Rangapura Vihara is a famous Carnatic song composed by Muthuswami Dikshitar and dedicated to Sri Ranganathaswamy of Srirangam.
Contents
History
The title of the song means one who roams (vihara) in the Srirangam (Rangapura), a temple town in Tamil Nadu, India. It details the exploits of the Lord Rama, whose family deity is Ranganatha of Srirangam. The most famous version of this song was rendered by M.S.Subbulakshmi, live at the United Nations. It has a pallavi, anupallavi and charanam.
Lyrics
raṅgapura vihāra rāgam: vṛndāvana sāraṅga
kharaharapriyā janya
Aaroha: Sa Re2 Ma1 Pa Ni3 Sa Avaroha: Sa Ni2 Pa Ma1 Re2 Ga2 Re2 Se
tālam: rūpakaṃ
Composer: Muttuswāmy Dikshitar
Language: Sanskrit
pallavi
rahngapura vihara jaya kodandaramavatara raghuvIra shrI
anupallavi
ahngaja janaka deva brndAvana sarahngendra varada ramantarahnga shyamalahnga vihahnga turahnga sadayApahnga satsahnga
caranam
pahnkajaptakula jalanidhi sOma vara pahnkaja mukha pattabhirama padapahmkaja jitakama raghurama vamahnka gata sItavara vesa shesahnka shayana bhakta Santos a enahnkaravi nayana mrdutarabhasa akakahnka darpana kapola vishesa munisankaTa harana govinda venkata ramana mukunda sahnkarSana mula kanda shahnkara guruguhananda
Meaning
pallavi: O resident of the town called Ranga! Victory to you who incarnated as Rama, the famed owner of the bow Kodanda! Brave scion of the Raghu clan! anupallavi: Father of Cupid! One who is as swift as the King of Deers in running to the aid of the Gods to remove their sufferings! Giver of boons! Resident in the heart of Lakshmi! Scarlet hued one! One with Garuda as his mount! Unsurpassed in compassion! Ever present in good company! caraNam: O Moon to the Ocean like Sun clan! Venerated lotus faced Rama, who was crowned as King! One whose feet are like lotus! Vanquisher of Cupid in beauty! Rama, of the clan of Raghu! Bridegroom of Sita who is on the left! Recliner on Sesha the great serpent! Delight of devotees! One with the Sun and Moon as two eyes! Soft spoken one! One with a forehead akin to an unblemished mirror! Destroyer of the sufferings of Sages! Govinda! Venkataramana! Mukunda! Sankarshana! Primordial root! Joy to Subrahmanya, the preceptor of Siva!
Discussions on words:
Angaja (அங்க3ஜ): Means Anga- ja :Born out of body.But it is commonly believed that the cupid(Manmata) is born out of Sri Vishnu's Mind (Manasija).Anga also means Desire.So it can be taken that the phrase is referring to Manmata who is born of Desire, since mind is synonymous to desire.
Brundhavana Sarnaga(பிருந்தாவன சாரங்க): is a form of acrostic .The composer has cleverly inserted the rAga name in the sentence meaning (Deva)-Brundha-avana-sAranga meaning one who is as fast as a Deer in curing the sufferings of Deva(Devotees) .
Pankaja Apta kula jala Nidhi Soma(பங்கஜாப்த குல ஜலநிதி சோம): Moon is prominent in the sky. This line would mean that rAma is prominent in the dynasty of Sun. Precisely, as the Moon looks very prominent in the background of Jala nidhi (reservoir or water) Ocean, rAma is the prominent figure in Raghu Vamsha.
RangaPuraVihara(ரங்க புர விஹார):This song starts with praising RangaNatha, dweller of Srirangam, later the song moves on to praising Sri Rama. It is believed that Rama, after completing his incarnation, proceeded to SriRangam to relax himself in rest. Hence the song seems to be appropriate.
Other information
This kriti is on the presiding deity at Sri Rangam and partly on the Rama shrine in the same temple. The raga name is in the anupallavi. From Compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar by T. K. Govinda Rao.