NAVARATRI
GREETINGS TO ALL RASIKAS!
During
the last seven navarAtri seasons, we featured the following
thematic topics in Carnatica’s Special Features section:
In
addition, we also uploaded several stOtrams on dEvi
(saundaryalaharI, lalitA sahasranAmam,
and so on), appropriate for chanting on this festive occasion. They can all
be accessed from the “shlOka bank” of Carnatica’s
Composition Bank.
This year (eighth
season), we shall discuss the unique collection of 108 kIrtanams,
popularly known as the "cAmuNDa aSTOttara shata kIrtanams",
composed by gAyaka shikhAmaNi Dr. HartikEshanallUr Muthiah
BhAgavatar,
|| shrI mahAtripurasundaryai nama.h ||
mAtarmE madhukaiTabhaghni
mahiSaprANOpahArodyamE
hElAnirmitadhUmralOcanavadhE hE caNDamuNDArdinI
|
nishshESIk.rtaraktabIjadanujE nitye
nishuMbhApahE
shuMbhadhaMsini saMharAshu duritaM durgE
namstEMbikE ||
aSTau bhujA"ngIM mahiSasya mardinIM
sasha"nkhacakrAM sharashUladhAriNIm |
tvAM divyayOgIM sahajAtavEdasIM
durgAM sadA sharaNamahaM prapadyE ||
durgE sm.rAa harasi bhItimashESajanto.h
svasthai.h sm.rtA matimatIva shubhAM dadhAsi |
dAridryadu.hkhabhayahAriNi kA tvadanyA
sarvopakArakaraNAya sadArdracittA |\
mahiSamastakan.rttavinOdana-
spuTaraNanmaNinUpuramEkhalA |
jananarakSaNamOkSavidhayinI
jayatu shuMbhanishuMbhaniSUdinI ||
1. Goddess cAmuNDEshvari
The
cAmUNDi hill, also known by the purANic name,
mahAbalagiri, lies on the outskirts of the city of Mysore, in the
present day KarNATaka state. From its top, at an altitude of more than 1000
feet, one gets the panoramic view of the vast plains below. The majestic
Temple, dedicated to Goddess cAmuNDEshvari is located on the
hilltop. The Goddess, who vanquished the buffalo-headed demon mahiSAsura,
and relieved the people of his atrocities, is worshiped here as
mahiSAsuramardini. The city itself
derives its present name, Mysore (mahishUru) honoring the
conquest of the legendary demon by the Goddess.
This
exemplary Dravidian style temple is a vast quadrangular structure with a
splendid, seven-storied gOpuram (temple tower), about 40 meters tall,
located at its entrance, which is visible from far away. This gOpuram
was constructed by mahArAjA k.rSNarAja WodeyAr III (1794 -1868). The
silver-plated doorway has the images of the Goddess in different forms. In the
sanctum sanctorum is the solid gold idol of the Goddess
cAmuNDEshvari, the presiding deity, always held in great reverence for
centuries by the mahArAjas of the Mysore palace. The WodeyArs lavished rich
gifts on this temple. K.riSNarAja III, who built the gOpuram, also
offered a gold jewel, known as "nakSatramAlikA" which has thirty
Sanskrit verses inscribed on it. There are statues of this king and his
consorts in the temple premises.
One can reach the temple by strenuously climbing the one thousand steps built
by the mahArAjas, or by smoothly driving along the winding road with its many
switchbacks. Mid-way through, at the 800th step, the pilgrims pause
to worship a beautifully sculptured monolithic nandi (Lord shiva's
vAhanam), about 5 meters tall and 7.6 meters long, adorned with bell
and jewels. Consecrated during the reign of doDDa dEvarAja (1659-1672), this
colossal nandi, always garlanded with flowers, is a masterpiece of
architecture, carved out of a single rock, with attention paid to every minute
details, from the bell around the neck, to the anklet above each massive
hoof. Its gigantic size and grandeur is comparable only to two other nandi
statues, one located at the entrance to the b.rihadIshvara temple in
Tha~njAvur (Tamil Nadu) and the other, at the vIrabhadra shrine in the
town of LEpAkSi (Andhra Pradesh).
Shrines dedicated to Lord
shiva as mahAbalEshvara, and Lord viSNu as lakSmi
nArAyaNa are situated adjacent to the cAmuNDi temple. At the
roundabout on the road leading to the temple, there is also an imposing, life
-size statue of the demon mahishAsura, with a scimitar in one hand, and
a huge cobra firmly gripped in the other hand. Situated on the southern slope
of the hill, en route to na~njangUDu are the mArkaNDEya
Ashramam and jvAlAmukhi tripurasundari shrine. The holy tIrthams
in the hill site include dEva ga"nga and pAtAla vAhini
Special pUjas
(worship-services) and the rathOtsavam (car festival) that are held
here during the grand ten-day festive period of the Dasara (or
Dussara) draw huge crowds.
1.1 cAmuNDA
aStOttarashatanAma stOtram
Devotees offer their
benediction to Goddess cAmuNDi and perform arcana (offerings
with flowers) to Her by reciting her 108 names (nAmAvaLi) from a
traditional prayer, the cAmuNDeshvari aSTOttarashatanAma stOtram,
consisting of 22 shlOkams in the simple
Sanskrit metre anuSTubh.
aSTOttara shata stOtra
Lyrics
Many of the
nAmavaLis (names) appearing n this stOtram are identical with the
ones we usually find in the famous lalitA
sahasranAma stOtram, the 1000 names of Goddess
lalitA. (See http://carnatica.net/lyrics/lalita1000.pdf)
It is to this Goddess
cAmuNDEshvari, the great composer of the post-trinity era, HarikEshanallUr
Muthiah BhAgavatar composed and offered a soul-stirring collection of 108
kIrtanams, popularly known as the cAmUNDASTOttarashata kIrtanams,
which forms the subject matter of this article.
Part 2 >
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