Suprabhatam ( sa, सुप्रभातम्, lit=auspicious dawn, translit=Suprabhātam) is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

prayer of the ''Suprabhātakāvya'' genre. It is a collection of

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s or verses recited early morning to awaken the deity in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. The

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

chosen for a Suprabhātam poem is usually ''Vasantatilaka''. The most well-known Suprabhātam work is the Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam recited to awaken the deity

Venkateswara Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology ...

. A rendition of the poem by renowned Carnatic vocalist

M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

is extremely popular which is played daily in many homes and temples (especially Tirumala Tirupati) in the wee hours of morning.

History

The genre of Suprabhātakāvya traces its origin to a single verse (1.23.2) in the Bālakāṇḍa of Vālmīki's

Rāmāyaṇa The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

, where Viśvāmitra calls out to

Rāma Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

to wake up.

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

कौसल्यासुप्रजा राम पूर्वा संध्या प्रवर्तते । उत्तिष्ठ नरशार्दूल कर्त्तव्यं दैवमाह्निकम् ॥

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

kausalyāsuprajā rāma pūrvā sandhyā pravartate । uttiṣṭha naraśārdūla karttavyaṃ daivamāhnikam ॥ Translation, 1.23.2 O Rāma, the noble son of Kausalyā! The Sandhyā of the East commences. O! best of men (Purushottama)! Wake up, the daily duties have to be performed. The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam begins with this very verse.

Venkatesha Suprabhatam

The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam was composed sometime between 1420 and 1432 C.E. by ''Prativādibhayaṅkara'' Śrī Anantācārya (also known as Annangaracharyar, and P B Annan). The poet was a disciple of Swami

Manavala Mamuni Alagiya Manavalan, best known by his epithet Manavala Mamunigal (1370–1450), was a Hindu theologian. He was a major proponent of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition in the 15th century in Tamilakam, disseminating it with the help of his eight d ...

, who was himself a disciple of

Ramanuja Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...

. The Venkatesha Suprabhatam consists of four sections: Suprabhatam, Sri Venkatesa Stothram, Prapatti, and Mangalasasanam.

Text and meaning

Other Suprabhatam Works

There are many other lesser-known Suprabhātam works apart from the Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam. Some of these are - * ''Śrīvighneśvarasuprabhātam''. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing

Gaṇeśa Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

. * ''Śrīsiddhivināyakasuprabhātam''. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing Siddhivināyaka. Composed by M. Ramakrishna Bhat, retired professor of

Benares Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. ...

. * ''Śrīkāśīviśvanāthasuprabhātam''. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing

Kashi Vishwanath The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Vishwanath Gali of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in India. The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganges, Ganga, and is one of the twe ...

. * '' Śrīsītārāmasuprabhātam''. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing Sītā and

. Composed by Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

{{wikisourcelang, sa, श्रीवेङ्कटेशसुप्रभातम्, Full text in Samskrit Text
Telugu Rendering in WikiSourceDevanagari Rendering
Hindu music Hindu prayer and meditation