Tuesday 24 December 2013

The Srinivasa Stotra

The Srinivasa Stotra is composed by Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha (1447-1539), one of the most venerable Madhwa sages and the previous avatar of Raghavendra Swamy (1595-1671).
Vyasa Raja first studied under Brahanye Theertha of Abbur and subsequently under Sripadaraja of Mulabagal. Both Bramanye Theertha and Sripasaraja were cousin brothers and it was Bramanye Theertha who identified young Yathiraja as the future star of Madha parampare and took him to his ashrama in Abbur. He then gave him the name Vyasa Theertha.
Vyasa Raja studied at Kanchi and then at Mulabagal in the university of Vedas and Shastras founded by Sripadaraja.
It was Sripadaraja who asked Vyasa Raja to head for Vijayanagar or Hampi and take over as the Raja Guru. Vyasa Raja was the Raja guru for six Emperors of the Vijayanagar dynasty, including Narasimha, Thammarayawhen they ruled from Chandragiri and Saluva Narasimha I and Saluva Narasimha II, Narasa Nayaka, Thuluva Narasimha, Krishnadevaraya and Achyuthadevaraya  from Hampi. He was thus the Raja Guru of Vijayanagar for 54 years (1485 - 1539).
By then, Bramanye Theertha had passed away and Vyasa Raja had succeeded to the Sri Matha in 1476.
Before coming to the court of  the Vijayanagar, Vyasa Raja performed pooje to Srinivasa at Tirupathi for twelve continuous years from 1486 to 1498. He was then stationed in Chandragiri near Tirupathi. He reformed the temple practices and streamlined the administration but he never once imposed the Vaishnava practice. He continued the practices as it had existed.
A great devotee of Srinivasa, he consecrated a temple to this god in Chennapatna and this exists even today just besides the Varadaraja Swamy temple established by Ramanajucharya.
Vyasa Raja has composed several kritis and stotras on Srinivasa and Krishna. If Krishna Nee Begane Baro is his most famous composition on Krishna, this stotra on Srinivasa is equally famous.
The lyrics of the Srinivasa stotra in Kannada and English are as follows:      


ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸಸ್ತೋತ್ರಮ್

ಪ್ರಾತಃ ಸ್ಮರಾಮಿ ರಮಯಾ ಸಹ ವೇಂಕಟೇಶಂ
ಮಂದಸ್ಮಿತಂ ಮುಖಸರೋರುಹಕಾಂತಿರಮ್ಯಮ್ |
ಮಾಣಿಕ್ಯಕಾಂತಿವಿಲಸನ್ಮುಕುಟೋರ್ಧ್ವಪುಂಡ್ರಂ
ಪದ್ಮಾಕ್ಷಲಕ್ಷಮಣಿಕುಂಡಲಮಂಡಿತಾಂಗಮ್ || ||
ಪ್ರಾತರ್ಭಜಾಮಿ ಕರರಮ್ಯಸುಶಂಖಚಕ್ರಂ
ಭಕ್ತಾಭಯಪ್ರದಕಟಿಸ್ಥಲದತ್ತಪಾಣಿಮ್ |
ಶ್ರೀವತ್ಸಕೌಸ್ತುಭಲಸನ್ಮಣಿಕಾಂಚನಾಢ್ಯಂ
ಪೀತಾಂಬರಂ ಮದನಕೋಟಿಸುಮೋಹನಾಂಗಮ್ || ||
ಪ್ರಾತರ್ನಮಾಮಿ ಪರಮಾತ್ಮಪದಾರವಿಂದ-
ಮಾನಂದಸಾಂದ್ರನಿಲಯಂ ಮಣಿನೂಪುರಾಢ್ಯಮ್ |
ಏತತ್ ಸಮಸ್ತಜಗತಾಮಿತಿ ದರ್ಶಯಂತಂ
ವೈಕುಂಠಮತ್ರ ಭಜತಾಂ ಕರಪಲ್ಲವೇನ || ||
ವ್ಯಾಸರಾಜಯತಿಪ್ರೋಕ್ತಂ ಶ್ಲೋಕತ್ರಯಮಿದಂ ಶುಭಮ್ |
ಪ್ರಾತಃಕಾಲೇ ಪಠೇದ್ಯಸ್ತು ಪಾಪೇಭ್ಯೋ ಮುಚ್ಯತೇ ನರಃ ||
|| ಇತಿ ಶ್ರೀವ್ಯಾಸರಾಜಶ್ರೀಚರಣವಿರಚಿತಂ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸಸ್ತೋತ್ರಮ್ ||


The lyrics in English is as follows:


prAtaH smarAmi ramayA saha vEMkaTESaM
maMdasmitaM muKasarOruhakAMtiramyam |
mANikyakAMtivilasanmukuTOrdhvapuMDraM
padmAkShalakShamaNikuMDalamaMDitAMgam || 1 ||
prAtarBajAmi kararamyasuSaMKachakraM
BaktABayapradakaTisthaladattapANim |
SrIvatsakaustuBalasanmaNikAMchanADhyaM
pItAMbaraM madanakOTisumOhanAMgam || 2 ||
prAtarnamAmi paramAtmapadAraviMda-
mAnaMdasAMdranilayaM maNinUpurADhyam |
Etat samastajagatAmiti darSayaMtaM
vaikuMThamatra BajatAM karapallavEna || 3 ||
vyAsarAjayatiprOktaM SlOkatrayamidaM SuBam |
prAtaHkAlE paThEdyastu pApEByO muchyatE naraH ||
|| iti SrIvyAsarAjaSrIcharaNavirachitaM SrInivAsastOtram ||


Vyasa Raja and Purandara Dasa together visited the Apremeya Swamy temple at Dodda Malur on the Bangalore-Mysore Road just a little distance away from Chennapatna.
This temple stands on the banks of the Kanva and legend has it that Rama, Lakshmana and Sita stayed here for some time on their way to Vana Vasa. The idols of Srinivasa here is very beautiful as is the idol of Ambegallu Krishna.

When Purandara Dasa saw the small idol of Krishna, he spontaneously sang “Jagadodarana”. He also composed several songs when he saw the idol of Srinivasa consecrated by Vyasa Raja at Chennapatna.   

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