Kancha dalayadaakshee : Raag : kamala Manohari : Muthuswamy Dikshithar

Kancha dalayadaakshee : Raag : kamala Manohari : Muthuswamy Dikshithar

Pallavi:

Kanjadalayatakshi Kamakshi kamalamanohari tripurasundari

Anupallavi:

kunjaragamane manimandita manjulacharane mamavashiva panjarashuki pankajamukhi guruguha ranjani duritabhanjani niranjani

CharaNam:

raka shashivadane suradane rakshitamadane ratnasadane shriksnchana vasane surasane
shrngarashraya mandahasane ekanekakshari bhuvaneshvari ekanandamrtahari bhashvari ekagramanolayakari shrikari ekamresha grheshvari shankari

Word by word Meaning: 

Pallavi : 

Kanja : Lotus 

dala : leaf (in tamil, typically referred to as 'thalam', as in 'tulasi thalam')

Akshi : one with large eyes

Kamakshi : kamakshi Devi

kamala : goddess lakshmi

manohari : who is dear to

tripurasundari : who is the most beautiful in all the three worlds

Anupallavi : 

kunjara : elephant like

gamane : gait

maNimandita : studded with gems

manjulacharane : beautiful / lovely feet

mamava : Please protect me

shiva panjarashuki : shuki means parrot; panjara means the cage

pankajamukhi : pankaja means lotus; mukhi : face like

guruguha ranjani : ranjani means the who enthralls;  Guruguha is Lord Subramanya

duritabhanjani : durita means all sorts of problems / afflictions; bhanjani : destroyer

niranjani : who is blemishless

Charanam: 

raka : radiant
shashi : white
vadane : face
suradane : beautiful teeth
rakshita madane : the one who protected Manmadhan (cupid)
ratna sadane: gemstudded / diamond studded throne
shrikanchana vasane surasane : the dress is golden and rich
shrngarashraya : full of love
manda hasanE : gentle smile
Ekanekakshari : (eka aneka asksari) :who has the form of one and the many mystic symbols
bhuvaneshvari : goddess of the world
Ekanandamrtahari : eka ananda amrutahari : bliss which is ever flowing
bhashvari : lustrous
Ekagra mano layakari : the one who attaches herself to those who pray to her with concentration and absolute devotion
shrikari : the one who bestows all prosperity and wealth
Ekamresha : lord ekambareswaran
grheshvari : gruha - easwari - takes care of the house; lives in the house; wife of
shankari : she is the wife of shankaran; Goddess Shankari

Detailed discussion on the song:

What a beautiful song! The beauty of the Raaga Kamala Manohari and the pace of the lyrics just take the breath away! And, when one understands the meaning behind the words, the beauty is just indescribable!

Pallavi :

Kanjadalayatakshi Kamakshi kamalamanohari tripurasundari

Dikshithar focuses on the eyes of the Goddess. 

Kamakshi has large beautiful eyes. Eyes like that of the petals of the lotus flowers! And, she is the one who is dear to Lakshmi - the one who lives in the lotus flowers (kamalam means lotus; the one who lives in lotus is Kamala - who is Goddess Lakshmi). 

One can see the shades of "Sri Lalaitha Sahasranamam" getting played out here. Lalitha Sahasranamam says : Sachamara Rama vani Savya dhakshina sevitha which means She who is being fanned by Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and Saraswathi the goddess of knowledge

And, she is the Goddess of all the three worlds. 

In the pallavi itself, the raaga of the kriti is brought in beautifully! 

Anupallavi:

kunjaragamane manimandita manjulacharane mamava shiva panjarashuki pankajamukhi guruguha ranjani duritabhanjani niranjani

Kamakshi walks a majestic walk. She walks like an elephant. Slowly. Majestically. "manda gamane" is how she is typically described - the one who has a gentle walk. Elephant walks slowly - at a gentle pace and that is given as the example for how Goddess Kamakshi walks. 

Dikshithar looks at Kamakshi. Her feet are lovely and studded with gems. He prays to them " let they feet which are adorned with gems protect me". Then he describes her. 

She is a parrot in a cage called Shiva. She is the one who gives life to that cage. Without that life force, the cage has nothing to offer.  Her face is like lotus. She is the one who is loved by Lord Guruguha - Muruga. She is the one who destroys all problems quickly. She is the one who is blemishless. 

CharaNam

raka shashivadane suradane rakshitamadane ratnasadane shrikanchana vasane surasane

shrngarashraya mandahasane ekanekakshari bhuvaneshvari ekanandamrtahari bhashvari ekagramanolayakari shrikari ekamresha grheshvari shankari

How is Kamakshi's face? It is radiant. it is radiant with white lovely light without heat like that of the full moon. She has beautiful teeth. She is the one who saved Manmadhan from death. She made him raise from the ashes.

Then Dikshithar looks at her fully. Where is she sitting? What is she wearing?

She is sitting on a throne studded with diamonds and gems. She is wearing a rich golden dress. Her heart is full of love. She is sporting a gentle smile.

She is the form of one akshara to many aksharas - the mystic symbols. Here, Dishithar merely paraphrases Lalitha Sahasranamam which says "Srimadh vaakbhava kudaika swarupa muka pankaja" - which means that the Goddess Lalitha is the rupam of collection of all the mystic symbols and aksharas. (Here it is good to recall that Adi Sankaracharya, in His Subramanya Bhujangam, says " mahavakya kudam" about Lord Muruga)

Dikshithar thinks about who she really is.

She is the the one who is lording over all the universe. She is full of bliss - overflowing stream of bliss! She is radiant and lustrous. She comes and gives herself to those devotees who think of her, pray to her with single minded concentration. She is the one who blesses all her devotees with prosperity and wealth.

She is the wife of Ekamreshwara - who is the deity in Kanchi. She is the wife of Shankara. She is Shankari. She is sam-kari - which is the one who always does good deeds.

The stories in this song:

There are a few stories embedded in this song.

1) Rakshitha madane: 

This is a story where the cupid - Manmadha gets it all wrong and yet gets it all back! Manmadhan gets chosen to disturb a meditating Shiva so that Shiva and Parvati can unite and Skandha can be born. Unless that happens, the Surapadman, the great Asura, cannot be stopped. Surapadman had obtained a boon which says that Surapadman can be killed only by a force born of Shiva. However, Shiva was in deep meditation and Devas were going thru countless problems because of Surapadman. Devas request Cupid - Manmadhan - to help them out. 

Manmadhan goes out and tries his bow and arrows on Shiva. Shiva opens His third eye and looks at Manmadha who combusts immediately into ashes. However, on the asking of Ratidevi, wife of Manmadhan, Parvati takes pity on Manmadhan and brings him back to life - with one condition - that he would not be visible to anyone but his wife Rati. 

2) Ekamresha Gruheshwari :

Here, the story is that of how Kamakshi did penance and became the consort of lord Ekambreshwara. The Goddess Kamakshi is in padmasanam - a yogic pose and not the usual standing pose here in this temple. Also, there are no other Parvati temples in this city which boasts of more than two hundred temples!

Here is where the Goddess offered penance to a Lingam made of sand under a mango tree so that she can marry Shiva. Since the lingam was situated under a mango tree, the lingam was also called "eka amra Eashwaran" - Ekamreshwaran" meaning, the lord of the single mango tree.  

Appreciation of the song: 

The lyrics are sheer poetry! 

"Gunjaragamane - manjulacharane"

" panjarashukhi - pankajamukhi"

"guruguha ranjani - duridhabanjani - niranjani"

"shashivadane - suradane - rakshitha madane - rathna sadane"

"vasane -  surasane -  mandahasane"

"ekanekakshari -  bhuvaneshvari  - ekanandamrtahari  - bhashvari  - ekagramanolayakari shrikari -  grheshvari  - shankari"

Dishithar at his lyrical best in this song!!

Here are some links to the song in the youtube: 

1. Bombay Jayashree

2. TM Krishna

Vellaith thaamarai poovil iruppaal : Subramanya Bharathi

Vellaith thaamarai poovil iruppaal : Subramanya Bharathi Raagam : Bhimplas

Pallavi

Vellai tamarai puvil iruppal
vinai seiyum oliyil iruppal
kollai inbam kulavu kavidai kurum pavalar ullathilruppal


Anupallavi

ulladam porul thediyunarde
odum vedattin ulnindrolirval
kallamatra munivargal kurum
karunai vasagath ut porulaval (vellai)

Charanam 1
madhar thengural paatil iruppal
makkal pesum mazhalaiyil ullal
geedam padum kuyilin kuralai
kiliyin navail iruppidum kondal

kodanganra tozhiludaitagi kulavu cittiram gopuram koyil
idanaithin ezhilidaiyutral inbame vadivagida petral (vellai)

In Tamil :

வெள்ளைத் தாமரை பூவில் இருப்பாள்
வீணை செய்யும் ஒலியில் இருப்பாள்
கொள்ளை இன்பம் குலவு கவிதை
கூறு பாவலர் உள்ளத்திலிருப்பாள்

உள்ளதாம் பொருள் தேடியுணர்ந்தே
ஓதும் வேதத்தின் உள்நின்ரொளிர்வாள்
கள்ளமற்ற முனிவர்கள் கூறும்
கருணை வாசகத்துட் பொருளாவாள்

மாதர் தீங்குரல் பாட்டில் இருப்பாள்
மக்கள் பேசும் மழலையில் உள்ளாள்
கீதம் பாடும் குயிலின் குரலை
கிளியின் நாவை இருப்பிடம் கொண்டாள்

கோதகன்ற தொழிலுடைத்தாகிக்
குலவு சித்திரம் கோபுரம் கோயில்
ஈதனைத்தின் எழிலிடையுற்றாள்
இன்பமே வடிவாகிட பெற்றாள்

Meaning : 

She (Goddess Saraswati) resides in a white lotus flower.  That is what our religion says. But, that is not all. She is there in the sweet mellifluous sound of Veena. She is there in the heart of those poets who sing lovely songs which bring in such a great joy to those who listen to it!

She is there as the inner meaning of Vedas, which tell the truth of life. She is there in the words of sages who mean only good for all around them. She is there in the beautiful songs that women sing. She is there in the lovely blabber of young children. She resides in the voice of the koyal bird which sings sweet songs. She resides in the tongue of parrots which speak such lovely things.

That is not all. She is there in every single beautiful thing in this world. She is there in all those beautiful drawings. She is there in all those temples. She is there in the beauty of those temples and the artistic work which is done on them. She is beauty itself. She is joy itself.

Here, Bharathi, the great tamil poet, takes a small dig at the traditional understanding about the Goddess Saraswati. She is said to be the Goddess of learning and education and as such she is associated with books and temples.

Here, Bharati expands the idea of learning. He expands on the idea of joy. He equates learning with Joy. How can one learn if it is not enjoyable?  He talks about music. He talks about fine arts. he talks about vedas. He talks about the great sages and their teachings. All constitute learning. Learning and education is not just bookish. It is not just rote learning. It is from across. It is to understand life itself. It is to appreciate beauty from everywhere.

As Keats said long back, " A thing of beauty is joy forever", Bharathi also echoes that sentiment. Bharati sees beauty everywhere. He sees the joy in that beauty everywhere. And, he equates that beauty and joy with learning.

He says that the Goddess saraswati does not only reside in that white lotus flower that we are familiar with thru the traditional indian sculptures and drawings, but she is there in every single thing of beauty. She is there in every single musical instrument. She is there in everything musical and mellifluous. She is there in every single thing which is enjoyable.

The idea of knowing God is knowing the joy which is there everywhere.

This is a simple song which can be taught to children from a very early age. Set to Raagam Bhimplas, there are a number of singers who have sung this song.

1. Bombay Jayashree : 

2. Gayatri Girish:

3. Madurai Mani Iyer:

4. KJ Yesudass: