1.

Melakarta Ragam Kanakangi

SrI:
Dear Sri BhUmi Devi sameta Sri Oppiliappan BhaktAs:

Let me take the Kriti in Kanakangi Ragam and comment on the special aspects of the Ragam and the Kruthi unnai
nambinEn Iyyaa

Melakartha 1 - Kanakangi
The year was 1933 or there abouts. The founding Yati of Sri Poundareekapuram Asramam was there at
Oppiliappan Koil . He presented Kanaka-angi to Utsavar and embraced Him at the time of consecration and passed
on His tapO Balam to Ponnappan , the Utsavar. Since then, there has been such a Praabhalyam for Oppiliappan
Koil. It is well known that the hasta sparsam of great SanyAsis have this effect. Although AzhwArs including Swamy
NammAzhwAr had sung about Oppiliappan earlier and yet it was just one of the 108 dhivya desams. It was like
some of the dhivya desams like Thiru Talaicchanga NaaNmadhiyam near MayilAduthurai, where it is hidden among
rice fields and only AchAryAs and locals visit the temple . Meanwhile , Lord ArAvamudhan of KumbakONam stole
all the attention. One is also reminded of Thirumala of the ninth century CE, where people had to make a big effort
to go through the jungles to have the sevai of Lord Venkatesa . Lord Venkatesa was all alone among the saptha
Giris. AchArya RaamAnuja had to send a devout disciple by the name AnanthAzhwAn to do pushpa kaimkaryam at
Thirumala. Rest is history. Although Oppiliappan Sannidhi was easy to reach, in the 1930s, it was not as frequented
as it is today.
The PrAkArams at Oppilappan Koil at that time had thorny plants (eRunji MuLL), which used to hurt your feet as
you did the PradakshiNam. There was only a narrow path to follow. After the involvement of the
PounDareekapuram citizens known for having done the soma Yaagam of Poundareekam centuries ago to give the
name of Poundareekapuram to the village, Oppiliappan Koil became a PrArthanaa sthalam as it is known today.
The KanakAngi presented by the Yati Saarvabhoumar is worn by the utsavar every day even now except at the time
of JyEshtAbhishEkam, when the archakAs remove it for the annual Suddhi.

KanakAngi Mela RaagaKriti:

Today , we will cover the KanakAngi ( 1st MeLam) Raaga kriti.
Raaga LakshaNams and Krutis: This is the first of the 72 MeLa Raagams. KanakAngi means the golden bodied One.
It is the Suddha Madyamam equivalent of the 37th Pratimadhyama MeLa Raagam, SaLagam. Kotteswara Iyer,
SuddhAnandha BhArati (Kruti: uLLam uruhi uruhi anbu VeLLamAhAthO Paramaa) and Saint ThyAgarAja (Kruti:
GaNanAtham BhajAmyaham) have composed krutis in this MeLa raagam. Sri Sanjay Subramanyam has a brillaint
AalApanaa of this raagam and has rendered the kruti of Sri SuddhAnadha BhArati. Its Janya Raagams are
KanakAmbhari, Suddha MukhAri and KarnAtaka Suddha SaavEri.
The ArOhaNa AvarOhaNa kramams are: S R1 G1 M1 P D1 N1, SN1 D1 P M1 G1 AND R1
Suddha Rishabham , GaandhAram, Madhyamam, Dhaivatam and NishAdham are used here.

The Pallavi for the KanakAngi Raaga composition of Smt. Padma Veeraraghavan starts this way with Suddha
Rishabha yeduppu:

Pallavi:
unnai nambinEn Iyyaa adiyavar meyyaa
yennai maRanthEnE chakkarakkaiyyaa

Oh Lord with SudarSanam in Your hand ( Chakkarakkayyaa) ! Oh Sire who is Nata Satyan ( adiyavarkku Meyyan) to
those who seek Your sacred feet as rakshakam . adiyEn has lost myself in the enjoyment of Your dhivya
soundharyam and anantha KalyANa guNams .

Anupallavi:
KanAgAngi NaathanE ! gati NeeyE Yennappaa
dinamunnai tuttitthEn Thooyaa yen nEyaa

Oh Lord of the Lady who adorns the golden dress( KanakAngi NaathanE)! My Lord! You are only my gathi (gati
neeyE Yennappaa). ananya gatitvam and Mahaa ViswAsam are expressed here by the composer. adiyEn is
eulogizing You every day (dinam innai tutthitthEn). Oh Purest One (Thooyaa/ Parama Pavitran)! My dear Friend
(nEyaa)! adiyEn has total faith in You as Achyutan , who never lets one slip after they sought Your Paadha Moolam
as SaraNam .

CharaNam:
PaadinEn Palakaalum padhamalart-tEnai
tEdininn aruL vENDit-thiruviNNagar tEnE
naadinEn ninn adiyai nalam pala adaintEnE
kooDinEn unn aruLAl guNanidhiyE kOnE

The beauty of the composition in charaNa vaakyams is the reference to the honey flowing from the lotus feet (
Padhamalar tEn ) and the Lord being the embodiment of delectable tEn ( Honey) : ThiruviNNagar tEnE. The
reference to the honey or nectar flowing from the sacred feet of the Lord reminds us of Madhu VidhyA of
ChAndhOgya Upanishad. This flow of honey is identified as the essence of all essences (tE vaa yEtE rasAnAm rasaa:
Vedaa hi rasA: VedAhyaa-amrutaa:). From the sacred feet of the Veda Purushan of ThiruviNNagar flows the five
kinds of nectars that are enjoyed by the devatAs viz., Vasu, Rudra , Aditya , Maruths and SaahdyAs/ PrapannAs ;
they attain Him through BrahmOpAsanam with Madhu Vidhyaa.
Oh Ocean and treasure trove of sakala KalyANa guNams (GuNa Nidhi)! Oh Lord of Nityasooris (kOnE)! I have
sought the sacred feet of Yours (naadinEn ninn adiyai) and as a result have attained sakala soubhAgyams (nalam
pala adainthEn). adiyEn has joined Your Bhaagavatha ghOshti (KoodinEn). adiyEn sang afor a long time ( PaadinEn
pala kaalum) about the honey that flows from Your sacred feet (ThiruviNNagar tEnE) and sought Your grace (tEdi
ninn aruL VeNdi). Finally Your benevolent grace fell on me and adiyEn gained many MangaLams .

Additional Comments: adiyavar Meyyaa refers to Lord DEvanAthan, who has been saluted as nata satyan by
Swamy Desikan in His DevanAyaka Panchaasath. In His Tamil Prabhandhams, Swamy Desikan salutes the nata
satyan as Meyyavarkku adiyan. His soulabhyam (ease of access) to His BhaktAs and BhAgavatAs is celebrated
here. AzhwArs have enjoyed their Bhagavat anubhavam as equivalent to the tasting of the insatiable and
delectable honey (tEnn). PaadinEn pala Kaalum refers to the status of belonging to practicing dasyam, singing
PallANDu and performing Kaimakryams for many generations following the path of PeriyAzhwAr.tEdinEn and
naadinEn refers to the resolute search through SaadhanAs prescribed by the Lord to gain Him: Bhakti and
Prapatti Yogam. Mahaa ViwAsam is stressed in the group of words unnai nambinEn ayyaa. Kai vidamAttAn
KanakAngi Naathan . The acknowledgement of the Lord as the sole Master is acknowledged in a reverential way
by addressing Him as ayyaa. ananya gatitvam or not having any other recourse except the Lord as Rakshakan is an
essential trait of a Prapannan. The words gati neeyE attests to this mood of ananya gatitvam, a precondition for
successful SaraNAgati. The performance of MokshArtha SaraNAgathi and the joy of being a kruta krutyan in the
post-prapatti period is indicated by the Pallavi words: Yennai maRanthEnE.
Address of the Lord as Kanakaangi NaathanE links us to the AakAra Traya Sampannai (PurushaakAram , upAyEm
and upEyam) displaying yEkaSeshitavam aspects of the divine couple celebrated by Swamy Desikan in SrI Stuti.
Raaga Mudrai is also placed with the words KanakAngi nAthanE.
In 36 words of the First Mela Raaga Kriti set in raagam KanakAngi, the composer displays her atyanta bhakti for her
Kula dhaivam celebrated by four AzhwArs and declares her ananya gatitvam and Mahaa Viswaasam in Him as Her
sole Lord.

May the dhivya dampathis bless us all!

NamO SrI NrsimhAya,
V.Sadagopan