Lullaby is an instrument all mothers use while raising their child. It’s a cradle song which is soothing in nature. This is a connection between mother and her child. Certain lullaby are meaningless, it’s just humming or gibberish, sometimes they are love words for child, sometimes they are passage of tradition and culture.
Many poets in India have taken Lullaby as their instrument to proclaim their love towards their lord or beloved. It is pure love of Mother and child in words.
In next two blogs we will see the lullaby written by Indian poets.
Surdas was a blind Bhakta or devotee of Lord Krishna. He always used to imagine his lord in child form. He has written many lullaby on his beloved Krishna, one of them is
जसोदा हरि पालनैं झुलावै। हलरावै, दुलराइ मल्हावै, जोइ-जोइ कछु गावै ॥
मेरे लाल कौं आउ निंदरिया, काहैं न आनि सुवावै । तू काहैं नहिं बेगहिं आवै, तोकौं कान्ह बुलावै ॥
कबहुँ पलक हरि मूँदि लेत हैं, कबहुँ अधर फरकावै । सोवत जानि मौन ह्वै कै रहि, करि-करि सैन बतावै ॥
इहिं अंतर अकुलाइ उठे हरि, जसुमति मधुरैं गावै । जो सुख सूर अमर-मुनि दुरलभ, सो नँद-भामिनि पावै ॥
Mother Yashoda rocks Krishna in the cradle. She sings a lullaby for him lovingly and joins whichever word first comes to her mind for the lyrics. She calls Sleep and urges her to come quickly to her son. Krishna closes his eyes at times and sometimes he starts moving his lips. He sleeps for a time and during the sleep he probably has a nightmare. Yashoda sings sweetly. She gets the bliss rare even for the immortal sages so easily.
Thyagaraj was a great saint poet who wrote in Telugu and Sanskrit. He was a great devotee of Lord Rama. He puts Lord Rama sleep with following verses
जो जो राम आनन्द घन
जो जो राम आनन्द घन जो जो दशरथ बाल राम, जो जो भूजा लोल राम (जो)
जो जो रघु कुल तिलक राम, जो जो कुटिल त(रा)लक राम (जो)
जो जो निर्गुण रूप राम, जो जो सु-गुण कलाप राम (जो)
जो जो रवि शशि नयन राम, जो जो फणि वर शयन राम (जो)
जो जो मृदु तर भाष राम, जो जो मञ्जुळ वेष राम (जो)
जो जो त्यागरा(जा)र्चित राम, जो जो भक्त समाज राम (जो)
Sleep oh one who is pure bliss.
Sleep oh son of Dasharatha, Sleep oh Consort of Sita, and Sleep oh – the Most Eminent of the raghu dynasty!
Sleep oh – who has curly ringlets! , Sleep oh – of the form which is beyond all qualities! Sleep oh – bundle of virtues! Sleep oh – who has Sun and Moon as Eyes! Sleep oh – reclining on the blessed SEsha! Sleep oh– who is soft spoken! Sleep oh – who donned garb of lovely form (of Rama)!, Sleep oh – worshipped by this Thyagaraja!
O Sleep oh – found in the assembly of devotees!
Thyagaraja in his one of the Kriti gives a lullaby which is asking Lord Vishnu to get to the sleep.
This Kriti is in Telugu which says
O Lord who protects us! You may be the father of the creater of the universe
May You swing to the lullaby. May You swing to the lullaby on the soft bed of Shesha
As this Thygaraja extols You whole-heartedly, may You swing to the lullaby –
Along with Your younger brothers with much display of mirth,
Along with that sItA who offers scented betel leaves, and
Along with the kings.
Alwar poets of Tamilnadu has also given best in this list of lullaby. One of them is “Mannu Pugazh kosalai than”
The Lullaby goes as…
Oh Lord who was born from the pearl like belly of the world famous Kausaya, You made fall the heads of the king of south Lanka and added happiness, Oh my darling of the temple of Tirukannapuram which is surrounded great and huge walls , Oh my sweet nectar Oh best of Raghu clan , please do sleep.
Oh dear darling baby of Kausalya who decorates her black hair with Jasmine from Kongu Nadu,
Oh son of Dasaratha who is the son in law of Janaka who has perennial fame . Oh my darling of the temple of Tirukannapuram where water holier than Ganges flows, Oh my sweet nectar of our clan Oh best of Raghu clan , please do sleep.
One of the most simple and beautiful composition of Lullaby in Marathi by Modern Walmiki – Ga Di Madgulkar goes as
झोपडीच्या झापाम्होर, कस चांदण टिपूर. वाऱ्यासंगे हेलावतो, उभ्या चिंचेचा मोहोर. सभोवार काळ रान, गेलं दुधात भिजून. रानवेलींची लेकरं, त्यास चाटती निजून. उघड्या गव्हाणीशी, बैल करती रवंथ. करी रानाची राखण, भोत्या जागत पेंगत. बाळा दमून तुझ वडील झोपलं, नको किरकिर ,झोप उगीच मोडलं
Look the moonlight in front of the broken door of the hut. Tamarind flowers are swinging along with the breeze. The dark night is bathing in milk of moonlight. Flowers on the creepers are in deep sleep. The watchman is dozing still looking after the farm. Oh my child your father is tired, do not make sound, don’t break his sleep, and you also sleep.
The lullaby are eternal even after so many years many mothers hum these lullaby to put their Krishna, Rama and beloved sleep on their lap or in cradle
We will see one more blog on lullaby and then we will end with this series of Navaratri.
Author; Dr.Sandeep Sadanand Chaugule, you may reach out to him on Twitter @sandipchaugulie
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