0J Guru Lekha Yetuvanthi
Artist: Madurai Somasundaram
Ragam: Gaurimanohari
Thalam: Jhampa
Composer: Thyagaraja
Album: The Divine Trinity
Raga: gaurImanOhari
Tala: khaNDacApu
pallavi
gurulEka yETuvaNTi guNiki dEliyaga bOdu
anupallavi
karukaina hrdrOga gahanamunu gOTTanu sad
caraNam
tanuvu suta dhana dAra dAyAdi bAndhavulu janiyinci cEdaru jAlini karuNatO manasunaNTaka sEyu mandanucu tatvabOdhanajEsi kApADu tyAgarAjAptuDagu
Word by word meaning
sadgurulEka - without a good Guru
gOTTanu - the way to cut
karukaina - terrible
gahanamunu - forests (of)
hrdrOga - mental afflictions
dEliyaga bOdu - will not be known
EtuvaNTi guNiki - to the most virtuous
tyAgarAjaptuDagu - friend of Tyagaraja
karuNatO - with compassion
tatvabOdhanjEsi - imparts knowledge of the Truth
mandanucu - that is the medicine
aNTakasEyu - that detaches
manasu - the mind (from)
jAlini - sorrow (of)
tanuvu - body
suta - son
dhana - wealth
dAra - wife
dAyAdi - relatives
bAndhavulu - friends
janiyinci - birth
cEdaru - death
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Meaning:
No one, however virtuous he may be, without the grace of a Guru will know!
No one, however virtuous he may be, without the grace of a Guru will know how to cut through the forest of mental ills (the tApatraya)!
It is the good Guru, who is Tyagaraja's friend who out of compassion imparts the knowledge of the Supreme, which is the medicine that cures one of the sorrows caused by the cycles of birth and death and the associated bodily suffering and attachments to offspring, wealth, wife, relatives and friends!