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RaamaBhakthi List Archive: Message 00012 Nov 2004

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Dear srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

Many a times we have heard saint thyaagaraaja krithis glorifying raama, 
hisishta dheivam. In few krithis he eulogizes my krishNa also. One such krithi 
is the following 'thOdi' raagam krithi. The other day when I was listening to 
the concert of one youngster by name master m.balamuralikrshna [pleasedo not 
cofuse with senior and well renowned name sake including the initial] he was 
giving a very pleasing thOdi raagam. Of course the krithi rendered was ninnE 
nammi of syaamaa sasthrigaL. But it triggered my senses to write on this krithi 
and hence this article.   

Raagam thOdi [8 hanumath thOdi mELam] taaLam: roopakam 
Composer: thyaagaraaja Language: Telugu 

pallavi 
brindhaavana lOla gOvindhaa aravindha nayanaa [brin] 

anupallavi 
sundharaanga dhrtha rathaanga sujanaari thimira pathhanga [brin]

charaNam 
maamava sree ramaNa maNi madhana asritha mithra 
raamadhaasa dhaasa thyaagaraajanutha charithra [brin]

word by word meaning:
brindhaavana lOla - one who likes and plays in brindhaavanam - the thuLasi 
garden. 
[or one who likes and plays in gardens at brindhaavanam] 
[or one who plays in the gardens at brindhaavanam - the place] 
- means krishNa

gOvindha- the cowherd or gOpaalan krishNan who got a specific name given 
by'dhEvEndhran' after being subdued by krishNa - this is the only 
pattabhishEkam krishNa had, performed on krishNa by dhEvEndhran - that way this 
naamam is very special.

aravindha nayana - one who has eyes like lotus  
sundhara anga - one who has beautiful body
ratha anga dhrtha- one who carries the part of the chariot - the wheelbeingpart 
of a chariot so one who carries that wheel is a ratha anga dhrtha - who carries 
the sudharsana chakra - the chakradhaari - vishNu or krishNa

sujanaari - a lady who is born well - [su + ja + naari, su = well, ja = born, 
naari = woman] or that lucky woman sree mahaalkshmee 

thimira pathha anga - krishNa - one who is well fed by the darkened eyes ofthat 
mahaa lakshmee - means she is always showering her glances on him - 
mahalakshmee kuLira kataakshiththu aruLum dhEhaththai udaiyavan -

maamava sree ramaNa maNi madhana - the husband of the gem like sree - the 
mahalakshmee, krishNa
aasritha mithra - the friend of all who seek him. 
raama dhaasa- servant of raama or a person named raama dhaasa 
thyaagaraaja nutha - told by thyaagaraaja
charithraa - one who has a history

Meaning: 
Pallavi: 
Hey krishNa, gOpaala, one who plays in the gardens in bhrindhaavanam, having 
eyes like lotus.

Anupallavi: hey krishNa, you, who has a beautiful body, who carries the chakra, 
the wheel, the part of a chariot, who is being glanced by the dark eyes of that 
well born mahalakshmee

CharaNam: krishNa, one who is liked by that gem of a women, that sree - maha 
lakshmee, the friend of all who seek him, one who has a history told by 
thyaagaraaja the servant of raama dhaasa.   

Comments or Points: 
1.      The raagam thOdi is one of the gana raagam and to be enjoyed more in 
vilamba kaalam - slow tempo, and that too in a peaceful atmosphere sung in 
visthaaram - an elaborate manner- no rushing through. 
2.      This krithi though short is very rich in meaning as stated above.
3.      On this 'aravindha nayana' meaning lotus eyed krishNa, Saint 
thyaagaraaja [hereafter ST] uses many words - in many krithis like 
raajeevaaksha, vanaja nayana, kamala nayana, saraseeruha nayana, ambujaaksha, 
vaarija nayana etc.
4.      Few krithis having such exemplary words on the eyes which comes 
immediately to the mind are: 
O raajeevaaksha - aarabhi raaga krithi - starting as such
Raaraa raajeeva lOchana raamaa, [mOhana raaga krithi]
aravindha nayana [above], 
vanaja nayana - [nannu paalimpa krithi in mohana raaga], 
vanaja nayanudai - kEdhaara gowlai krithi starting as such
vaarija nayana - another kEdhaara gowlai krithi starting as such
saraseeruha nayana - bilahari krithi starting as such 
neeraja dala nayana - in the krithi neeve kaani in bilahari
all meaning one who has lotus like eyes. Also ambOruha nayana, ambujaaksha, 
kamala nayana, puNdareekaaksha are other naamaas meaning same.

5.      On this sundhara anga - immediately mind goes to rukminee kalyaanam - 
where she address my krishNa as "sruthvaa guNaan bhuvana sundhara" after having 
heard about him - not seen in picture or any such thing but simply heard -in 
the mind picture has come about that sundharan. Here ST also says sundhara 
anga: - having beautiful body -azhagan.

6.      Here thyaagaraaja says I am dhasan - servant of raamadhaasa. This may 
mean 
a.      bhadhraachala raamadhaasa who was also an ardent devotee of raama 
likethyaagaraaja 
b.      bhakthaas of raama, - I am dhasa to the raama dhaasa-s. Servant of 
Servants of Raama - thoNdar tham thoNdan - 'thoNdar adippodi' concept of 
aazhvaars

7.      While writing the life of bhadraachala ramadhaas, or thyaagaraaja, 
thiskrithi is often quoted by writers. Similar reference is also there in other 
krithi of ksheera saagara sayana in dhEva gandhaari and kaligi yuntE gadhaa in 
keeravani, which immediately comes to mind. 

Dear bhakthaas, Meditate on that sundharan on the ensuing deepavali day, who 
has aravinda nayanam and plays in brindhaavanam.

Dhasan
Vasudevan m.g

PS: this incidentally fulfills partially the command of sriman sadagopan swamy 
to adiyen to write about thodi raga krithis of ST and on bhadrachala ramadhas 
krithis - here it is a combined one that too - on my krishna. 







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