abhayAmbAyAm-sahAnA

The past weekend, I felt really homesick after a long time. I had some random dreams of lying in my mother's lap and listening to anna sing a beautifully sahAnA ;(..how I long for those days. Eating good food, listening to good music, enjoying the comforts of being at home and being showered with love..what more could a human being ask for :(. Anyway, on a more cheerful note, the music session we had yesterday was pure bliss. The star of the day was our gumbal's baby, shAmbhavi, the cute kid with an amazing voice and a heart filled with warmth :). Her renditions of mAnji and sucharitra have completely consumed me since yesterday..just amazing..thanks a lot GB!!! >:D<. In this post, I will continue to explore the majestic abhayAmbA vibhakthi krithis by taking up "abhayAmbAyam" in sahAnA set to tripuTa tALam composed entirely in the sapthami vibhakthi (seventh/locative case) by the great nAdhajyOthi. With the masterpiece kEdAram krithi I discussed in the previous post, I guess dIkshithar reached the pinnacle of his meditative trance and decided that he will keep the last three of the abhyAmbA krithis relatively simple. This beautiful krithi in sahAnA (perhaps my most favourite rAga ever) is a short samASTi charaNam (the only one in this vibhakthi series) in which dIkshithar still manages to grasp the rAga by the throat and bring it to life :) . dIkshithar addresses the Goddess in various forms in this krithi thereby giving all of us a chance to sing the name of the Goddess and thereby gain some puNyam. The antyAkshara prAsam adds to the grace and completely mesmerizes the rasika. Moving on to the krithi, Pallavi:
abhayAmbAyAM bhaktiM karomi
saccidAnandarUpAyAM svasvarUpAyAM shrI

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings "I offer my devotion ("bhaktiM karomi") to Goddess abhayAmbA, the one who is an embodiment ("rUpAyAm") of truth/existence-consciousness/knowledge-happiness/bliss ("sat-chit-Ananda"). She is the auspicious one ("shrI") with the form of the unified, supreme self ("svasvarUpAyAM")."

The "PMG" start to the krithi straight away brings sahAnA's core essence of shringAra rasa to the forefront. He follows this up with the "PMD; N;S" phrase at "bhaktiM karomi" and hence more or less covers the entire scale of the rAga in one line :). dIkshithar brings in vEdAnta in the pallavi itself by referring to the Goddess as the unified, supreme self. Moving on to the samASTi charaNam,

charaNam:
vibhavAdivitaraNanipuNamantriNyAM
vijayakAraNanipuNataradaNDinyAm
viyadAdibhUtakiraNamAlinyAM
vikalpaharaNanipuNashUlinyAm
abhedapratipAditAyAM AdiguruguhaveditAyAM
sabheshamoditanaTanAyAM sAyujyapradacaraNAyAm

Meaning:
dIkshithar praises the Goddess in many names in the charaNam. He addresses her as "mantriNi, the one who is an expert ("nipuNa") in bestowing ("vitaraNa") many riches and powers ("vibhava")"; as "daNDini, the one who is adept ("nipuNatara") in granting the causes/skills required ("kAraNa") for victory ("vijaya")"; as "mAlini, the one who is an embodiment of the five elements ("bhutakiraNa") beginning with the sky ("viyat")" and as "shUlini, the one who is an expert ("nipuNa") in destroying ("haraNa") confusions and difficulties ("vikalpa")."

dIkshithar beautifully slips into the madhyamakAla sAhityam here. He describes the Goddess as "the one who is completely understood ("pratipAditAyAm") by a clear mind without any distinctions ("abheda") and the one realized ("vEditAyAm") by guruguha." He finishes the krithi sweetly by describing the Goddess as "the one whose dance ("naTanAyAm") delights ("modita") Lord Shiva, the Lord of the dance court ("sabEsha") and she is the one whose feet ("charaNAyAm") bestow ("prada") sAyujya mukthi on her devotees."

The subtle sahAnA is handled very delicately in this krithi by dIkshithar. The " SPM; NDPM DNS" at "abhEdapratipAditAyAm" is one of my most favourite lines in sahAna ever :). dIkshithar once again clearly emphasizes in this krithi that by surrendering to the dEvi, one will be bestowed with all siddhis and happiness and finally given salvation, thereby bringing a purpose in living. I am planning to visit the mAyUranAtha temple in this november. When I go there, this will perhaps be the first krithi I sing there :). Somehow I am not finding any flow to write today. :( I think this is by far the worst post till date on this blog. My mind is a little troubled I guess..I will surely make it up in my next post, in which I will handle "dAkshAyaNi abhayAmbikE", the amazing krithi in tODi. All of you have a wonderful weekend :). shrI gurubhyO namah: