nEramA rAma
Sahityam
Pallavi
nEramA rAma¹ rAma nIkidi
nIrajAkSa nA jIvAdhAra
Show Word Meanings
nIrajAkSa nA jIvAdhAra
Alas! O Lotus Eyed! O Prop of my life! is this a fault for You?
Anupallavi
mAra kOTi saundaryamunu kani
madilOna sunta maraciyuNTE (nEramA)
Show Word Meanings
madilOna sunta maraciyuNTE (nEramA)
Beholding a crore cupids like (Your) beauty, if I remained entranced in my mind for a little while, is it a fault for You?
Charanam
kOri kOri nIdu koluvu sEyu vELa
sAramaina pada sArasamula
poGgAra jUciyuramunanuJcudAmO
kanulanottudAmOyani²
kUrimini brahmAnandamanducunu³
konta mai maraciyuNTini kAni
tArakAdhipAnana pAvana
sItA nAyaka zrI tyAgarAjunipai (nEramA)
Show Word Meanings
sAramaina pada sArasamula
poGgAra jUciyuramunanuJcudAmO
kanulanottudAmOyani²
kUrimini brahmAnandamanducunu³
konta mai maraciyuNTini kAni
tArakAdhipAnana pAvana
sItA nAyaka zrI tyAgarAjunipai (nEramA)
While performing Your service with much yearning, having beheld exultingly Your nectarine Lotus Feet, pondering whether to seat Your feet in my bosom or to press them to my eyes, I, but remained without body consciousness for some time, experiencing Supreme bliss out of love; O Moon – Lord of stars – Faced! O Holy Lord! O Consort of Sita! Alas! O Lotus Eyed! O Prop of my life! is this a fault on the part of this Thyagaraja?
Renditions
Commentary
- 1 rAma rAma – rAma rAmA . In colloquial usage, uttering ‘rAma rAma ’ means that the person is either regretting a mistake or shows exasperation. In the present context, it seem to indicate the kind of exasperation Sri Thyagaraja feels.
- 2 kanulanottudAmO – This is an act of piety; when someone receives or touches anything which is very sacred, they press it to their eyes.
- 3 brahmAnandamu – Supreme Bliss – In this Kriti, Sri Thyagaraja describes his experiencing Brahmananda – a privileged state which personages like Sri Ramakrishna and other holy men only could reach. Therefore, any attempt to explain such a state of mind intellectually, amounts to belittling the experience.