Suprabhatam


Suprabhātam , literally auspicious dawn is a Sanskrit poem of the Suprabhātakāvya genre. It is a collection of hymns or verses recited early morning to awaken the deity in Hinduism. The metre chosen for a Suprabhātam poem is usually Vasantatilaka.
The most well-known Suprabhātam work is the Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam recited at Tirupati to awaken Lord Veṅkaṭeśa. A rendition of the poem by renowned carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi is extremely popular which is played daily in many homes and temples of South India.

History

The genre of Suprabhātakāvya traces its origin to a single verse in the Bālakāṇḍa of Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa, where Viśvāmitra calls out to Rāma to wake up.
Devanagari

कौशल्यासुप्रजा राम पूर्वा संध्या प्रवर्तते ।
उत्तिष्ठ नरशार्दूल कर्त्तव्यं दैवमाह्निकम् ॥

IAST

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 ! Wake up, the divine daily rituals have to be performed.

The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam begins with this very verse.

Venkateshwara Suprabhatam

The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam was composed around 1430 A.D. by Prativādibhayaṅkara Śrī Anantācārya. The poet was a disciple of Swami Manavala Mamuni, who composed Sri Ranganatha Suprabhatam. Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam consists of four parts: 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 -