is sung in such a beautiful way which signifies the meaning of the name. dAmOdara(367th name of the Lord in viShNu sahasranAma) has different explanations regarding the origin. Many believe it is a reference to mother yashOdA tying the Lord with a cord("dAma") around his waist("udara"). Spiritualists define the name's origin as "one who can be recognized only through a mind purified("udara") by means of self control("dAma"). The way the rAga bhava is brought out when dAmOdara is sung is as if someone is tying with a rope, completely signifying the action and the name. What can we say..life has to go on and hence I move on to the charanam :)

Charanam:
chAnUra mallahara nipuNathara charana nihata shakaTAsura murahara
mAnikya makuTa hAravalayadhara mathebha kumba bhEdana patutara
vANIsha architha pIthAmbaradhara vaijayanthi vanamAladhara
ANavAdi vijaya mAnasakara apahata kamsAsura nathabUsura
drONakarna duryOdhanAdhihara draupadI mAna samrakshanakara
vainika gAyaka guruguha nutha pura vairivihita gOpikA manOhara

Meaning:
dIkshithar portrays the ugra face of the Lord in the first lines of the charanam by describing him as "the one who skillfully("nipuNathara") destroyed("hara") chAnUra and malla, the one who destroyed shakaTAsura with his foot("charana nihata") and the one who killed mura." dIkshithar then describes the Lord's beauty as "the one who is adorned by("dhara") by a crown("makuTa") studded with ruby("mAnikya"), necklace("hAra") and bracelet("valaya")". Then dIkshithar beautifully brings in the divine aspect of the Lord which every devotee seeks..the Lord as the end and means to the search of the ultimate truth, by singing "He is adept in breaking open("bhedana") the pot-like head("patutara") and liberating the mind of the intoxicated("mattebha") elephant("kumbha")." Here dIkshithar is referring to the omni-pervading mAyA in this world and the Lord reveals the truth to the mind and unveils a human's delusion. dIkshithar continues "He is worshipped("archita") by Goddess Saraswathi("vANI") and he is adorned by the yellow,silky veil("pIthAmbara") and the victorious garland of forest flowers("vaijayanthi vana mAla"). He is the embodiment("AkAra") of the divine mind("mAnasa") that conquers("vijaya") arrogance("ANava") and other bad thoughts("Adi"). He is the one who destroyed("apahara") demons like kamsa and he is the one who is worshipped("nuta") by all the kings and celestials("bhUsura")."

The madhyamakAla sAhityam is a real gem which of taut sAhityams fused in a mellifluous bhairavi. It goes like "He is one who killed("hara") drona, karna and duryOdhana. He is the one who saved("samrakshana") the honour("mAna") of draupadi. He is praised and worshipped("nuta") by all the veena players("vainika"), singers("gAyaka") and Lord guruguha. He is equally disposed("vihita") with friends and foes("vairi") alike and he is the heartthrob("manOhara") of all the gOpikAs."

The charanam, filled with prAsam, bhakthi and vEdAnta, according to me could have very well been a small krithi with a samAshTi charanam on its own. I have even heard that there is a version in which there are 2 more lines in this krithi which was found by Ambi dIkshithar in the later years and added to the krithi's charanam but by then the version which is sung now had become popular. The TNS and DKP versions of this krithi once again present some interestingly different facets of the krithi and both are beautiful in their own ways.

Due to my current obsession with hEmavathi and chakravAham, I will take up two cute, kutti krithis of the nAdhajyothi in my next blog- "shrI kAnthimatIm" and "gajAnanayutham"( an enchanting vegavAhini). In less than 2 weeks I will be meeting some of my most wonderful and cherished friends in LA- aishu, vijay and SK and ofcourse we will have some nice live sessions :) :). I also will get to go to the self-realization fellowship temple :). My boss had gone there for the past 2 weeks and he has bought me this wonderful gift- A 2 volume epic called "God Talks with Arjuna" in which shrI paramahansa yOgAnandA beautifully explains the bhagavad gIta :). The next few weeks are going to be filled with bliss for body, mind and soul :) and I cant wait. Wishing you all a very happy, fun-filled week ahead too. Take care, God bless and always remember "shrI kamalAmbA jayathi"!! :)

ranganAyakam-nAyaki

I cannot believe it has been 2 years since I came to the US. I landed at Detroit on the 11th of August with all those "great american dreams" which most of the people who come to the US have. Looking back over the past 2 years, professionally and academically, it might not have been the best choice. But as a person and a human being, I have matured a lot(living alone some 10000 miles from home teaches you a lot responsibility and makes you realize what all you took for granted back home). And ofcourse, by far the biggest gains added to my life after coming to the US are carnatic music(dIkshithar in specific-food for mind and soul) and cooking(my culinary skills have reached a peak now..chief chef sai-food for the body :)). I have gained so many wonderful friends, brothers, sisters and other relationships which will stay with me forever making my life even more wonderful :).

The past week and weekend have been beautiful for me. It was a really nice week at work and I learnt a lot. So, professionally I was really happy. And then, the musical side of me also blossomed the past week. I have been singing a lot these days and I have started feeling that I am slowly getting a grip over my voice. I know what I am singing now :). The weekend has been really relaxing. On Saturday morning, I had this mega session with shambhavi. She started the day off with a beautiful kalyANi followed by thyagu's gem "nidhichAla sukhama" which has motivated me to handle thyagu's krithis from now on too. :). I gave a mini lec-dem for her discussing fine points about a lot of dIkshithar krithis. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to sing and play for 2.5 hours and ofcourse talk about the one thing I love, the genius who occupies my thoughts 24x7 these days. I am usually a quiet guy but dIkshithar is one topic on which I would love to talk till I drop dead.

I bought an acoustic guitar on ebay for 1 dollar :). It sounds pretty good and I am having a nice time seasoning it. Further, I have added another contributor to this blog, my good friend shreekrishna a.k.a, S.K. For me, he has been one of those God-sent people in my life who has opened my eyes and drowned me in this sAgara of bliss :). He is much, much more qualified than me to discuss about carnatic music in general and dIkshithar in particular. We are all going to have a wonderful time reading some of his posts. He will take up the Navagraha krithis. Thanks a lot S.K..It is an honour and pleasure to share this blogspace with you :) shrI gurubhyo namah :)

Coming to the krithi, ranganAyakam is a masterpiece composed by dIkshithar to show to the world how a beautiful rAgA like nAyaki is to be handled. Trust me, if you learn this krithi properly and sing it, you will never be confused about nAyaki and darbAr. It will be etched in your mind..period. ranganAyakam is one of the shrIranga pancharathna krithis composed by the nAdhajyothi. The other 4 krithis are "shrI ranganAthAya(danyAsi)", the famous "rangapuravihAra(brindAvana sArangA)", "shrI ranganAtham(pUrnachandrikA)" and the majestic "shrI bhArgavI(mangaLa kaishiki)"..all real gems. nAyaki is a very, very soft rAgA and dIkshithar beautifully uses it to portray the soft, delicate side of ranganAthaswAmy :). The essence of the rAga is captured in its entirety in the pallavi itself. A single line of sAhityam which melts the heart of a rasikA and makes the brain of the performing artiste to work hard :). It is a real charm to hear DKP's version of the krithi. The pallavi goes like,

Pallavi:
ranganAyakam bhAvayEham shrI ranganAyakI samEtham shrI

Meaning:
The sukha and soukhyam aspect of music resides in these lines. Just amazing and I cant describe in better words..some things are to be experienced and I leave it there. dIkshithar sings "I meditate("bhAvayEham") on the Lord ranganAyaka(the hero of shrIrangam), who is accompanied on the side("samEtham") by the auspicious ranganAyakI thAyAr."

These lines bring the beautiful shrine and the sannidhi right in front of your eyes..aahaa..pure bliss. The " R P M P R" start for the krithi is just too beautiful and when it comes to the "P D" phrase in nAyakI, you are literally in tears with scintillations all over your body. How can someone fuse a rAga mudhra so beautifully without spoiling the musical aspect or the sAhityam aspect of the krithi. He is a genius. The smooth flow of the krithi is just amazing and the feelings induced are just indescribable. The looping type of sAhityam makes the entire krithi so much more tight and beautiful. I am including SK's thoughts here. Quoting SK "RanganAyakam is one song that is indeed very very close to my heart. To me, the slow enchanting melody of nAyaki resonates with the serene waves of the kAvEri who is washing the lord's feet eternally, as he relaxes with grandeur. She is just so fortunate !!

I would like to add to the content, the aptness of the choice of nAyaki for the song. Musicologically, nAyaki is very very devoid of brighams and is a rAga which flows ever so beautifully. Reminds me of the small ripples on kAvEri again. It is that rAga which is most serene to capture the "ananthashayana" posture of SrI ranganAtha, which in my opinion, portrays the "sthithi" of the universe. There is no better rAga to capture the infinite beauty in even the sleeping posture of God, wherein he just "is", than nAyaki, which is so ethereally beautifully, again by just "being"." What a beautiful way to put it SK..amazing pa!!
Reluctantly I move on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:
angaja tAtamanantham athItham
ajendrAdhya amaranutham sathatham
utthuNga vihaNga turaNgam
kripApANgam ramAntharangam shrI

Meaning:
dIkshithar beautifully describes the Lord in the anupallavi as "He is the father("tAtam") of cupid("angaja"). He is the infinite and endless one("anantham") and the rare one who transcends everything("athItham"). He is praised("nutham") by the immortal celestials("amara") like Lord Indra("ajendra") and others. He is the eternal one("sathatham"). He has the majestic, superior bird("utthuNga vihaNga"), Garuda, for his vAhanam("turaNgam") and his eyes("pAngam") are filled with compassion and mercy("kripA"). He is the innermost, the closest to the heart("antharangam") of ramA(Goddess Lakshmi)."

The anupallavi is a treat for a musician to sing. It is slow and nAyaki just takes complete shape. The rendu kalai Adi tAlam is a charm for the percussionist to play and ofcourse it is a real treat for the rasikA..you can take my word for it :) :). In the anupallavi, dIkshithar brings in folk lore and Hindu mythology as usual. He refers to the Lord as the father of manmatha. shrI ranganAthar is supposed to be much more beautiful than manmatha and he gave cupid a part of his beauty to take this form. Time stops at "anantham" for me. An epic charanam follows,

Charanam:
pranavakAra divya vimAnam prahlAdAdi bhakthAbhimAnam
ganapathi samAna vishvaksEnam gaja turaga padAdhi senam
dinamanikulabhava rAghava-arAdhanam mAmaka videhamukthi sAdhanam
maNimaya sadhanam shashi vadhanam phanipathi shayanam padma nayanam
aganitha suguna gananatha vibhIshanam ganatharakoustubha maNi vibhUshanam
gunijanakritha vedapArAyanam guruguhamudhitha nArAyanam shrI

Meaning:
The charanam is a beautiful monster and makes the krithi a complete epic. It is filled with purAnam and yogic allusions. dIkshithar sings " The Lord's divine vehicle("divya vimAnam") is in the form of("AkAra") the pranava mantra". This pranava mantra reference is from the eleventh canto of the epic called bhAgavatham(click here for the canto) in which the Lord himself describes on how to meditate upon Lord Vishnu for moksham. The pranava mantra is a vehicle which the yogi uses to visualize and ultimately reach the Lord. dIkshithar continues "He is respected and revered("abhimAnam") by devotees("bhaktha") like prahlAdA. Similar("samAna") to how Lord Ganapathi is the primary deity for shivA, vishwaksEna is for Lord ranganAtha. His army("sEnam") consists of elephants("gaja"), horses("turagam") and infantry("padhAdhi"). He is worshipped("ArAdhanam") by Lord rAghava who is born of the solar dynasty("dinamaNi") race("kula"). He is my source and path("mAmaka") for attaining("sAdhanam") salvation("mukthi"). His abode("sadhanam") is filled with gems("maNimaya") and his face("vadhanam") is beautiful like the moon("shashi"). He rests("shayanam") in the serpent bed("phanipathi") and his eyes("nayanam") are like lotus("padma"). He is worshipped by vibhIshana, one who possesses infinite("aganitha") good("suguna") virtues("gananatha"). He is ornamented by("vibhUshanam") countless("ganathara") kausthuba gems("maNi"). His ardent devotees("gunijana") keep reciting and propagate("pArAyanam") the vedAs. He is sriman nArayaNa, the eternal delight("mudhitham") of guruguha".

It is just one amazing charanam and I am lost..I dont know where to start and what to talk about now :). The first half of the charanam is completely a yogi's perspective of the Lord and shows the yOgi in dIkshithar. The next half is an ardent bhaktha's perspective describing the Lord's beauty and compassion. dIkshithar displays his mastery of the sanksrit language yet again with usage of similar sounding words, a sort of alliteration- like, vishwaksEnam and sEnam, sAdhanam and sadhanam, etc. On the whole, it is yet another charanam packed with punch and a beautiful krithi that is sure to be added to any rasikA's top krithis list.

Since this post has already become too long, I will stop my rambling here :). I will take up the beautiful bhairavi krithi "bAlagOpAla" next. It is one of my personal favourites and I just love the krithi :). I listen to DKP's and TNS's versions of the krithi..simply mind-blowing and entirely different styles of rendering the same krithi. I guess S.K. will take up the navagraha krithis and post them as and when he finds time. Have a wonderful week ahead people. A proud dIkshithar dAsa signs off!! :) :)

soundararAjam AshrayE-brindAvana sArangA

I have been humming brindAvana sArangA for the past few days and I am in the best mood to write about this wonderful krithi. The week was pretty good at work. It was not hectic and at the same time I was not bored either. I booked tickets to go to Los Angeles for the Labor day weekend. I am extremely elated as I am finally going to meet some wonderful friends of mine at LA..Aishu, Vijay and SK..here i come :)..we will put live sessions finally!!! I am also happy that after 2 years in the US, I am at last going to the beautiful west coast. I would also get a chance to see the exquisite Self-Realization Fellowship temple at LA. Yesterday I had good sessions with Ramaa and shAmbhavi and that made my day a memorable one. And I also finally had the pleasure of hearing Aparna's voice for the first time :)..we have been chatting for more than a year now.

Now before I start off with this krithi, I would like to share some interesting correlations to recent happenings. This krithi adds a new dimension to the already multi-faceted dIkshithar..one of a scientologist :). The disastrous tsunami that hit the coramandel coast on 26th december, 2004 has a unique correlation to dIkshithar and tyAgarAjA. They both were known to have visited nAgapattinam, a temple town along the coast, which was one of the towns that was the hardest hit by the tsunami. In tyAgarAjA's beautiful krithi in sAveri, "karmamE balavanda mAyA", he sings "vAridi madi garvinchi yIvasudhaku tA rAnEnanchi ninnu" which means "when the sea spurred by arrogance, threatened to attack the land, you humbled his onslaught". And the great nAdhajyothi, in this krithi "soundararAjam AshrayE" sings "ambudhi garva nigraham" which means "suppressed the pride of the ocean". I dont know whether there was a similar tsunami in the late 1700's or early 1800's(highly unlikely), but both the geniuses have talked about the mighty ocean threatening the town..maybe there were huge cyclones. Nevertheless, an interesting info and I thought I will share it with you all :)

Going to the krithi itself, as I mentioned it was composed at the soundararAja perumAl swamy temple at nAgapattinam in the praise of Lord SoundararAja. The krithi is heavily loaded, capturing the expanse of this rAgA in its entirety. The pallavi starts off with a wonderful R M R S phrase and the rendu kalai rUpakam gets its beauty in this krithi. Every word falls beautifully in the samam and it is a real treat to sing. Please visit http://tributes.sangeethapriya.org/dikshithar to listen to DKP's and Seshu's versions of this krithi. The rich gait is fully displayed by DKP's rendition and Seshu in his usual style presents a beautiful brindAvana sArangA including the kAkaLi nishAdham in his rendition and ofcourse the beautiful kalpanaswaras at the end of his rendition are just mind blowing.(typical seshu :))..real treats for the rasika.

Pallavi:
SoundararAjam AshrayE gaja brindAvana sarAngA varadharAjam

Meaning:
DIkshithar sings "I seek the refuge("AshrayE") in Lord SoundararAja, the one who protected Lord Gajendra("gaja") in the beautiful forest("brindAvana") of elephants("sAranga") and the one who is the most superior("rAjam") in the bestowing boons("varadha")."

I would say it is one of the most toughest pallavis to sing. Though it may look like just one single line, the infinite scope with each word having so many sangathis and the single line running for 2 octaves makes the pallavi really tough to sing. It may take 3 to 5 minutes to sing all the different prayOgams for the pallavi which otherwise tends to leave a feeling of incompleteness. The repeated S N phrase at rAjam is just too good and it feels as if time stops there, giving a dhrupad effect of this hindustAni rAga :). Ofcourse, needless to say, dIkshithar once again shows his grammatical brilliance by beautifully bringing in the rAga mudhra in the very first lines of the krithi. If the pallavi doesnt give you the kicks, which I am sure is not the case, wait for the beautiful anupallavi and charanam that follow.

Anupallavi:
Nanda nandana rAjam nAgapattana rAjam
sundarI ramArAjam suravinuta mahi rAjam
mandasmitamukhAmbujam mandaradara karAmbujam
nandakaranayanAmbujam sundaratara padAmbujam

Meaning:
DIkshithar describes the Lord as "He is the dear son("nandana") of nanda and the ruler("rAjam") of nAgapattinam." He continues as "He is the husband("rAjam") of he beautiful("sundarI") Goddess Lakshmi("ramA"). He is the one worshipped("vinuta") by all the Gods("sura") and the master("rAjam") of the universe("mahi")." In the madhyamakAla sahityam (one of my favourites), dIkshithar beautifully describes the Lord as "The one whose lotus-like face("mukhAmbujam") is lit with smiles("mandhasmitha") and the one whose lotus hands("karAmbujam") holds("dhara") the mandara mountains. The one whose lotus-like eyes("nayanAmbujam") gives happiness and pleasure("nandakara") to everyone and the one who possesses beautiful("sundarathara") lotus-like feet("padAmbujam")."

An exquisite anupallavi..isnt it :). dIkshithar repeatedly uses the word rAjam in the first two lines employing the different meanings of the same word such as husband, ruler, superior etc. He then follows a similar pattern in the madhyamakAla sAhityam comparing the face, hands, eyes and feet of the Lord to the lotus flower and hence portrays Him as a very soft and delicate God :). The P M S N P M R M P phrase at "mandhasmithamukhAmbujam" is too good :). Simple and beautiful anupallavi is followed by a sweet and rich charanam.
Charanam:
shambhara vairi janakam sannuta shukha shounakam
ambarIshAdi viditham anAdhi guruguha muditham
ambujAsanAdi nutham amareshAdhi sannutam
ambudhi garva nigraham anritha jada dukhApaham
kambu vidambana kaNTam khaNDI kritha dashakaNTam
thumburunutha shrIkaNTam durithApaha vaikuNTam

Meaning:
DIkshithar as usual fills the charanam with lots of references and metaphors. He sings about the Lord as "the father("janakam") of the enemy("vairi") of Demon Sambhara ("shambhara")" referring to the incident in which Lord Krishna's son, Pradhyumna was kidnapped by SambharAsura and later vanquished by Pradhyumna himself. He continues to describe the Lord as " He is worshipped("sannuta") by shukha and sage shaunakha. He protects("viditham") devotees like ambarIsha, etc. and he epitomizes the eternal("anAdhi") joy("muditham") of guruguha. He is worshipped("nutham") by Lord Brahma, the one who is seated on the Lotus("ambujAsana") and others("Adi"). He is praised("sannutam") by Lord Indra("amaresha") and other celestials. He suppressed("nigraha") the pride("garva") of the ocean("ambudhi") and he is the destroyer("apaham") of all miseries("dukha") arising out of falsehood("anrutha") and ignorance("jada")." In the madhyamakAla sahityam, he starts of by describing His beauty as "the one whose beautiful neck("kaNTam") equals the beauty of a conch("kambu vidambana")". He portrays the fearsome face of the Lord when he says "he destroyed("kaNDikritha")the ten headed("dashakaNTam") rAvanA." dIkshithar finishes the charanam by singing "He is Lord shrIkaNTa, the one praised("nutha") by sage tumburu. He removes("apaha") all sorrows("duritha") and resides in vaikuNTam."

Ever since I was a kid, brindAvana sArangA has fascinated me. I first heard the rAgA in the form of the mahAbhAratha teleserial's title song and theme music. Ofcourse the other dIkshithar krithi "rangapuravihArA" is another masterpiece :) and when MSS sings it with all that devotion, I have seen people crying. A beautiful rAga completely portrayed and further beautified in this wonderful dIkshithar krithi. Though it is supposed to be a hindusthAni raga, dIkshithar has handled it so beautifully(especially with the extensive usage of the kaishiki nishAdham") that one doesnt get that feeling at all. He has made it completely carnatic. :). This will remain one of my all time favourite krithis forever.

I will take up the brilliant ranganAyakam composed in nAyaki next. That krithi does something to me each time I listen to it. The slow, subtle feel brought in each word of the krithi is just amazing..yet another gem from the great dIkshithar :)Thalaivar that he is..he never fails to satiate my hunger for rich, pure carnatic music :). shrI gurubyo namaha indeed!!

shrI subrahmanyAya namaste-kAmbhoji

Thanks to my friend Ramaa Ramesh, I came across this beautiful commentary of dIkshithar's shrI subrahmanyAya namaste by Sri Chandrashekhara Saraswathi, ParamAchArya of kanchi kamakoti mutt. After reading this article, I found it absolutely unnecessary and disrespectful for a mere, lowly mortal like me to even talk about this krithi. Hence, I have just copy-pasted the entire commentary below. I have heard many times that this is paramAchArya's favourite krithis and he has written a separate book for this krithi alone. Hence, obviously this is by far the best translation possible for this wonderful krithi. Afterall, what could be more fitting than a genius translating another genius's composition. This is going to be a long post and it will take you some 30 minutes to read and understand, but I request all rasikas to patiently read through the entire commentary which is complete and replete with all the information one ever needs to know about this krithi in particular and Lord Subrahmanya in general. I am sure all of you will find this a blissful and an enjoyable read, as equally as/perhaps even more than I did. Enjoy!! I will take up soundararAjam, the best ever brindAvana sArangA in my next blog post. shrI gurubhyo namaha!!

Raga: kAmbhOji / Tala: tishra Ekam

Pallavi:

shrI subrahmaNyAya namastE namastE manasija kOTi kOTi lAvaNyAya dIna sharaNyAya

Anupallavi:

bhUsurAdi samastajana pUjitAbja caraNAya vAsuki takSakAdi sarpa svarUpa dharaNAya vAsavAdi sakaladEva vanditAya varENyAya dAsajanAbhIStapradadakSatarAgragaNyAya

Charanam:

tAraka simha mukha shUra padmAsura samhartrE
tApatraya haraNanipuNa tatvOpadEsha kartrE
vIranuta guruguhAyAjHnAna dhvAnta savitrE
vijayavallI bhartrE saktyAyudha dhartrE

dhIrAya natavidhAtrE dEvarAja jAmAtrE bhUrAdibhuvanabhOktrE bhOgamOkSapradAtrE

Translated from an article in Kalki Deepavali Malar of 1990: A memorable incident when Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati, Paramacharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, gave a wonderful commentary onMuthuswami Dikshitar's kriti on Subrahmanya to Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar. The article appeared in Ariyakudi's Centenary year and Kanchi Paramacharya was in his 97th year.

In June 1961, Paramacharya was camping at Devakottai (in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu). He was in deep penance for several weeks, not talking or even communicating by gesture. One could not know if he even heard the devotees' words. One morning, some people from nearby Ariyakkudi (`Nagarathar') had their darshan of Him, and in the course of their talks, it came out that Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar, the famous carnatic musician, and known simply as `Ariyakkudi', was currently in Karaikkudi. To the surprise of every one, Paramacharya signaled to them, asking if they can bring Ariyakkudi over to meet Him. They agreed and left.

That afternoon by three o'clock, Ariyakkudi was at the camp. He was so excited and tense, as Paramacharya had asked to meet him in the midst of his 'kAshta mounam' (vow of rigorous silence) Is not Paramacharya known for His simplicity? So His accommodation at the camp was very simple. His room was on the garden side of a small house. Devotees had to have His darshan through a small window, after passing through dirt and bushes. May be that was His way of admonishing those of us who have grown used to the luxuries of life. On being informed that Ariyakkudi had arrived, Paramacharya signaled to bring him to the rear window. He came, and paid obeisance by falling full stretch at His feet. That was it. To every one's joy,

Paramacharya opened His mouth and started talking in a torrent. "Heard of your receiving the Rashtrapathi award. You would have walked on a red carpet, and been honored in a gathering of eminent persons. But me, I have made you walk on stones and bush and made you sit in a dinghy room. Why I called you is, I long have had a desire to listen to 'ShrI SubrahmanyAya namasthE' rendered perfectly. On hearing you are around, the desire has re-surfaced. Perfect rendition means both the music and the lyrics (sangItham and sAhityam). Many people disfigure the words of Sanskrit and Telugu kirtanas to the extent that we wish they never sang. The music part (swarAs), the rhythm part and the 'sAhitya chandas' - what is called 'chandam' in Tamil - would be given for most songs.

The proper way to split and combine words would also be given. The musician has to take care to synchronize the music, rhythm and chandas and split and combine the words correctly so as not to spoil the meaning. The compositions of good composers definitely allow this (padham pirichu pAdaradhu) but many musicians simply concentrate on the music and rhythm, and ignore the meaning, sometimes leading to ridiculous meanings! "Even in this song 'ShrI SubrahmanyAya namasthE', we have a line 'guruguhAyAgnAna dwAnta savithrE'. This must be split as 'guruguhAya agnAna dwAnta savithrE' i.e. 'the one who is the sun for the darkness of ignorance'. Some sing it as 'guruguhAyA.......

gnana dwAnta savitrE', ' one who is the sun for the darkness of knowledge'! "I do not know if you sing the kriti 'SankarAchAryam' (Sri Subbarama Sastri's Sankarabharanam kriti), but Veena Dhanamma's family, Semmangudi Seenu, MS sing this. There is a line 'paramAdvaita sthApana leelam' - means 'one who so easily, like a game, founded the great Advaita philosophy' - it is to be sung with stress on the 'A' of 'Advaita' (Paramacharya sings this line) to give the intended meaning. If we really cared, we can, even without proper training, sing with proper meaning. Those I mentioned above also sing properly. But those who do not care, stretch the 'paramAAAA' and then sing 'dwaita sthApana leelam', converting the Advaita Acharya to Dwaita Acharya! (laughs heartily for a long time) "No doubt, in music, there is no Dvaita - Advaita difference. Only music is important. And music makes the mind of the singer into unison with the song - the protagonist of the song. That is why, 'ShrI SubrahmanyAya namasthE' is attached to you - a Vaishnavite - or you are attached to it! I have heard you sing that song. I do not have to say anything about your musical ability; and the sahitya part too you do correctly. Which is why I have called you here.

"In my dharbar there is only stones and bushes. There is no accompaniment, not even sruti. But please do sing that kriti for me, in spite of all these." When Paramacharya stopped his torrent, Ariyakkudi was in tears. He prostrated once again, and said "there is no other prestige for me than to be asked by 'periyavA' to sing, and singing for periyavA. I have no words to express the magnanimity of PeriyavA, considering me as somebody and giving me this chance. PeriyavA's grace has to fill in for the sruti and accompaniment and enable me to sing to the level I am expected to", and readied himself to begin the song.

Paramacharya asked "the raga of this kriti is said to be Kambodhi, but the name given in books is Kambhoji, right?" When Ariyakkudi said yes, Paramacharya continued, "Many of us know Kambhojam is Cambodia (in S E Asia), and that Bharat culture had taken deep roots there. If we inferred that Kambhoji is a raga 'imported' from that place, researchers like Sambamurthy (the late Proof P Sambamurthy) disagree. Cambodians might have imported many things from us, but not we, far advanced in civilization, from them; definitely not in music, where we were much advanced whereas they had mostly folk music. Then why the name 'Kambhoji'? "I have a thought here - there is another place called 'Kambhojam along India's northern border. Kalidasa, no ordinary poet and quite knowledgeable too, tells Yasha to go this way and that in his 'mEgha SandEsam' - good enough to plot a map! In his Raghuvamsam, describing Raghu's invasions and victories, he has mentioned one 'Kambhojam', beyond the Indus and along the Himalayas. From this, we deduce that, within the extended India (akand Bharat), there was one Kambhojam near the Hindukush mountains. May be our Kambodhi raga was from this place? "Many ragas are named after places, right? Sourashtram, Navarasa kannada, even Kannada, Sindhu Bhairavi, Yamuna Kalyani, like this Kambodhi might have come from Kambhojam region. Researchers say ragas like Mohanam and Kambhji have been around in most civilizations from time immemorial. Later, may be the raga was given the name of the place that 'polished' it well. Kedaram is a place in the Himalayas - you know Kedarnath. Gowla - Gowda region - Bengal. We have ragas in both names, and even Kedaragowla. But all three ragas have been in South Indian music - how? May be the names came from musicans who 'specialized' in these ragas and came from those regions? People in general, musicians in particular, are referred to with their native places. For instance Ariyakkudi means you! From this, can we say that some these rags - Kedaram, Gowla, Kannada, Kambhoji etc. - were popularized by musicians from these regions? "Are you interested in research into ancient music?" Ariyakkudi replied "Not much".

"But you have set Tiruppavai to tune! But unlike for Devaram songs, tunes have not been specified for Tiruppavai songs, and those whose who recited, did not use a tune. Since only Brahmins have been reciting Divyaprabhandham songs, they have recited only with a kind of up-down delivery (Ethal-Irakkal prAsam). You set the tune for Tiruppavai according to your manodharma (imagination)?" "To the best of my little ability" "But it has become the standard and accepted and sung by other vidwans as well! It seems our ancient ragas have been preserved in their original form (roopam) only in the Devaram songs. Just as the Vedas have been preserved to a note by the Vaidikas through generations, the Odhuvamurthis have preserved Devaram songs - not just the lyrics, but the tunes too. What was a service to devotion, has also been a service to music! The ragas Sankarabharanam, Neelambari, Bhairavi etc. have all been identified as different 'pann's. This list includes Sowrashtra, Kedaragowla, Kambodhi also. Kambodhi used to be called 'ThakkEsi' or something like that. Kambodhi is not a mela raga?" "No. Harikambhoji is the mela raga; Kambhoji is its janya raga" "But Kambodhi is more famous! Just like the son being more famous than the father. Some other janya ragas too are like this?" "Yes, Bhairavi is a janya raga, derived from Natabhairavi" "OK, you sing. I have been wasting time in useless chat preventing you from doing what you came for!" Ariyakkudi rendered the song "ShrI subrahmanyAya namasthE" - a rare musical feast. Even without sruti or accompaniments, it still was wholesome. Paramacharya listened to the song with full concentration, eyes closed. Then, "Only because you sang alone (no sruti/accompanists) the song came out with all its beauty. And the words were crystal clear. I say 'thrupthOsmi' (Totally satisfied). Please sing once more - you know why? I will give you the meaning line by line, you stop after every line. Not that you do not know; but let me have the pleasure of dissolving my mind in Sri Dikshitar's lyrical beauty for some more time! More over, others here can also learn the meaning and beauty behind the creations of geniuses." Ariyakkudi sang one more, this time line-by-line. Presented below is Paramacharya 's commentary, plus appropriate pieces from some of his other lectures.

'shrI subrahmaNyAya namastE namastE' Obeisance to Lord Subrahmanya - every one knows. Starts auspiciously with ShrI and has a double namasthE. If you say something more than once, you have said it infinite number of times (not just 100, as Rajnikant thinks! - ananth). We have seen 'pOttri pOttri' and 'Jaya Jaya Sankara', and BrahmasUtram's every phrase ends with twice- repeated words.

'namasthE namasthE'. 'thE' - to you; 'nama:' - obeisance. 'nama:thE' becomes 'namasthE'. The whole kriti goes in the fourth person(?) (nAlam vEtrumai). Obeisances to you, SubrahmanyA, infinite number of obeisances. Who is Subrahmanya? True, learned Brahmanya. We generally take 'brahmA' to mean the true, absolute form of the Lord (paramAtma svarUpam), but there is another meaning - Vedas. That is why, Upanayanam, the ceremony to begin Veda lessons to a child, is called 'BrahmOpadEsam'; by learning Vedas, the child becomes 'BrahmachAri'. Likewise 'Brahmayagnam'. Brahmins are a set that recite the Vedas. Subrahmanya is the symbol of the Divine, the end point, the God of Vedas, and the special God of the Brahmins.

What is the special feature of Veda recitals? Worship of agni, fire.And Subrahmanya is the God who is in 'agni swarUp'. He was created by the six sparks of fire (nEtragni) from the (third) eye of Shiva. Hence He is the Deva of Vedas, and the God of Brahmins, whose sole duty is to recite and teach Vedas. Adisankara in his 'Subrahmanya Bhujangam' says 'mahIdEva dEvam, mahAvEda bhAvam, mahAdEvabAlam'. 'mahIdEva' are Brahmins; 'mahIdEva dEvam' is God of Brahmins. In Thirumurugattruppadai, one of the oldest Tamil scriptures, this point is underlined. Nakkeerar, the author, stating that each of the six faces of Shanmukha grants devotees' wishes in one different way, says 'oru mugam manthra vidhiyin marapuli vazhA anthanar vELviyOrkkummE' And when describing Thiruveragam (Swamimalai), he says learned and pious Brahmins perform rituals with fire towards Subrahmanya. Brahmins who participate in 'yagna karmA' are called 'rithvik'. Of the sixteen types of rithviks, one is named 'Subrahmanya'. From all these, it is evident that Subrahmanya is the God of Vedas.

Muthuswami Dikshitar has much connection with Subrahmanya. He has been to, and sung in praise of, many kshetras and Gods, just as Adisankara has. But in his devotion (upAsanA), he has been known to be a 'dEvi upAsakA' - he even breathed his last singing 'mIna lOchani pAcha espressoni' on Meenakshi. But his birth, beginning of his composing career, were are all associated with Subrahmanya.

His very name, Muthuswami, is that of Muthukumaraswami, the deity at Vaidheeswaran koil. His father, Ramaswami Dikshitar - scholar, musician and Srividya devotee - was without an issue till he was forty. He visited Vaidheeswaran koil with his wife and fasted for 45 days (one mandalam). His wife then had a dream as if someone was tying coconut, fruits and other 'mangalavastu' on her womb. And soon she became pregnant. The couple understood that Subrahmanya had granted their wish and that the dream meant this. And a boy was born on 'krithikai' day in the month of Phalguni or Panguni. That boy was Muthuswami. He grew up, had his musical training, Srividya Abhyasam (training in the worship of Devi) and gurukula vAsam at Kashi (Benares). His guru at Kashi, before dying, told Muthuswami, "Go back to the south. First visit Tiruttani. Subrahmanya will show you the way to your life's purpose". So Muthuswami went to Tiruttani. He had his bath in the temple tank and was climbing the hillock, when an elderly Brahmin gentleman called him by name, and told him to open his mouth. When Muthuswami did so, he dropped a piece of sugar candy (karkandu) in his mouth and disappeared. Muthuswami understood who it was that came, and his life's mission began that moment - his musical creativity had been woken up. On the spot, he sang eight kritis. (in eight different 'vEttrumai's) Also note that his 'mudra' is 'guruguhA', a name of Subrahmanya. Guha resides deep inside a cave - guhai; and guruguha resides in the deep cave of the human heart of Muthuswami Dikshitar.

Dikshitar's life on earth ended on a Deepavali day. The sixth day from Deepavali is 'skanda shashti'. Some people fast these six days, beginning on Deepavali day and ending it on the shashti day. So in his death too we see the Subrahmanya association.

Dikshitar went from place to place and sung in praise of the God there, be it Ganesha, Vishnu, Devi, Shiva. And in each kriti, there would be some internal evidence about the place where it was composed - the name of the God, some historical fact, or manthra rahasyam. Our 'ShrI SubrahmanyAya namasthE' has no such internal evidence - we do not know where it was composed. May be he unified the deities of all Subrahmanya temples in this one kriti, so sparkling is it. So he has started with innumerable obeisances; then 'manasija kOTi kOTi lAvaNyAya' Like two 'namasthE's, two koti's. koti-koti is koti (one crore) multiplied by crore. manasija koti koti - crore*crore manmadhA's.

manasijan=manmadhan; he is born out of mind - manas. Love - kAmA - comes from the mind, right? There is a puranic story too - Manmadhan is the son of Mahavishnu. But very strangely, he was not born to Mahalakshmi out of Vishnu's love, but from Vishnu's mind directly - the moment Vishnu thought of him! And Vishnu's other son, Brahma, was born directly too, from Vishnu's navel (nAbhi). See, Vishnu has this funny habit of doing strange things always! Manmadhan is famous for his good looks. So 'manasija kOti kOti lAvanyAya' is some one who is crore*crore times as beautiful as Manmadha.

But is this not funny?! I mean, Subrahmanya being 'manasija kOti kOti lAvanyAya'. Who is Subrahmanya? He is the son of Shiva, who reduced Manmadha to ashes with a fire of fury from His eye. And from that same nEtragni, is born Subrahmanya! But He was born to gnAna (wisdom), not kAma.

'Kumar' is a special name for Him. Just as in the South 'pillai' (son) means pillaiyar (Ganesha), Kumar in the North refers to the younger son, Subrahmanya. In the South also, we say 'kumaran' or 'kumAraswAmy'. Nowadays, half of the boys are named 'Kumar'! The term 'Kumar' is particularly applied to Subrahmanya. In Valmiki Ramayana, Vishwamitra tells the story of Subrahmanya to Rama and Lakshmana and calls it 'KumAra Sambhavam'. And Kalidasa has named his own epic after this phrase used by the great sage Valmiki. Another interpretation for the word 'Kumar'. Manmadhan is also called 'mAran'; and 'kumAran' some one who puts mAra to shame - is more beautiful than him. 'kutsitha-mara:' - 'kumAra:'. So 'kumAra' by itself means 'manasija kOti kOti lAvanyAya'! The Tamil people just love Him. They have given Him a beautiful name - 'Murugan' - Murugu=beauty. After kAmA was burnt to ashes, Devi took over his role, donning his sugarcane bow and floral arrows - 'kamEshwari' - this led to the birth of Subrahmanya. And how else would be but 'lavaNyA'? - Devi Herself is called 'sundari - thripurasundari'. 'dhIna sharaNyAya' Is mere beauty enough? What we want is 'aruL' - grace. Subrahmanya is the refuge of we, the sufferers. 'dhIna' - those that are poor, humble, suffering, scared. 'dhIna sharaNyAya - lAvaNyAya - SubrahmaNyAya' - similar sounding - edhugai or mOnai or something in Tamil - it is edhugai only but edhugai on the ending of the words rather than on the beginning. 'yAya' - andhya prAsam - 'to Him' (fourth vEttrumai) It is usual to go back to the first line with a fast 'manasija kOti kOti', after beginning in slow tempo - chowkha kAlam or vilamba kAlam. Vilambham - a nice Sanskrit word. I prefer this word to 'chowkam'. Slow tempo, giving scope to the musician to explore the raga's various nuances, is a hallmark of Dikshitar's kritis. And the majestic Sanskrit language helps too, creating the impression of a grand elephant procession.

But aren't we all always in a hurry? By the mind and by the body? So we find such slow tempo boring after some time. And for this, Dikshitar provides relief with some fast movements at the end of most phrases. Madhyama kAlam comes as a relief to chowkha kAlam, as a piece of clove in a sweet-sweet laddu! In this kriti, both the pallavi and charanam have madhyama kAla endings. But in his most other kritis, we find madhya kAla phrases only at the end of anupallavi and charanam. Why? Subrahmanya is a vibrant young man (endrum iLaiyAi), so wants to go running right from the word 'go'! 'bhUSurAdhi samasthajana pUjithAbja sharaNAya' - one whose lotus feet are worshipped by Brahmins and other people (add namasthE of the pallavi to this) 'bhUsurAdhi' - Brahmins and ...others. 'bhUsurA' - Brahmins. 'bhU' is earth, surA are devAs. And Brahmins are the 'earthly DevAs' as they, by their chanting and rituals, bring the blessings of the Devas to earth.

We have already seen that Subrahmanya is the God of Brahmins (mahIdeEva is same as bhUsura). But is He the God of Brahmins only? Not so; He is the God of all people. Of his two wives, one is the daughter of Indra, the king of Devas, and the other, daughter of a tribal chieftain (suramagal and kuramagal). Some might say, He is a Tamil God (Dravidaswamy), and others that He is the God of Brahmins only - His name itself is testimony. But the truth is otherwise. There is no doubt that He is the God of all people. And Dikshitar takes this line only. We should all unite in the name of God, not fight one another. 'pUjithAbja sharaNAya' - to the worshipped Lotus Feet. Abja is lotus; 'Ab' is water and that which grows in water is abjam. We also call it jalajam, ambujam, sarojam, neerajam (jala, ambu... are all other names for water). Also vanajam - vana is forest. But does lotus grow in forest? But vana has another meaning - water. 'Kam' is also water - kamjam is lotus (eg. kamjalOchanE, kamjadhalAya dAkshi).

vArijam, too, is lotus. OK, all I have tried to say is 'abjam' is lotus! 'vASuki thakShakAdhi sarpa swarUpa dharanAya' - one who takes the form of snakes like Vasuki and Thaksha.

Literally 'sarpa' means 'kundalini' - the Energy of Life. Snake has a wriggled, spiral-like form, so does our kundalini, in normal circumstances. But if we perform concentrated penance, it wakes up in full glory, and then merges with the Ultimate.

Subrahmanya's weapon is the spear - 'vEl', also known as Shakti Ayudham. No other deity's weapon is as much identified with that deity, as vEl is with Subrahmanya. And His connection with snakes is apparent in more instances - if we see a snake in our dreams, elders tell us to perform Subrahmanya pooja for preethi. And Shashti Pooja to Subrahmanya is also done some times as Nagarjuna Pooja, in particular for Puthrabhagyam. Subrahmanya was born at the request of Devas who wanted a powerful commander-in-chief; and we pray to Him for puthrabhagyam! In Andhra and Karnataka, they do not have Subrahmanya idols in temples; rather, He is worshipped in snake form. You know a place called Subrahmanya in Karnataka - there also it is this way. Telugus fondly say 'subbarAyudu' meaning Subrahmanya as well as snake. Let us see if Adisankara has brought out this Subrahmanya-snake connection. (laughs) The title itself is 'Bhujangam'! Snake does not have legs, and uses its whole body as hands - bhujam, and moves about in a wavy rhythm. The 'chandas' similar to a snake's movement is called 'bhujanga prayAdham'. Acharya has sung bhujangams on many Gods, but when we simply think of bhujangam, what comes to our mind immediately is 'Subrahmanya Bhujangam'. On other Gods, He has also composed ashtakam, pancharatnam etc, but on Subrahmanya, only this Subrahmanya Bhujangam - may be to prove that Subrahmanya is Himself the bhujangam.

Dikshitar mentions the famous snakes Vasuki and Taksha. Shashti Pooja is performed by worshipping seven great snakes. Vasuki is the snake who adorns the role of Nagaraja in Nagalokam. And when the Sea of Milk (pArkadal) was churned with Manthragiri, this Vasuki snake was used to tie that hillock. Funny, isn't it, a poisonous snake helping to extract nectar! Again, what is Subrahmanya's vehicle (vAhanA)? peacock, dire enemy of the snakes! Goes to show that, in His presence, all enmity vanishes. So too, elephants are mortally scared of lions - a 'simha swapna' terrorizes an elephant. But we have an elephant sitting on a lion! Heramba, one of the many forms of Ganesha, has a lion as His vAhanA. Or take Vishnu - His bed is a snake (Adishesha) and his vAhanA, Garuda, enemy of snakes! We are told the story that a snake eats the moon during lunar eclipse, but we have a snake and a moon adorning Shiva's head! Strange, again, are the Parvati-Shiva couple. Will a lion leave a bull go? But we have Shiva on the Rishaba (bull) and Devi on Simha (lion)! The philosophy behind all these is, all beings lose their tendency to hate (dwEsha bhAvam) at the Lord's sannidhi.

OK, let us continue our 'vAsuki takshakAdhi' - some say Vasuki is the same as Adishesha; some disagree. Anyhow, Adishesha and Subrahmanya are definitely connected. Venkataramanaswamy at Tirupati has much connection with Subrahmanya. The hillock Tirupati-Tirumala is also called Seshagiri, Seshachalam, Seshasailam. 'sarpa swarUpa dhara' Subrahmanya is Himself is the Tirupati hill. Or take Ardhanarishwara at Tiruchengode. Subrahmanya is also worshipped here, as He made the (united) couple into a trio - Somaskanda. This Tiruchengode is also called Nagachalam and Nagagiri, meaning the same as Seshachalam. 'vAsavAdhi sakala dEva vandhithAya' Now he talks about the real 'suras', not earthly suras. 'bhUsurAdhi' was in the lower octave and 'vAsavAdhi' in the upper octave. The meaning is 'One who is worshipped by Vasava and other Devas'. Vasava is Indra. Of the Devas, there is one class called Ashtavasus. They are Indra's followers (parivAram), so Vasava is Indra. When he himself worships, all other Devas have to follow suit (yathA rAjA thathA prajA); moreover, when Surapadma drove off the Devas and ascended Indra's throne, Subrahmanya was the one who saved them. So they have much reason to worship Subrahmanya. Not just worshipping - Indra gave off his daughter Devasena in marriage to Subrahmanya. So Deva-senapathi became Devasena-pathi! Dikshitar also points this out later in the kriti (dEvarAja jAmatrE) Reminds me - Devasena is said to be Indra's daughter, and Valli, the daughter of Nambirajan, tribal king (suramagal, kuramagal) but in fact, both of them are Vishnu's daughters but for some reasons grew up with Indra and Nambirajan.

Who is Vishnu? Devi's brother, Subrahmanya's uncle. So Subrahmanya has married his uncle's daughters perfectly in accordance with custom. Arunagirinathar says as many times 'marugOnE' (nephew/son-in- law) as he says 'murugOnE'. Even though Ganesha too is Vishnu's nephew, 'mAl marugOn' - Vishnu's nephew - denotes Subrahmanya only.

Another example of unity-in-diversity - Vishnu, whose son Manmadha died in the netragni, has given His daughters in marriage to Subrahmanya - born out of the same netragni. Further, we will see that Saiva-Vaishnava difference also vanishes, and it would not be strange that this kriti is a Vaishnavite's masterpiece. Is it not quite expected, as Subrahmanya is the son-in- law of Vishnu? Would you not love and respect your son-in-law? One step further - Devi Herself is Vishnu's sister. Who gives off Meenakshi in marriage to Sundareshwara (thArai vArthu kodukkaradhu)? A world famous sculpture at Madurai tells us who... First Dikshitar said samasthajana pUjithAya, then sakaladEva vandhithAya. Among Devas too, there are several sects - Vasus, Rudhras, Adithyas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, etc. And finally, 'varENyAya' - means THE BEST. This appears in Gayathri Mantra. To bring out the superlative nature, Dikshitar has used this word from Gayathri, which is but the essence of the Vedas. And 'varENyAya' continues the 'andhya prAsam' of SubrahmanyAya-lAvaNyAya-charaNyAya, and as it comes at the height of the anupallavi, he has used the word from the essence of the Vedas.

The beginnings of each line, too, have 'edhugai prAsam' - 'shrI Su', 'bhUsu', 'vAsa', 'dhAsa'. This is the speciality of great composers - their rachana visesham (not 'rasana' - appreciation). rachanA means lyrical beauty - the unified effect of sound and meaning, each falling into its place at ease. 'Composed', 'composure' itself means peace, ease. (In Tamil, we say quite beautifully, 'sollamaidhi, porulamaidhi'). We can deduce a composer's rasanA from his rachanA. `dAsajanAbhISta-prada-dakSatarA gra-gaNyAya' Having certified His stature with a superlative, Dikshitar mounts more superlatives one after the other to bring out His kindness to devotees. 'dhAsajana apIshta pradha' - one who fulfills his devotees' wishes. Dikshitar could have stopped here, but was not quite satisfied! After `pradha', we have `dhaksha', `thara', `agra' - a stream of superlatives.

'apIshta pradha dhaksha' is one who is very good at fulfilling his devotees' wishes. Stop here? No. 'dhaksha thara' - the best among those who are good at fulfilling their devotees' wishes. 'thara' - better in comparison. (in Tamil we say 'tharamAnadhu'). Yes, there may be many such capable Gods (and their supporters may come fighting) so let us avoid controversy here. After all, God and music and kritis are but for unity and peace. So let Subrahmanya be the #1 among all such Gods, thought Dikshitar. So he says 'agragaNyAya' - another superlative! 'agra' - first place; 'gaNyAya' - held in or esteemed to be in. 'thAraka simhamukha sUrapadmAsura samharthrE' - one who vanquished Tharaka, Simhamukha and Soorapadma (add 'namasthE' here) Pallavi and anupallavi had all the words in the fourth person (nAlAm vEttrumai in Tamil). Now charanam has words ending in 'ru' - a weak, half 'u' (kutrialugaram in Tamil). 'Samharthru - upadEsakarthru - savithru' - in 4th person these do not become 'yAya' but take the 'E' sound - 'harthrE - karthrE'. Tharaka, Simhamukha and Soorapadma are brothers. Tharaka is elephant- faced, Simhamukha obviously lion-faced, and Soorapadma has an ugly rAkshasa face. In the South, Soorapadma is the king of Asuras, and the chief villain. We even celebrate Soorasamharam. But in the north, Tharaka takes this place. Kalidasa in his 'Kumarasambhavam' says that Subrahmanya was born for the purpose of vanquishing Tharakasura. And in Subrahmanya Bhujangam, Adisankara mentions all three. Dikshitar follows the 'southern line'.

OK; Dikshitar has spoken of His beauty (kOti kOti manasija lAvaNyAya), kindness (dhInacharanyAya, apIshtavarapradhAkshagrahaNyAya) and valour; what next? What signifies Dikshitar's kritis? What is his mudhra? 'Guruguha'.

This is Subrahmanya's greatest quality. He is the one who teaches us the path to the Ultimate. He even teaches His father, Shiva ('guruvAi ararkkum upadEsam vaiththa' - Arunagiri) - He is 'thagappan swAmi - swAminAthaswAmi - 'gnAnapandithaswAmi'.

'thApa-thrya harana nipuna thathvOpadEsa karthrE' Jeevatma - human soul - has three kinds of desires - thApathryam. They are Aadhyatmikam, Aadhiboudhikam, Aaadhidhaivikam. And all three lead to suffering; the first to suffering within our soul. The second is brought about by other (human/animal) beings. The last, Aadhi dhaivikam, literally means God's work, but here stands to mean our fate - vidhi. Subrahmanya teaches us how to win over them - he is an expert - nipunA - at such teaching.

'vIranutha' Wisdom and valour - we ignorantly that they are different. But the truly wise man - gnAni - can take any form, but still be a gnAni inside. Krishna tells Arjuna to take his bow and shoot (gAntIpathai edudA ambai thodudA) in the midst of Gita which is essentially a Gnanopadesham. Subrahmanya is a 'gnAnavIra' - the wise warrior, c-in- c of the devasena and worshipped by all brave and wise men.

Hence 'vIranutha'. 'nutha' - one who is worshipped. One more interpretation - He has nine deputies whose names all start with 'vIra' - vIrabAhu, vIrakEsari, vIramahEndra etc. So also He is 'vIranutha'. 'guruguhAya' After valour, again gnAna! Subrahmanya's abodes are mostly hillocks or caves - guhai ('kurinjikkadavul' in Tamil). Philosophically, He is the Divine Truth residing deep in the cave that is the human heart.

And when He comes out and preaches, he is 'guruguhA'. This is also Dikshitar's mudhra, having flown spontaneously out of his heart into his words. 'agnAna dwAntha savithrE' 'dwAntham' - darkness; Savitha - Sun. Just as Sun drives out the darkness, He drives out the darkness of ignorance. The use of the word 'savithA' for Sun is significant here. Sun - Surya - has several other names - Aadithya, BhUsha, Bhaskara, Bhanu, Marthanda, Dinamani (more to be found in Aadhithya Hrdayam). Of these, the name savithA appears in Gayathri Manthra. Roughly translating, in Gayathri, we pray that the brilliant wisdom light of the Ultimate, likened to the glow of the Sun, should awaken our inner wisdom and make it glow, too. Speciality of the name is, Savitha does not talk of the destructive-of-darkness nature of the Sun, but of the creative nature. Savitha - literally one who creates. (prasavam - giving birth - same root here). Sun not only destroys darkness, dirt, insects etc, but also induces rain, growth of vegetation, our good health and even our mental growth. Similarly, Subrahmanya vanquishes darkness (of the mind), but also fills in this void space with wisdom. The use of the word Savitha has come out beautifully. (ThirumurugAtruppadai starts with a similar simile of dawn) I think the whole point of this kriti is to show Subrahmanya to be the essence of Gayathri, which is itself the essence of Vedas. The kriti starts with Brahmanyaya; at the high point of the anupallavi we have 'varENyAya' and the high point of charanam has 'savithru'. The kriti touches its peak at this point. And then, 'vijayavallI barthrE' This is fun! the real fun with real gnAni is he can be anything outside; brave, beautiful, kind, anything. He is SUrasamhAramUrthi, the valiant victor at Tiruchendur; a sanyAsi at Palani; a Brahmachari boy at Swamimalai; Devasena's and Valli's husband at Tirupparankundram and Tiruttani. Vijayavalli is none but Valli. (Devasena is Jayanthi). So He has Jaya and Vijaya as His consorts! Valli Kalyanam is a jolly good anecdote. But the philosophy there? He frees the mind, caught between IndriyAs (the tribal folk in the story) and merges it with Himself. Goes also to show how much of a 'dhInacharanyA' He is - He, the Son of Universe's first couple, took on many different roles and what not, just to please the deep, innocent love of a tribal girl. 'sakthyAyudha dhartrE' - one who wears the powerful spear - ShaktivEl. 'dhIrAya' We generally take this to mean strength, fearlessness; of course that is correct. But another meaning is sharp intellect. And this 'dhI' sound is found in Gayathri too! Gayathri's use of 'dhI' refers to our intellect, which, pray, be induced by the Ultimate Light (paramAthma thEjas). The root meaning of the word 'gAyathri' is 'that which protects/elevates the one who sings it'. Sing? The recital of Vedas, in up-down fashion, is itself like a song. And Dikshitar probably made this kriti as a kind of musical Gayathri, and hence borrows many words and ideas from Gayathri Mantra.

Which is the first and basic swara of the saptaswara? Shadjam. The cooing of peacock is likened to Shadjam, and peacock reminds us of what? Him! (Arunagiri says 'maragadha mayUra perumAl kAN'). If He is the Lord of Shadjam, the base note, is He not the Lord of music too? And must He not have a Sangeetha Gayathri on him? Which is why, He created Dikshitar, started him off with a sugar candy and got him to sing this kriti! 'natha vidhAtrE' Vidhatha is Brahma. natha here is the same as nutha in vIranutha - means one who is worshipped. We all know the story. Subrahmanya asked Brahma for the meaning of Pranava Mantra; Brahma could not give a satisfactory answer. And our young boy imprisoned Brahma and took over his duty of Creation. In some temples, we can see Subrahmanya donning the japamAla and kamandalu of Brahma (eg. Kanchi Kumarakkottam). Shiva came to Brahma's rescue, "OK my son, Brahma does not know; you tell me the answer, if you know". Pat came the reply, "I can not be talked to like this; if you want the answer, ask like a student does, not like a teacher". Even great people take pleasure in losing to their offspring! Shiva went down to Subrahmanya and got 'PranavOpadEsha'. A lesson to all of us - in pursuit of knowledge, there is no shame. Having now realized Subrahmanya's greatness, Brahma worshipped Him and was released back to his job. 'dEvaraja jAmathrE' - son-in-law of Indra, we have already seen this. 'bhUrAdhi bhuvana bhOktrE' 'bhUrAdhi' - earth and other; bhuvana - worlds. It is customary to classify the infinite number of worlds into 14, of which seven are below, and further summarizing as 'bhUr-bhuva-suvar' ie lower, middle and upper worlds. Recognize these? Gayathri again! We add a 'Om' to it and recite as part of many our rituals. The idea is that the fruits of our rituals should reach all of the people in all of these worlds. 'bOkthA' means ruled by, enjoyed by. Are not the happenings- on in all these worlds at and for His pleasure? (leelAnubhavam) Finally, 'bhOga mOksha pradhAtrE' As seen, He is the one who rules over and enjoys all good things in this world, while giving us the illusion that we too enjoy various pleasures like wealth, position and fame. 'dhAthA' - one who gives. 'pradhAthA' - expert at giving. In the fourth person, it becomes 'pradhAtrE'. As long as this illusion - drama - is on, it is fine for us to enjoy, and for Him to give. But if we delude ourselves into thinking that this drama is the real thing, we are fools. Once the drama is over, should we not go back to our real selves? This is the state when the mind (manas), the drama stage, dies and the Atman alone exists. He gives us this state too - as 'agnAna dwAnta savithA', 'mOksha pradhAthA'.

If we seek moksha from Dhanalakshmi, or from Santhanalakshmi, we are not going to get it. And Dakshinamurthi would not give us wealth or offspring, either. Subrahmanya gives us both bhogam and moksham. There is nothing more to say after this sentence, and the kriti ends.

Paramacharya further tells Ariyakkudi and the gathering at large, "I'm happy to see that you, coming from a good guru-sishya parampara, are preserving good music. You must also bring up good disciples and keep the tradition going. A Brahmin, having learnt Veda, has a compulsory duty to teach atleast one more person (athyApanam). This can apply to other sastras and arts too.

"One more point about musicians. You should sing the Telugu and Sanskrit kirtanas fully aware of their meaning. It is not fair to say that Tamil songs alone are enough. Great composers in this country have created hundreds of Telugu and Sanskrit songs of much musical and lyrical beauty. If we ignore them, the loss is ours. Do not defend by saying, 'I do not understand them!' - if only we desire, do we not spend time and energy on all sorts of useless things? If musicians dedicate themselves to pure music and proper rendition of words without losing the 'osandha artha visEsham', language can not be a barrier. Now that you are #1 in the music world, do your best towards this. May Subrahmanya's Grace be with you in this endeavor."

Ariyakkudi was totally moved. He took leave saying," This has been the best day in my life".And Paramacharya went back to his penance the next moment.