Brahma = One of the principals of the Tri-murthi (Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara), the One assigned with the sole responsibility of creation; kadigina = washed; paadamu = foot;
celagi = blossoming, sprout, with joy; vasudha = the earth; kolichina = measured; nii = your; bali tala = the head of King Bali, emperor Bali; mopina = placed; talapaka = without even deliberate intent; gaganamu = the sky; tannina = hit, struck; balaripu = Lord Indra, the king of all the devas; gaachina = protected;
Kamini = the lady, here referring to Ahalya Devi, the wife of sage Gautami; paapamu = the sins; kaDigina = washed; paamutala = the head of Kalingi serpent; niDina = filled, spread over; paamiDi = Garuda; turagapu = swift moving vehicle, horse;
parama = best, relates to the other (matters like ‘Brahman’); yogulaku = for those in pursuit of higher yoga, those who meditate, those who do penance for the benefit of all beings; pari pari = different times; vidhamula = many diverse ways; varamosage = giving boons, acceding to their valid requests; tiru = Sri; venkata-giri = the Tirumala hills collectively, also the main Tirumala hill; tiramani = as fixed, immovable, an unshakable; chupina = shown, pointed to;
The first stanza describes elegantly and succinctly the entire Vamana avatara of Sri Maha-Vishnu. In that avatara, Emperor Bali granted (donated) three feet to the new bachelor (vatuvu). First He measured the entire earth with His (one) foot. Then Sri Maha-Vishnu spanned the entire sky with the other foot. Then, in that instant immediately Brahma put a hold on His creation. He poured the water (Ganga) from His sacred pitcher on Lord Narayana's foot. That foot looked like a freshly bloomed pink lotus with smudges of mud. We must note here that Vamana is none other than Vishnu, who is the father of Brahma. (For the last measure of one-foot space, Sri Narayana placed His foot on Bali’s head. The emperor relinquished all his belongings and went to the lower world (patala-loka, పాతాళ లోకము). Thus Vishnu fulfilled His promise to Aditi and restores the kingdom to Lord Indra. Children may ask, “Why did not Vishnu fight with Bali?” He wanted to keep the word given earlier to king Prahlada. Sri Maha-Vishnu said thus: “Prahlada, henceforth I will not indulge in any war with your future generations (i.e., children, grand children, etc.).” Therefore, the only other alternative left now is “through amicable means like begging, asking for a donation”. Thus, Sri Maha-Vishnu descends to the earth and gets born as the child of Aditi and sage Kasyapa. It is a very short avatara barely spanning ten years. Right after the sacred thread (marriage) ceremony, Vamana goes for seeking alms. Devi Annapurna gave the first “biksha” to Lord Narayana. The next stop was at the gates of King Bali. Who can take a measure of His form really? Earlier He balanced the entire planet earth on His tusks (in the Varaha-avatara. (Some had remarked – it was not a boar, it could be a rhino.)
Obviously Annamayya had a clear insight into the scriptures and puranas. Perhaps, he had vivid visions of Lord Narayana performing His miraculous acts in various avataras (do not get mixed up with the latter day corrupted word in the English movie ‘avatar’. Go to a reputed Sanskrit dictionary/reference and try to understand the antecedents of these millennia-old culturally refined words. A picturesque way of understanding the word is to visualize a star descending to the earth.) Due to an accidental infraction, lady Ahalya (the wife of Gautama rishi) gets transformed into inert matter (i.e., the consciousness gets hidden) – as if temporarily she went into a deep penance state. When a speck of dirt from Rama’s feet hit the sleeping (one might say a comatose state) Ahalya, she transformed back into her original unblemished form. Then the composer sees Krishna’s feet dancing on the serpent Kalingi (Kaliya). How can we visualize the scene of Lakshmi softly pressing Lord Narayana’s feet? He came to Her for a brief respite from standing all day at Tirumala hilltop. Those feet are softer than the freshly opened rose-tinged lotuses. They will get rashes if you press them hard. Those feet adorn the hearts of great devotees. And, when Maha-Vishnu wanted to help the desperate Gajendra (the elephant struggling to pull away it’s foot from the wicked crocodile) – all He had to do was to beckon the superfast jet, Garuda. In an instant, at the flick of a thought He was there near the pond and released His devotee from the jaws of death. Of course, the ultimate release (salvation, moksha) for the two warring animals followed soon.
Now coming to the last stanza, this exquisite ‘sacred foot’ yields all the desires (boons) of His earnest devotees. Any number of examples can be given: Those tender feet danced to the lyrics of bhakta Jayadeva and Sri Narayana Tirthulu. When Bhadradri (Bhadrachalam mountain) prayed, the Lord took residence there with Sita and Lakshmana. So what, if He holds His arms clumsily transposing left and right? Sita is gracefully seated on His left side, making sure the errant seekers get full dose of His compassion. If these Tirupati hills came to the rescue of my parents and others, if the Sri Venkatesa’s feet offered inspiration to Annamayya, Sri Amaranarayana, and countless other composers – who can doubt the healing powers of Tirumala? This one song alone can teach children Telugu language, its sweetness, Carnatic music, and the vast lore of Hindu religious scriptures a lot. (Occasionally there may be a little mixing up of tenses, here in my writing. I did not care that much about strict adherence to 'pedantic grammar rules'. The reason is simple: We are trying to visualize the scene now as it happens. The four yugas (కృత, త్రేతా, ద్వాపర, కలి) happen again and again cyclically. Those periods occurred earlier and will repeat again. We should look at the sequence of events and figure out the English tense. These tense troubles are absent in Telugu and other languages!) Copyright 2021 by the author
Lyrics of "Brahma kadigina"
"Brahma kadigina" Song Audio
