Yaarenna Sonnalum

Here is a song that I happened to hear in the recent past and fell in love with lyrics! Hope my translation is okay. I’ve given the crux for some of the lines; I could not understand some of the words in those lines! Help/improvements are most welcome!

யார் என்ன சொன்னாலும் அஞ்சாதே நஞ்சமே

அய்யன் கருணையை பாடு

இராக ஆலாபன்முடனும் பாடு-முடிந்தால்

அடவோடும் ஜதியோடும் ஆடு

அருமையென வந்த பிறவிகளோ-பல

ஆயிரம் தந்தாலும் வருமோ ஆதலின்

(யார் என்ன)

நாரத நாதமும் வேதமும் நாண்

ஞான குழல் ஒன்று ஊதுவன்

நீரதர் கழல் ஆட கோபியரும் பாட

வெகு நேர் நேர் என சொல்லி தான் ஆடுவான்

அந்த அய்யன் கருணையை பாடு

தோலை அறிந்து கனி தூர எறிந்து வெறும்

தோலை துணிந்து ஒருவன் தந்தான் அல்லவோ?

மேலை பிடி அவலை வேணுமென்றே தெரிந்து

விரும்பி ஒருவன் அன்று தந்தான் அல்லவோ?

காலமெல்லாம் தவம் இருந்து கனிந்த கனி

கடித்து சுவைத்து ஒருவள் தந்தாள் அல்லவோ?- இந்த

ஞாலமும் ஆயிரம் சொன்னாலும் நாம் அதை

'நமக்கெதற்கு' என்று சொல்லி நாமமும் ஆயிரம்

சொல்லி சொல்லி அய்யன் கருணையை பாடு

Whatever the world around says,

Fear not my heart, you sing the praise of my lord!

Make it into a song and croon it with raga and an orchestra!

If you can, even dance to the beats of the tune!

The rarest of the births, the lovely human form you have taken,

What shall you be in his further creations, you don’t know – hence

(Whatever the world around says)

To the embarrassment of Narada’s veena and to that of the Vedas,

An enchanting melody would escape his divine flute

As he follows the gopikas' song with the beats of his anklets,

He admires the dance and joins the celebration with them

(Such is the Krishna’s praise that you will sing)

There was this man who presented you with the rind of a fruit, casting the fruit away

Even after he laboriously peeled the fruit off its rind!

And there was this friend of yours who allegedly, but

Lovingly offered you with just a fistful of simple pressed rice

And there was this ripe, old woman, who had been chanting your name all her life,

Offered you only the berries that tasted ripe to her aged lips and teeth!

When such praise my lord has, who would heed to what the world says?

Even if the world annoys you in a thousand ways let’s not just say “I don’t care”,

But chant his name in a thousand other ways and sing his praise into eternity!

Footnotes:

The first two lines refer to a story from “The Mahabharatha”. Once Lord Krishna visits Vidhuran, the (only, probably!) wise Minister of Dritharashtra’s court. Vidhuran ceremoniously welcomes Krishna with the vagaries of a minister’s reception. Vidhuran himself takes care of the lord and offers fruits to Krishna which the lord happily accepts. Vidhuran, lost in his admiration for Krishna, peels the rind of the banana, throws away the fruit and offers the rind to the lord. The smiling Krishna takes the rind without a word. Accepting the rind, the lord also accepts Vidhuran’s Bakthi. Vidhura realises his mistake and apologises for which the lord simply says “your fruits are not as sweet as their peels, Vidhura! I enjoyed the rind more”

The next two lines refer to the story of Kuselan. This childhood friend of Krishna in his low times, decides to visit the lord, seeking financial help. But Kuselan, poverty stricken, has nothing to carry as gift and is reluctant to go empty-handed. He manages to get just a fistful of puffed and pressed rice (aval). With a lot of apprehension he visits Krishna and is delighted to see Krishna leading a successful life in a palace. Krishna still remembers his childhood buddy and gives him a king’s reception. Krishna asks for a gift playfully and Kuselan gives all that he has brought. Krishna accepts this simple token of love and relishes the offering like a heavenly meal.

The next story is about Sabari, an old woman who appears in “The Ramayana”. Lord Rama during his exile in the Dandakaranya forest visits this old woman, Sabari. Delighted at her luck that brought the lord himself to this simple woman’s abode, Sabari who had been chanting the lord’s name and waiting for his arrival to this place, gets fresh berries for the lord to eat. Consumed by her devotion, she bites every berry to check if it is ripe and sweet and offers only the best ones to Rama. In her love, she does not even realise that she is offering half-bitten berries to the lord. Rama, is not offended by this action of Sabari and relaxes under her innocent care.