Mina lochani = One (the Devi) with the eyes of a fish; [There is an interesting story about fish and its children. Similar to the Guru, a fish supports its children with just its looks or gaze. This is true of turtles also (see the Wiki about Olive Ridley Turtles)]. Many think that raising the young or caring for a plant or pet requires direct touch and feeding. Yet in nature life happens and grows on its own, perhaps under the loving gaze of mother Earth or the Mother.
Many birds feed their young with delicate nutritious food, at times even slightly masticated (or regurgitated) protein rich portions. But the swans are a little different; they guide and watch their babies (cygnets) wander on soft spring grass and nibble the little green shoots. No direct feeding like the cardinal or robin birds.
Here in this composition Sri Dikshitar simply asked Meenakshi Devi for “indescribable joy”. He begged only for the elusive joy. Many things in the world can be given a name, a meaning, or apt description. But what is joy? This is something like a blob of mercury – if you try to catch it, it slips and rolls away from your hand. Yet we all know (feel) it is there some where, in some form; we come across such descriptions of joy in poetry (Keats line: “A thing of beauty is joy forever”. Also the Telugu song by Samudrala Jr. “andame anandam అందమె ఆనందం" )
Maana matru = respected Mother; matangi = Parvati; mEyE = worth knowing;
Siva jaye = Lord Siva’s consort, the form of energy, (loosely) companion of Lord Siva. The epithet (jaaye) also connotes a wife who begets children, here in this context (for) Siva. For the entire creation and its peaceful existence the Mother becomes the source of Lord Ganesa and Kumara Swamy (Sri Subrahmanya Swamy). Earlier during the birth of Kumara Swamy She had put an injunction on all the Devas thus: there would be no additional members (offspring) to the Devas, thereby limiting the number of Devas to just thirty-three crores (see Tyagaraja kirtana “endaro mahanubhavulu”). Of course Devas can bless humans or Yakshas and indirectly gift children (ex: Arjuna was born through the blessing of Indra).
vidhu vidambana vadane = a face that compares or excels the effulgence of Moon.
One has to make the pilgrimage to the temple town (Madurai) in Tamil Nadu and visit Minakshi Devi. The whole city and its neighborhoods are under the purview of Devi; like Annapurna in Varanasi, here in the south Minakshi keeps a watchful eye on its people, animals, and nature surroundings. From M. S. Subbulakshmi, Madurai Mani Iyer, to Sri Ramana Maharishi many great personalities are associated with Madurai. Minakshi's compassion and benediction are beyond human imagination; Her grace brings peace and much needed relief to the devotees.
Complete lyrics will be given in the next post. Also, the missing stanzas or phrases will be incorporated through editing soon.
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