Rama Kodanda Rama

Overview

"Rama Kodanda Rama" is a Telugu Divya Nama Kirtanam composed by Tyagaraja, set in raga Bhairavi and Adi tala. Unlike the densely compounded epithets of stotras like the Ganesha Pancharatnam, this kriti is built almost entirely from short, simple, repeated phrases — a hallmark of the divya nama style, which was meant for easy congregational singing rather than intricate solo elaboration.

Raga & Tala

• Raga: Bhairavi — a janya raga widely regarded as one of the most emotionally expansive ragas in Carnatic music, capable of conveying both deep devotion and pathos; often called the "queen of ragas" for its universal appeal.
• Tala: Adi tala (8 beats)

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Lyrics with Meaning

Pallavi

రామ కోదండ రామ రామ కళ్యాణ రామ

rāma kōdaṇḍa rāma rāma kalyāṇa rāma

Meaning: O Rama! O Rama with the Kodanda bow! O Rama! O auspicious Rama!

Charanam 1

రామ సీతా పతి రామ నీవే గతి రామ నీకు మ్రొక్కితి రామ నీ చే జిక్కితి

rāma sītā pati rāma nīvē gati rāma nīku mrokkiti rāma nī cē jikkiti

Meaning: O Rama, consort of Sita! O Rama, you alone are my refuge. O Rama, I have saluted you. O Rama, I am caught in your hands (i.e., utterly in your grasp/care).

Charanam 2

రామ నీకెవరు జోడు రామ క్రీకంట జూడు రామ నేను నీవాడు రామ నాతో మాటాడు

rāma nīkevaru jōḍu rāma krīkaṇṭa jūḍu rāma nēnu nīvāḍu rāma nātō māṭāḍu

Meaning: O Rama, who is equal to you? O Rama, look upon me at least with a side glance. O Rama, I am yours. O Rama, speak to me.

Charanam 3

రామ నామమే మేలు రామ చింతనే చాలు రామ నీవు నన్నేలు రామ రాయడే చాలు

rāma nāmamē mēlu rāma cintanē cālu rāma nīvu nannēlu rāma rāyaḍē cālu

Meaning: O Rama, your very name is supreme good. O Rama, thinking of you alone is enough. O Rama, govern me. O Rama, you alone as my king/lord is enough.

Charanam 4

రామ నీకొక మాట రామ నాకొక మూట రామ నీ పాటే పాట రామ నీ బాటే బాట

rāma nīkoka māṭa rāma nākoka mūṭa rāma nī pāṭē pāṭa rāma nī bāṭē bāṭa

Meaning: O Rama, one word from you is worth a whole sackful to me. O Rama, the song sung of you is the only true song. O Rama, the path you walked is the only true path.

Charanam 5

రామ నేనెందైననూ రామ వేరెంచ లేను రామయెన్నడైననూ రామ బాయక లేను

rāma nēnendainanū rāma vērenca lēnu rāmayennaḍainanū rāma bāyaka lēnu

Meaning: O Rama, wherever I may be, I shall think of nothing else. O Rama, whenever it may be, I shall never be separated from you.

Charanam 6

రామ విరాజ రాజ రామ ముఖ జిత రాజ రామ భక్త సమాజ రక్షిత త్యాగరాజ

rāma virāja rāja rāma mukha jita rāja rāma bhakta samāja rakṣita tyāgarāja

Meaning: O Rama, lord of Garuda, king of birds! O Rama, whose face outshines the moon! O Rama, dwelling among the assembly of devotees, protector of this Tyagaraja!

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A Note on the Bhava

What's distinctive here is the deliberate simplicity — this is a divya nama kirtana, a genre meant for easy congregational chanting, not intricate solo elaboration. Nearly every line opens with "Rama" as direct address, almost like calling a name repeatedly rather than composing formal praise.

Charanam 4 carries the most striking image: a single word from Rama is a "sackful" (mūṭa) of wealth to the devotee — an implicit reference to the Sudama story, where Krishna received a mere handful of rice from his poor friend and returned boundless prosperity in exchange. The asymmetry is the point: what costs the Lord nothing is everything to the devotee.

Charanam 5 quietly echoes a recurring theme found across bhakti poetry, including in the dohas of Kabir: true devotion isn't the desperate prayer of someone only in crisis, but the steady, unshaken remembrance that doesn't waver whether in comfort or in pain. Tyagaraja's declaration that he will not be separated from Rama "on any occasion" is a statement of constancy, not conditional faith.

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Structure at a glance: the pallavi's fourfold invocation of Rama's names frames the kriti; charanams 1–2 express surrender and longing for Rama's attention; charanam 3 declares the sufficiency of Rama's name alone; charanam 4 reflects on the asymmetry between the devotee's gratitude and Rama's grace; charanam 5 affirms constancy of devotion; charanam 6 closes with epithets of Rama's majesty and his protection of Tyagaraja himself.