Meaning of "Pahimam Srirama" Kirtana

Paahimaam = protect me, rescue me; Sri Rama = auspicious Rama, Rama with Sri, Rama with Sita; ante = when I utter; palukavaitivi = you do not respond, you do not reply; niisnEha = your friendship, companionship; mettidana cheppanO = how to tell, what can I say about it (your friendship);

Ibbandi nondi = when it got into a predicament, stuck in a desperate situation; aa kari = that elephant; bobba peTTinantalOnE = gave a shriek for help;  gabbuna = immediately, without further delay; (k)gaachitivaTa = came to its rescue; nibbaramugaa = in plenty, in excess, profusely; nEnentO = nEnu + entO = I, so much; kabbamicci = gave (so much) poetry, offered so many poetical works; vEdukonna = sought refuge in you; tabbibbu = overwhelm (me), very disorienting; cEsedavu = you make it; abba = an interjection expressing exasperation;

sannutincu varinella = all those who extol your virtues (characteristics); munnu = foremost, earlier; dayato = with kindness, with compassion; brOcitavani = have come to their rescue; pannaga Sayi = Sesha-Sayi = the One who reclines on the great serpent Adi Sesha; nE kani = I met, I saw; vinnavinciti = pleaded, submitted a request; vinnapamu = the application, request; vinaka = not paying attention, not considering the matter, not listening to the devotee’s earnest appeal; entO = very much; kannaDa = neglect; (j)chEsedavu = you do it; yennaTiki = ever; namma raadu = cannot trust, cannot believe; anna nna = interjection expressing surprise;

chayyana = swiftly, Bhadradri = the Bhadra mountain ( = Bhadrachalam); nilaya = abode; swami vani nammi nEnu = I feel you are the Lord; vEmaaru = thousand times; vidhamula = ways, methods; vinuti chEya saagiti = I’ve come to praise You, extolled You; iiyeDanu = in this context, at this moment, in this regard, in this matter; Ramadasuni = Ramadasu; kuyyaalinchi = (did Ramadasu consider himself as a helpless crying child?) carry a child in arms and move him in a cradling motion, or pacify a baby by rocking the cradle; brOvakunna = if You do not sustain and care for me; oyyaaramEmanavachchu(nu) = what to say about Your grace in such an act (of omission); ayyayya = interjection expressing a feeling of sadness or pain;

In the first stanza (చరణము), Ramadasu mentions the name of Gajendra. His story is very well described in Srimad-Bhagavatam. I have access only to the Telugu translation by Potana. In the eighth chapter, Gajendra fought with the water dwelling crocodile for a long time, almost thousand years. Finally he realizes his impotence; with rapidly dwindling energies, stuck in the abyss of excruciating pain he makes a final appeal (total surrender) to Lord Narayana. Gajendra did not call Narayana by His proper name (which one to pick? There are more than one thousand names) but he addressed his request to that supreme authority, who controls and sustains the entire world. In the story, Brahma and Siva did not move, did not respond. Maybe, they thought the sustainer of all life, Narayana would come to save our Gajendra.

Here, in this context, Ramadasu seems to ask: How come You (Vishnu) speedily went to help the distressed elephant after hearing one S.O.S message? Here, I have composed hundreds of songs on you, penned thousands of lines extolling your virtues and qualities, yet I get no response from you. What type of friendship is this, please tell me. This conduct of yours is very puzzling, I cannot understand, so says the extempore composer of Bhadrachalam. When was it, when was this song composed? Just in 17^th century.

Throughout the song, there is a bit (just a smidgen) of sarcasm, a little tease addressed to Rama. Of course, the devotee is always free to do, whatever (s)he pleases. In the literature, there are cases when a devotee offers ablutions with water contaminated with spittle. There is another situation where a devotee throws stones at a murti. Dharma, the core principle of Sanatana tradition is very fine, subtle – it is not easily understood, not even by the celestials. So, here, in this context too, our Telugu great grand father (to me Annamayya, Tyagayya, and many other great composers are like great grand fathers) Ramadasu too directs his exasperation at Rama. But Rama, even the word itself is very potent. The Lord is the most compassionate, the most perfect amalgam of all finer virtues. No one, no one could find fault with his conduct or actions. We may not understand the Lord’s actions or intents. Often we erroneously jump to the conclusion: “He does not answer my application”. Both Ramadasu and Tyagayya were very fortunate. They were constantly watched and protected by Lord Rama. Same thing happened in the case of Bhakta Jayadeva too. How could they compose such extraordinarily beautiful songs? Without the fountain of deep inspiration? How could they lead their lives in this Kali-yuga (we are in Kali-yuga 5115 year) without the Lord’s benevolent gaze steadily shining on them ?

For some time, I did not get the full import of the last stanza. I went on practicing this song for weeks, putting concentration more on getting the melody and diction of every phrase absolutely correct. Then, it occurred to me like this: In the middle stanza, the composer (our great grandfather Bhakta Ramadasu. To me all these great musical composers are like my grandfathers. They teach me many new things in life. They offer their pure unalloyed affection whenever I get dispirited, disappointed, and become a bit sad. They opened to me vast fragrant gardens, vistas filled with heavenly beauty – in music, literature, dance, philosophy, and religion. Singlehandedly, these forefathers of Telugu have instructed me in many diverse things through easy paths and short cuts. To obtain such a vast repertoire of knowledge, I have to study volumes, even whole libraries. But they saved me from enormous trouble and hard work. Through sweet melodious compositions, they gently taught me many essential, subtle things – about the nature of true Bhakti, the meaning of devotion, and pure passion. Other than bowing at their feet, what can I give them? My heartfelt salutations to all those exalted spirits. I am sure wherever they are, they will receive my pure respects kindly.) Where was I, yes our Ramadasu had a vision of Lord Vishnu on His special serpent bed (modern water bed is nothing compared to this!) with the ever compassionate Lakshmi on His side. Like the murti in Sri-rangam. There in the midst of milky ocean, gentle waves are giving our Lord a soft cradling effect (massage). And in that reclining posture, the Lord always appears with total peace and beauty emanating from His face. Oh, those lotus petal filled eyes. Here, Ramadasu seems to poke fun at the Lord, what is the use of You enjoying the cradling waves there? Come, come down to the earth and console this mortal child who is in utter inconsolable grief.

[If I may slightly digress here, I recall listening to one of the Telugu exponents once. When a sincere student asked a learned Swami thus, “I have so many questions about the scriptures, what to do? Who will clear my doubts?” The Swami said politely something to this effect: “Please read all the Puranas and the three great epics, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Bhagavad-Gita each book three times. Read with pure intellect, with devotion and absolute care. And then come back to me after doing this home work, and then submit your question or any lingering doubt.” It is true, after completing such home work meticulously, there will be very few questions. This writer does not try to boast, but would like to share couple of insights with others. 1. If a Sadhaka genuinely tries to explore the age old Sanatana tradition, if he persists with patience, definitely he will find the correct answer to his question. 2. If one submits (all the baggage of pride, intellect, etc.) oneself with utter humility, on the way, he will come across the right literature (commentary, explanation) and the right preceptor – at the right opportune moment. But one needs to learn a little bit of Sanskrit, Telugu (or Tamil or any of the other Indian languages). Knowing a language (other than English) helps and helps a lot. Though there are great yogis who never opened a book – it is altogether a different phenomenon, for lesser humans, a little bit of study (swadhyayana) is a must. One may come across a rare English book by Sister Nivedita or Swami Nikhilananda, but such instances are very infrequent. Rarely we find genuine helpful books in English, books that can really inculcate a sense of true devotion or wisdom. ]  

            
        Upon the urging of a Sulekhite, I had to study this popular Ramadasu kirtana in depth. Hope it is helpful to the young learners of Telugu/Carnatic music. Lekhini was used for English transliteration. Lyrics were given in a previous post here. Copyright by the author 2014.