One hour into the concert, the moment the musician sings the first phrase of Kharaharapriya raga, our face immediately lights up! We know this is going to be the main piece of the concert. The first kriti that comes to mind is Tyagaraja's "Chakkani raja". And when our hunch proves right and he starts the kriti, we break into a big smile! We wait with bated breath for the neraval centered on "kantiki sundara". In the darkness of the auditorium, as the musician explores this phrase in multifarious ways, it is as if the mind rests; it rests on the beauty of the phrase, the beauty of Rama's face and the beauty of Kharaharapriya's grace. When it comes to recorded concerts, how many times have we replayed that neraval by Madurai Mani, who lets his imagination loose as only he can.
In this essay, we look into this song to see what it conveys and how it has become such a favorite with musicians and rasikas alike.
This kriti is addressed by Tyagaraja to his own mind. The word "O manasaa" comes towards the end of the Pallavi. The song is a conversation between Tyagaraja and his mind. Each of the stanzas has a built-in "when you have something so beautiful, why are you drifting off to something else?"- that question is seen in each of the stanzas. In the Pallavi, is the main question- when you have such a beautiful (chakkani) raja-maarga, a royal path in front of you, O mind, why are you drifting off into wayside gullies (sandulu) that lead nowhere? He does not disclose what the raaja-maarga is. He keeps the suspense going and reveals it only in the charanam. We will also analyze the raaja-maarga only towards the end of the essay. He has not mentioned what the way-side gullies (sandulu) are- but we can infer from the context, which will see later.
The pallavi is built in such a way, it is as if we are travelling on the raaja-maarga. We are seated on a chariot hooked to horses...and slowly picking up speed. First, the horse takes a few gentle paces, then a friendly trot and eventually breaks into a gallop. The raaja-maarga is smooth and even- not one jerk in this joy-ride . As the sangatis of the Pallavi are unraveled, starting with the simple ones and expanding into the ones with more complexity, we experience the rhythm of this ride.
The anupallavi also starts with the same refrain- "when you have this, why are you doing something else?" In most Tyagaraja kritis, he takes two examples and drives home his point. The Pallavi had the first example- the royal path versus a wayside alley. In the anupallavi, he gives another example- milk versus toddy. He says, when you have wholesome, nutritious, creamy (meegada) milk (paalu) which can nourish you, why would you go after toddy, which is exactly the opposite- something detrimental (cheeyanu) to your health? To rhyme with chakkani, he uses "chikkani" here to qualify the wholesome nature of milk. Interestingly, the word used for toddy is ganga-saagaram, perhaps a jargon in Tyagaraja's time. Adi Shankara uses a similar example in a verse where he says people are so obtuse that they gravitate towards flour-water (jaley-paishte) and mistake it to be milk (ksheeram).
In the charanam, the secret of the raaja-maarga is revealed. It is the dhyaanam on Rama's rupa and his naama-japa. The Pallavi starts with the famous line "kantiki sundaramagu roopamey". It refers to Rama's beautiful form which is a feast to our eyes (kantiki). The sundara word here takes us to the sundara-kaanda where Hanuman starts Rama's description with the line- "raamah kamala-patraakshah sarva-bhoota manorathah". Rama's eyes are like a lotus-petal's and the beauty of his form enamors all beings. It is as if Tyagaraja keeps this line in mind and starts the Charanam.
Next he says, Shiva is forever engrossed in Rama's naama-japa. He nicely ties "kantiki" with "mukkanti" (the three-eyed one- i.e. Lord Shiva). Rama nama is enjoyed the most by Lord Shiva- this is an idea seen in multiple kritis of Tyagaraja. In the famous kriti extolling Rama-nama (inta saukhya maniney), Tyagaraja says the same..."shankaruniki thelusu"....Lord Shiva understands the beauty of Rama nama. We can remind ourselves of Vishnu Sahasranama too, where prompted by Parvati, Shiva answers that Rama-nama is equivalent to all the 1000 names of Lord Vishnu.
By bringing Rama and Shiva together, he also ties it with the name of the raga. Rama is khara-hara: when he took on Khara and Dushana and 16000 rakshasas and vanquished them. It is as if the raga is hara-priya- favorite to Lord Shiva as well as to Rama- khara-hara-priya.
In the Charanam also, Tyagaraja asks the same question- O mind! when you have Rama, whose form is so alluring and whose name is so beautiful, so much so, that even Lord Shiva is doing his nama-japa….when such a Rama has come to your home (intiney), why are you going down...wayside gullies and not on this royal path?
The home can be taken as Tyagaraja's home, where we know he had a Rama vigraha. It can also be Tyagaraja's heart ("hrdayaagara"), taking the cue from his other compositions. With this, the kriti comes to a close.
The question is- what is "the raaja-maarga" and what are the gullies, sandulu? Can it be taken as Rama worship versus anya-devata worship such that Rama-worship alone would qualify as raaja-maarga? We cannot take such a reading because Tyagaraja himself has composed kritis on Lord Shiva (Shambho Mahadeva), on Devi and on other Gods too.
Hence, we can broadly take, raaja-maarga as life centered on God while sandulu can be taken as a materialistic life. As we see in the Upanishad, "ayam lokah naasti para iti maani"- the one who takes this world as an end in itself, he goes nowhere. This is definitely a cul-de-sac, a road to nowhere, the sandulu that Tyagaraja wants us to avoid.
The next question is...can we then take a religious life as "the" raaja-maarga? Compared to an irreligious life, a religious life is a relatively broader road with scope to progress. So it is a relative raaja-maarga. But even here, there are gradations. As Krishna says, if we use God as an "accomplice" to get out of our problems (aarta bhakti) or to accomplish something (arthaarthi bhakti) in this world, it is fine, but it is also a "sandulu" in a way. However, a person who holds onto God as an end in itself, he is on the raaja-maarga compared to the other two.
Further, even as a bhakta, there is a division- the one who worships god with a form (saguna bhakti) and the one who worships god as formless (nirguna bhakti). Is Tyagaraja then saying that saguna-bhakti is "the raaja maarga"? The answer would be yes, but we have to quickly add what Krishna mentioned in the Geeta. Krishna says that for most of us, we identify so much with our body, that in such a state, we will only appreciate God also with a body, with a form (dehavadbhir-avaapyatey). Hence, saguna bhakti is what Krishna also votes for...for majority of the people. However, he adds, if there is a devotee, who has that mental maturity to reduce his body-identification, for that devotee, nirguna bhakti is the best and that devotee certainly gains the Highest- "tey praapnuvanti maam eva".
Hence, for Ramana Maharishi, "the raaja-maarga" is Self-enquiry. As he says "maanasam tu kim, maarganey krite, naiva maanasam, maarga aarjavaat". The straightest path "maarga aarjavaat" is the one of Self Enquiry- to question the reality of the mind (maanasam tu kim?) and arrive at the Self as the basis of oneself and the world at large. This is the raaja-maarga for such a person.
To summarize, Tyagaraja's raaja-maarga can mean different things depending on where we stand. Ultimately, it depends on us. If we are irreligious, religious life is raaja-maarga. If we are already in religion, god as an end is raaja-maarga. If our body identification is intense, saguna bhakti is our raaja-maarga. If we have already traveled all these roads and our mind is prepared, shastra-vichaara, self-enquiry is the raaja-maarga. Though in most compositions, Tyagaraja's saguna bhakti is seen, we do see examples of the nirguna in rare compositions like "paramaarthmudu".
Utlimately, chakkani-raaja maarga...is our travel- a subjective travel...so that one day we will own up our Self as the aatma raama, the aananda ramanaa.
In this essay, we look into this song to see what it conveys and how it has become such a favorite with musicians and rasikas alike.
This kriti is addressed by Tyagaraja to his own mind. The word "O manasaa" comes towards the end of the Pallavi. The song is a conversation between Tyagaraja and his mind. Each of the stanzas has a built-in "when you have something so beautiful, why are you drifting off to something else?"- that question is seen in each of the stanzas. In the Pallavi, is the main question- when you have such a beautiful (chakkani) raja-maarga, a royal path in front of you, O mind, why are you drifting off into wayside gullies (sandulu) that lead nowhere? He does not disclose what the raaja-maarga is. He keeps the suspense going and reveals it only in the charanam. We will also analyze the raaja-maarga only towards the end of the essay. He has not mentioned what the way-side gullies (sandulu) are- but we can infer from the context, which will see later.
The pallavi is built in such a way, it is as if we are travelling on the raaja-maarga. We are seated on a chariot hooked to horses...and slowly picking up speed. First, the horse takes a few gentle paces, then a friendly trot and eventually breaks into a gallop. The raaja-maarga is smooth and even- not one jerk in this joy-ride . As the sangatis of the Pallavi are unraveled, starting with the simple ones and expanding into the ones with more complexity, we experience the rhythm of this ride.
The anupallavi also starts with the same refrain- "when you have this, why are you doing something else?" In most Tyagaraja kritis, he takes two examples and drives home his point. The Pallavi had the first example- the royal path versus a wayside alley. In the anupallavi, he gives another example- milk versus toddy. He says, when you have wholesome, nutritious, creamy (meegada) milk (paalu) which can nourish you, why would you go after toddy, which is exactly the opposite- something detrimental (cheeyanu) to your health? To rhyme with chakkani, he uses "chikkani" here to qualify the wholesome nature of milk. Interestingly, the word used for toddy is ganga-saagaram, perhaps a jargon in Tyagaraja's time. Adi Shankara uses a similar example in a verse where he says people are so obtuse that they gravitate towards flour-water (jaley-paishte) and mistake it to be milk (ksheeram).
In the charanam, the secret of the raaja-maarga is revealed. It is the dhyaanam on Rama's rupa and his naama-japa. The Pallavi starts with the famous line "kantiki sundaramagu roopamey". It refers to Rama's beautiful form which is a feast to our eyes (kantiki). The sundara word here takes us to the sundara-kaanda where Hanuman starts Rama's description with the line- "raamah kamala-patraakshah sarva-bhoota manorathah". Rama's eyes are like a lotus-petal's and the beauty of his form enamors all beings. It is as if Tyagaraja keeps this line in mind and starts the Charanam.
Next he says, Shiva is forever engrossed in Rama's naama-japa. He nicely ties "kantiki" with "mukkanti" (the three-eyed one- i.e. Lord Shiva). Rama nama is enjoyed the most by Lord Shiva- this is an idea seen in multiple kritis of Tyagaraja. In the famous kriti extolling Rama-nama (inta saukhya maniney), Tyagaraja says the same..."shankaruniki thelusu"....Lord Shiva understands the beauty of Rama nama. We can remind ourselves of Vishnu Sahasranama too, where prompted by Parvati, Shiva answers that Rama-nama is equivalent to all the 1000 names of Lord Vishnu.
By bringing Rama and Shiva together, he also ties it with the name of the raga. Rama is khara-hara: when he took on Khara and Dushana and 16000 rakshasas and vanquished them. It is as if the raga is hara-priya- favorite to Lord Shiva as well as to Rama- khara-hara-priya.
In the Charanam also, Tyagaraja asks the same question- O mind! when you have Rama, whose form is so alluring and whose name is so beautiful, so much so, that even Lord Shiva is doing his nama-japa….when such a Rama has come to your home (intiney), why are you going down...wayside gullies and not on this royal path?
The home can be taken as Tyagaraja's home, where we know he had a Rama vigraha. It can also be Tyagaraja's heart ("hrdayaagara"), taking the cue from his other compositions. With this, the kriti comes to a close.
The question is- what is "the raaja-maarga" and what are the gullies, sandulu? Can it be taken as Rama worship versus anya-devata worship such that Rama-worship alone would qualify as raaja-maarga? We cannot take such a reading because Tyagaraja himself has composed kritis on Lord Shiva (Shambho Mahadeva), on Devi and on other Gods too.
Hence, we can broadly take, raaja-maarga as life centered on God while sandulu can be taken as a materialistic life. As we see in the Upanishad, "ayam lokah naasti para iti maani"- the one who takes this world as an end in itself, he goes nowhere. This is definitely a cul-de-sac, a road to nowhere, the sandulu that Tyagaraja wants us to avoid.
The next question is...can we then take a religious life as "the" raaja-maarga? Compared to an irreligious life, a religious life is a relatively broader road with scope to progress. So it is a relative raaja-maarga. But even here, there are gradations. As Krishna says, if we use God as an "accomplice" to get out of our problems (aarta bhakti) or to accomplish something (arthaarthi bhakti) in this world, it is fine, but it is also a "sandulu" in a way. However, a person who holds onto God as an end in itself, he is on the raaja-maarga compared to the other two.
Further, even as a bhakta, there is a division- the one who worships god with a form (saguna bhakti) and the one who worships god as formless (nirguna bhakti). Is Tyagaraja then saying that saguna-bhakti is "the raaja maarga"? The answer would be yes, but we have to quickly add what Krishna mentioned in the Geeta. Krishna says that for most of us, we identify so much with our body, that in such a state, we will only appreciate God also with a body, with a form (dehavadbhir-avaapyatey). Hence, saguna bhakti is what Krishna also votes for...for majority of the people. However, he adds, if there is a devotee, who has that mental maturity to reduce his body-identification, for that devotee, nirguna bhakti is the best and that devotee certainly gains the Highest- "tey praapnuvanti maam eva".
Hence, for Ramana Maharishi, "the raaja-maarga" is Self-enquiry. As he says "maanasam tu kim, maarganey krite, naiva maanasam, maarga aarjavaat". The straightest path "maarga aarjavaat" is the one of Self Enquiry- to question the reality of the mind (maanasam tu kim?) and arrive at the Self as the basis of oneself and the world at large. This is the raaja-maarga for such a person.
To summarize, Tyagaraja's raaja-maarga can mean different things depending on where we stand. Ultimately, it depends on us. If we are irreligious, religious life is raaja-maarga. If we are already in religion, god as an end is raaja-maarga. If our body identification is intense, saguna bhakti is our raaja-maarga. If we have already traveled all these roads and our mind is prepared, shastra-vichaara, self-enquiry is the raaja-maarga. Though in most compositions, Tyagaraja's saguna bhakti is seen, we do see examples of the nirguna in rare compositions like "paramaarthmudu".
Utlimately, chakkani-raaja maarga...is our travel- a subjective travel...so that one day we will own up our Self as the aatma raama, the aananda ramanaa.
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