Kushaloodi Manamellaam : Ooththukkadu Venkata Kavi

Song: kuzhaloodi manamellaam   : By : Oothukkadu Venkata subba Iyer

 
raagam: kaambhOji

Aa: S R2 G3 M1 P D2 S
Av: S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S N3. P. D2. S

 
taaLam: aadi

 
pallavi:

kuzhalUdi manamellAm koLLai koNDa pinnum kurai Edum enakkEdaDI tOzhi
(kuzhal)

 
anupallavi

 
azhagAna mayil Adavum (miga)
kATril ashaindADum koDi pOlavum

agamagizhindilagum nilavoLi tanilE tanai marandu puLLinam kUva
ashaindADi miga ishandODi varum nalam kANa oru manam nADa
takumIdu ena oru padam pADa takiTa tadhimi ena naTam nADa
kanru pashuvinavum ninru puDai shUzha enru malarumukha iraivan kanivODu
(kuzhal)

 
charaNam

 
makara kuNDalam Adavum adarkkErppa makuTam oLi vIshavum
migavum ezhilAgavum kATril miLirum tugil Adavum
(madhyama kaalam)

 

Meaning : 

pallavi:

kuzhalUdi manamellAm koLLai koNDa pinnum kurai Edum enakkEdaDI tOzhi
(kuzhal)

When Lord Krisha plays his flue, our heart and mind get sucked into that melody emanating from the flute. Once your heart and mind are filled with happiness from that lovely music, can there be any sorrow? can there be any unfulfilled wishes? There cannot be!

The phrase 'kollai konda pinnum' is a beautiful one. Krishna just does not fill your heart with music. He steals your heart and mind. When your heart and mind are not with you anymore, can you feel anything? When the person stealing it is Krishna, and when the stolen heart becomes his, it can only be filled with the divine bliss!!

 
anupallavi

azhagAna mayil Adavum (miga)
kATril ashaindADum koDi pOlavum

agamagizhindilagum nilavoLi tanilE tanai marandu puLLinam kUva
ashaindADi miga ishandODi varum nalam kANa oru manam nADa
takumIdu ena oru padam pADa takiTa tadhimi ena naTam nADa
kanru pashuvinavum ninru puDai shUzha enru malarumukha iraivan kanivODu
(kuzhal)

A peacock is dancing around. It looks as if there is a creeper dancing around. 

In the beautiful lovely moon light, there are birds which are chirping around. One's heart goes out wanting to see these lovely sights. There are sounds of singing. There  are sounds of dancing. There are cows with their little ones. 

All of these are happening around lord Krishna. Krishna is on his flute with the mellifluous melodies filling the entire world...

 
charaNam

makara kuNDalam Adavum adarkkErppa makuTam oLi vIshavum
migavum ezhilAgavum kATril miLirum tugil Adavum
(madhyama kaalam)

As Krishna plays his flute, his earrings are also dancing. The crown that Krishna wears shows the spotlight on it. This scene is like the one we are all familiar with on our TV sets. In a dance program, a spotlight is shown on the dancer as she dances. And, similar to that, here, as the earrings dance around, the crown shows the spotlight!!  This is a beautiful sight. And, along with all this, Krishna's clothes are also dancing. 

Overall, this is a beautiful song by Oothukkadu Venkata kavi. The song conjures up the scenes of Lord Krishna playing his flute and the entire world dancing to those tunes. Right from the cows, the peacock, the creeper, everything is dancing. The birds are chirping around. Krishna's earrings are dancing. His crowns are playing the role of showing the spotlight on the dancers. His clothes are dancing. And in the process, as the entire world is dancing around, without we knowing, our hearts are stolen. Stolen by Krishna. Stolen by the music. 

When your heart is not with you, when your heart is with the Lord, how can you ever feel any sorrow? You can only be filled with bliss. The divine bliss. 

And, whenever I hear this song, whenever I sing this song, the divine bliss fills me all over. I am sure it will envelope and fill you too!

Some links to this fantastic song by eminent musicians : 

1. Sudha Raghunathan   : 

 

2. Maharajapuram Santhanam: 

3. Yesudas : 

4. A dance performance by Sunanda Arasu:

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/?js7g0ywhmmj Marivere - T.M Krishna

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

A very good note on Shyama Sastri can be seen here : http://musicinfoguide.blogspot.com/2007/08/shyama-shastri-1762-1827-biography-and.html

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