Jo guru kripa kare
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Darbari Kanada |
| Form | Chhota khayal |
| Tala | Teental |
Complete lyrics, transliteration and meanings
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | जो गुरु कृपा करे | Jo guru kṛpā kare | When the teacher bestows grace… |
| Sthayi | कोटिक पाप कटे पलछिन में | Koṭik pāp kaṭe palachhin mẽ | …countless wrongs fall away in a moment. |
| Antara | गुरु की महिमा हरि सो भारी | Guru kī mahimā Hari so bhārī | The teacher’s greatness is praised as surpassing even Hari’s. |
| Antara | वेद पुरानन सबही बखानी | Ved purānan sabahī bakhānī | The Vedas and Puranas have all proclaimed that greatness. |
| Antara | ब्रह्मा व्यास रटे पलछिन में | Brahmā Vyās raṭe palachhin mẽ | Brahma and Vyasa repeat this praise, moment by moment. |
Word notes
Kotik expresses a very large number; palachhin is a brief moment. The comparison with Hari is devotional. Bakhani means proclaimed or described. This chhota khayal has devotional words.
Complete beat-aligned score
The rows begin at beat 9. Teental has sixteen beats, a wave on 9, claps on 13 and 5, and sam on 1. Sam is in the third division. The syllable row shows the sung placement of words.
How to read this notation
Sa is the chosen reference pitch. Note signs used in this score:
g = komal Ga; M = shuddha Ma; R = shuddha Re; S = Sa; n = komal Ni; P = Pa; d = komal Dha.
↑ marks the upper octave and ↓ the lower octave; an unmarked note is in the middle octave.
Each separate beat position is one matra. Joined notes fall within that beat. — continues the previous sound; · is an unsung position. Padding before an entry or after a close does not add another cycle.
Within-beat durations are exact only where specified. Learn the execution of glides, graces and inflection by listening.
Within a grouped column, spaces separate beats; letters joined without spaces share a beat. The column heading states the beat numbers.
| Section / layer | 9–12 · wave | 13–16 · clap | 1–4 · sam | 5–8 · clap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi 1 | g M R S |
n↓ S — R |
g — g M |
R — S — |
| Syllables | जो — गु रु |
कृ पा — क |
रे — — — |
— — — — |
| Sthayi 2 | R — M M |
P — P P |
n M Pn MP |
g M R S |
| Syllables | को — टि क |
पा — प क |
टे — प ल |
छी न में — |
| Antara 1 | M M P — |
d d n — |
S↑ S↑ S↑ — |
R↑ n S↑ — |
| Syllables | गु रु की — |
म हि माँ — |
ह रि सो — |
भा — री — |
| Antara 2 | n — S↑ R↑ |
g↑ g↑M↑ R↑ S↑ |
n n S↑R↑ S↑ |
d n P — |
| Syllables | वे — द पु |
रा — न न |
स ब ही— ब |
खा — नी — |
| Antara 3 | M — M M |
P — P P |
n M Pn MP |
g M R S |
| Syllables | ब्र — ह्मा — |
व्या — स र |
टे — प ल |
छी न में — |
Pickups, sam and return
Both sections start at beat 9. In the opening, the final re of kare arrives on sam; in the next row, te of kate is on sam. In the antara, Hari begins on sam, then sabahi and rate do so in the following rows. The last row closes on Sa at beat 8, permitting the opening Ga on beat 9. Every row is a full sixteen-beat cycle despite beginning halfway around the conventional count.
Learning sequence
Read the devotional text and its comparison as poetic praise. Count the beat-9 opening until kare lands on sam. Learn the middle/lower Ni distinction in the first row and the upper Ga in the second antara row. Keep the joined Pn, MP, g↑S↑ and S↑R↑ inside their individual beat cells. Then connect the whole form with a teacher’s demonstrated Darbari inflection.
Pitfalls
Do not flatten Darbari’s characteristic inflections into a claim that the table describes the entire performance. The score supplies principal notes and grouped cells, not exact oscillation rates. The upper g↑S↑ pair is one beat, not a free extra flourish.