Sunday, October 27, 2013

Meenakshi Me Mudam Dehi! (Part 2)


I decided not to delay this further and finish the remaining part of Anu Pallavi and Charanam - (I am sorry if this is not as detailed as Part 1)

Anupallavi (Continued from Part 1)

Maanini
One who is Noble. Sri Meenakshi is Raja Mathangi, and the Head of all Administration. She has a sense of 'Queen' like Nobility to Her. It is impossible to express this feeling well in English. For e.g., when Lord Nataraja comes out in Chidambaram, He exudes an air of Nobility like a King. Similarly, Sri Meenakshi carries an air of Nobility.  

Kadamba Vana Vaasini
One who resides in the Forest of Kadamba (a type of tree) - Apparently, Her temple in Madurai was once surrounded by a forest of Kandamba trees

Charanam:

Mathurapuri Nilaye
Goddess Meenakshi in her full splendor can be seen in the Madurai Temple - So, Sri Dikshitar calls her a resident (Nilaye) of Mathurapuri

Mani Valaiye
Mani is the tamil word for precious stones - And, Valai is the tamil word for bangles (bracelets) - In the pallavi, Sri Dikshitar calls Her as One wearing Golden Ornaments (mechakangi) - In Charanam, he calls her as wearing bangles with precious stones embedded

Malayadwaja Pandya Raja Thanaye
When the Greatest One decided to come down to earth, She decided to be born as daughter of Malayadwaja Pandya (King of Madurai), who was very pious. His name actually translates to one who has Hill / Mountain in his flag

Vidhu Vidambana Vadane 
The word Vadanam means face - How glorious is Meenakshi’s face? (Full) Moon (Vidhu) is considered cool, pleasing and lustrous - However, Ambal’s face clearly outshines the moon. [‘One who has a face that outshines the moon’]

Vijaye
One who’s is ALWAYS successful - Whatever her Sankalpam (will) is, that will happen. For all that happens is Her will. Devotees of Ambal will also win in all their endeavors. 

Veena Gaana Dasha Gamakakriye
One who plays music (Gaana) in Veena (stringed musical instrument) and who created (Kriye) the ten (Dasha) different kind of gamaka music 

Madhu-madha moditha 
It is actually impossible to understand what Dikshitar felt while composing - I interpret the verse as: Ambal delights (modhita) the devotee with the bliss likened to the sweetness (madha) of honey (madhu). 

In Tantra, there is a mention of Amrutha nadi in the head which when activated fills the body with Amrita, which is so sweet that every pore of the body oozes out with bliss and sweetness. The devotee then feels One with the Goddess. Ambal is the One who is capable of of delighting Her devotees such.

Hrudaye 
The word Hrudaya simply means ‘Heart’ - However, Indian scriptures often talk of two hearts - The Physical one which is typically situated in the left side of the body, and the spiritual that is located in the right side, according to Bhagawan Sri Ramana. 

Hruth-sthalam, which translates to the location of the heart, in spiritual sense is where the Self sits. In the basic Kundalini literature, the Sahasrara or the thousand petalled lotus chakra situated in the head is considered final. But Ramana goes ahead and says, that the Kundalini that traverses the 7 major chakras unites in Sahasrara and finally abides in Heart. 

The importance of the Heart is dealt in many places in Ramana literature:

[Ramana Gita, verse 1]
Hrudaya Guhara Madhye (In the cave of the heart)
Kevalam Brahma Matram (The Supreme Self alone)
Aham-aham iti (As the feeling of ‘I’ - ‘I’)
Sakshat Atma Rupena Bhati (shines as Atma Itself) 

[What we call as Supreme God (Brahman) is the One that Shines as the feeling of Self (‘I’) in the cave of the Heart (Hrudaya)]

[Arunachala Pancha Ratnam, Verse #2]
[…..] Te Vadanti Hrudayam Nama - Oh Arunachala, your are the Supreme Self. You Reside in the Heart and you are called as the Heart itself! 

Meenakshi is the Supreme Self (Paramatman) shining in the devotee’s Heart. 

Sadaye 
One who is Compassionate. There is none who is more compassionate than Meenakshi. All other Gods only channel Her Grace, since She is Supreme. 

The Supreme Lord Shiva, who is considered the God of Gods (Maha Deva) cannot do anything without the Will of the Goddess. In Saundarya Lahari, Adi Sankara points out that it appears that Shiva is able to do great deeds only because He has Ambal as His Consort. For, without Her, He cannot even move a bit (spandhitumapi - not even a pulsation is possible by Shiva on His own)

Mahadeva Sundaresha Priye
One who is Loved (Priye) by the Greatest God (Mahadeva) and incidentally, the Most Beautiful Lord (Sundaresha)


Madhu Muraripu Sodhari 
Ambal is considered the sister (Sodhari) of Maha Vishnu. In all Meenakshi Kalyanam images, you can see Vishnu giving the hand of Ambal Meenakshi to Shiva as the brother of the bride. Maha Vishnu is the enemy (ripu) of two dangerous demons Madhu and Mura - Since Vishnu vanquished Madhu, He is also referred to as Madhusudhana. 

Hear Sri Dikshitar calls Ambal as the Sister of the One who is the Enemy of the demons Madhu and Mura

Saathodhari
Ambal has a slender waist (Saatha-udari) - Her son is somehow has a BIG waist and a belly (Lamba-udaran - Lambodaran, meaning Ganesha)

Vidhi Guruguha Vashankari
Lord Brahma made the rules (Vidhi) of the Universe and Time and dishes them out - So he is usually called Vidhata - Here, Sri Dikshitar refers to Brahma as Vidhi
Guruguha is the name of Her son, Skanda Subrahmanyan. Also it is the mudra (signature) of Sri Dikshitar in His songs. The word Vashankari means, ‘One who captivates’

Lord Brahma and Lord Skanda and captivated by the Glory of Ambal

Shankari
Sri Dikshitar ends the song with a punch - This word is so potent - Shankari - One who Creates Auspiciousness. 

Ambal, is the ONLY source of all Auspiciousness. She creates Auspiciousness wherever She is (Which is everywhere) - If you can detect something good, you can always trace it back to Ambal.

Sri Adi Sankara took His name as Sankara because He wanted to create auspiciousness throughout the country. This is only possible with the Grace of Sankari! 

The other name for this term is Shiva - Shiva is auspiciousness . How did the Lord get that name or attribute? Because He is the consort of Sri Shivaa (998th name in Lalitha Saharanamam). Sri Dikshitar invoked this name by telling (Shive Pahi - Oh Auspicious One, Protect me) and then breathed His last! What a noble soul! Needless to say, He would be shining in the Lotus feet of Ambal. 


May Ambal, the Supreme One, whom we can see with our eyes as Meenakshi, create Auspiciousness everywhere. 

Om Shri Matre Nama:



PS:-
Wrongly wrote Maanini as Malini - Thanks to Ram's comment below for correcting.

Malini -  One who wears a Necklace [Not related to this song, but Hema means Gold and Hema Malini means one who wears a Gold Necklace - For people who might want to draw a Bollywood reference, the one and only Hemamalini I like is Goddess Lakshmi who is referred by this name in Sri Suktam] 
      

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

MadhumadamoditahR^idaye is one full word, not sure why it was split into two? It simply means one whose heart is blissfully intoxicated from drinking madhu.

Madhu cannot mean honey here, how does drinking honey intoxicate one? Also, does anyone "drink" honey like milk or alcohol? If one examines Tantra, Matangi is described as Chandalini or belonging to Matanga caste and is described as fond of alcohol, esp KadambAsava, prepared from Kadamba tree. One can give fancy explanations etc., but this is really what mUrtirahasya of Matangi states.

Sriram Venkateswaran Iyer said...

Many namaskarams for you for pointing this out. I haven't read the Murti Rahasya.

I am aware of the some of the Vama Marga practices, but sometimes that path does scare away people and the explanation when it falls on the wrong hands, will be used against the pious. That's why Internet is not a great place to discuss Tantra :-)

I interpreted Madhu as nectar as sweet as Honey!

Ram said...

Sir, Namaskarams.. The word in anupallavi is "Maanini", meaning proud womon or respectable woman. As per Lalithopaakhyaanam, Mathangi is referred to as "Manthrini", "Pradhaaneshi". She is said to be the Prime Minister of Lalitha Para Bhattarika and also the Raajya is being governed by her. "Manthrini nyastha raajya dhoohu" says Lalitha Sahasranamam. So, being in such a Great respectable position, she is known to be "Maanini". But yes, "Maalini" too is a an apt word. :)

Ram said...

Sir, Namaskarams. The word in anupallavi is actually "Maanini" - proud / respectable woman. Maathangi is said to be the Prime Minister of Lalitha's samraajya. "Manthrini nyasthya raajya dhoohu" says Lalitha Sahasranama. So, a highly respectable person like Manthrini (being the Prime Minister of Lalitha's saamraajya) would be "Maanini". But, yes, maalini also fits aptly.

Ram said...

And mechaka does not mean gold.. its means dark blue hue - Shyaamala varnam (blue black colour). Dikshitar describes the colour of Raja Mathangi as Shyaamalam, and hence her name shyaamalaa...

Ram said...

Vijaye - Dikshitar refers the Dik vijaya Goddess Meenakshi did when she took avataram as "Malayadwaja Pandya raaja thanayaa". She is known to have conquered all the worlds of Devas and hence the name Vijayae. Also reference can be given to the Vishanga vadham from Lalithopaakhyaanam..

Sriram Venkateswaran Iyer said...

Thanks for the clarifications, Ram!

Sriram Venkateswaran Iyer said...

Dear Ram Sir, Thanks for the wonderful explanation for Maanini. Didn't know that at all.

I'll add this reference to the blog as well. Thanks again for your feedback.

Ramya said...

Thanks for enlightening. Know this krithi for ages just felt like analysing the meaning! Great work

Hari said...

Your Part-1 was very enjoyable while your part-2 reflected an urgency to complete a deadline :-) . Meenakshi's greatness is visible in both but I enjoyed your enjoyment in Part-1

Sriram Venkateswaran Iyer said...

@Ramya : Thanks! Glad you liked it!

@Hari: So True :) - I'll see if I can revise it :)