tera teeyaga rada

This is a masterpiece by Thyagaraja Swamy, in the Ragam Goulipanthu . The beauty of the Krithi lies in the various metaphors used, to illustrate the removal of jealousy and the challenges of maintaining spiritual focus, ultimately seeking the grace of Lord Venkataramana.

Thyagaraja pleads to remove the screen of envy inside one, which feels like

• fish biting the bait to death , ie, preventing one from seeing the Truth
• a screen hindering clear, lighted sannidhi of the Lord by obstructing it;
• disturbances in one's mind like fly circling the food while eating
• while meditating on Lord hari, mind wandering to the locality of low people;
• herds of animals coming and falling into snare without knowing it to be so.

Enjoy the word-by-word meaning and the full meaning of the song, below.

Pallavi

tera tIyaga rAdA lOni tirupati venkaTaramaNa matsaramunu

tera: curtain; tIyaga: remove; rAdA: won't you; lOni: in the; tirupati: Tirupati (a town in Andhra Pradesh, India, known for its Venkateswara temple); venkaTaramaNa: another name for Lord Venkateswara; matsaramunu: jealousy

Won't you remove the curtain of jealousy, O Venkataramana of Tirupati?

Anupallavi

parama: supreme; puruSa: being; dharmAdi: virtues like Dharma; mOkSamula: salvation; pAra: beyond; dOlu cunnadi: exists; nAlOni: in me

parama puruSa dharmAdi mOkSamula pAra dOlu cunnadi nAlOni

The supreme being's virtues like Dharma and salvation exist beyond me.

caraNam 1

matsyamu Akali goni gAlamucE magnamaina rIti nunnadi

accamaina dIpa sannidhi marugaDDabaDi ceraci naTTunnadi

matsyamu: fish; Akali: hunger; goni: longing; gAlamucE: catches the bait; magnamaina: immersed; rIti: way; nunnadi: is; accamaina: clear; dIpa: lamp; sannidhi: presence; marugaDDabaDi: smothered; ceraci: approaching; naTTunnadi: feels like

Like a fish caught in bait due to hunger and longing, in the same way, the clear presence of the lamp is smothered as it approaches.

caraNam 2

iravondaga bhujiyuncu samayamuna Iga dagulu rIti nunnadi

hari dhyAnamu sEyuvELa cittamu antyaju vADaku bOyi naTTunnadi

iravondaga: midnight; bhujiyuncu: eating; samayamuna: time; Iga: housefly; dagulu: touch; rIti: way; nunnadi: is; hari: Lord Vishnu; dhyAnamu: meditation; sEyuvELa: when doing; cittamu: mind; antyaju: ordinary person; vADaku: to him; bOyi: goes; naTTunnadi: feels like

Like the way a housefly touches the food at midnight, similarly, when meditating on Lord Vishnu, the mind goes to an ordinary person.

caraNam 3

vAguramani teliyaka mrga gaNamulu vacci tagulu rIti nunnadi

vEgamE nI matamu anusarincina tyAgarAjanuta mada matsaramanu

vAguramani: trap; teliyaka: without knowing; mrga: animal; gaNamulu: groups; vacci: coming; tagulu: gets caught; rIti: way; nunnadi: is; vEgamE: quickly; nI: your; matamu: path; anusarincina: following; tyAgarAjanuta: praised by Tyagaraja (a famous composer); mada: arrogance; matsaramanu: jealousy

Like groups of animals getting caught in a trap without knowing, quickly following your path, Tyagaraja praises the removal of arrogance and jealousy.