EmEmO teliyaka

saurASTra cApu tyAgarAja telugu kRti

Sahityam

EmEmO teliyaka palikedaru celulAra
nA mIda daya lEka

You speak a lot of things unknowingly, O damsels, without compassion for me.

munu mandara giri munuga kUrmamai¹
vIpuna tAlcaga lEdA²

In the past, when Mount Mandara sank into the ocean, did I not bear it on my back, taking the form of a tortoise?

kari-rAju³ makaricE gAsi jendaga
nEnu karuNa jUDa lEdA

When Gajendra was suffering in the grip of a crocodile, did I not show mercy on him?

veravaka⁴ nITa joccina sOmakuni⁵ koTTi
vEdamu tElEdA

By fearlessly slaying the demon Somaka, who plunged into the ocean, did I not bring back the Vedas?

kALindi lOni⁶ kALiyuni madambunu
kAlanaNaca lEdA

Did I not subdue by my feet, the arrogance of the serpent Kaliya in River Kalindi?

makaramu kompOyina guru putruni⁷
mari tecciyosaga lEdA

Did I not bring back and hand over my guru’s son who was carried away by the demon Panchajana?

tyAgarAjunaku sakhuDaina nAdu
pratApamu vina lEdA

Have you not heard of my (the benefactor of Thyagaraja) exploits?

¹ kUrmAvatAra –Churning of Milk Ocean - Srimad Bhagavatam – 8.7 refers.
³ kari rAju – gajEndra - Srimad Bhagavatam – 8.4 refers.
⁵ sOmaka – This pertains to Matsya Avatara of the Lord. As per Srimad Bhagavatam 8.24, the name of the demon who stole the Vedas is Hayagriva; the Lord assumed the form of Fish and the demon was killed by the Lord in that Avatara. The following verse of Srimad BhagavataM (8.24) is relevant –
However, a different version is found in Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18 as under –
“Legend has it that during the creation, the demons Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Brahma and Vishnu took the Hayagriva form to recover the Vedas from the demons. Another legend has it that during the creation, Vishnu compiled the Vedas in the Hayagriva form and that the Hayagriva Avatara precedes the Matsya Avatara wherein he recovered the stolen Vedas from the demons Madhu and Kaitabha.” - Source - [[http://srilakshmihayagriva.com/stotram.aspx Hayagriva Stotra]]
There is an apparent contradiction on who stole the Vedas – whether it is Somakasura or Hayagriva or Madhu Kaitabha. There is also an apparent contradiction as to the Avatar of the Lord for restoration of VedAs – whether it is Matsya or Hayagriva.
⁶ kALindi – kaliya Mardana - Srimad Bhagavatam – 10.16 refers.
⁷ guru putra –restoring the son of his guru - Srimad Bhagavatam - 10.45 refers.
For English rendition of Srimad Bhagavatam – [[http://srimadbhagavatam.com/ “Srimad Bhagavatam]]

‘‘‘This Kriti forms part of the dance-drama ‘Nauka Charitram’ – The Boat Story’’’.
(Background - The Gopis meet Krishna at the Yamuna river and contemplate travel in a boat. Krishna says that it is not within the capacity of the women to steer boat and says he will do the job; however, the Gopis do not believe Him and think that He is upto some trick. In this Kriti, the Lord tries to convince the Gopis of His prowess by citing His previous exploits.)
⁴ veravaka – There are three telugu words of similar spelling – vera - verapu – fear, terror; veravu - veruvu – skill; veragu – surprise. In the present context, the word is in negative form; therefore, the meaning ‘fear’ has been adopted.
⁴ veravaka – fearlessly – this can either be applied to demon Somaka or to the Lord. From the context, as the Lord is trying to convince the Gopis of his capabilities, this has been applied to the Lord.