Telugu Lyrics of "gayati vanamli" Devotional Song

gaayati vanamaalee - madhuraM

gaayatee vanamaalee

1. pushpasugandhisu - malaya sameerae

munijana saevita yamunaa teerae || gaayati||

2. koojita Suka - pika - mukha khagakunjae

kuTilaalika bahu neeradapunjae || gaayati||

3. tulaseedaama vibhooshaNahaaree

jalaja bhavastuta sadguNa Sauree || gaayati||

4. paramahaMsa hRda yOtsavakaaree

paripoorita muraLee ravadhaaree gaaya|

కుంతల వరాళి రాగం   ఆది తాళం 

గాయతి వనమాలీ - మధురం

గాయతీ వనమాలీ

1. పుష్పసుగన్ధి సు - మలయ సమీరే

మునిజన సేవిత యమునా తీరే || గాయతి||

2. కూజిత శుక - పిక - ముఖ ఖగకుంజే 

కుటిలాలిక బహు నీరద పుంజే  || గాయతి||

3. తులసీదామ విభూషణ హారీ

జలజ భవస్తుత సద్గుణ శౌరీ || గాయతి||

4. పరమహంస హృద యోత్సవకారీ

పరిపూరిత మురళీ రవధారీ గాయ|

(On the eve of Janma-ashtami, Sri Krishna's birthday I post this Carnatic song. This was composed by Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra Swamy. Dr. Balamuralikrishna's rendition is excellent. I'll try put the audio links later. If possible I'll add the lyrics in Sanskrit also. Though the words are easy to comprehend, still the lyrics encapsulate many of Sri Krishna's lilas. Copyright 2021 by the author)

Lyrics of "evari mata" song - A Tyagaraja Composition

evari maaTa vinnaavO raavo iMdulevO bhaLibhaLi || evari ||

avanilO naarshaeya paurushaeyamaMdi chOdyame~ru@Mga laenayya || evari ||

bhaktaparaadheenu@MDanuchu@M baramabhaagavatula

vyaktaroopu@MDai palikina muchchaTa yuktamanuchu nuMTi

Sakti gala mahaadaevu@MDu neevani saMtOshamuna nuMTi

satta chittuDagu tyaagaraajanuta satyasaMdhu@M DanukoMTi nilalO || evari ||

ఎవరి మాట విన్నావో రావో  యిందులెవో భళిభళి ॥ఎ॥

అవనిలో నార్షేయ పౌరుషేయ మంది చోద్యమెఱుఁగ లేనయ్య ॥ఎ॥

భక్తపరాధీనుఁడనుచుఁ బరమ భాగవతుల చేజింటి 

వ్యక్తరూపుఁడై పలికిన ముచ్చట యుక్తమనుచు నుంటి

శక్తి గల మహాదేవుఁడు నీవని సంతోషమున నుంటి

సత్త చిత్తుడగు త్యాగరాజనుత సత్యసంధుఁ డనుకొంటి నిలలో ॥ఎ॥

(Whom did you listen to? Whose words or advice did you listen to? You're nowhere to be found here, around me. Great, super! On the earth you are considered as the most able (perfect), rishi-like person, the best among humans - isn't it a wonder that you're not attending to my entreats? Unlike others (the Devas or royal kings, etc.) you've excelled by the sheer execution of "appropriate acts", by the acts suggested by the Hindu Dharma, by the acts prescribed in Shruti. Thinking You are in the clutches of bhaktas, I held on to some exceptional (Rama's) devotees. I thought it would be nice if You appear and directly speak a few words. I am content and happy that You are the powerful Deva. "You are truthful and the sole embodiment of excellence and You are the truth", so I (Tyagaraju) thought.)

I got hooked to this song the first time I heard from Dr. Balamurali in a CD mastered by SaRiGaMa. By repeated listening at home and in the car I came to appreciate its inner beauty. Even when Tyagayya complains about Sri Rama, there is certain elegance. The great vocalist gave all he has in that single phrase, "sakti gala...". Copyright 2021 by the author.

 

Pious Prayers

Pious Prayers

Aren’t these pious prayers?

Aren’t they earnest enough?

The little sparrow

Had to crawl underneath the car

For a lick of freshly made cool water

Below the a/c compressor or evaporator

Yesterday early morning

The thirsty crow was

Tapping the skylight convex domes

For cool condensed mist drops

In desperation the neighborhood crows

Are nibbling the Staghorn sumac cone

Fruit drupes even in the summer -

Normally reserved for the hard winters

Months ahead

The stream, near the cataract too has dried up

Hardly there is a trickle

You see flow only after persistent drizzle

Now you see no current

I miss the music of our

Backyard falls, its meditative murmurings

A soothing conversation in the night

My great grand father would

Have performed yagnas – on command he could 

Call the benevolent Indra – prajnanya

My maternal grand father too 

Was a simple, self effacing reader of the

Vedas – that perennial fountain of dharma

No, not the misinterpreted phrase “dhamma/damma”

Found in modern dictionaries or eastern religious treatises 

Outlined in a foreign European tongue - English

Dharma as instructed in the three Vedas

The original mode of human conduct

- It is meant to uplift one and all souls

And gently guide them towards

Real enlightenment and happiness

Now, with a few Sanskrit phrases

I can utter, say a bit haltingly

Prayers to the thirty three crores gods

For a simple cool summer shower

I need them for my garden flowers, lawn, sacred Tulasi,

And the okras

The local farmers too need them

For the sweet corn and vegetables

The deer, birds, and playful squirrels

And rabbits too need them

A respite from the hot dry wind

Won’t you bless us with

A silky carpet of jasmines and dianthus

Govinda?

Your name itself is – Narayana

You seem to float on

A veritable ocean of fresh water (Copyright 2021 by the author)

Word To Word Meaning of "Raghu Vamsa Sudha" Song

Raghu-vamsa = the dynasty of Raghu, the lineage that includes the famous Raghu; sudha = ambrosia, nectar, Amruta, the celestial drink that eliminates the death (time); ambudhi = ocean; Chandra Sri = the auspicious Moon; (Sri Rama is like the Moon for the ocean of Raghu-vamsa. With Sri Rama the entire Raghu dynasty bubbles (comes alive) like the tidal waves in an ocean of nectar; the scene is like the ocean on a full moon night.

agha = sin; megha = dark cloud, (earlier we looked at the weight and size of a cloud. Some clouds weigh as much as an elephant!); maruta = wind. That means here in this context the Lord acts as a powerful wind to dispel all the accumulated sins; Sri kara= this single letter represents all that is beautiful, beneficial, and benevolent, One who bestows wealth, Lord Vishnu; asurEsa = the leader of demons, rakshakas. (ex: Hiranya-kasipu); mRugendra = lion (Lord Vishnu takes the form of man and lion); vara = the rare, special, the best; Jagannatha = the Lord of the universe; 

Jamadagni-ja = son (offspring) of sage Jamadagni, Parasu-Rama; garva = pride, arrogance; khanDana = broken, vanquished utterly; jaya = Parvati, Gauri; Rudra = Siva; adi = and others (Devatas); vismita = startled, totally unexpectedly surprised; bhanDana = (by the) war. Probably the context here refers to the various battles in Ramayana culminating ultimately with the victory over Ravana; Kamalapta = friend of lotus, Sun; anvaya = the principal person in the lineage (of Sun/solar dynasty); manDana = filled/decorated with all virtues and decorations; agaNita = countless, innumerable; adbhuta = exemplary, exceptional, extraordinary, rare; saurya = valorous, courageous; Sri Venkatesa = the auspicious Lord who removes all obstacles of His devotees; 

bhRugu-nandana = Sukracharya; kavi = a bird, here in this instance it refers to the Crow (Kaka-asura); bhanjana = the sound of conch shell (it represents the imminent victory or the initial sounding for an outright domineering battle); bRundaraka = very beautiful, effulgent; bRunda-hita = the wisher of goodness for Tulasi devi (or an entire group), bRunda also means a group; nigama = (the) Vedas; antava = end (of the Vedas), the final word; subudhavana = One, who protects the virtuous people; nIrajaaksha = the Lotus eyed One.

(Copyright 2021 by the author. I humbly dedicate this blog to my guru as a minuscular gesture of gratitude.) 

Cuke Speak

"So, you want me

To exhibit my most precious

Cadmium-yellow flowers

Both male and female

And

The nascent newly born

Little Christmas-lights-like

Pickling cucumbers;

That’s what you guys call ‘em.

For me both the flowers and little fruits -

They’re all my lovely children.

No, I won’t display them

Like the modern selfie-Facebook-Twitter

Addicted self-absorbed brazen

Loud-mouthed parents;

Always gasping for more attention

And self-promotion.

We are what we are

Nature’s simple, yet ingenious botanical inventions

Passed down through the ages.

Of course, with the help of 

Good-hearted gardeners and farmers.

We always hide our children

Behind the doors, windows of cool bristly green leaves

Hind the Venetian blinds, so to speak

Away from the casual onlookers

We’d only reveal ourselves to 

Our kind grower and the 

Benevolent creator. No, we’re not

Solely meant 

For your stomach nor for your Mason pickling jar prisons.

We are part of a greater scheme,

Ask your enlightened

Buddha, the realized Sri Ramana

Or a biologist like Dr. Khorana” (Copyright 2021 by the author)

Raghu Vamsa Sudha - Lyrics in Telugu, English, and Sanskrit

రఘువంశ సుధాంబుధి చంద్ర శ్రీ/ 

రామరామ (రాజ) రాజేశ్వర॥

అఘ మేఘ మారుత శ్రీకర/

అసురేశ (భ) మృగేంద్ర వర జగన్నాథ॥

జమదగ్నిజ గర్వ ఖండన/ 

జయ రుద్రాది విస్మిత భండన

కమలాప్తాన్వయ మండన/ 

అగణిత అద్భుత శౌర్య శ్రీ వేంకటేశ॥

భృగునందనా కవిభంజనా 

బృందారకా బృందాహితా

నిగమాంతవ సు-బుధావనా

నీరజాక్ష  శ్రీ వెంకటేశ్వర ||

raghuvamsha sudhAmbudhi candra shrI rAma rAma (rAja) rAjEshvara

anupallavi

agha mEgha mAruta shrIkara asurEndra (asurEbha) mrgEndra vara jagannAtha

caraNam 1

jamadagnija garva khaNDana jaya rudrAdi vismita bhaNDana
kamalAp-tAnvaya maNDana agaNita arputa shurya shrI venkatEsha

caraNam 2

bhrgunandanA kavibhanjanA brndArakA brndAhitA

nigamAntava su-budhAvanA nIrajAkSa shrI venkaTEshvara 

 

रघु वंश सुधाम्बुधि चन्द्र श्री 

राम राम  (राज) राजेश्वर 

 

अघमेघ मारुत श्रीकर 

असुरेश (भ) मृगेन्द्र वर जगन्नाथ

 

जमदग्निज गर्वखण्डन 

जय रुद्रादि विस्मित भन्दन 

कमलाप्त न्वय मण्डन 

अगणित अद्भुत  शौर्य श्री वेन्कटेश 

 

भृगुनंदना कविभन्जना 

बृन्दरका बृन्दहिता 

निगमान्तव सुबुधावना 

नीरजाक्ष श्री वेन्कटेश्वर  

(This is a very popular tune and Carnatic composition. I heard it many times on the

AIR radio mostly as instrumental music. Several Telugu lyricists tried to write movie

songs to this tune. Earlier I posted a blog on "వయసా ఇది" film song which contains

this melody. Many vocal artists from Maharajapuram, M.S., to Jesudas gave

renditions. Here is a violin interpretation from

Dwaram: Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu  )

Copyright 2021 by the author