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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Mari Vere Gati : Shyma Shastri : Ananda Bairavi

Mari Vere Gati : Shyama Shastri

 


Raga: Anandabhairavi / Tala: mishra cApu

Pallavi:
mari vEre gati evarammA
mahilO nannu brOchuTaku ||

Anupallavi:
SaraNAgata rakshaki neevEyani
sadA nammiti nammitini minAkshi ||

Charanam 1:
madhurApuri nilaya vANi ra
mA sEvita pada kamalA
madhu kaiTabha bhanjani kAtyAyini
marALa gamana nigamAnta vAsini ||

Charanam 2:
varamichchi Seeghrame brOvu Si
vAmbA idi neeku baruvA
nera dATavu neevu gadA Sankari
sarOja bhavAdi surEndra poojitE ||

Charanam 3:
Suka SyAmala ghana SyAma krishNuni
sOdari koumAri
akaLanka kalAdhari bimbAdhari
apara krupAnidhi neevE rakshimpa ||

Swara sahityam:
pada yugamu madilO talachi
kOriti vinumu mada gaja gamana
parula nutimpa gAne varamosagu
satatamu ninu madi maravakanE
madana ripu sati ninu hrudayamulO
gati yani dalachi stuti salipE
mudamu tO phalamosanguTaku dharalo
natAvana kutoohala neevEgA ||

It is not known whether Shyama Sastri has sung any song on any God or Goddess other than Devi. To my knowledge, there are no kritis even on Ganesha though typically anyone would start with a Vigneshwara kriti and only then move onto the God or Goddess of his devotion. If there is any song by Shyama sastri on Ganesha / other deities, please do let me know. I would be very grateful.

Meaning :

Pallavi:
mari vEre gati evarammA
mahilO nannu brOchuTaku ||


mari : further / again /other than
vere : no other
gati : refuge
yevaramma : who is there mother? (yevar = who in tamil; similar meaning in telugu also; amma = mother)
mahilo =ideal person
nannu = me
brochutaku= for protecting

Anupallavi:
SaraNAgata rakshaki neevEyani
sadA nammiti nammitini minAkshi ||


Sharanagata= the ones who come and worship you, who come and fall on your feet
raksaki = taking care of them; protecting them
sada = always
nammiti = trusted
nammitini = trusted (same word in a different way, repeated for emphasize)

Charanam 1:
madhurApuri nilaya vANi ra
mA sEvita pada kamalA
madhu kaiTabha bhanjani kAtyAyini
marALa gamana nigamAnta vAsini ||


madhurApurinilaya = who lives in Madurai (Meenakshi)
vani = goddess saraswati
rama = goddess lakshmi
sevita = worshipped by
padakamala = lotus feet
madu kaitabha = the demons madu and kaitaba
bhanjani = killed them
katyayani = goddess katyayani
marala = swan
gamana = gait / walk like
nigamanta vasini = who resides in the scriptures


Charanam 2:
varamichchi Seeghrame brOvu Si
vAmbA idi neeku baruvA
nera dATavu neevu gadA Sankari
sarOja bhavAdi surEndra poojitE ||

varamicci =bless me
shighrame = fast
brovu = protector
shiva amba = shiva's consort
idi = this
niku = for you
baruva = burden
neradAtavu = you will not fail
gada = isn't it? 
shankari = goddess shankari
saroja bhavadi = the one who was born in a lotus = lord brahma
surendra pujite = worshipped by indra who is the leader of all Devas

Charanam 3:
Suka SyAmala ghana SyAma krishNuni
sOdari koumAri
akaLanka kalAdhari bimbAdhari
apara krupAnidhi neevE rakshimpa ||
shuka = who is happy
shyamala = goddess shyamala
ghana shyamakrishnuni = krishna's who is dark blue in color
sodari = sister
kaumari = the one who gave birth to lord Kumara - lord muruga ; skanda
akalahnka = One with a forehead akin to an unblemished mirror
kaladhari = who supports; takes care of all the fine arts
bimbadhari = who has lips red like the bimba fruits ("kovai" fruits in tamil)
apara krpanidhi = who is full of bliss; ocean of compassion
nive = you only
raksimpa = can save me

Swara sahityam:
pada yugamu madilO talachi
kOriti vinumu mada gaja gamana
parula nutimpa gAne varamosagu
satatamu ninu madi maravakanE
madana ripu sati ninu hrudayamulO
gati yani dalachi stuti salipE
mudamu tO phalamosanguTaku dharalo
natAvana kutoohala neevEgA ||

pada yugamu = lotus feet
madilo dalachi = thinking of in the head
koriti = request
vinumu mada = please listen
gaja gamana = walk like elephant
parula = others
nutimpa = extolled
gane = ganas; group
varamosagu = shower boons
satatamu = always
ninu = about you
madi = think of
maravakane = will not forget
madana ripu = who burnt cupid
sati = consort of
gatiyani = you are the refuge
dalachi = meditate
stuti = worship
salipe = those who worship
mudamu to = my happiness
phalam = results
osagu = confers
dharalo = in the world
natavana = devotees
kutuhala = concerned about
nivega = like you 

Detailed meaning and commentary:

Pallavi :

mari vEre gati evarammA
mahilO nannu brOchuTaku ||

Oh Goddess Meenakshi, please protect me. Who else is there on this earth to protect me? You are the person who has to protect me. If you don't who will? Asks Sastri.



Anupallavi :

SaraNAgata rakshaki neevEyani
sadA nammiti nammitini minAkshi ||

When somebody comes to you and falls on your feet, asking for protection, giving up completely their ego, you take care of them. I also have absolute faith in you. I know that you are the only person who can protect me. Meenaksi, I believe in you. Meenakshi, I believe in you. Sastri repeats the "I believe you" twice over here for emphasize. "nammiti nammitini"...beautiful way of telling Meenakshi how much I need you.

Charanam : 1

madhurApuri nilaya vANi ra
mA sEvita pada kamalA
madhu kaiTabha bhanjani kAtyAyini                      
marALa gamana nigamAnta vAsini ||

You are in Madurai (This is in Tamilnadu. This is not the Matura which is typically associated with Krishna)



Both Saraswati and Lakshmi worship your lotus feet. You are the one who destroyed the demons Madhu and Kaitabha. You are the Goddess Katyayini who has the beauty and the grace of movement a swan. You are the quintessence and the gist of all the vedas and scriptures.



This is interesting. Typically, the story is that the demons "madhu and Kaitabha" were killed by Lord Vishnu. But, the story is that the demons, both Madhu and Kaitabha came to kill Brahma and steal the vedas, devas invoke the mahamaya. The mahamaya releases Vishnu from her. Vishnu fights with both the demons but is unable to kill them immediately. The demons thought they were better than Lord Vishnu and proudly offered one boon to Him. Lord Vishnu also used it and asked the demons " you should be killed by me". Trapped, the demons, granted the same with one condition : that they should be killed in a place where there was no water. Remember, it was maha pralaya time and the whole earth was surrounded by water. Vishnu smiled, took both of them onto his thighs and killed them both.

The interesting thing is that Lord Vishnu arose from the devi mahamaya. That is what Devi Mahatmiyam also says. That is exactly what Shyama Sastri tells us now. Though the weapon which killed the demons might be Lord Vishnu, the weapon was fired by Devi right? And hence, it is Devi only who killed Madhu and Kaitabha and saved the world and also the earth and Brahma and the vedas.

Devi. If you can save the world, the vedas and Brahma, you can very easily save me. Please do is the plea being made by sastri here. For a detailed note on the story from Devi Mahatmiyam, check here : http://mantraaonline.com/devi-mahatmyam-1/

Charanam : 2 : 

varamichchi Seeghrame brOvu Si
vAmbA idi neeku baruvA
nera dATavu neevu gadA Sankari
sarOja bhavAdi surEndra poojitE ||

Oh Amba, bless me and please do it fast. Sivamba, it is not a big task for you. Oh Sankari,you will never fail in whatever you undertake. Brahma, Indra and others worship you.

Brahma is indicated as "Saroja Bhava" here. He was born on a lotus from the  Nabhi of Vishnu. Indra is indicated as "Surendra" as he is the leader of all "suras" meaning devas. If you note, the word, 'a-suras' is used to indicate demons - which is the opposite of 'suras'.



Charanam : 3 : 

Suka SyAmala ghana SyAma krishNuni
sOdari koumAri
akaLanka kalAdhari bimbAdhari
apara krupAnidhi neevE rakshimpa ||

You are the Shyamala who lives in peace. You are Koumari. You are the sister of Syama Krishna who is dark blue. You are unblemished. The beautiful crescent moon rests and graces your head.Your lips are red like 'Bimba' fruits.You are the ocean of compassion. You alone should protect me.

Shyamala the sister of Shyama Krishna. This repeats in many stories. Whether you see the story where Kamsa tries to kill the 8 children of Vasudeva, where the 8th child he tries to kill actually turns out to be Devi Shyamala and tells him that the slayer of him is actually growing up in some other place; or the story of Meenakshi's marriage where Meenakshi is given away in marriage to sundareswarar by Lord Vishnu, Devi Gowri or Shyamal is the sister of Lord Vishnu.



How come devi has a crescent moon adorning her head? It comes from Lord Shiva who has the crescent moon adorning his head! Since devi and Lord Shiva are one and the same, the moon appears on Devi's head also. Another key point here is that Shyama sastri was an ardent devotee of Goddess Kamakshi. And, the crescent moon appears on Goddess Kamakshi only!






Swara sahityam : 

pada yugamu madilO talachi
kOriti vinumu mada gaja gamana
parula nutimpa gAne varamosagu
satatamu ninu madi maravakanE
madana ripu sati ninu hrudayamulO
gati yani dalachi stuti salipE
mudamu tO phalamosanguTaku dharalo
natAvana kutoohala neevEgA ||

I think of your feet and ask for boons. I request you. Please listen my requests. You have majestic walk like an elephant.You shower boons to those who ask for it. Here I am - I always think of you. Please don't forget me.You are the consort of Siva - who is the enemy of cupid. I always keep you in my heart.You always and every time, reward your devotees.Who else is there on this earth so much concerned of devotees?


This passage is so full of stories. Here, Shyama sastri reminds us of the story where Lord Shiva killed the lord of love : the cupid, called 'Manmadha'. Once, Lord Shiva was meditating. Devas were desparate for a child from the union of Lord Shiva and Devi because only such a child can kill the demons Tarakasura and Surapadma. But, since the lord was in meditation, they called in the lord of love, cupid to get Lord Shiva to fall in love. Cupid also fired his arrows of flowers. But, Lord Shiva got irritated and looked at Cupid with his third eye. Cupid was burnt instantly. But, because of Devi, Lord Shiva agreed to give the life back to Cupid with one condition : Cupid would not be visible to anyone but his wife, Rati. Since Devi was the one who was instrumental in giving the life back to him, Cupid does not disturb those who are devotees of Devi. That is what is being referred by Sastri here. he ways "You are the consort of Shiva - who burnt Cupid" meaning, since I am your devotee, I would also be saved from the mischiveious was of Cupid and would not fall prey to the desires of flesh.




A beautiful song, set in Ananda Bhairavi. The song invokes Devi. It brings to your mind's eye the pleadings of Shyma sastri. Another interesting thing about this song is the Raaga in which it is set. Ananda Bairavi is said to be the favorite of Shyama Sastri. He is the one who is supposed to have improvised the Raaga and set up the way it is being used these days.

The following are some of the renderings of the song:

 M.Balamurali :


Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer



Some audio songs are given here : (Mainly from arvindsdad.blogpost.com):

http://www.mediafire.com/?combdebzmvn Marivere - Maharajapuram Santhanam


http://www.mediafire.com/?jfflunkv1mg Marivere - T. N. Seshagopalan



A short sweet note on the raaga Ananda bairavi can be seen here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anandabhairavi

Another note on Ananda bairavi which also talks about Mari vere Gati kriti is here : http://sriramv.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/ananda-பைரவி

A beautiful and detailed note on the Raaga and a treasure trove of songs in it : check here : http://arvindsdad.blogspot.com/2008/06/aanandha-bhairavi.html

7 comments:

  1. Excellent work! Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. But i feel, 'Shyama Krishna' is shyama sastri's signature and not referring to Krisna. It comes in his other kriti Himadri suthe pahimam also. Please correct me if wrong :)

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  2. Yes, the mudra "shyAma krishna" is ambiguous. I have read an anecdote wherein it mentioned that once when a young SS was in meditation at the temple a small girl (in his sister's or cousin's form) approached him with a tumbler containing milk and offered it to him calling him "aNNA" (brother) and went away. The girl was wearing the jewelry worn by ambAL. Later when SS asked his mother/stepmother/chiththi (whoever that was) as to why she sent her daughter wearing ambAL's necklace, the mother vehemently denied sending the girl with milk, let alone make her wear ambAL's jewelry. SS realized it must be ambAL herself bringing him milk in the form of a little girl. Since she called him "aNNA" perhaps he considered ambAL as his sister, and hence the expression "shyAmakrishna sOdari". You can recall that SS was named Venkatasubramanian at birth but was fondly called shyamakrishna.

    The other version is that since goddess Meenakshi and Vishnu are considered brother and sister, ambAL is called shyamakrishna sOdari (since vishnu is of dark complexion a la krishna)

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  3. To the author of this blog:
    Some people believe that SS never wrote a kriti on other gods except dEvi. Among dEvis too many think he wrote only on kAmAkshi. Here is the clarification.

    SS wrote kritis on Meenakshi of Mdurai, Dharmasamvardhini of tiruvaiyARu, BrihannAyaki of ThanjAvUr, and BruhadAmbA of Pudukkottai. In addition he has written a kriti in bEgaDa on Lord SubramaNya, and a varNam in Anandabhairavi on VaradarAja of Kanchipuram. This according to the duo Ravi and Sridhar of tiruvaNNAmalai Ashram. They have written a series of articles on SS and MD tracing their lives, which are considered authentic by many.

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  4. And here is Dr. L Subramaniam's rendition of Marivere: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoEk_D9FJCg

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  5. This is such a beautiful song! Thanks for posting. Do you by any chance know where I can get the musical notation for the song?

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  6. Hello Sir:
    I would like to gently differ on your emphasis that SS "improvised" the Raga Ananda Bhairavi. This raga has had humble beginnings in folk music even from pre-trinity times well before SS. In fact one of the most famous songs on Lord Rama by the Great Saint Shri Bhadrachala Ramadasa - "PalukE bhangAramAyena kodandapANi..." is set in this very raga.

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  7. I enjoyed your meaning and analysis. I like that you have listed all the stories. Isn't it wonderful that so many Indian works can tell a full story in one or two words? Thank you for this post! I look for the stories in all the songs I hear now, because of this :)

    ReplyDelete