Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Agraharam-Quo vadis ? - A tamil poem

Agraharam-Quo vadis ?

Transcreated by
P.R.Ramachander





(Agraharam  , the foremost garland  of homes, Were the  places  where  Brahmins lived together  to worship and pray   to the good of  the world .Most of the agraharams   had very pretty temples  , whose upkeep was done   by the kings. With those Brahmins  deserting  those agraharams  in search  of better living conditions , not only  the villages  became deserted but those  Gods , who used to be a part  of their life once  , were now leading  a  lonely life. The poet asks – who is responsible for this state of affairs –the people or the God . I have taken this poem from the pages of Sridhar Ramaswami –my face book friend. . Thanks my friend .)

The Vishnu  temple in the west ,
And the Shiva   temple in the east  ,
Were like    poems  which had  lost  their  addresses.

Once   in between them,
The land was applied  with cow dung,
And over  it the  Rangolis were   drawn,
The steps  were applied   with red mud  .
 Girls   moved  with petticoats and half saris,
And   people   moved with  Nine yard  madisars and Dhoti tied as Panchakacham,
And  that agraharam  had the   wafting  scent of 
Boiling  Sarkarai pongal  with rice , jiggery and ghee .

Then the  people who depended  on the plough ,
Started  believing   in  education,
And the bad fate  began  for all

In  the Panchayath, In  the Schools ,
White collared  job became  sign of masculinity
The rice coming out of fields  were replaced by rice   from shops,

Due to Panchayath, schools  and water less cultivation,
Not becoming sufficient  to meet their ends ,  then  people  migrated to the cities.

Half the people  became useless  for that  agraharam,
The rest stayed  there due to  receipt of  Pension ,
And expectation ion of money order from those   who had gone away
And  they were stuck there , knowing not where  to go.

Slowly and slowly ,
When   the crossing of the sea became a rule  and very common,
Every   one became useless to the agraharam  .

But   those  unfortunate   poor Lord Vishu   and Lord Shiva ,
Are still there  blinking ,  as they did  not know where to go

With songs sung about their greatness  by Appar   and Azhvars,
One time offering of food   to them becoming scarce to those temples,
In the same Agrahara ,

Have the   the  people changed  or  the God- we know not.

Tamil Text
அக்ரஹாரம்:-
---------------------------
விலாசமிழந்த கவிதையாய்...
மேற்கே பெருமாள் கோயில்
கிழக்கே சிவன் கோயில்
இடையில்
சாணமிட்டு,
கோலமிட்டு
படிகளுக்கு
காவியிட்டு
பாவாடை மேலாக்கும்
மடிசாரும் பஞ்சகச்சமும்
வேதமும் இசையும்
வெல்லமும் பச்சரிசியும்
நெய்யுமென பொங்கும்
சர்க்கரைப் பொங்கல்
அக்ஹாரம் மணக்கும்..
ஏரை நம்பியவன்
எழுத்தை நம்பினான்
வந்தது வினை..
பஞ்சாயத்திலும்
பள்ளியிலும்
உத்தியோகம்
புருஷ லக்ஷணமானது.....
விளைந்த அரிசி நின்று போய்
வாங்கிய அரிசி வந்தது.
பஞ்சாயத்தும் பள்ளியும்
தண்ணீரில்லா பாசனமும்
பிழைப்புக்கு போதாமல் போக
பட்டணம் நோக்கி பயணித்தான்
பாதி பாழாய்(ப்}போனது..
மீதி பென்ஷன்,மணியார்டரோடு
போக வழி தெரியாமல் தங்கிப்போனது..
..
மெல்ல ..மெல்ல..
கடல் தாண்ட..
மொத்தமும் பாழாய்ப் போனது...
ஆனால்
பெருமாளும் சிவனும்
பாவம்..
போக வழிதெரியாமல்
அப்பரும் ஆழ்வாரும் பாடிய
ஸ்தல புராணத்தோடு........
ஒரு வேளை படையலுக்கும்
பஞ்சமாக
அதே
அக்ரஹாரத்தில்.
மாறியது மனிதனா ? இறைவனா ?



Sunday, May 29, 2016

MS Amma –Oru ninaivu Anjali (Tamil)

MS Amma –Oru ninaivu Anjali
Madam MS – salutation memoirs

By
Ms Padma Priya Rajagopal  Velamoor

Translated  by
P.R.Ramachander




1.Ms Amma  Un pattu vinodham,
Cheviyil vizhum un kural then Amudham,
Katkkum ullathirkku Paramanandam  ,
Unnai ninaithaal   ullathil thondrum perumidham,

OH Ms Amma   your   songs are wonderful,
Your voice that falls  in our ears is  like nectar,
To the mind that listens  to it , it gives divine joy,
When we think about you  , Pride  appears in our mind.

2.Un Then Amudha isai manathirkku  Layippu,
Arpudha isai ketkkum podhu thondrume viyappu,
Rnnrdru solven un chirappu
Un maraival   erpadugindrathe  perum parithavippu

Your nectar like honey songs gets the minds drown in them,
When we hear your wonderful music  , we feel surprised,
How can we ever describe   your greatness,
And due to your leaving,  enduring sorrow  has resulted

3.Vatrthaigalaal  kooramudiyumo   un perumai?
Ennendru solven un mahimaai,
Isaii ulagil   un thani thiramai
Maaraada   inbam  un kuralin inimai

Can your greatness be  ever described  using words?
How do I describe your special greatness.
Your  have special ability in the world of music Oh Amma,
And the sweetness your voice   results in  never diminishing joy

4.Un Pattil dwanippadu  Bhakthi paravasam,
Un kuralil   olippadellam   yellai illa nesam,
Iniya gunamudayai  nee pasathin thiru uruvam,
Bhakthiyum inimayum  un paattin visesham,.

Ecstasic devotion is heard in   your songs  ,
Limitless love is heard   in   your voice  ,
Oh Sweet natured one, you are personification of affection
The speciality   of your songs are   devotion and sweetness.

5.Endrum ongum un uyarvu ,
Un paattai kettal   thodarvathu  niraivu,
Maa perum izhappallavo  un maraivu,
Endrume isai ukagakku   ithu kuraive.

Your greatness    would keep on  increasing  forever,
When we hear your songs  fulfillment results,
Your passing away     is a very great loss for us
And it is a  loss for the world of music forever.






Saturday, May 28, 2016

Bhujangams-Dandakams -Gadhyams translated in to English

Bhujangams-Dandakams  -Gadhyams  translated in to English        

BY
P.R.Ramachander

All  of us are   familiar  with normal prayers in Sanskrit called   Sahasranamams(1000 names) Trishathi  (300 names) Ashtotharam (108 names) , ashtakam (eight verses) , sapthakam (seven verses) , Shatkam( Six verses) , Panchakam (five verses) , Sthuthi (praise) , Sthava(hymns)  and  Stotra(ode) . WE do come across   some prayers   which  belong to  none  of these  categories.Some of them which are familiar to me  are  Bhujangam,   Dandakam  and Gadhyam . I have translated  in to English, very  few of  the  prayers (they are rare)  which fall  in these  category. Do know what they are  and enjoy  reading them.

I.Bhujangam
   Bhujangam  is a poem   resembling the sinuous  movement of a snake  . Though not many poets  could handle this method of writing, Adhi Sankara  was an exception .He has written several prayers adopting   this style  .Among them Subrahamanya  Bhujangam and  BHavani  Bujangam    are very famous  .If you come across  any other Bhujanga stotra   do send the url to me  (ramachander926@gmail.com)
6.       Hanumath Bhujanga prayatha  stotram- http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/adhi-shankaras-hanumath-bhujanga.html
9.       SAraswathi Bhujanga  Prayatha   Stotram- http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/11/saraswathy-bhujanga-prayata-stotram.html



II.Dandakam
  DAndakam is almost a prose poem. Unlike normal poems there are no restrictions  as to the number of letters  per line of the verse . Very few  poets have   attempted   to write  in this peculiar  meter . The most famous of course  is the  Shymala Dandakam , which is the first poem   written by   the great poet Kalidasa. Garuda Dandakam   is another famous  poem of this genera written by  the great  Vedanta  Desiga.There is also an Anjaneya  Dandagam  in Telugu , the lyrics of which  I could not get.

III.Gadhyam-
    Gadhyam is not a poem but prose  and so rarely used  to  write  prayers.  Saint Ramanuja   has written three  Gadhyams   and Vedantha Desika  who has come in his sishya parampara  has  written the   famous Raghu Veera Gadhya  which is the  story of Ramayana. Many translations  of  the Gadhya  thrayam ( Sri Vaikunta Gadhyam, SAranagathi Gadhyam    and Sri Ranga Gadhyam)   of Saint Ramanuja    are available   and so I did not attempt   to translate them myself. I also see  a reference to Srinivasa  Gadhyam, Lakshmi  Gadhyam etc



Chalisas and Aarthis –Hindi prayers

Chalisas  and Aarthis –Hindi prayers

By
P.R.Ramachander

Image result for jai jagadhis hare hindi

   Prayers  in Hindi  (  mostly in the  local dialects ) are much more popular  than prayers in Sanskrit  in  the entire  Hindi speaking  India. Possibly   this revolution   started  with the huge popularity  achieved  by  Sant Thlasidas , Kabir  , Surdas , who all wrote  in their  dialects . Each  Hindu  there   considers  it  great   to posses  a copy of Ram Charitha Manas and  sing  daily  Hanuman Chalisa   written by SAnt Thulasidas .There   are  three  types  of prayer  modes which are  popular there . The chalisas   are lengthy prayers with forty verses in each of them. The other important group of prayers   are  Aarthis , which are   songs   sung by the  entire family   during  the  lamp worship  in their homes  . The most famous in this group   is the AArthi  -Jai jagadish hare . The third   group  are the Bhajans  which can  be sung  in groups  or individually ,. I am giving below  the  URL s  of translation of 12  Chalisas   and 55  Aarthi songs .

I strongly believe   that  our God understands all  our languages  and so praying  him in any language   which you understand  is OK  . This concept  is  much older  in Tamil , where  the Azhvar  pasurams and soulful  prayers  of the great Nayanmars   are popular for the last thousand years , It was adopted  by Malayalam speaking  people  , as soon as they  found their language  . It is popular  in  Karnataka who sing their devar namas ecstasicaly  . Same can be told   about Telugus  where several  devotees  sing  prayers in their  own language, composed by several  devotees  like Bhadrachala Ramdas  , Annamacharya  , THyagayya   and so on.Ofcourse  all of us with great devotion sing    several prayer   gems in Sanskrit.

CHALISAS
1.          Shirdi Sai Baba  Chalisa  - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2012/10/shirdi-sai-baba-chalisahindi.html
5.          Saraswathi Chalisa  - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2010/06/saraswathi-chalisahindi.html
8.          Santhoshi Mata  Chalisa  -http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2015/08/maa-santhoshi-chalisa.html

AARTHIS

2.          AArthi har har Mahadev ki  https://stotrarathna.blogspot.com/2016/05/aarthi-har-har-mahadev-hindi.html
7.          Aarthi Ma  Sharadha ki - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2015/10/aarthi-ma-sarada-ki-hindi.html
12.       Aarthi sri Jagadamba ji ki  II - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2015/08/aarthi-sri-jagadamba-ji-kihindi.html
13.       Aarthi  Annapoorna   devi ki  - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2015/08/aarthi-annapoornaa-devi-kihindi.html
15.       Aarthi  har har  Mahadev ki  - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2016/05/aarthi-har-har-mahadev-hindi.html
31.       Jai Jagadish  hare –aarthi  - http://stotraratna.sathyasaibababrotherhood.org/v20.htm
36.       Maha Lakshmi ji ki aarthi  - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/maa-maha-kali-aarthi-hindi.html
42.       Sai Baba ki aarthi  I- http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2010/06/sai-baba-ki-aarthi.html
THulsi ji ki aarthi -1  - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2010/12/thulsi-ji-ki-aarthi-hindi.html

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Prayers to wake up God and telling him “Good Morning”

Prayers   to wake up God   and telling him “Good Morning”

By
P.R.Ramachander

     Suprabathams are   prayers to the God/Goddess   requesting him to wake up.  The most ancient of  a call for wake up of another person occurs  in Valmiki  Ramayana.  King Dasaratha   with lot of reluctance   and with great protest sends his sons Rama and Lakshmana  along with sage Viswamithra .After  a days walk the three of them take rest  in a forest. The sage as is his usual nature   wakes up early  and finds that the sun is rising and  it is time for Lord  Rama   to do his  morning rituals. He then tells:-
Kausalya supraja  Rama, Poorva Sandhya  Pravarthathe ,
Uthishta  Nara  SArdhula  , Karthavyam Deivam   Ahnikam

Oh good   son of Kausalya  , The   early dawn  has   arrived,
Wake up oh tiger  among men  for doing your  morning rituals ordained by God.

    This cannot be considered as Suprabatham  because Sage Viswamithra   does not consider  Rama as God but tiger among men  and this is only  a request   made him  to  Rama  who has been entrusted to him to wake up.
     Several centuries went by. NO one including Veda Vyasa , Adhi Sankara  or the great Sanskrit poets   ever wrote  a prayer to any God to wake up. 

It was at this time (around 9th century  AD  ) that  two great works in this genre  came up in Tamil Nadu .  They were written by two great saints , Manikka Vasgar (Saivite)  and  Thondar Adi podi azhvar (Vaishnavite)  . Both of them wrote it in Tamil   and preferred to call  their works as THiupalliyezhuchi  (Palli is the royal sleep). While Manikka vasagar addressed  it to  Lord Shiva  of THiruperumthurai temple)  THondar adipodi  azhvar  wrote it to wake up  Lord Ranganatha  of Sri Rangam.

IN spite of poetic excellence of these  great works  no further  suprabatham was written   by  sages or poets till the 13th  Century . Prathivathi Bhayangaram  Annangaracharyar   , a disciple of the great Vaishnavite saint  Manavala Mamunigal   was requested by his guru   to write a sanskit  prayer  to wake up  Lord Venkidachalapathi  of Thiruppathi. He  adopted the lines used by sage Viswamithra   as  his first two lines , and a bnew form of prayer in Sanskrit took birth.  Though another 7 centuries  have past , even today not many  Suprabatham prayers   exist . Here is a  small collection of 23 Suprabathams   which  I could get  to wake up  Gods/Goddesses . The first suprabatham to wake up a goddess  is Kamakshi Suprabatham  written by a disciple of Maha periyavaa.
        Suprabathams  became extremely popular   after the queen of Melody recoded  Venkateswara Suprabatham and released it .Another  very popular  Suprabatham is  of Lord Ayyappa recorded  by Sri K.J.Jesudas  , the Gana Gandharvan . This is only a small collection  .I understand there are few more suprabathams .I am not able to get their lyrics and as I have become old, just hearing them, I am not able to write them down. If you any of you come across  lyrics  of  any other Suprabathams  do send that  info to me (ramachander926@gmail.com) and then I would be eternally grateful to you.

1.       Athma Suprabatham- Suprabatham to ourselves - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2012/02/athma-suprabatham.html
2.       Ayyappa Suprabatham in Sanskrit - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2015/11/sri-ayyappa-suprabatham-in-sanskrit.html- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmRO7DxYOtw
3.       Ayyappa Suprabatham(Malayalam) I-http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/iyappa-suprabatham-malayalam.html
4.       Ganesa Suprabatham - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/08/sri-ganesa-suprabatham.html-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVfTjBD_quE
6.       Kamakshi Suprabatham -http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/kamakshi-suprabatham.html-http://raagtune.com/song/odw1d8m0/Sri_Kamakshi_Suprabhatham.html

10.   Thirupallaiyezhuchi  of Thondar adi podi Azhvar(5th to 9th centuries)  - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2011/07/thirupalliyezhuchi-of-thondar-adipodi.html- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsH32K7Gpb8
11.   Thirupalliyezhuchi  by Manikkavasagar(9th century) - http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/manikkavasagars-thirupalliyezhuchi.html
13.   Venkatesa Suprabatham(13th century) -http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/sri-venkatesa-suprabatham.html-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzr57yL_5fQ











Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The list of works of Adhi SAnkara Translated by me in to English (Alphabetical order)

The  list   of  works  of Adhi SAnkara  Translated  by me   in to English (Alphabetical order)

By
P.R.Ramachander

          Adhi Sankara  is supposed  to have lived  only for  32 years  . In this short period  , he  is supposed   to have   written 114 works (List of complete  work  given below this  text of translate materials)  Out of these God had been responsible   to translate  62  works  in to English through me .I know I am not even equal  dust of the  feet of  the great scholars   and saints   who wrote  commentaries on Sankara’s work .But my work   was meant for the ordinary  youngster , who does  not   know Sanskrit  nor know  his mother  toungue .I wanted that young man to know  that these works  are really  great   and are  up to   the international standards .If among  the 1000  people who   read whatever  I have   done at least  one feels  that  he should   further read  more scholarly commentaries  and wants to  consult  great scholars   to further his understanding , the purpose  of this  ignoramus   is achieved  .




1.       Akhilandeswari Manthra Mathruka pushpa mala- http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2009/07/akhilandeswari-mathruka-pushpa-mala.html
18.   Ganesa Bhujanga prayatha   stotram http://stotrarathna.blogspot.in/2015/07/ganesa-bhujangam.html





Complete works  of Adhi  Sankara   Bhagwath  Pada

Bhashya Granthas

1. Brahma Sutras
2. Isavasya Upanishad
3. Kena Upanishad
4. Katha Upanishad
5. Prasna Upanishad
6. Mundaka Upanishad
7. Mandukya Upanishad
8. Mandukya Karida
9. Aitareya Upanishad
10. Taittireeya Upanishad
11. Chhandogya Upanishad
12. Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad
13. Sree Nrisimha Taapaneeya Upanishad
14. Sreemad Bhagawad Geeta
15. Sree Vishnu Sahasranama
16. Sanat Sujateeyam
17. Lalita Tri-satee
18. Hastaamalakeeyam

Prakarana Granthas

19. Viveka Chudamani
20.Aparoksh- anubhooti
21. Upadesa Sahasri
22. Vaakya Vritti
23. Swaatma Niroopanam
24. Atma-bodha
25. Sarva Vedanta Sara Samgraha
26. Prabodha Sudhakaram
27. Swaatma Prakasika
28. Advaita anubhooti
29. Brahma anuchintanam
30. Prashnouttara Ratnamaalika
31. Sadachara anusandhanam
32. Yaga Taravali
33. Anatmasree Vigarhanam
34. Swaroopa anusandhanam
35. Pancheekaranam
36. Tattwa bodha
37. Prouda anubhooti
38. Brahma Jnanavali
39. Laghu Vakyavritti
40. Bhaja Govindam
41. Prapancha Saaram

Hymns and Meditation Verses

42. Sri Ganesa Pancharatnam
43. Ganesa Bhujangam
44.Subrahmanya Bhujangam
45. Siva Bhujangam
46. Devi Bhujangam
47. Bhavani Bhujangam
48. Sree Rama Bhujangam
49. Vishnu Bhujangam
50. Sarada Bhujangam
51. Sivananda Lahari
52. Soundarya Lahari
53. Ananda Lahari
54.Sivapaadaadi kesaanta varnana
55. Siva kesaadi padaanta varnana
56. Sree Vishnu-paadaadi-kesanta
57. Uma maheswara Stotram
58. Tripurasundari Vedapada Stotram
59. Tripurasundari Manasapooja
60. Tripurasundari Ashtakam
61. Devi shashti upachara-pooja
62. Mantra matruka Pushpamaala
63. Kanakadhara Stotram
64. Annapoorna Stotram
65. Ardhanareshwara Stotram
66. Bhramanaamba Ashtakam
67. Meenakshi Stotram
68. Meenakshi Pancharatnam
69. Gouri Dasakam
70. Navaratna Malika
71. Kalyana Vrishtistavam
72. Lalitha Pancharatnam
73. Maaya Panchakam
74. Suvarna Mala Stuti
75. Dasa Sloki
76. Veda Sara Siva Stotram
77. Siva Panchaakshara Stotram
78. Sivaaparadha Kshamapana
79. Dakshinamoorthy Ashtakam
80. Dakshinamoorthy Varnamala
81. Mrutyunjaya Manasa Pooja Stotram
82. Siva Namavali Ashtakam
83. Kaala Bhairava Ashtakam
84. Shatpadee Stotram
85. Siva Panchakshara Nakshatra Mala
86. Dwadasa Ling Stotram
87. Kasi Panchakam
88. Hanumat Pancharatnam
89. Lakshmi-Nrisimha Pancharatnam
90. Lakshmi-Nrisimha Karunarasa Stotram
91. Panduranga Ashtakam
92. Achyuta Ashtakam
93. Sree Krishna Ashtakam
94. Hari Stuti
95. Govinda Ashtakam
96. Bhagavat Manasa Pooja
97. Praata Smarana Stotram
98. Jagannatha Ashtakam
99. Guruvashtakam
100. Narmada Ashtakam
101. Yamuna Ashtakam
102. Ganga Ashtakam
103. Manikarnika Ashtakam
104. Nirguna Manasa Pooja
105. Eka Sloki
106. Yati Panchakam
107. Jeevan Mukta Ananda Lahari
108. Dhanya Ashtakam
109. Upadesa (Sadhna) Panchakam
110. Sata Sloki
111. Maneesha Panchakam
112. Advaita Pancharatnam
113. Nirvana Shatakam

114.Devyapara-dha kshamapa stotra