CHAPTER 5 INTENSIVE EXPLORATION OF SANKARABHARANA AND ITS JANYA RAGAS BY GREAT COMPOSERS

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 5 INTENSIVE EXPLORATION OF SANKARABHARANA AND ITS JANYA RAGAS BY GREAT COMPOSERS The magnificent raga SANAKARABHARANAM and some of its major janya ragas had been there in existence since times immemorial, even before 13th century of SARANGADEVA, keeping the creativity of different great composers alive. The edifice of Music is mainly based on sounds and the pillar of which is RAGA. Both of these are abstract forms which cannot be explained by words and thus the great compositions of different composers form a guide in showcasing these two difficult entities. Thus a retrospection of intricacies of different ragas could be possible only through the analysis of innumerable compositions in innumerable ragas. As it is said innumerable, the analysis could be limited to certain compositions of the major scale SANKARABHARANA and some pieces of its major janya ragas. If we keep a part the very famous Pannisai period, Ramaswami Dikshitar, father of Muthuswamy Dikshitar had composed a kriti in SANKARABHARANAM, Sambho Jagadisha Pahimam set to Adi Talam. The composition is monumental as it brings out the siva tatvam very nicely. The text of the kriti is as below: Pallavi : Shambho Jagadisha Pahimam Sri Kanaka Sabhesha Shambho Anupallavi : Jambhavairi vinutabhoruha pada Shambhavi Shiva kamasundarisha siva Shambho Charanams: 1. Panchananajaya panchakshara maya Panchashar Dalana pancha Sabhesha Pancha papahara panchalinga shiva kunchita pada prapanchatmaka shiva Shambho 2. Gangadhara shiva Gangathata chara Shrigara vrisha turangarudha Bhrigisha nutha Bhujanga vibhushana sangita priya sanga rahita shiva Shambho 3. Arunadava bhava darunambuja pada Saranagatha sambhatanaamoda Karunadbhutarasa varunalaya jaya Arunamshu jatabharana sada shiva 203

2 Shambho 4. Kunjara danava bhanjana Deva padanjali vyaghra padaanjali patra Kanjanabha Sakha kanjaja mukha sura punja Suranjita majulanata Shiva Shambho 5. Dinaavanavara Dana nchita shruti Ganamrita rasa panahlada Srinadhamara sena nata girija nayaka sugnanaspada shiva Shambho 6. Shulayudha Sardhulajina vara chela durmada kala bheela Halaa hala visha kola hala jita sheela smarahara phalaksha shiva Shambho 7. Hasana jitha Tripura amita parakrama basitho dhdhoolana parama pavitra Rasikagra sikhaaraajita sundara tri sahasra desa phanita shiva Shambho The first charana befits the explanation given in this Thesis while explaining the position of the Mela in scheme of 72 Melas, where in its place is 5th Raga in 5th chakra and also the correlation given by Dr. V. V. Srivatsa, relating the raga with the Shiva Panchakshari. Pancha in Sanskrit means number Five. The different usage of Pancha here is assigned to different things related to Lord Shiva. For example Panchanana means one having 5 heads, thus it refers to the 5 faces of Shiva ranging from Sadyojatha, Vamadeva, Aghora mukha, Eeshanamukha and Satpurusha mukha. Panchakshara means the Shiva panchakshari having the beejaksharas related to Lord which are 5 in number. Panchashara dalana he burnt Manmadha who has 5 arrows. Pancha sabhesha means he is the king of 5 sabhas related to 5 bhootas. pancha papa hara means he cleanses the sins caused by 5 papas raging from Brahma hathya, steeling of Gold, drunkardness, Gurupatni samagamam to Maha pataka Sahavasam and other things. Pancha linga Shiva refers to the 5 forms of lord in the form of 5 lingas at 5 different places which are prithirvyapah sthejo vayu rakasha lingas situated in 5 different places in southern India. That is Prithvi lingam at Kanchi, Jala linga at Jambukesvaram, Tejo (agni) lingam at Arunachalam, Vayu lingam at Sri Kalahasti and finally Akasha lingam at Chidambaram. And finally he uses word Prapanchatmaka that is the universe made of 5 elements. This single line stands as an example of the craftsmanship of composer and his great knowledge. It is a huge piece containing 7 charanams, each with 4 lines each. Coming to the music of the piece, it starts in a suchitha swaraksharam, i.e. the word Shambho starts with a shadja swara. The very first phrase brings out the Samvadi prayoga 204

3 of the Mela (sa ma and Sa pa). The remaining composition is full of rhetorical beauties of prasa and yamakam where in there are rhyming words and usage of same words with different meanings could be seen. The next famous composer of pre Trinity period whose compositions that gained popularity in recent years is Oothukadu Venkata Subbayyar. Among his several compositions, Kamakshi Navavaranams and Saptaratna kritis are group krithis which are very much known for their depth in both music and words. Of these, the 3rd avarana krithi Sarva jeeva dayakari is in Raga SUDHASAVERI, a janya of SANKARABHARANAM set in Misra Chapu Talam. In the book Oothukadu Venkata Kavi s Kamakshi Navavaranams and Sapta Ratna Krithis compiled by Chitraveena N. Ravikiran, the raga is mentioned under 22nd mela KHARAHARAPRIYA with the same swarasthana placements as under SANKARABHARANA. This should have followed the recent principle of janya raga classification in which the rule seems to be that the particular janya raga should be assigned to the Mela which has the Dhaivata of the janya raga first in order in the 72 Melakarta scheme. This principle has been supported by Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna also in his interview taken for the submission of this thesis. This piece depicts the Third avarana, sarva sankshobhana chakram. There is a madhyama kala sahityam in the composition both after Anupallavi and Charanam. This feature became a common feature later in Dikshitar compositions. The reference of the Chakra name is there in the beginning of Anupallavi. The musical prosodic anthya prasa is visible in the composition mainly in the madhyamakala sahithya. After this again the Seventh avarana krithi is in the raga ARABHI which again is a janya of raga SANKARABHARANA. An interesting feature to be noticed here is that both the janya ragas are as old as the parent raga and as famous as the Mela raga. Coming to the composition Sakala loka Nayike the ARABHI raga krithi depicts the 7th avarana of navavarana krithi, the Sarva Rogahara Chakra and set to Adi tala. The Anthayakshara Prasa followed in the madhyamakala sahithya found both after anupallavi and charanam. The examples are: Naga nayaka shata dashara phana loka vahita dhara kara VALAYE Loka loka sammohita hitakara siddhi buddhi nata pura NILAYE 205

4 The reference of Akshara Mala in the beginning of anupallavi is the symbol of goddess Saraswathy who is the Goddess for that particular 7th chakra. The lines go as below: a ka cha ta ta pa ya ra la va shadi kshanta akshara mayi vangmayi chinmayi The word Vangmayi denotes the Goddess to be the Devi of Knowledge and literature which befits to the beginning of line with beginning letters of alphabets of sanskrit. The reference of chakra name is there in second line of pallavi. The first line of charana starts BHAVA ROGA HARA which means she cleanses all the materialistic diseased qualities of human world for which the chakra stands for. The comments made by Dr. Sulochana Pattabhiraman stand good to be stated here which could be found in the Author s Note of Chitraveena Ravikiran s book mentioned earlier here which goes: The compositions of Venkata kavi are an epitome of musical, rhythmic, lyrical and devotional excellence. The immeasurable variety in his songs, composed in mellifluous Tamil and majestic Sanskrit is truly remarkable. His Navavarana kritis are singular. Couched in lyrical verses, they give a graphic description of the Srichakra. The music of the krithis sparkle with embellishments rhyme rhythm outshine each other. They create an ambience of happiness, devotion and spirituality, which is the crying need of the hour. The composer has not used Raga mudra or Naama mudra anywhere. The author himself in the above mentioned book has given nice explanation regarding the Mudra of the composer explained below. In his Erudition, Ravikiran states that the pieces are exceedingly scholarly with significant words and phrases that can be traced to Lalithopakhyanam, Taittiriya Upanishad, Lalitha sahasranamam and other sources. In most pieces in this set, the composer not only mentions the name of the chakra and avarana but also that of the Yogini, Mudra devatha, shakthi, chakreswari and manovritti. Expressions such as Chintamani shree pura madhye (in first avarana krithi) can be traced back to the tantric texts dealing with Samayachara, the method and procedure described for inner worship of the Srichakra. So is Kama kala Pradarshini in 3rd avarana kriti (sarva jeeva Dayakari) (mentioned earlier) which denotes the subject object (prakasha and vimarsha) state 206

5 of Almighty. Tantra shastra refers to the harmony of Shiva_ Shakthi by the single term, Kamakala, part of the primordial Desire which led to creation. The explanation of the krithis continues in the following way: An introspection of the songs reveals that Venkata Kavi was not merely familiar with numerous works but more importantly, had deeply internalized their content and spirit. He has also mentioned several beejaksharas in various kritis such as eem, hreem hat and kleem. Further, there are several musical references about the Devi holding instruments that permeate lustrously through music. This explanation was given in the book with reference to the following lines in the seventh avarana krithi in the Raga Arabhi: tantri samanvita veena dharini and other lines such as manikya manohara veena dharanaam and geyarata nava parvatara bhashini from other krithis. These can be compared to the compositions of those of Dikshitar's Navavaranams. Ravikiran gives the following description: Venkata kavi does not seem to have intentionally composed with any master plan in mind like (unlike Dikshitar, who used different vibhakthis for his Kamalamba Navavaranam set) but never the less, has set such high standards in a few areas that they remain unmatched till date. In a rare gesture, he has signed one of the pieces in the set with his own name as in, Venkata Kavi hrdi sarasija vitarana patutara bhashini Apart from this, there is no other sign of his Mudra in any other piece except for the final song of these group kritis there is one sign of secondary signature of Venkata Kavi that is kaleeya phana pada nyasam 207

6 The other group kritis named the Sapta Ratna kritis doesn t hold any compositions that are either in SANKARABHARANA or its Janya Ragas. Here it should be pointed out that some scholars opine that the words Dikshitar with meticulous planning does not seem to be very good because Dikshitar wouldn t have composed the Navavarana and Navagraha kritis with a plan in his mind, but for his genius in Sangeetham and sahithyam which are Apatha madhuram and alochanamritham. Coming to the period of the Trinity, the universal raga SANKARABHARANA had been a main attraction for Thyagaraja who has composed maximum number in this Raga which include several varieties from simple to complex. Divyanama sankirtanams are examples of the simple structures. Eduta nilachithe and other compositions are examples of complex forms in this raga. Another distinctive feature that could be added here for this raga is that Tyagaraja has composed maximum number of Divyanama Sankeerthanams in this raga, a list of which is given below. 1) Paripalaya Dasarathe in misra Chapu 2) Sri Raghuvara Dasarathe in Trisra nada Adi tala 3) Pahi Ramachandra in Adi tala 4) Gata mohasrita again in Trisra nada Adi tala 5) Rama Sita Rama in Adi tala 6) Varalila Gana Lola in Adi (Trisra nada) 7) Sitapati Kavavayya in Adi tala 8) Sambho Siva sankara in Rupaka Tala One could notice the western tinge in some of the above mentioned pieces, where in the swaras are rendered with minimum gamakam but still attracting the audience interest. The Nottu swaras of Dikshitar are also similar compositions which are simple in form both in Dhatu and Mathu. These resources of simple songs should be tapped efficiently by music teachers because they could be taught to students of any level, and also will allow room for innovative teaching and thus increasing interest among students. Dikshitar s Nottu swara and Tyagaraja s Divyanama sankeertanams are examples of both the composer s rational thinking about musically illiterate audiences. We can say that these are examples of the influence of their yester year composers like Annamacharya and Bhadrachala Ramadas for whom music was a medium of relation with God as well as people around them. These simple songs of both the composers would attract both Indians and westerner as the music in them is with simple gamakas like western Scales, at the same time tapped the richness of the Mela 208

7 SANKARABHARANAM. The reason is explained by Tyagaraja in one of his compositions Mokshamu galada in raga SARAMATHI a janya of another melakartha NATA BHAIRAVI, wherein he feels that without proper understanding and knowledge of Bhakthi through music, there is no Moksha which should be the ultimate goal for any human being. Veena Kuppayyar, a disciple of Thyagaraja has composed some compositions similar to the Divya nama Sankeerthanams on Lord Krishna as his guru, who composed on Lord Rama. The list goes as: 1) Sree Karambuga nadu in Raga Kambhoji set to Misrachapu. 2) Palinchu Gopala shouri in Huseni misra chapu 3) Sree pathi nanu vega in Raga Kapi set to Chapu 4) Maa pathi namamu in Raga Kapijingla in Chapu 5) Praakruta janamulatho in Raga Varali set to Chapu 6) Kori Kori ninu golichina in Raga BEGADA set to Chapu 7) Kaligedi durlabhamu in Raga Purvi set to Chapu 8) Paramathmuni manasamuna in Raga Khamas set to Rupaka These kirtanams are 8 in number and it is interesting to note that all of them are set to Misra chapu tala except for the last one which is set to Rupaka Tala. Out of these 8, one is composed in BEGADA, a janya Raga of SANKARABHARANA. In the first song every stanza is ended by the name of God Krishna murthy. This is similar to that of Bhadrachala Ramadasu kirtanam Ikshvaku kula tilaka in which every charanam ends in the name of God Rama chandra. Incidentally the Ramadasu kirtanam is also set to Yadukula Kambhoji an allied Raga to Kambhoji in which the first one of this group kritis is composed. Coming to the one in BEGADA the kirtanam goes: Kori kori ninu golichina madi koratha deerpa levuga Sri Krishna It also has a makutam for Sri Krishna at the end of each stanza including pallavi. Observing the dhatu, that is swara notation of these compositions, all the stanzas have similar notation as Pallavi in first five compositions. There is different notation for Anupallavi from Pallavi and all charanams are similar to Anupallavi in the last 3 kirtanams those are the ones in BEGADA, PURVI and KHAMAS. The kirtanam in BEGADA is full of Ninda sthuthi 209

8 explaining how the composer is trying to plead God and how God is ignoring him and his services. The music of the composition is so simple that one would definitely admire the creativity of composer to get such a simple song out of a complex raga like BEGADA. The raga itself is a bit complicated in the sense that the raga is vakra in its structure in two places in arohana and the note MADHYAMAM is that unique in nature that its name itself has become BEGADA Madhyama. The structure of Dhathu for this piece seems to be a bit simplified version of that one of Tyagaraja s Thana vari tanamu in the same raga. These compositions could be seen in the book Pallavi swarakalpavalli. It is a book of Tiruvottiyur Tyagayyar. In this book, we could see a compilation of compositions of his Guru and Father Vina Kuppayyar. The last composition in raga KAMAS in this set of kirtanams is mentioned as Manasa pooja kirtanam. Manasa Pooja is a kind of Prayer where there is no physical instrument like flowers, incense sticks etc. offered to God physically but everything is done only in thoughts. Thus this kirtanam resembles a Divya nama sankirtanam of Thyagaraja in the Raga RITIGOWLA Paripalaya set to Rupaka Tala. If we observe the book, the compositions therein, are so systematically written that they are in the order of their complexity. Though the piece is not given along with other krithis there is one Neramemira nejesina in raga NADANAMAKRIYA set to Adi tala is another piece of Vina Kuppayyar which is similar to the Divyanama sankirtanams of Tyagaraja along with the ones mentioned earlier. In this piece also, the Dhatu of Charanams is similar to that of the Anupallavi instead of different Dhatu for them, thus becoming similar to that of Divyanama Sankirtanams. Looking in depth, the compositions of Vina Kuppayyar resemble Bhadrachala Ramadas kirtanams in their texture and structure though he was a disciple of Tyagaraja. Vina kuppayyar has done another set of group kritis called Kalahastheesha pancharatnams on Lord Shiva of Sri Kalahasthi near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The list is: 1) Koniyadina napai in KAMBHOJI 2) Nannu brova rada in SAMA 3) Birana nannu brova in HAMSADHWANI 4) Sama ganalola in SALAGA BHAIRAVI 5) Sevinthamu rare in SAHANA Among these compositions, the first one Koniyadina napai in Kambhoji has only got some popularity and others are not known very well. The second composition is in SAMA which according to Sangita SampradayA Pradarshini is janya of SANKARABHARANAM but 210

9 according to modern theory of raga classification, is a janya of HARIKAMBHOJI. The pallavi of the kriti is Nannu brova rada ninu nammina natho vada mariyada where in we could find very nice question form of expression without any ninda Sthuthi which had been a common feature of most of other such kind of kritis. The rhetorical features of Prasa are very clearly visible in Pallavi of the piece mentioned above. For example we can see RADA, VADA and mari YADA etc. There is a nice chittaswaram in the composition. There is reference of music rendered by Ravana, king of Lanka in the great epic Ramayana, which is a rare feature. Normally Ravana is not referred anywhere because of his villainous character, but his musical talent has been taken as example here. Ravana has been referred in Sarasa sama dana a piece in raga KAPI NARAYANI of Tyagaraja and other compositions having relation to the story of Ramayana. But Vina Kuppayyar has taken the name of Ravana as a great bhaktha and as a very learned man and a great musician who played Veena on his intestines plucking them out of his abdomen to get a glimpse of Lord Shiva. In the next lines there is a reference of Tripurasura vadha in the lines musi musi navvula puramu dahinchi. Thus the intention of the composer is that Lord has protected even his enemies but was not showering kindness on the composer. The description of Lord still continues in the way that to wear Moon on his head, he wore a Jata (matted hair) which again is a rare expression. Finally everything is offered to Lord Krishna, like his Guru Tyagaraja who offered everything to Lord Rama. Musically observed the selection of raga SAMA is an example musical genius of the composer showing the aptness of raga for Karuna rasa. There is swaraksharam of Da found in the beginning of Anupallavi and in the Madhyama kala sahithyam found at the end of the charanam. Here we can say that though the composer followed his guru to an extent he followed Dikshitar in composing Madhyama kala sahithya in the piece which is a common feature for Dikshitar Kritis. In this aspect most of the Post Trinity composers followed Dikshitar. An interesting feature found here in these group kritis is that all 5 compositions of these pancharatnams are composed in janyas of both SANKARABHARANAM and HARIKAMBHOJI. Coming to the 3rd one in the pancharatnams composed in HAMSADHWANI, a janya of SANKARABHARANAM again. The piece goes as Birana nanu brova neekintha bidiya mela nayya which is also in questioning form. The variety lies in the wording of the song in the sense that he is asking Lord Shiva as why he was feeling shy to come to rescue? firstly feeling shy to protect is really a different kind of expression. Secondly shyness is an expression related to females but here this quality is assigned to a male. The skill of the composer is visible here where he has chosen a masculine raga HAMSADHWANI for a feminine expression. In this piece also the Anupallavi is starting in Swaraksharam, in this place it is Panchamam. The anupallavi refers to great 211

10 sages like Narada and Parashara who are also musicians. The Anupallavi goes as parashara Naradadi vanditha shree Kalahasteesha. Another important feature found in these group kritis is that there is Sthala mudra or Kshetra mudra that is the place in which the particular deity is present is used. In these the sthala mudra is Sri Kalahasteesha which is found in Anupallavi in all pieces except for the first one Koniyadina in which the sthala mudra is found in charanam of the composition. Another common feature found in this group of compositions, is that there is a nice Chittaswaram in three of them except 1st and 4th ones in KAMBHOJI and SALAGABHAIRAVI. The charanam here in the HAMSADHWANI has rhyming words that is prasa with SADA Shiva yanu nee namamu SADA japinchina and in next line there is MUDA rhyming with above words. In this composition there is a rare foot of referring the consort of the deity who is Gnanambika ramana referring Gnana Prasunamba who is the consort of Sree kalahastheesha. Using the feminine phrase Bidiyamelanayya (Bi-Di-Ya- Me-La-Nai-yya) that is why are you feeling shy? may also refer to this feature. The makutam used in these pieces sri Kalahastheesha is similar to one used by a Telugu poet Dhoorjati who wrote Kalahastheeswara Shatakamu who was one of the Ashta diggajas that is 8 well known poets in the court of Krishna Deva Raya Tulu king of Vijayanagara Dynasty. Vina Kuppayyar has also composed a kriti on Mysore Chamundeswari in the raga BEGADA set to Rupaka tala. The kriti is intha para kela namma. Above all these he has also composed some compositions on Tripurasundari Tiruvottiyur also called Adi puram on whom his Guru Tyagaraja has composed Tiruvottiyur Pancharatnams. The list of the songs by Vina Kuppayyar is as below: 1) Tamasamelanamma in KAMBHOJI set to Rupaka Talam 2) Namoralakinchi in DHANYASI set to Rupaka Talam 3) Ninne nera nammithini thalli in BHAIRAVI raga set to Rupaka Talam. 4) Para Devi nee padamule in SURATI set to Rupaka Tala 5) Tallee na meeda daya rada in SURATI set to Adi Tala 6) Nee sahayamu leni korkelu in DEVAGANDHARI set to Adi Tala Out of these, DEVAGANDHARI is a janya of SANKARABHARANAM. The Bhashanga prayoga of the raga is set in the very beginning of the composition. In this piece the composer feel that if goddess Tripurasundari does not shower her kindness, no one could achieve anything in this world thus referring to complete surrender to the Goddess, which ultimately leads to Moksha, the main motive of Music. At the end of these compositions there is a Lali in KEDARAGOWLA and finally a Mangalam, in the raga SURATI. Another 212

11 noticeable feature is that four out of six kirtanams mentioned above are in Rupaka Tala. On the whole, looking at the poetic values of Vina Kuppayya s creations, they seem to be on par with his guru s compositions, resembling Dikshitar kritis in having the chittaswarams which is a decorative anga of a kriti or kirtanam. Sahithya in his pieces resemble pre Trinity composers like Annamacharya and Bhadrachala Ramadas. One more noticeable feature in his creations is that he did not use Swanama mudra as his guru, but used a daiva mudra Gopala Dasa on the name of his ishta devata Krishna. His compositions also range from Adi tala to Chapu tala. The pieces are attractive with all rhetorical beauties of Yati, Prasa and anuprasa which are qualities of good compositions. Going further, there is an identical swara structure for Tyagaraja s Manasu swadheena and Deekshitar s Akshaya linga vibho in pallavi of both the monumental works, showing the identical thinking of two great composers. The compositions however differ from each other from anupallavi. The later is much intricate compared to the former with a madhyamakala sahithyam at the end of anupallavi and charanam. It is very difficult to maintain ksha kara prasa in any composition for any composer throughout the composition. But Dikshitar maintained the ksha kara prasa whole throughout the composition. Similarly, the same ksha kara prasa could also be observed in Tyagaraja s lakhanamulu gala in SUDHA SAVERI, a janya of SANKARABHARANAM. Swararagasudha of Thyagaraja is yet another magnificent composition in the raga SANKARABHARANAM. The catchy rhythm in double kala Adi talam is characteristic feature of this piece and similar trend could be found in Mysore Vasudevacahar compositions. RaRa Rajeevalochana and Brochevarevarura are examples for this. Coming to Swara Raga Sudha, the half avarthanam space in second line of the charanams has been filled with the flowery sangathis like: Gmg Gmg G; Rgr Rgr R; Srs Srs s; These phrases made the piece more suitable for instrumentalists which later were adopted by Vocalists also. The lyric of the song also has special meaning explaining the greatness of music. There are three charanams in the song of which first charanam gives the importance of Sapta svaras, Tala or Laya importance is portrayed in Second charanam befitting the Saying Shrutir mata Layah pitah where in the shruti that is Drone is equated to one s own Mother and tala is equated to own Father. In the 3rd charanam of the composition, the famous verse from Bhagavad Gita Bahunam janmanam ante Gnanavan mam prapadyuthe is established as could be seen in Bahu janmalaku paini gnaniyai baraguta mokshamura. For 213

12 Tyagaraja music associated with bhakthi is only way for salvation which is reiterated in next lines Bhakthi tho Raga Gnana sahithudumuktudura. If we see Manasu swadhinamaina, a great composition, the sahitya is in question and answer form like yeduta nilachithe which is another composition of Tyagaraja. This kind of questioning is found in the kriti Bagu meeraganu natho palukaga rada of Vina Kuppayyar set to Adi tala. He is a disciple of Tyagaraja. The meaning of above mentioned krithi is that can you please speak to me? The questioning follows in the 3rd charana of the composition bearing the mudra. There is very nice cittaswaram and dwiteeyakshara prasa followed throughout the composition. In the 2nd charanam of the piece, there is a clue of the composer only writing on God like his Guru, The lines go as Bhava poshana kai dhanikula palumaru vinuthi jeyu kavi janamula saavasamu karadani rosi nava rasambuloluka nee nama keerthanamulanu vivaramuga badedi na vesalanu deerchenani bagu meera ---- balkaga rada? This piece resembles Mariyada Gadura of Thyagaraja, wherein we find words Ragamu Talamu Rakthi bhakthi Gnanayogamu mari anuragamu leni bhagavuthulu udara shamanule gani which means that the persons who sing without proper knowledge of gnanayoga and bhakthi, just singing with raga and Tala are only considering filling their bellies. The piece (Mariyada gadura) could be understood properly only when analysed from Charanam mentioned above in reverse then Anupallavi carrying a kind of order to Lord Rama that it is not respectful (mariyada gadura) to Lord Rama to equate people who sing only for belly filling and true devotees of Lord. Karunakara varini veerini conveys the meaning explained above to equate real devotees with belly fillers. Nearly the same meaning is conveyed in the above mentioned Vina kuppayya s composition which goes as it is not good to have friendship belly fillers. The Charanam in Mariyada gadura has often been interpreted wrongly. The word udara shamanulu is written as udara samaanulu which gives a wrong meaning and obviously the interpretation would also be wrong. Udara shamanulu gives the meaning belly fillers where as in the word udara samaanulu, samaanamu literally means equal and udara is belly. Analysed in the above angles udara samaana would definitely will not give any sense to anybody. If the charana is read with udara shamanulu the confusion is revealed. The other version having the word udara shayanulu must have been a printing mistake because in Telugu Ma and ya are written similarly except for bigger circle for ya. If this kriti is understood in these angles then one would not disagree that this piece also stands on par with any other piece of master composer. This composition is standing example of poetic angle of the great saint. In fact the way of reverse expression is quite common in Hindi and English poetry. Viewed with this point Thyagaraja should have adopted this feature in his composition. It is no wonder that many 214

13 researchers have been awarded their Ph.D degrees in Telugu literature for analysis of Thyagaraja s poetry! The questioning form of compositions described earlier is adopted by another great composer of later years Mysore Vasudevachar who composed a kirtanam called HARINI BHAJINCHE BHAGYAMU DORAKUNEMI which is a question meaning could anybody get the great boon of singing of Hari that is Lord Vishnu? and answer being dorukunu dorukunu which means yes it will be available for real bhakthas of Lord. This is set to Adi tala and raga SANKARABHARANA. Though there is similarity in the above said compositions of Tyagaraja and Vasudevachar the main difference is that the question is immediately answered in Vasudevachar s kriti where as in Tyagaraja s the answer will be seen in Anupallavi and Charanam of the composition. Coming to Harini bhajinche, the composition has many rhetorical features such as Dwiteeyakshara prasa that is which has rhyming second letter whole throughout the composition. Though the composition starts on lord Vishnu, the main deity addressed is Lord Rama who has been compared to Sun, in Anupallavi in the lines Dharanija manasambhoruha vibhakaruni in these lines ambhoruhamu is lotus which blooms with sun. Thus Lord Rama is the sun who illuminates the heart lotus of Goddess Seetha. On the other hand the same Lord is compared to Moon in the charanam of the composition in the lines Tarani vasambudhi chandruni where in we can see the expression of Lord Rama being the moon of Surya that is Sun dynasty. Here Tarani vamsambudhi is the suryavamsham to which Lord Rama belonged to. The composer made the piece on par with the gems of yesteryear composers by setting the composition to Khanda Triputa tala which is tala cycle of 9 letters a rare foot in the field. This kind of experimentation is found mainly with Dikshitar compositions in SANKARABHARANAM raga, the very popular Dakshinamurthe set to Misra Jhampe tala which is a cycle of 10 aksharas. A noteworthy feature found in this piece is that, the samvadi swaras are nicely captured as graha swaras as the pallavi starts in Panchamam, Anupallavi being started in Shadja and charanam in Madhyama respectively. His compositions also range from simple to complex having been set to Rupaka tala and simple Adi tala, though we cannot find ones comparable to Divyanama Sankirtanams of Tyagaraja and Dikshitar s Nottu swaras. The other compositions include Bhaja manasa saraswathi, Smara Ramachandram set to Adi talam and Sri Rama Devi mamavathu set to Rupaka tala. In Bhaja manasa Saraswathi there is dwiteeyakshara and 215

14 anthyakshara prasa followed whole through the composition which seems to be another noteworthy feature of Mysore Vasudevachar s compositions. The musical prosody of Yamakam is very prominently visible in pallavi of the piece Smara Rama Chandram set to ADI talam. The explanation could be, the first SMARA in Smara Ramachandram means chanting the Lord s name and it means Rama is as beautiful as Cupid in phrase Smara sundaram and in Smaravairi manasa mandiram refers to lord Shankara who burnt Smara that is Manmadha to ashes. Tyagaraja s Thana vari Thanamu in BEGADA, a janya of SANKARABHARANA, set to Adi Tala is yet another example of question form of kirtana. The very beginning of the composition goes as Tanavari thanamuleda means, don t you have the sense of belongingness towards me? Tarakadhipanana such a poetic simile! In this the composer has compared the face of Lord Rama with moon. Tarakadhipaanana literally means the having face like the king of stars, wherein taraka stands for star, adhipa king, Moon being the king of stars. It is said that Tyagaraja used to sing Bhadrachala Ramadasu kirtanams when he was young, the affect of which is seen in this piece. There is ninda sthuthi in the composition. In this regard the composition resembles the famous Ramadasu keerthanam Ikshvaku kula thilaka in all its features. The charanam goes: Ina vamsa rajulaki gunamu ennadaina kalada? where in the questioning form of the composition continues. The greatness of the composer is visible as the questions continue till the end of the composition like pera pera bilachi haramulu losagaleda? Here, the clear influence of the Ramadasu kirtanam mentioned above. In ikshvaku kula thilaka where Bhadrachala Ramadasu gives the list of ornaments he has done for Rama and his associates as in Sithammaku cheyisthi Chintaku patakamu meaning that he made a particular kind of ornament called Chintaku pathakamu to Goddess Sita and another account he gives is the Pachchala Pathakamu for Lakshmana, and kalikithurayi for Lord Rama and the list goes on and finally he asks if all of them were made by Rama s father or In laws. After blaming Rama that he is not coming for Ramadasu s rescue. Finally the composer reverts on pleading the God. He says that abba tittitinani ayasa pada boku which means, please do not get angry that I am pointing on you but because I am not able bear the punishments given to me, and out of the humiliation I am telling on you and so please come to my rescue. Similarly in Tana vari tanamu there is no Anupallavi and all charanams have similar Dhatu like the Ramadasu kirtanams. Tyagaraja does not mention the ornaments he has done name by name as Ramadasu did but he says pera pera pilichi haramulu, prema meeraga nosagaleda? meaning again he is questioning Rama that didn t I make different 216

15 ornaments for all of you out of love? In next charanam he asks, when I gave different fruits to you didn t you distribute them among the vanaras? i.e. the army of monkeys. Finally after questioning in all these different ways he starts pleading Rama like Ramadasu in the lines Rama Rama Rama rachcha seyakave meaning O! Rama please, don t you make any mess out of all my questions and please consider me as one of your dearest members. Musically observed, the composition is simple one with only some sangathis in pallavi and charanams being very simple in structure. The genius of the composer could be understood in choosing the Raga BEGADA which is madhyama kala based raga to express anger and anxiety that God is not coming to his rescue. This kind of ninda sthuthi and questioning could be seen in Abhimana mennadu kalgu Rama, a composition of Thyagaraja s prashishya (disciple of disciple). The very beginning of the song is a question when do you get kindness on me?. This composition is set to Adi tala. There is reference of Gajedra moksham in anupallavi which goes as Ibharaja varada napai intha kopa mela nayya? which means O! Lord you rescued the king of elephants and why are you so angry with me and why you are not coming to my rescue? In charana of the song the Ninda Sthuthi could be observed where in the composer questions God saying anna vastramula kedi tovayani meaning did I ever asked for food and my clothing? but kanna tandri neeve yani nammithi meaning I always believed that you are my father who gave me birth and if you keep looking here and there without looking at me who will come to my rescue? this is a different kind of Ninda sthuthi. Here there is a difference in the kind of Ninda sthuthi in the sense that the former pieces of Ramadasu and Thyagaraja are associated with a tinge of anger where as the one followed in Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer s composition is filled with a plead. Musically observed a feature found in Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer's kriti both Pallavi and Anupallavi start in the swara Dhaivatha, only difference being the Pallavi starts in mandra sthayi Dhaivatam and Anupallavi in Madhyasthayi. The music nicely befits the mood of the kriti which is pleading but not anger as in tana vari tanamu of Thyagaraja in which the music is again according to the mood of song Anger. Another composition of Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer that contains similar features to a Ninda sthuti and questioning is Inthakante kavalena ee kashtamu chalada in the raga KANNADA, yet another janya of SANKARABHARANAM and set to Rupaka Tala. The pallavi goes, Intha kante Kavalena which is the trouble not enough? do you want me to suffer much more than this? the charanam in this kriti resembles the charanam of Etula brothuvo in the raga Chakravaka of Tyagaraja. The Charanam in the former kriti goes as: puttina nati nundi potta sagute paniga means it had been my work that I have been working since my birth only to fill my belly Which resembles the charana of later kriti mentioned above 217

16 which goes as Vatti goddu reethi bhakshinchi tirigithi / puttu lobhulanu pottaki pogadithi which means I had been eating and roaming around like a buffalo and kept on flattering the people who are useless and poor and misers in their thoughts. In these two kritis we can find ninda sthuthi combined with Atma ninda which means the composers were blaming the God (ninda sthuti) as well as themselves (atma ninda) for their mischievous deeds. pari dana michichithe The famous kriti of Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer is another example of questioning Lord. The kriti is monumental in its structure in the sense that musically both Pallavi and anupallavi start in Swaraksharam in Panchamam like for example PARI dana in Pallavi and PARAma purusha in Anupallavi where in we can find Prasa, which continues throughout the composition. There is a beautiful chittaswaram in the composition. This kriti could be sighted as an example that showcases the perfect raga lakshana in the raga BILAHARI. The madhyamakala gait of the kriti makes anybody tap their feet. Like the Adi Tala Varna Intha Chowka of Vina Kuppayyar and Ata tala Varna of Sonti Venkatasubbaiah, there are phrases in this krithi with prayoga of Nishada in arohanam. The phrases in both varnas have been discussed in detail earlier while explaining the Ragalakshana. If we observe the composition Paridanamichcithe the Nishada prayogas are in Anupallavi and in Anubandham of charana. Even in Anupallavi, in the questioning part of the line Karana memayya notation for which goes as grsnsdnp and grg sr Ns dn pd and grsn rsnd sndp and the same places in anubandham where the sahithyam is Adi Venkatesha where in the mudra of the composer could be seen. This notation for this kriti is seen in the book Gayaka Siddhanjanam of Tachchuru brothers which clearly indicates the Nishada in arohanam. The ni written here in upper case to show that it is in Arohanam but not the Capitol N which denotes two letters according to principles of notation. Intha paranmukha melara is a composition of Vina Kuppayyar in this raga BILAHARI set to Adi tala which again is in question form of composition that is discussed earlier in this chapter. Interestingly, if the notation of the piece in the book Pallavi Swarakalpavalli compiled by Tiruvottiyur Thyagayyar with his father s compositions is observed there are no phrases with Nishada in arohanam were used. There is one more kriti Paddapaatu chalada of the same composer in the raga BILAHARI set to Adi Tala which also does not have phrases as the Varnam mentioned earlier. He handled the raga so well that there was no room given for ambiguous sancharas having Nishada in Arohana. Keeping this in mind one could get a doubt why the same composer has used the nishada prayoga in Arohanam so 218

17 prevalently in his varnam in the same Raga. The reason could be one that the Varnams are supposed to be the edifices of the raga lakshanam of that particular raga and it should have made the composer follow the Raga lakshana sloka and geetham of Venkatamakhin and the result is the Varnam. Observing all these compositions some questions could be raised, 1) was the Nishada in arohanam in this raga prevalent in medieval period of history of Karnatic music? 2) Should these compositions be deleted from the field of music because of these deleted phrases of modern period of the raga are there in these compositions? 3) would this be a wise decision to lose such immortal compositions filled with raga lakshana in every inch of them? If we see the Raga lakshana sloka in Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini of Subbarama Dikshitulu which is considered to be the Bible of Karnatic Music, it goes as: Arohe madhyamo vakraha KVACHIDYOGO NISHADAKAHA Bilahuri Raga gathya savra kaleshu geeyathe And the lakshana given under in the book goes as: Bhasahangamu, Sampoornamu, shadja graham, rakthi Ragamu, eka deshamuga Arohanamu nandu Nishada prayogamu galadu, which clearly shows us that there is Nishada prayoga incidentally here and there which is not a wrong prayoga in the raga. The lakshya geetam given in Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini also has phrases such as rsnsdp snsr. If the notation for the very famous Dikshitar composition Hatakeshwara in Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini is observed, there is clear Nishada prayoga in arohanam. The composition is set to Misra Jathi eka tala. The sighted lines of example are in the charanam of the composition which is Daruka vanastha tapo dhana and line is in the beginning of third line of charanam. It goes as: The notation given in Pradarshini is : G, m g Rs rg rs rs ns nd Cha-ru smi tha mukham--- bhoruha. The similar line have been notated as : G,,P MGR, S,RG R, S, ND SND Cha ru smi tha mukham bhoja 219

18 - in the book Compositions of Mudduswami Dikshitar compiled by Sri. T. K. Govinda Rao and in this book the kriti is given as set to Rupaka Tala. Because it is a single phrase in the composition a stalwart musician could change the notation but if the phrases are more than two and very important in a composition and bring out the raga bhava it is not a mistake to continue to sing in the same manner as composer intended. The compositions also belong to stalwart composers of yester years whose compositions in other ragas are flawless and in fact their varnas and other compositions should be taught to a student of music compulsorily. But for these Nishada prayogas both the compositions are extra ordinary in their structure and bring out the raga bhava very well. Truly speaking these Nishada prayogas should not be looked upon as flaws in the respective compositions because, chronologically observed the nishada prayoga is given in the Ragalakshana sloka and Geetha itself. Interestingly, we cannot find these prayogas in Tyagaraja s compositions which are many in number. They all are devoid of the particular phrase. This could have lead to the phrase to be forbidden against the raga lakshanam given in the Bible of Karnatic Music Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini. Questioned on the similar notes Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna suggested that if felt like singing these compositions they should be sung in the same way as composed but, it should be announced that the composers have composed in the way they are. Keeping all this in view the researchers should try to standardize these compositions and try to keep them alive by not modifying the notation of the particular composition, but singing the phrases instead, and mentioning that the composer did include the particular phrase in the composition. Another example of questioning in Tyagaraja kritis is Dorakuna ituvanti seva? in Bilahari. Which means Do we get such a privilege of worshipping Lord Rama? There is a difference in the questioning in above kritis and this one in the sense that this is question composer has kept for his self answering the question in very nice way which has nice expressions and descriptions of Lord Rama. The main difference in the above mentioned kritis and this kind of kritis is that there is no Ninda sthuti in these songs. Ninda sthuthi is a kind of prayer offer to God in a frustrated state when God is not coming to ones rescue after many pleas from them. They feel ignored by god and dwell into blaming, that is ninda sthuthi. Tholi janmamuna jeyu is a composition of Saint Thyagaraja in which he blames himself opposite to above discussion that he understood the mistakes he committed in earlier births and request God to cleanse him off all the sins he did. Looking at the piece in Gayaka Siddhanjanam of Thacchuru Brothers the Anupallavi is given as nee mahima phalamemo which is pointed out to be wrong by N.Ch. Krishnamacharyulu, in his book Sangeetha Raga Darshini where in he 220

19 explain that if it is nee Mahima Phalamemo, it would affect the prosody of the composition in the sense that the anupallavi will contain five avarthanams instead of four which will not affect the prosodic structure of the kriti if it is sung Phalamemo arachethi. If the meaning of these lines are observed and understood properly one would feel surprised at the extra ordinary poetic and philosophical views of composer. The meaning of Phalamemo arachethi puntikaddamu valenu literally it means that if we have a wound on our hand we do not need a mirror to look at it. The inner meaning is that if we have the effect of the misdeeds we have done in previous birth is in front of our eyes why do we need any mirror to look at it as the wound on our hand. If this meaning is taken nee mahima phalamemo would definitely not fit in the song and if it is there it would definitely spoil the meaning and rasa of the piece as explained by N.Ch. Krishnamacharyulu. On the similar note Maravakave sree Ramuni is a composition of Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer in raga SAMA set to Rupaka Tala. The Anupallavi in the composition goes as: Tarani vamsha thilakude Dharanija nayakude where Tarani is Sun god and this in above lines refer to Lord Rama who is the king of Sun dynasty or Surya vamsham But some musicians are wrongly pronouncing the word Tarani to be Dharani, which will change Lord Rama to be born to Goddess Earth that is Bhoodevi and that might change entire story of Ramayana. Upcoming and established musicians should take care of this kind of things as our music is mainly based on compositions which in turn are based on great epics mainly of Ramayana. The musicians should take care that they should not spoil the Sanskrit words, which is Mother of all languages. Another famous composer of post Trinity period, whose compositions could be studied in depth is Harikesanallur Muttayya Bhagavatar. Sahaja Guna Ramachandra is one of his compositions in raga SANKARABHARANAM which is set to Tala Adi. The composition starts in swaraksharam in Tara sthayi Shadja. There is dwitiyakshara prasa followed in the composition till Anupallavi. It is a Sanskrit composition. It is a rare composition where in the Guha of Ramayana has been mentioned in the Anupallavi. Like other composers Muttayya Bhagavatar also composed group kritis which include ashtotthara sata kirtanas based on both shiva and Chamundi ashtottharas. In the Shivashtotthara kirtanams, out of 108 kirtanams 16 are set to SANKARABHARANAM and its janya ragas. Out of these the 27th kirtanam is in raga SANKARABHARANAM. The composition represents the 27th nama of 108 and the nama is Gangadharayanamaha and the kirtanam starts as Gangadhara Nagakankana pane. It is interesting to notice that Ganga has ornamented herself in Shiva s Jatajhootam and the raga name denotes the ornamentation of Lord Shankara. The piece again starts in swarakshara 221

20 in Tara Sthayi shadja. The composition is set to Adi Talam. The Anupallavi of the piece again portrays the point that Lord Sankara bestows all good things as is he is Mangaladayaka and Sangita lola portrays him to be fond of music. It seems to be apt here to set the piece in the Mela. There is Anthyaprasa seen in anupallavi in Mangala dayaka Madhura nayaka and LOLA and PALA in next 2 lines. There is nice chittaswaram in the piece where in some Shadjama varjya prayogas have been explored. In addition to the Ashtotthara kritis the composer has also done Navagraha kritis like Dikshitar. Of these 2 are set in ragas derived from SANKARABHARANAM. The next set of group kritis of the composer the Chamundi ashtotthara satha kirtanams include the SANKARABHARANAM and Janya Ragas. Out of the 108 kritis again 78th is set to Adi Talam and raga SANKARABHARANAM. The nama is Chandra rekha Vibhushitayainamaha and the composition goes as Chandra Rekha Vibhushithe Champeya hare. Here the creativity of the composer is at its best in choosing the raga as Chandra rekha is the crescent moon adorning Lord Shankara and the saga set is SANKARABHARANAM which signifies the nama where in the Goddess is also described to be adorned by crescent Moon. Here in the Anupallavi of the kriti the poetic abilities of the composer come out very well in the lines Chandra vadane and ibha mukha mathe where the face of the Goddess is compared to the Moon with two different words. Apart from these group krithis there is one Tamil composition of the composer in this raga which goes as Manadirangi sainda set to Adi Talam. This is a composition on Lord Muruga. He should have composed this piece for the Kathakalakshepam of Valli parinayam. An explanation of how he became a composer goes as below in the preface of the book having Ashtotthara sata keerthanas on Shivashtotthara. An important result which flowed from the entry of Muttayya Bhagavatar in the field of Harikatha Kalakshepam is that he became not merely a Bhagavathar but a composer. His Valli Parinayam being new in the field, he himself composed Nirupanams in Tamil. An important feature of the compositions of Muttayya Bhagavatar is that almost all the pieces have chittaswarams especially the Ashtotthara Sata Nama kirtanams. A main characteristic to be noted here with two of the composers mentioned above that is Mysore 222