śrī gaṇapati tālam

• vikaṭotkaṭasundaradantimukhamwhose tusker's face is huge, towering and handsome
• bhujagendrasusarpagadābharaṇamwho wears the king of snakes and a mace
• gajanīlagajendragaṇādhipatimdark as an elephant, lordliest of elephants, master of the ganas
• praṇataḥbowed
• asmiI am
• vināyakaVinayaka
• hastimukhamwhose face is an elephant's

anvaya vikaṭotkaṭasundaradantimukham bhujagendrasusarpagadābharaṇam gajanīlagajendragaṇādhipatim hastimukham vināyaka praṇataḥ asmi

chandas Toṭaka, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

tāla tala — Tala is the beat a piece is set to. This hymn is named for its beat, and in places it drops the words and gives the drum syllables themselves.

vikaṭotkaṭa huge and towering — Vikata and Utkata are also names of Ganesha in their own right, so the line praises him twice while it describes him.

note A piece made for performance. Verses of praise alternate with passages of solkattu, the syllables a drummer speaks aloud.

• sura suragod, god
• gaṇapatiGanapati
• sundarakeśamwith beautiful hair
• ṛṣi ṛṣisage, sage
• yajñasamānamwho is the sacrifice itself
• bhava bhavaworld, world
• padmaśarīramwhose body is a lotus
• jaya jayahail, hail
• divyanamastedivine salutation to you

anvaya sura sura gaṇapati sundarakeśam ṛṣi ṛṣi yajñasamānam bhava bhava padmaśarīram jaya jaya divyanamaste

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

bhava bhava world, world — Bhava is what comes into being, and also a name of Shiva. Doubled here for the beat, as sura and rishi are doubled in the lines before.

note Each line doubles its first word. The doubling is for the drum as much as for the sense.

• gajamukhavaktramwith the face of an elephant
• girijāputramson of Girija
• gaṇaguṇamitramfriend to the ganas and to what is good in them
• gaṇapatimGanapati
• īśapriyamdear to Shiva

anvaya gajamukhavaktram girijāputram gaṇaguṇamitram īśapriyam gaṇapatim

chandas Irregular, a short verse of two lines

girijā Girija — Born of the mountain: Parvati, daughter of Himavan.

• karadhṛtaparaśumwith an axe held in his hand
• kaṅkaṇapāṇimwith bracelets on his wrists
• kabalitapadmarucimwhose beauty swallows the lotus
• surapativandyamto whom the lord of the gods bows
• sundaranṛttamwhose dancing is lovely
• suracitamaṇimakuṭamwhose jewelled crown is finely made

anvaya karadhṛtaparaśum kaṅkaṇapāṇim kabalitapadmarucim surapativandyam sundaranṛttam suracitamaṇimakuṭam

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

kabalita swallowed — Kabalita is taken in at a mouthful. To say his beauty swallows the lotus is to say the lotus is left with nothing of its own.

paraśu the axe — The axe he carries to cut through what holds a person back, and the weapon his father gave him.

• praṇamatabow
• devamto the god
• prakaṭitatālamwho has shown the beat plainly
• ṣaḍgiritālamthe shadgiri tala
• idamthis is
• tattatta-t ta-t, a drum syllable

anvaya prakaṭitatālam devam praṇamata idam ṣaḍgiritālam tattat

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

ṣaḍgiritāla the shadgiri tala — The beat the piece is set to, named here inside the words of the piece itself.

tattat ta-t ta-t — Solkattu: the spoken syllables of drumming. They stand for strokes and carry the beat.

• lambodaravaraO best of the hanging-bellied
• kuñjāsurakṛtafrom the work done on the asura Kunja
• kuṅkumavarṇadharamwearing the red of kunkuma
• śvetasaśṛṅgamwhite, with his tusk
• modakahastamwith a modak in his hand
• prītisapanasaphalamfond of the jackfruit

anvaya lambodaravara kuñjāsurakṛta kuṅkumavarṇadharam śvetasaśṛṅgam modakahastam prītisapanasaphalam

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

note The words kuñjāsurakṛta are not clear in this printing. They are taken here as what was done to an asura named Kunja, which would account for the red he wears.

• nayanatrayavaraO best of the three-eyed
• nāgavibhūṣitadecked with snakes
• nānāgaṇapatidamgiving the many forms of Ganapati
• tattatta-t ta-t, a drum syllable
• nānāgaṇapatithe many Ganapatis
• tamhim

anvaya nayanatrayavara nāgavibhūṣita nānāgaṇapatidam tattat nānāgaṇapati tam

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

nānāgaṇapati the many Ganapatis — The thirty-two forms of Ganapati counted in the tantras, each with its own number of arms and its own colour.

note The lines repeat as they would in performance, with the drum syllables taking over between them.

• dhavalitajaladharathe cloud turned white
• dhavalitacandramthe moon turned white
• phaṇimaṇikiraṇavibhūṣitakhaḍgamwhose sword is lit by the rays of the snake's jewel
• tanutanuviṣaharataking poison out of every body
• śūlakapālamwith the trident and the skull
• hara haraHara, Hara
• śiva śivaShiva, Shiva
• gaṇapatimGanapati
• abhayamwho puts fear away

anvaya dhavalitajaladhara dhavalitacandram phaṇimaṇikiraṇavibhūṣitakhaḍgam tanutanuviṣahara śūlakapālam hara hara śiva śiva abhayam gaṇapatim

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

phaṇimaṇi the snake's jewel — The gem held in a cobra's hood, which lights up whatever is near it.

note The verse borrows Shiva's own marks, the trident and the skull, and calls on him by name.

• kaṭataṭavigalitamadajalathe must running down the slope of his temples
• jaladhitabecome a sea
• gaṇapativādyamthe music of Ganapati
• idamthis is
• tattatta-t ta-t, a drum syllable

anvaya kaṭataṭavigalitamadajala jaladhita idam gaṇapativādyam tattat

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

vādya music — Vadya is what is played on an instrument. The line calls the drumming that follows the god's own music.

solkaṭṭu solkattu — The spoken language of South Indian drumming. Each syllable stands for a stroke, so the passage can be recited, clapped or played.

note The words drop away here and the beat is left on its own.

• takatakiṭata-ka-ta-ki-ta, a drum syllable
• tattoṃtat-tom, a drum syllable
• śaśikalitamarked with the moon
• maulinamcrowned
• śūlinamcarrying the trident
• vimalaśubhakamalajalapādukamwhose sandals are the clear bright water of the lotus
• pāṇinamin his hands
• dhittakiṭadhi-t-ta-ki-ta, a drum syllable
• pramathagaṇaguṇakathitaśobhanambeautiful in the telling of his qualities by the pramatha ganas
• śobhitamadorned
• pṛthulabhujasarasijaviṣāṇakambroad-armed, holding lotus and tusk
• poṣaṇamwho nourishes
• panasaphalakadaliphalamodanamdelighting in jackfruit, banana and sweet rice
• modakamthe modak
• praṇataguruśivatanayagaṇapatiO Ganapati, son of Shiva, to whom the teacher bows
• tālanamthe beating of the beat
• gaṇapatitālanamthe beat of Ganapati

anvaya takatakiṭa tattoṃ śaśikalita maulinam śūlinam vimalaśubhakamalajalapādukam pāṇinam dhittakiṭa pramathagaṇaguṇakathitaśobhanam śobhitam pṛthulabhujasarasijaviṣāṇakam poṣaṇam panasaphalakadaliphalamodanam modakam praṇataguruśivatanayagaṇapati tālanam gaṇapatitālanam

chandas Irregular, set to the beat rather than to a metre

pramathagaṇa the pramatha ganas — Shiva's rough band of followers, over whom his son is set as lord.

note The last passage alternates a line of drum syllables with a line of praise, so that the two are heard together. The piece ends on its own name.