Amongst the Sanskrit compositions of Papanasam Sivan, "Shri Valli Devasenaapate" set to Natabhairavi raga would rank right at the top. There are very few kritis in this raga and the first song which comes to mind is this. It is likely that Sivan composed this kriti inspired by the "singaravelan" shrine at the Kapaaleeshvara Temple. At this sannidhi, we see Kartikeya flanked by his consorts Valli and Devasena. To stand in front of the shrine in the gathering dusk, with this song on the lips and to watch the deepaaraadhana is an experience of a lifetime!
The kriti is simple and needs little elaboration. Still, we want to stay with this song for long. We see echoes of Adi Shankara's Subramanya Bhujanga stotram in the content and in the wording of this song. We will explore this kriti keeping this stotra in mind. We will now look at the kriti line by line.
"shri valli devasenapate shri subrahmanya namostute"
We bow down to Subrahmanya who is the Lord (pati) of Valli and Devasena.
Valli was the daughter of a tribal chieftain. The Bhujanga stotra refers to her as "pulindesha kanyaa", the daughter of pulinda-eesha. Apparently, there was a tribe called "pulinda" and Valli was the daughter (kanyaa) of the chief (eesha) of that tribe. The reader would be familiar with the story of Kartikeya courting Valli with Ganesha's help and eventually marrying her. In another verse, the bhujanga says that compared to other Gods, Kartikeya is most special because he gave himself as daanam (svaartha daanam) to Valli who was from a marginalized section of society. It says "antyajaanaam api" svaartha daaney. Such was his love for Valli.
Devasena came from the other side of the spectrum as it were. She was the daughter of Indra. She is also referenced in the Bhujanga. Kaartikeya is called "devasenaa-adhinaatha" in a particular verse.
There is a pun in the wording "devasenaapate". Kartikeya was "devasena pati" (Devasena's Lord). He was also "deva senaapati", the army chief of the devas! Krishna in the Geeta says "senaaninaam aham skandah". Kartikeya, as Skanda.. is well known in mythology as the army chief (senaani) of the Devas. His stories of leading the army of Devas in conquests over the asuras like Shoorapadma are well known. Shankara in his Saundaralahari too highlights this warrior aspect of Kartikeya- how he seeks the blessings of his mother, fresh from a battle with the asuras. The reader can look up the verse "raney jitvaa daityaan...".
Next, we come to the word "shri Subrahmanyam". We are reminded of Vishnu Sahasranama-"brahmanyam...sarva dharmagnyam" etc. One of the meanings of "brahma" is veda. The one who makes veda "valid" is brahmanyam. All the karmas mentioned in the veda, by giving the result for those karmas, He gives validity to the veda. Such a "karma phala daata", the one who gives the results for all our actions, is brahmanyam. And because He is an adept at this job, the prefix "su" is added to make it "Subrahmanyam".
To such a Kartikeya, we bow down (namostute). The bhujanga elaborates how we bow down to everything connected to Kartikeya. It says, we bow down to the peacock, to the shakti-weapon, to the goat, to the rooster, to the Sindhu desha where Kartikeya comes from...to everything connected to Kartikeya. The reader can look up the verse "namah kekine" etc. So total is our surrender to Kartikeya.
"devataa saarvabhauma jaya jaya"
Hail! Jaya..unto that Kartikeya who is the overlord "saarvabhauma" of all the devatas. On different occasions, Kartikeya has demonstrated this overlordship. He took offence when Lord Brahma did not sufficiently know the meaning of the "pranava" mantra. He instructed his own father, Lord Shiva. And he was the chief of Indra's army too.
Also, "bhoomasya bhaavah...bhaumah"- He is Lord of the earth and everything in it. Hence, "saarva bhauma".
"Bhauma", "bhooma" and "jaya-jaya" remind us immediately of the Bhujangam. It says "jaya-aananda bhooman… jaya-aananda dhaaman" etc. Kartikeya is the ultimate Truth, the bhooman, the ultimate abode "dhaaman" etc.
Here, we invoke Kartikeya, not only as a particular devata, but as nirgunam brahman, the substratum of the entire universe.
"dvishadbhuja kaartikeyaa ameyaa"
Hail! Victory!...jaya-jaya! unto that kartikeya who is "dvishadbhuja", with 12 hands. "dvishad"- two sets of 6, 12-handed kaartikeya. Here, we have to visualize kaartikeya with 6 heads and 12 hands. Immediately, we go to the bhujangam. It has an entire verse dedicated to the arms of Kartikeya. It says these are the hands which took on Brahmaaji Himself, the hands which took on Kaala, the hands which destroyed the asura in elephant form and the hands which are forever involved in protecting the entire world. The reader can look up this verse starting with "vidhau klipta dandaan" etc.
The 6-faces remind us of Kaartikeya's birth, how he was looked after by the Krittikas as a baby. Hence the name kaartikeya.
He is "ameya" immeasurable, not "countable" as 1-2-3 etc.
As nirgunam brahman, he is ameya because brahman is One and there is no second vastu. Hence, ameya, having counted 1, there is no second.
As sagunam brahma, manifest as the very universe too, not countable. Anything in the creation we take, it is ameya. The number of galaxies- ameya. The number of stars in a galaxy- ameya. The number of sand-grains on the beach- ameya, the number of water droplets in the ocean- ameya, the number of cells in a body- ameya. Anything in the universe is Him, He exists as all this, in ameya svarupa.
"maamava sadaa shiva kumaara"
Here, Papansanam Sivan...and hence every person singing this kriti prays for protection. "Protect me always" maamava sada… and who is Kartikeya? He is Shiva-kumaara, Shiva's son.
This line is entirely borrowed from the Bhujangam. It says "kumaaresha suno...sadaa raksha maam tvam". "Eesha suno" is Shiva's son, Shiva kumaara. And "sadaa Raksha maam tvam" is the same as "maamava sadaa".
It's as if Papanaasam Sivan has kept the Bhujangam in mind and composed this song. He borrows ideas and language verbatim from the Bhujangam.
"vimaani krita chitra mayura"
Here, we have a reference to Kaartikeya's vaahana, the mayura, the peacock. It says "chitra" mayura...wonderful, beautiful peacock.
It is not only chitra, but it is vichitra too! Kaartikeya is visualized as a serpent in many places. "Bhujangam" itself means a snake. Now, snake is seated on a peacock! Normally, the snake and the peacock are enemies. But in Kaartikeya, these two opposite aspects come together. Hence, chitram, vichitram!
Also, Kaartikeya has 2 peacocks. As a child, he had a peacock as a vahana, as a pet. Later, when he confronted Shoorapadma, the asura became his vaahana as a second peacock. Depending on whether the peacock faces the left or the right (in temple vigrahas), we know whether it refers to the pet-peacock or to Shoorapadma. Hence, chitram!
"shrita kaamita phala daayaka"
The one who fulfils the desires of the devotees (shrita) by giving them their heart's wishes (kaamita phala daayaka). The bhujangam says, the beauty is, all Gods can fulfil the desires of a devotee. That is no big deal! But Kaartikeya is the only one, who gives Himself to a devotee. That makes Kaartikeya...head and shoulders above all other Gods! It says, for this reason alone, "guhaad devam anyam na jaane na jaane"...there is no equal to Kaartikeya!
"hata shoora"
The one who killed Shoora, the asura Shoorapadman. The bhujangam nicely says...these asuras are not outside. They are inside me! If you do not kill them, what will I do? where will I go? "kim karomi kva yaami" the bhujangam asks.
Hence, we need Kaartikeya's help to conquer the "aasuri sampat" (to borrow Geeta's phrase), the Shoora asuras within us.
"karuna jaladhara"
whose compassion (karuna) is ocean-like (jaladhara). The bhujangam says whether it is "aadhi" (mental affliction) or "vyaadhi" (physical affliction), they are all taken care by kaartikeya. The beauty is, we do not even have to partake the prasada from Kartikeya, the bhujangam says. Even a mere look at the vibhuti from Kartikeya, immediately drives away all our problems (vilokya kshanaat dravantey). Such is his karuna...ocean like.
"jagad aadhara"
Papanasam Sivan ends the kriti invoking the nirgunam svarupa of Kaartikeya, how he is the substratum, the satta, the one which lends existence to the world. Hence "jagad aadhara".
The more we look at this kriti, the more we enjoy it. Natabhairavi is a majestic raaga. It's as if Kartikeya in all his grandeur is riding through every note of this song!
Natabhairavi reminds us of a number of allied ragas. We are reminded of Saaramati (mokshamu galadaa), of Naaga-gaandhaari (sarasija naabha sodari), of Jonpuri (eppo varuvaaro), of Amritavaahini (shri raama paadamaa), of Maarga-Hindolam (chandra shekaram).
It's as if...Natabhairavi with her unparalleled features...bestows to all these allied ragas...a little of herself!
And finally, this kriti is very dear to me!
The kriti is simple and needs little elaboration. Still, we want to stay with this song for long. We see echoes of Adi Shankara's Subramanya Bhujanga stotram in the content and in the wording of this song. We will explore this kriti keeping this stotra in mind. We will now look at the kriti line by line.
"shri valli devasenapate shri subrahmanya namostute"
We bow down to Subrahmanya who is the Lord (pati) of Valli and Devasena.
Valli was the daughter of a tribal chieftain. The Bhujanga stotra refers to her as "pulindesha kanyaa", the daughter of pulinda-eesha. Apparently, there was a tribe called "pulinda" and Valli was the daughter (kanyaa) of the chief (eesha) of that tribe. The reader would be familiar with the story of Kartikeya courting Valli with Ganesha's help and eventually marrying her. In another verse, the bhujanga says that compared to other Gods, Kartikeya is most special because he gave himself as daanam (svaartha daanam) to Valli who was from a marginalized section of society. It says "antyajaanaam api" svaartha daaney. Such was his love for Valli.
Devasena came from the other side of the spectrum as it were. She was the daughter of Indra. She is also referenced in the Bhujanga. Kaartikeya is called "devasenaa-adhinaatha" in a particular verse.
There is a pun in the wording "devasenaapate". Kartikeya was "devasena pati" (Devasena's Lord). He was also "deva senaapati", the army chief of the devas! Krishna in the Geeta says "senaaninaam aham skandah". Kartikeya, as Skanda.. is well known in mythology as the army chief (senaani) of the Devas. His stories of leading the army of Devas in conquests over the asuras like Shoorapadma are well known. Shankara in his Saundaralahari too highlights this warrior aspect of Kartikeya- how he seeks the blessings of his mother, fresh from a battle with the asuras. The reader can look up the verse "raney jitvaa daityaan...".
Next, we come to the word "shri Subrahmanyam". We are reminded of Vishnu Sahasranama-"brahmanyam...sarva dharmagnyam" etc. One of the meanings of "brahma" is veda. The one who makes veda "valid" is brahmanyam. All the karmas mentioned in the veda, by giving the result for those karmas, He gives validity to the veda. Such a "karma phala daata", the one who gives the results for all our actions, is brahmanyam. And because He is an adept at this job, the prefix "su" is added to make it "Subrahmanyam".
To such a Kartikeya, we bow down (namostute). The bhujanga elaborates how we bow down to everything connected to Kartikeya. It says, we bow down to the peacock, to the shakti-weapon, to the goat, to the rooster, to the Sindhu desha where Kartikeya comes from...to everything connected to Kartikeya. The reader can look up the verse "namah kekine" etc. So total is our surrender to Kartikeya.
"devataa saarvabhauma jaya jaya"
Hail! Jaya..unto that Kartikeya who is the overlord "saarvabhauma" of all the devatas. On different occasions, Kartikeya has demonstrated this overlordship. He took offence when Lord Brahma did not sufficiently know the meaning of the "pranava" mantra. He instructed his own father, Lord Shiva. And he was the chief of Indra's army too.
Also, "bhoomasya bhaavah...bhaumah"- He is Lord of the earth and everything in it. Hence, "saarva bhauma".
"Bhauma", "bhooma" and "jaya-jaya" remind us immediately of the Bhujangam. It says "jaya-aananda bhooman… jaya-aananda dhaaman" etc. Kartikeya is the ultimate Truth, the bhooman, the ultimate abode "dhaaman" etc.
Here, we invoke Kartikeya, not only as a particular devata, but as nirgunam brahman, the substratum of the entire universe.
"dvishadbhuja kaartikeyaa ameyaa"
Hail! Victory!...jaya-jaya! unto that kartikeya who is "dvishadbhuja", with 12 hands. "dvishad"- two sets of 6, 12-handed kaartikeya. Here, we have to visualize kaartikeya with 6 heads and 12 hands. Immediately, we go to the bhujangam. It has an entire verse dedicated to the arms of Kartikeya. It says these are the hands which took on Brahmaaji Himself, the hands which took on Kaala, the hands which destroyed the asura in elephant form and the hands which are forever involved in protecting the entire world. The reader can look up this verse starting with "vidhau klipta dandaan" etc.
The 6-faces remind us of Kaartikeya's birth, how he was looked after by the Krittikas as a baby. Hence the name kaartikeya.
He is "ameya" immeasurable, not "countable" as 1-2-3 etc.
As nirgunam brahman, he is ameya because brahman is One and there is no second vastu. Hence, ameya, having counted 1, there is no second.
As sagunam brahma, manifest as the very universe too, not countable. Anything in the creation we take, it is ameya. The number of galaxies- ameya. The number of stars in a galaxy- ameya. The number of sand-grains on the beach- ameya, the number of water droplets in the ocean- ameya, the number of cells in a body- ameya. Anything in the universe is Him, He exists as all this, in ameya svarupa.
"maamava sadaa shiva kumaara"
Here, Papansanam Sivan...and hence every person singing this kriti prays for protection. "Protect me always" maamava sada… and who is Kartikeya? He is Shiva-kumaara, Shiva's son.
This line is entirely borrowed from the Bhujangam. It says "kumaaresha suno...sadaa raksha maam tvam". "Eesha suno" is Shiva's son, Shiva kumaara. And "sadaa Raksha maam tvam" is the same as "maamava sadaa".
It's as if Papanaasam Sivan has kept the Bhujangam in mind and composed this song. He borrows ideas and language verbatim from the Bhujangam.
"vimaani krita chitra mayura"
Here, we have a reference to Kaartikeya's vaahana, the mayura, the peacock. It says "chitra" mayura...wonderful, beautiful peacock.
It is not only chitra, but it is vichitra too! Kaartikeya is visualized as a serpent in many places. "Bhujangam" itself means a snake. Now, snake is seated on a peacock! Normally, the snake and the peacock are enemies. But in Kaartikeya, these two opposite aspects come together. Hence, chitram, vichitram!
Also, Kaartikeya has 2 peacocks. As a child, he had a peacock as a vahana, as a pet. Later, when he confronted Shoorapadma, the asura became his vaahana as a second peacock. Depending on whether the peacock faces the left or the right (in temple vigrahas), we know whether it refers to the pet-peacock or to Shoorapadma. Hence, chitram!
"shrita kaamita phala daayaka"
The one who fulfils the desires of the devotees (shrita) by giving them their heart's wishes (kaamita phala daayaka). The bhujangam says, the beauty is, all Gods can fulfil the desires of a devotee. That is no big deal! But Kaartikeya is the only one, who gives Himself to a devotee. That makes Kaartikeya...head and shoulders above all other Gods! It says, for this reason alone, "guhaad devam anyam na jaane na jaane"...there is no equal to Kaartikeya!
"hata shoora"
The one who killed Shoora, the asura Shoorapadman. The bhujangam nicely says...these asuras are not outside. They are inside me! If you do not kill them, what will I do? where will I go? "kim karomi kva yaami" the bhujangam asks.
Hence, we need Kaartikeya's help to conquer the "aasuri sampat" (to borrow Geeta's phrase), the Shoora asuras within us.
"karuna jaladhara"
whose compassion (karuna) is ocean-like (jaladhara). The bhujangam says whether it is "aadhi" (mental affliction) or "vyaadhi" (physical affliction), they are all taken care by kaartikeya. The beauty is, we do not even have to partake the prasada from Kartikeya, the bhujangam says. Even a mere look at the vibhuti from Kartikeya, immediately drives away all our problems (vilokya kshanaat dravantey). Such is his karuna...ocean like.
"jagad aadhara"
Papanasam Sivan ends the kriti invoking the nirgunam svarupa of Kaartikeya, how he is the substratum, the satta, the one which lends existence to the world. Hence "jagad aadhara".
The more we look at this kriti, the more we enjoy it. Natabhairavi is a majestic raaga. It's as if Kartikeya in all his grandeur is riding through every note of this song!
Natabhairavi reminds us of a number of allied ragas. We are reminded of Saaramati (mokshamu galadaa), of Naaga-gaandhaari (sarasija naabha sodari), of Jonpuri (eppo varuvaaro), of Amritavaahini (shri raama paadamaa), of Maarga-Hindolam (chandra shekaram).
It's as if...Natabhairavi with her unparalleled features...bestows to all these allied ragas...a little of herself!
And finally, this kriti is very dear to me!
