mahārāja swāti tirunāḷ viracita navarātri kṛtiḥ 1
rāga śaṅkarābharaṇam
devi jagajjanani amba dehi kṛpayā mama
tāvakacaraṇabhaktim
devamakuṭamaṇidedīpyamānapāde
kevalānandapūrṇe kīrasuvāṇi vāṇi
vīṇāpustakarañjitakaratala vihasitakuñjavarembike
veṇīmañjimapuñjavinirjitavitataghanāghanamālike
eṇīmadavinivāraṇanipuṇatarekṣṇahṛtanatapātake
śāṇollīḍhamahāmaṇibhūśaṇaśālini budhajanapālike
prīṇitamunigeye druhiṇajāye paramameye nirapāye
devi jagajjanani amba - Oh Goddess, Universal Mother!
kṛpayā dehi mama tāvakacaraṇabhaktim - Kindly give me devotion to Your feet,
devamakuṭamaṇidedīpyamānapāde - The One whose feet are illuminated by the lustre of gems in the crowns of gods like Vishnu and Shiva who have bowed down to You!
kevalānandapūrṇe - Embodiment of Pure Bliss,
kīrasuvāṇi vāṇi - Oh Saraswati, with a lovely voice like a parrot!
vīṇāpustakarañjitakaratala - Your palms are adorned with holding the veena, the Holy Book (Vedas),
vihasitakuñjavarembike - Oh Mother with the glorious smile like a lotus,
veṇīmañjimapuñjavinirjitavitataghanāghanamālike - Your black tresses defeat the beauty of the huge assembly of dense black clouds,
eṇīmadavinivāraṇanipuṇatara - adept at humbling the doe, who is proud of her eyes,
īkṣṇahṛtanatapātake - Your eyes remove the sins of those who bow down to You,
śāṇollīḍhamahāmaṇibhūśaṇaśālini - wearing the string of precious gems polished to glitter,
budhajanapālike - the one who takes care of the wise devotees,
prīṇitamunigeye - extolled by the holy men who bow down to you,
druhiṇajāye - Consort of Brahma,
paramameye nirapāye - Ultimate Cause of all creation, the Infallible!
Swati Tirunal was a unique wordsmith. He brought great beauty of imagery and clever wordcraft to his compositions. His compositions have been tuned into masterpieces. This song (the rest of it will follow over the next few days), begins the nine-day music festival at the Bhagavati temple in Trivandrum every Navaratri. This year, this song will be sung by my favourite musician, Ms. Amrutha Venkatesh.
