The Nine Gems

Oottukkāḍu Vēṇkaṭa Kavi  was an illustrious composer, with many novel ideas and creativity to his credit. One such outstanding piece of work is the lesser known ‘Kāmākṣhi Navāvaraṇams’. Akin to the Kamalāmbā Navāraṇa krtis by Muttuswāmy Dikshitar, these nine gems are each a piece of art to be awed at.  A short study on each of these:

The first composition on Vināyaka:

Shree Gaṇēshwara

He hails Lord Vināyaka as the Upāsaka of the Shreevidya upāsana.

The Panchāyatana pooja is mentioned in the composition, which is the type of Pooja where one Iṣhṭha daivata is surrounded by 4 other Gods. In this case the Iṣhṭha daivata is Vināyaka.

Adorning the Vakuḷa mālikā.

Vēda pārāvāra vihāra- One who resides in the ocean of the Vēdās

Dhyāna Krti

Vānchasi yadi kushalam

Bindu Chakra nilaya- One who resides in the Bindu chakra

nija mōda sadā ramaneeya shivāmrta nāma japa – one who is constantly in the meditation of the sweet name of Shiva, with utter fervor

Māṇikya manōhara veeṇā dharaṇām- holding the gem studded Veeṇā

1^st Avaraṇa Krti

Santatam aham sēvē

Trailōkya Mōhana chakra

Bindu chakra nilayē- One who resides in the Bindu chakra

Brāhmi, Mahēshwari, Sankṣhōbhini, Vidrāviṇi, etc. mentioned in the composition, are the Dēvis surrounding the first Chakra.

2^nd Avaraṇa Krti

Bhajasva shree

Sarva Āsha Paripooraka chakra

Specifically mentions Ṣhoḍasha daḷa sarvāsha paripooraka chakrēshwari – the goddess of the 16 petalled sarvāsha paripooraka chakra

shashadhara vadani – different way of expressing ‘moon- faced’, one whose face is like the wearer of the rabbit.

shishirita bhuvani – one who cools the earth

3^rd Avaraṇa Krti

Sarva jeeva

sarva samkṣhōbhaṇa chakra

sadānanda shiva beeja mantrēshvari – One who is constantly in the mantra of the ever blissful Shiva Bheeja.

The yōginee is Guptatara yogini

Anaṇga kusuma is one of the Shaktis

bhaṇḍāsura chhēdini – One who destroyed bhaṇḍāsura

veeṇā dhāriṇi – One who holds the veeṇā

4^th Āvaraṇa Krti

Yōga yōgēshwari

Sarva Sowbhāgya Dāyaka chakra

Chaturdasha Koṇēshwari – The goddess of Chaturdasha kona

nāgaratna tālapatra kanakābhē - palm leaf, kind of ear ornament, similar to Gold

hamsa toolikā talpa sārē – on a seat made of goose-cotton", the soft feathers or down of a goose. 

Ēkāmra taru moolē - One who is under the tree that bears a single mango.

5^th Avaraṇa Krti

Neela lōhita ramaṇi

Sarvārtha sādhaka chakra

neela lōhita ramaṇi – A woman of the color, Blue and Red.

the one among the Kulōtterṇa yoginis.

vashitva siddhi varadē - the Giver of the unusual skill of mastery over one’s self, self - command.

the one residing in the Bahirdasha chakra

Awakener of haim kḷeem sowm bheeja

6^th Avaraṇa Krti

Sadānanda mayi

sarva rakṣhākarāntardashāra chakra

In the midst of Nigarbha Yōgini

Prākāmya varadē - Giver of freedom of will

Worshipped by the suras, vāsava, pāvaka, shamana, nairta, yādasāmpati, pavana, dhanada, eeshāna, dishāmpati, nārada muni, etc.

Chintāmaṇi grha vāsini - Who resides in Chintāmaṇi (touchstone)

7^th Avaraṇa Krti

Sakala lōka nāyikē

sarva rōga hara chakra

a ka cha ṭa ta pa ya ra la va kṣhādi shānta akṣhara mayi – One who is the ḍorm oḍ the aksṣaras, a ka cha ṭa ta pa ya ra la va, from kṣha to sha

Gōvinda sōdari – the sister of Gōvinda

The Goddess of the chakra – Tripura Siddhā

One belonging to the family of rahasya yogini

shata dinakara sama dyuti mukha jālē – one whose face radiates the splendour of a hundred suns

8^th Avaraṇa Krti

Shankari

sarva siddhi pradāyaka chakra

mangaḷakara kunkuma dhara mandasmita mukha vilāsini – One, whose smiling face is adorned by the auspicious vermillion.

venkaṭa kavi hrdi sarasija vivaraṇā paṭutara bhāsini – One who has a detailed and keen understanding of Venkata Kavi’s lotus like heart (his own name is mentioned as mudra)

ati rahasya yōginee parivārē – One who belongs to the family of  ati rahasya yōginee

girirāja vara tanayē – The daughter of the King of Mountains

Nididhyāsana is the mental state of the Chakra

sadā chidambara nartana padayuga samakara naṭanādhipatē -  the queen of dance that always equals the two dancing feet of the Chidambara dance.

9^th Avaraṇa Krti

Natajana kalpavalli

sarvānandamaya chakra

shreepura bindu madhyē – One who resides in the Bindu in Shripura

sharadindu mukhē – One whose face resembles that of the autumn moon

navāvaraṇa gāna dhyāna yōga japa tapa rasikē – One who relishes the singing, meditating and the penance of the Navāvaraṇam-s

Phala Sthuthi

Haladharānujam

o Akhilāṇḍeshwari! Please grant us the boon of attaining Haladharānuja, the younger brother of Balarama who is the wielder of the plough.

poorvam rāmāvtāram – The one who took the Rāmāvatāram earlier.

kāḷeeya phaṇa pada nyāsam – Who dances on the hood of Kāḷeeya (is considered his mudra)

Seven Years: A Never-Ending Journey

Saptaratna-s. Or Saptavarsha-s. Call them either ways, my sister Apoorva’s and my life for last seven years have been seven precious gems.  On this day, seven years back in 2006, we met THE most influential person of our lives, our revered guru, Chitravina Ravikiran Sir. To us he was guru, family, friend, guide, mentor, inspiration and God.  And he still is. All seven in one.

 I vividly remember the first day of our class. He taught us a short Tyagaraja composition in Ragam Maruvadhanyashi, Mrdu bhashana. The composer has described Lord Rama in this song as ‘satguṇa bhooṣhaṇa’, one who is adorned by virtues.  The virtues are popularly identified as Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness and Humility. Seven in number.

Be it the music and life he taught us, the words of advice he has given us, the recounts of a globetrotter, the wise words of a humorist of impeccable class, the ease with which he spoke any tongue, the depths of his knowledge in any field or the inspiring way he lead a whole generation, there is no end to the youthful zest for perfection and success he sought through sheer hard work and learning. I can keep adding a lot more to the cap that already adorns the above seven feathers.

Our S-I-R, as I reverentially and dearly address him, can never be anything but the most magnificent person we have ever met in life. We owe our biggest thanks to our parents and family for having brought us into the closest circle of such a genius. It is something that can never be explained in words. It has only to be felt. And felt deeply, every living moment. To be his disciple has been one of the biggest blessings, a student as I could ever earn. We are always grateful to those that gave me this wonderful experience.  To the two sisters with seven letters in each of their names, this is a humble “Thank you” to the one who means the seven worlds of the universe. Talking of two and seven, here is an interesting piece of trivia. Seven is one of two single-digit numbers that has two syllables, the other being Zero!

To sum up his life would be best done in Mahatma Gandhi’s words. Mahatma’s list of the destructive Seven Blunders of the World that cause violence- Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, religion without sacrifice and politics without principle. My Guru stood against each of the seven. And we are so proud to be under him.  

These seven years mean so many things to us, from each of the year being the seven swaras that our music is made of to the seven wonders that Earth has. Ravikiran S-I-R might just be one individual person. But his personality is multi-faceted, like that of the rainbow, with seven colors.

If there is one expression that fits this feeling like a glove, it is in the Reetigowla composition of Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi in Tamil, Enna punniyam sheideno-

‘vāḍiya payirukku peiyyum mazhaiyai pōlē

vaḷar mullaikkoḍikkoru kozhukkiḍaittār pōlē

tēḍiyum kāṇāda dravyamē satguru

dēva! un aruḷ peṛavē nān

enna puṇṇiyam sheidēnō…

ettanai tavam sheidēnō…’