हरि सर्वोत्तम । वायु जीवोत्तम | श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः
On the Friday preceding the full moon of the holy month of Śrāvaṇa, devout ladies perform Vara MahāLakshmi Vrata to seek blessings from the Goddess of wealth, prosperity and auspiciousness, the Mother who takes care and guides all of us.
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This holy occasion brings to mind a lovely Pada composed by Shri Uragadrivasa Vittala Dasaru, previously known as Srinivasa Rao of Chitradurga (1871-1964). He composed as “Venkatesha” prior to receiving the aṅkita “Uragādri Viṭṭhala” from his Guru Shri Tande Muddu Mohana Vittala Dasa. The composition praises the Supreme Goddess by extolling her powers and glories, and is especially well set in Raga Patdeep since it was tuned by renowned performing vocalist and exponent of Daasara Pada-s, Shri Puttur Narasimha Nayak.
Of the many lovely renditions of this beautiful Pada, the ONE stands out and touches the soul is by Padmashree Pandit Venkatesh Kumar sung live in front of Yugapurusha Vishwaguru Shri Vishwesha Tirtha Swamiji of Pejawara Matha.
So to commemorate the holy occasion of Vara MahāLakshmi Vrata and seek the blessings of the Supreme Goddess for the well-being of all in Her world, here are the official lyrics of this lovely composition and a simple translation to read along while listening to Panditji’s brilliant rendition:
पल्लवि:
कमले कमलालये
O Goddess of the Lotus (Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth, Prosperity and Auspiciousness), resident of the Lotus,
कमल-भवादि-सुर-वन्दित पदे ॥
whose feet are worshiped by all the Gods headed by the Lotus-born Brahma
चरण:
त्रिगुणाभिमानिये नी
O You who regulate (and are beyond) the three attributes (Guṇa-s) of nature: Pure Good (Sattva), Emotional activity (Rajas) and Darkness (Tamas)
अगणित-गुण-श्रेणिये
who are of uncountable number of excellent virtues,
खग-वाहनन राणिये (नी)
O Queen of the Lord (Vishnu) who has a bird (Garuda) as His vehicle,
हगलु इरुळु हरि-पदयुग तॊरिसे ॥
every day and night, show us the path to Supreme Lord Hari’s feet.
चरण:
लिङ्ग-शरीरव भङ्गवगैय्यलु
In order to destroy the subtle body entrapping our souls and true nature,
निनङ्गदल्लिन भेविरन
the moisture from Your limbs (symbolizing Lord’s grace and blessing in the form of River Viraja)
सङ्गवागलु भव-भङ्ग हिङ्गुवुदु ॥
is needed for immersion to destroy our worldly existence.
चरण:
धामत्रय-रूपिणि (नी)
O You who give form to all the three universal abodes,
कमल-भवाण्ड-कारिणि
and are the effective cause of the lotus-like cosmic globe;
विमल-पदुम-सरोवासिनि
O Pure and Flawless One, who resides in a lotus lake,
स्वामी तीर्थदि निन्त श्री वेङ्कटेशन राणि ॥
and who are the Queen of Lord Venkatesha, [every day and night, show us the path to Supreme Lord Hari’s feet] Who stands by the holy waters of Swami Pushkarini (in Tirumala).
/Raghunath Rao/ “Do your Best … and leave the Rest … “
(All mistakes mine – all credit to Gurus and Acharyas )
|| sarvaṁ śrī kṛṣṇārpanamastu ||
