Carnatic Compositions – The Essence and Embodiment
– Aparna Munukutla Gunupudi
Our intent for this essay is to highlight the great features of the language, emotion and melody (rAgam) of a krithi (song/composition) and also to provide the song for your listening pleasure. Most of you may know these krithis, but when you discover the distinct features of a krithi, you may enjoy a new beauty or an attribute in the krithi.
Note: Krithi is defined as a song containing pallavi, anupallavi and charanam that have high musical value and can be sung elaborately with improvisations. Whereas, Keerthana also has a pallavi, anupallavi and charanam but is sung in a single form or simpler pattern.
vaiyaththu
rAgam: Gowla
tAlam: Adi
Lyrics: AndAl
Music: Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar
Language: Tamil
Pronouncement key Zh = L
vaiyaththu vaazhveergaaL naamum nampaavaikku
cheyyum kirisaigaL kELeerO paaRkadaluL
paiyya thuyinRa paramanaDi paadi
neyyuNNOm paaluNNOm naatkaalE neeraadi
maiyittu ezhudhOm malarittu naam muDiyOm
seyyaadana seyyOm theekkuRaLai(ch) chenROdhOm
ayyamum pichchaiyum aandhanaiyum kai kaatti
uyyumaaReNNi ugandhElOr embaavaai
Meaning:
vaiyaththu – in this world
vaazhveergaaL – those living
Naamum – we
Nampaavaikku – take a vow
cheyyum – will do
kirisaigaL – all the deeds
kELeerO – listen
paaRkadaluL – milky ocean
Paiyya – gently
thuyinRa – sleeping
Paraman – supreme lord/lord Vishnu
Adi – feet
Paadi – sing
Ney – ghee
uNNOm – will not consume
Paal – milk
uNNOm – will not consume
naatkaalE – wake up early in the morning
Neeraadi – bathe
Maiyittu – eye make up
ezhudhOm – will not apply
Malarittu – flowers
Naam – we
mudiyOm – will not adorn
Seyyaadhana – deeds that shouldn’t be done
seyyOm – will not do
theekkuRaLai – bad words/talk
chenROdhOm – will not utter
Ayyamum – for the needy
pichchaiyum – provide alms
aandhanaiyum – generously
kai kaatti – show our helping hand
Uyyum – to sustain ourselves
aaRu – path
eNNi – contemplating
Ugandhu – happily
ElOr – everybody/girls
embaavaai – let’s take of the vow to follow the six rules of “pAvai nOmbu”
Summary:
In order to lead a disciplined life which can lead us to the lord VishNu, who is gently resting in the middle of the milky ocean. AndAl encourages all the young maidens to sing his praises at his feet and practice “pAvai nOmbu” where the maidens happily vow to not consume ghee, not drink milk, not apply eye make up, not adorn flowers, not engage in ill talk, and aptly lend a helping hand to the needy and the alms seekers.
This song is the second of the thirty songs written by Andal/Goda Devi. Many devotees sing these songs during the month of Margasira to bring peace, prosperity and to attain grace of the almighty. AndAl is known for her untainted devotion towards lord VishNu and imagines him as her husband with no desire for conjugal pleasures and ultimately attains salvation. In this song, she conveys a message to the young girls to follow rigorous yet simple disciplines to attain unity with the lord VishNu. The six rules of the vow are, not eat ghee, not drink milk, not apply cosmetics, not adorn flowers in the hair, avoid ill talk, and help generously to the needy. It is said that donating food and clothing during this winter month of Margasira is considered as a high and honorable deed. She then asks everybody to engage in the thoughts of lord VishNu and sing songs in praise of him that brings peace and joy for the wellbeing of the people in this world. We wish everybody a very happy and safe holiday season, a new year filled with Lord VishNu and Andal’s blessings, health, wealth and happiness.
The power of music is profound
The joy of music is sweet and sound
The awe of music is abound
Music makes the world go round
Tanikella Chandra Bhanu is an accomplished Carnatic musician, teacher and a graded artist in All India Radio (AIR). She has performed extensively in India and abroad. She currently lives in Bangalore. She has rendered all 30 PAsurams for Sri Venkateswara Bhakthi Channel (SVBC) of TTD.
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Aparna Munukutla Gunupudi is a poet, lyricist and short story writer. She has written dance ballets such as Queen of Jhansi, Prasanna Ashtalakshmi, Usha Kalyanam, Sneham, Jamsetji Tata and they were performed in Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam styles. She wrote songs for “Prema Tarangini” an audio cassette released by noted music director Sri Manohar Murthy. She considers her parents, who provided and encouraged her in book reading, are her “gurus” and Sri Jandhyala Payayya Sastri as her writing mentor.