Aa:S R1 M1 P N3 S
Av: S N3 P D1 P M1 R1 S

taaLam: rUpaka
Composer: Muttuswaamee Dikshitar
Language: Sanskrit

pallavi

shrI guruNA pAlitOsmi saccidAnanda nAthEna

anupallavi

AgamAdi sannutEna akhila vishva vanditEna tyAgarAja vibhAtEna tApatrayArItena

caraNam

vedAntArtha vedyEna vikalpa roga vaidyEna nAdAnta supAdyEna nava nAthenAdyEna
sAdAkya kalAkarENa sadAshivAvatarENa nAdAnta vihArENa nava cakrAdhArENa
pAdAmbujEna varENa bhedAdi vidArENa Adi guruguhaparENa kAdi matam anusArENa

Meaning:

By Aparna from Neccheli (original article here, reproduced with permission)

Carnatic Compositions - The Essence and Embodiment
-Aparna Munukutla Gunupudi

As we celebrate Guru/Vyasa PurNima this month, we present a krithi in praise of the guru by Muthuswami Deekshitar and a krithi in which a pupil asks to provide wisdom/knowledge by Tyagaraja.

shrI guruNA - Teacher
pAlitOsmi - conduct me
saccidAnanda nAthEna - lord of the chidananda(Siva)

AgamAdi sannutEna - you are praised by the learned
akhila vishva vanditEna- bowed by the entire universe
tyAgarAja vibhAtEna - praised by Tyagaraja
tApatrayAritena - reducer of the three miseries

vedAntArtha vedyEna - the one that can explain the meaning of the vedantas
vikalpa roga vaidyEna - the one who can treat the illnesses
nAdAnta supAdyEna - the one who is in the form of nAda
nava nAthenAdyEna - the first lord of nava chakras
sAdAkya kalAkarENa - one with the arms that give wealth of fine arts
sadAshivAvatarENa - the one who is an embodiment of lord Siva
nAdAnta vihArENa - the one who dwells in the nAda
nava cakrAdhArENa - the one who is pivotal for 9 chakras
pAdAmbujEna varENa - his lotus feet
bhedAdi vidArENa - remover of differences
Adi guruguhaparENa - who protects Guruguha
kAdi matam anusArENa - the one who follows religions created by people with desires

The antya prAsa in this krithi is incredible and so meaningful. Guru/teacher is the most important person in everybody’s life. A teacher imparts the necessary knowledge and allows the pupil to ascend a path to success. In this krithi, Deekshitar not only describes the qualities of a teacher but also refers to him as an embodiment of lord Siva. He begs the ever contented guru to bless him. He says a guru is praised by the learned, worshiped by the people around the world, revered by Tyagaraja, and the remover of three miseries caused by the mind, natural disasters and acts of god (adhyatmika, adhibhoutika and adhidaivika). In charanam, he describes Guru as the one who can explain the vedas and vedantas, who can cure the illnesses, the one who relishes the nectar of “Naada”, who is the first of the navanath (navanathas are the nine gurus believed to be incarnations of lord Narayana), the one who is skilled in art, the one who is the embodiment of lord Siva, the one who dwells in the “Naada”, the one who is pivotal for the nava chakras (bhupuramu, shodasa, ashtadala, chaturdasaara, dasa trikona, antardasaara, ashtakona, trikona and binduvu”), the one that has lotus feet, the one who removes the differences, the one who blesses guruguha and the one who follows the religions that were created by the people. Siva is considered as the first guru (Adi guru) noted by teaching yoga sastra to the sapta rishis (the seven sages - MarIchi, AngIrasa, Atri, Poulastya, Pulaha, Kratuvu and Vasishta) on the full moon day in the month of Ashadha which is celebrated as guru poornima across India by Hindus.

This krithi describes the teacher in many ways. It is set in the ragam pADi, which is sung in the early morning hours. It is said that the best learning takes place in the early morning (Brahma muhurtham) and that is why many gurukulams make students chant the vedas in the morning. It is interesting to find the choice of one of the morning ragas for this song by Deekshitar.

Notation:

Other information:
Lyrics contributed by Lakshman Ragde. Meaning contributed by Aparna Gunupudi via Neccheli.