Friday, the 13th

Today is February 13th, Friday. Ever since Jesus was crucified, the poor Friday, and the number 13 have been become associated with misfortune. Jesus had 12 of his disciples with him on his last supper (that makes it 13 at the table) and the day he was put on the cross was a Friday. So Friday the 13th is seen as an indication of evil by many believers.

Anyway, I do not fall into the category of those who are worried about what might happen on Friday the 13th. I wonder if there are people who are already associating last nights’ plane crash at Buffalo as one of the Friday the 13th effect.

In many of these beliefs, it is the human psych that is at work. If you are worried that something would go wrong, there is probably a good chance that your mind is somewhere else worrying, rather than concentrating on what you are supposed to be doing. Right? In that case, probably you would end up making more mistakes than you normally would, and perhaps the outcome would not be what was desired.

For those who are worried about Friday the 13th, I prescribe this dose of Purandara Dasa:

This is a small composition (ugaabhoga):

ಇಂದಿನ ದಿನವೇ ಶುಭದಿನವು
ಇಂದಿನ ವಾರ ಶುಭವಾರ
ಇಂದಿನ ತಾರೆ ಶುಭತಾರೆ
ಇಂದಿನ ಯೋಗ ಶುಭಯೋಗ
ಇಂದಿನ ಕರಣ ಶುಭ ಕರಣ
ಇಂದು ಪುರಂದರ ವಿಟ್ಠಲ ರಾಯನ
ಸಂದರ್ಶನ ಫಲವೆಮಗಾಯಿತು!

इंदिन दिनवे शुभदिनवु
इंदिन वार शुभवार
इंदिन तारॆ शुभतारॆ
इंदिन योग शुभयोग
इंदिन करण शुभ करण
इंदु पुरंदर विट्ठल रायन
संदर्शन फलवॆमगायितु!

Today is an auspicious day;
Today is the best day of the week;
Today’s star is a good star;
Today’s yoga is good;
Today’s karaNa is good too.
Now that I have seen the
Good Lord Purandara Vitthala,
Today, indeed is a very good day!

Purandara Dasa was a Haridasa. His ultimate aim was to have a darshana of his Lord. We are mere mortals, may not be so blessed.

But, I am sure if we just do what are supposed to do with right spirit and effort, I have no doubt this would be a good day as any other day could be.

-neelnajana

(Pictures from Google images)

ಬಂದೆವಯ್ಯಾ ಗೋವಿಂದಶೆಟ್ಟಿ!

It is time time to think of  Lord  Tirupati Timmappa, once again.

Did you ever wonder how the temple became so rich?

Tirupati temple

Tirupati, no doubt is the richest temple. We all know the story of Srinivasa repaying the money he borrowed, with interest to Kubera. But how on earth did the temple get so rich?

A comment on my previous post made me look for the words for a song of Kanaka Dasa (1509 AD- 1609 AD, as per Wikipedia). Kanaka Dasa is one of the very prominent dAsas in the haridasa tradition of Karnataka.

I had heard about this song before, but never heard anyone sing it. As always, Sri Lakshman provided the lyric in an instant!

If Purandara Dasa praised Tirupati Timmappa for selling dOse, and rice dishes, here is Kanaka Dasa is turning it into a complaint! Kanaka Dasa  gives a much longer list, and criticizes the business 🙂 practices followed by his lord!

ಬಂದೆವಯ್ಯಾ ಗೋವಿಂದಶೆಟ್ಟಿ

ಬಂದೆವಯ್ಯಾ ಗೋವಿಂದಶೆಟ್ಟಿ!

ಇಂದು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹರಿವಾಣ ಪ್ರಸಾದವುಂಟೆನಲಾಗಿ|| ಬಂದೆವಯ್ಯ ಗೋವಿಂದ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ||

ಅಪ್ಪಾಲು ಅತಿರಸ ತುಪ್ಪ ಕಜ್ಜಾಯವು ಒಪ್ಪುವ ಯಾಲಕ್ಕಿ ಶುಂಠಿ ಮೆಣಸು
ಅಪರೂಪವಾದ ಕಜ್ಜಾಯ ರಾಶಿಗಳ ಛಪ್ಪನ್ನದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾರುವ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ||ಬಂದೆವಯ್ಯ ಗೋವಿಂದಶೆಟ್ಟಿ||

ಒಡೆದ ಮಡಕೆಯೆನ್ನು ಬಿಡದೆ ನಾಮವ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುವೆ ನೀ ಕಾಸಿಗೆ ಒಂದೊಂದನು
ಒಡಲು ತುಂಬಿ ಮಿಕ್ಕ ಅನ್ನವ ಮಾರಿಸಿ ಒಡವೆಯ ಗಳಿಸುವ ಕಡುಲೋಭಿ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ||ಬಂದೆವಯ್ಯ ಗೋವಿಂದಶೆಟ್ಟಿ||

ಶೇಷಗಿರಿಯಮೇಲೆ ಇಪ್ಪ ತಿಮ್ಮಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ದೇಶಕೆ ಪ್ರಸಾದವ ನಡೆಸುವ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ
ಆಶೆಯಿಂದ ಹಣಕಾಸು ಗಳಿಸುವ ಆದಿಕೇಶವ ನಾರಾಯಣನೆಂಬ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ||ಬಂದೆವಯ್ಯ ಗೋವಿಂದಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ||

For those, who can’t read Kannada script, here it is transliterated into dEvanAgari:

बंदॆवय्या गोविंदशॆट्टि*!

इंदु निम्म हरिवाण प्रसादवुंटॆनलागि  ॥ बंदॆवय्य गोविंद शॆट्टि ॥

आ पालु अतिरस तुप्प कज्जायवु ऒप्पुव यालक्कि शुंठि मॆणसु
अपरूपवाद कज्जाय राशिगळ छप्पन्नदेशक्कॆ मारुव शॆट्टि     ॥बंदॆवय्य गोविंदशॆट्टि॥

ऒडॆद मडकॆयॆन्नु इडदॆ नामव माडि कॊडुवॆ नी कासिगॆ ऒंदॊंदनु
ऒडलु तुंबि मिक्क अन्नव मारिसि ऒडवॆय गळिसुव कडुलोभि शॆट्टि   ॥बंदॆवय्य गोविंदशॆट्टि॥

शेषगिरियमेलॆ इप्प तिम्मशॆट्टि देशकॆ प्रसादव नडसुव शॆट्टि
आशॆयिंद हणकासु गळिसुव आदिकेशव नारायणनॆंब शॆट्टि   ॥बंदॆवय्य गोविंदशॆट्टि ॥

(Click here to listen to this song. There are some minor changes in the text between this version, and what is posted on this page.)

Shetty – This Kannada word is derived from the samskrita word ‘shrEShTi’ , generally refers to a  merchant/trader.

Kanaka Dasa calls Tirupati Timmappa as Govinda Shetty. Why?

Here is a loose translation of the devaranaama:

Pallavi:

We have come here, Oh  Govinda Shetty!

Anupallavi: Hearing that there is a plate full of offerings today || we have come here , oh Govinda Shetty||

charaNa 1:

You are the miser merchant selling  everything from heaps of atirasas made of milk, kajjaayas made of ghee  to spices like cardamoms, ginger and pepper all around in  all  fiftysix countries! Oh Govinda Shetty, here we come!

charaNa 2:

You don’t even throw broken pots, but turn them into ‘nAma’s (colored sticks) , and sell each piece for a ‘kAsu’ (a denomination of money).  When your stomach is full, you don’t hesitate to sell the leftovers for buying some more jewellery! Here we come, Oh Govinda Shetty!

charaNa3:

Oh Timmappa Shetty, you reside in Sheshagiri (which is another name of Tirumala hill)  and grace this country. You are none other than Adikeshava Narayana, the great trader whose only desire is to earn money! Govinda Shetty, Here we come!

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about commercialization of temples 🙂 from this song, several centuries old.

-neelanjana

Lord Venkateshwara and Udupi Restaurants …

There is this old joke saying that when Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon in 1969, he was greeted by a malayali teashop owner holding a cup of tea for him. Those  tea-stalls are an all-India phenomenon. Similarly, another universal phenomenon is that  of Udupi hotels. It is hard to find a town without a Udupi hotel, particularly so in south India. But why did the folks from Udupi became famed for their restaurants?  I can only contemplate. May be because Udupi is the town which Krishna calls his home! We all know how much Krishna loves food be it as fat-full as  butter or as fat-free as avalakki (Remember Sudaama?) Anyway, whatever be the reason, Udupi hotels have become very popular in several states outside of Karnataka, particularly so in states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Udupi Krishna

Not only Udupi hotels have become very  commonplace in Tamil Nadu, but they have also caught on a new meaning. They are used as a synonym to  saying ‘vegetarian’. So if you see a board such as “Saravana Bhavan (udupi)”, it means it is a vegetarian restaurant, irrespective of whether the proprietor is from Andhra or Assam!

Outside India, hoteliers have marketed  this Udupi name quite effectively to their advantage. There are many a restuarants called  ‘Udupi -something’ or ‘Udupi-something-else’all the way from Washinton DC in the eastern coast to Seattle in the state of Washington on the west coast. I do not  know how many of these are run by folks from Udupi. But one thing is certain. All these places are Udupi, just  in name – not necessarily in taste. If you order a dOse, you will get a dOse which looks very authentic, but the reality literally seeps in as soon as you take a byte!

Oh, let me stop with this Udupi puraana, and think of Tirupati Timmappa! In here, there is a idli-dOse restaurant called ‘Tirupati Bheema’s’. We know Bheema for his abilities in the kitchen, but what in the world is Tirupati doing with Bheema and his kitchen?  Till I came across this composition of Purandara Dasa, I was not aware of the relation between Tirupati and the restaurant industry.

Tirupati Venkateshwara

Here is that song – I have given it in dEvanAgari script:

धणिय नोडिदॆना वॆंकटन मनदणिये नोडिदॆना! ॥पल्लवि॥

धणिय नोडिदॆ शिखामणि तिरुमलना! ॥अनुपल्लवि॥

केसक्कि अन्न उंबुवना बड्डि
कासु बिडदे हॊन्न गळिसुवना!
दोसॆ अन्नव मारिसुवना तन्न
दासर म्याळदि कुणिदाडुतिहना! ॥1॥

बॆट्टदॊळगॆ इरुतिहन मन
मुट्टि भजिपरिगिष्टव सल्लिसुवना!
कॊट्ट वरव तप्पदवन
सृष्टिगधिक श्री पुरंदर विठलन! ॥2॥

Here is the meaning of the song:

pallavi: I saw him! Venkata,  the Lord of Tirumala, My master!

anupallavi:  I saw my Lord,  the jewel in the crown to my heart’s content!

charaNa 1:  (I saw him) who relishes ‘kEsakki’ (a variety of rice?) , who earns money with interest,  who gets dOse, and other food items sold, and who participates joyously with the dancing haridAsas

charaNa 2: ( I saw him) who resides in the hill, and him who gives whatever wished for to those who are his true believers, him who stays true to his word,  Purandara Vithala, who is the greatest  in this creation

Because this song mentions Tirumala on the hills as the home of Purandara Vithala, we can be very certain  that this was written about the deity at Tirupati. Don’t we all know the story of Srinivas Kalyana, that  tells us that Tirupati Timmappa is still earning money to repay the interest for the loan he took from Kubera for his wedding.

The key phrase here is ‘dOse annava mArisuvana’; the Lord of Tirumala is credited to having had places where eatables like dOse, and rice were sold.  This tells that there were restaurants in Tirupati  almost 500 years ago  ( Purandara’s time frame) where travelers could buy food.  Of course, we know about dharma shaales that provided food and water to the travelers free, but this reference is not to such establishments. These are actually places that made selling food a businesses.

It is not for nothing that it is said that literature is a mirror of the society. But shh….! Don’t tell anyone. Because, now places such as Udupi Hotels, and Bengalooru ayyangar bakeries exist at least namesake. Otherwise, they might start thinking of changing their name to Tirupati!

-neelanjana

image courtesy: Google images

(Translated from a  Kannada article I had written a while ago. You can read the original article here: ತಿರುಪತಿ ತಿಮ್ಮಪ್ಪನೂ ಉಡುಪಿಯ ಹೋಟೆಲೂ …

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