SrI:
SrI raghunandana parabraHmaNe namaH
Kriti:
cAla kalla
Raga:
Arabhi
In the kRti ‘cAla kallalADukonna’ – rAga Arabhi, SrI tyAgarAja asks Lord
what pleasure He derives by speaking lies to him.
Pallavi
cAlakallal(A)Dukonna saukhyam(E)mirA
Anupallavi
kAlamu pOnu mATa nilucunu kalyANa rAma nAtO (cA)
Charanam
talli taNDri nEn(u)NDa
takkina bhayam(E)larA(y)ani
palumAru nIv(e)ntO bAsalu cEsi ilalO
sari vAralalO entO brOcuc(u)NDi
peddalatO palki meppiJci tyAgarAjunitO (cA)
Gist
O Auspicious Lord SrI rAma! What pleasure do You derive by telling much lies to
me? Time will pass, but the word (uttered) will stand. Many a times, (1) having
promised me much that ‘when I am there as Your mother and father, why fear
about remaining things?’, (2) having been protecting me much among my peers (and)
in this World, and (3) having lauded me by speaking (about me) to great men, what
pleasure do You now derive by telling much lies to this tyAgarAja?
Word-by-word Meaning
P
O Lord! What (Emi) (EmirA) pleasure (saukhyamu) do You derive by telling
(ADukonna) much (cAla) lies (kallalu) (kallalADukonna) to me?
A
O Auspicious (kalyANa) Lord SrI rAma! time (kAlamu) will pass (pOnu), but
the word (mATa) (uttered) will stand (nilucunu); what pleasure do You derive by
telling much lies to me (nAtO)?
C
Many a times (palumAru), having promised (bAsalu cEsi) me much (entO) that
(ani) ‘when I (nEnu) am there (uNDa) (nEnuNDa) as Your mother (talli) and father
(taNDri), why (ElarA) fear (bhayamu) (bhayamElarAyani) about remaining things
(takkina)?’, having been (uNDi) protecting (brOcucu) (brOcucuNDi) me much among
my peers (sari vAralalO) (and) in this World (ilalO), and having lauded (meppiJci)
me by speaking (palki) (about me) to great men (peddalatO) (literally elders), what
pleasure do You (nIvu) (nIventO) now derive by telling much lies to this tyAgarAja
(tyAgarAjunitO)?
Notes –
C – bhayamElarA – this is how it is given in the books of TKG and TSV/AKG.
However, in the book of CR, this is given as ‘bhayamEla’. This needs to be checked.
Any suggestions??
Additional Comments by Sri V.Sadagopan:
This kriti in Aarabhi raagam and Aadhi TaaLam was a favorite of Sangeetha
Kalaanidhis MahaarAjapuram ViswanAtha Iyer, Semmangudi SrinivAsa Iyer and
MahaarAjapuram SanthAnam.
This is a kriti is set in an AmaraSa-rOsha-rOshOkti mood of grievance, anger and
remonstrance. SwamigaL asks the Lord bluntly: “Oh KalyANarAma ! What kind of
weird pleasure You derive by speaking untruth to me? You might have forgotten
what You said to me about coming to my protection like a caring parent and not to
fear about anything. You might have forgotten those many words of assurance. I
have not however forgotten them. Time may pass; but spoken words will remain
forever. Oh Lord Raamachandra ! Is it fair what You are doing? What joy do You
derive by going back on Your word and speaking untruth?”
This mood of shocked disbelief in the Lord arising from a sense of grievance
experienced by a deep devotee of the Lord is captured here. The experience is
similar to that of Thirumangai AzhwAr, when he went to the dhivya dEsam of
IndhaLUr to worship ParimaLa RanganAtha PerumAL. The door for the Sannidhi
was closed. Thirumangai AzhwAr was very unhappy and complained bitterly to the
Lord for His reluctance in granting His sevai to His dear devotee. Thirumangai
walked away and told the Lord to keep His beauty to Himself.
The other kritis echoing this Amarsha-rOsha-rOshOkti mood of ThyAgarAja
SwamigaL are many. His reproach of the Lord for His hard-heartedness would take
many forms:
(1) Suddha SaavEri kriti: nee kEvari BhOdhana?, where he will question Lord
Raamachandra: “Who has poisoned Your mind and set You up against me? How come
You changed Your mind from tender caring to utter neglect?)
(2) BegadA Raaga Kriti: TanavAri tanamu lEdhA? “Pray do not annoy me and delay
Your blessings! ---Have You no special consideration for me as being Your own?”
(3) Hameer KalyANi Raaga Kriti: Maanamu lEdhA? TanavADani-yabhimAnamu
lEdhA? “Oh Lord ! Don’t You have any self-respect (suya amryAdhai)? Have You no
interest in Your own people?”
(4) HusEni Raaga Kriti: “Raama Raama Raama SitAramaNa paapaharaNa”: “Do You
unduly gloat that You have put me to torments? --- Does it rebound to Your credit
that You should harass me? –Is it Your heart made of iron that it remains unmoved
by all of my appeals? --- Having affectionately sung Your praises, should I have in
the end to say all these things? Are You born of a race, which is incapable of
protecting people? Are You worried over it?”
(5) Kedara GouLa kriti: DharmAtma nannipuDu dhaya jooDavE: “While I am
appealing to You as aDharmAtma, Is it right for You to reply dubiously? ---Why vex
me with Your trickery? Is it fair that You should not come to my rescue?”
This type of liberty taking with the Lord by the bhaktA and chastising the Lord
for His indifference arises from the depth of dependence of the BhaktA on the
Lord.
Sri Raama DhAsan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan