sriman narayana

Another short but flavorful literary piece by Annamayya. It could have easily passed off as a Sanskrit keerthana but for the word "nee" at the end of each stanza that translates to "your" in Telugu. This work is a literary feast to readers with clever use of two words "kamala" and "Parama" in each stanza to describe Lord Narayana.

శ్రీమన్నారాయణ శ్రీమన్నారాయణ | శ్రీమన్నారాయణ నీ శ్రీపాదమే శరణు ||
Sriman Narayana, Sriman Narayana, Sriman Narayana nee Sri padame sharanu

Word- Word
శ్రీమన్నారాయణ(Sriman+Narayana)= Sriman=honorific reference to deities,persons(male) Narayana; నీ=your; శ్రీ=the sacred;పాదమే=feet+only; శరణు=shelter
Meaning:
Oh Sriman Narayana! Your sacred feet is the only shelter.

Charanams

|| కమలాసతీ ముఖకమల కమలహిత | కమలప్రియ కమలేక్షణ |
కమలాసనహిత గరుడగమన శ్రీ | కమలనాభ నీపదకమలమే శరణు ||
Kamala sati mukha kamala , kamala hithe, kamala priya, kamaekshana
Kamalasana hitha garudagamana Sreee kamalanabhani padakamale sharanu

Word-Word
కమలా Kamal= Godess Lakshmi;సతీ Sati= wife; ముఖMukha=face;opening;కమల Kamala=Lotus; కమలహిత KamalHitha=one pleasing Lakshmi;| కమల=Lakshmi;ప్రియ=beloved ; కమలేక్షణ Kamala+aksheeNamu= The imperishable
కమలాసన= one who is seated on Lotus,Brhma; హిత= Pleasing); గరుడ=Kite;గమన= movement; శ్రీ; కమల=Lotus;నాభ= navel; నీ= your; పదకమలమే= lotus feet only; శరణు =shelter

Meaning:
With Kamala as wife on the lotus flower opening, You are the one pleasing Lakshmi/Kamala. You are the beloved of Lakshmi/Kamala, the imperishable.
You are the one who pleases the lotus throned Brahma; the one moving on Garuda; Ohh Lotus naveled one, your lotus-feet are my only shelter.

Discussion:
This stanza cleverly describes the incredible use of the same word Kamala in various contexts to describe Lord Vishnu. A couple of things that need to be explained are Kamaleshana and the word Kamala.
First let us look at Kamala. The word Kamala is Lakshmi while Kamalamu is lotus. It is really challenging to distinguish where Annamayya meant Lakshmi and where he actually meant the flower Lotus. I chose the word that best described the essence of this keerthana. It is unto the discretion of the reader.
Kamalakshudu means one with lotus eye; kamalekshana means one who is the imperishable lotus. In other words, Akshi means eyes but AksheeNamu means imperishable.


|| పరమయోగిజన భాగధేయ శ్రీ | పరమపూరుష పరాత్పర
పరమాత్మ పరమాణురూప శ్రీ | తిరువేంకటగిరి దేవ శరణు ||
Parama yogijana bhagyadheya , sri paramapurusha paratpara
Paramatma, paramanu rupa sri tiru venkata giri deva sharanu

Word-Word
పరమ Parama= supreme; యోగిజన yogijana=the yogis lot; భాగధేయ bhagyadheya=(భాగ+ధేయ= Bhaaga +dheya= Destiny+goal;)share alloted by destiny, the goal of their destiny; శ్రీ Sri= Ohh Prosperous one! | పరమపూరుష paramapurusha= The Supreme being/person; పరాత్పర paratpara= The Almighty
పరమాత్మParamatma=The Supreme Spirit;soul of the universe; పరమాణు paramanu= atom;రూప rupa=appearance; శ్రీ Sri | తిరువేంకటగిరి tiru venkata giri= The Tiru Venkata Hill's; దేవ deva= deity;Almighty; శరణు sharanu= shelter me! ||

Meaning:
For the supreme yogi lot, you are the destiny; Ohh Supreme person, Almighty; the supreme soul , the atom-shaped/appearance one; Ohh Tiru Venkata Hill's deity, shelter me.

Discussion:
In this stanza Annamayya uses the word "Parama" in different contexts to describe Narayana. Also notice the various forms he describes :Parama Purusha;Paraatpara,Paramatma, paramanu. If we look at the order, he starts off with paramaPurusha or Supreme man/person, then parAtpara or supreme being, then comes Paramatma,the supreme soul and finally comes paramanu, the atom. This emphasizes the clues the poet has left for the reader to cherish.

As always, I welcome any comments or suggestions that would help in describing this keerthana in a better way.


Discussion
References
[1]http://desipedia.desibantu.com/srimannarayana
[2]Paluri ShankarNarayana, Telugu to English dictionary