eTulaina bhakti

sAma mizra cApu tyAgarAja telugu kRti

Sahityam

Pallavi

eTulaina bhakti vaccuTakE yatnamu sEyavE

Show Word Meanings

Try to develop devotion by any means.

Anupallavi

maTumAya¹ bhavamunu manadaniy²eJcaka
vaTa³ patra zayanuni pAda yugamulandu (eTu)

Show Word Meanings

Not considering this illusory worldly existence as belonging to us, try to develop devotion by any means towards the Holy feet of the Lord who rests on the leaf of banyan tree.

Charanams Combined

vidyA garvamulEla nIv-
avidyA⁴ vazamu kAnEla
khadyOtAnvaya⁵ tilakuni puramElu
buddhiyAzuga tOcadEla O manasA (eTu)

Show Word Meanings

O My Mind! Why have pride of erudition? Why should you come in the grip of ignorance? why the thought of going to Ayodhya - the town of Lord Sri Rama - the most distinguished one of the solar race - wouldn’t quickly occur to You?

rAma nAmamu sEya siggA kArA-
dEmi palkavu puNTi buggA
bhAmala⁶ kara dATakayuNTE jagga⁷
pAmara mEnu nammaka nITi⁸ bugga (eTu)

Show Word Meanings

Do you feel shy (or ashamed) to chant the name of Sri Rama? Or is it (chanting the name of Sri Rama) prohibited? Can’t You speak? Are you ulcer mouthed? (OR O ulcer-mouthed!) It would very nice if you do not cross over to the side (quarters) of women! O Fool! do not place faith on the body; it is (like) a water bubble.

bhOga⁹ bhAgyamulandu nija
bhAgavatulukau¹⁰ nI pondu
tyAgarAja varaduni nIyandu
bAguga dhyAniJcu bhava rOga mandu (eTu)

Show Word Meanings

Even amidst enjoyments and fortunes let Your association be with true devotees; meditate well in yourself on Lord Sri Rama - the benefactor of this Thyagaraja (because) that is the panacea for the disease called worldly existence.

Renditions

Variations

General – This is one of the Kritis which seem to be badly corrupted.
⁶ bhAmala kara dATakayuNTE – bhAmala kaDa dATakumaNTE - bhAmalu kara dATakayuNDina : bhAmala kara dATakayuNTE - seems to be appropriate.
⁸ nITi bugga – nIr bugga
⁹ bhOga bhAgyamulandu – bhOga bhAgyumulayandu
¹⁰ bhAgavatulakau nI pondu –bhAgavatulu gAni pondu rOsi : bhAgavatulu gAni pondu rOsi - does not seem to convey any meaning.

References

³ vaTapatra zayana – At the time of dissolution (Pralaya) of the Universe, the Lord is stated to be resting on a leaf of banyan tree floating on the sheet of water. Srimad Bhagavatam, Book 12, Chapter 8, verse 4 refers -
- “ …when annihilation occurred during Brahmā’s night, the sage Markandeya wandered throughout the fearful waters of destruction and saw within those waters an extraordinary personality lying on a banyan leaf…” - [[http://vedabase.net/sb/12/8/4/ Pralaya]]
⁴ avidya – ignorance – this word as used by Sri Thyagaraja in this Kriti brings out the wider philosophical meaning because of the following word ‘vazamugAnEla ’ (why fall into the grip); it is not a simple opposite of Vidya – earlier used. Avidya is defined in the Patanjali Yoga Sutra (II.5) –
- “To regard the non-eternal as eternal, the impure as pure, the painful as pleasant and non-Atman as Atman – this is ignorance.”
- From this stand-point even the word ‘Vidya’ earlier stated by Sri Thyagaraja would fall into the category of Avidya.
- For detailed discussion on Vidya-Avidya, please refer to ‘Brahma Sutras’ by Swami Vireshwarananda – Pages 12 – 16. The complete version of Brahma Sutras by Swami Sivananda may be downloaded in the website – [[http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/bs_00.html Brahma Sutra]]

Commentary

¹ maTumAya – the kind of make-believe created by magician.
² eJcaka – this word may also be taken as an exhortation to the mind ‘do not consider’. In that case, first line will be translated as ‘do not consider the illusory Worldly Existence as belonging to us’; second line of anupallavi only will be connected to the pallavi.
⁵ khadyOtAnvaya tilakuni puram – sAkEta - ayOdhya – However, in the present context, it refers to Vaikuntha.
⁷ jagga – jaggu - means ‘brightness’ ‘prettiness’, ‘grace’; in the present context, it seems to be an appreciation - ‘pretty’, ‘very nice’.