Dr. P. P. Narayanaswami

This year is the ninth season of special features on Navaratri. We offer to the Goddess, a garland of nine rAgamAlikAs on dEvi, composed by various vAggEyakArakas.  The list of available rAgamAlikAs on dEvi is long, and the composers are numerous.  Devotional/light classical/dance drama/cine music is literally flooded with such rAgamAlikAs, and there are plenty of rAgamAlikA shlOkams and stOtrams that are currently in vogue. Since we have to be selective, we have chosen nine gems, in a random order, simple to complex, keeping in mind that they are monumental contributions that have stood the test of time.  They are in Sanskrit, tamil, or telugu (I was unable to locate any rAgamAlikA in kannaDa or malayALAm, by prominent composers, devoted to Goddess.). While some of these are frequently heard in concert platforms, others are a bit rare.  We have attempted to describe salient features of some of these selected rAgamAlikAs, and tried to provide an approximate and free-style meaning. (A detailed article on rAgamAlikA compositions in karNATik music, in three parts by the author can be viewed at: http://carnatica.net/special/ragamalika.htm

 sa ri ga ma pa dha ni ratAM tAM

vINA saMkrAntahastAM tAm |

shAntAM m.rdulasvAntAM

kucabharatAntAM namAmi shivakAntAm ||

 (Adi sha"nkara in "shyAmalA navaratnamAlikA")

DAY 1

 Composer: muttusvAmi dIkSitar

 tALam: rUpakam

pallavi --- rAgam: pUrNacandrikA

 pUrNacandrambimbavijayavadanE kamalAmbikE

pAhi mAm varadE guruguhajanani shrI

caraNam

rAgam: nArAyaNi

puNyajana pUjitE nArAyaNi jagadambikE

rAgam: sarasvatImanOhari

 pUrNaphalapradacaraNE sarasvatImanOharE

rAgam: shuddhavasanta

 puSpitashuddhavasantE puNDarIka sad.rshakarE 

rAgam: hamsadhvani

aharnishaM prakAshamAna hamsadhvani virAjitE

 rAgam: nAgadhvani

aparNE kuNDalini nAgadhvanisahitE dhvanisahitE sahitE hitE tE

MEANING
Oh! Goddess KamalAmbikA! The one, whose face wins over the full moon in its beauty!  the bestower of  boons, the mother of guruguha! Please protect me. The one worshipped by meritorious souls; the one who is named nArAyaNi (as an  amsha -- integral part   of nArAyaNa);  the mother of the entire  universe; whose feet are adept at bestowing  complete fruition;  who captivates Goddess Sarasvati; who is like the flowered season of pure spring; whose hands are like lotus buds; who exults in the pleasant sounds of the swans, day and night; who is known as aparNA, the kuNDalini shakti;  who is in the sounds of serpants (nAga), is the embodiment of sound,  who is benevolent, and pleasing.

(The name aparNA --- at the final stages of her penance for marrying  Lord shiva, Goddess pArvati refused all food, including the fallen leaves (parNa); hence the name aparNA).

NOTES
In "SamgIta sampradAya pradarshini" the author, SubbarAma dIkSitrar has notated this rAgamAlikA, and had given only the six lines. (as given above). Hence, the name "SaD (six) rAgamAlkA". However, in some texts, we find an addition of two more lines, in rAgams kEdAram, bilahari, respectively, as follows, making it an "aSTa rAgamALikA".

rAgam kEdAram

 kEdArEsha sahAyE guruguhavEdita h.rdayE

rAgam bilahari

 bhaNDa prANa bilahari bhakta janAnandakari
 

The inclusion of these extra lines would make the "guruguha" mudra appear twice in this composition, which is rather unusual.

The geographical location for this composition is TiruvArUr, and the song is in praise of Goddess kamalAmbA, whose shrine is located in the northwest corner, in the outermost prAkAram of the mammoth tyAgarAja Temple. Sitauted adjacent to the huge Lotus pond, kamalAlayam, away from the main shrines, it has its own maNDapams and circumambulatory passages that makes an angle with the prAkAram wall. This shrine is traditionally and ritually unconnected with the main shrine of tyAgarAja.  Here, the Goddess is depicted in a meditating posture. While Goddess nIlOtpalAmaba is supposed to represent the bhOga shakti of Lord shiva, kamalAmbA represents the yOga shaki. It is to be observed that muttusvAmi dIkSitar never associated kamalAmbA with Lord tyAgarAja, and considered only nIlOtpalAmba as the consort of the preciding deity.

The last line contains a beautiful gOpucca yati:

nAgadhvani sahite

dhvani sahitE

sahitE

hitE

tE

DikSitar has used this type of yati in a few other songs:

(i) tyAgarAjayOgavaibhavam (Anandabhairavi), (ii) mAyE (tara"ngiNi), and

(iii) shrIvaralakSmi namastubhyam  (shrI).  Here are the examples:

tyAgarAjayOga vaibhavam

agharAjayogavaibhavam

rAjayOgavaibhavam

yOgavaibhavam

vaibhavam

vam

sarasakAyE

rasakAyE

sakAyE

AyE

(mAyE).

sArasapadE

rasapadE

sapadE

padE

Featured rAgams:

All six rAgams  present  in this rAgamAlikA are janyams of the same rAgA"nga rAgam No. 29, dhIrasha"nkarAbharaNam.

pUrNacandrikA

ArOhaNam:               S R2 G3 M1  P D2 P S

avarOhaNam:           S N3 P M1 G3 M1 R2 S

nArAyaNi

ArOhaNam:               S R2 M1 G3  R2 G3 M1 P D2 S

aAvarOhaNam:         S N3 P N3 D2 P D2 M1 P M1 G3 M1 R2 S

sarasvatImanOhari

ArOhaNam:               S R2 G3 M1 P M1 G3 M1 P D2 N3 S

avarOhaNam:           S N3 D2  P M1 G3 R2 S

shuddhavasanta

ArOhaNam:               S R2 G3 M1 P D2 N3 S

avarOhaNam:           S N3 D2  P M1 R2 G3 S

hamsadhvani

ArOhaNam:               S R2 G3 P D2 P S

avarOhaNam:           S N3  P M1 G3 M1 R2 S

nAgadhvani

ArOhaNam:               S R2 G3 S M1 G3 M1 P D2 N3 S

avarOhaNam:           S N3 D2  P M1 G3 R2 G3 S 

For each of the six rAgams, the  rAga mudra appears in the corresponding line, nicely carved out  through the art of shlEsham (double meaning). The lyrics of this rAgamAlika in both Sanskrit, and diacritical English are available at www.carnatica.net/lyrics/ragamalika.htm

Read Part 2 >