"Mari mari ninne moralida...nee manasuna daya raadu" is Tyagaraja's kriti set to the raaga Kambhoji. As per traditional accounts, Tyagaraja's teacher Sonti Venkataramanaiyya wanted Tyagaraja to sing before his (Sonti gaaru's) father. That is the occasion when Tyagaraja sang this piece.
It is a piece in contrast to "Dorakuna itu vanti seva" which we saw earlier as one of the first compositions that Tyagaraja sang in public. In "Dorakuna", Tyagaraja is visibly thrilled that he has had Lord Raama's darshana, which is difficult for even munis, exalted sages. However, in "Mari mari ninne", Tyagaraja expresses an opposite reaction; he is deeply pained that despite his repeated entreaties, the Lord chooses to be indifferent and aloof while he chose to humour even elephants and monkeys! The Lord is accused of pakshapaata (favouritism) as it were!
The kriti at a glance:
mari-mari ninne moralida
nee manasuna daya raadu
Even If I entreat (moralida) you repeatedly (mari-mari), no feeling of compassion (daya raadu) enters your mind (mansuna).
Tyagaraja addresses the Lord as "sarvaantaryaami" and questions how He could be partial to some devotees. He gives four examples in this kriti- the elephant Gajendra, Dhruva, Prahlaada and Sugreeva and says that you came to their aid when they reached out to you. However, my lot is different; you totally ignore me.
Tyagaraja questions:
kaaranam emi sarvaantaryaami
What is the reason (kaaranam emi) O inner-controller of everyone (sarvaantaryaami)?
Sarvaantaryami:
The term "sarvaantaryaami" used in this kriti is a technical term found in other places in the scripture. As we said earlier, Tyagaraja is well versed in the Upanishads. Hence, these epithets are not casual references, but words which have to be analyzed with the background of Vedanta.
In this post, we will mainly look at this term.
Antaryaami as seen in the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad:
The word "antaryaami" is synonymous with the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad. This upanishad has a section (braahmanam) called "Antaryaami Braahmanam", a very popular part of the Upanishad comprising over 20 verses in which the concept of "antaryaami" is explained.
We can recollect a few facts from that section. Yaagnyavalkya, the celebrated sage is faced with a battery of questions in a contest, first by the lady Gaargi and then by Uddaalaka-Aaruni, another prominent sage. If he can answer all their questions, he can take the cows as prize-money.
Uddaalaka warns Yaagnyavalkya that if he pretends to be a brahmavit, a person of knowledge, but can't explain the term "antaryaami" satisfactorily, but still forcibly takes the cows away, then, Yaagnyavalkya's head will break to pieces! Some serious contest this was!! The section begins with this story and proceeds to explain the concept of "antaryaami".
Yaagnyavalkya explains the term "antaryaami" as Ishvara (Brahman with maaya shakti), God as we understand commonly. He takes examples from three different levels: (a) the cosmic elements-earth, fire etc. (b) all the living beings (c) organs in a given individual and declares that the Lord alone exists as the "order" behind everything in the creation- both in the macro-creation as well as in the micro-creation (within an individual).
There is a cosmic order, an astronomical order, a physiological order, a psychological order- everything in the creation is orderly. That Order is the Lord.
As someone observed humorously- People study "Chaos Theory". If there is "order in chaos", so much so that "chaos" is available as a "field of study", what to talk of other Sciences! Every Scientist unravels this order alone through his discoveries. That Order- whether in Geology or in Biology is the Lord, the antaryaami.
If there is one quotation that we want to remember from this Brihadaaranyaka section, it is this one, which Adi Shankara himself quotes in his Vishnu Sahasranaama bhashyam and which serves as a definition of the term "antaryaami".
"Ya imam cha lokam param cha lokam sarvaani cha bhutani yo antaro yamayati"
It defines antaryami as Ishvara, the Lord, who remains inside (antaro) all lokas (fields of experience, worlds) as well as inside the beings (bhutani) in these lokas and controls (yamayati) them.
These are the vedic statements that popular Hinduism rides on. The Lord is not outside the creation, but remains as the creation, as the very order in the creation. The ocean is the ocean due to the Lord, the banyan tree seed sprouts into a banyan tree and not into a coconut tree due to the Lord- everything is laid out.... well and perfect!
Antaryaami seen in the Geeta:
If there is one quote that which defines antaryaami in the Geeta, it is this famous verse in Chapter-18:
"Ishvarah sarva bhutaanaam hrdeshe Arjuna tishtathi
bhraamayan sarva bhutani yantraa rudhaani maayayaa"
The Lord is situated in the heart of all beings and animates them using his maaya shakti (power). He twirls (bhraamayan) the entire creation like the figures mounted on a machine (yantra)!
Antaryaami in Sri Rudram:
It would be incomplete if we didn't speak about Sri Rudram, the famous set of verses in the Yajurveda in the context of the term "antaryaami". In Sri Rudram, Lord Shiva is described in 3 distinct ways:
As (a) Sarveshvara, as (b) Sarvaatma and (c) Sarvaantaryaami
Of these, the set of verses in the 7th Anuvaka beginning with "namo dundubhyaaya cha, aahannyaa ya cha" etc. describes the Lord as the sarvaantaryaami, the one who guides everything, the niyanta, the controller.
Abhinava Shankara, who has written a commentary on Sri Rudram specifically mentions this fact. The examples in this section are all encompassing and drive home the concept of sarva antaryaami in both inanimate and animate life-forms.
This section says:
A drum (dundubhi) is a drum and makes its distinct sound because the Lord exists as the order in the drum! The stick (aahanana) used to beat the drum is also the Lord!
The Lord exists as the narrow trail (sruti) everywhere, as the well laid out road (patha), as the pond (kaata), as the waterfall (neepa), as the marshy land (suuda), as the lake (saras), as the river (nadi), as the reservoir (vaishanta), as the well (kuupa), as the valley (avata), as the rain (varsha), as drought (avarsha), as the cloud (megha), as the lightning (vidyut), as the autumnal cloud (eedhriya), as the sun (aatapya), as the wind, as our breath (vaata), as pralaya-kaala (reshma) and as every object (vaastava) in the creation!
Where else can we find a more elaborate list which explains the concept of antaryaami in the creation?
With this, we have covered the philosophical part of the kriti- the explanation of the term antaryaami. The rest of it should be easy on the reader!
We want to briefly look at the four devotees that Tyagaraja mentions and how Lord Vishnu/Raama readily acceded to their request.
The devotees of the Lord:
Gajendra, Prahlaada and Dhruva are popular stories in the Bhaagavata Puraana. Sugreeva is of course from the Ramayana.
Tyagaraja is fond of Prahlaada and Dhruva and mentions them in other kritis too- like the popular kriti "varaalandu kommani", set to the raaga Gurjari. This kriti is very similar to "mari mari ninne" in theme and content.
The Bhaagavata Purana itself mentions these examples while extolling bhakti in the portion popularly known as Uddhava Geeta. We can recall the following verse in which Krishna talks about his devotees who span the entire spectrum. There are asuras, animals, birds, butchers and even scripturally illiterate people- they all came from backgrounds which were not spiritually conducive, still they succeeded because of their bhakti. Tyagaraja's examples are found here:
"Vrshaparva balirbaano mayashchaath vibhishanah
sugreevo hanumaanrksho gajo..." (Uddhava Geeta, Chapter 7, verse 6).
Gaja here is Tyagaraja's "kari mora vini"- his reference to the elephant, Gajendra.
Verse 5 talks about the value of satsanga, association with saints and makes an oblique reference to Prahlaada, born in an asura family. (We can recall how Narada taught Kayaadhu, Prahlaada's mother and how Prahlaada imbibed the teaching from his mother's womb!)
In the next post, we will take up each devotee that Tyagaraja mentions in this kriti and how the Lord went out of his way to help them.
The stories should be interesting and a refresher course for those who have forgotten their Amar Chitra Kathas!!
It is a piece in contrast to "Dorakuna itu vanti seva" which we saw earlier as one of the first compositions that Tyagaraja sang in public. In "Dorakuna", Tyagaraja is visibly thrilled that he has had Lord Raama's darshana, which is difficult for even munis, exalted sages. However, in "Mari mari ninne", Tyagaraja expresses an opposite reaction; he is deeply pained that despite his repeated entreaties, the Lord chooses to be indifferent and aloof while he chose to humour even elephants and monkeys! The Lord is accused of pakshapaata (favouritism) as it were!
The kriti at a glance:
mari-mari ninne moralida
nee manasuna daya raadu
Even If I entreat (moralida) you repeatedly (mari-mari), no feeling of compassion (daya raadu) enters your mind (mansuna).
Tyagaraja addresses the Lord as "sarvaantaryaami" and questions how He could be partial to some devotees. He gives four examples in this kriti- the elephant Gajendra, Dhruva, Prahlaada and Sugreeva and says that you came to their aid when they reached out to you. However, my lot is different; you totally ignore me.
Tyagaraja questions:
kaaranam emi sarvaantaryaami
What is the reason (kaaranam emi) O inner-controller of everyone (sarvaantaryaami)?
Sarvaantaryami:
The term "sarvaantaryaami" used in this kriti is a technical term found in other places in the scripture. As we said earlier, Tyagaraja is well versed in the Upanishads. Hence, these epithets are not casual references, but words which have to be analyzed with the background of Vedanta.
In this post, we will mainly look at this term.
Antaryaami as seen in the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad:
The word "antaryaami" is synonymous with the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad. This upanishad has a section (braahmanam) called "Antaryaami Braahmanam", a very popular part of the Upanishad comprising over 20 verses in which the concept of "antaryaami" is explained.
We can recollect a few facts from that section. Yaagnyavalkya, the celebrated sage is faced with a battery of questions in a contest, first by the lady Gaargi and then by Uddaalaka-Aaruni, another prominent sage. If he can answer all their questions, he can take the cows as prize-money.
Uddaalaka warns Yaagnyavalkya that if he pretends to be a brahmavit, a person of knowledge, but can't explain the term "antaryaami" satisfactorily, but still forcibly takes the cows away, then, Yaagnyavalkya's head will break to pieces! Some serious contest this was!! The section begins with this story and proceeds to explain the concept of "antaryaami".
Yaagnyavalkya explains the term "antaryaami" as Ishvara (Brahman with maaya shakti), God as we understand commonly. He takes examples from three different levels: (a) the cosmic elements-earth, fire etc. (b) all the living beings (c) organs in a given individual and declares that the Lord alone exists as the "order" behind everything in the creation- both in the macro-creation as well as in the micro-creation (within an individual).
There is a cosmic order, an astronomical order, a physiological order, a psychological order- everything in the creation is orderly. That Order is the Lord.
As someone observed humorously- People study "Chaos Theory". If there is "order in chaos", so much so that "chaos" is available as a "field of study", what to talk of other Sciences! Every Scientist unravels this order alone through his discoveries. That Order- whether in Geology or in Biology is the Lord, the antaryaami.
If there is one quotation that we want to remember from this Brihadaaranyaka section, it is this one, which Adi Shankara himself quotes in his Vishnu Sahasranaama bhashyam and which serves as a definition of the term "antaryaami".
"Ya imam cha lokam param cha lokam sarvaani cha bhutani yo antaro yamayati"
It defines antaryami as Ishvara, the Lord, who remains inside (antaro) all lokas (fields of experience, worlds) as well as inside the beings (bhutani) in these lokas and controls (yamayati) them.
These are the vedic statements that popular Hinduism rides on. The Lord is not outside the creation, but remains as the creation, as the very order in the creation. The ocean is the ocean due to the Lord, the banyan tree seed sprouts into a banyan tree and not into a coconut tree due to the Lord- everything is laid out.... well and perfect!
Antaryaami seen in the Geeta:
If there is one quote that which defines antaryaami in the Geeta, it is this famous verse in Chapter-18:
"Ishvarah sarva bhutaanaam hrdeshe Arjuna tishtathi
bhraamayan sarva bhutani yantraa rudhaani maayayaa"
The Lord is situated in the heart of all beings and animates them using his maaya shakti (power). He twirls (bhraamayan) the entire creation like the figures mounted on a machine (yantra)!
Antaryaami in Sri Rudram:
It would be incomplete if we didn't speak about Sri Rudram, the famous set of verses in the Yajurveda in the context of the term "antaryaami". In Sri Rudram, Lord Shiva is described in 3 distinct ways:
As (a) Sarveshvara, as (b) Sarvaatma and (c) Sarvaantaryaami
Of these, the set of verses in the 7th Anuvaka beginning with "namo dundubhyaaya cha, aahannyaa ya cha" etc. describes the Lord as the sarvaantaryaami, the one who guides everything, the niyanta, the controller.
Abhinava Shankara, who has written a commentary on Sri Rudram specifically mentions this fact. The examples in this section are all encompassing and drive home the concept of sarva antaryaami in both inanimate and animate life-forms.
This section says:
A drum (dundubhi) is a drum and makes its distinct sound because the Lord exists as the order in the drum! The stick (aahanana) used to beat the drum is also the Lord!
The Lord exists as the narrow trail (sruti) everywhere, as the well laid out road (patha), as the pond (kaata), as the waterfall (neepa), as the marshy land (suuda), as the lake (saras), as the river (nadi), as the reservoir (vaishanta), as the well (kuupa), as the valley (avata), as the rain (varsha), as drought (avarsha), as the cloud (megha), as the lightning (vidyut), as the autumnal cloud (eedhriya), as the sun (aatapya), as the wind, as our breath (vaata), as pralaya-kaala (reshma) and as every object (vaastava) in the creation!
Where else can we find a more elaborate list which explains the concept of antaryaami in the creation?
With this, we have covered the philosophical part of the kriti- the explanation of the term antaryaami. The rest of it should be easy on the reader!
We want to briefly look at the four devotees that Tyagaraja mentions and how Lord Vishnu/Raama readily acceded to their request.
The devotees of the Lord:
Gajendra, Prahlaada and Dhruva are popular stories in the Bhaagavata Puraana. Sugreeva is of course from the Ramayana.
Tyagaraja is fond of Prahlaada and Dhruva and mentions them in other kritis too- like the popular kriti "varaalandu kommani", set to the raaga Gurjari. This kriti is very similar to "mari mari ninne" in theme and content.
The Bhaagavata Purana itself mentions these examples while extolling bhakti in the portion popularly known as Uddhava Geeta. We can recall the following verse in which Krishna talks about his devotees who span the entire spectrum. There are asuras, animals, birds, butchers and even scripturally illiterate people- they all came from backgrounds which were not spiritually conducive, still they succeeded because of their bhakti. Tyagaraja's examples are found here:
"Vrshaparva balirbaano mayashchaath vibhishanah
sugreevo hanumaanrksho gajo..." (Uddhava Geeta, Chapter 7, verse 6).
Gaja here is Tyagaraja's "kari mora vini"- his reference to the elephant, Gajendra.
Verse 5 talks about the value of satsanga, association with saints and makes an oblique reference to Prahlaada, born in an asura family. (We can recall how Narada taught Kayaadhu, Prahlaada's mother and how Prahlaada imbibed the teaching from his mother's womb!)
In the next post, we will take up each devotee that Tyagaraja mentions in this kriti and how the Lord went out of his way to help them.
The stories should be interesting and a refresher course for those who have forgotten their Amar Chitra Kathas!!
Excellently explained. Thank you.
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