શ્રી ગણપતિ તાલમ્

• વિકટોત્કટસુન્દરદન્તિમુખમ્ (vikaṭotkaṭasundaradantimukham)whose tusker's face is huge, towering and handsome
• ભુજગેન્દ્રસુસર્પગદાભરણમ્ (bhujagendrasusarpagadābharaṇam)who wears the king of snakes and a mace
• ગજનીલગજેન્દ્રગણાધિપતિમ્ (gajanīlagajendragaṇādhipatim)dark as an elephant, lordliest of elephants, master of the ganas
• પ્રણતઃ (praṇataḥ)bowed
• અસ્મિ (asmi)I am
• વિનાયક (vināyaka)Vinayaka
• હસ્તિમુખમ્ (hastimukham)whose face is an elephant's

anvaya વિકટોત્કટસુન્દરદન્તિમુખમ્ ભુજગેન્દ્રસુસર્પગદાભરણમ્ ગજનીલગજેન્દ્રગણાધિપતિમ્ હસ્તિમુખમ્ વિનાયક પ્રણતઃ અસ્મિ

chandas Toṭaka, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

તાલ 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.

વિકટોત્કટ 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.

• સુર સુર (sura sura)god, god
• ગણપતિ (gaṇapati)Ganapati
• સુન્દરકેશમ્ (sundarakeśam)with beautiful hair
• ઋષિ ઋષિ (ṛṣi ṛṣi)sage, sage
• યજ્ઞસમાનમ્ (yajñasamānam)who is the sacrifice itself
• ભવ ભવ (bhava bhava)world, world
• પદ્મશરીરમ્ (padmaśarīram)whose body is a lotus
• જય જય (jaya jaya)hail, hail
• દિવ્યનમસ્તે (divyanamaste)divine salutation to you

anvaya સુર સુર ગણપતિ સુન્દરકેશમ્ ઋષિ ઋષિ યજ્ઞસમાનમ્ ભવ ભવ પદ્મશરીરમ્ જય જય દિવ્યનમસ્તે

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

ભવ ભવ 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.

• ગજમુખવક્ત્રમ્ (gajamukhavaktram)with the face of an elephant
• ગિરિજાપુત્રમ્ (girijāputram)son of Girija
• ગણગુણમિત્રમ્ (gaṇaguṇamitram)friend to the ganas and to what is good in them
• ગણપતિમ્ (gaṇapatim)Ganapati
• ઈશપ્રિયમ્ (īśapriyam)dear to Shiva

anvaya ગજમુખવક્ત્રમ્ ગિરિજાપુત્રમ્ ગણગુણમિત્રમ્ ઈશપ્રિયમ્ ગણપતિમ્

chandas Irregular, a short verse of two lines

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

• કરધૃતપરશુમ્ (karadhṛtaparaśum)with an axe held in his hand
• કઙ્કણપાણિમ્ (kaṅkaṇapāṇim)with bracelets on his wrists
• કબલિતપદ્મરુચિમ્ (kabalitapadmarucim)whose beauty swallows the lotus
• સુરપતિવન્દ્યમ્ (surapativandyam)to whom the lord of the gods bows
• સુન્દરનૃત્તમ્ (sundaranṛttam)whose dancing is lovely
• સુરચિતમણિમકુટમ્ (suracitamaṇimakuṭam)whose jewelled crown is finely made

anvaya કરધૃતપરશુમ્ કઙ્કણપાણિમ્ કબલિતપદ્મરુચિમ્ સુરપતિવન્દ્યમ્ સુન્દરનૃત્તમ્ સુરચિતમણિમકુટમ્

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

કબલિત 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.

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

• પ્રણમત (praṇamata)bow
• દેવમ્ (devam)to the god
• પ્રકટિતતાલમ્ (prakaṭitatālam)who has shown the beat plainly
• ષડ્ગિરિતાલમ્ (ṣaḍgiritālam)the shadgiri tala
• ઇદમ્ (idam)this is
• તત્તત્ (tattat)ta-t ta-t, a drum syllable

anvaya પ્રકટિતતાલમ્ દેવમ્ પ્રણમત ઇદમ્ ષડ્ગિરિતાલમ્ તત્તત્

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

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

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

• લમ્બોદરવર (lambodaravara)O best of the hanging-bellied
• કુઞ્જાસુરકૃત (kuñjāsurakṛta)from the work done on the asura Kunja
• કુઙ્કુમવર્ણધરમ્ (kuṅkumavarṇadharam)wearing the red of kunkuma
• શ્વેતસશૃઙ્ગમ્ (śvetasaśṛṅgam)white, with his tusk
• મોદકહસ્તમ્ (modakahastam)with a modak in his hand
• પ્રીતિસપનસફલમ્ (prītisapanasaphalam)fond of the jackfruit

anvaya લમ્બોદરવર કુઞ્જાસુરકૃત કુઙ્કુમવર્ણધરમ્ શ્વેતસશૃઙ્ગમ્ મોદકહસ્તમ્ પ્રીતિસપનસફલમ્

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

note The words કુઞ્જાસુરકૃત 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.

• નયનત્રયવર (nayanatrayavara)O best of the three-eyed
• નાગવિભૂષિત (nāgavibhūṣita)decked with snakes
• નાનાગણપતિદમ્ (nānāgaṇapatidam)giving the many forms of Ganapati
• તત્તત્ (tattat)ta-t ta-t, a drum syllable
• નાનાગણપતિ (nānāgaṇapati)the many Ganapatis
• તમ્ (tam)him

anvaya નયનત્રયવર નાગવિભૂષિત નાનાગણપતિદમ્ તત્તત્ નાનાગણપતિ તમ્

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

નાનાગણપતિ 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.

• ધવલિતજલધર (dhavalitajaladhara)the cloud turned white
• ધવલિતચન્દ્રમ્ (dhavalitacandram)the moon turned white
• ફણિમણિકિરણવિભૂષિતખડ્ગમ્ (phaṇimaṇikiraṇavibhūṣitakhaḍgam)whose sword is lit by the rays of the snake's jewel
• તનુતનુવિષહર (tanutanuviṣahara)taking poison out of every body
• શૂલકપાલમ્ (śūlakapālam)with the trident and the skull
• હર હર (hara hara)Hara, Hara
• શિવ શિવ (śiva śiva)Shiva, Shiva
• ગણપતિમ્ (gaṇapatim)Ganapati
• અભયમ્ (abhayam)who puts fear away

anvaya ધવલિતજલધર ધવલિતચન્દ્રમ્ ફણિમણિકિરણવિભૂષિતખડ્ગમ્ તનુતનુવિષહર શૂલકપાલમ્ હર હર શિવ શિવ અભયમ્ ગણપતિમ્

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

ફણિમણિ 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.

• કટતટવિગલિતમદજલ (kaṭataṭavigalitamadajala)the must running down the slope of his temples
• જલધિત (jaladhita)become a sea
• ગણપતિવાદ્યમ્ (gaṇapativādyam)the music of Ganapati
• ઇદમ્ (idam)this is
• તત્તત્ (tattat)ta-t ta-t, a drum syllable

anvaya કટતટવિગલિતમદજલ જલધિત ઇદમ્ ગણપતિવાદ્યમ્ તત્તત્

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

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

સોલ્કટ્ટુ 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.

• તકતકિટ (takatakiṭa)ta-ka-ta-ki-ta, a drum syllable
• તત્તોં (tattoṃ)tat-tom, a drum syllable
• શશિકલિત (śaśikalita)marked with the moon
• મૌલિનમ્ (maulinam)crowned
• શૂલિનમ્ (śūlinam)carrying the trident
• વિમલશુભકમલજલપાદુકમ્ (vimalaśubhakamalajalapādukam)whose sandals are the clear bright water of the lotus
• પાણિનમ્ (pāṇinam)in his hands
• ધિત્તકિટ (dhittakiṭa)dhi-t-ta-ki-ta, a drum syllable
• પ્રમથગણગુણકથિતશોભનમ્ (pramathagaṇaguṇakathitaśobhanam)beautiful in the telling of his qualities by the pramatha ganas
• શોભિતમ્ (śobhitam)adorned
• પૃથુલભુજસરસિજવિષાણકમ્ (pṛthulabhujasarasijaviṣāṇakam)broad-armed, holding lotus and tusk
• પોષણમ્ (poṣaṇam)who nourishes
• પનસફલકદલિફલમોદનમ્ (panasaphalakadaliphalamodanam)delighting in jackfruit, banana and sweet rice
• મોદકમ્ (modakam)the modak
• પ્રણતગુરુશિવતનયગણપતિ (praṇataguruśivatanayagaṇapati)O Ganapati, son of Shiva, to whom the teacher bows
• તાલનમ્ (tālanam)the beating of the beat
• ગણપતિતાલનમ્ (gaṇapatitālanam)the beat of Ganapati

anvaya તકતકિટ તત્તોં શશિકલિત મૌલિનમ્ શૂલિનમ્ વિમલશુભકમલજલપાદુકમ્ પાણિનમ્ ધિત્તકિટ પ્રમથગણગુણકથિતશોભનમ્ શોભિતમ્ પૃથુલભુજસરસિજવિષાણકમ્ પોષણમ્ પનસફલકદલિફલમોદનમ્ મોદકમ્ પ્રણતગુરુશિવતનયગણપતિ તાલનમ્ ગણપતિતાલનમ્

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

પ્રમથગણ 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.