Ceta pattaga

 

In the kRti ‘mA jAnaki ceTTa’ – rAga kAmbhOji – SrI tyAgarAja describes the greatness of sItA and how SrI rAma attained even higher greatness because of what she did and did not do.

P mA jAnaki 1cETTa paTTaga

2maharAjav(ai)tivi

A 3rAja rAja vara rAjIv(A)ksha vinu

rAvaN(A)ri(y)ani rAjillu kIrtiyu (mA)

C kAnak(E)gi Ajna mIraka

mAy(A)kAram(u)nici Sikhi centanE(y)uNDi

4dAnavuni veNTanE cani aSOka

taru mUlan(u)NDi

vAni mATalaku kOpaginci kaNTa

5vadhiyincakanE(y)uNDi

SrI nAyaka yaSamu nIkE kalga

jEya lEdA tyAgarAja paripAla (mA)

Gist

O Most excellent of Emperors! O Lotus Eyed! O Consort of lakshmI! O Nourisher of this tyAgarAja!

Listen.

You attained greatness because you married our Mother jAnaki!

You attained great fame as vanquisher of rAvaNa because you married our Mother jAnaki.

(a) Proceeding (along with You) to the forest,

(b) donning shadow form, without disobeying your command,

(c) remaining with Fire-God (in Her true form),

(d) having gone (in shadow form) along with the demon,

(e) remaining at lanka under the aSOka tree,

did She not indeed bring great fame (as vanquisher of rAvaNa) to You by not reducing him to ashes by her eyes by getting enraged by his words?

Word-by-word Meaning

P You attained greatness (maharAjavu aitivi) (maharAjavaitivi) because you married (ceTTa paTTaga) (literally take hand in marriage) our (mA) Mother jAnaki!

A O Most excellent (vara) of Emperors (rAja rAja)! O Lotus (rAjIva) Eyed (aksha) (rAjIvAksha)! Listen (vinu);

You attained great (rAjillu) (literally shining) fame (kIrtiyu) as (ani) vanquisher (ari) (literally enemy) of rAvaNa (rAvaNAriyani)

because you married our Mother jAnaki.

C Proceeding (Egi) (along with You) to the forest (kAnaku), donning (unici) shadow (mAya) form (AkAramunu) (mAyAkAramunici) without disobeying (mIraka) your command (Ajna) (kAnakEgiyAjna), remaining (uNDi) with (centanE) (literally near) (centanEyuNDi) Fire-God (Sikhi) (in Her true form),

having gone (cani) (in shadow form) along with (veNTanE) rAvaNa – the demon (dAnavuni), remaining (uNDi) at lanka under (mUlanu) (literally at the root) (mUlanuNDi) the aSOka tree (taru),

O Consort (nAyaka) of lakshmI (SrI)! did She not (lEdA) indeed bring (kalga jEya) (literally produce) great fame (yaSamu) to You (nIkE)

by not reducing him (rAvaNa) to ashes (vadhiyincakanE uNDi) (literally not slaying) (vadhiyincakanEyuNDi) by her eyes (kaNTa) by getting enraged (kOpaginci) by his (vAni) words (mATalaku)?

O Nourisher (paripAla) of this tyAgarAja! You attained greatness because you married our Mother jAnaki!