- Author : Smt. Radhika Upadhyaya
- Translator : Smt. Vaishnavi Kulkarni Bankalgi
Prasanna Venkata dāsaru is one of the most prominent and passionate dāsa in the distinguished lineage of the Haridāsas (literally meaning servants of God, they are preachers of devotion to Lord Viṣṇu or one of his avatars.)
Under the insignia of “Prasanna Venkata” Veṇkaṭa dāsaru has extolled the lord with various devotional compositions, by the grace of the most merciful Tirupati śrīnivāsa. He belonged to Bagalkot and gained special appreciation of the ruler of the region, Peshwa Balajirao.
One of the Peshwas trusted amanuensis, was very efficient. As a reward for this, he was presented with a golden pen. Once, the amanuensis asked Prasanna Veṇkaṭa dāsaru to compose a song, which he would transcribe in a flash. However, dāsaru, composed the below mentioned song and the amanuensis was wonderstruck. Unable to transcribe even a single paragraph from the composition, which was filled with superior rhymes, the amanuensis, surrendered before the supreme knowledge of dāsaru.
This song describes the supremacy and independence of Lord śrīnivāsa. The composition is as below:
ಎಂಥಾ ಶ್ರೀಮಂತಾನಂತಾನು ಶ್ರೀಕಾಂತೆಯ ಕಾಂತ |
ಎಂಥ ಶ್ರೀಮಂತಾನಂತಾನು||ಪ||
ಬೊಮ್ಮನು ಹೆಮ್ಮಗ ಮೊಮ್ಮ ಮೃಡಮ್ಮರಿ |
ಮೊಮ್ಮ ಶಚಿಮನೋರಮ್ಮ ಸ್ಮರಮ್ಮ |
ಅಮ್ಮರಸಮ್ಮೂಹ ನಿಮ್ಮನುಗಮ್ಯರು |
ನಮ್ಮೋ ನಮ್ಮೋ ಪರಮ್ಮ ಮಹಿಮ್ಮ ||೧||
ಅಂಗಕೆ ಹೆಂಗಳಾಲಿಂಗನಾಂತ ಗಡ|
ಮಂಗಳಾಪಾಂಗ ವಿಶ್ವಂಗಳ ಮಂಗಳ|
ಸಿಂಗರದುಂಗುಟ ಸಂಗದ ಗಂಗೆ ಜ|
ಗಂಗಳಘಂಗಳ ಹಿಂಗಿಪಳು ರಂಗ ||೨||
ಬಲ್ಲ ಕೈವಲ್ಯಜ್ಞರೊಲ್ಲಭ ಸುಲ್ಲಭ|
ಬಲ್ಲಿದ ಕ್ಷುಲರದಲ್ಲಣನಲ್ಲವೆ |
ಹುಲ್ಲಲುಗಲ್ಲಳವಲ್ಲ ನೀನಿಲ್ಲದೆ|
ಸಲ್ಲದು ಸೊಲ್ಲದು ನಿಲ್ಲದಿದೆಲ್ಲ ||೩||
ಪನ್ನಗಾಪನ್ನಶಯನ್ನ ಬೆನ್ನೀವ |
ಪನ್ನಗಾಶನ್ನ ವಾಹನ್ನ ರತುನ್ನ |
ಭವನ್ನ ಸುಖೋನ್ನತರನ್ನಾಗರನ್ನಿಜ |
ನಿನ್ನಿದಿರಿನ್ನಾರೆನ್ನೊಡೆಯನ್ನೆ ||೪||
ಅಂಬರದಂಬುಗೆ ತುಂಬೆ ವಿಶ್ವಂಬಸು |
ರಿಂಬಿಲಿ ಪ್ರಸನ್ವೇಂಕಟ |
ನಂಬಿದರ್ಗಿಂ ಜೀವನವೆಂಬ ಕುಟುಂಬಿ ||೫||
eMthA SrImaMtAnaMtAnu SrIkAMteya kAMta |
eMtha SrImaMtAnaMtAnu||pa||
bommanu hemmaga momma mRuDammari |
momma SacimanOramma smaramma |
ammarasammUha nimmanugamyaru |
nammO nammO paramma mahimma ||1||
aMgake heMgaLAliMganAMta gaDa|
maMgaLApAMga viSvaMgaLa maMgaLa|
siMgaraduMguTa saMgada gaMge ja|
gaMgaLaGaMgaLa hiMgipaLu raMga ||2||
balla kaivalyaj~jarollaBa sullaBa|
ballida kShularadallaNanallave |
hullalugallaLavalla nInillade|
salladu solladu nilladidella ||3||
pannagApannaSayanna bennIva |
pannagASanna vAhanna ratunna |
Bavanna suKOnnatarannAgarannija |
ninnidirinnArennoDeyanne ||4||
aMbaradaMbuge tuMbe viSvaMbasu |
riMbili prasanvEMkaTa |
naMbidargiM jIvanaveMba kuTuMbi ||5||
Though this is a devotional song, when trying to decipher the meaning it needs to be treated as a “muṇḍige” as it is not only loaded in meaning but also maturely worded.
enthā śrīmantānantānu śrīkānteya kānta | entha śrīmantānantānu || pa ||
The prosperity of God is described by dāsaru here. What is the meaning of prosperity of God? The consort of Lakshmi is not just affluent in gold and money, it means when weighed based on venerability, Viṣṇu is the universal teacher and upon weighing based on superiority he is the Lord of the other gods. What is prosperity for someone of this stature? His wealth is his qualities. He is replete with qualities which are not fully present in others. The biggest of these qualities is independence. Our God is prosperous as He is independent.
Software Engineer by profession and a learner of Madhwa Siddhanta by passion.
ब्रह्मान्ता गुरवः साक्षात् इष्टं दैवं श्रियःपतिः |
आचार्या श्रीमदाचार्या सन्तु मे जन्मजन्मनि ||
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