The next line in the charanam runs as follows:
sura ripu tanayunikai nara mrgamau soochanaleymayya
sura-ripu: Enemy of the devas, the asura Hiranyakashipu in this context.
tanayunikai- for the sake of the son (of Hiranyakashipu)
nara-mrgamau- (you took the form of) Narasimha
soochanaleymayya- What about (emi) the account (soochanalu) of (above incident), O Lord (ayya)?
The running meaning is:
Haven't we heard the story of Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakashipu for whom you appeared as Narasimhha?
Sura ripu:
The story of Prahlada is well known. What is interesting is the term Tyagaraja uses for Hiranyakashipu, the asura king- "suraripu". 'Sura' refers to the devas. 'Ripu' means enemy. Suraripu stands for the enemy of the devas, any asura. Apart from the contextual reference which tells us that it is Hiranyakashipu, there is another point we can bring in here.
We have the following set of names in the Vishnu Sahasranama:
"amrityu sarvadrik simhah sandhaata sandhimaan sthirah
ajo durmarshana shaasta vishrutaatma suraarihaa"
In Vaishnava sampradaya, these names are supposed to qualify Lord Vishnu.... specifically as Narasimha. Of these, the last name is "suraarihaa". "Sura" means the Devas as we saw earlier. "Ari" is the same as "ripu" and means "enemy". "Haa" refers to the one who destroyed. It refers to Lord Narasimha who killed "suraari", Hiranyakashipu. This is exactly the way Tygararaja also describes- suraripu.
Prahlada, the greatest devotee:
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Geeta- "Prahlaadaschaasmi daityaanaam".
"I am Prahlada amongst the daityaas, i.e. the asuras". This quote is from Chapter 10- the chapter on "Vibhuti Yoga". Krishna takes various facets and in each one of them, identifies with the biggest and the best (yad yad vibhutimat satvam shrimad oorjitam) in the species and says.. "Know THAT to be Me!" Hence, amongst water bodies, He is the ocean, amongst animals, He is the lion, in the night sky, He is the moon, amongst rivers, He is the Ganga and so on.
It is in this set that He says "Prahlaadachasmi daityaanaam". "One who gives complete happiness" (prakarshena aahlaadayati iti Prahlaadah) is the etymological meaning of Prahlada. The reason why Prahlada is given the prime place amongst devotees of the Lord is because he came from a challenged background. He was born in an asura family, in a neighbourhood where Lord Vishnu was an anathema! Prahlada struggled against these odds and that too at such a young age.
The Uddhava Geeta (section from the Bhagavata Purana) follows the Bhagavad Geeta closely. In Chapter 11, while recounting the glories (vibhutis) of the Lord, we have a similar quotation. Lord Krishna again says "Maam viddhi Uddhava daityaanaam Prahlaadam asureshvaram" - "Among daityas, I am Prahlada, the asura king".
The list of bhagavatas gives Prahlada the top spot. We can recall that verse too.
"prahlaada naarada paraashara pundareeka....
vyaasaaAmbareesha shuka shaunaka bheeshma daalbhyaan...
rukmaangadaArjuna vasishtha vibheeshanaani...
punyaani maam parama bhaagavataan smaraami"
It says- "We remember the great devotees of the Lord (parama bhaagavatas) beginning with Prahlada".
Prahlada also recites this famous shloka (in the Bhagavatam) where the 9 modes of devotion are enumerated- "nava vidha bhakti". Bhakti literature never fails to quote this verse-
"shravanam keertanam vishno
smaranam paada-sevanam
archanam vandanam daasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam"
Most of us know this verse. The 9 modes of devotion are: listening to His stories, singing/reciting His names, thinking about Him, worshipping His feet, offering flowers, extoling Him through stotras, serving Him, relating to Him as a friend and finally complete surrender unto Him. These are Prahlada's words.
Prahlada bhakti vijayam:
Tyagaraja is particularly fond of Prahlada. He often places himself in Prahlada's shoes as seen in his opera- "Prahlaada bhakti vijayam". Many famous songs that we hear in concerts are actually from this opera. Most carnatic rasikas would be familiar with these pieces:
"Shri Ganapatini" in the raaga Saurashtram
"Nannu vidachi" in the raaga Reeti Gowla
"Vaasudevayani" in the raaga Kalyani
"Vandanamu raghunandana" in the raaga Sahana
"Daya raani" in the raaga Mohanam
"Ni naama roopamulaku" in the raaga Saurashtram (every concert typically ends with this mangalam)
An aside point:
Notice how Tyagraja follows the "upakrama upasamhaara nyaaya" where the "beginning" (upakrama) and the end (upasamhaara) are tied together. He begins with Saurashtram raaga (Shri Ganapatini) and ends the opera with a mangalam in the same raaga- (ni naama roopamulaku).
Lord Rama and Prahlada:
Another interesting point is that many kritis in "Prahlaada Bhakti Vijayam" are on Lord Raama though it should have been on Lord Narasimha. For example, we have "Vandanamu Raghunandana".
There is a problem of chronology- Lord Rama came after Narasimha- isn't it? However, Tyagaraja's "ishta devata" is Lord Rama to the extent that he sees all the incarnations of Vishnu as Lord Rama himself! There is no other explanation. If there is a shloka which presents this concept, it is this one:
shri-naathey jaanaki-naathey abheda paramaatmani
tathaapi mama sarvasvam raamah kamalalochanah
This shloka is attributed to Hanuman. It says- Shri-naatha (Lord Vishnu) and Jaanaki naatha (Lord Raama) are one and the same (abheda) no doubt. However, (tathaapi), for me, Lord Rama (raamah), the one with lotus-petal shaped eyes (kamalalochanah) alone is everything (sarvasvam)! Such is the fascination for one's ista devata and Tyagaraja follows this approach in most of his kritis.
Another point (needless!), based on the above quotation (which is chanted in Ramakrishna Mission before the paarayanam of naama-ramayana). Why is raamah specially referred to as "kamalalochanah" here? What is the significance? For this, we need to go to the Sundara-kaanda of Valmiki. Sita asks Hanuman to describe Lord Rama's physical features to be certain that Hanuman has come as a messenger from Lord Rama and is not Ravana in one of his ingenious disguises!
Hanuman says "Shrinu".. "Listen". The first attribute that Hanuman recounts is "raamah kamala-patraakshah sarva bhuta manoharah". "Rama is the one with lotus-petal-shaped eyes" and then goes on to other attributes. Hence, the above shloka too captures the essential attribute of Rama as "kamalalochanah".
Anyway, why did we get into all this? Tyagaraja brought in Lord Rama in Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam which necessitated this digression!
Tying it to the kriti:
The refrain is the same in the charanam- You appeared before Prahada and ensured that his statement... that the Lord is inside the pillar is proved. Why then do you not appear before me, Tyagaraja says, when I plead to you repeatedly?
P.S: Ignore this please!
I was wandering aimlessly in the streets of Mylapore, Chennai... last weekend. We all know the famous Shiva temple -Kapaalishwara here. Skirting the temple pond is another temple I never knew about all these years! It has a little gopuram of its own, looks ancient and houses Lord Shiva as "velleeshvara" (Lord of the planet Shukra/Venus-"velli" in Tamil) and the Goddess as "Kamakshi". Why am I mentioning all this here? There is a connection to Lord Narasimha!
In this temple, there is a shrine for "sharabheshvara"- Shiva as a grotesque creature- lion like but with wings! Here, he is shown as quelling "ugra" Narasimha so that Lord Vishnu can return to his benign ways, I learnt. The vimana is painted and shows "sharabha" and a Vishnu-like figure in blue. The details are not too clear in the actual idol.
Of course, we don't want a Shiva-Vishnu war here based on this reference. I have never heard of this story earlier. Please take it in the right spirit and pay a visit to this temple!
sura ripu tanayunikai nara mrgamau soochanaleymayya
sura-ripu: Enemy of the devas, the asura Hiranyakashipu in this context.
tanayunikai- for the sake of the son (of Hiranyakashipu)
nara-mrgamau- (you took the form of) Narasimha
soochanaleymayya- What about (emi) the account (soochanalu) of (above incident), O Lord (ayya)?
The running meaning is:
Haven't we heard the story of Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakashipu for whom you appeared as Narasimhha?
Sura ripu:
The story of Prahlada is well known. What is interesting is the term Tyagaraja uses for Hiranyakashipu, the asura king- "suraripu". 'Sura' refers to the devas. 'Ripu' means enemy. Suraripu stands for the enemy of the devas, any asura. Apart from the contextual reference which tells us that it is Hiranyakashipu, there is another point we can bring in here.
We have the following set of names in the Vishnu Sahasranama:
"amrityu sarvadrik simhah sandhaata sandhimaan sthirah
ajo durmarshana shaasta vishrutaatma suraarihaa"
In Vaishnava sampradaya, these names are supposed to qualify Lord Vishnu.... specifically as Narasimha. Of these, the last name is "suraarihaa". "Sura" means the Devas as we saw earlier. "Ari" is the same as "ripu" and means "enemy". "Haa" refers to the one who destroyed. It refers to Lord Narasimha who killed "suraari", Hiranyakashipu. This is exactly the way Tygararaja also describes- suraripu.
Prahlada, the greatest devotee:
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Geeta- "Prahlaadaschaasmi daityaanaam".
"I am Prahlada amongst the daityaas, i.e. the asuras". This quote is from Chapter 10- the chapter on "Vibhuti Yoga". Krishna takes various facets and in each one of them, identifies with the biggest and the best (yad yad vibhutimat satvam shrimad oorjitam) in the species and says.. "Know THAT to be Me!" Hence, amongst water bodies, He is the ocean, amongst animals, He is the lion, in the night sky, He is the moon, amongst rivers, He is the Ganga and so on.
It is in this set that He says "Prahlaadachasmi daityaanaam". "One who gives complete happiness" (prakarshena aahlaadayati iti Prahlaadah) is the etymological meaning of Prahlada. The reason why Prahlada is given the prime place amongst devotees of the Lord is because he came from a challenged background. He was born in an asura family, in a neighbourhood where Lord Vishnu was an anathema! Prahlada struggled against these odds and that too at such a young age.
The Uddhava Geeta (section from the Bhagavata Purana) follows the Bhagavad Geeta closely. In Chapter 11, while recounting the glories (vibhutis) of the Lord, we have a similar quotation. Lord Krishna again says "Maam viddhi Uddhava daityaanaam Prahlaadam asureshvaram" - "Among daityas, I am Prahlada, the asura king".
The list of bhagavatas gives Prahlada the top spot. We can recall that verse too.
"prahlaada naarada paraashara pundareeka....
vyaasaaAmbareesha shuka shaunaka bheeshma daalbhyaan...
rukmaangadaArjuna vasishtha vibheeshanaani...
punyaani maam parama bhaagavataan smaraami"
It says- "We remember the great devotees of the Lord (parama bhaagavatas) beginning with Prahlada".
Prahlada also recites this famous shloka (in the Bhagavatam) where the 9 modes of devotion are enumerated- "nava vidha bhakti". Bhakti literature never fails to quote this verse-
"shravanam keertanam vishno
smaranam paada-sevanam
archanam vandanam daasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam"
Most of us know this verse. The 9 modes of devotion are: listening to His stories, singing/reciting His names, thinking about Him, worshipping His feet, offering flowers, extoling Him through stotras, serving Him, relating to Him as a friend and finally complete surrender unto Him. These are Prahlada's words.
Prahlada bhakti vijayam:
Tyagaraja is particularly fond of Prahlada. He often places himself in Prahlada's shoes as seen in his opera- "Prahlaada bhakti vijayam". Many famous songs that we hear in concerts are actually from this opera. Most carnatic rasikas would be familiar with these pieces:
"Shri Ganapatini" in the raaga Saurashtram
"Nannu vidachi" in the raaga Reeti Gowla
"Vaasudevayani" in the raaga Kalyani
"Vandanamu raghunandana" in the raaga Sahana
"Daya raani" in the raaga Mohanam
"Ni naama roopamulaku" in the raaga Saurashtram (every concert typically ends with this mangalam)
An aside point:
Notice how Tyagraja follows the "upakrama upasamhaara nyaaya" where the "beginning" (upakrama) and the end (upasamhaara) are tied together. He begins with Saurashtram raaga (Shri Ganapatini) and ends the opera with a mangalam in the same raaga- (ni naama roopamulaku).
Lord Rama and Prahlada:
Another interesting point is that many kritis in "Prahlaada Bhakti Vijayam" are on Lord Raama though it should have been on Lord Narasimha. For example, we have "Vandanamu Raghunandana".
There is a problem of chronology- Lord Rama came after Narasimha- isn't it? However, Tyagaraja's "ishta devata" is Lord Rama to the extent that he sees all the incarnations of Vishnu as Lord Rama himself! There is no other explanation. If there is a shloka which presents this concept, it is this one:
shri-naathey jaanaki-naathey abheda paramaatmani
tathaapi mama sarvasvam raamah kamalalochanah
This shloka is attributed to Hanuman. It says- Shri-naatha (Lord Vishnu) and Jaanaki naatha (Lord Raama) are one and the same (abheda) no doubt. However, (tathaapi), for me, Lord Rama (raamah), the one with lotus-petal shaped eyes (kamalalochanah) alone is everything (sarvasvam)! Such is the fascination for one's ista devata and Tyagaraja follows this approach in most of his kritis.
Another point (needless!), based on the above quotation (which is chanted in Ramakrishna Mission before the paarayanam of naama-ramayana). Why is raamah specially referred to as "kamalalochanah" here? What is the significance? For this, we need to go to the Sundara-kaanda of Valmiki. Sita asks Hanuman to describe Lord Rama's physical features to be certain that Hanuman has come as a messenger from Lord Rama and is not Ravana in one of his ingenious disguises!
Hanuman says "Shrinu".. "Listen". The first attribute that Hanuman recounts is "raamah kamala-patraakshah sarva bhuta manoharah". "Rama is the one with lotus-petal-shaped eyes" and then goes on to other attributes. Hence, the above shloka too captures the essential attribute of Rama as "kamalalochanah".
Anyway, why did we get into all this? Tyagaraja brought in Lord Rama in Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam which necessitated this digression!
Tying it to the kriti:
The refrain is the same in the charanam- You appeared before Prahada and ensured that his statement... that the Lord is inside the pillar is proved. Why then do you not appear before me, Tyagaraja says, when I plead to you repeatedly?
P.S: Ignore this please!
I was wandering aimlessly in the streets of Mylapore, Chennai... last weekend. We all know the famous Shiva temple -Kapaalishwara here. Skirting the temple pond is another temple I never knew about all these years! It has a little gopuram of its own, looks ancient and houses Lord Shiva as "velleeshvara" (Lord of the planet Shukra/Venus-"velli" in Tamil) and the Goddess as "Kamakshi". Why am I mentioning all this here? There is a connection to Lord Narasimha!
In this temple, there is a shrine for "sharabheshvara"- Shiva as a grotesque creature- lion like but with wings! Here, he is shown as quelling "ugra" Narasimha so that Lord Vishnu can return to his benign ways, I learnt. The vimana is painted and shows "sharabha" and a Vishnu-like figure in blue. The details are not too clear in the actual idol.
Of course, we don't want a Shiva-Vishnu war here based on this reference. I have never heard of this story earlier. Please take it in the right spirit and pay a visit to this temple!
