Varnam on Devi-Lyrics and meaning

[maithribhat]

Hi,

Can anyone help me with the lyrics and meaning of varnam on Devi (Maha Tripurasundari)..Ragam- Sivaranjani, Talam- Adi. Ref..Natya Dwani-Sri Chakram CD of Madurai R Muralidharan..

Thanks..

[rshankar]

If you post the lyrics, I can help with the meaning.

[madhan]

The pallavi is "Maha thirupura sundari, mahakaali maamadurai meenakshi magal ennai aadhari, parameswari kripakari" rite? I need to search for the audio (which im hoping I have) and derive the lyrics..!!

[Lakshman]

My attempt (corrections welcome):

mahA tripurasundari (pv). rAgA: shivaranjani. Adi tALA.

P: mahA tripurasundari mahA kali mAmadurai mInAkSi magan ennai Adari paramEshvari krpAkari
A: tAyE nIyE dayApari nirantari jagajjanani vishAlAkSi viraindE aruL vishvEshvari
pAdam paNindurugi paramAnandam ponga Adi shankaran tanai ANDaruL seidAi kAmAkSi
Adari vIsiyE pEroLI kATTinAi aDiyavarin shOdanai tIrttE nI dayai seidanai prapancam niraindum paripUraNi
(muktayi svara sAhitya)
uravAi irundu uyarvaLittiDum uyirE unnata umaiyavaLE maravAdirundu magizhvaLE tirumaNiyE
mAyavan sOdariyE iravAl niraindE tiruLAi uzhanru irunda enai sthiramAi vaLarttE oLiyE OmkAra rasamE
ambA akhilANDEshvari ambikE candramaulI caraNamE gati shankari janani
C: mAyE jagam nIyE rAjEshvari aruLvAi shivaranjani
1: dEvI un darishanamE nAn dinam peravE nI vazhi taruvAi
2: kAmakOTi pITha vAsini tAmadam EnaDi tAyE aram magizhum sundari varam peravE dinam paNIvEn nirantariyE
3: mAtA manam kanindaruL dayApari bhuvanEshvari trishUlini mahEshanin vadam purind-hatam seidavaLE
mAtangiyum nIyE mAmadurai vaLar ANDiDum mInalOcaniyE
4: vAn mayil uyirena (muDivena?) aruLbavaLE vazhi tarum anudinamum kANa vENDinEn karuNai vENDinEn
jnAnamE aruL Adi parAshakti ulaginil uyirgaLai ANDiDum aruL perum annaiyE sadAshivan magizhviDa
naLinamadu nATTiyam AdinAi dinam unai paNindiDum muraLIdharan mun ninru vazhi kATTum

[maithribhat]

All...Thank you very much Lakshman Sir, Ravi sir, Madhan sir...

[rshankar]

Translation coming up...

[rshankar]

I have tweaked the words here and there to make more sense. I would like to hear the varNam to make sure that I have the right sAhitya.
Here you go (I liked the adroit insertion of the rAgamudra in the caraNasAhiyam):
pallavi
mahA tripurasundari mahA kALi mAmadurai mInAkSi magan ennai Adari paramEshvari kRpAkari

Oh the mighty (mahA) tripurasundari [1], mahA kALi [2], the presiding deity of the great (mA) city of madurai, mInAkshi, the ever benevolent one (kRpAkari), the consort of Siva (paramESvari), please support/protect (Adari) me (ennai), your son (magan).

anupallavi
tAyE nIyE dayApari nirantari jagajjanani vishAlAkSi viraindE aruL vishvEshvari
pAdam paNindurugi paramAnandam ponga Adi shankaran tanai ANDaruL seidAi kAmAkSi
Adari vIsiyE pEroLI kATTinAi aDiyavarin shOdanai tIrttE nI dayai seidanai prapancam niraindiDum paripUraNi

Oh mother (tAyE), you (nIyE) are ever compassionate (dayApari), the eternal/endless one (nirantari), the mother (janani) of the world (jagat), oh dEvi with the wide (viSAla) eyes (akshi) [3], please shower your grace (aruL) without delay (viraindE), oh mistress (ISvari) of the world (viSva)! Oh kAmAkshi [4], after worshipping (paNindu) the feet (pAdam) of Siva (Adi Sankaran), and, glowing with love (urugi), you enslaved (ANDaruL SeidAi) [5] him (tanai) with eternal bliss (paramAnandam) that brims over (ponga)! Oh complete one (paripUraNi) who pervades (niRaindiDum) creation (prapancam), please protect (Adari) me. Oh dEvi who revealed (kATTinAi) your expansive (vISiyE) brilliance (pEroLi), you (nI) removed (tIrttE) the trials and tribulations (Sodanai) of your devotees (aDiyavarin) and showered (Seidanai) compassion (dayai) on them.

muktayi svara sAhityam
uravAi irundu uyarvaLittiDum uyirE unnata umaiyavaLE maravAdirundu magizhvaLittiDum tirumaNiyE
mAyavan sOdariyE iravAl niraindE puzhuvAi uzhanrirunda enai sthiramAi vaLartta oLiyE OmkAra rasamE
ambA akhilANDEshvari ambikE candramaulI caraNamE gati shankari janani

Oh pre-eminent (unnata) umA (umaiyavaLE) [6], remaining (irundu) as the vigor/strength (uravAi) or purpose, you are the life-force (uyirE) that elevates (uyarvaLittiDum) us and our lives! Oh precious, divine (tiru) gem (maNiyE), you are the one who grants (aLittiDum) us happiness (magizhvu) without forgetting (maravAdirundu) us! Sister (sOdariyE) of vishNu (mAyavan), you are the brilliance (oLiyE), the essence (rasamE) of the praNava (OmkAra) that has nourished (vaLartta) me (enai), who was swirling around aimlessly (uzhanrirunda) like a worm (puzhuvAi), into a stable person (sthiramAi)! Oh mother (ambA/ambikE/janani), mistress (ISvari) of the entire (akhila) universe (aNDa), oh Sankari [7], who regards the feet (caraNamE) of the Lord who bears the moon (candra) on his head (mouLi) as her refuge (gati)!

caraNam
mAyE jagam nIyE rAjEshvari aruLvAi shivaranjani

Oh supreme illusionist (mAyE) [8] you (nIyE) are the entire world (jagam), Oh rAjESvari! Oh delighter (ranjani) of Siva, please bless me (aruLvAi).

caraNasvara sAhityam 1
dEvI un darishanamE nAn dinam peravE nI vazhi taruvAi

Oh dEvi, you (nI) please grant (taruvAi) me the path/means (vazhi) so that I (nAn) am able to obtain/visualize (peRavE) your (un) auspicious form (dariSanamE) everyday (dinam).

caraNasvara sAhityam 2
kAmakOTi pITha vAsini tAmadam EnaDi tAyE aram magizhum sundari varam peravE dinam paNIvEn nirantariyE

Oh endless/eternal one (nirantariyE), resident (vAsini) of the kAmakOTi pITha, why (EnaDi) [9] this delay (tAmadam), my mother (tAyE)? Oh beautiful one (sundari) in whom the SAstras (aRam) delight in (magizhum), I will prostrate/offer worship (paNivEn) daily (dinam) to obtain (peravE) boons (varam) from you.

caraNasvara sAhityam 3
mAtA manam kanindaruL dayApari bhuvanEshvari trishUlini mahEshanai vadam purind-aTham seidavaLE
mAtangiyum nIyE mAmadurai vaLar ANDiDum mInalOcaniyE

Oh mother (mAtA), please bless me (aruL) with a mellow/melting (kanindu) mind/heart (manam), oh compassionate one (dayApari). Oh mistress (ISvari) of the world (bhuvana), bearer of the trident (triSUlini), who vanquished (vadam purindu) Siva (mahESanai) and threw a fit (haTham/aDam SeidavaLE), you (nIyE) are mAtangi [10] as well! Oh mInAkshi (mInalOcaniyE) who resides (vaLar) in, and rules (ANDiDum) the mighty (mA) city of madurai.

caraNasvara sAhityam 4
vaNmayil uyirena aruLbavaLE vazhi tarum anudinamum kANa vENDinEn karuNai vENDinEn
jnAnamE aruL Adi parAshakti ulaginil uyirgaLai ANDiDum aruL tarum annaiyE sadAshivan magizhviDa
naLinamadu nATTiyam ADinAi dinam unai paNindiDum muraLIdharan mun ninru vazhi kATTum

One who is our very life (uyirena) and showers bountiful (vaNmayil) grace (aruLbavaLE) on us, I request (vENDinEn) to visualize (kANA) you everyday and show (tarum) me the right path (vazhi). I ask (vENDinEn) for your compassion (karuNai). Oh mother (annaiyE) who blesses us (aruL tarum), who rules (ANDiDum) all living beings (uyirgaLai) in the world (ulaginil), please grant (aruL) me knowledge (jnyAnamE), oh primordial/primevial (Adi) supreme power (parASakti)! To delight (magizhviDa) Siva (sadASivan) [11], you performed (ADinAi) an elegant (naLinamadu) dance (nATTiyam), oh devi who appears (ninru) [12] before (mun) the composer, muraLIdharan, who worships (paNindiDum) you (unai) daily (dinam), and grants (tarum) me the means (vazhi) [13] to pursue you.

FOOTNOTES
[1] tripurasundari literally means the transcendent beauty (sundari) of the three (tri) cities/worlds (pura) - she is the ultimate, primordial Sakti, the light of manifestation, the abode of all tattvas
[2] mahAkALi - a manifestation of pArvati as the consort of mahAkAla - Siva as the timekeeper (here 'time' is time on earth/death), represented with 10 arms, a dark/black complexion, and a fearsome face with the tongue hanging out
[3] viSAlAkshi is the consort of Lord viSvESvara of kASi
[4] There are many interpretations for kAmAkshi, but the one I like is 'one who has sarasvati (kA) and lakshmi (mA) for eyes (akshi)' - apparently the reason why Sri MD composed a pair of kRtis on kAmAkshi in the rAgas sarasvati manOhari and kamalA (manOhari)
[5] Refers to the fact that after winning Siva's hand through austere penance, pArvati enslaves Siva with her love
[6] The name umA is supposed to have originated when pAravti's mother, mEnA, asks her not to (mA) perform severe penance - others can elaborate
[7] Sankari - one who creates (kari) auspiciousness (SaM)
[8] Very interesting that both siblings (brother and sister) are referred to as 'illusionists'
[9] 'aDi' would be a term of endearment here, and not one of familiarity or superiority
[10] mAtangi - refers to the story of pAravti's birth as the daughter of a lowly fisherman, mAtana, whose tribe is being harassed by a huge and ferociously bloodthirsty fish - Siva, as a fisherman, kills the fish and marries mAtangi - matanga kanyA, iti mAtangi (in the SyAmaLadaNDakam, the devi is referred to 'jaya matanga kanyE, jaya nIlOtpaldyutE')
[11] sadASiva - means one who is perpetually (sadA) clean/pure (Siva)
[12] 'mun ninru' literally means 'to stand (ninru) in front of (mun)'
[13] 'vazhi tarum' - can also mean 'showing the path'

[maithribhat]

Sorry for the late response..Thank you very much...

[Nagaratnam]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. I had a few questions about Mr R Shankar's excellent translation (thank you). My teacher might be getting our school to perform this varnam soon, and the meanings were very helpful for me.

pAdam paNindurugi paramAnandam ponga Adi shankaran tanai ANDaruL seidAi kAmAkSi

In addition to Parvati worshipping Shankaran's feet, could the "pAdam paNindurugi" here refer to Shankaran worshipping Parvati's feet? The "Adi Shankaran," here seems like it could refer to the guru Adi Shankaracarya, as well as Shiva. The line ends with the name Kamakshi, and apparently Kamakshi is one of the forms of Shakti who Shankaracarya pacified by installing a Sri Chakra. I did some brief Googling and there seems to be confusion about whether it's the current Kamakshi Amman temple or an older one that Shankaracarya visited, but in any case, there is some connection between him and Kamakshi specifically. If someone is more familiar with the temple lore, maybe they could comment on this?

Also in the anupallavi, the line:

prapancam niraindiDum paripUraNi

After listening to the recording, I couldn't hear an "n" after the prapancam. It sounds to me like it should be, "prapancam iraincum paripUraNi" instead. Apparently, "இறைஞ்சு-தல்" can mean "to fall down; To make obeisance to; to pay reverence; to worship by bowing or prostrating;வணங்குதல்." So if that's the case, "prapancam iraincum paripUraNi," could mean "one who is bowed to by the whole universe," rather than "one who fills the whole universe." Unfortunately my Tamil isn't great, and "iraincu" doesn't seem like a common word (haven't heard it before). Could anyone with more Tamil knowledge comment on whether this makes sense?

The varnam is now on Youtube if anyone wants to hear the audio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST_KrjcDB5s

[JaiNarayan]

Mr. R Shankar, in our version, it is sung as
'Kadani visiye Peroli kattinai' referring to the episode when Devi threw her earring into the sky and it turned into the moon to save Abhirami Bhattar because he had told king Sarabhoja in divine bliss that it was a full moon day, when in fact, it was a new moon day. The king was angered and ordered him to bring the moon to the sky. Bhattar sang Abhirami Andhadhi. Pleased with the devotion, in order to save him, Devi threw her earring into the sky. This turned into the moon and from then, Devi is also called 'Chandra kundala dhari'. (One whose earrings are the moon)
Kadani- earring
Visiye- threw
Peroli- bright light
Kattinai-showed

Also in mukthayi Swaram, it is 'chandramoulini! Charaname gathi!' Meaning she wears the moon in her head, and her feet are our only refuge.

[rshankar]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. I had a few questions about Mr R Shankar's excellent translation (thank you). My teacher might be getting our school to perform this varnam soon, and the meanings were very helpful for me.

pAdam paNindurugi paramAnandam ponga Adi shankaran tanai ANDaruL seidAi kAmAkSi

In addition to Parvati worshipping Shankaran's feet, could the "pAdam paNindurugi" here refer to Shankaran worshipping Parvati's feet? The "Adi Shankaran," here seems like it could refer to the guru Adi Shankaracarya, as well as Shiva.

This is also a perfectly valid interpretation of the line.

Also in the anupallavi, the line:

prapancam niraindiDum paripUraNi

After listening to the recording, I couldn't hear an "n" after the prapancam.

I had not heard the audio before, so iRainjum seems to be the correct word here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST_KrjcDB5s

Thank you!

[rshankar]

Mr. R Shankar, in our version, it is sung as
'Kadani visiye Peroli kattinai' referring to the episode when Devi threw her earring into the sky and it turned into the moon to save Abhirami Bhattar because he had told king Sarabhoja in divine bliss that it was a full moon day, when in fact, it was a new moon day. The king was angered and ordered him to bring the moon to the sky. Bhattar sang Abhirami Andhadhi. Pleased with the devotion, in order to save him, Devi threw her earring into the sky. This turned into the moon and from then, Devi is also called 'Chandra kundala dhari'. (One whose earrings are the moon)
Kadani- earring
Visiye- threw
Peroli- bright light
Kattinai-showed

Also in mukthayi Swaram, it is 'chandramoulini! Charaname gathi!' Meaning she wears the moon in her head, and her feet are our only refuge.

Thank you for the corrections.

[shreelatasuresh]

caraNasvara sAhityam 3
mAtA manam kanindaruL dayApari bhuvanEshvari trishUlini mahEshanai vadam purind-aTham seidavaLE
mAtangiyum nIyE mAmadurai vaLar ANDiDum mInalOcaniyE

Oh mother (mAtA), please bless me (aruL) with a mellow/melting (kanindu) mind/heart (manam), oh compassionate one (dayApari). Oh mistress (ISvari) of the world (bhuvana), bearer of the trident (triSUlini), who vanquished (vadam purindu) Siva (mahESanai) and threw a fit (haTham/aDam SeidavaLE), you (nIyE) are mAtangi [10] as well! Oh mInAkshi (mInalOcaniyE) who resides (vaLar) in, and rules (ANDiDum) the mighty (mA) city of madurai.

I am pretty sure that it is 'MahIshanai' as in killing the demon Mahisha instead of the given 'Maheshanai' in the lyrics - that would make more sense, right?

[KKishore]

I had listened to the audio of this Sivaranjani varnam,Adi Talam varnam fully.
Here is the lyrics (There may be few changes to above ones posted already in the thread )
Lyrics : Devi Varnam , Ragam Sivaranjani:Adi Talam , Composer Madurai R Muralidharan

P: mahAtripUrasundari mahAkAli mAmaduraimInAkshi maganennai Adhari parameshwari krupAkari

A: thAye nIye dhayApari nirandhari jagathjanaNi visAlAkshi viraindhE arul vishwEshwari

pAdham panindhurugi paramAnandham konda Adi Sankaran thanai Aandarul seithAi KAmAkshi

kAdhani(Ear rings) vIsiyE pEroli kAttinAi adiyavanin sOdhanai thIrthe nI dhayai seithanai prapanjam nirainjum paripUrani

uravAyirundhu uyarvaliThidum uyirE unnatha umayavalE
maravadhirunthu magizhvaliThidum maniyE mAyavan sOdhariyE
yiravAl niraindha irulAi(dark) uzhandru irundha enai
thiramAi valartha oliyE OmkAra aramE
ambA akilAndeshwari ambikE chandramouli charanamE gathi shankari jananI

C : ( mAyE jagam nEyE rAjeshwari arulvAi shivaranjani )

dEvi un dharisanamE nAn dhinam peravE nee vazhi tharuvAi

kAmakOti peeta vAsini thAmadham Enadi thAye
haran maghizhum sundari varam peravE dhinam panivEn nirandhariyE

mAthA manam kanindharul dhayApari bhuvaneshwari trishUlini maghishanai(demon mahishasuran)vatham purinthu thavam seithavalE
mAthangiyum nE mAmadurai valar Andidum meenalOchaniyE

vAnmazhai mugilena arulbhavalE bhairavi anudhinamum
kAnavEndinEn karunai vEndinEn gyAnamE tharum Adiparasakthi
ulaginil uyirgalai Aandidum Arulperum annayE
sadAshivan magizhnthida nalinamighu nAttiyam AdinAi

dhinam unai panindhidum muralidharanin muNIrunthu vazhi kAttum

Note: Meaning may not change much, if there are any clarifications needed i can attempt to provide