Etla Dorikitivo - Tyagaraja Kritis (Eng)

Pallavi

eṭlā dorikitivō rāma tanak(eṭlā) eṭlā dorikitivō rāma tanaku-(eṭlā)

O Lord Rama! How were You ever found by me?

Anupallavi

1cuṭlāra 2gaḍiya dōvaku nādu paṭlābhimānamu lēkuṇḍaga (eṭlā) cuṭla-ara-gaḍiya dōvaku nādu paṭla-abhimānamu lēka-uṇḍaga (eṭlā)

While around me, for a distance of half an hour, there being no affection or patronage towards me, how were You ever found by me?

Charanam

pāda mahimō peddal- āśīrvāda balamō su-svarapu nāda phalamō tyāgarāja khēda hara śrī nātha tanak(eṭlā) pāda mahimō peddala-āśīrvāda balamō su-svarapu nāda phalamō tyāgarāja khēda hara śrī nātha tanaku (eṭlā)

Is it because of the might of Your holy feet? or is it because of the strength of blessings of elders? or is it because of the result of (my Upasana of) Nada of melodious Svara? O Lord who relieves the afflictions of this Thyagaraja! O Consort of Lakshmi! how were You ever found by me?

Commentary

• ¹cuṭlāra – This is how it is given in all the books. The meaning derived is ‘near’ or ‘around’. However, the form of the word is not clear. The nearest word is ‘cuṭṭu’. The ending of the word ‘ara’ may mean ‘half’. If ‘cuṭlāra’ is not a single word, then ‘ara’ would be combined with the ensuing word ‘gaḍiya’ as ‘ara gaḍiya’ – half hour – please refer note below. It has been translated here as 'ara gaḍiya'.
• ²gaḍiya –(Tamizh Nazhigai) duration of 24 minutes – As per Indian tradition, a day consists of 60 hours (gaḍiya) of 24 minutes each, as against 24 hours of 60 minutes each in Western System. 'ara gaḍiya' - 12 minutes.
• ²gaḍiya dōva – As per Tamil Dictionary, 7.5 Nazigai or 180 mins = 1 Kadam (Tamizh) - approx 10 miles or 16 km. Therefore, gaḍiya dōva is approximately 2.1 km; ara gaḍiya – approximately 1 km.