June 08, 2020

Phala netrala



Phala nEtrAnala prabala vidyullatA 
kELI vihAra lakShmInArasiMhA 

 Meaning: Of the forehead eye's powerful lightning creeper, roaming for sport, is Lakshmi NaraSimha! 

Discussion: Phala refers to forehead and in this stanza refers to the third eye on the forehead. I'm guessing that Annamayya is referring to the third eye, its powerful red vein/arteries that resemble a lightning string. 

 praLayamAruta Gora BastrIkApUtkAra | 
lalita niSvAsaDOlA racanayA | 
kUlaSailakuMBinI kumudahita ravigagana- | 
calana vidhinipuNa niScala nArasiMhA || 

Meaning: The wind of the storm(destruction), with heaps of frightening bellows, one who stays on/with Lotus/Lakshmi, the composer; The mountain in his Class, the caretaker of Lakshmi(Sridevi) and Earth(Bhoodevi), moving in the Sun filled sky, the skilled one at fate, is the steady Narasimha. 

Discussion: There are sobriquets that are contrasting in this line. First, let's look at the difficult ones. My apologies for having misread the word "marutha" as "amrutha"initially, a misplacement of letter "a" after and before "m". So He is the wind that carries the storm/tornado and causes destruction. Just an example on how the words can be easily misinterpreted!!! A note that Lakshmi is also refered to as Lalitha/ Kamala or Lotus. Please refer to Sriman Narayana keerthana for discussion on it. The second challenging adjective is that He is the "composer". The Lord must have composed many "Leelas" or (episodes) but not sure what Annamayya is referring to here. KulaSaila means to be a mountain in His class or Kula, the strength of the race/class. The last adjective "Nischala" is the contrasting one. Nishchala means motionless and steady. However, Annamayya has refered to the movement of the Lord especially as Narasimha a couple of times. Taking cue from the previous adjective of being the one who is "skilled with fate/destiny", the motionlessness that he refers to is that of being indifferent to the ups and downs of fate. 

 vivaraGanavadana durvidhahasana niShThyUta- | 
lavadivya paruSha lAlAGaTanayA | 
vividha jaMtu vrAtaBuvana magnaukaraNa | 
navanavapriya guNArNava nArasiMhA || 

 Meaning: The detailed splendid faced one, that laughs off the bad ways, one who destructs the devout joining/connection, The Divine one who is harsh and severe in deeds, the one who drools, The cause for various animals groups to be immersed on this Earth; the one blooming with love is the new characterized NAraSimha. 

Discussion: "Nishytha lava" word-word traslated to one who destructs devout joining. It refers to the devotion to worldly pleasures. "Lala Ghatanaya" is a confusing word to interpret. I assume Annamayya is referring to a characteristic of a Lion or means that the Lord attracts amusement. I could be wrong and have a wrong spelt words. Any suggestions in this regard are welcome. 

 dAruNOjjvala dhagaddhagita daMShTrAnala vi- | 
kAra sPuliMga saMga krIDayA vairidAnava GOravaMSa BasmIkaraNa| 
kAraNa prakaTa vEMkaTa nArasiMhA || 

Meaning: With fierce brightness, with shining large unpleasant teeth ; the one who plays with the heaps spark of fire , The killer of enemy and demons, with a frightful lineage, one who reduces to ashes, the one who appeared for a reason, is the Venkata Narasimha.

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