shrI pArvatIparamEshvarau vandE

From: L Ramakrishnan <ramki@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu>
Date: 14 March 96

shrI pArvatI-paramEshvarau vandE
rAga - bauli (janya of mAyA-mALava gauLa)
tAla - Adi

I salute shrI pArvatI and paramEshvara[1,2]

cid-bimbau lIlA-vigrahau[3]
reflections of consciousness, (whose) idols are engaged in sport[4].

mamAbhIShta siddhayE
Deign to fulfil my desires.

C: ApAda-mastakAlaHNkArau
(The two) who are decorated from head to foot,

AdimaddhyAnta-rahitAkArau
(who are) without beginning or end,

sOpAna-mArga-mukhyAdhArau
the key authorities for the "ladder-path" or the "stepped-approach"[5]

sukhapradau gandharasAdhArau
who grant comfort, the substrata/ authorities for fragrance, aesthetic essence etc[5],

lOpAmudrEshArccita caraNau
whose feet are worshipped by Agastya,

lObha-mOhAdi-vAraNa-karaNau
destroyers of greed and ignorance,

pApApaha-paNDitatara-guru-guha-karaNau
removers of sin, creators of the scholarly guru-guha[6],

bhayaharaNau bhavataraNau
destroyers of fear, (those) who help us transcend worldly life.

Notes

1. This composition of ShrI MuttusvAmi DIkshitar is in praise of the dieties at the temple of vEdAraNyam, on the south-east coast of Tamil Nadu, near TiruvAroor (Raghavan, 1975).
2. The pallavi seems to have been inspired by the classic opening shlOka of KAlidAsa's Raghuvamsha (vAgarthAviva sampRktau) exalting the divine parents.
3. "Bauli" features as a soochita rAga mudra in this epithet.
4. Legend has it that the sage Agastya was unable to attend the wedding of Shiva and PArvatI in KailAsha and hence the celebrations were repeated for his benefit at VedAraNyam. lIlA-vigrahau probably refers to the act of giving sage Agastya darshan of the marriage (Srini Pichumani, pers. comm.).
5. sOpAna-mArga and gandharasAdhArau are probably advaitic notions.
6. guru-guha, the composer's signature, can also be literally taken to mean Lord ShaNmukha in this context.

References

Raghavan, V (1975)
Muttuswami Dikshitar. NCPA Press. Bombay. 104 pp.

Ramanathan, S and B. Rajam Iyer (1961).
Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini of Sri Subburama Dikshitar: Tamil Script edition. Vol. I. The Music Academy. Madras. 250 pp.

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