నగుమోము గనలేని - nagumOmu ganalEni

nagumOmu ganalEni is an immensely popular kRti composed by SrI tyAgarAja swami in abheri rAgam beseeching his beloved Rama to show his smiling countenance.

He sings thus;

O Raghuvara Sri Rama, can you not save me from my pitiable state of not having seen your smiling countenance?

O The One that lifted govarthanagiri, do not your near and dear ones tell you the right thing to do? Even if they do not – can you not save me from my pitiable state of not having seen your smiling countenance?

Did garutmanta not make haste after hearing your command? Or did he say that the skies are too far away from the earth? O lord of the worlds, if you forsake me who can I turn to? I cannot bear the thought that you are vexed with me; can you not save me from my pitiable state of not having seen your smiling countenance?

In his kRtis Tyagaraja uses epithets of Lord Vishnu for Rama. That explains why he calls Rama, naga-rAja-dhara, an epithet Lord Krishna earned after lifting govarthanagiri. Here he also employs another technique of asking rhetorical questions to underscore his amazement that The God has not yet shown himself.

The first one is whether his retinue, the near and dear ones do not guide him the right way. Everyone knows that the Lord does not require any help much less guidance from his family when helping his bhaktakoTi. The second one is whether garutmanta does not abide by his master’s bidding and complains that the earth is too far from the Lord’s abode. gartumanta can neither go against his master’s wishes nor can his supremely potent strength find the distance between skies and earth non-negotiable. The point in the above questions is to bring across tyagaraya’s wonderment that Lord Rama has not yet manifested himself.

The beauty of the kRti is further enhanced by the praasa employed. In Telugu prosody, antyaanupraasa (literally rhyme-at-the-end) is just one of the many ways to add beauty to verses. In this case you will notice that the second letter of the first word in each line is ‘ga’ or its variant and that adds lyrical beauty to the rendition. The words are nagu, naga, ogi, khaga, gaganamu, jagamu, vaga.

Here is the complete sahityam with meanings for the phrases that make up the kRti.

పల్లవి pallavi

నగుమోము గనలేని నా జాలి తెలిసి, నను బ్రోవగరాదా శ్రీరఘువర నీ !!నగు !!
nagumOmu ganalEni naa jaali telisI, nanu brOvagaraadaa SrIraghuvara nI !!nagu!!

మొదటి చరణము - charaNam 1

నగరాజధర నీదు వరివారులెల్ల,
nagarAjadhara nIdu parivArulella

ఒగి బోధన జేసే వారలు గారే అటులుండుదురేని !!నగు !!
ogi bOdhana jEsE vAralu gArE aTuluMDudurEni !!nagu!!

రెండవ చరణము - charaNam 2

ఖగరాజు నీయానతి వినివేగ చనలేదో
khagarAju nIyaanati vinivEga canalEdO

గగనానికి ఇలకు బహుదూరం బనినాడో
gaganAniki ilaku bahudUrambaninADO

జగమేలే పరమాత్మ ఎవరితో మొరలిడుదు

jagamElE paramAtma evaritO moraliDudu

వగజూపకు తాళను నన్నేలుకోరా త్యాగరాజనుత నీ !!నగు !!

vagajUpaku tALanu nannElukOrA tyAgarAyanuta nI !!nagu!!

pallavi

నగుమోము - nagumOmu – smiling countenance

గనలేని / కనలేని - ganalEni / kanalEni - unable to see

నా జాలి తెలిసి - nA jAli telisi - knowing my pitiable state

నను బ్రోవగరాదా - nanu brOvagarAdA - can you not save me?

శ్రీరఘువర - O, raghuvara rAmA

charaNam 1

నగరాజధర - nagarAjadhara - one who has lifted the king of mountains (govarthanagiri)

నీదు వరివారులెల్ల - nIdu parivArulella - your near and dear ones
ఒగి - ogi - duly

బోధన జేసే వారలు గారే - bOdhana cEsE vAralu gArE - don’t they tell you the right thing to do

అటులుండుదురేని - aTuluMDudurEni - even if they do not

charaNam 2

ఖగరాజు - khagarAju - lord of birds, garutmanta

నీయానతి - nI yAnati - your command

విని - vini - hearing

వేగ చనలేదో - vEga canalEdO - didn’t come speedily
గగనానికి - gaganAniki - from the sky

ఇలకు - ilaku - to the earth

బహుదూరం బనినాడో -bahudUraMbaninADO - said it is too far
జగమేలే - jagamElE - who lords over the world

పరమాత్మ - paramAtma - The supreme being

ఎవరితో మొరలిడుదు - evaritO moraliDudu - who should I complain to?
వగజూపకు - vagajUpaku - please do not be vexed with me

తాళను - tALanu - I cannot bear it

నన్నేలుకోరా - nannElukOrA - please save me

త్యాగరాజనుత - tyAgarAjanuta - The One praised by tyAgarAja