Nadha Sudha Rasa

shrI guruguhamUrtE - udayaravicandrikA

2010-03-28T10:14:00.011-05:00

I still don't know how an entire month has passed so quickly. And, as always, I have not been able to blog for quite a few reasons, some good and some bad. The good incidents give you a great feeling of high while the bad ones leave you with a taste of vitriolic bitterness and the oscillation between the two seem to make up what we call as life. Over the last month, these vicissitudes and vagaries of life have made me contemplate quite a lot about the startling difference between karma and free-will. Being an extremely open-minded person and an eternal optimist that I am, I still find it quite difficult to digest some of the events that happen in our lives quite frankly beyond our control and perhaps due to no mistake of ours. However much I isolate myself from this world, incidents like a dear one meeting with an accident rendering him paralyzed for a few months, a close friend getting hurt (physically/mentally) etc seem to have a great impact on me forcing me to go further into this cocoon that I create for myself quite often. I guess it is events like this that clearly show the evanescence of human life, shakes up one's life and makes him go in search of answers which this plane of existence can probably never offer. Anyway, I don't know how much of this makes sense or how much of this sounds like plain cribbing, but this is the contemplative state of mind I am in right now and where else can I vent such thoughts other than my personal blogspace :). May the supreme force help me overcome all these delusions and find the answers that I need.

I have been planning on yet another trip to tiruvArur and some temples in the vicinity (kIvalUr, nAgapattinam, kuzhikkarai etc) followed by a trip to ettayapuram (dIkshitar's final resting place) but certain incidents (the bad ones as I have ambiguously referred to in the above paragraph) in the last few weeks have thrown things completely out of gear, creating turbulence at home and hence preventing me from going on this pilgrimage. I guess its God's own way of telling me that it is not yet time to come and see Him. Well, I shall hope that the time comes soon and that I will be able to go on this journey that I so dearly want to. Anyway..I shall stop blabbering here and continue with the krithi that I will be taking up in this post. "shrI guruguhamurtE" in udayaravicandrika is dIkshitar's eighth and final krithi of the guruguha vibhakti series composed exclusively in the vocative case and set to rUpaka tALa. Before I get into the masterpiece, I would like to clarify a few confusions regarding the raga udayaravicandrika itself, the chief one being the claim that Suddha dhanyAsi and udayaravicandrika are one and the same.

Udayaravicandrika (referred to as URC henceforth) is cleverly classified as an upAnga janya of the 9th mELakartha dhunibhinnasadjam (dhEnuka as per the other school) with the scale: sgmpns;snpmgs. Hence, URC employs a kAkali niSAda. Suddha dhanyAsi (referred to as SD henceforth) on the other hand is classified as an upAnga janya of the 22nd mELa, shri rAga and hence makes use of the kaiSiki niSAda. This is the only significant difference between the 2 rAgas and SubbarAma dIkshitar highlights this clearly while explaining the rAga lakSaNa of SD in the SSP. URC is also known as Srothaswini. However, the fact that the tyAgarAja school also used the name URC while referring to SD complicated the matters and somehow this seems to have stuck with the people after the trinity's times and this niSAda disctinction between the 2 rAgas seems to have completely disappeared with people saying that URC and SD are one and the same. And with this beautiful composition of dIkshitar being neglected in the concert arena (except for a few artists like Vedavalli maami), the original URC as per the dIkshitar school has successfully been buried in its grave.

Anyway, I will now start with the krithi,

Pallavi:

shrI guruguhamUrtE ciccaktti sphUrtE
sishya janAvana kIrtE sumuhUrtE jaya

Meaning:

dIkshitar addresses the Lord guruguha as "the one throbbing ("sphUrtE") with the power ("shakti") of consciousness ("cit"). The one who is renowned ("kIrtE") for protecting His disciples ("Sishya jana"). The one who is an embodiment of auspiciousness ("sumuhUrtE"). Victory ("jaya") to you."

The first thing that struck me when I listened to this krithi a few years back was the tone that dIkshitar uses throughout this composition. It sounds as if he has achieved or won something that he has been longing for. And he dedicates this victory to Lord Guruguha and hence he ends the pallavi, anupallavi as well as the caraNam hailing the Lord for his victory. It is said that dIkshitar performed austerities and deep meditation for forty days at tiruttani before the Lord appeared in front of him as an old man and put sugar crystals in his mouth after which dIkshitar straight away burst into music with the guruguha vibhakti series. Hence, one can assume that on a physical plane, dIkshitar was probably ecstatic on completing his first set of compositions. Of course, on having been able to visualize and interact with the Lord at higher spiritual realms, it is only appropriate that dIkshitar pays his respects and thanks to his guru and the Lord in this concluding piece of this set of compositions.

Another interesting point to note in the pallavi is the way dIkshitar describes guruguha as one vibrating with cit shakti, the power of consciousness. Shakti is believed to be the manifestation of the kinetic component of Brahman. Hence, it is Shiva (consciousness) who manifests as Shiva Shakti. Therefore Shakti is consciousness by itself. Once we understand this, we can attach two aspects to this Shakti, namely, cit shakti or vidyA shakti (the illuminating consciousness) and mAya shakti or avidyA shakti (the deluding/veiling consciousness). The two shaktis are conscious by themselves and are independent energy forces. But this mAya shakti itself is composed of the three gunas, rajas, tamas and sattva and by using these gunas it not only makes itself appear unconscious but also shrouds the vidyA shakti from the human mind. One has to hence first overcome this mAya shakti and then tap the cit shakti to attune to divine vibrations. dIkshitar here visualizes the Lord as the one who throbs with this cit shakti and by tapping into His divine consciousness for probably even just a second, one can get enlightened and free themselves from bondage. And imagining the dIkshitar's state of mind to even realize the Lord as this throbbing energy is scintillating :).

Coming to the musical aspects, dIkshitar clearly highlights the janTa prayOgams which gives jivAdAra to URC right at the beginning with the "sggmmpp" phrase at "shrI guruguhamUrtE". He also highlights the gAndAra with the "pmmG" prayogam at "sphUrtE". It is only in the second line that he brings in the niSAda and paints a complete picture of URC. It was only a couple of months ago that I completely realized the beauty of some phrases like "PmGmgs" at "kIrtE" when I heard my dear friend Lavanya Kothandaraman sing. Thanks for that laavi :). Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

yOginI hRdaya prakASa citta vRttE
yugapad-bhOga-yOga pradAna nipuNa SaktE
Agama rahasya tattvAnusandhAna yuktE
AnandAnuraktE ativiraktE jaya jaya

Meaning:

Here, dIkshitar describes the Lord as "the one who rejoices and delights ("hRdaya prakASa") the minds ("citta") of the yOginIs. The one with the power ("SaktE") that is an expert ("nipuNa") in giving ("pradAna") time-bound ("yugapad") material pleasures ("bhOga") as well as ageless spiritual bliss ("yOga"). The one who can be realized by following the truths ("tattvAnusandhAna") and expounding the secrets ("rahasya") of the Agamas. The one who is an embodiment of supreme bliss ("AnandAnuraktE") and (at the same time) completely detached and free of bondage ("ativiraktE"). Victory unto you ("jaya jaya")."

Now apart from the direct interpretation of yOginI hRdaya as given above, I must also mention the fact that yOginIhRdaya is one of the 64 tantras of the vAmAchara and the kauLAchAra paths of shrI vidyA sAdhana. Hence, the first line of the pallavi could also be interpreted as a description of Lord guruguha as "the one who enlightens the mind and shines forth through the yOginI hRdaya concept". dIkshitar also clearly displays his scholarly handling of Sanskrit grammar once again. While the antyAkshara prAsam utilizing the sambOdhana pratama vibhakti runs throughout the krithi beautifully, the yati and mOnai aspects of the grammar (yOginI-yugapad and Agama-Ananda pairs) are also showcased quite brilliantly. It all seamlessly blends in and only when we take out word by word can we even realize that it is like separate pearls making up a nice garland with a common thread running through :). dIkshitar finally describes the Lord as one who is full of bliss and at the same time devoid of any attachments. This concept (which could also be used to describe the ideal guru that a disciple wants to find in this world) strikes a remarkable similarity to the supreme lotus (quite aptly, the national flower of india) whose petals and leaves are never sullied even if it grows in a dirty pond.

Musically, the anupallavi is my favourite part of this krithi. He begins the anupallavi itself with unusual phrases like "PSn" and "pnPsGg" at "yOginI" and "hRdaya prakASa" respectively. He continues to milk the beauty of URC by employing zigzag vakra-ish phrases like "sgSmPpnS" at "yugapad bhOga yOga" and "nmpmnpp" at "nipuNa SaktE". I dont know if dIkshitar would have realized at the time of composing this krithi that URC would fade away into oblivion, but, it definitely does seem like this krithi is one hallmark composition in this rAga and it will hopefully withstand the onslaught of those repetitive kAmbhOjis and bhairavIs. Going to the caraNam,

caraNam:

Atma-ISvara jIva bhEdAvaraNa nivRttE
ASrita SishyAnugraha kAraNa pravRttE
AtmatattvAdi Sodhana sAdhana sampattE
Arakta-SvEta miSra caraNa pravRttE
Atma kOti bhaktE anAdi mAyOtpattE
AtmAnubhava sArasantRptE nirmuktE
AtmOdaya ravicandrikA sandIptE
paramAtma shrI cidAnandanAtha namastE jaya jaya

Meaning:

In the caraNa, dIkshitar continues to describes the Lord in his typical advaitin mode as "The one who removes ("nivRttE") the ignorant veil ("AvaraNa") of distinction ("bhEda") between the individual soul ("Atma jIva") and the supreme soul ("ISvara jIva"). The one whose divine nature is to bestow His grace and blessings ("ASrita anugraha") on His disciples ("SishyA"). The one who shows the path of noble tools and techniques ("sAdhana sampattE") and the means for testing ("Sodhana") and realizing the knowledge of one's own self ("Atmatattva"). The one whose feet ("caraNa") are a mixture ("miSra") of red ("Arakta") and white ("SvEta"). The one with crores of devotees ("kOti bhaktE") and the one who created ("utpattE") the delusion ("mAya") which has no origin ("anAdi"). The one who is completely satisfied ("santRptE") with the essence ("sAra") of experience of the self ("AtmAnubhava") and devoid of all attachments ("nirmuktE"). The one who lights the lamp ("sandIptE") of the soul ("Atma") in the rising sun ("udaya ravi") and the moon ("candrikA"). Oh supreme soul!! ("paramAtma"), the auspicious ("shrI") ruler of bliss of consciousness ("cidAnandanAtha"), prostrations ("namastE") and victory to thee ("jaya jaya")."

The steadfast advaitin that dIkshitar is comes to the forefront in the caraNa. He begins by describing the Lord as the one who removes the sheath that creates a sense of individuality and that ego called "I". I personally think that this where the distinction between the guru and the Lord completely vanishes. Since dIkshitar accepts Lord guruguha Himself as his guru, he attributes quite a lot of the characteristics that one would normally associate with a guru to describe the Lord Himself. You can actually see this in the first 3 lines of the caraNam where he describes the Lord as one who protects and guides His disciples and the one who is the means as well as the path of self-realization. These 3 lines, in my opinion perhaps are the climax of this series of krithis. It is quite clearly visible here that dIkshitar has attained great heights of spiritual maturity by the virtue of which He is not only able to see the Lord as His own guru but also is able to use the Lord Himself as his vehicle to reach self-realization. Now, that perhaps happens to only one in probably a million (even among the greatest of yogis). That's why I say that these 3 lines does it for me as far as the krithi goes. Ofcourse, dIkshitar continues to show his other faces in the following lines of the caraNam.

dIkshitar describes the Lord as one whose feet is a mixture of white and red. This is perhaps best understood as a reference to the union of Shiva and Shakti who are usually symbolized by white and red respectively. This is the reason why Vibhoothi (sacred ashes) which is white in color is splashed across the forehead and kumkum which is red in color is placed as a dot (a bindu) at the spot between the eyebrows (the location of the third eye and the Agnya cakra). Finally, dIkshitar seems to have merged with the Lord (his guru) when he sings "AtmAnubhava sAra santRptE". Here, he describes himself (his soul) as the one who has experienced this divine joy of realizing him"self" and hence becoming complete and achieving divine communion. He describes the essence of this divine journey as the Lord Himself. aahaa..what brilliance!! Brings tears to my eyes accompanied by instantaneous goosebumps.

Finally, dIkshitar the composer comes out in the madhyamakAla sAhityam where he slips the rAga mudra in without disturbing the serenity or the them of the krithi, rather, enhancing the effect further. He describes the Lord as the one who stimulates the divine urge in His disciples with the brightness of the sun and the moon and in the process incorporating the rAga mudra. What an audacious display of ingenuity. He ends the krithi by once again offering his salutations to the Lord. He probably couldn't have ended the krithi on a more appropriate note ("jaya jaya"). Composing such a magnum opus for his first ever set of compositions is not only a victory to dIkshitar but also to the divine Lord guruguha Himself and with this victorious beginning, dIkshitar never looked back, composing one masterpiece after another for the next 35 years of his life.

To describe the musical aspects of this caraNam (and that too only partially), I would need probably yet another blogpost. Hence, I feel it would be better to just leave it to the rasika to listen to this krithi and soak in the genius called dIkshitar. With this, I will close this vibhakti series. I know I have taken quite a long time to finish this series but I hope I have done justice to this wonderful set of compositions. In my next few posts, I will take up some long pending personal requests from people who follow this blog. Quite surprisingly some of these requests fit very nicely into the Guruguha theme that I have been writing about in the last set. Hence, I will first take up "SaravaNabhava guruguham" in the rAga rEvagupti, set to rUpaka tALa composed at tiruvAvinankudi. Till then, listen to URC and have fun!!

guruguha svAmini - bhAnumati

2010-02-18T02:06:00.009-05:00

I believe it has been quite a long time since I blogged back to back. Well, as long as it is for the good, I am not going to complain. On a side note, it definitely seems like my friends are on a marriage mania rampage or something of that sorts. Between January 17th and February 25th, around 11 of my friends and 2 of my cousins have got/are getting married. It is quite funny to open your e-mail inbox and find an invitation every day :-). Anyway, I wish them all wonderful years of togetherness and joy. With nothing much to write about, I guess I will move on directly to the krithi that I will be taking up today.

"guruguha svAmini bhaktim karOmi" is the seventh krithi in the guru theme composed exclusively in the seventh/locative case in the rAga bhAnumati and set to khaNDa jAti tripuTa tALam. bhAnumati is the 4th rAga in the asampUrNa mELa scheme and is pretty much similar to its counterpart vanaspati (the rAga in which thyAgarAja composed the beautiful masterpiece "pariyAcakamA") in all aspects except for the fact that bhAnumati is gAndAra varjya in the ArOhaNam. dIkshitar clearly sticks to this idea and the way he handles the rishaba and especially the madhyama in both of his compositions (brhadambA madambA being the other composition), one actually never feels that the gAndAra is missing. It is phrases like "ndns, pmgrs and rmpnd" that give that extra beauty to this rAga. And unlike the other krithis in this theme we have seen so far where dIkshitar pays rich tributes to both his physical guru as well as Lord SubrahmaNya, dIkshitar seems to pretty much have gone into an even higher plane of existence and concentrate only on the Lord's attributes in this krithi. I will explain this as we go along in this post. I have to thank dear SK (co-author in this blogspace) for introducing me to this krithi back in december 2007 when he spent a magical, musical fortnight with me back in Austin, Texas. Good times..great times rather ;(. Anyway..the pallavi goes like,

Pallavi:

guruguha svAmini bhaktim karOmi
nirupama svEmahimni paramdhAmni

Meaning:

dIkshitar sings "I am devoted ("bhaktim") to Lord guruguha, the one who possesses unsurpassed ("nirupama") glory by the virtue of His own self ("svEmahimni") and the one who resides in the eternal supreme state ("paramdhAmni")."

At the very beginning of this krithi itself, dIkshitar addresses his devotion towards the Lord Himself whom dIkshitar has accepted as his guru as well as the final destination that his soul wants to attain. He also describes the Lord as one who is in a supreme plane of consciousness and the one who he visualizes to be of infinite glory. This glory that dIkshitar is describing here is a direct result of the Lord's pure consciousness which has ascended to the highest plane and hence the Lord (SubrahmaNya in this case) is an embodiment of that paramAtma (supreme consciousness) that a yOgi (dIkshitar in this case) wishes to attain.

The musical aspect of the pallavi is something to be just experienced. dIkshitar starts the krithi off with the avarOhaNa and captures bhAnumati right there with defining phrases like "pmgrs" at "bhaktim karOmi" and "ndns" at "nirupama". And he uses the gAndAra varjya ArOhaNa prayOgam of "rmmp" at "svEmahimni". More than just the usage of notes, it is the way he employs the gamakas that is just brilliant. For example, in the "ndns" phrase at "nirupama", the first nishAda is flat whereas the second nishAda is a beautiful kampitam oscillating and entering into a wedlock with the Sadja. He caps off the pallavi with a "pSndn" at "paramdhAmni" to loop back to the pallavi beginning. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

karuNAkara cidAnanda nAthAtmani
karacaraNAdyavayava pariNAmAtmani
taruNOllAsAdi pUjita svAtmani
dharaNyAdyakhila tatvAtItAtmani

Meaning:

dIkshitar describes the Lord as "the compassionate one ("karuNAkara") and the embodiment of eternal bliss ("cidAnanda"). The one who is responsible for the acquisition and transformation ("pariNAmAtmani") of the limbs ("avayava") such as hands, legs etc ("kara caraNAdi"). The one whose form ("svAtmani") is worshipped ("pUjita") to obtain happiness through various stages of sAdhana such as taruNa etc ("taruNOllAsAdi"). The one who transcends all 'realities' ("tatvAtItAtmani") associated with the world ("akhila") such as the earth, etc("dharaNyAdi")."

In the anupallavi, dIkshitar predominantly mentions the tatvAs ("truths") and the type of sAdhana that is characteristic of the kauLava mArga/school of thought. There are many schools and systems that have been in practice for spiritual awareness and progress. It is common practice in most of these schools to believe in the concept of tatvAs or realities. These realities are associated with the physical body of the yOgi and all the other material/gross objects of this world. One of the chief goals of any yOgi is to use certain techniques (this varies depending on the school one is associated with) to transcend all these 'realities' and move beyond this world into a higher plane of existence, a different world altogether. The "dharaNya" tatva that dIkshitar mentions here is classified under the pancabhUta category of realities which are to be overcome.

There are seven stages of knowledge known as gnAna bhUmikas through which a yOgi passes. These are subEccha ("the desire for enlightenment"), vicAraNa ("enquiry"), tanumAnasa ("tenuous mind"), satvapatti ("self-realization"), asamsakti ("non-attachment"), padArtabhAvana ("non-perception of objects") and turyaga ("transcendence"). Corresponding to these stages of knowledge, there are different stages in the practice ("sAdhana"). It is the first 5 stages of sAdhana that are very critical as it is in these 5 stages the mind has a tendency to wander and only under the strict guidance of a guru can it obtain the discipline that is needed to proceed further. dIkshitar mentions the second stage, taruNa or the youthfulness stage of this sAdhana. Only after completing the fifth stage called as praudhAnta ("end of maturity") is the disciple considered mature and the guru lets go of the disciple a bit as he enters the sixth stage of unmani ("mind-devoidness").

Coming to the musical aspects of the anupallavi, dIkshitar employs the mandira sthAyi quite beautifully with "sndnp ndns" at "karacaraNAdyavayava" and he uses the exquisite "rgrs" at "pariNAma" and "pUjita". He also gives a lot of importance to the "rmp" phrases right from the beginning of the anupallavi at "karuNA" to the end of the anupallavi at tatvA"tItAtmani". Moving on to the caraNam,

caraNam:

nijarUpa jita pAvakEndu bhAnumati
niratishayAnandE hamsO viramati
ajashikSaNa rakSaNa vicakSaNa sumati
harihayAdi dEvatA gaNa praNamati
yajanAdi karma nirata bhUsurahitE
yamaniyamAdyaSTAHNga yOga vihitE
vijayavallI dEvasEnA sahitE
vIrAdi sannutE vikalpa rahitE

Meaning:

dIkshitar continues to describe the Lord as "the one whose radiant form ("nijarUpa") outshines ("jita") the sun ("bhAnu"), the moon ("indu") and fire ("pAvaka"). The one who resides ("viramati") in the hearts of the supreme swan-like yOgis ("hamsO") who are immersed in eternal bliss ("niratishayAnanda"). The intelligent one ("vicakSaNa sumati") who punished ("shikSaNa") and also protected ("rakSaNa") Lord Brahma ("aja"). The one worshipped ("praNamati") by Lord Indra ("harihaya") and other dEvAs and celestial beings ("gaNa"). The one who is dear ("hitE") to the brAhmans ("bhUsura") who perform ("karma") sacrifices and other rituals ("yajanAdi"). The one perceived by practicing ("vihitE") the 8-fold path ("aSTAHNga") of yOga which is made up of components such as yama and niyama. The victorious one ("vijaya") accompanied ("sahitE") by Valli and dEvasEna. The one worshipped ("sannutE") by men of valour ("vIrAdi") and the one who is formless and hence beyond imagination ("vikalpa rahitE")."

He straightaway incorporates the rAga mudra by comparing the Lord's effulgence to that of a sun at the beginning of the caraNam. He continues to emphasize the significant role that Lord guruguha plays in the spiritual progress of a yogi (could be referring to himself here) and describes how the Lord resides in the hearts of those paramahansas, those supreme yOgis thereby making their heart caves as His shrine. dIkshitar then makes a reference to the incident in which Lord SubrahmaNya punishes Lord Brahma, the creator, for not being able to explain the meaning of the praNava mantra Om. He imprisons Lord Brahma for his ignorance and hence the whole process of creation comes to a full stop. After repeated appeals by the other celestial beings, Lord Siva approaches Lord SubrahmaNya and requests Him to release Brahma and forgive Him. Lord Siva also questions guruguha Himself if he knows the meaning of the praNava mantra to which Lord guruguha answers that He will explain the entire meaning to Lord Siva in His ears, climbs on his lap and speaks into His ear. Since Lord SubrahmaNya teaches His own father, He is known as swAminAtha and that's how the puNya kSEtra swAmimalai near kumbakonam gets it name. Finally, He also explains the meaning to Lord Brahma, forgives Him and releases Him.

In the madhyamakAla sAhityam, dIkshitar refers to the Lord as one who is formless and beyond imagination. He also states that the way to perceive the Lord is through Patanjali's 8-fold yogic path. This eight limbs of this path are restraint and social discipline ("yama"), observance and individual discipline ("niyama"), posture ("Asana"), breath control ("prANAyAma"), sense withdrawal ("pratyahara"), concentration ("dhArana"), meditative absorption ("dhyAna") and blissful super-consciousness ("samAdi"). The first two limbs yama and niyama are once again extremely critical in the sAdhana of a yOgi. As the name suggests, yama refers to codes of conducts and it consists of 5 parts: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), AstEya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (the way of living in brahmA's perception) and aparigraha (non-covetousness). Niyama on the other hand refers to religious observances and self-discipline and consists of 5 parts, namely, Shaucha ("purity"), santOsha ("contentment"), tapas ("austerity"), svAdhyAya ("repitition of mantras and reading of scriptures") and IshvarapraNidhAna ("self-surrender to the Lord"). dIkshitar talks about the techniques in rAja yOga quite often in many of his compositions.

There are so many beautiful phrases that I could go on and on about but just to highlight a few, the special prayOgam that dIkshitar repeatedly uses in the caraNam is "spmp". He starts off the caraNam with this phrase at "nijarUpa", uses it again at "viramati" and once again as "sspmp" at "ajashikSaNa" although the three usages that I have cited have a completely different shade each time. Another prayOgam that I would like to mention is the "grgs" phrase at "harihayAdi". In addition to the already brilliant sound that this phrase has, if you replace the shabda 'ha' with 'ga', this becomes a beautiful svarAksharam too :). The madhyamakAlam is also full of some really shtud prayOgams from which one can learn a lot. Since it would anyway be futile on my part to try and explain these phrases, I request you to go to our website and listen to the krithi and just enjoy the experience :).

I guess that is pretty much it from me on this post. I can't think of anything else that I need to highlight. In my next post, I will take up the final krithi of this series, shrI guruguha mUrtE in the rAga udayaravicandrika. I will try my best to post it within a week. Till then, ciao!! :)

shrI guruguhasya dAsOham-pUrvi

2010-02-10T04:55:00.015-05:00

Looks like it is me who is playing the visiting faculty now. Only after a friend of mine mentioned it yesterday that I actually realize it has been nearly 3 months since I posted anything here. And I guess there is no point in apologizing for this long break, for it has become something that I keep doing pretty often. And since the main reason for not posting anything has been Laziness with a capital L, I can't ensure that this won't repeat :-). Sad but true. However, the break has not been that uneventful either. I spent more than a week attending concerts during the December music season in chennai and had a ball of a time sabha-hopping and gorging on good grub :-). Thanks to jayaganesan (my friend from college days), the stay at triplicane was wonderful and I even got to play cricket at 6 am in royapettah ground with the fresh morning mArgazhi winds on my face..aah, pure bliss.

Perhaps the most spectacular part of me attending this year's music season was that I got to listen to some of the veterans live for the first time in my life :); grand artists from quite a few generations before like nEdanUri mAma, Vedavalli mAmi, rAma ravi mAmi and kalpakam swAminAthan mAmi. I have also been planning on my next pilgrimage tour (yet to decide on the destination(s)) though I have been a bit cash-strapped. The other notable event of the last 2 months is that I have been blessed enough to acquire around 70 new dIkshitar compositions :-). kOti namaskArams to shri bAla shrInivAsan sir for passing on these gems. We are just 9 short of completing the collection and I am absolutely ecstatic about it. I am still in the process of getting approval from the concerned sources for uploading this set of krithis on the sangeethapriya tribute website.

Moving on to the krithi of the day, shrI guruguhasya dAsOham in rAga pUrvi set to miSra cApu is the sixth krithi of the guruguha vibhakti series composed exclusively in the sixth declension (genitive case/SashTi vibhakti). The highlight of this krithi is perhaps the clear demarcation that dIkshitar draws between the disciple and the guru. The other fascinating aspect is the way dIkshitar describes the guru as an embodiment of the shrIcakram itself. The rAga pUrvi itself is a very special bhAshAnga janyam of mAyAmALavagOwLa and the fact that dIkshitar has handled this scale in just his 6th ever composition speaks volumes about his genius. Though the rAga scale is given as the sampUrNa MMG scale, the lakshaNam details shine through in prayOgams like nsggm, sgmg and pNDp and the life of pUrvi clearly revolves around the gandAram and the niSAdam. dIkshitar, in addition to employing all these prayOgams also makes sure that he sparingly uses straight-line ascending/descending prayOgams. For eg, there is not a single srgm prayOgam in this entire krithi. Anyway, I shall move on to the pallavi with this small introduction about the rAga, which in any case can only be understood by listening to the krithi and experiencing these prayOgams.

Pallavi:

shrI guruguhasya dAsOham nOcEt cidguruguha EvAham

Meaning:

dIkshitar sings "I am the humble servant ("dAsOham") of guruguha, else ("nOcEt") I am the form ("EvAham") of guruguha himself".

In shrI vidyA, the guru is not just a concept but has well-defined role as an individual. The guru is considered the most exalted individual and he is believed to be the supreme guide to a disciple- "na gurOr adhikam tattvam". The school considers Lord Shiva as the AdinAtha, the progenitor. The three pillars of this school are mantra which represents the mind ("manas"), dEvata, the idol which represents prAna, the vital force and finally the guru who represents the disciple's one self. The guru always sits on top of the sahasrAra cakra, the thousand petaled lotus and devotion to the guru strengthens the mind and purifies it. This idea is well-established by dIkshitar in the first krithi of this series itself, shrI nAthadi guruguhO in which he sings "mAya kAryA kalanA hInO; mAmaka sahasra kamalAsInO".

However, dIkshitar clearly states on many occasions that there is advaita bhAvam with the guru and that the disciple and the guru are never the same. The disciple shares advaita bhAvam only with the supreme consciousness and not with the guru. The guru is hence that enlightened soul which initiates the disciple into contacting the supreme consciousness and helps the disciple realize his/her own essential reality (svArtha-parArtha-prakaTana parO guruH). dIkshitar once agains brings out this idea clearly in the beautiful Anandabhairavi krithi "AnandEshvarENa samrakSitOham" where he refers to his guru initiating him into realizing the guruguha rUpam within himself- "jnAna pradAna guruguha rUpa". Hence just to emphasize this, dIkshitar sings in the pallavi that he is either a servant of his guru or else he is the form of the supreme soul, guruguha himself. dIkshitar identifies himself with the supreme soul in many krithis like "cidAnanda rUpOsmi brahmAnanda rUpOsmi" once again in "AnandEshvarENa" and "saccidAnanda paripUrNabrahmAsmi" in the shankarAbharaNam kamalAmba navAvaraNam.

Also, in my post on the krithi "guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya" in sAma belonging to this same set of krithis, I had mentioned that it is the only krithi as far as I know that has two guruguha mudras. Well, I have to take that statement back because even this krithi has two guruguha mudras right in the pallavi itself :). Musically, dIkshitar straight away gets into business, chiselling pUrvi with prayOgams like "nnnsggm" at "guruguhasya" and "gmpsnpm" at "cidguruguha". Overall, even though the pallavi looks small, dIkshitar has packed quite a punch in it. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:
bhOga mOkSAtmaka caraNasya bhUpurAdi navAvaraNasya
yOgibRndAntahkaraNasya yOga pIthAdi kAranasya

Meaning:

dIkshitar describes the Lord/guru as "the one whose feet ("caraNasya") bestows enjoyment ("bhOga") and salvation ("mOkSa"). The one who is the embodiment of the 9 sheaths ("navAvaraNasya") starting with the bhUpura. The one who resides in the hearts ("antahkaraNasya") of the groups of yOgis ("yOgibRnda") and the one who is the substratum of yOga pIthAs".

The Lord (actually Goddess ambAL because it is shrI vidyA upAsana) as well as the guru are both capable of giving enjoyment and salvation. There are actually quite a few occasions where the guru has been known to show the disciple the supreme soul and give him enlightenment. If I may relate the famous incident where svAmi vivEkAnanda as a young spiritual seeker went in search of a guru, asking people around if they have seen God and if they can show him. Being unsatisfied with answers from hundreds of enlightened souls, he finally reached the noble soul rAmakrSNa paramahamsa who, upon being asked the same question touched young vivEkAnanda's third eye between the eyebrows with his finger and by passing on some of his cosmic energy immediately raised the young man's kundalini for a second and made him experience the state of samAdi. However, one should clearly understand that the guru can only show his disciple a preview of what it is to enjoy samAdi and in order to stay in nirvikalpa samAdi forever, it is ultimately the disciple who has to put in his own efforts, progress spiritually and find God for himself.

dIkshitar further pays rich tributes to the guru soul and sings in the anupallavi that beginning with the bhUpura (the outer square), the 9 layers of the shrI cakra are itself the form of the guru. This is in sync with bhAvanOpanishad which says "shrI guru sarvakAraNa bhUta shaktiHtEna navarandha rUpO dEhaH navacakra rUpam shrI cakram" which in essence says that the guru's body itself is the shrI cakram and all the yOginIs guarding each strata are identified in the guru himself.

Musically, dIkshitar begins the anupallavi with the graceful "PgMGrsnsGm" prayOgam at "bhOgamOkSAtmaka caraNasya". He further embellishes the krithi and brings out the rAga bhAva with phrases like "NsND" at "yOgibRnda" and "NrNSm" at "yOgapIthAdi". He handles the rAga so beautifully and if it was not for krithis such as this, the rAga would have been long extinct (not that it is being sung all that regularly, but still..). The caraNam goes like,
caraNam:

sanakAdi pUrvika munigaNA sannutAnanda vigrahasya
vanajabhavAdi sakalasumanO vAHncitArthAnugrahasya
jananalayAdi rUpa prapaHncAjHnAna kArya nigrahasya
manana dhyAna samAdhiniSTha mahAnubhAva hRdgRhasya
dinakarakOTi vibhAsvarasya tEjomaya jagadIshvarasya
janaraHnjanakarasya varasya sarvasmAt parasya harasya

Meaning:

dIkshitar continues to describe Him in the caraNam as " the blissful form ("Ananda vigrahasya") who was worshipped ("sannuta") by ancient ("pUrvika") sages ("munigaNa") such as sanaka etc. The one who bestows grace ("anugrahasya") and grants the desires ("vAHncitArtha") of Lord Brahma, the lotus born ("vanaja bhavAdi") and other celestials ("sakala sumanO"). The one who removes ("nigrahasya") the ignorance ("ajHnAna") associated with the universe ("prapaHnca") which has both creation and destruction ("jananalayAdi"). The one who dwells in the hearts ("hRdgRhasya") of the noble sages ("mahAnubhAva") who practice contemplation ("manana"), meditation ("dhyAna") harmony with the supreme consciousness ("samAdhi") and a consummate state ("niSTha")".

In the madhyamakAla sAhityam, dIkshitar continues to describe the Lord/guru as "the one whose brilliance shines ("vibhAsvarasya") like crores of suns ("dinakarakOTi") and the effulgent one ("tEjomaya") who is the lord of the universe ("jagadIshvarasya"). The revered one ("varasya") who delights all people ("janaraHnjanakarasya"). The one who is above everything ("sarvasmAt parasya") and the one who removes ("harasya") all sins".

The first thing that strikes the rasika about the caraNam is the adyAkshara prAsam employed while still sticking to the genetic case using words ending with "asya". When this combines with the beautiful miSra cApu, the experience is something indescribable and the caraNam is a must listen even from the musical point of view. The second thing to be noted is the pun which dIkshitar employs while incorporating the rAga mudra. Its not exactly a complete slEsha usage either..in my opinion its a semi-slEsha, if I may call it so to refer to the ancient sages as "pUrvika munigaNa" while bringing in the rAga mudra. dIkshitar once again brings in the significance of the guru in the line "jananalayAdi.." thereby highlighting a very important characteristic of the guru which is to help the disciple realize the evanescence of everything that makes up this world and hence seek something more eternal and transcendental.

Except for a brief reference to the samAdi niSTha, for a change, this is a not a typical dIkshitar type caraNam loaded with yOgic and tAntric references. It is quite simple in that aspect but he doesn't compromise on the usual grandeur that a dIkshitar krithi is filled with. Musically, the madhyamakAlam is perhaps the grandest of them all. dIkshitar has shown his complete understanding of the rAga by using swara triplets very effectively here. The way he uses the shadja, niSAda and the rishaba is marvellous. He uses the madhya and the mandira sthAyi triplet with "rrrsNs" at "dinakara kOTi" and the madhya and tAra sthAyis at "janaraHnjanakarasya" with the "ssNsrrSs" prayOgam. It gels in so beautifully that one wouldn't even realize that it is just 3 swarams being used. And the goosebumping, killer phrase is the scintillating "dpdpdm" used at "tEjomaya". The prayOgam itself is effulgent corresponding to the sAhityam :-). He rounds the krithi off with a nice, polished "ssGmGm rSn" phrase at "sarvasmAtparasya harasya" and hence re-linking smoothly with shadja take-off for the pallavi.

As I finish this post and the eve of mahAshivarAtri descends, one can only hope that the performing artistes of our times spend some time learning this masterpiece and singing it more often, if not as a main piece, at least as a decent sub-main. I sincerely pray that a rAga like pUrvi doesn't disappear into the oblivion merely due to artistes being obsessed with the same old kAmbhOjis and the bhairavis. Its not like we don't have capable artistes who can render such masterpieces. I guess many artistes don't want to come out of the old mold that has been established and of course the rasikAs are to be blamed too. Anyway that's not something to be discussed in this blog..I should probably take this to a forum like rasikas.org.

In my next post, I will take up the next krithi in this series, guruguha svAmini bhaktim karOmi in the 4th mElakarta bhAnumati. And I will promise that the next post will be published within a week's time :). Till then, happy shivarAtri..spend at least 10 mins meditating on the Lord. shrI gurubhyO namaH

rAmachandrabhaktam bhaja mAnasa!

2009-11-28T02:08:00.010-05:00

I am back to play the visiting faculty. It's the "turkey killing weekend" here in USA. So, I request all those who read this post to pray to their favorite Gods/Goddesses to grant mukti to all those millions of innocent turkeys which have been stuffed and devoured in the last few days, in the name of a "thanksgiving tradition".

Gripped by the recent mELakarta rAga exposition series being telecast on podhigai, and thanks to a samaritan (TVG)'s uploads on Sangeethapriya, I got to listen to Gayakapriya and vakuLAbharaNam a few days ago. That aroused in me, an enthusiastic urge to refurbish a rare gem that had rested deep in my memory for a long time, or so it seemed. Having refurbished the song reasonably satisfactorily over the last week and sung to a few of my very dear friends, I thought a blogpost is in order, for what is truly one of Dikshitar's MOST unique krithis (needless to say, amongst his rarest - we're yet to get hold of a recording for our tribute site).

The krithi in discussion is 'rAmachandra-bhaktam' in the rAga 'gEyahejjajji', the 13th rAgAnga rAgam, mELam, in the Dikshitar school. It is amongst the only four or five songs composed by Dikshitar on Lord AnjanEya (who's very close to my heart - being a dvaitin :P), and to my knowledge, probably the only composition of his having a swara-graham for chiTTaswarams - such is its uniqueness. More on that when I get there.

gEyahejjajji, the 13th mELam, is the Dikshitar equivalent of gAyakapriya. As per the SSP, it is a sAyankAlika rAgam, with shuddha Ri, antara Ga, shuddha Ma, shuddha Da and shuddha Ni - a vivAdi! Hence, close to heart, being the vivAdi-boy! :P . The asampoorNa mELam, as in many of the 1(mod 6) asampoorNa mELa rAgas (the geeky way of referring to the 1st rAgam of each chakram) is nishAdha-varjya (devoid of nishAdham) in the ArOhaNam. Specifically, SSP provides the ArOhaNam to be - "S R1 M1 G3 M1 P D1 S". The avarOhaNam is sampoorNam with "S N1 D1 P M1 G3 R1 S". Apparently, the "P D1 S", is to make it easy for the singer, without him/her having to accommodate the (I feel) rather troublesome and oddly located N1 in between D1 and S. However, the asampoorNattvam (incompleteness) makes manOdharmam a tight-rope walk, if ever one chooses to experiment with it!

The song is set to a rather "chuggy" Adi tALam (1 kaLai), and progresses at a quasi-madhyama kAlam pace ('chuggy' is again the right word!). A pleasure to sing in that oh-so-comfortable pace - that of calmness and quietude. In some sense, it befits the deity in whose praise the song is! Lord AnjanEya is known for his 'jitEndriyattva' - conquer over sensory perceptions, and has been portrayed in the purANas to be forever calm, stoic and humble, and subservient to his master, Lord rAma.

|| Pallavi ||
rAmachandra-bhaktam bhaja mAnasa!
rAkShasAntakam, hanUmantam, shrI ...

O mind (mAnasa), sing in praise (bhaja) of the foremost devotee of Lord rAmachandra (rAmachandra-bhaktam), the one who vanquishes evil (rAkShasAntakam), the one with a swollen chin (hanUmantam) .....

A superb way to introduce AnjanEya! "rAmachandra-bhaktam"! The perfect adjective, I'd say - what with AnjanEya being certainly the foremost amongs t the devotees of Lord rAmachandra! Dikshitar probably uses "rAmachandra bhaktam" in the more complete sense of "THE devotee of rAmachandra". It is like, say, the usage "geetA" to refer to bhagavadgeeta, or say "bhAratam" to refer to mahAbhAratam, or, in Vaishnavaite school, "sahasranAmam" to refer to "ViShNu-sahasranAmam". I've also seen Sanskrit scholars referring to "amarakOsha" as simply "kOsha". It kinda seems plenty to just refer to AnjanEya as "rAmachandra bhaktam"(in a similar vein as the above), with his "first-in-line" far ahead of all else obviating from the very reference! Well, Lord Rama himself praises hanUmAn to the skies in the 1st sarga of the yuddha-kANDam (see here)

Also, the term "hanUmAn", has been dealt with in paurANic interpretation to qualify AnjanEya as "the knower of all divine knowledge". The term "hanu" refers to "knowledge". This is a valid interpretation, given the shlOkam in 28th shlOkam of the 3rd sarga of the kiShkindAkANDam of rAmAyaNam - "nAnR^igvEda-vineetasya na ayajurvEdadhAriNaH ...." (see here) which goes on to describe hanUmAn as knowing all four vEdAs perfectly (in addition to other attributes). Lord rAma goes on to describe the impeccability of hanUmAn! In fact, it is said that 'hanUmAn' is still chanting the vEdAs and the brahmasUtras in kimpuruSha khaNDa to this date!

In the view of the above, the pallavi seems to be more than an enough description of the Lord AnjanEya.

The swarasthAnams in the pallavI are very interesting, and needless to say, extremely apt for the meaning. As mentioned earlier, the dominant rasa is 'shAnta' rasa - the 'emotion' of peace, notwithstanding, the tinge of 'uncertainty/fear' that 'shuddha niShAdha' is capable of adding. In the pallavi herein, the N1 appears in the mandram alone and contributes wholeheartedly to the lovely wave of peace that the rest of the pallavi brings about. I particularly love the 'flat' gAndhAram in 'rAkShasAntakam', that brings in a feeling of 'assurance' of hanumAn as the destroyer of all evil and hence keeping us safe. The phrase hanUmantam, ends the pallavi on a serious note with the G3 and M1 dominating.

|| samaShTI charaNam ||
AmishIkR^ita-divAkaram, gEyahejjajji-rAga-preetikaram
|MK| sAma-dAna-bhEda-daNDa-chaturam, sad-guruguha-sammOditam, varam ....

The one who attempted to gobble up the sun (AmishIkR^ita-divAkaram), the one who loves/can be loved by the rAga gEyahejjajji (gEyahejjajji-rAga-preetikaram), the one who is adept at sAma, dAna, bhEda, daNDa (to uplift beings) (sAma-dAna-bhEda-daNDa-chaturam), the one who brings pleasure to guruguha (by blessing him) (sad-guruguha-sammOditam), the respectable (varam).

A s such, the reference to the his gobbling up of the sun, can denote at least two things - (i) the famous, actual event, (ii) the fact that AnjanEya is more knowledgeable and hence brighter than the sun. I am unaware if the term 'gEyahejjajji' means something deeper. Anyone with an idea of the same should kindly add a note on that.

The charaNam starts with a 'tasty' "D, N D, PM", setting the tone for a beautiful charaNam. The lovely swaram for divAkaram as "D P, M G," really energizes me. That G, halt is SO wonderful! gEya starts off as 'M G M', in the last beat of the AditALam of the first Avartanam, adding beautiful variety in the laya pattern for the song. preetikaram comes as P D, D S , - the platform is very well set for the tArasthAyi.

"sA-ma" in the madhyama kAlam starts as a 'swarasAhityam' (sA ma). dAna uses G, R. The usage S, N N, D for bhEda daNDa, in concordance with the meter adds excellent symmetry between the swara and sAhitya, that which is preserved for the rest of the madhyamakAlam. The usage S, M G, R G M for sammOditam varam is a beautiful lead to the chittaswara, which is the most unique feature of this song!

Swara-graha :
The swara, in stead of the sAhitya, has a madhyama-graha of the swara, i.e., P is sung as the madhyama graha swara S. Sa as Ma, Ma as Ni etc. The swara S is sung at the position Pa, in the 'actual' shruti, but would be 'Sa' in the madhyama graha shruti. For example, for a singer singing at 1, Pa would be Sa in the madhyama graha of 1, which is 5. I know that this is a musicological idea, but I am unaware of the science, rules and the ramifications of this idea. Again, knowledgeable people should help me here.

Swara - P, P M G R R M G G R G R R S | S , N, D P D | S , S R M , G M ||
Graha - S, S N D P P N D D P D P P M | M , G , R S R | M, M P N, D N ||

Swara - P M G R S , N D P D S, R M G R | S , N, D P P , | M , G R S M G M ||
Graha - S N D P M , G R S R M, P N D P | M , G , R S S, | N, D P M N D N ||

Words fail me here to describe the genius of the nAdajyOti! Who else could think of SUCH a chittaswaram, whose graham is beautiful AND complicated at the same time. Needless to say, this would challenge the singer quite a lot, especially if the swara and graham are sung interchangeably! A novel concept! Beauty non-pareil, brought out even in an asampoorNa vivAdi mELam!

As I mentioned earlier, I seek further enlightenment on this graham aspect of it. But as a layman, this is astounding stuff. The mood I see in the tempo and effulgence of the swaram and its graham, is that of a troubled stream torn up in two opposite directions of confusion, so typical of samsAra, seeking refuge in AnjanEya, the one who is free from worldly attachments.

On a side note, as a dvaitin, I am also VERY tempted to argue that the "reflection" (actually translation, speaking strictly) of the swara to yield its 'graha', denotes the 'image-reflection' (bimba-pratibimba) nature of rAmachandra and his bhakta, AnjanEya - a kind perennial master-slave relationship, if you will! IShAvAsyOpaniShat says - tamEva bhAntam anubhAti sarvam, tasya bhAsA sarvam idam vibhAti - It is following Him, the self-shining supreme, that all shines (dependently). It is because of his shine that all else shines. The swara-graham, somehow, for me awakens and underlines in me, those golden words of the IshAvAsyOpaniShat. I may be extrapolating, but that's just what I feel. Opinions may differ!

In all, this song comes about a beautiful treatise on a very unheard, undealt with rAga. It is prudent to point out here, the genius of the vAggEyakAras who bring out different emotions with the same swarams. While Dikshitar exploits the asampoorNa mELam effectively to produce 'shAnta' rasa, peace, shyAmAshAstrI uses the same notes in kalgaDa (pArvati ninnu) to convey a sense of distress, fear and appeal for refuge in the divine Goddess.

Evidently, all we, as mere mortals, can do, is pray to such divine demigods to grant us more bhakti in AnjAnEya, and his master, Lord rAma.

rAmachandra-bhaktam bhaja mAnasa......hanUmantam SrI....

guruguhAd anyam na jAnEham - balahamsA

2009-09-10T11:12:00.025-05:00

I started writing this post on 10th September (as the date above indicates) and today is the 30th of November :(. I have not been able to post anything for the past 2 months because of some "logistic issues". My laptop blew its motherboard and it took over 40 days of ping-ponging between the computer repair guys and finally, my laptop is now running on a factory-refurbished motherboard (which I sincerely hope will not give me any more troubles for at least one more year). We also changed over from one internet plan to another and hence I have been stuck in cyber-graveyard (as my friend Srividya Angara termed it) for nearly 2 months now. Further, I have also been a bit busy preparing for a few exams I am taking in the next 10 to 15 days. My unsuccessful job hunt has come to a grinding halt, I feel pretty much lost and tired and I don't know what I am going to do next. I have to admit that the fears of a premature end to my professional career have been looming large, especially for the last 2 months or so.

Anyway, on a more cheerful note, I went on a nice trip with my cousins to a few places of attraction around 150 kms from Bangalore. First we went to the rAmapramEya swAmi temple in DoddamAlUr. The kSEtra is famous for the sannidhi of baby Lord Krishna crawling on his palms and knees and overwhelmed by this sight, shrI PurandaradAsa composed the beautiful krithi "jagadOdAraNa" in kApi. We then proceeded to TalakkAd, a nice hangout spot on the banks of kAvEri river where we dived into the river to cool off a bit :). The final stop for the day was Somnathpura which is home to an archaeological masterpiece, the kESava temple built by hOysAla kings in 12th century A.D. The artwork and sculptures were absolutely mesmerizing to say the least and we spent a good few hours just roaming around the temple with our eyes and jaws wide open in wonder. You may want to check out the pictures of this trip here. Other than that, life has been pretty peaceful with music and meditation as usual :).

Moving on to the krithi that I will be taking up today, it was out of pure curiosity that I actually ventured into listening to this krithi and understanding it. Probably around 1.5 years ago, while Hari (close friend and guru) and I were chatting on skype as usual, he mentioned this krithi is amazing and sang the pallavi for me. We were both a bit perplexed because we had not listened to anything in balahamsa and the scale sounded just like the kEdAragouLa-nArAyaNagouLa genre. I had just then learnt "mAmava raghuvIra" in mAhuri and that added further to my confusion for its based on pretty much the same scale :). To clear all this confusion, I sat down with our faithful SSP and spent time seeing how the gamakAs and distinguishing phrases work for these rAgas. After listening to the krithi a few times and the other sancAris in the SSP, I could finally get a decent picture of this beautiful rAga. balahamsa, classified as an upAnga janya of harikEdAragouLa (28th mELa) has "srgmpdS-Sndpmgrs" scale (though that doesn't help anyone at all). It is one of those really tough phrase based rAgas that I have come across and phrases like "srgmpmr" and "rsnpds" centered around the rishabha as jIva swara gives this rAga its unique flavor.

Unfortunately, the confusion comes in because one does not find the "srgm" phrase neither in this krithi nor in the gItams/tAna varNams in the SSP. It is always phrases like "srmp" or "srmgrr" which are repeatedly used and this gives a clear kEdAragouLa effect. Well, I guess listening to the krithi probably gives an OK idea of the rAga..probably we should request SRJ mama to elaborate on rAgas such as this and mAhuri to help us understand better. Enough about the rAga, moving on to the krithi now, dIkshitar exclusively uses the panCami vibhakti (fifth/ablative case) to beautifully continue the Lord/guru theme while employing a rare rAga. The fact that dIkshitar uses a rAga such as balahamsa in only his 5th composition ever speaks volumes about the great genius. The pallavi goes like,

Pallavi:

guruguhAd anyam na jAnEham
guptAgamArta tatva prabOdhinO

Meaning:

dIkshitar confesses "I know ("jAnEham") of none other than ("anyam na") guruguha, the one who taught and brought to light ("prabOdhinO") the esoteric, hidden ("gupta") meanings ("arta") and principles ("tatva") of the Agamas".

The first thing I noticed after going through the krithi was that dIkshitar seems to have dwelled in a slightly higher meditative realm than the first four krithis of this series..atleast, thats how I felt. Also, one can notice that he successfully manages to further erase that thin line of demarcation between the Lord and the guru. In the pallavi itself, he extols the Lord/guru by addressing them as perhaps the most knowledgeable people he has come across. He clearly makes use of the tale in which Lord SubrahmaNya teaches his own father Lord Shiva and thereby highlights the AchArya amsha of the Lord. And if you see from a disciple's view point too, it is the guru who unravels the mysteries of the sacred texts and enlightens the student about the shAstrAs.

The Agamas are basically sacred texts giving details of certain techniques and modes of worship of Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu. Each Agama consist of 4 parts. The first part deals with philosophy and spiritual aspects. The second part usually talks about yogic techniques for controlling the mind and senses. The third part extensively deals with rules that need to be followed for construction of temples and sculpting idols and statues. The final part talks about rules one needs to observe while performing rituals and other ceremonies. So, dIkshitar clearly chalks out the idea behind this krithi while he attributes the "dispeller of ignorance" status to the Lord and the guru simultaneously.

Coming to the musical aspects, dIkshitar kick-starts the composition with the "srmp mgrr" phrase at "guruguhAd anyam" followed by the beautiful "rpmgrsr" phrase at "tatva prabO"dinO. We can also observe that he primarily deals with ArOhaNa phrases in both madhya and mandira stAyis and hence does not employ the niSAdam in the pallavi at all. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

aruNOdayAnanda kOti braHmANDAkAra-
SivAdidharAnta tatva svarUpiNO

Meaning:

dIkshitar describes the Lord/guru as "the embodiment of ("svarUpiNO") thatness ("tatva") which pervades everything beginning from Lord Shiva ("SivAdi") and ending with the manifested worlds ("dharAnta") and the one whose form ("AkAra") is as resplendent as sunrise ("aruNOdaya") happening in crores of universe ("kOti braHmANDa") at the same time".

dIkshitar clearly shows his inclination to advaita vEdAnta in these lines of the anupallavi. He takes the Lord/guru theme to a new high when he describes the Lord as the embodiment of that universal truth which pervades everything right from the supreme consciousness (Shiva) to all the creations in this world and beyond, a clear allusion to the jivAtma-paramAtma concept. The guru too becomes a representation of that universal truth/consciousness which a disciple wishes to reach through continuous God-union and having attained a divine high position, the guru too resonates with the supreme consciousness and traverses everything from that paramAtma to individual jIvAtmas. dIkshitar further compares the resplendent form to the lustre of crores of sunrises. It makes me wonder as to the high levels of consciousness which dIkshitar must have ascended in order to give such a wonderful description.

Musically, in my opinion, it is this anupallavi which dIkshitar uses as a wonderful platform to completely exploit and milk the beauty of this rAga in its entirety. The anupallavi starts off with my most favourite phrase in this krithi, "mgRpM" at "aruNOdaya" followed by a simple yet compelling "PDPDS" phrase at "kOTi brahmANDa". He then smoothly slips into the tAra sthAyi and employs the "rgrsn" phrase at "AkAra SivA"di and by this time, dIkshitar has completely differentiated balahamsa from kEdAragowLa. And he hits the final nail in the coffin when he uses the killer phrase "mGrmggr" to finish the anupallavi. If someone wants to really get a good picture of this rAga, it is this anupallavi where one should start..just brilliant!! If the rasikA has still not had enough (in the good sense :)), the caraNam that ensues is a real treat. Oh, and here I must make a small mention about tyAgarAja swAmi's compostion "daNDamu peTTedanurA" in balahamsa. There are many striking similarities in the way the two geniuses have handled this delicate rAga starting with the strange coincidence (?) of tyAgarAja swAmi using the word "brahmANDa" in the anupallavi when he describes Lord Rama as brahmANDa nAyaka.

The fact that thyAgarAja has composed 2 krithis (incl ika gAvalasina) in this rAga and that dIkshitar has composed a major krithi in the guruguha vibhakti series clearly shows that balahamsa was quite a popular rAga in the good old times. Unfortunately, many such gems seem to have vanished into the horizon over time thanks to our excessive indulgence in the same old kAmbhOjis, bhairavIs and tODIs :(. Atleast for the sake of pains taken by these majestic composers, I sincerely hope some of the qualified musicians perform a balahamsa or a ghaNTA more frequently. Anyway, moving on to the caraNam,

caraNam:

sahasradaLa sarasija-madhya nivAsinaH
sakala candra bhAskara tEjaH prAkASinaH
sahajAnandastitha dAsa viSvAsinaH
saccit-sukhAtmaka viSvavilAsinO
aharahaH prabalahamsa prakASAtmanO
daharavidyA pradAyaka paramAtmanO
jahad-ajahallakSaNayA jIvaikyAtmanO
rahaHpujIta cidAnandAtmanO

Meaning:

dIkshithar continues to describe the Lord as "the one who resides ("nivAsinaH") in the middle ("madhya") of the thousand-petalled ("sahasradaLa") lotus ("sarasija"). The one who gives light ("tEjaH prakASinaH") to the suns ("bhAskara") and moons ("candra") of all the different worlds ("sakaLa"). The one who expresses faith ("viSvAsinaH") in those devotees ("dAsa") who are established ("stitha") in the bliss of sahaja ("sahajAnanda"). The one who manifests ("vilAsinO") in this world ("viSva") as truth, consciousness and bliss ("saccit-sukha")".

dIkshitar continues to waltz through the madhyamakAla sAhityam describing the Lord as "the one who again and again ("aharaha") reveals the form of the effulgent self ("prakAsAtmanO") to the famous ("prabala") yogis. The supreme soul ("paramAtmanO") who bestows ("pradAyaka") knowledge of dahara vidyA. The one who reveals the harmonious union of the individual soul with the supreme soul ("jIva+ikyAtmanO") through jahal and ajahal lakshanas. The one who is the form of cidAnanda, who is to be worshipped ("pUjita") in seclusion of the soul and by performing esoteric rituals ("rahaH")".

In typical dIkshitar-ish caraNam style, he directly jumps into the yogic aspects and further establishes the idea and the importance of a guru in a soul's spiritual progress. dIkshitar once again shows the meditative realm in which he exists by clearly describing his spiritual experiences in the caraNam. He describes the Lord as the one who dwells in the sahasrAra cakra and as the one who loves His devotees and their unconditional love. And simultaneously he weaves this magical fabric by employing phrases like "snpds" at "sakaLa candra" and "rgsr" at "prakASinO". It is with phrases such as this that dIkshitar brings out the jIva riSabha beautifully. He choreographs the ending of each line in the caraNam with delicate precision as he continues to employ some eye-popping phrases like "Spdnp"..amazing brilliance yet again from the genius. You can easily see that I have run out adjectives a long time back :P.

The madhyamakAla sAhityam is a stroke of genius once again. How else can you explain the way he embeds the rAga mudra balahamsa as prabalahamsa without distorting the meaning? Infact, he sort of kills 2 birds in 1 stone as he brings in the "famous swan" to emphasize the advaita relevance. dIkshitar continues to incorporate upanishadic references. He mentions dahara vidyA, one of the 32 vidyAs mentioned in the upanishads through which a soul can attain brahman. When one practises any of these 32 vidyAs, he/she perceives the brahman with certain qualities and attributes highlighted. For eg, chhAndokya upanishad describes the brahman as "the imperceptible ether within the heart" and this upanishad along with brihadAranyaka upanishad specifically dwells on characteristics of dahara vidyA.

dIkshitar then uses vEdAnta paribhAsha when he refers to jahallakSaNa and ajahalakSaNa in order to further establish the advaita philosophy of union of the supreme soul and the individual soul. vEdAnta paribhAsha is basically a treatise which discusses the origin, nature and validity of the knowledge as expressed in advaita vEdAnta. So, it basically is in-depth grammar. In short, the relationship between a word and its meaning is called vritti and is classified as either Sakti vritti and lakSaNa vritti. Sakti vritti as the name indicates refers to those relationships (between a word and its meaning) which can directly generate knowledge of the meaning of the word and the resulting meaning is called vAchyArtha. With the help of this vAchyArtha (direct meaning), we can derive implied meanings called as lakSaNa vritti.

This lakSaNa vritti is further classified as jahallakSaNa, ajahallakSaNa and jahadajahalakSaNa/bhagatyagalakSaNa. Since this post has already gone way beyond readable, digestible length, I request the readers to click here to understand these concepts in depth explained with clear examples. Musically, the madhyamakAla dispels the idea that this is a slow rAga. With audacious phrases such as "srgrgr" at "prakASAtmanO" and "pSpmgr" at "rahaHpUjita", dIkshitar beautifully captures the essence of the rAga and sort of gives a complete picture of this "rare" rAga. To further emphasize the delicate structure of the scale, dIkshitar caps it off with an awesome citta swara section. I have always felt that I am not good at notating (esp with the tools available in this blogspot) and thats why I abstain from posting citta swarams. And when you have a magnum opus such as the SSP which gives clear distinct notations, why should I bother. I request the readers to kindly look into the SSP and follow the citta swarams (please do check it out..shtud it is).

Sorry for being in a kind of hurry to finish this post (too long already as I mentioned above). Finally, I once again request all performing artists who grace this blogspace to learn this krithi and perform on stage and popularize this beautiful piece. Such gems should be cherished for our future generations and should not disappear into the dead. I shall next take up "shrI guruguhasya dAsOham" in pUrvi and continue with this vibhakti series. Till then, keep listening and have fun :). Salutations to the great gurus!!

guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya-sAma

2009-08-05T09:06:00.010-05:00

The last few weeks have been a bit rough. It started off well with a wonderful concert of Sanjay sir. His RTP in nIlamaNi was an invigorating experience, especially with respect to laya aspects. The ease with which he changed nadais in the pallavi between trishram, chaturashram and khaNDa served truly as a lesson in pallavi singing. A few days after the concert however, I fell ill with severe stomach pain. After lab tests, it was finally diagnosed as gastritis, allevating my mother's fears that it might something serious like jaundice. To actually tell the truth, I havent recovered completely from it and I still feel a bit weak. On the professional front also, I haven't got a break yet. After 10 long months of sitting at home, I have pretty much given up hopes that I will find that elusive dream job. After much contemplation, I have started applying for some Ph.D openings in Europe. From the way things are going, I guess I will go back to school once again. On the brighter side of things, it was nice to celebrate Krishna Jayanthi at home after a long time. Also, I got to meet Mr. Thiagarajan sir, a fellow music rasika and an online friend from orkut and from this blogspot. It was a pleasure spending those few hours with him and listening to his wife producing divine music on her veena.

Coming to the krithi that I will be taking up today, guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya in sAma set to Adi tALam is composed exclusively in the caturthi vibhakti (fourth/dative case). The manner in which dIkshitar addresses the Lord as "kumArAya" in the pallavi melts ones heart. The pallavi goes like,

Pallavi:

guru guhAya bhaktAnugrahAya kumArAya namO namastE

Meaning:

dIkshitar sings "I offer sincere prostrations ("namO namastE") to guruguha, the one who bestows grace ("anugrahAya") upon His devotees ("bhakta"), the ever youthful one ("kumArAya")."

dIkshitar starts off with that hanging deivata note that straight away rings bells in your brain to qualify the status of this composition as a masterpiece in this raga. He neatly captures the entire essence of the raga by employing the "s R r" phrase at "anugrahAya" followed by the "dsrmgr" phrase at "kumAraya". Other than that, there is nothing much to explain about the pallavi. The simplicity of the pallavi encourages musicians to embellish and improvise with their own sangathis and over a period of time, the pallavi of this krithi has undergone some transformation with additional sangathis. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

guru guhAya bhaktAnugrahAya guNAtItAya rUparahitAya
hariharavirinci rUpAya saccidAnanda svarUpAya SivAya

Meaning:

dIkshitar describes the Lord as "the one who has transcended ("atItAya") all the qualities ("guNa"), i.e, satva, rajas and tamas. The formless one ("rUparahitAya") and the one who is an embodiment of viSNu-Siva-Brahma ("hariharavirinci") all rolled into one. The one whose natural self ("svarUpAya") is truth-consciousness-bliss ("saccidAnanda") and the one who is the ever auspicious consciousness ("SivAya")."

As far as I know, this is the only dIkshitar krithi in which he uses the guruguha mudra twice. Though, lyrically I cant quite figure out why he uses it in the same context, conveying the same meaning in both the pallavi and anupallavi, musically, dIkshitar clearly justifies the usage. Just like how he uses the sAhityam "guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya" in the pallavi to capture the beauty of the avarOhaNa prayOga of "dpmgrsRr", he uses the same sAhityam to exhibit the majestic ArOhaNa prayOga of "srmPpDPM". One might argue that dIkshitar could have used a different set of words all together but I feel that the very fact that he uses the same sAhityam to incorporate two different kramAs not only shows his genius but also the flexibility of this rAga sAma which surprisingly is an extremely classical and traditional rAga believed to have originated from the songs and hymns sung in villages.

dIkshitar once again emphasizes the advaita doctrine by describing the Lord as the embodiment of hari,hara and virinci all combined. It is extremely clear that dIkshitar was a strict advaitin in the fact that irrespective of whether it was his beloved Lord guruguha or Goddess Shakti, the principal deity of shrI vidya upAsana, there are many instances in which he sees the divine supreme consciousness. There are quite a few instances such as the reference in this krithi and the bhairavi navAvarNam in which he describes Goddess kamalAmba as "shrIkaNTa-viSNu-virincAdi-jananyitrAyAH" for instance to reinforce this belief. To further establish the supreme state of bliss in which dIkshitar was meditating, he describes the Lord as a unified consciousness whose natural self shines forth as saccidAnanda. Wow..now, thats what I call a brilliant anupallavi in which dIkshitar explains a massive concept such as advaita in very few words. And to do something like this in just his fourth ever composition clearly shows that dIkshitar was a phenomenol genius. The final master stroke perhaps comes at "SivAya" where he uses "srmm" to further embellish the anupallavi and grant it what I call "superstar status" :).

caraNam:

sakalAgama mantra sAragnyAya satsampradAya sarvagnyAya
sakaLaniSkaLa prakASakAya sAmarasya sampradAyakAya
vikaLEbhara kaivalya dAnAya vikalpahInAya vignyAnAya
SukavAmadEva vandita padAya SukavAmadEva mukti pradAya

Meaning:

dIkshitar continues to pay rich tributes to the Lord by describing Him as "the essence ("sAragnyAya") of all Agamas and mantras. The one who is omniscient ("sarvagnyAya") and who is well-versed in the path of noble traditions ("satsampradAya"). The one whose resplendence ("prakASakAya") is the cause of existence of all sentient and insentient matter ("sakaLa niSkaLa") in this universe. The one who is knowledgeable in the doctrine ("sampradAyakAya") of sAmarasa (the unity of Shakti and Siva). The one who is the embodiment of knowledge ("vignyAnAya") and the one who bestows ("dAnAya") vidEha mukti, i.e, liberation from the body ("vikaLEbhara kaivalya"). The one whose feet ("padAya") were worshipped by ("vandita") sages Sukha and vAmadEva and the one who granted liberation ("mukti pradAya") to them."

In the caraNam, dIkshitar pretty much describes Lord guruguha as the supreme soul residing in all creations, living and non-living. Here, he once agains uses adjectives and descriptions that could be in reference to his guru as well as the Lord himself. There are some descriptions such as "satsampradAya" and "sAmarasya sampradAyakAya" which would more aptly suit the guru. Ofcourse, the same words can indeed be used to describe the Lord Himself since the guru himself is a subset of the Lord :). Perhaps the highlight of the caraNam is the way in which dIkshitar uses the rAga mudra by referring to the yogic path of sAmarasa. In his own inimitable style, he embeds the rAga mudra not only without disturbing the flow of the krithi but by conveying a doctrine which clearly expresses the emotions he was going through. Those unique blissful experiences a yogi visualizes when the kundalini shakti moves through the cakras and reaches the sahasrAra- these experiences are granted and governed rightly by guruguha (the Lord as well as the guru).

As we move into the madhyamakAla sAhityam, dIkshitar portrays the Lord/guru as the path and ultimate destination that grant mukti. I also fail to understand why dIkshitar uses the names of the sages Shuka and vAmadEva twice in the last lines of the caraNam. There seem to be quite a few repetitions in this krithi from the beginning to the end, the reason to which eludes me. Musically, there are many beautiful phrases in the caraNam that delights the rasika. The "sdSr" opening for the caraNam followed by prayOgams such as "dpdMdD" at "sakaLaniSkaLa" and "sdpmMggrR" at "sAmarasya sampradAyakAya" are not only pleasing to the ear but also helpful for learners to grasp the subtleties of the rAga. The madhyamakAla sAhityam is pure bliss to listen to. Especially, the 4-2-2 akshara split of Adi tALam in the madhyamakAla creates a rich, majestic gait. And as a final measure to establish the clear usages, dIkshitar has appended a beautiful citta swaram to this krithi which unfortunately has got lost over time and has disappeared pretty much. He embellishes the swarams with jArus and janta prayOgams in sync with the pattern he follows in the madhyamakAla sAhityam. All-in-all, this krithi is yet another masterpiece that adds more beauty to this already mind-blowing set of krithis.

In my next post, I will take up "guruguhAd anyam na jAnEham" in balahamsA which in my opinion is a kind of a trendsetter krithi in many aspects. Until we meet again, ciao!!

shrI gurunA pAlitOsmi - pADi

2009-07-23T07:22:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to publish this post for the last two weeks but unfortunately there was a huge line fault in my locality and I did not have access to the internet for nearly 10 days. Finally after fighting with the BSNL employees, the internet connection was restored yesterday. Also, in the last 34 days, I have had 4 trips to Chennai and 1 trip to yercaud. Looks like I am regaining my old REC form when I used to travel pretty much every weekend from my college in trichy to my house in Chennai :). In my last 2 trips to Chennai, I have been able to meet two of my dearest friends for the first time. I met Maythini Sridharan (Ms.pink :)) at Kapaleeshwarar temple on July 7th and spent a memorable few hours with her :). Somehow, we both did not feel like it was a first meeting at all and she was cho chweet just like her usual self (I know you are reading this Maythi :)). And then, at flute Ramani sir's concert, I got to meet Bhaand a.k.a Bharathwaj who has over the years perhaps become the most popular rasika in the carnatic music circles :). And I got to meet him for the second time a few days back at Ramakrishnan Murthy's concert. Other than the fact that Ram did not sing any dIkshitar krithis in that concert(and he has a valid reason for it too as was later explained to me by Prasanna and Bhaand), I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 hours and got this feeling that he is going to be the next big thing in the CM field. I guess a more apt name for him would be Rama"nAd"krishnan Murthy :). Anyway, I am extremely happy that I have met quite a few members of our beloved nAdOpAsana gumbal. I still have a few more of the junta to meet and I am sure I will get there soon :).

It looks like many of my friends are getting married/engaged in batches over the next 4 or 5 months. So, I guess I still have atleast half a dozen trips to Chennai left in this year. I had a weird dream a week back in which I was at Vaitheeswaran kovil. In that dream, I was walking around the prAkAram, I came to the angAraka sannidhi and saw an image of dIkshitar with his veena sculpted above the Sannidhi(though in reality, there is no image of dIkshitar here). Looks like another trip to the kumbakonam belt seems probable :). Coming to the krithi I am planning to take up today, shrI gurunA pAlitOsmi in rAga pAdi set to rUpaka tALa and composed exclusively in tritIyA vibhakti (Instrumental case), one can clearly see the genius of dIkshitar unfold as he handles a pretty uncommon rAga such as pADi. Characteristic phrases such as "dpmrs" and "pdpns" are quite frequently used throughout the krithi and dIkshitar manages to capture the identity of the rAga in its entirety. Also, the spiritual progress and experiences of dIkshitar comes to the forefront. The kriti goes like,

Pallavi:

shrI gurunA pAlitOsmi
saccidAnanda nAthEna

Meaning:

dIkshitar sings "I am protected by ("pAlitOsmi") the auspicious ("shrI") guru, the one who is the ruler/embodiment ("nAthEna") of truth-consciousness-bliss ("sat-cit-Ananda")."

In the pallavi itself, dIkshitar firmly establishes the fact that Lord SubrahmaNya is perhaps the most ideal guru for He is known to have taught His father, Lord Shiva, meaning of praNava mantra. Once again, dIkshitar is completely justified here in taking such a Lord who dwells in knowledge and consciousness as his own guru. He starts off with the deivatham and incorporates the characteristic phrases of "dpmrs" followed by "pdpns" at "shrI gurunA" and "pAlitOsmi" respectively. The highlight of the pallavi is the rAga mudra at "pAli"tOsmi (la and Da and interchangeable). As I mentioned before, this set of krithi is something special for any dIkshitar bhakta simply because of the fact that one can clearly see how dIkshitar progresses as a composer, as a yogi and as a bhakta :). Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

AgamAdi sannutEna akhila viSva vanditEna
tyAgarAja vibhAtEna tApatrayAtitEna

Meaning:

dIkshitar describes the Lord/guru as "the one praised by ("sannutEna") the Agamas and worshipped by ("vanditEna") all the worlds ("akhila viSva"). The one who shines ("vibhAtEna") because of Lord tyAgarAja. The one who is beyond ("atItEna") the three mental afflictions ("tApatraya")."

The greatest beauty of this set of krithis is perhaps the intricate way in which dIkshitar salutes both his guru as well as the Lord, a perfect example of "One stone, two birds". Ofcourse there are times when he hits even 4 or 5 birds with 1 stone :). For eg, here in the anupallavi, he refers to the Lord as one who is praised by the Agamas. Agamas are aspects described in the vedas which deal with rituals and their importance. These rituals in the vedas were originally conceived by the great sages(gurus themselves) in the first place and hence the Lord/guru by the virtue of being praised by other gurus attains a "super guru" kind of status. He further establishes this fact by bringing in the "swAminatha" amSa of Lord guruguha when he defines the Lord as "the one who shines because of Lord tyAgarAja". Also, if one assumes the other meaning of vibhAta which is "to respect", Lord Shiva will obviously have a lot of respect for both Lord SubrahmaNya as well as any enlightened guru and here dIkshitar scores yet again.

And he finishes the anupallavi by highlighting once again that by ardently following the guru, a yogi can become one with the supreme consciousness who is beyond the three afflictions of tApa namely AdyAtmika (physical and mental pains), Adibautika (pains caused by other animate and inanimate objects in this world) and Adideivika (supernatural interruptions by spirits existing beyond this plane). Musically, the plain panchama start for the anupallavi creates a serene platform on which dIkshitar builds a beautiful edifice with phrases like "Rssnp" and "RmPp" at "sannutEna" and "vanditEna" respectively. The beautiful "dpmrmp" phrase at the end of the anupallavi serves as a nice loop back to the pallavi. Moving on to the caraNam,

caraNam:

vEdAntArtha vEdyEna vikalpa rOga vaidyEna
nAdAmrta supAdyEna nava nAthEnAdyEna
sAdAkhya kalA karENa sadASivAvatArENa
nAdAnta vihArENa nava cakrAdhArENa
pAdAmbujEna parENa bhEdAdi vidArENa
Adiguruguha varENa kAdi matAnusArENa

Meaning:

dIkshitar continues to describe the significance of the Lord/guru as "the one who has completely understood ("vEdyEna") the inner meaning of the vEdas ("vEdAnta artha"). The one who cures ("vaidyEna") the disease ("rOga") of confusion in the mind ("vikalpa"). The one who rejoices drinking ("supAdyEna") the sweet nectar of nAda ("nAdAmrta"). The one who is an embodiment of the nine ("nava") nAthas since "The beginning" ("adhyEna"). The complete one who represents the sAdAkhya kala. The incarnation of ("avatArENa") SadaSiva, the eternal supreme consciousness. The one who resides ("vihArENa") in the very essence ("anta") of nAda. The one who forms the basis of the 9 cakras of the shrIcakra. The supreme one ("parENa") with lotus-like feet ("padAmbujEna") and the one who removes/destroys ("vidArENa") all discriminations ("bhEdAdi"). The distinguished guha who is the first ("Adi") guru and the one who followed ("anusArENa") the path of kAdi mata."

In the caraNam, one can clearly see the prAsam revolving around the "Ena" and "ENa" scheme. Also, what stands out in the caraNam are places where dIkshitar clearly differentiates between descriptions attributed to the Lord and those attributed to the guru. There are descriptions such as "the one who is an incarnation of SadaSiva, the one who is an embodiment of the nine nAthas" etc which clearly are descriptions of the Lord. There are other descriptions like "the one who cures the disease of mental delusions" etc which are more appropriate if associated with the guru. Ofcourse, the very essence of this set of krithis is to see the Lord as the supreme consciousness (the goal/final destination itself) as well as the guru (the path/the guide) and to illustrate the fact that dIkshitar has achieved this harmony perfectly, I am trying to separate the two attributes to make things clear. In order to preserve that harmony in my explanation too, I guess I will refrain from further dissociation of the meaning implied. Finally, to perhaps imply what I just meant, dIkshitar himself describes the Lord "as the guha who is the first guru" @ "Adi guru guha varENa". This one line, IMHO, summarizes the theme of this set of krithis brilliantly.

The navanAthas referred to here could either be the 9 elements based on which this universe was created. It could also be a reference to the sect of 9 saints who are believed to have come in a lineage starting from dattAtrEya. I am not very sure of which one of these interpretations to take. The Shakti path of worship is also beautifully interwoven in this krithi as dIkshitar refers to the Lord/guru as the embodiment of sAdAkhya kala and the one who follows the kAdi mata path. The practice ("mata") of kAdi is quite symbolic throughout this series of krithis and this path is considered one of the highest matas in principle. The yogic import of sAdAkhya kala is something which I dont want to delve in as it could get too complicated and boring and eventually this post will become too long hence losing its punch. In a nutshell, the sahasrAra cakra is the principal center of worship for samayins and the bindu at the center of the sahasrAra is the sAdAkhya kala and it symbolizes the union of Shiva and Shakti. This samaya worship is brought to the forefront in this krithi by dIkshitar.

As I conclude this post, I have a sort of incomplete feeling simply because there are still so many aspects that I have left untouched. I could discuss in detail about the nAda and more in detail about the sAdAkhya kala but,unfortunately, these aspects could get a little too scientific and might not appeal to the general mass. I hope I have done enough justice to atleast make a scratch on the surface of this beautiful composition. The greatness of this krithi is that, even if one doesnt delve too deep, the musical content and lyrical rhythm carry the rasika to a paradise land which in itself is an unique experience. If there are any performing musicians who are reading this blog, I sincerely request you to learn this krithi and perform..such precious gems shouldnt be lost to the ravages of time.

In my next post, I will take up "guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya" in sAma, a beautiful piece that sort of has joyous tilt to it and takes away the seriousness that would have set in after this composition in pADi. If there are no further disruptions in my internet connection, I will try my best to post the next krithi in a few days. Till then, keep listening and enjoying :).

mAnasa guru guha - Anandabhairavi

2009-06-28T06:12:00.007-05:00

The weather here in Bangalore today evening has a nice, steady breeze coupled with a beautiful "maN vAsanai" suggesting that its going to rain. The more I travel between Bangalore and Chennai, the more I am able to appreciate Bangalore's climate. Its hard to believe that 350 kilometres can make so much of a difference. However, being a hardcore chennaite in my heart and mind, I believe the special charm of the city more than makes up for the disastrously hot and humid weather conditions. If only the heat was a little more relenting, Chennai would indeed be a paradise. I guess I am getting into that never-ending debate of which is the best city to live :).

Anyway, as I near the end of this job hunt tunnel, it seems that more opportunities exist for me as a mechanical engineer in Chennai which is slowly developing into the automobile hub of the country. However, since my family is in Bangalore, I am still buying time from some Chennai employers and am trying my best to find a job here in Bangalore so that I can be at home with my mother. (Un)fortunately I dont think its going to work out that way and most probably, it looks like I might end up moving to Chennai in a few more weeks. I cannot crib about moving to a culturally vibrant place like Chennai. With the galore of kutcheris that happen all through the year, I couldn't have asked for a better place away from home. So, I guess its all for the good :).

Coming to today's krithi, I will take up the second composition of the guruguha vibhakti series, mAnasa guru guha rUpam in Anandabhairavi set to rUpaka tALa and composed exclusively in dvitiyA vibhakti (accusative case). After starting off his composing career on a high by aptly composing the first krithi of this series, shrI nAthAdi guruguhO in MMG, dIkshitar perfectly chooses the rAga Anandabhairavi to set the mood of this series. As the name of the rAga suggests, it creates a divinely blissful mood and eliminates all the agitations and disturbances in the rasika's mind. dIkshitar continues on "the salutations to the guru" theme as below,

Pallavi:

mAnasa guru guha rUpam bhajarE rE
mAya-maya hRttApam tyajarE rE

Meaning:

dIkshitar straight away instructs the mind to strive for higher goals- " Oh mind!!("rE mAnasa") meditate on ("bhajarE") guha, the form of guru and abandon ("tyajarE") the delusionary ("mAya-maya") sorrows and afflictions of the heart/mind ("hRttApam")."

dIkshitar adopts a commanding/instructive tone throughout this krithi and seems to emphasize the importance of a guru by directly addressing the mind. He repeatedly commands the mind to abandon all illusions in this world (which in itself is an illusion) and strive for greater spiritual progress. One can actually see that by stressing the significance of a guru, dIkshitar himself assumes the post of a guru and commands the mind just like how a guru commands, strictly adhering to obedience and austerity. What a genius he must have been to choose such a profound word (guruguha) as his signature at such an young age, a mudra with which he continued to compose till he shed his mortal coils.

In the opening lines of the pallavi itself dikshitar makes the idea/theme behind this set of krithis crystal clear. He straightaway equates a guru as a form of the Lord Himself and commands the mind to worship him and meditate on him. Musically, dIkshitar has inundated this krithi with nokkus and he starts the krithi off with a nokku on madhyamam and then heading to the panchamam at "mAna"sa following it up with the characteristic "mgrgm" phrase at "guruguha". The "Nnsnmgr" at "mAya-maya" and the final "grgrgm" at "rE rE" loops back beautifully to the beginning of the pallavi. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

mAnava janmani saMprAptE sati
paramAtmani niratiSaya sukham vrajarE rE

Meaning:

dIkshitar sings "Having obtained ("saMprAptE") the human ("mAnava") birth form ("janmani"), go,take the path ("vrajarE") and try to attain the unsurpassed bliss ("niratiSaya sukham") associated with the supreme consciousness ("paramAtmani")".

dIkshitar once again emphasises the purpose of this birth and the gift of attaining a human form which enables to soul to discern, choose the right path and unite with the supreme consciousness, the source. This krithi in particular and dIkshitar's life in general, in my humble opinion, serves as a lesson on how to lead one's life, stop running this rat race and strive for the real purpose of coming to this play pen. I really admire the silky smooth way in which dIkshitar climbs the madhya stAyi by using "S p p S" at "mAnava" and hits the tAra stAyi madhyama employing the "smgrs" phrase at "janmani samprA"ptE. The beautiful oscillatory phrases around the pdn area at para"mAtmani niratiSaya sukham" using the beautiful Shuddha deivatham is something which you cannot find in any other Anandabhairavi krithi. The beauty and brilliance clearly shines through and this can be clearly observed and experienced in DKP's rendition of the krithi.

caraNam:

satva guNOpAdhi sahita sadASivaM
svAvidyA samEta jivOdbhavam
tatvam tAmasa yuta viSva vaibhavaM
tArakESwaram Anandabhairavam
natvA shrI guru caraNaM kRtvA nAmasmaraNaM
jitvA mOhAvaraNaM matvA tvadEka SaraNam

Meaning:

In the caraNam, dIkshitar describes the Lord as " The form of everlasting consciousness ("sadASivaM"), the one endowed with ("sahita") with qualities of ("guNOpAdhi") satva. The one from whom all the living beings ("jIva") are born ("udbhavam") as a result of their own ignorance ("sva avidya"). His greatness ("vaibhavaM") symbolises the truth ("tatvam") that lies beyond this world ("viSva") filled with tamasic qualities ("tAmasa yuta"). He is tArakEswara, the Lord who helps cross this ocean of samsara. He is the form of Anandabhairava, radiating ever-lasting bliss".

The madhyamakAla sAhityam will probably resonate till this world ends in which he says "Worship ("natvA") the feet ("caraNam") of the auspicious preceptor ("shrI guru"). Chant and meditate on his name ("nAmasmaraNam"). Conquer ("jitvA") the sheath/veil ("AvaraNam") of delusion/desire ("mOha"). Surrender to him as the sole ("twadEka") refuge ("SaraNam")."

Wow..what a caraNam!! I still cannot believe that someone can be so complete in just his second composition ever. He repeatedly hits the same note, ridiculing the ignorance of the human mind and how it succumbs to these alpa,tamasic pleasures when there exists a royal,sAtvic path to eternal happiness. dIkshitar also seems to have used this set as proving grounds for his rAga mudra usage skills. The prAsam in the krithi and especially the madhyamakala sAhitya brings a rich gait to the composition.

The caraNam is a musical masterpiece in the sense that even if there was no sAhityam, the mellifluous flow of the notes rich with sphurita and kampita gamakAs itself would grant the caraNam, a superstar status. Some of the highlights would be the "sGmP" phrase at "sadASivaM" followed by perhaps the best ever shuddha deivata usage in Anandabhairavi that dIkshitar brings about by employing the "SndPdp" phrase at "svAvidya". The beauty of these phrases once again comes to light clearly in DKP amma's version of this krithi. Oscillations at the niSAda at jI"vOdbhavam" and the "PSsmgrgrs" phrase at "tatvamtAmasayuta" serve as lessons for "how to extract maximum beauty out of this rAga". These are real eye-openers for anyone who wants to get a good grip of this rAga.

dIkshitar then builds up a nice crescendo using smooth, curvaceous and captivating phrases like "Sndnp; sPdnp" at "tArakEsvaramAnanda"bhairavaM. Once again DKP amma brings out the best here. The beauty of these delicate usages cannot be expressed in mere words..they are definitely to be cherished and enjoyed. It definitely leaves the rasika with that "AhA" feel. Finally, to top it all, what a madhyamakAla sAhityam. The arAjagam he does reaches the pinnacle at "natva shrI guru caraNam". It is extremely hard to believe that he has used just a single swara (Sadja) for these 4 words. What a genius. The slight tinge of the niSAda is implicit while the Sadja dominates. No one else can even imagine employing such audacious phrases. I get goosebumps when I listen to these last two lines everytime. The grammar, the prAsam, the musical content..it just gets a little too much to take. To end the krithi, dIkshitar rounds it off nicely with "GM dpm grgm" at "matvA twadEka SaraNaM" to loop back to the pallavi.

On the whole, a complete krithi which pretty much establishes dIkshitar's status as a phenomenon that seems to have reached its peak in just his second composition. If you still haven't listened to this masterpiece, I can assure you that you are missing something beautiful in your life and urge you to listen to it right away :). I will next take up the wonderful krithi "shrI gurunA pAlitOsmi" in rAga pAdi composed exclusively in tritiyA vibhakti. After trips to Chennai for a couple of interviews followed by a trip to yercaud with some of my best, old school friends :), I shall be back with my next post very soon. Till then, keep listening and keep enjoying. shrI gurubhyO nama: !!

Guruguha vibhakti kritis

2009-06-25T02:22:00.004-05:00

Over the last two weeks, I have been bombarded with quite a few interview calls (phew..finally!!). I have had 5 interviews in the last 10 days and I already have two jobs in my kitty. I still have a few more interviews to go and probably by the third week of july, I will come to a decision as to which organization to join :). I guess the market has finally started showing signs of recovery and thats definitely the reason for this flurry of calls. I have been travelling quite a lot and have been shunting between Chennai and Bangalore in the last ten days (with two more trips to chennai yet to come in the next 10 days) and hence have been quite tied up preparing for interviews and such which have held me back from good things like blogging and contributing to the sahityam wiki :(. Cha..how I wish that someone would pay me something so that I dont need to work and I can keep blogging about dIkshitar :). Anyway..thats life :).

Since I am beginning to blog about the guruguha vibhakti set of kritis, I thought I will start with a small post giving an introduction to this series and the story behind the beginning of perhaps one of the greatest composers this world has ever witnesssed. This is the first set of krithis that the great nAdajyOti composed and there are so many things that this series reveals about the man behind the compositions. Since dIkshitar pays rich tributes to his guru in all the 8 krithis of this series, I will give small introduction to his spiritual guru, Shri Chidambaranatha yogi of Benaras. Muthuswami dIkshitar's family was invited to Manali (near Madras) when a family friend, Muthukrishna Mudaliar visited tiruvArUr. Upon repeated requests, the family shifted to Manali and Muthuswami was about 15 years old at this time. Ramaswami dIkshitar (Muthuswami's father) was given shrI vidyA dIksha at tiruvArur by Chidambaranatha yogi. On the yogi's way to Kashi from tiruvArUr, he stopped at Manali and spent a few days with the dIkshitars.

Muthuswami took a liking to the yogi and used to sing and play the vINa during the yogi's pUja. The yogi also developed a liking to the young boy and requested the boy's father to send Muthuswami with him to kAshi. Sensing this as a rare opportunity and considering the immense benefits that his boy would gain from the association with the yogi, Ramaswami reluctantly agreed. After reaching kAshi, the yogi initiated Muthuswami in Sri vidya, taught him the shodashAkshari mantra and taught him yoga and vEdanta. This disciplined and austere life must have been the main reason for dIkshitar acquiring a perceptive intellect capable of delving into spiritual matters and turned him into a great bhakta and an aspiring yogi. He spent around 4 years at kAshi and probably had an opportunity to listen to hindustani music which helped him evolve musically, the influences of which can be clearly seen in quite a few of his compositions in hindustani ragas.

And it is during this stay with the yogi that he went for a bath in the ganges and a vINa came floating into his hands with "rAma" inscribed on it and with an upturned yAli. The great chidambaranatha yogi then instructed dIkshitar to return to Manali, follow Lord SubrahmaNya as his natural guru and told him that he will soon realize the purpose of his birth. So saying, the yogi bid farewell to his disciple and attained jala samadhi in the ganges. His body was later recovered and is now buried at Hanuman Ghat which this humble devotee plans to visit very soon.

After coming back to Manali and spending time with his parents, dIkshitar found a great urge to go to tiruttani, one of the 6 Arupadai veedus of Lord SubrahmaNya. The shrine is beautifully located on a hill top on the way from Madras to tirupathi. This is believed to be the place where Lord SubrahmaNya defeated the asura sUrapadma and married Valli and deivAnai. Lord SubrahmaNya's idol bears a circular hollow in the center of His chest which legends believe is because of a disc thrown at Him by one of the asuras. It is an extremely ancient temple with references in some of the literary works of the sangam era. Just like swAmimalai which has 60 steps(each step denoting 1 year of the tamizh calendar), tiruttani has 365 steps (each step denoting 1 day of the english calendar year). After reaching tiruttani, dIkshitar decided to do penance and meditate on Lord SubrahmaNya for a mandala (40 days).

On the 40th day, while was dIkshitar was meditating, an old man came to him and asked him to open his eyes. He then put a sugar candy in dikshitar's mouth and disappeared. This was Lord SubrahmaNya himself in the guise of an old man and overwhelmed with joy and devotion, dIkshitar immediately burst into his first krithi, the first of the 8 krithis in this set, shrI nAthAdi guruguhO in mAyAmALavagowLa. To get this blog going, since this was dIkshitar's first legitimate composition (humbly side-stepping the nOttu swara sAhityams), my first post was about this krithi. Not withstanding the fact that this was his first composition, it was technically flawless, artistically mature, refined and aesthetic, grammatically perfect and philosophically profound. Ofcourse, he expressed his brilliance straight away adopting the guruguha mudra, incorporating the rAga mudra and began his composition in a traditionally way by composing in MMG, the raga in which music lessons are begun to this day. And the fact that he begins this composition with the ArOhaNa and avarOhaNa of the rAga, set in all the 3 speeds of kAla pramANams shows that he was a genius. He was around 25 years old, putting most of other 25 year olds like me to shame :).

Each of the 8 krithis in this set is unique and brilliant in its own sense. The common theme of all these 8 krithis, each kriti composed exclusively in the 8 declensions of Sanskrit language, is to glorify the guru, exhalt the importance of a guru and showcase the supreme truths and show the way for a yOgi in his spiritual progress. As I mentioned before, these krithis perhaps reveal the making of a great phenomenon called Muthuswami dIkshitar whose name and krithis will ring in this universe as long as it exists.

This set of krithis is used by dIkshitar as a sort of a training ground. Filled with references to vEdAnta, yOga, adopting the guruguha mudra, employing the rAga mudra, playing with grammar, etc, dIkshitar pretty much sets this mould which became the trademark of his compositions and his greatness. The ease with which he handles rare ragas such as pADi, pUrvi, balahamsa and bhAnumati is astounding. He has employed the rAga mudra in each of the 8 kritis in this set and the genius clearly is on display the way he beautifully weaves the rAga mudra into each kriti. ;(. Just amazing. Each kriti has its own rare speciality, for eg, guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya in sAma (4th kriti in the series) is the only dIkshitar kriti that employs two guruguha mudras to my knowledge.

Over the next month or so, I will have the pleasure and privilege of taking up each of these gems and will try my best to uncover the brilliance of dIkshitar and his compositions. Since I have already blogged about the first kriti in this set in my first post, I will take up "mAnasa guru guha" in Anandabhairavi in my next post. There is so much to be written and explained and I cant wait to begin :). I will be back :). Shri gurubhyO namah:

shrI mAtR bhUtam-kannaDa

2009-05-31T23:30:00.015-05:00

I have had a mixed last two weeks with some ups and downs. My dear friend Shreekrishna is in Bangalore and we met quite a few times in the last 3 weeks. A few days back, we had this great opportunity to meet, perhaps the greatest carnatic music rasika ever, Mr. B.V.S.Mani sir. He has been attending the december music season in chennai for the past 58 straight years and was given a "rAkshasa rasika" award. Though he has not learnt music formally, he has listened to so much music that he lives, breathes and sleeps music. He sings brilliantly (including a lot of 3rd speed GNB sangathis), plays veena with his mouth (phrases just like S.Balachandar) and even gets ghumkis and chApu's perfect when he plays mridangam with his mouth. An amazing man who will perhaps remain a role model for me till I die. He ofcourse has a huge collection of audio tapes and SK and I had the privelege of listening to such rich music that we will never forget those hours we spent with him. A big, big >--<-o @ mani mama.

I have not been sleeping well for 3 days now after listening to Shri Ramnad Krishnan's music. His bEgaDa, malayamArutham, mukhAri, sahAna etc have been ringing in my ears continuously and I have slept only 4 hours or so in the last 3 days. Tears run down my cheek when I realize how under-rated he has been. I know I am setting fire to a hornet's nest, but just like many other greats such as MDR and Tanjore S.Kalyanaraman sir, Ramnad was not even given a Sangeetha kalanidhi. How cruel..yet another victim of nasty politics :(. Anyway, his brilliance will shine forever. His music has completely captivated me and as many say, he is a true musician's musician.

Coming to the krithi I am taking up today, shrI mAtR bhUtam holds a special place in my heart, probably because I did my B.Tech at Trichy where this krithi was composed by dIkshitar at the famous rock fort temple. Trichy has some wonderful temples nearby like tiruvAnaikkAval, Srirangam etc. The rockfort is perhaps the flagbearer of this city. In the olden days, Trichy was called Trisirapuram because an asura by the name trisiran worshipped Lord Shiva here. Ofcourse, the other version is that there are 3 peaks on the rockfort hill occupied by Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvathi and the famous Uchchi pillayar. Because of this, rockfort is also called tri-shira-giri.dIkshitar beautifully incorporates many facts and stories about this temple. In the pallavi itself he brings out the location by addressing the Lord as tri-shira-giri-nAtha.

The Lord Himself gets His name as mAtR bhUtESwarar because he is known to have appeared as a mother. A devotee of Lord Shiva belonged to the Chettiar caste and she used to cross the Kaveri river everday and come to worship Lord Shiva at this temple. She continued to do so even when she became pregnant and on one such visit, the kaveri was flooded and she was not able to cross back over to her village after darshan. She suddenly developed labour pain and Lord Shiva Himself came in the disguise of that devotee's mother and helped her in delivery. Since Lord Shiva took this motherly form, He is known as mAtR bhUtESwarar here and in tamizh, He is referred to as thAyum-Anavar (translates as "One who is also a mother"). dIkshitar summarizes this whole episode in just one word in the caraNam when he describes the Lord as "vaiSya jAti strI vESa dharaNam" (the one who came in the disguise of a vaiSya woman). Anyway, moving on to the krithi now,

Pallavi:

SrI mAtR bhUtaM tri-Sira giri nAthaM hRdi cintayE
sugandhi kuntaLAmbA samEtam

Meaning:

dIkshitar straight away advices "to meditate in one's heart ("hRdi cintayE") on Lord mAtRbhUtESwara, the Lord of tri-Sira giri and the one who is in the company of ("samEtam") Goddess kuntaLAmbA, the one who has a naturally fragrant ("sugandhi") hair ("kuntaLa")."

In the pallavi itself, dIkshitar effectively brings the whole sannidhi and the temple in front of your eyes by describing Him as the Lord of Trisiragiri, the three peaked hill and bringing His consort, KuntaLAmba into the picture. The amsha of pArvati here is always described as one whose hair has a natural fragrance. The locals call Her as "maTTuvAr kuzhali" which compares Her locks of hair to the drops of honey which bring fragrance to flowers. Yet another interesting observation I have made is the similarity in structure between the pallavi of this krithi and the pallavi of the beautiful krithi in raga kuntaLam composed aptly on Goddess kuntaLAmba which starts as "shrI sugandhi kuntaLAmbikE" and proceeds along similar lines as "hRdi cintayE". But the similarity ends there :).

Musically, the serene gAndAram is once again used by dIkshitar to mark the beginning of the krithi. With phrases such as "GMDp" and "gmrs" at "shrI mAtRbhutam" and "dnsdsp" at "kuntaLAmba", he spreads the canvas for a beautiful picture to unfold upon, not to mention the thatu and take-off of miSra cApu which he has employed so well throughout the entire song. Moving on to the anupallavi,

anupallavi

sOma sakhaM nata Suka sanakaM
naLa kAmAdi vijaya kamanIyAngaM
sOmaM SirO-dhRta sUrya gangaM kOmaLa kara dhRta kurangaM
guru guhAntaranga lingam

Meaning:

dIkshitar describes the physical form of the Lord in the anupallavi as "The friend of ("sakham") the moon ("sOma") and the one worshipped by ("nata") sages Suka and sanaka. The one whose beautiful appearance ("kamanIyAngaM") conquers ("vijaya") Nala and Manmatha. The one who is with Goddess Parvathi ("sa+umam") and the one who wears on His head ("SirO-dhRta"), the calotropis flower ("sUryagangaM"-arka flower or erukkam poo as they call it in tamizh). The one who holds a deer ("kurangaM") in His tender hands ("kOmaLa kara"), the linga form that resides in the innermost caves ("guhAntaranga") of the meditative mind of a guru (the realized one)."

Wow..what a brilliant anupallavi. IMHO, this anupallavi takes the krithi to a whole new level and sets it up to be turned up yet another notch in the caraNam that ensues. dIkshitar captures the entire beauty of this raga by using the deivatham at the very beginning of the anupallavi. It is hard to believe that for the entire part of "sOmasa"kham, dIkshitar has just used the deivatham. As if to show the symmetry in the rAga, he uses symmetry in his words too..sOma sakham nata suka sanakam naLa and in the process incorporates the rAga mudra at sana"kam naLa"(La and Da can be used interchangeably). What a genius!!

Again at "sOmam" he uses his understanding of the raga to the fullest by employing the deivatham yet again. The ranchana that brings in is immeasurable. He then flaunts his grammatical repertoire by using something as contrary as "sOmam" and "sUrya" to describe the Lord and in the process he uses the two words to convey two entirely different meanings, i.e, sOmam here stands for "the one with Uma" instead of the typical meaning of the "moon" and sUrya as a part of sUrya gaNgam referring to the flower. What can one describe this act except as an audacious display of brilliance :). He finishes the anupallavi off with a word to the yOgis to meditate on Him, this form of the linga which is an embodiment of a guru who shines to drive away the ignorance. The "gmdp gmrs" end to the anupallavi facilitates an easy looping back to the gAndAram start for the pallavi. As I always say, I guess the beauty is a bit too much to explain by mere words :). Helplessly moving on to the caraNam,

caraNam:

vAsavAdi dEva vandita caraNaM
vaiSya jAti strI vEsha dharaNaM
vAsu dEva mahitaM bhava taraNaM
vAsanAdi rahitAntaHkaraNam
dara hAsa tri-purAdi haraNaM
vAsuki pramukhAbharaNaM
bhAsamAna navAvaraNaM
dAsa jana santOsha karaNam
suvAsita nava javanti pushpa -
vikAsa priya hRdayaM sadayaM
mAsa varsha pakshOtsava vibhavaM
sadASivaM parama Sivam

Meaning:

dIkshitar continues to describe the Lord as "The one whose feet ("caraNam") are worshipped by ("vandita") Lord Indra ("vAsava") and other dEvas. The one who took the form/disguise ("vEsha dharaNam") of a woman ("strI") belonging to the vaishya community. The one revered by ("mahitam") by Vasudeva and the one who assists in crossing ("taraNam") the ocean of life ("bhava"). The one (on whom by meditating) who puts an end ("anta karaNam") to all the karmic remnants ("vAsanAdi") (in the yOgi's mind). The one who has a smile ("hAsa") as bright as a white conch ("dara") and the one who destroyed ("haraNam") the three floating cities ("tripurAdi") of the asuras. The one who wears the snake ("vAsuki") as His primary ornament ("pramukhAbharaNam") and the one who is covered in new ("nava") robes ("AvaraNaM") that are as bright as the stars ("bhA-samAna"). The one who delights ("santOsha") his followers/devotees ("dAsajana")."

In the madhyamakAla sAhitya, dIkshitar continues to describe the Lord as "the one whose heart ("hRdayam") is fond of ("priya") the freshly ("nava") blossomed ("vikAsa") fragrant ("suvAsita") chrysanthemum flowers ("javanti pushpa"). The ever-compassionate one ("sadayam"). The omni-present one ("vibhavam") whose festivals ("utsava") are celebrated on a fortnightly ("pakSa"), monthly ("mAsa") and yearly ("varsha") basis. The one who is the ever-present and supreme consciousness ("sadASivam and paramaSivam")."

As I mentioned before, he pretty much sums up the story behind this sthalam in one word, "vaiSya jAti strI vEsha dharaNam". dIkshitar once again uses the gAndAra to establish a strong base in the first few lines of the caraNam and this enables him to bring in that killer deivatham once again on which he repeatedly stresses at "vAsu"dEva and "vAsu"ki to perhaps make this krithi a great dedication to this wonderful rAga. He employs similies at "dara hAsa" and "bhAsamAna" to highlight the Lord's beauty.

And as always, he never forgets to emphasize on the astral planes for the yOgi. dIkshitar describes the Lord as the one who destroys the vAsanAs. These vAsanAs are impressions which a soul accumulates over its countless cycles of rebirths as it gets entwined in the materialistic pleasures and pains that this world has to offer. For eg, when you lust for something/someone or when you judge a person, these form strong impressions or vAsanAs which get stored in the mUlAdhAra chakra as a signature. These vAsanAs accumulate in each of your births, thereby disabling the soul to progress. The only way to escape this cycle is by meditating and following specific techniques to help the soul regain its purity and destroy these impressions. Hence, for spiritual progress, dIkshitar yet again insists praying and meditating on Lord mAtRbhUtESwara.

And for all you wonderful devotees, the next time you pay a visit to this temple, buy some fresh sevanthi flowers and offer to the Lord as dIkshitar states that it pleases Him :). Finally, dIkshitar completes this masterpiece with reference to the festivals celebrating the Lord's greatness. The madhyamakala sAhityam is yet another treat with the words just dancing along with the tALa and thus ending the krithi on a happy, festive note :).

Please listen to MMI's and SSI's versions of the krithi to enjoy some prayOgams to the maximum. In my next post, I will take up one of the vibhakti series of krithis and hopefully will complete the entire series over a month or so. Salutations to the great gurus.

gIticakra ratha stithAyai - kannaDa

2009-05-11T07:29:00.012-05:00

I apologize for the break in posting once again. I was a little busy working on the sahityam wikipedia project and trying to understand how to contribute to the dikshitar section after the enormously successful wiki available at http://guruguha.org/wiki. Hats off to all the contributors of the sahityam wiki project, which aims at creating a store house of carnatic music compositions with word by word meaning and explanations. If things go well, I am sure this will turn into a wonderful board in which some knowledgeable people can share their views and provide their own explanations and stories behind some of the compositions.

The game between Chennai Super kings and Bangalore Royal Challengers ended just now and Bangalore won the cliffhanger with 2 balls to spare. Though this year's IPL has been lacking that indian flavour and that excitement, I still find it to be decently interesting with some low totals and close fought games. Atleast, its giving me good company in the evenings :). The ISRO exam went ok. I did decently well but definitely not up to my satisfaction. As I was leaving the exam hall with a slightly heavy heart, I overheard a gang of students discussing the paper and everyone agreeing that the paper was tough. I hope that more candidates across the country found the paper tough too.

I find that the markets are recovering slowly and I have been seeing a lot more job openings over the last couple of weeks. So, hopefully something clicks soon. I am extremely excited that my dear friend Shreekrishna is coming to India this weekend and he will be here in Bangalore for a month. Its been a long time since we met and I am really looking forward to meeting him and spending some time with him.

Over the past few days, I have been smitten by kannaDa (note: not kAnaDA). I have been listening to SSI's shrI mAtrubhUtam over and over again and have been looping Sanjay's "gIticakra ratha" too. Hence, I thought I will take up these two krithis one after the other and try to do some justice. First, about the rAga itself, I have for a long time wondered why kannaDa is classified as a janyam of harikEdAragowLa (28th mELa) instead of shankarAbharaNam in the SSP. I still have not found the answer and I hope someone reading this blog will be able to help me out. Also, the SSP says that the "srg" prayogam is allowed, which baffles me once again.

Anyway, moving on to the krithi, I believe that dIkshitar composed this krithi at madurai, in praise of Goddess mInAkSi. As I mentioned in my post on the krithi "mInAkSi mE mudam", Goddess mInAkSi is referred to as shyAmala, the dark-hued one, rAja mAtangI etc. Goddess mAtangi is the yogic equivalent/tantric form of Goddess Saraswati and as I have once agained mentioned in the "mInAkSi mE mudam" blog, She is picturized as one holding a gem-studded vINa. Of the 10 mahAvidyAs, mAtangi occupies a very significant place and She is known to bless Her devotees with proficiency in music, poetry and other fine arts. Hence, dIkshitar straight away starts off by referring to Her as the one who resides in the chariot called gItichakra, the chakra of music/singing.

Goddess Shyamala is believed to have been created by Goddess Lalita and She is believed to have emerged from Goddess Lalita's sugarcane bow during Her battle with bandAsura. In Lalita Sahasranamam, there is a clear reference to Shyamala which reads "gEya cakra rathArUDha mantriNi pari-sEvitA" and since gEya and gIti have similar meanings ("song/the act of singing"), dIkshitar improvises straight away and replaces gEya with gIti to begin this krithi.

Sorry to continue with this big introduction for the krithi, but, I feel that once I create a good idea about the yogic import of the krithi and the Goddess Herself, no further detailed explanations would be needed. And, the krithi as such is short anyway. So, continuing with the tantric references in the krithi and talking about the gEya cakra in particular, please look at the image above that I have embedded in this post as I describe. There are quite a few versions(some of them,wrong) of this cakra, though the above one is perhaps the most pristine forms. The symmetries and geometric concepts are clearly visible. The gEya cakra, just like the shrI chakra employs the famous "golden ratio" quite extensively, beginning with the inner most triangle enclosed in a pentagon which is further circumscribed by the pentacle (more golden ratio). Finally the 8-petalled and the 16-petalled lotuses form the circumference around this figure and is enclosed within the square bhUpUra. The yantra of saNgIta yOgini is known to correspond with the gEya cakra which signifies Shyamala/mAtangi, further evidence connecting gEya cakra to saNgIta. With that introduction, I will now move on to the krithi itself.

Pallavi:

gIti cakra ratha sthitAyai guru guha nuta SyAmaLAyai
namastE namastE

Meaning:

dIkshitar sings "I prostrate before you again and again ("namastE namastE"), Oh Goddess SyAmaLA, the one who is present in ("sthitAyai") the chariot ("ratha") called gIti cakra and the one worshipped by ("nuta") Lord Guruguha".

As I have mentioned before, I love these double namastE, samASTi caraNam krithis. Just like the 20-20 cricket, these short krithis pack quite a punch :). dIkshitar seems to stress the importance of music as a marga to mOkSa in these lines. That's why, I presume that in addition to the straight-forward meaning of Goddess SyAmaLa riding the chariot corroborated by Lalita Sahasranamam, dIkshitar seems to refer to music, signified by the gIti cakra and devotion to Goddess mAtangi enables the bhakta to elevate himself to ride the chariot to salvation.

Musically, miSra cApu once again proves a perfect foible for the galloping that he seems to create in this composition. He starts off with a plain, divine gAndAra just like shrI mAtrubhUtam and straight away catches the ranjana that this rAga exudes. The "gmp gmr" at "ratha" followed by "ss mgm dd" at "guruguha nuta" pretty much seals the deal as he incorporates the rAga mudra with such elegance. Finally, the killer blow comes in the form of the double namastEs as "gmr(tAra sthAyi) rsnsdpm" and "gdp gmdpgmrs" to loop back to the gAndAra. Sanjay's version seems to capture some unique nuances very beautifully. Please do listen to it if you haven't already. Moving on to the caraNam,

samashTi caraNam:

gItAmRtAnanditAyai gIrvANa vanditAyai
hata vishanga samUhAyai kRta lOkOpakArAyai
nata bhairavAdi sEnAyai nava nava vidha bANa karAyai

Meaning:

dIkshitar continues to directly address the Goddess and describes Her as "Your heart rejoices ("AnanditAyai") in the blissful nectar of music ("gItAmRta").You are worshipped by ("vanditAyai") the best of Gods ("gIrvANa"). You killed ("hata") a community ("samUhAyai") of demons led by vishanga and hence did ("kRta") a great help ("upakArAyai") to the world ("lOka")". In the short madhyamakAla sAhityam, dIkshitar sings "Bhairava and other warriors ("sEnAyai") salute ("nata") you. You create ("karAyai") many new ("nava nava") arrows and weapons ("bANa")".

In the caraNam, dIkshitar once again refers to the Goddess being attached to music. He also portrays Her capabilities to destroy demons and pretty much creates an image of Her as suzerian-in-chief of the armed forces :). Also, he refers to vishanga. When manmatha was incinerated by Lord Shiva's third eye, two demons namely vishukra and vishanga were born out of the ashes. For a yOgi who is trying to achieve oneness, the two demons, vishanga in particular causes problems by disturbing the mind and thereby makes it not seek oneness. This demon was killed by SyAmaLa and dIkshitar brings in this yOgic aspect in this krithi, thereby indirectly advising bhaktas to worship Goddess SyAmaLa to overcome delusion and achieve that stillness.

Musically, dIkshitar stresses on the gAndAra once again to bring in that bhAva. Instead of phrasing out each sangati here, I think it would be best to leave it to the rasikas to enjoy themselves listening to it. The chitta swaram in the end begins with a peaceful "gmdp" which kind of gives it that ShankarAbharaNam/western classical tilt. If there were any doubts regarding allowed phrases in this rAga, the chitta swarams completely dispel them and serves as a nice appendix to the krithi itself. On the whole, it is yet another masterpiece composed by dIkshitar and serves as a wonderful starter for those who want to learn this rAga.

Continuing with my love for kannaDa, I will take up "shrI mAtrubhUtam" in my next post. Till then, ciao!!

akSayaliHNga vibhO- SankarAbharaNam

2009-03-24T08:54:00.022-05:00

I have been trying my best to squeeze in time and post something for the last 3 weeks or so, but things have been a little busy. I am writing an exam for the ISRO scientist position next week and I have been preparing a bit hard for it. I had a lot of old B.Tech stuff that I had to refresh and catch up with. Further, I didnt want to take a half-hearted effort at writing about this masterpiece. I have been a little mentally disturbed too in the past few weeks. Anyway..here I am back to blogging :), taking my best shot at doing justice to these gems composed by a phenomenon :).

The krithi akSayalinga vibhO was composed at this beautiful temple town on a hillock called kIvalUr located between tiruvArUr and nAgapattinam. Since one of the readers here, Padma says that this is her hometown, I am very sure that she knows much much more about this town and the temple. One of the specialities of this temple is the straight line in which the navagrahams are situated(instead of the circular version). I remember that this is how the navagrahas are situated in the tiruvArUr temple too. The locals call akSayalingEswarar as kediliyappar and SundarakuchAmbika thAyAr as Vanamullai amman. The sthala vriksha is ilandha maram (badari tree), which is captured in the first line of the caraNam in this krithi. There are quite a few stories based on this temple too. Lord SubrahmaNya Himself is believed to have constructed this temple with the help of Indra.

One need not elaborate on the grandeur of the raga ShankarAbharaNam. It has been handled with utmost care by the trinity and pretty much all composers after the trinity. dIkshithar, especially seems to have had a great liking for this raga and he has proved his might in handling the 29th melakartha by composing big masterpieces such as the navAvarNam, akSayalinga vibhO, dakSinAmurthE and innumerably many more brilliant krithis in addition to the nottuswara sAhitya.

Coming to the krithi itself, right from the beginning, dIkshithar seems to have composed this song with a mindset of trying to make it something special and make it stand out amidst his other magnum opuses in this rAga. Ofcourse, a pretty famous story attached with this krithi is that when dIkshitar visited kIvalUr to sing this composition in front of the Lord, the day's worship was over and the archakar had closed the sannidhi. Even after dIkshitar requested him to keep the sannidhi for a few more minutes so that he can present this krithi in front of the Lord, the archakar refused to cede to his requests and is known to have mentioned sarcastically to dIkshitar to "come back the next day" and that "the Lord will not run away anywhere". Undaunted by this insult, dIkshitar is said to have started singing the krithi and a huge crowd gathered there. As he finished the krithi, the doors of the sannidhi are said to have burst open and the archakar fell on dIkshitar's feet, pleading mercy. He begins the krithi as:

Pallavi:

akSayaliHNga vibhO svayambhO
akhilANDa kOTi prabhO pAhi SambhO

Meaning:

dIkshitar sings " Lord Akshayalinga, the undiminishing, resplendent one ("vibhO"), please protect me ("pAhi")". dIkshitar describes the Lord as "The self-manifested one ("svayambhO") and Lord ("prabhO") of the innumerable universes ("akhilANDa kOTi")".

As the name of the Lord suggests, He is indeed undiminishing in His form, His compassion and His consciousness, and so is this krithi, replete in details and complete in every aspect. dIkshitar begins with a bang as always, employing a defining phrase like "pmgmp" at "akSayalin" followed by "mpdns" at "gavibhO" (sorry for the bad split of words). IMHO, SankarabharaNam is completely captured in just one word by him in the opening line of this krithi. That oscillation in the madhyamam at akSa"ya" is pure bliss. The killer blow perhaps comes in the form of the "d p" phrase he employs at "svayambhO". And rhythmically, miSra cApu (SSP quotes the tALa as miSra Eka) gets a royal treatment and after listening to this pallavi, one tends to believe that the tALa perhaps gets its salvation because of how it is treated in masterpieces such as this..the gallop and the gait is unbelievable and its best left to the listener's experience. And ofcourse, I need not talk about the antyAkshara prAsam dIkshitar uses in the pallavi; that pretty much summarizes the completeness with which he has composed (this krithi, in particular and most of his krithis in general). Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

akSara svarUpa amita pratApa
AruDhA vrSa vAha jaganmOha
daksha SikshaNa daksha-tara sura lakshaNa
vidhi vilakshaNa lakshya lakshaNa
bahuvicakshaNa sudhAbhakshaNa
gurukaTAkshavIkshaNa

Meaning:

dIkshitar describes the Lord in the anupallavi as "The one who is the embodiment of words ("akSara svarUpa"), the one who is filled with unlimited ("amita") splendour and glory ("pratApa"). The one who mounts ("AruDhA") the bull as His vehicle ("vrSa vAha") and the one who captivates the universe ("jaganmOha"). The one who punished daksha ("daksha SikshaNa") and the one who very adeptly ("daksha-tara") defines and protects ("lakshaNa") the dEvas ("sura"). The one who defied ("vilakshaNa") definition ("vidhi") and the one who is extremely well-versed ("bahuvicakshaNa") in grammar and literature ("lakshya lakshaNa"). The one who consumed ("bhakshaNa") nectar ("sudhA") and the one who bestows ("vIkshaNa") the grace of a guru ("gurukaTAksha")".

As the krithi takes shape in the anupallavi, it is very clear that dIkshitar is establishing the identity of the Lord by describing Him in His physical resplendence. This is a trend which dIkshitar continues to employ throughout the krithi. Since everything is believed to have originated from the omkAra, the vibrations of words are believed to be responsible for the creation and sustenance of the universe and dIkshitar pays tribute to the Lord by describing Him as akSara svarUpa. He continues to say that the Lord defies even vidhi itself. Finally, dIkshitar finishes the anupallavi by describing the Lord's erudition by referring to His lakshya and lakshaNa skills and as the one who takes form as guru and guides His children through to the origin, the Self manifested as the Supreme Consciousness, hence highlighting the importance of a guru in every soul's journey.

Musically, I dont even know where to start describing the grandeur of the anupallavi. I love the "P Ddpm" start at "akSara" and the "Pdns Nsdnsns" phrase at "pratApa". The "Prs" with the slight gAndAra touch at jagan"mOha" is a killer and it builds up very nicely for the madhyama kAla sAhitya. dIkshitar gets stuck into the "ksha-kshaNa" prAsa scheme in the madhyamakAlam and it is pure bliss from there on to the pallavi. ShankarAbharaNam being a very graceful and phrase-oriented rAga, I guess I am not achieving anything by just mentioning the swarams here. I think it would make more sense for the ears of a rasika to interpret these brilliant passages and for the heart to feel, experience and enjoy :). Hence, I move on to the CaraNam,

CaraNam:

badarIvana mUlanAyikA sahita
bhadrakALISa bhaktavihita
madanajanakAdi dEva mahita
mAyA kArya kalanA rahita
sadaya guruguhatAta guNAtIta
sAdhu janOpEta Sankara navanIta-
hRdayavibhAta tumburusangIta
hRImkArasambUta hEmagirinAta
sadASrita kalpaka mahI ruha
padAmbuja bhava rathagajaturaga-
padAti samyuta caitrOtsava
sAdASiva saccidAnandamaya

Meaning:

dIkshitar continues to describe the Lord as "The one who accompanies ("sahita") the main Goddess ("mUla nAyikA") of Badari vana and is the Lord of Bhadrakali ("BhadrakALISa"). The one who is devoted to devotees ("bhaktavihita"). The one respected and worshipped ("mahita") by the father of manmatha, Lord Vishnu ("madanajanaka") and other devas. The one on who is devoid of and beyond ("rahita") the effects ("kalanA") of activities of delusion ("mAyA kArya"). The one who is the father ("tAta") of the benevolent ("sadaya") guruguha. The one who is beyond good qualities ("guNAtIta") and the one who is approached by ("upEta") by ascetics ("sadhujana"). The one who is an embodiment of good deeds ("Sankara") and the one whose heart ("hRdaya") is like fresh butter ("navanIta"). The one whose praise shines forth ("vibhAta") in tumburu's music ("sangItha"), Lord hEmagirinAtha, the one born out of ("sambhUta") hRImkAra. The one who is always ("sadASrita") like the divine wish-yielding tree ("kalpaka mahI ruha") to His devotees. The one with lotus feet ("padAmbuja") and the one who is also known as Bhava, the one who aids in crossing the delusionary ocean of samsara. The one who has the chariot ("ratha"), the elephant ("gaja"), the cavalry ("turaga") and the infantry/foot-soldiers ("padAti") all combined ("samyuta") under his command. The one whose temple festival ("utsava") is in the month of chitra and the one who is always ("sadA") in unison with the divine consciousness ("Siva"). The one who is an embodiment of truth,consciousness and bliss ("saccidAnanda-maya")."

dIkshitar starts the Caranam with a sedate and stable "gmPMPMDPM" phrase. There is a famous BhadrakAli sannidhi in this temple and folklore says that the Goddess protected Her son Lord SubrahmaNya when he was doing His penance. dIkshitar captures this temple in its entirety in the caraNam. Starting with the description of the sthala vriksha, Badari tree and the BhadrakAli sannidhi, dIkshitar finishes the krithi with reference to the famous temple festival in the month of chitra. dIkshitar employs a -ihita rhyme scheme in the first two lines of the CaraNam and comfortably shifts to Ata (guruguhatAta), Ita(guNAtIta), Eta(janOpEta) and Uta(sambUta) schemes as the Caranam progresses and culminates in the madhyamakAla sAhityam. He employs quite a few "S D" swarAksharams in the CaraNam at places like "sada"ya and "sadA"shrita. dIkshitar brilliantly rounds off the krithi with a galloping madhyamakAlam, the highlight being the usage of the complete avarOhaNam "sndpmgrs" at "sadASivasa"ccidAnandamaya. The "smgm" ending of the CaraNam beautifully fuses in to the panchamam take-off for the pallavi thus making this perhaps one of the best ShankarAbharaNams known to mankind. Its because of krithis such as this that I firmly believe that dIkshitar's name will resonate as long as this universe exists.

I still have not decided what krithi to take up in my next post. It will most probably be a samaSTi caraNam or I might jump into one of the vibhakti series of krithis (thyAgarAja or nIlOtpalAmba). Till then, keep the music flowing. Shri gurubhyO namah:

Trip to kAnCipuram

2009-03-20T06:25:00.006-05:00

I just came back from kAnCipuram. After a long time, I got to go on a trip with my mother :). It was a little tiring because of the heat but it was completely worth the effort. The burning fire torch inside the kAmAkSi amman sannidhi really made the morning so much more brighter the other day. I could vividly feel the vibrations inside the temple and sang "kAmAkSi kAmakOTipIthavAsini (sumadyUti)" and "kanjadaLAyatAkSi (kamalamanOhari)". After a nice, long darshan of the Goddess, we went to Adi Shankara's sannidhi and spent a few serene minutes there. Once again, I could sense divine vibrations in the BhagavadpAdAs sannidhi. We then moved on to EkAmrESwarar temple. The majestic gOpuram, the long corridors and the famous mango tree (sthala vriksha) punctuated the visit to this shrine. Lord EkAmranAtha occupied center stage in all his glory. I sang EkAmrAnAthAya namastE (mukhari) and cintaya mAkanda (bhairavi) as amma and I walked around the huge corridors. The kEsari and puliyogare prasAdhams were extremely delicious :).

Next on the list was kailAsanAtha temple. Yet another majestic temple where many yogis are known to have meditated and attained salvation. It was a great experience walking through the majestic corridors of this temple. I sang "kailAsanAthEna" in kAmbhOji..a beautiful krithi which gallops along in miSra chApu. Next stop was kumarakkottam. It is a small temple but beautiful neverthless. One the way, we passed by kachabESwarar temple but amma told that we are running late and we cant go in :(. So, we saw the deity from outside and prayed and moved on to kumarakkottam. I sang bAlasubrahmaNyam in surutti and pArvati kumAran bhAvayE in nATakuranji.

All these temples (beginning with kAmAkSi till the ones I have described so far) are within 10 to 15 minutes of walking distance from each other. The whole 4 streets around which these temples are located just resonates with energy. It was around 10 am and since we had started roaming around from 6:30 in the morning, amma grew a little tired and hungry. So, we stopped for a nice breakfast at Sri Rama's cafe, a very famous traditional restaurant in kAnchi.

After breakfast, we went to Ulagalandha Perumal kovil, a temple dedicated to Vishnu's vAmana avatAr as the name suggests. This is one of the 108 divyadesams. Speaking of divyadesams, I forgot to mention about the nilA thunDa perumal sannidhi inside the EkAmrESwarar temple. Folklore has it that, after the asuras and dEvas churned the thirupArkaDal, Lord Vishnu became very angry and his anger was so uncontrollable that his entire body heated up. To cool down, it is believed that He worshipped Lord EkAmrESwarar at kAnchi. The cool rays from the crescent on Lord Shiva's head is supposed to have cooled Lord Vishnu down and He takes the form of Nila thunda perumal here. Also, everyone knows that Goddess Lakshmi is always depicted as being located at Lord Vishnu's chest (vakshasthala). However, at this sannidhi, She is located at the nAbi. Since all the heat and energy of the body is originating from a person's nAbi, Goddess Lakshmi is believed to have positioned herself on the Lord's nAbi to bring his temper down. Anyway, after Ulagalandha perumal temple, we moved on to the famous temple for chitragupta, Yama's assistant. Since it is the only temple dedicated to Him, I thought it will be pretty big. However, it was a very small temple located on the road side just a few blocks away from the main bus stand.

We were in a hurry and had to get back to Bangalore by that night. So, we were basically restricted to just one more temple in kAnchi :( and we chose to go to VaradarAja perumAl temple, yet another divyadEsam. And what a brilliant choice it turned out to be. Visiting this temple was perhaps the most satisfying experience of all. As we entered the huge temple, there was a huge crowd chanting hymns and singing his praises. Accidentally, it was the Lord's birthday :). And my mother shared the same star as Him ("hastha"). We were served hot akkAravadasal prasAdam. It was so hot that our hands turned red..that was perhaps the best ever sweet I have eaten in my life. We then proceeded to go around the prAkAram and walked up to the main sannidhi.

The perumAl stood there in all his glory, majestic with sahasranAma mAlai and sAligrAmam around his neck. Amma and I stood extremely close to the deity for around 10 minutes and were absolutely wonderstruck. I sang varadarAja avAva (gaNgAtaraNgini). With utmost reluctance, we moved to the famous lizard room. A golden lizard and a silver lizard are plated on the ceiling of this room. It is believed that whatever we pray for and touch the lizards facing east direction, it will be fulfilled. We then went to thAyAr perundEvi sannidhi and had another amazing darshan. Amma and I then purchased some puliyogare at the temple for our journey back to Bangalore and went back to our hotel.

On our way back to Bangalore, we passed through Vellore. Since we did not have time, we could not stop at Vellore and go to JalakanDESwarar temple and the Golden Lakshmi temple. We then passed through virinchipuram and could not go to the famous mArgasahAyESwara temple either. As we passed through here, I vowed that we will return very soon on our next trip :). In my next post I will take up akSayalinga vibhO, the masterpiece in SankarAbharaNam as requested by Padma :). See you all in a bit.

ISAnAdi SivAkAramaHnCE - sahAnA

2009-02-26T10:24:00.004-05:00

I just finished watching a nail-biting T20 game between India and New Zealand. After a very ordinary batting performance, the Indian team recouped and gave the kiwis a hard fight. However, Brendon McCullum's heroics took NZ past the finish line in the very last delivery of the match. I hope the IPL this season will feature more of such cliffhanger games :)

As soon as I finished my previous post, I was thinking to myself what should be my next post. I just opened the dIkshithar's sAhityam pdf on my computer and browsed through to see what would be a good choice. I immediately came across this beautiful krithi in sahAnA about which I should have written probably 1.5- 2 years ago. "ISAnAdi SivAkAra maHnCE" is a beautiful piece in sahAnA and around april 2007, it had a huge impact on me and fellow members of our music group, nAdOpAsana. One of the members passed on the recording and as it made the rounds in our circle, the gmail group mails started flooding my inbox. There were around 150 e-mails exchanged within a few hours suggesting different levels of surrender to the musical genius, the phenomenon, Muthuswami dIkshithar after hearing two krithis, one of which was this beautiful masterpiece in sahAnA. The sahAna portayed and captured by nAdajyOthi in this krithi is so incredible and pure that it finds itself in the sangIta sampradAya pradarSini along with the sahAna navAvarNam as the two krithis composed by him.

One thing I never understood was why the SSP classifies sahAnA as a bhAshAnga janya of shrI rAga, the 22nd mELa. I can see how it is classified so but I dont quite understand why. If someone can please throw some light on it, that would be really helpful :). Anyway, I will move on to the krithi now.

Pallavi:

ISAnAdi SivAkAra maHnCE
SivakAmESwara vAmAnkastE namastE namastE gaur(I-SAna)

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes and offers his salutations to the Goddess in the pallavi lines. He sings "I offer my prostrations again and again ("namastE namastE") to Goddess Gauri, the one who is seated on the throne ("maHnCE") of Lord Shiva, he who exists in 5 forms ("AkAra") such as ISAna and others. The one who sits embraced on the left side ("vAmAnkastE") of Lord SivakAmESwara."

I must confess that this krithi has perhaps my most favourite pallavi. It is a beautiful construction to say the least. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a special liking for these "double namastE" krithis. In the very first word of the pallavi, dIkshithar incorporates the rAga mudra thereby showing his brilliance yet again. While referring to the ISAna amsha of Lord Shiva, he serves the dual purpose of bringing in the Lord's name as well as the rAga's name. It definitely takes someone so special as him to do such a daring act in the very first word of a krithi.

ISAna is derived from the root "IS" which means "the force that drives the universe" and the one who possess this power is called "ISAna". ISAna symbolizes that face of Lord Shiva which corresponds to the subtle ether force or the AkAsha. dIkshithar makes use of this reference and starts the krithi as "ISAnAdi" bringing in all the 5 amshas (fire,water,air,earth and ether)..what brilliance. As many would know, Lord Shiva is depicted with 5 faces corresponding to these 5 elements that govern the universe. The ISAna face of the Lord points upward towards the outer space. This face has a profound effect on Vasthu Sastra and out of ISAna was born the term "ISAnya diSa" which represents the northeast direction signifying prosperity.

dIkshithar uses the "SivAkAra maHnCE" and the "SivakAmESwara vAmAnkastE" phrases in quite a few krithis to refer to the different forms of Goddess Shakti . The most noted of these and perhaps the most closest to my heart is the usage of the same words in the pallavi of "Sri kamalAmbA jayati", the majestic Ahiri navAvarNa where he sings "SivAkAra maHnCasthitha Siva kAmESAnkastha". One can also clearly see the ArdhanArISwara reference as dIkshithar describes the dEvi as the one who is on the left side ("vAmAnkastha") of Lord Shiva.

Finally, if all this havent got your tear buds wet, dIkshithar gives the final death blow when he loops the sAhitya back to the beginning of the pallavi. And he does it in great style. The pallavi ends as "gauri" and it begins as "ISAnAdi" and dIkshithar structures the pallavi so well that the two words merge in as "gaurISAnAdi". And to top it all off, the "rI" which combines the 2 words to form gau"rI"SAnAdi is a swarAksharam..what a genius ;(. The rAga Sahana itself could not have asked for more. How can we even measure this great man's brilliance? Forget it!! I will move on to the caraNam

samaSTi CaraNam:

shrI SArada samsEvita pArSva yugaLE
SRngArakaLE vinata SyAmaLA bagaLE
durASApaha dhurINatara sarasija pada yugaLE
murAri gurughAdi pUjita pUrNa kaLE sakaLE
pASAnkuSEkSu kArmuka panCa suma bANa hastE
dESa kAla vastu rUpa divya Cakra madyastE

Meaning:
dIkshithar describes the Goddess as "the one who is served by ("samsevita") the pair ("yugaLE") of Goddess Lakshmi ("shrI") and Goddess Saraswati ("SArada") seated on either side ("pArSva"). The one who is an embodiment of SRngAra and the one adored/worshipped by ("vinata") Goddessess SyAmaLA and BagaLa. The one whose pair of lotus feet ("sarasija pada yugaLE") are adept in removing/destroying ("dhurINatara") evil desires/thoughts ("durASApaha"). The one who is worshipped ("pUjita") by the enemy of mura ("murAri"-Lord Vishnu) and Lord Guruguha. The one who is complete and the one by whom the universe is complete ("pUrNa kaLE sakaLE"). The one who holds the noose ("pASa"), the goad ("ankuSa"), the sugarcane ("IkSu"), the bow ("kArmuka") and arrows ("bANa") fitted with 5 flowers ("panCa suma") in Her hands ("hastE"). The one whose form ("rUpa") represents space ("dESa"), time ("kAla") and all things ("vastu") in this universe and the one who resides in the center ("madhyastE") of the auspicious Sri Cakra."

To understand how beautiful dIkshithar has described the dEvi in this krithi, please look at the picture I have uploaded in this post and read the CaraNam. He virtually brings the Goddess in front of your eyes. After setting the tempo in the pallavi, dIkshithar continues to milk sahAnA of all its beauty in the samaSTi Caranam. He begins with a flat "R S" for "shrI sA"rada which, according to SRJ mama is "the best defining phrase to start a sahAnA Alapana". The rishabham is completely exploited at various places throughout the krithi, especially at "sam"sevita. dIkshithar slowly goes up the ArOhaNam with beautiful phrases like "Gmp" and "n d p" at "se" and "vita" and the "rgrs" at the end of the first line ("yugaLE") brings tears to one's eyes. Every nokku and gamaka in this krithi is lilting and soul-stirring and if I start to write down the notations, it would probably require another new post :). Further, I think the listening experience is much much more rewarding to a rasika. So, I request you all to go to the dIkshithar website and listen to really peaceful rendition of this krithi by G.Ravikiran sir.

That being said, I cant restrain myself from writing a few more phrases in this post. dIkshithar winds up the scale slowly and sets things up nicely for a crescendo. The climax probably begins at "murAri guruguhAdi" with dIkshithar entering the tAra sthAyi as "s r r, p m g rgrs". Ofcourse, the madhyamakAla sAhityam rocks, beginning with a swarAkshara at "pASa"nkuSEkSu. dIkshithar beautifully uses the tAra sthAyi once again at "karmuka panCa suma bAna hastE" and slowly winds down in the last line of the madhyamakAla to loop back to the pallavi. As I mentioned before, it would make more sense for the rasika to listen and enjoy this brilliant composition rather than me listing these various phrases.

dIkshithar strikes yet again..what else can I say. I request the readers to please listen to the krithi and share your thoughts in the comments section. I dont know what will be the next krithi that I will be writing about. Hopefully I will post it within the next few days :). All of you take care and have a nice, relaxing, fun-filled weekend.

LalitAmbikAyai- Bhairavi

2009-02-24T04:36:00.008-05:00

After 2 months, I am finally getting an opportunity to blog :). I know its been extremely long since I last posted and I have even come to realize that I was posting more often while I was in the US. Time has indeed become a luxury after coming back to India. I cant believe that 4 months have flown by since I came back home. Over the last 2 months, I have been refreshing a lot of my Engineering basics and completed a course in Catia, a nice design tool with which I have completely fallen in love with. However, with the current economic scenario, I havent had much success obtaining interview calls. And even those few companies which called me for interviews, offered me extremely poor pay packages. I guess they are taking advantage of the situation and are trying to acquire qualified professionals at cheap rates.

With the situation being so, I guess the field of mechanical engineering is going to lose yet another decently skilled guy to either the software or the management stream :(. Though I hate to do it myself, I reckon I will be pushed to take this decision after putting up a fight for a few more months. Well, if thats what God and Guru have planned for me, destiny..here I come. Sorry if I have bored you guys with my rant but it always feels great to share things with my friends here :). Anyway, on the musical front, I have been attending quite a few concerts and have been enjoying myself :). And after some vain attempts at singing and playing guitar, I have come to the conclusion that I am much happier just being a nice rasika and an ardent devotee of this art in general and dIkshithar in particular :).

Offlate, I have been captivated by hindustani music thanks to my brother. I have become a huge fan of Rashid Khan sir. The impeccable shruti he maintains combined with his amazing voice, control and brilliance has continued to blow me away over the last 3 weeks or so. His pUriya kalyAn, bAgESri and gOrakh kalyAn pieces to name a few are mind-boggling. I have also taken a huge liking for the ali brothers from across the border, Ustad Nazakat Ali khan and Ustad Salamat Ali khan. Their open throated music, mind-boggling sangathis and crystal clear 4th speed brighAs are qualities have made me listen to their presentation of kAfi and Sindh Bhairavi over and over again. However, in my extremely humble opinion, the lack of laya aspect (no kanakkus, koraippus, thIrmAnams etc) leaves a gaping hole in the otherwise beautiful edifice of Hindustani music. Anyway..thats a topic to be discussed in another post.

Coming to today's krithi, since in my previous blog, I had mentioned of an intersting story about the LalitAmbika dEvi at tirumeichur, one of the temples I had visited in my december pilgrimage, I thought I will take up a dIkshithar krithi composed on this dEvi. From the story I am going to narrate and from the sAhityam in this krithi, it would make sense why I took up this relatively unknown krithi. Anyway, the story goes like this. After coming back from the US, I was invited for lunch by my dear friend Shreekrishna's mother and father. During a casual discussion after lunch, SK's mother told me the story of the people who were her sister's neighbour about 20 years ago. It seems the couple who lived beneath her sister's house were pious and were great devotees to Goddess Ambal. It seems that Goddess was appearing in the wife's dreams every night as a small girl child and was telling her to buy her a nice pair of anklets (kolusu). When the wife asked the child how she will know her ankle size and where to find Her, the child just replied saying that "buy what you think will look good on my legs and I will wear it".

The wife and husband bought a nice anklet and went in search of the ambal. But to whichever temple they went, the kolusu was either too small or too big for the dEvi. After going to hundreds of temples and trying in vain to fit the anklet, the couple came to thirumeichur. After convincing the pUjAri at the sannidhi, it seems the lady tried the anklet on the dEvi's leg and it just snapped into position. It was such a perfect fit that to date, not even the pUjAri has been able to remove it while doing abhishekhams. What an amazing story and what a blessed couple they were. When she told me this story, SK's mother could not recollect the name of the temple and told me that it is somewhere near tiruvArUr. Accidentally, during my kumbakonam trip, I was travelling from tirunAgESwaram to kUthanUr Saraswati temple, my cab driver Guru told me the exact same story ("kolusu pota swami"-as the locals call it there) as we were passing tirumeichur. With tears rolling down my cheek and hair standing on my back, I told him to drive me there. Inspite of a broken bridge (the temple is pretty much inside a forest), he took me there. I was thinking to myself "I am indeed blessed and probably the dEvi is drawing me to Her temple" because this was too much of a coincidence. More amazement awaited me as I reached the temple.

I felt a current race through my body as I entered the MeghanAtha swami- LalitAmbika temple at tirumeichur. I was pretty much the only person at the temple. After spending some time at the main meghanAtha sannidhi, I ran with great eagerness to see the Goddess. However, to my utter disappointment, the sannidhi was closed and I was crest fallen. As I was wondering what to do and cursing myself, out of nowhere, a pUjAri came and smiled at me. He told "romba dhooram lendhu varel polakke ambAl a darisanam panna..sannidhi a naan thirandhu vidaren" ("Looks like you have come a long way to have the darshan of the dEvi..I will open the sannidhi for you"). As he opened the door, I was visibly shivering and I was crying uncontrollably. He opened the door and there She was fully covered in white. I cried more as I saw the anklet and how it fitted Her. I felt as if I had satisfied the purpose of my birth. After spending sometime there, I thanked Her from the bottom of my heart for providing such a wonderful darshan, a sight this soul will not forget till his last breath ;(.

In this beautiful krithi "LalitAmbikAyai" composed appropriately in Bhairavi by the nAdhajyOti, in the samaSTi caraNam, dIkshithar describes the Goddess as "bAlikA nAma rUpAyai" (the one who has the form of a young girl) and as in the story, the Goddess appeared as a small girl child in the lady's dreams. I will move on to the krithi now..

Pallavi:

lalitAmbikAyai lakSya kOTyANDa nAyikAyai
lalanAyai namastE namastE

Meaning:

dIkshithar sings "I prostrate again and again ("namastE namastE") before LalitAmbika, the queen/ruler ("nAyikAyai") of lakhs and crores of universes ("lakSya kOTyANDa"), the one who is embodiment of shakti (womanhood) ("lalanAyai")".

dIkshithar bursts into music straight away prostrating before the dEvi and describing Her as the ultimate ruler and protector of the different worlds. The "la" adyAkshara prAsam strikes the observer. As we have observed in so many of his krithis, the "double namastE krithis" (as we call it :) ) are something special. And this krithi is no different..he starts off with the niSadam and brilliantly employs the avarOhaNam as "nnrsndp" phrase at "lalitAmbi" followed by a plain mukhAri-ish "M GR S" at "kAyai" (the word split is just to explain the phrase-sorry about it). He brings in the bhairavi rAga chAya completely with the oscillating gAndAra at kOT"yAN"Da and completely embellishes it with "r G M P" at "lalanAyai". The two namastEs are interwoven with symmetric phrases to create a masterpiece of a pallavi and the typical "rgmpdnsr" at the end of the pallavi to loop back gives that extra punch. dIkshithar manages to capture the essence of such a majestic rAga in the 5 words of the pallavi itself :). A genius non-pareil as I always say :).

SamaSTi caraNam:

bAlikA nAma rUpAyai phAla candra dharAyai
jAlandara pIThAyai jvala-jvAlA mAlAyai
nIla lOhita pUjitAyai naTa bhairavI nartanAyai
kalAnidhi vadana SobhAyai kAnCana-maya guruguha nutAyai

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the goddess as "The one who possesses the name and form ("nAma rUpAyai") of a young girl ("bAlikA"). The one who wears ("dhArAyai") the crescent moon ("candra") on Her forehead ("phAla"). The one who resides in jAlandara peetha and the one who wears a sparkling ("jvala-jvAlA") garland ("mAlAyai"). The one worshipped ("pUjitAyai") by the red-blue hued one, Lord Shiva ("nIla lOhita") and the one who danced ("nartanAyai") the cosmic dance as Bhairavi. The one who is a treasure-house of arts ("kalAnidhi") and the one whose face ("vadana") is beautiful ("SobhAyai"). The one who is covered in gold ("kAnCana-maya") and the one who is worshipped ("nutAyai") by Lord guruguha".

As I mentioned earlier, dIkshithar also sees the dEvi as a divine small girl. The reference to jAlandara peetha is something for which I request a more detailed explanation from the readers of this blog. I am not sure if dIkshithar is referring to the 64 Shakti Peethas in this physical world or if he is referring to one of the shakti centers in the astral body plane. If someone can throw more light on this, I would be really happy to learn. dIkshithar describes Lord Shiva as "nIla lOhita". The basic explanation for this reference is ofcourse Lord Shankara's blue neck and red colored body. The upanishads describe that the fire of His third eye and the cool bluish color of the crescent on his head combine for the nIla lOhita effect. In philosophy, we find yet another definition where ignorance is symbolized by blue color and knowledge by red color. Since Lord Shiva is the destroyer of ignorance, he is called nIla-lOhita.

Musically, there are some pretty phrases in the caraNam. dIkshithar begins the caraNam with the "pdndp" phrase at "bAlika" followed by a dIrga "D mp" at "nAma". dIkshithar completely murders the tAra sthAyi with phrase like "rG Mgr" at "jAlandara" and the ever pleasing "RSNDP" at "jvala-jvAlA". As always, the madhyama kAla sAhityam has that extra kick and gallop. dIkshithar embellishes nIla lOhita with a swarAksharam beginning "nd dp" and a brilliant "ss ndp" at "naTa bhairavi". And he shows his skill once again at incorporating the rAga mudhra. Considering some of his other extremely brilliant shows of rAga mudhra usages, this must have been a cake walk for the genius :).

On the whole, this is a wonderful composition from which there is much to learn and understand. I am sure that most of you wouldnt have even heard about this krithi and hence I urge you to listen to it when you find time. There is a really good rendition of this krithi by Vijay shiva sir on our dIkshithar website..please make use of it. On my next visit to tirumeichur, I will surely sing this krithi and seek the dEvi's blessings :). After what I would call a divine experience, I feel very attached to this temple and the Goddess and this krithi for sure has become very special to me :).

Now that I am jobless anyway, I guess I will make good use of this time and try to blog as much as I can till I find employment :). In that sense, the coming months will definitely be a pleasure :). I have not decided which krithi to take up next. I will think it over tonight and try to post it within the next few days :). Jumping into SSP right away :). shrI gurubhyO namah:

A trip to remember-Part2

2008-12-21T11:34:00.001-05:00

(Continued from previous post)
I just came back from the music season in Chennai and hence the delay in posting this. I had an absolutely wonderful time listening to so many kutcheris and spending time with some cherished friends :). Continuing with my pilgrimage trip, December 4th, 2008 was a special day in this mortal's life. I got up at 4:45 in the morn, took a refreshing bath and caught the bus to trichy inorder to attend my friend Vasumathi's marriage at Srirangam. As the bus passed through tanjore, I caught a glimpse of the BrihadISwara temple and continued on to trichy. I reached Srirangam around 8:30 am and was right on time for the muhurtham. Vachoo akka welcomed me with her brilliant smile as always :). For pictures, please click here. I had breakfast, watched the mAngalyadhAraNam and after wishing the couple, I walked to the Srirangam temple. By accident, I tagged along with a special darshan group (they had obviously paid money for the darshan :) :)). I did not know it was a special darshan group and I got an amazing darshan for free thanks Ranganatha swAmi :). I sang "rangapuravihAra", "ranganAyakam" and "shrI bhArgavi". I took the prasAdham (kalkandu, chandanam and a lotus from thAyAr RanganAyakI's divine feet) and went back to the kalyana mandapam. Vachoo akka and Balaji were extremely happy and took the prasAdham with glee..what better way to bless the newly-weds. After a sumptuous lunch, I bid goodbye to the couple and took a bus to my college REC, Trichy (now NITT).

As I walked into the campus, I realized that thanks to some serious Central government funding, the college has undergone a massive transformation in the last 3 years. There were new buildings for classrooms, a brand new alumni building and great upgradation of the EEE auditorium (where we used to watch films every friday night), the A2 hall and the barn. The main road itself has been converted into a beautiful avenue filled with trees. After paying a visit to the Octagon (our computer center) and the snacketeria, I went to my mechanical engineering department building :). Amidst nostalgic memories, I walked around the building and went to a few other places in the campus which are very close to my heart ;(. For pictures, click here. With much reluctance, I moved on to the bus stand to catch the next bus to tanjore. I reached tanjore around 2:30 in the afternoon and immediately took a bus to tiruvArur, the divine place that had drawn me to come back to India from the US.

With much excitement I boarded the bus and watched all the paddy fields pass by in a rush. As I reached tiruvArur at 4:00 pm, the evening breeze had set in and cool winds welcomed me :). For some weird reason, I felt as though I belonged there and had been there already though I have never been to tiruvArur in the past 25 years of my existence. I walked in a particular direction from the bus stand without asking anyone for directions to the temple. After a 15 minute walk, I was standing outside the majestic tyAgarAja-kamalAmbA temple. At that moment, I felt as though I had attained the goal of my life and served the purpose of my existence. As I entered the temple through the east gopuram, vast corridors welcomed me. I felt like an ant as the 8 towering gopurams of tiruvArur stood before me. With tears in my eyes and devotion in my heart, I started singing the tyAgarAja vibhakti series of krithis as I walked around the temple. There were probably around 60-70 lingams just on the outside prAkAram, each with their own sannidhis. After a wonderful darshan of the swAmi, I continued to go to each of the famous tiruvArUr panCalingams. I sang AnandESwarEna samrakSitoham and went to all the 5 sannidhis.

I came back to the main prAkAram and visited the nIlOtpalAmba sannidhi. She was beauty personified. Running high on emotions, I sang "shrI nIlOtpalanAyike", "nIlOtpalAmbAm"(both in nArirItigowLa) and "nIlOtpalAmbikayAH"(kannaDa gowLa) and did a sASHTANga namaskAra to the dEvi. I prepared myself to enter the hallowed corridors of Goddess kamalAmbA next. With trembling feet and the navAvarNams on my lips, I entered the sannidhi. I have no words to describe the beauty of Her. She was robed in glorious red and Her beauty brought tears to my eyes right away. I spent quite sometime at the sannidhi and sang a few lines of all the navAvarNams. With utmost reluctance, I left the temple and walked to the grand temple tank, kamalAlayam. As I sat there on the steps of the tank and watched the sun go down against the main gopuram of the temple, at the height of my emotions, I prayed that if I ever had a next birth, I should be born in tiruvArUr and spend my entire life in and around this temple.

Since it was getting dark, I had to move on. A 5 minute walk from the temple took me to dIkshithar's house. I had run out of tears already and with a kind of numb feeling, I entered the nAdhajyOthi's house (now converted into a small temple for the trinity by the Government). I prayed with all my might and meditated for a few minutes. I sang "mInAkSi mE mudam". As I finished, a group of about 10 kutti school girls came and sang beautifully. My soul was satisfied and I had finally done what I had wanted to do for so many years. I went to tyAgarAja swAmi's house in the next parallel road and to Shyama Shastri's house in the road next to that. The fact that the trinity, perhaps 3 of the biggest musical geniuses to have walked this planet were born in the same city and had lived within 5 minutes walking distance of each other is remarkable to say the least. It was past 7 pm and I still had a 2 hour ride back to kumbakonam ahead of me. Hence, I was forced to leave this beautiful town ;(. With a promise to myself that I will come back in 2009, I consoled myself and took the next bus to kumbakonam. With my heart still at tiruvArUr, I spent the next 2 hours in the bus to kumbakonam listening to some nice dIkshithar krithis on my ipod. After a nice dinner, I retired for the day.

On 5th December, I woke up at 5:15 and after a refreshing bath, I was off on my temple hunt :). I began the day with a visit to the Brihaspathi navagraha sthalam at Alangudi, about 20 kms from kumbakonam. Since the next was guru payirchi, I wanted to avoid the crowd :). Had an amazing darshan and sang the pallavi and anupallavi of "brihaspatE" (aTHAna) as I walked around the prAkAram. Next stop was Pattiswaram durga dEvi temple. I was blown away by the size and beauty of the main gopuram as I approached the temple. I entered the temple right in time for the morning main Aradhanai. The dEvi was amazingly beautiful and even now as I write about Her, my eyes well up. If anyone goes to the kumbakonam area, this temple is a must visit. With much reluctance (as always :)), I left this temple and the next stop was thirukarugAvUr garbarakSAmbikai temple. As the name of the dEvi suggests, this temple is extremely special for pregnant and expecting mothers. This temple is a 10 km deviation from the main road to tiruvaiyyAru. Guru (the cab driver) took me as close as possible to the temple. From where he parked the car, I had to cross a beautiful bridge by foot. The wooden bridge overlooking the Kaveri river was the only way into the town. After crossing the bridge and walking half a kilometer, I reached the garbarakSAmbikai temple. As I washed my feet in the huge temple tank, the soothing morning breeze and the bright sunlight was a beautiful experience in itself.

After a peaceful darshan of the dEvi and the swAmi here, I walked back to the cab as we took off for the 108 sivAlayam in papanasam on the way to tiruvaiyyAru. As the name suggests, this temple has 108 lingams. It was much smaller than I expected it to be. The next stop was tiruvaiyyAru. As we drove from pApanAsam, we crossed the 5 rivers after which the town is named ("aiyy"(5)+"Aru"(river)). I couldnt get enough of the countryside as we drove for about 40 minutes. I reached the tiruvaiyyAru panCanadISwarar temple around 10:30 am. The main gopuram was huge but it for sure needs a new touch-up. As soon as I entered the temple, I could immediately feel vibrations which were perhaps the highest I have felt in the last few days. The temple's long winding corridors were intricate and I reached the main sannidhi wondering how they had constucted this magnificient temple. I sang shrI panCanAdISam in sahAna composed by Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer as walked around the huge prAkAram. I walked through a small corridor to enter the Dharmasamvardhani thAyAr sannidhi. The dEvi was beautifully adorned in green that day and it was a sight for eternity. With all devotion I sang dharmasamvardhani in madhyamavati. I was just in time for an abhishekam. As I left this wonderful kSEtra, I once again consoled myself by promising to come back in 2009. A 10 minute walk took me to Saint tyAgarAja's samAdi. After praying to the sadguru and worshipping the same rama idol that he had worshipped, I sang manasa yetulo in malayamArutham and nannu vidaCi in rItigOwLa. I walked behind the temple and sat under a huge tree on the banks of Kaveri. After enjoying the location and the breeze for a few minutes, I walked back to my cab.

Next stop was the navagraha sthalam for Chandra at thingalur, a 15 minute drive from tiruvaiyyAru. I very vividly remembered the winding path from the main road to the temple through the paddy fields from my previous trip here. After worshipping the Lord, I sang Chandram Bhaja mAnasa in asAvEri. As it was approaching noon, I had to get a move on. The final stop in my pilgrimage was swAmimalai on my way back to kumbakonam. After having darshans of Lord Shiva and Parvati here, I walked up the steps to Lord Swaminatha's Sannidhi. I sang swAminAtha paripAlayAsumAm in nATa and seeked His blessings. I sang daNDAyudapANim (Anandabhairavi) and the majestic shrI subrahmaNyAya namastE (kAmbhOji) as I walked around the beautiful temple. Guru drove me back to Kumbakonam. After thanking him for the wonderful service, I had a nice lunch and caught up on some sleep in the afternoon. Around 5 in the evening, I had a hot coffee and went on a nice evening walk around this beautiful temple town. I purchased some sweets and a pack each of the famous kumbakonam appalams and kumbakonam coffee :). I went to the nAgESwaran temple in kumbakonam and spent my evening there before returning to my hotel. Had dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

On December 6th, I had to catch my train back to bangalore at 8:30 pm. From my college days, I had fallen in love with the Sangeethas restaurant next to Central bus stand in trichy. Just for eating there, I had decided to board the train from trichy instead of kumbakonam :). In the morning, I woke up a little late, took a bath and went to the famous kumbESwarar-mangalAmba temple. I sang mangaLAmbAyai namastE in mALavaSri and had a wonderful darshan. I then went to the sArangapANi temple and returned to my hotel. After having a sumptuous lunch, I packed my luggage, settled the hotel bill and around 3:30, I left kumbakonam. I bid adieu to this amazing place with a tear in my eye and caught the next bus to trichy. I passed by the BrihadISwara temple and my beloved college REC,trichy once again. I reached Trichy around 6:30 pm and ate to my heart's content at Sangeethas. Amazingly, the manager recognized me from my college days (because of my extremely often visits I presume :)) and came and spoke to me :). After a nice, slow dinner of bhel puri, pAv bhAji, one masala dOsa and a hot coffee, I walked to the train station at 7:30.

Since it was December 6th (Babri masjid disaster day ;(), there were elaborate security arrangements at the train station. After a brisk frisk through my luggage by the police, I entered the trichy station from where I have travelled so many times during my college days. The train journey was uneventful and I was back in Bangalore the next day. I will forever remember the 4 days I spent in and around kumbakonam visiting all those temples. The only regret about this trip was that I could not go to the mannArguDi rAjagOpAlaswAmi temple :(. It is just a 20 km drive from AlanguDi but because of the heavy rains, a connecting bridge was broken and unfortunately, I could not go there ;(. I am sure I will be going back to kumbakonam once again in 2009 and I will for sure visit mannArguDi and ofcourse go back to tiruvArUr :) :). I thank you all for reading patiently and listening to my experiences :). If any one of you is planning to make a similar trip, please contact me and I will be more than happy to share with you some travelling information (route maps etc) so that you can plan your trips accordingly. I feel blessed to have gone on this pilgrimage and I am sure this is just the beginning and there will be many more temple trip in the coming years :).

A trip to remember-1

2008-12-17T09:20:00.002-05:00

On the 4th of December, 2008, I finally set foot on the holy land of tiruvArUr, the birth place of some of the greatest souls to have walked this planet. I had to start off this post on my amazing pilgrimage with the high point. Now that I have mentioned this and got my urge satiated, I will try to list the temples I visited in chronological order and write a few lines about any special incidents or feelings I experienced in this extraordinary trip. For those of you who are just interested in the pictures and not in my ramblings, please click here

On December 2nd, 2008, I left my house in Bangalore on what I would call as my "dream-come-true" trip to South India. I bid farewell to an anxious amma (anxious for sending me alone) and boarded the Mysore-Mayiladuthurai express from BNG junction at 7 pm. Except for the excitement of going on a train after 4 years, the evening was quite uneventful. The next day morning, I woke up at 4 am and immediately opened the window to feast my eyes upon the glorious country side. The rich paddy fields and the "margazhi oodha kaatru" waltzed into my heart. Around 6 am, I disembarked the train at kumbakonam junction. After checking into "Hotel Kasi International", I started off the day with a cup of hot kumbakonam coffee..the taste still lingers in my tongue :). I took a snappy bath and made a few calls to find the cheapest cab service inorder to start my visits to the temples. After narrowing down, my cab driver friend for the next couple of days, Guru picked me up in that ever faithful Ambassador car :).

I started off with the Raghu navagraha sthalam at tirunAgESwaram. The first thing that struck me about this temple was the beauty of the temple tank. I washed my feet and entered the temple to see nAganAtha swAmi and the separate Raghu Bhagavan sannidhi. I sang "nAgAbharaNam nagajabharaNam". Next I went to Uppiliappan temple (stone's throw away from the Raghu temple) and sang "ShankachakragadApANim". From there, I went to Pratyangira dEvi temple, made famous by the former chief minister J.Jayalalitha. The dEvi here was perhaps the most ugra (angry) I have seen. Next stop was Thirumeichur lalitAmbika temple. With mEganAtha swAmi, the dEvi here moved me to tears. Also, the lalitAmbikai here wears an anklet ("kolusu") in one of her legs. This anklet has a wonderful story behind it as narrated by Shreekrishna's mother when I met her nearly 2 months back. I will get the full details from her and post it in my next blog.

The next temple in line was Koothanoor Saraswathi amman temple. Guru took major pains to drive us to this temple as one of the bridges were broken. It was well worth the effort. This special temple dedicated to Saraswathi amman was a mesmerising sight. I sang shrI saraswathi namOstutE in Arabhi. From there, it was a long drive straight to tirunallAru, the navagraha kSEtram for SanISwara Bhaghavan. On route, I saw some of the damages the recent torrential rains have caused. dharbAraNyESwarar in all his majestic beauty welcomed me :). I proceeded to the SanISwara sannidhi and witnessed a beautiful ArAdhanai for the deity. I felt extremely blessed to witness this and sang "diwAkara tanujam". With no heart to leave this temple, I reluctantly moved on to tirukadaiyUr. For some reason, the abhirAmi thAyAr-amritakadESwarar temple here was distinctly imprinted in my mind from my previous trip. The huge, beautiful gopuram at the corner of the dead end road brought tears to my eyes. Altogether, it was an overwhelming experience here. I sang shankaramabhirAmi manOharam with tears of joy ;(.

From here, we drove further east to kEthu navagraha sthalam at keezhperumpallam. Though the temple lacked great embellishments or a big gopuram, there were still some very strong vibations that I experienced here. Since it was nearing lunch time, I had to rush so that I could cover a few more temples before they closed the sannidhis. Next temple in line was the Budhan navagraha sthalam at tiruvEnkAdu. With a newly touched up gopuram and a huge prAkAram, the shwEtAranyESwarar swAmi temple with the sannidhi for Budhan bhagavAn was an extremely pleasant sight to say the least. The temple has two huge tanks and long corridors. I sang budhamAshrayAmi on a wednesday at the budhan sthalam..what more could I ask for. From there, we rushed to vaithISwaran kovil, the navagraha sthalam for angArakam. This kSetram is of special significance for any dIkshithar bhakta since he was named after Muthukumaraswami at this temple. The main sannidhis of VaidyanAtha swAmi and tailAmba dEvi were beautiful. I proceeded to the muthukumAraswAmi sannidhi and sang bAlasubrahmanyam in surutti. I managed to make it to the sannidhi as they were closing down for the morning with the deepArAdhanai. I then proceeded to the angArakam sannidhi and sang angArakam AshrayAmyaham and rejoiced watching all the reddish decorations for the God.

Guru and I decided to stop at mayilAduthurai for lunch and take a small nap until the temples reopened in the evening at 4. After a nice lunch, we went and parked the car in front of the abhyAmbA-mAyUranAthar temple and took a small nap :). I was the first person to enter the temple at 4. Needless to say, it was a beautiful and a pretty huge temple with long prAkArams. The mAyUranAthar sannidhi was brilliantly decorated and I sang mAyUranAtham in dhanyASi. I continued to the abhyAmbA sannidhi and spent some time there. The dEvi here was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. She was dressed in green and I could feel extremely divine vibrations here that my knees started shaking. I sang abhayAmbA jagadamba in kalyANi, abhayAmbikAyAH in kEdAragowLa and shrI abhayAmbA in shrI rAgam. With utmost reluctance, I left this temple and proceeded to vadAnyESwarar temple, which is hardly a few kilometres from the mAyUranAthar temple. The local people at mayilAduthurai call this temple as Vallalar kovil. vadAnyESwarar has a small sannidhi but I once experienced some very high vibrations that instantly brought tears to my eyes. I had a nasty headache because of roaming since morning but the energy here was so great that my headache went away in a break of sweat. I sang vadAnyESwaram, the best dEvagAndhAri ever. I then visited the jnAnAbikA sannidhi and continued to the next sthalam.

We started our way back to kumbakonam and had quite a few temples on the way. The next stop was tirumanamchEri. The kokilAmbAl temple here is very famous and the grandeur was marvellous. We moved on to a small yet famous vanadurga temple at kadirAmangalam. True to the name, the durga dEvi here sits pretty much in the middle of a forest. But, the effort was well worth it. The deity was decorated beautifully with a garland made out of lemons. I loved the location of this temple and ofcourse the deity's brilliance. Next stop was kanjanUr. The sukra bhagavAn temple was deeply engraved in my mind from the previous visit (probably 10 years ago). Unfortunately I dont know shrI sukra bhagavantam and hence did not sing anything here :(. It was slowly getting dark as I left this temple and continued to Suriyanar kovil, the navagraha sthalam for Sun God. I wanted to be at the temple exactly at dawn or dusk, but I was a little late and reached the temple only around 7 pm. Unlike other navagraha sthalams where an amsha of Lord Shiva is the main deity, the main sannidhi at Suriyanar kovil is Lord Surya himself. Since He is believed to be an amalgam of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, Surya occupies the central and a supreme position among the planetary members. He sits in an elevated platform and as you go on a pradakshanam around the temple, you will come across separate sannidhis for all the other navagrahams. I hummed SuryamUrtE as I walked around the temple.

As I left Suriyanar kovil, night had fallen. The last stop for the day was tribuvanam (tiru-pU-vanam). The majestic SarabESwarar temple here is very famous. This was perhaps the most well-maintained temple that I have seen till date. The towering gopuram and the huge corridors stand testimony to some of the best architectures ever. I was really tired by this time and my legs were aching. I found it a challenge to complete the pradakshinam :). It was 15 minute ride back to my hotel at kumbakonam. I had a nice dinner, made a complete tally of the money I had spent for the day and rejoiced in the fact that I had covered 17 temples in one day :) :). After informing amma of my rich haul :), I went to sleep very early (around 10 pm) because I was tired and since the next day, I was to go to Srirangam and to tiruvArUr :D :D.

Since this post was a little longer than I thought it would be, I will stop here and continue with the rest of my experience in the next post. Hope I did not bore you guys with my own stories and experiences. I will try to wrap up my next post a little shorter than this :). More later.

kanjadaLAyatAkSi-kamalA manOhari

2008-11-13T09:56:00.007-05:00

As I type this post, I am listening to a wonderful, heart melting mukhAri that my brother is singing in the next room and munching on yummy "maavu urundais" cooked by amma. He is practicing for his audition next week for a higher grade in AIR, bangalore. It is at moments like these that I feel extremely happy to have done what I did..leave the US and come back home. However, the flip side of the decision is that I have lost touch with so many close friends in the US (SK, hari..my gurunathars) mainly because of the time zone difference ;(. Goddess kAmAkSi should show mercy and show me the way to have the cake and eat it too.

I am leaving on a small pilgrimage to the kumbakonam belt next tuesday for a week. The highlights of the trip would be visits to the Srirangam temple, the navagraha temples, mannArguDi rAjagOpAlaswAmi temple, nAgai SoundararAja perumAl temple and the grand tiruvArur tyAgarAja swAmi temple with visits to the houses of the trinity. As any reader of this blog can imagine, I am eagerly awaiting that minute when I step into dIkshithar's house (his memorial mandapam). I will care less if my soul escapes the realms of this earth after that moment. I have been planning my schedule to cover all these places in addition to many more temples in this region. As I mentioned above, these are a few blissful moments that this soul has been waiting to experience for an entire lifetime :). At the end of the trip, I am going to chennai for the music season :) :). The next 4 weeks should be filled with fun indeed :). I would also like to take this opportunity to wish my good friend Vachooo akka a wonderful marriage and a very happy married life. I am extremely excited about meeting Bala sir and Vachoo too :).

Moving on to the dikshithar krithi for today, I will be taking up "kanjadaLAyatAksi" in rAga manOhari, a beautiful composition embellishing Goddess kAmAkSi of kAnchi. Goddess kAmAkSi is considered as a representation of shrI vidya. The idol and the meru at this temple are carved out of Salagrama and is believed to have been consecrated by sage Durvasa. Legend has it that the Goddess performed severe penance under a mango tree at kAnchi and worshipped a shivalingam made out of sand, inturn gaining Lord Shiva's hand in marriage. The dEvi here sits in a majestic padmAsana posture signifying complete control over the universe. The original kAmakSi amman temple, where Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have worshipped the Goddess and established the shri chakra. Initially, the Goddess here was a ugra form (an amsha of anger). After Adi Shankara's worship, the Goddess is said to have become peaceful and attained Her present day Shanta swarUpa. The new kAmAkSi amman temple was built in the 12th Century. More details of the temple and controversies on the authenticity of Adi Shankara sculptures at this temple can be found here

With this small introduction, I will move on to the krithi now. According to the SSP, manOhari is classified as an upAnga janya of the 33rd mELa gangataraNgiNi with the scale "Sgmpns; sndpmgs". dIkshithar straightaway employs the avarOhaNam in the opening line of the krithi,

Pallavi:

kanja daLAyatAkshi kAmAkshi
kamalA manOhari tripura sundari

Meaning:

dIkshithar directly addresses the Goddess "kAmAkSi!! The one who has large eyes ("akSi") like lotus ("kanja") leaf ("daLa"). The one who is dear ("manOhari") to Goddess Lakshmi ("kamalA")-Goddess tripurasundari!!"

dIkshithar beautifully brings in the raga mudra in the pallavi itself. This rAga has become so famous exclusively because of this krithi that people refer to the rAga itself as kamalamanOhari. As I mentioned above, the krithi starts off with the avarohaNam-"sndpmgpmg" at "kanjadaLAyatAkSi". The final oscillating gAndAram here gives the krithi a wonderful flavour. He immediately follows this with the ArOhanam-"sgmpn" at "kAmAkSi". The gAndAram seems to carry a really nice tone that gives this raga the identity and dIkshithar has repeatedly emphasized the usage of this gAndAram in this krithi. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

kunjara gamanE maNi maNDita manjuLa caraNE
mAmava Siva panjara Suki pankaja mukhi
guru guha ranjani durita bhanjani niranjani

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Goddess in detail- "The one who has a majestic gait ("gamanE") like an elephant ("kunjara"). The one who has beautiful ("manjuLa") feet ("caraNE") adorned with ("maNDita") gems ("maNi"). Please protect me ("mAmava")!! The one who is the parrot ("Suki") encaged in the cage ("panjara") of Siva. The one who is lotus ("pankaja") faced ("mukhi"). The one who captivates ("ranjani") guruguha. The one who destroys ("bhanjani") all afflictions ("durita") and the one who is blemishless ("niranjani")."

dIkshithar employs a majestic madhyamakAla gait to describe the Goddess's gait in the anupallavi. The pallavi begins with a "nsgsgGM" phrase. The entire anupallavi gallops in madhyamakAla. The "nsgsg" phrase seems to be a pretty significant sangathi as dIkshithar repeatedly uses it to bring out the rAga bhAva. He once again employs the "nsgsg" phrase at "mAmavasiva".

dIkshithar alludes to the Goddess as the parrot in the cage of Siva. One can easily derive a much deeper meaning for this reference. The body will become a lifeless lump if there was no soul to move to physically, mentally and spiritually. Similarly, there is no point in any form ("Siva") to exist if there is no life force ("Shakti"). Thus, dIkshithar beautifully refers to the dEvi as the soul/driving force encaged within the body. dIkshithar closes the anupallavi with an amazing "psnd,pdpm,mgmpn" phrase at "durita bhanjani,niranjani". In my humble opinion, the anupallavi of this krithi serves as a websters dictionary for this rAga.

caraNam:

rAkA SaSi vadanE su-radanE
rakshita madanE ratna sadanE
SrI kAncana vasanE su-rasanE
SRngArASraya manda hasanE
EkAnEkAkshari bhuvanESvari
EkAnandAmRta jhari bhAsvari
EkAgra manO-layakari SrIkari
EkAmrESa gRhESvari Sankari

Meaning:

dIkshithar continues to describe the dEvi's beauty as he addresses Her as "the one whose face ("vadanE") is like the full ("rAka") moon ("SaSi") and the one with beautiful teeth ("su-radanE"). The one who rescued ("rakSita") cupid ("madanE"). The one who is in a bejeweled ("ratna") peeta ("sadanE") and the one who is adorned with ("vasanE") auspicious ("Sri") gold ("kAnCana"). The one who has a beautiful tongue ("su-rasanE"). The one whose beautiful smile ("manda hasanE") is filled with shringAra rasa."

In the madhyamakala sAhitya, dIkshithar continues to describe the Goddess as "the one who is embodiment of single and multiple syllabled ("Eka-anEka-akshari") mantras. The one who rules the universe ("bhuvanESwari"). The one who is like a waterfall ("jhari") of blissful ambrosia ("EkAnandAmrta") and the one is resplendent ("bhAsvari"). The one who brings auspiciousness ("Srikari") to those who worship her with steadfast devotion ("EkAgra manOlaya"). The Goddess who rules the house ("grhESwari") of Lord EkAmrESwara and the one who symbolizes auspiciousness ("Sankari")."

dIkshithar emphasizes the fruits of staunch devotion in these few lines. Look at the details he has observed in his meditative state of mind including the beautiful teeth and the graceful smile of the dEvi. The Goddess's smile once again reinforces the fact that She is no longer a "ugra" amsha of Shakti. There is a chitta swaram in this krithi which I love :). If you havent heard the swarams, I strongly urge you to look at the SSP for this krithi.

I am already excited about my train journey to Kumbakonam and my visit to all the other temples in the region :). Hence I conclude this post here. In my next post, I will post pictures of all the temples I was privileged to go to and write a few lines about my trip in brief. Watch out for some exclusive pictures of dIkshithar's house (now converted into a small temple for the trinity). Hoping to see you all on the other side of this pilgrimage as a much better human being :) !! Shri gurubhyO namah.

mInAkSi mE mudaM dEhi- gamakakriyA

2008-10-27T09:11:00.001-05:00

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous deepavali. I apologize for not being able to post for a long time now. As most of my friends reading this blog know, I wound up my operations in the US and came back home to India on October 20th. Hence, the last month or so has been a little crazy because of packing up and travelling. Now that I am back at home, I should be able to post a little more frequently. It feels awesome to be back home, bathing in amma's love and good food and drowning in anna's wonderful music, going to temples and meeting up with friends- Life has never been more meaningful.

This past sunday, I went to my good friend Shreekrishna (SK)'s house and spent the whole day with his parents, his sister and Vasumathi Sridharan (perhaps the best akka I ever had :)). After getting to learn more about SK and his musical and academic achievements (to write about these, an entire new post will not suffice), I feel even more honored and privileged to share this blogspace with him and to have moved in close quarters with him. SK's mother showered me with more love and good food :). As I mentioned before, life seems to be much more complete than ever before.

Moving on to the krithi for the day, I will take up mInAkSi mE mudaM dEhi in gamakakriyA. Today being naraka chaturdashi (dIkshithar's samadi day), it is most appropriate that I will be blogging about this krithi. As most of you would have heard, it is said that dIkshithar shed his mortal coils on narakachaturdashi while his disciples sang the lines "mInalOcani pASamOcani" in the anupallavi of this krithi. Saluting the great guru,

Pallavi:

mInAkSi mE mudaM dEhi mEcakAngi rAja mAtangi

Meaning:

dIkshithar directly addresses the Goddess " O Goddess mInAkSi, give ("dEhi") me ("mE") bliss ("mudaM")". He describes Her as "The one who wears golden ornaments ("mEcakAngi") and the one who exists in the form of rAja mAtangi."

As I mentioned in my previous blog, there is a lot of folklore associated with this temple. Please refer to my prior post on the significance behind the term "rAja mAtangi" used by dIkshithar to describe the Goddess at Madurai. The antyAkshara prAsam set in motion in the pallavi pervades all through the krithi. The krithi starts off with "S, rssd" and dIkshithar immediately starts weaving the ArOhanam with the "Srgrgm" phrase at mI"nAkSi mE". The "Snd" phrase at "kA"ngi melts the rasikas' heart. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

mAnamAtRmEyE mAyE marakataccAyE shivajAyE
mInalOcani pASamOcani mAnini kadambavanavAsini

Meaning:
dIkshithar gives Her the ultimate description in the anupallavi. He describes the Goddess as "the concept/knowledge ("mAna")(of the ultimate truth), the one who knows ("mAtR") (the ultimate truth) and the measurable/known part ("mEyE")(of the ultimate truth)". He continues to describe Her as "the one who creates delusion ("mAyE"), the one who has the color of emerald ("marakataccAyE") and the one who knows ("jAyE") Shiva." dIkshithar continues to describe Her as "The fish-eyed Goddess ("mInalOcani"), the one who destroys the bond of worldly attachment ("pASamOcani"), the venerated one ("mAnini") and the one who resides ("vAsini") in the kadamba forest ("kadambavana")".

What a beautiful anupallavi. dIkshithar pays huge respect to the Goddess in these few lines. He clearly states that She is the embodiment of ultimate truth, and that by worshipping her, one can be liberated from all the worldly attachments. dIkshithar, being the yogi he was, shook off his mortal coils and attained Sripuram while making his disciples sing these very lines. When rendered properly with bhakti, these lines combined with the beautiful retta kalai Adi tALam makes one's hair stand and the rasika in me always has that tear rolling down his cheeks while saluting this great soul ;(.

Grammatically, the alliterations in the first line of the anupallavi and the antyAkshara prAsam makes the rhyme scheme gallop at a steady pace. Musically, dikshithar uses swarAksharams for the "ma" shabda in the first line of the anupallavi. Personally, I love the "m, dmgrg" phrase at "mAnamAtR". The entire last line is beyond description. "Ss, srsn" at mInalOcani followed by "dd, sndp" at pASamOcani promptly melts the rasika's heart. And he caps it all off with a brilliant "ga da" swarAksharam at "kada"mba. What a genius ;(. Since life must move on, I will continue with the charaNam,

Charanam:

madurApurinilayE maNivalayE malayadwaja pANDyarAja tanayE
viduviDambanavadanE vijayE vINAgAna daSagamakakriyE
madumadamOdita hRdayE sadayE mahAdEva sundarESapriyE
madumuraripu sOdari SAtOdari vidiguruguha vaSankari Sankari

Meaning:

dIkshithar sings "She is the one who dwells ("nilayE") in madurApuri. The one who wears gem-studded ("maNi") bangles ("valayE") and the one who was born as the daughter of ("tanayE") of King Malayadwaja Pandya. The one whose beautiful face ("vadanE") outshines ("viDambana") the moon ("vidu") and the one who is victorious ("vijayE"). The one who created ("kriyE") the ten gamakas associated with vINa music. The one who brings delight ("mOdita") to one's heart ("hRdayE") which is as sweet as honey ("madumada") and the one who is compassionate ("sadayE"). The one who is dear ("priyE") to Lord SundareSa. The sister ("sOdari") of Lord Vishnu, who is the enemy ("ripu") of the asuras Madu and mura and the one with a slender waist ("SAtOdari"). The one who captivates ("vaSankari") Lord Brahma ("vidi") and Lord guruguha. She is Shankari, the ever auspicious one".

dIkshithar packs one big punch in the charaNam as he brings in the name of the kSEtra ("madhurapuri), describes the lineage of the Goddess ("malayadhwaja pAndyarAja"), incorporates the rAga mudra and the composer mudra. As you would recollect from my previous post, I had mentioned that Goddess rAja mAtangi is the yogic counterpart of Goddess Saraswati and is often described as holding a vINa. dIkshithar brilliantly brings in this amsha of the dEvi while at the same time incorporates the rAga mudra at "vINAgAna dasagamakakriyE"..what a genius. >--<-o. Grammatically, If you notice, throughout the krithi (pallavi, anupallavi and charaNam), dIkshithar uses the "yE" and the "I" prAsams. He employs similiar words to describe different things in the charaNam, for eg, he uses madu for both "honey" as well as the demon and uses vaSankari and Sankari one after the other..yet another display of his brilliance. Overall, a great masterpiece that has had a huge impact on me and I am sure many rasikas would share the same belief. As I conclude this post, I once again wish everyone a very happy deepavali. The best way to celebrate, as always, would be to listen to dIkshithar krithis and eat amma's food :). Continuing with dEvi krithis, as one of the readers had requested, I will take up kanCadalAyatAkSi in kamalAmanOhari in my next post. Until then, shrI gurubhyO namah:

mAmava mInAkSi- varALi

2008-09-04T18:48:00.006-05:00

It has been nearly a month since I posted anything here. I have been travelling a bit on the weekends and hence have not been able to blog :(. Further, I am winding up here in the US and going back to India for good on October 18th. For Labor day weekend, I had amazing fun with SK, hari and audi. We spent a few days together and had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Ajit Bhaskar and his wife Nandini and meeting Prasanna Venkatesh, a devout student of carnatic music :). On the following weekend, I travelled to Indianapolis and met my Ann arbor room mates, Bharath, Aditya and Sharanya :). We had perhaps the best fun ever in those 2 days. At times like these, I profusely thank God to have given me such wonderful friends, without whom life in the US would not have been possible in the first place, let alone boring and dull.

In the last 3 years and 2 months I have spent in the US, I have changed a lot- predominantly for the good and for betterment :). Apart from the maturing experience, it has been a few years in which I have gained so many new and wonderful friends which is ultimately what matters in life. The love my friends have showered on me (and will continue to shower on me for this lifetime) just makes my hair stand up and I immediately get goosebumps. Hence, I do a sAshTAnga namaskara at all these angels that God has sent to love me >--<-o @ All!!

Shri Sanjay Subrahmanyan is performing here at Austin, Texas on October 4th and I am really excited about the fact that I will get to listen to him live after a very, very long time. Hopefully he renders some thalaivar krithis for this guruguha dAsan :).

Today, I will take up the beautiful dIkshithar krithi, mAmava mInAkSi in varALi composed by the nAdajyOthi at Madurai. Before I dive into the krithi, I would like to give a brief introduction about this kSEtram and its folklore. According to mythology, Indra once killed an innocent demon by mistake and in order to escape the effects of this sin, Indra built a small lingam in the forest he was roaming and propitiated Lord Shiva. After severe penance, Lord Shiva forgave him and Indra built a small temple at that site. King Malayadhwaja Pandyan was ruling this part of the country called kadambavanam and he came to know of this small temple. He decided to expand this temple into a big complex and build the city of Madurai around it. The king was childless and did severe penance to please Lord Shiva and beget a child. Lord Shiva answered his prayers and gave the king a 3 year old ayonija (not born out of a womb) daughter. This child was a manifestation of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti. Due to her beautiful fish-like eyes, the king named her as mInAkSi. She grew up to be a great warrior and after the king's demise, ruled the kingdom ably.

I must mention the yogic interpretation of Goddess mInAkSi. Sage Mathanga was from the lower chandal caste but did not believe in the caste system and wanted to attain brahmin hood through penance. Through the kripa of Lord Indra and Goddess Saraswati, sage matanga was given a beautiful daughter, Matangi. In tantraic tradition, there are ten wisdom Goddesses, Mahavidyas and Matangi is one of them and is believed to be the yogic counterpart of Goddess Saraswathi. On another note, these ten Vidyas are believed to be the source of then ten avatars of Vishnu.

Goddess Matangi is believed to have a dark complexion and she resides in the vishuddhi chakra at the throat. Through upAsana, She can be invoked for command over speech and knowledge. Goddess mInAkSi at Madurai is believed to be this amsha of Goddess Shakti. dIkshithar very beautifully brings this aspect out in the very first lines of the pallavi by addressing the Goddess as "rAja mAtangi-princess mAtangi", thereby consolidating both the physical as well as the yogic beliefs as I have described above. Since mAtangi is the yogic counterpart of Goddess Saraswathi, she holds a veena studded with emeralds and this is once again brought out by dIkshithar in the pallavi itself. With this introduction, I will now delve into the krithi,

Pallavi:

mAmava mInAkSI rAjamAtaHNgi
mANikyavallakIpANi madhuravANi varALivENi

Meaning:

dIkshithar sings "Oh Goddess mInAkSI, the fish-eyed one, the princess mAtangi, please protect me ("mAmava")." He describes the Goddess as "The one possessing an emerald studded vINa ("mANikyavallakI") in Her hands. The one with a mellifluous voice ("madhuravANi") and the one with dark hued hair ("vENi") that resembles a swarm of bees ("varALi")."

dIkshithar directly addresses the Goddess and seeks refuge. Being a vainika himself, he promptly salutes Her and refers to Her vINa. Musically, the key "PMGRS" phrase occurs at "mInAkSI" followed by the defining "S n gr G M" phrase at "varALi vENi". dIkshithar once again shows his command over the language by brilliantly incorporating the rAga mudhra as a figure of speech describing the beauty of the Goddess' hair :). Other than that, it is a pretty simple and peaceful pallavi. Moving on to the samaSTi caraNam,

samASTi caraNam:

sOmasundarEshvara sukhasphUrti rUpiNi
shyAmE shaHNkari digvijaya praTApini
hEmaratnAbharaNabhUSaNi Isha guruguha hRdAgAriNi
kAmitArttha vitaraNadhOraNi kArunyAmRtaparipUraNi
kAmakrOdhadi nivAriNi kadambakAnanavihAriNi

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Goddess as "The embodiment ("rUpiNi") of the vibrating force ("sphUrti") that delights ("sukha") Lord SomasundarEshvara. The dark-hued ("shyAmE") one who does good deeds ("shaHNkari") and the one who has the glory of conquering all directions ("digvijaya") and is the ruler of the world ("pratApini"). The one adorned ("bhUSaNi") by gem studded ("ratna") golden ("hEma") ornaments ("AbharaNa") and the one who resides in the heart ("hRdAgAriNi") of Lord Guruguha, the preceptor of Lord Shiva ("Isha"). The one who bestows ("vitaraNadhOraNi") all the desired boons ("kAmitArttha") of devotees. The one filled with ("paripUraNi") the nectar of compassion ("kArunyAmRta"). The one who removes ("nivAriNi") lust ("kAma"), anger ("krOda") and all other vices. The one who resides ("vihAriNi") in the kadamba forests ("kAnana")."

Look at how beautifully dIkshithar depicts the entire shrine. He brings the sannidhi right in front of your eyes in all his descriptions in the caraNam. There is once again no yogic or puranic references here that need detail explanations. He employs a vicious "S r ss S n G" at "sukhasphUrti" and the word itself vibrates to bring joy to one's hearts just like the word suggests :). This is followed by a rich "n S G M; D D N" at "shyAmE shankari" that brings out the essence of the pUrvAngam clearly. I also love "S N G R" at "hRdAgArini" and the way the caraNam ends as "nDpmgr-rsGM" at "kadambakAnanavihAriNi" and beautifully merges into the pallavi :). I dont think there is much more to beat upon here and I will promptly wind up.

Since I have given a decent explanation about the kSEtra and since one of the readers had requested, I think I will take up "mInAkSi mE mudam dEhi" in my next post. Though I wanted to reserve this krithi as the very last krithi for this blog (for obvious reasons), I guess I will take it up at this juncture and will provide some insight. I will hopefully post a few more krithis before leaving the US. See you all very soon :). shrI gurubhyO namah:!!

Panchabhoota kshEtra krithis - An email excerpt

2008-09-03T00:42:00.008-05:00

Being the highly inert character I am, it takes a lot for me to get down to writing something in one shot. However, one fine day, I felt spirited to discuss my understanding of 3 of the 5 panchabhoota kShEtra krithis with a very close uncle (read - nearly father figure) of mine, and sent him a rather verbose email. An excerpt of the same is reproduced here. I, by virtue of being human, may have erred in many a place; I'd only be glad to rectify all such, if any.

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I want to share some certain facts about the 3 panchabhoota-kShetrams - chidambaram, tiruvaNNAmalai and SrIkALahastI with you in this mail. Most of these might be superfluous, and already known, but the context in which they are put forth in the krithis of Dikshitar that I will talk about in chunks and how merely singing/these songs is sufficient to appease/woo the deities in these places, is what I want to discuss in this mail. There will be also be instances of Dikshitar's literary genius that I will rave about to no end (where I might begin to get painful to people!) Owing to that, this mail WILL test your endurance, with its length.

Introduction

Most of these kShEtrams fall in a belt rich with puranic tales and mythological events associated with them. Unfortunately, whenever I have visited these places, my lack of knowledge of the local languauge deterred me from reading and understanding more about the kShEtrams. Also, I have always wondered how to pray to these different forms of the same God at different kShEtrams. It is the same God, and one stOtram should do, but there are differences in the "swaroopa" and "kArya" (groping for an English translation here - in a loose sense, form and purpose of appearance at that kShEtram - Shiva as the Atmalingam in gOkarNam for eg., and as kirAta (hunter) in SrIshailam - difference in form and purpose) from one kShEtram to another, which makes each kShEtram unique. Thanks to widely traveling saints and saintly figures, we have with us, almost always, stOtrams or shlOkams composed and recited in praise of that unique deity at every kShEtram. But then again, due to our limited means to get to them (Such knowledge is far from being digitised 100% still) and inescapable involvement in mundane life, we rarely attempt to get access to such resources.

Luckily for me, and for many of us students of music, the widely traveling, highly knowledgeable and polyglot vaggEyakAras of the yesteryears, have almost always visited all these brilliant kShEtrams, and documented their prayers to the Almighty there, in the form of exceptional and brilliant krithis, which have been passed down generations for our benefit. So, thanks to their scholarship, the average level of understanding and knowledge about various kShEtrams becomes accessible to those associated with Carnatic music. With some effort towards understanding their picturesque sketching of Sanskrit grammar, a whole new level of elevation can be reached, merely by enjoying the lyrical and grammatical beauty of these krithis. Amongst these, Muthuswami Dikshitar stands out, with a notorious reputation of having composed songs even on vaTukanAtha, found in a roadside temple at Thiruvaiyyaru !!

Being a devout student of Sanskrit, my love towards and minuscule understanding about Dikshitar krithis is not very coincidental. So, I will be citing from Dikshitar krithis alone, in a bid to try erase the thin line demarcating carnatic music and bhakti (from a personal perspective).

Chidambaram
As you may already know, shiva at chidambara is formless, or more aptly, adorns the form of "ether" - AkAsha, the all pervading formless panchabhootam. Muthuswami Dikshitar, in his krithi called "chidambara naTarAjamoortim", mentions this in the very first paragraph, pallavi, of the krithi as "chidambara-naTarAjamUrtim chintayAmi atanukeertim". The term atanukeertim, meaning "The one who is famous for being formless". ('tanu' means 'body or form', 'atanu' means 'bodiless or formless) qualifies the ethereal form of shiva. He talks about the consort of shiva at chidambara, shivakAmI (often mispronounced in tamil as sivagami), in the 2nd paragraph - madambA shivakAmIpatim. He refers to dEvi as 'madambA', meaning my mother, with a passionate emphasis on "my", seen quite often in his dEvi krithis.

He goes on to describe the naTarAja there as "shining with the ethereal joy derived from the cosmic dance" in his krithi Ananda-naTana-prakAsham (which is a panchabhoota krithi) in the pallavi - "Ananda-naTana-prakAsham chitsabhEsham AshrAyami, shivakAmavalleesham". The consort of shiva is referred to as shivakAmavalli! What a beautiful phrase to refer to pArvati! Further, he goes on to attribute the form of AkAsha to shiva in the phrase "bhuktimuktiprada dharAkAsham" in the anupallavi. The unintentional, yet intentional attribution to the kShEtram as such, comes in the phrase "shArddUlacharmAmbaram chidambaram", in the charanam, which talks of the formlessness of naTarAja and the kShEtram in one word. The beauty of the word chidambaram itself is evident in its grammatical split chidambaram = chit + ambaram. I confess not to have a good understanding of the depth of the meaning of this word, but my interpretation is that of "ambaram iva chit" = "a level of consciousness as pure as that of Ether". chit here refers to the 2nd of the 3 - sat-chit-Anandam. I may be totally wrong with this here. Moving on, Shiva's pose of tAnDava is brought out in the term vinOdatANDava - the cosmic dance which is vinOda, fun and frolic, to him.

The richness of description of Shiva, his concert and a complete qualification of his form at chidambaram are so succinctly put forth in these two compositions. Of course, there are a few more compositions on naTarAja at chidambaram (shivakAmeepatim chintayAmyaham is one that comes to me right away).

The lyrics of these songs are available at the links hyperlinked to the krithi name - AnandanaTanaprakAsham (Lyrics, Audio), chidambaranaTarAjamUrtim (Lyrics, Audio), ShivakAmpatim chintayAmyaham (Lyrics, Audio), chidambaranaTarAjam AshrayE&ham (Lyrics). Also, do listen to shivakAmIshwarIm chintayAmyam, a krithi of dEvi shivakAmI at chidambaram (Lyrics, Audio).

Talking about chidambaram, there is a gOvindarAja temple there, which has also been sung in praise of in gOvindarAjEna rakShitO&ham (Lyrics, Audio).

SrIkAlahastI

I will be refering to primarily two krithis here. One of them is a panchabhoota-kShEtrakrithi, SrIkALahastIsha, and another is jnAnaprasUnAmbikE on shiva's consort at SrIkALahastI.

Shiva at SrIkALahasti is said to be in the form of Air (anila, vAyu, sameera etc.). This point is driven home right away by Dikshitar in the pallavi of the krithi on shiva at SrIkALahasti, "SrIkALahastIsha" as "SrIkALahastIsha shritajanAvana-sameerAkAra mAm pAhi rAjamouLE Ehi". The term sameerAkAra describes the AkAra, form, of shiva to be that of sameera, air. [I will not go into describing the legend of SrIkALahasti here (the story of the spider, snake and elephant). I refer you to the temple website for the same.]

The anupallavi of the same song beautifully ascribes the five fundamental elements, panchabhootas, to shiva. It also has one of the most brilliant uses of Sanskrit grammar in - "pAkArividhihariprANamayakOSha-anilAkAsha-bhoomi-salilAgni prakAsha shiva". There are numerous ways of understanding and interpreting this line. One direct understanding is that shiva manifests his jyoti/tejas in the form of anila (air), AkAsha (ether), bhoomi (earth), salila (water), agni (fire) - the panchabhootams. Of course, the panchabhoota-kShEtrams represent this fact. He is also described as 'pAkArividhi' - another lovely usage - which means "fate to the enemies of indra (pAka) - destroyer of all evil". (The link to the lyrics that I shall provide you with at the end of this section puts forth another interesting interpretation of the anupallavi. The difference in meanings could be beacuse, either I am completely ignorant, or Sanskrit is beautiful, or both!).

The charaNam is wonderful again. His consort is brought into picture directly with - "jnAnaprasUnAmbikApatE bhaktAbhimAna-dakShiNa-kailAsa-vAsa". It also talks about shakti in the form of jnAnaprasUnAmbikA. Moreover, the krithi incorporates a reference to SrIkALahastI as dakShiNa-kailAsa. In fact, in another kShEtram - shiva is proclaimed as the "resident" of dakShiNakAshi - kuzhikkarai in Central TN. Of course, the fact that kuzhikkarai is dakShiNakAshi is well corroborated with the use of the exact sanskrit translation, gartateera, in 2 of Dikshitar's magnum opuses - kASi vishwEshwara Ehi and SrI vishwanAtham (a krithi composed in 14 ragams), (as well as annapoorNE vishAlAkShI in sAma). While the former actually explicitly uses 'dakShiNa-kAshi vishwEshwara" for the anupallavi-pallavi joiner, the latter uses "SrIpura-niRRutti-bhAga-gartatIra-sthiratara bhoopAla-pAlanam".

A note on this now. Here, my interpretation, is that SrIpura refers to Thiruvarur, for Kuzhikkarai comes south of NH-67 connecting Tanjavur (which is west of tiruvarur) and tiruvarur. So, kuzhikkarai is indeed southwest of Thiruvarur. I support my claim as follows. The corroboration for SrIpura being thiruvArur comes in Dikshitar's SrI kamalAmbA jayati - in the line "SrIpura-bindu-madhyastha chintAmani-mandirastha shivAkAra-manchastitha shivakAmEshAngastha". Here, Dikshitar seems to be defining the "coordinates" of kamalAmbA, from the city, to the temple, to the position, to shiva himself! (Talk about shiva-shakti union!). Sure enough, the tiruvarur temple is right in the middle of the town - SrIpura-bindu-madhyastha (bindu-madhyastha = center point ?), and there on, the localization of the coordinates of kamalAmbA. Dikshitar never ceases to amaze me with his brilliance! Interestingly, mannArguDi, referred to as dakShiNa dwAraka (Thanks Sai!) in SrI rAjagOpAla, is also southwest of Thiruvarur and south of the NH-67, on SH-66 off nidamangalam! Now, back to kALahastI.

Another term that describes shiva ever-so-wonderfully here is "heenajAtikirAtakEna poojita-keertE" - One who is famous to be worshipped even by the low-caste hunter (kaNNappa, in folklore). I understand this line very differently, which gives a different, perhaps unreasonably ridiculous, interpretation too (Again, I might be stupid here). The term "heenajAtikirAtakEna-poojita-keertE" could be split as above, in which case, the "grammatical case" that flows through the krithi faces a small alteration - with the 3rd case (tRutIyA vibhakti) coming in (with kirAtakEna) and then restoring to the 'reference' case (with poojitakeertE) (called sambOdhana vibhakti in Sanskrit). However, the case can be maintained in the sambOdhana itself, if understood as "heenajAtikirAtaka" + "ina-poojita-keertE". Shiva is himself a hunter, who thrives in the graveyards, so the first term could refer to him. Shiva also has the distinction to be worshipped by Sun (ina = sun). In fact, though I could be taking it a little too far, Lord Rama is referred to as inakAnta in lore. tyAgarAja refers to rAma as inakula mandu in the song kanugoNTini. So, it could also be referring to the event in rAmAyaNa where rAma worships shiva during his search for seeta. (I don't know if there's a story of rAma getting to SrIkALahastI and such. The locals might know.) Multiple interpretations, the latter, possibly erroneous, but the beauty remains unquestionable.

Moving on, Dikshitar sings in praise of Shiva's consort here, jnAnaprasUnAmbikA, exclusively, in his krithi - jnAnaprasUnAmbikE. He refers to her husband in the song as kALahastIsha-manOllAsini.

To the extent that I know, these are the two songs sung in praise of kALahastIsha and kALahastI.

The lyrics of these songs may be found hyperlinked to the title - SrIkALahastIsha (Lyrics, Audio), jnAnaprasUnAmbikE ( Lyrics, Audio).

Tiruvannamalai

The panchabhoota-kShEtra krithi aruNAchalanAtham smarAmi talks about shiva here, in the form of fire. The beauty is that there is no explicit mention of the word fire or its synonyms in this krithi. More on that later.

The pallavi goes as "aruNAchalanAtham smarAmi anisham, apItakuchAmbA-samEtam SrI". Clearly, the reference to his consort at TiruvaNNAmalai, apItakuchAmbA has been brought in straight away! The anupallavi is something that makes aruNAchalEshwara unique, because this is a reference that is not come across in the other four. It goes "smaraNAt-kaivalyaprada-charaNAravindam"!!!! By mere 'thought' of shiva here (charaNaravinda = the lotus feet of shiva (aravinda = lotus)), one is granted kaivalyam - mukti! Interestingly shiva is referred to as 'smaraNAt-kaivalyaprada-charaNAravinda' here. So, shiva here is the shiva who grants kaivalyam to one who merely thinks of his lotus feet. (Reiteration for grammatical clarity.).

The reference to the 'fire' form comes in 3 places, metaphorically though. The reference 'taruNAdityakOTi-sankAsha-chidAnandam' is the first ; Shiva is compared to be as bright as crores of 'rising suns' - taruNa+Aditya (taruNa = young, Aditya = sun). Clearly, the energy of the rising sun is more abundant and rejuvenating than that of the setting sun. I admire Dikshitar for his tactful choice for a simile here - taruNAditya, not merely Aditya. Also, crore here doesn't mean a crore, but actually means infinite! So, the interpretive meaning here is aruNAchalEshwara is crores of times brighter than the sun, a reference to his 'fiery' form! The next reference comes immediately after the charaNam starts - "aprAkRuta-tEjOmaya-lingam". Notice the use of the term aprAkRuta - meaning, something not natural, something extraordinary/supernatural. Shiva in the linga form emanates a rather supernaturally extraordinary amount of mystic brilliance/tEjas, a second reference to the fiery form. The third reference is described later.

The rest of the charaNam just makes me cry in awe, with bhakti towards shiva-parvati, with bhakti towards Dikshitar and his brilliance. The lyrical majesty is inexplicable thru an email. Snippets follow however. Shiva is described as - "apramEyam" (unqualifiable, unlimited), "aparNAbja-bhRungam" - the most majestic description of a couple! - aparNA refers to pArvatI (she was on an unbroken fast to woo shiva. aparNA means a lady of unbroken fast), abja = lotus (ap-water, ja-born in), bhRungam = bee. How do we make sense out of this? Shiva is that to the lotus-like pArvati, what a bee is to a flower - the reason for being. Without bees, there are no flowers. Bees and flowers are amongst the first examples of interdependence and complementing that I can think of. Shiva is described later as viprOttama-vishEShAntaragam - the one who dwells in the hearts of austere people (vipra = brahmin, actually), and further as swapradIpa - self illuminating (one who is naturally brilliant), mouLividhRutagangam - the one who is crowned by gangA, swaprakAsha-jita-somAgnipatangam - the one, who, with his innate brilliance, has won over moon, fire and the sun, meaning to say, the one who leaves sun, moon, and fire far behind with his brilliance - another reference to the 'fiery' nature of shiva at tiruvaNNAmalai.

Thus, Dikshitar closes an exceptional, heavy, description of shiva at aruNAchala. I've only been very superficial in interpreting it. Almost 50% of the words herein have multiple interpretation, each more brilliant than the other! It's just a joy to even contemplate on it.

aruNachalanAtham smarAmi - (Lyrics, Audio).

Final comments

I have excluded the 2 other krithis - jambUpatE mAm pahI on jambukEshwara, shiva in the form of water, at the kShEtram - jambukEshwaram and chintaya mAkandamoolakandam on shiva at kAnchIpuram, in the form of earth. Note however, that the pallavi of either song, at once ascribes the respective panchabhoota forms to shiva at those kShEtrams. The philosophical implications that these krithis have from the advaitic viewpoint is a discussion that's very very interesting, and owing to its depth and verbosity, excuse itself from this mail.

Thanks for your patience, for reading all the way through till here!

There are so many such lovely instances of describing the almighty - be it Vishnu, shiva, dEvi, subrahmaNya, whosoever! There is just not enough time in life to live each moment thinking about all these. I also want to tell you about the tiruvArUr panchalingams and krithis associated with them, but that will have to wait a while. Perhaps when we meet next, we will have some time to discuss and deliberate and contemplate on such things.

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Thanks for all those patient souls who read all the way down to here. I'll be getting back to writing about the navagraha krithis, as soon as I can.

paradEvatA bRhatkucAmbA-dhanyASi

2008-08-22T21:04:00.006-05:00

August 22nd is an unforgettable date in my life for I lost my father on this fateful day, 23 years ago when I was not even 2 years old. Life would sure have been a lot different if he was here with me ;(. In some sorts, I paid homage to that noble soul by donating some money to the Asha Foundation and I feel extremely happy about it :). May God bless his soul, wherever he is ;(.

Tomorrow is GokulAshtami and I miss home very much ;(. All those memories of thattai, murukku, cheedai etc that amma prepares with all her love is making my eyes misty ;(. I hope atleast all of you who are reading this blog are at home and enjoying the delicacies prepared by your ammas and paatis :). Anyway..the best way to come out of this reticent mood would be to drown in the bliss of carnatic music.

Today, I will take up the majestic dhanyASi masterpiece, paradEvatA bRhatkucAmbA composed by the nAdajyOti in praise of Goddess bRhat sundara kucAmbikA, the consort of shrI mahAlingaswAmi at tiruvidaimarudur/madhyArjunam. This temple is believed to be around 1200 years old and is one of the famous pAdal petra sthalams because it is one of the 275 shrines of Lord Shiva mentioned in thEvAram hymns. MadhyArjunam literally translates to "middle maruda". There are 3 Shiva temples which have the maruda tree as the sthala vr.kshAs- shrIsailam in Andhra, tiruvidaimarudur and tiruppudaimarudur in tirunelveli. Geographically, since this temple is located in-between the other two, it is called madhyArjunam. The lingam here is a swayambu and because of its rich history, there are some amazing stories associated with this temple. I kindly request you to click here to learn everything there is to know about this temple.

In addition to this krithi, dIkshithar has composed a few other krithis at this magnificient temple, mahAlingESwarAya namastE in aTHAna, mahAlingESwaram in paraju and ofcourse the other paraju gem "cintayE mahAlingamUrthim" popularly sung by GNB. I will now move on to the krithi. In my humble opinion, the best thing about singing this krithi is that it provides you with a wonderful opportunity for dEvi nAmasmaraNam. The krithi is filled with different names of the Goddess, uttering which will purify your soul. The goddess in this kshEtra is dressed up in a dancer's attire (you can see the pleats near the legs if you observe in the picture above) and dIkshithar has composed this krithi similar to a dancer's main characteristics, a beautiful mixture of grace and gallop (madhyamakAla). Moving on to the krithi now,

Pallavi:

para dEvatA bRhatkucAmbA saMrakshatu mAM SrI jagadambA

Meaning:

dIkshithar directly seeks refuge in his divine mother's lap. He sings "May the supreme Goddess ("paradEvatA"), the auspicious mother of the universe ("jagadambA") bRhatkucAmbA protect me ("saMrakshatu mAM")."

What an amazing start to the krithi!! dIkshithar's brilliance once again just shines in the first words of the pallavi itself. He pretty much sums up the grandeur of dhanyASi with the "P G M P N S D P" phrase at "paradEvatA". How can one start a krithi with such a bold statement directly taking to the heart of the rAga in the opening phrase!! Simply amazing..it shows the authority and the command of this highly knowledgable being..I prostrate in front of him just for that one phrase >--<-o. And to cap off this beautiful pallavi, he ends with "SrnS; S G M; PdpMP" at "shrI; jagad;amba". I dont know if this is a valid observation but if one literally translates the word bRhatkucAmbA, bRhat means "big/massive", kuca means "breast" and "ambA" means "mother". Since She is universal mother, all of us, Her Children are fed by Her and hence the name. I am sure there is some folklore associated with the name of the Goddess here..If anyone knows anything about it, please shed some light. Moving on to the anupallavi,
Anupallavi:

SAradA ramA sannuta sakaLA SaraccAmpEya pushpa pada yugaLA
(madhyama kAla sAhityam)
vara guru guha jananI cinmAlinI sthira-tara sampatpradAna dhaninI

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Goddess as "The complete One ("sakaLa") served ("sannuta") by Goddess Saraswathi ("SAradA") and Goddess Lakshmi ("ramA")". He continues to describe Her physical beauty as "The one whose two feet ("pada yugaLa") are like the campA ("cAmpEya") flowers ("pushpa") that blossom in the autumn season ("Sara")".

In the madhyamakAla sAhityam, he describes Her as "The mother ("jananI") of the revered ("vara") Lord guruguha. The one who wears consciousness as a garland ("cinmAlinI") and the one who is capable of bestowing ("pradAna") the everlasting ("sthira-tara") wealth (of liberation)."

dIkshithar describes the Goddess in just one word- sakaLa meaning "the all encompassing/ complete One". What a wonderful way to encompass the all encompassing one in one word :). He further shows his grammatical prowess by employing a beautiful simile/metaphor comparing Her feet to the campA flowers. Look at the care he takes to describe these flowers..It is not any campA flower but those which are in full bloom during Autumn. The madhyamakAla sAhityam just flows, the syllables fusing with the tALa. Here, dIkshithar uses the word "cinmAlini", the one who wears consciousness ("cid") as a garland ("mAla"). Such precise usage of words and reference forms..what a genius ;(.

Musically, the "GMPNN" phrase at "sakaLa" is intoxicating. The whole of the madhyamakAla is pure bliss. Some of my favourites are the amazing drop from Sadja to gAndhAra at the transition from guruguha to jananI followed by "mgmgDPM;gmRS" at "cinmAlini". The cinmAlini prayOgam pretty much gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. And the way dIkshithar beautifully ascends the dhanyASi scale as "MGPMDPN;" at "sthira-tara sampat" is a thing of beauty that is to be observed with the eyes of an artist working on a sculpture.. aahh..If you have not listened to this krithi yet, please do so immediately..what more can I say.

caraNam:

carAcarAtmaka prapanca jananI cAru candra hAsinI suvAsinI
cidAnanda mahAlinga mOhinI cidrUpiNI bhakta viSvAsinI
(madhyama kAla sAhityam)
karuNA rasa pravAhinI kauLinI kali kalmasha nASinI haMsinI
kalA mAlinI kAtyAyanI kanja lOcanI bhava pASa mOcanI

Meaning:

dIkshithar once again emphasizes the universal mother concept by describing Her as "The mother ("jananI") of the universe ("prapanca") and the embodiment ("Atmaka") of mobile ("cara") and immobile ("acara") objects". He continues to describe Her as "the one whose smiling face ("hAsinI") resembles the beautiful ("cAru") moon ("candra"). The one who is the dwelling place of consciousness ("suvAsini"). The one who captivates ("mOhinI") Lord mahAlinga, the embodiment of bliss of consciousness ("cidAnanda"). The one whose form is pure consciousness ("cidrUpiNI") and the one who has the faith ("viSwAsini") of her devotees ("bhakta")."

In the madhyamakAla sAhityam, dikshithar describes the dEvi as "the continuous stream ("pravAhiNi") of compassion ("karuNArasa"). The one who signifies the kauLa path of worship and the destroyer ("nASiNI") of the trials and tribulations ("kalmaSa") of the kali yuga. The one who is the divine swan ("hamsinI") and the one who wears the arts ("kala") as a garland ("mAlinI"). The one who is known as kAtyAyanI, the red-hued one. The one with eyes ("locanI") like lotus ("kanca") and the one who liberates us ("mOcanI") from the attachments ("pASa") of this samsAra ("bhava")."

What a caraNam. ;(. As I had mentioned in the beginning of this post, there are so many names of the Goddess that dIkshithar brings in. And look at the details once again..he compares Her face to not just a moon but a beautiful moon ("cAru candra"). In addition to the "cinmAlinI" in the anupallavi, dIkshithar further addresses Her as "cidrUpiNi" and "hamsinI" to stress on the yogic significance of the Goddess. For devotees who want to attain a higher level of consciousness, surrender to dEvi is all that is required.

From a musical standpoint, some prayOgams like "GNP" at "carAcara" and "SDSGMGRS" at "cidAnanda mAhA"linga are just mind-blowing and these are phrases that embellish the beauty of this rAga even more. The madhyamakAla is once again a pure gem. dIkshithar once again climbs the winding ArOhaNam with the "MGPMDPNRS; pGRS" at "kalikalmaSanASiNI;hamsinI". To cap the krithi off, he comes full circle and uses the same "PGMPNSDP" phrase at "kalamAlinI" similar to the opening pallavi line. That's how the krithi ends. MLV amma's rendition is one of my favourites and ofcourse TMK's 1 hour rendition of this krithi is soulful. Please listen to these if you have not.

Staying with the same dEvi theme, in my next post, I will attempt to explain "mAmava mInAkSi" in varALi. A very happy krishna jayanti to everyone :). Happy cheedai eating and as always-"cEtah shrI bAlakriSNam bhajarE"!!

karikaLabhamukham - sAvEri

2008-08-11T19:28:00.009-05:00

I am typing this as I listen to a wonderful kAmbhOji sung by SRJ maama. As I listen to this amazing piece of music with unabated tears running down my cheeks, I feel an overpowering force that is making me just fall at his feet. A dIrga sAshTANga namaskAra to this great nAda yOgi. What a rAgam and what a rendition ;(. However I am a little angry with SRJ maama after listening to his interview on Worldspace Shruti in which he declares that according to him, the 3 greatest composers with reference to lyrical content are PurandaradAsa, annamAchArya and thyAgarAja swAmi. Ofcourse, anyone who reads this blog will know why I am angry with maama for not including the great nAdhajyOthi. Everyone knows that I am biased towards thalaivar ;) but still!! However, I am sure that he has his own reasons for that. Anyway..without a shadow of a doubt, they were all great nAdOpAsakAs and I humbly salute them all.

My close friends and room mates (read "brothers") with whom I spent my grad life at Ann Arbor are visiting me this coming weekend and I am really excited about getting to meet them. We are planning to drive to Houston, go to Goddess mInAkshi temple, eat nice Indian food and go to Galveston island in the Gulf of Mexico (pretty much what we did when SK visited me last december). On another note, thanks to Bala sir and Dr. VGK sir, I have added around 315 new krithis to the thyAgarAja swAmi website and updated it. Hopefully the sangeethapriya moderators update the website within this weekend. Coming to the krithi now, karikaLabhamukham is believed to have been composed by dIkshithar when he visited one of the temples in mAyavaram/mayilAduthurai. The only DhuNDhi gaNEsha I have heard about is the one in kASi where the Lord is red in colour and holds an axe in His right hand. Hence, I am not very sure about the kSEtra. If someone can throw any light on this, please do :).

Having completely exploited 30 janya rAgas of mALavagOwLa, we can very safely conclude that dIkshithar is/was and forever will be the king of MMG and its daughters. His two compositions in sAvEri, karikaLabhamukham and shrI rAjagOpAla are classics. While in karikaLabhamukham, dIkshithar makes use of almost all nuances of this beautiful rAga, shrI rAjagOpAla with its rich gait and grandeur stands out as perhaps one of the top 5 compositions of dIkshithars (IMHO). As SK often says, shrI rAjagOpAla is the toughest and the most demanding of all dIkshithar krithis. Anyway, coming back to karikaLabhamukham, the first thing that strikes me about this krithi is the brilliant usage of that enchanting gAndhAram by dIkshithar at some of the most beautiful places. It is sad to note that this krithi is not included in the SSP though :(. The pallavi of the krithi goes like:

Pallavi:

karikaLabhamukham DhuNDhi gaNEsham bhajarE rE citta
kAvErI taTasthitam sAvErI rAganutam

Meaning:

dIkshithar instructs the mind - "Oh mind! ("rE citta"), worship ("bhajarE") the one who has the face ("mukham") of a young elephant calf ("karikaLabha"), DhuNDhi gaNEsha, the one who resides ("sthitam") on the banks ("taTa") of river kAvEri and the one who is praised ("nutam") by the rAga sAvEri."

dIkshithar starts off beautifully with a swarAksharam with the tAra sthAyi "G R" at "kari", arguably, one of the best starts to a krithi ever. I have heard a few people sing a "MGR" or even a "DGR" at "kari"..simply beautiful. He brings in the rAga mudra in the pallavi itself. Though it is a direct usage of the rAgam's name and not one of his brilliant, slEsha based rAga mudras, the prAsam effect it creates because of the rhyme scheme employed ("kAvEri, sAvEri") is awesome. Some stalwarts like GNB have sung some exceptionally improvised sangathis in the pallavi. Other than that, there is nothing much to explain or elucidate on. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

harihayAdi sakaladEvatArAdhita padAmbujam
girijA tanujam vijita manasijam guruguhAgrajam

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Lord as " the one with the lotus feet ("padAmbujam") worshipped by ("ArAdhita") Lord Indra ("harihaya") and all the other ("sakala") devas. The son ("tanujam") of pArvati ("girijA"-daughter of the mountains), the elder brother ("agraja") of Lord guruguha and the one whose beauty surpasses ("vijita") that of the cupid ("manasija"-born out of love/embodiment of love/God of Love)."

The anupallavi starts off with a very serene "S R M P" at "harihaya" but the highlight of the anupallavi is the amazing madhyamakAla sAhitya. dIkshithar once again employs the "G R" swarAksharam at "giri"jA. How did dIkshithar follow the GRS phrase at "girijA" with NPD at "tanujam"? What beauty and brilliance..it just makes my hair stand. dIkshithar completes the murder with "D S DM; P D S" phrase and the wickedly tantalizing "R G R M Pdpd" phrase at "vijita manasijam" and "guruguhAgrajam" respectively.

Look at how beautifully dIkshithar uses 3 indirect allusions consecutively to the Lord in the madhyamakAla sAhityam. He describes Lord Ganesha by referring to Goddess pArvati, Lord SubrahmaNya and kAmadEva. In my extremely humble opinion, the krithi's start and the anupallavi's madhyamakAla sAhityam pretty much make this a masterpiece. dIkshithar establishes his Godliness once again (which was never in doubt in the first place :)). Moving on to the caraNam,

caraNam:

mUlAdhAra caturddaLa paHNkaja madhyastham
mOdakahastam munijana hRt kamalastham
phAlacandram sumukham karuNAsAndram
pAshAHNkushadharam padmakaram sundaram
nIlagrIvakumAram nIrada shObhAharam
pAlita bhaktam dhIramapAram vAram vAram

Meaning:

In the caraNam, dIkshithar starts off with his yogic references by describing Lord Ganesha as "the one seated at the center ("madhyastham") of the four petalled ("caturdaLa") lotus ("paHNkaja") of the mUlAdhAra chakra." dIkshithar continues to describe Him as "the one who has modakas in His hands ("hasta") and the one who dwells ("astham") in the lotus-like ("kamala") hearts ("hRt") of sages ("munijana")."

dIkshithar describes the physical beauty of the Lord as "the one who wears the moon ("candra") on His forehead ("phAla") and the one with a pleasant face ("sumukham") filled with ("sAndram") grace and compassion ("karuNA"). The one who bears ("dharam") the noose ("pAsha") and the goad ("aHNkusha") and the one who is beautiful ("sundaram") with lotus-like hands ("padmakaram")."

In the madhyamakAla sAhityam, dIkshithar portrays the Lord as "the son ("kumAram") of the blue-necked ("nIlAgrIva") Lord Shiva and the one who is like the rain-bearing clouds ("nIrada") in radiating mercy ("shObhAharam"). The one who protects ("pAlita") His devotees ("bhaktam") and the one who has immeasurable ("apAram") courage and intelligence ("dhIram"), unto Him I pray again and again ("vAram vAram")."

Look at the serenity with which the caraNam starts.."M M P mpdP" at "mUlAdhAra". I love the "D N D M G R GRS" at "kamalastham" and the "P mpdP; MPdpmG" phrase at "phAlacandram" followed by "d r; dpmG" phrase at "sumukham". The prayOgam that always blows my mind away while listening to this krithi is "G R S N dMDS" at nIlA"grIvakumAram" which GNB brings out so beautifully in his rendition (followed by that amazing neraval and swaram at harihayAdi).

The sublime caraNam is pretty simple in terms of the word-by-word meaning involved and there is nothing much for me to elucidate upon. In a lec-dem by Vedavalli maami, I heard her say that this krithi employs almost all of the beautiful phrases that give sAvEri its grandeur. I hope this post helped in bringing out some facets of the same standpoint expressed by Vedavalli maami.

I have been listening exclusively to TMK's "paradEvatA brhatkuchAmba" in dhanyASi for the past 2 days. A beautiful krithi sung majestically by TMK. Hence, I will take up this krithi in my next post and attempt to bring to light the brilliance of this composition. Until then, tata :) :D

swAminAtha paripAlayAsumAm-nATa

2008-06-29T11:15:00.006-05:00

I once again apologize for the delay in posting this. I am finally getting some time for myself after two months of rigorous work. Over the last month, I have not been able to listen to a lot of music. However, those few sessions with hari have as always kept me alive :). I have bought a nice guitar processor which has some patches that enhance the tonal quality of my guitar. Some of these patches have even made me wonder if it is actually me playing the guitar ;). Thanks to my friend Ashwin Iyer (one of the toronto brothers), I listened to their rendition of sAmi yEntani dElpudura, the amazing chouka kAla varNam in suraTi composed by SubbarAma dIkshithar. A masterpiece rendered beautifully by the brothers..thanks a lot guys!!

I will be booking tickets to India in this week. I am planning to go home on October 18th. Everyone at home is really excited about me coming back. I was talking to my anna yesterday and he told me that he will teach me vocal music starting from the very basics after I come home. I am extremely happy because of that and hopefully with God's blessings, I will put in all my heart and soul and learn how to sing properly.

Now coming to the krithi, swAminAtha paripAlayAsumAm is a cute, kutti krithi in nATa. It was sung pretty frequently by the great GNB and I have heard some mind-boggling swarams sung by him for this krithi. There is a chitta swaram popularly sung by musicians at then end of the samASTi charaNam even though there is no chitta swaram given in the SSP for this krithi. dIkshitar composed this masterpiece at the beautiful swAmimalai, about 5 kms from kumbakonam. The temple's significance is pretty much expressed in the picture above. Being one of the Arupadai veedus, I thought I will give some information about the temple and the legend associated with it. However, I came across this beautiful post by Sriram V, the gentleman who along with shrI Sanjay Subrahmanyan, started the sangeetham.com portal (which sadly was closed down ;() in 1999. In this post, Sriram sir comprehensively talks about everything one needs to know about this magnificient temple and some of the greatest compositions extolling the greatness of the Lord at this kSEtra. Hence, I promptly move on to the krithi.

Pallavi:

svAminAtha paripAlayAshu mAm svaprakAsha vallIsha guruguha dEva sEnEsha

Meaning:

dIkshithar addresses the Lord- "Oh Lord Swaminatha, the self-resplendent ("svaprakAsha") guruguha and the Lord of Valli and dEvasEna, please protect ("paripAlaya") me ("mAm")."

The speciality of the Lord at swAmimalai is the legend associated with His name. It is at this location that Lord SubrahmaNya is believed to have taught his father, Lord Shiva, the meaning of the praNava mantra Om. As symbolized by the picture I have posted above, the small kid taught his own father, the great Lord Shiva and hence is addressed as swAminAtha. Thus, the Lord here is a gnAna-rUpam and Lord Shiva becomes Lord SubrahmaNya's disciple and accepts Him as the guruguha, the teacher ("guru") who dispels the darkness of ignorance from the heart caves ("guha") of the disciple. Since the Lord is glowing with all that knowledge at this kSEtra, dIkshithar precisely captures this amsha by using the words "svaprakAsha".

Lord SubrahmaNya's two wives, Valli and dEvasEna have been included in the pallavi thereby giving us a complete darshan of the main sannidhi. I would like to mention a few things about Lord SubrahmaNya at this point. Everything associated with Him has its own significance. Goddess Valli, the famous girl from the hunter's clan signifies Icha shakti or the power of desire. Goddess dEvasEna is the daughter of Indra and She signifies kriyA shakti, the power of action. In addition, Lord SubrahmaNya's spear, shaktivEl signifies gnAna shakti, the power of knowledge that removes ignorance. Lord SubrahmaNya uses the peacock as his vAhanam. The peacock, whose behaviour is unpredictable and has mood swings depending on external factors such as weather conditions, signifies the ego, the unpredictable behaviour occupying the mind of human beings. Hence Lord SubrahmaNya is the Lord of all these powers, desire, action, knowledge and control of ego.

Also, since one of the Lord's amsha is portrayed as Lord Muruga, the one who waged wars to kill demons, He is also the commander-in-chief of the army of Gods and hence the unavoidable reference to the other meaning of the word "dEva sEnEsha (Lord of the divine army)". In spiritual terms, this could also be interpreted as the Lord of the divine army of the soul consisting of the Lords of good senses and thoughts. An army which is ready to trounce the evil ego and its army which have taken over the senses of a spiritually un-enlightened human being. From the musical stand point, dIkshithar starts the pallavi off with the ArOhaNam "S r g m p n" at "swAminAtha pari". The pallavi ends with a beautiful madhyama kAla sAhityam at "vallIsha guruguha dEvasEnEsha". Moving on to the samaSTi caraNam,

samaSTi caraNam:

kAmajanaka bhAratIsha sEvita kArttikEya nAradAdi bhAvita
vAmadEva pArvatI sukumAra vArijAstra sammOhitAkAra
kAmitarttha vitaraNa nipuNacaraNa kAvyanATakAlaHNkAra bharaNa
bhUmi jalagni vAyu gagana kiraNa bOdharUpanityAnandakaraNa

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Lord as "He is kArthikEya, the one who is worshipped by Lord Brahma ("bhAratIsha"-husband of Goddess Saraswati) and Vishnu ("kAmajanaka"-father of the cupid) and the one held in high esteem ("bhAvita") by sage nArada and others. He is the distinguished son ("sukumAra") of vAmadEva (Lord Shiva- explained below) and Goddess pArvatI. The beauty of his form ("AkAra") is captivates ("sammohita") even the cupid ("vArijAstra"-explained below). His feet ("caraNa") is adept ("nipuNa") in granting ("vitaraNa") boons as desired ("kAmitarttha") by devotees. He embellishes ("bharaNa") epics ("kAvya"), dramas ("nATaka") and the shastra of alankAra. He illumines ("kiraNa") the 5 elements, earth("bhUmi"), water ("jala"), fire ("agni"), wind ("vAyu") and ether ("gagana"). He is the embodiment of knowledge ("bOdharUpa") and bestows ("karaNa") eternal bliss ("nityAnanda") on his devotees."

dIkshithar portrays the delicate side of Lord SubrahmaNya in the caraNam. He directly associates this by describing the Lord as the son of vAmadEva, one of the 5 aspects of Lord Shiva. It is supposed to represent the female manifestation of the Lord and vAmadEva literally translates to beautiful God. Thus, being born out of the female manifestation of Lord Shiva and his consort pArvathi, Lord swAminAtha inherits those qualities. He describes His physical beauty as captivating and surpassing that of the Cupid. dIkshitar has some unique ways of referring to Gods. Apart from general stuff we have seen before like "kAmajanaka" to refer to Lord Vishnu and "bhAratIsha" to refer to Lord Brahma, dIkshithar uses "vArijAstra" to refer to the Cupid. "vArija" means flower in general and lotus in particular. Astra means arrow. kAmadEva is known to strike with his arrow of flowers and dIkshithar uses this to describe cupid. The madhyamakAla sAhityam in this krithi is one of my favourites. The way it gallops and flows is amazing. dIkshithar maintains the prAsam throughout the krithi and especially in the madhyamakAla sAhityam, he uses both adyAkshara as well as antyAkshara prAsam. And thats how the krithi ends, leaving the rasikA yearning for more as always.

In my next post, I will take up a krithi composed by dIkshithar in praise of Lord guruguha's brother, the beautiful sAvEri masterpiece, "karikaLabha mukham". I have been wanting to blog about this krithi for a long time too :). I will make sure that I post the krithi within a day or two :). See you all in a while!!

bAlasubrahmaNyam bhajEham- suruTTi

2008-06-22T18:51:00.004-05:00

On this extremely hot and sultry sunday evening here at Round Rock, Texas, I am chilling out with a nice mug of hot apple cider and some bajjis I made in the evening :). As we all know, coffee or tea would have been more blissful but somehow I wanted to try out this combination. It actually does taste real good but stands nowhere in comparison to the bajji+coffee combo. :). I am mixing up my decent culinary skills nicely over the past few days. It has ranged from authentic south indian to mexican :). Anyway..coming to music, we have been having some fun-filled music sessions as usual and yesterday night, K L Kaushik once again graced our gumbal with some divine music. As SK rightly said, carnatic music is safe in the hands of such brilliant people :).

As some of you would be knowing, Shri Sanjay Subrahmanyan sir has started a new blog where he talks about carnatic music. He has started a podcast series in which he speaks about specific musicians and some fine aspects of music for about 30 minutes. The first episode was on thanjavur S Kalyanaraman sir and two of the pieces that Sanjay sir plays in the podcast (tODi and yAgapriyA) are mind-blowing to say the least. I humbly suggest all carnatic music rasikas to benefit from this series.

I have been totally swooning over suruTTi for the past 2 or 3 days after listening to SRJ maama's lecdem on gamakAs. The suruTTi that he sings for a brief 7 minutes in that recording is sheer bliss. Please check out the lecdem page on sangeethapriya and look out for the gamakAs lecdem. The sedate chouka kAla varNam of subbarAma dIkshithar provided with notation in SSP is intoxicating to say the least..azhagu_max. I have also been listening to thalaivar's masterpiece "shrI vAnchanAtham bhajEham" and have been completely engulfed by the beauty of this rAgam. So it is only appropriate that I blog about this beautiful krithi on the cute, kutti Lord bAlasubrahmaNya in this post :).

This krithi is sung as a dhyAna krithi before the kamalAmbA navAvarNams. It has a meditative aspect associated with it. The krithi has some divine power associated with it and is known to grant the wishes of the devotees who sing it with their soul, a facet captured by dIkshithar in the pallavi of this krithi. It is said that dIkshithar even instructed his disciples to meditate on the lyrics of this krithi and they obtained all that they wished for. Shri A. Sundaram iyer in his dIkshithar kIrtana mAla says " Those bereft of the bliss of having a child will do well to recite the appropriate mAla or mantra with this song". These are some of the specialities of this beautiful composition. Moving on to the krithi itself,

Pallavi:

bAlasubrahmaNyam bhajEham bhaktakalpabhUruham shrI

Meaning:

dIkshithar sings "I ("aham") chant ("bhajE") the name of the auspicious ("shrI") bAlasubrahmaNya, the divine wish yielding tree ("kalpa bhUruham") for all the devotees ("bhakta")".

Lord bAlasubrahmaNya's name itself has a deep meaning. bAla means young, su is a prefix for indicating something is good/pure and brahmaNya is something that is associated with brahmaN, the undivided supreme self. So the name itself represents something pure and filled with consciousness and auspiciousness. As I mentioned, in these few lines in the pallavi, dIkshithar clearly captures the fact that by singing this krithi and meditating on the Lord, a devotee can obtain all that he wishes for. From the musical standpoint, I love the "S ndp" and the "S nsRsndp" sangathis sung at "bAlasu" and the "npmrr" at "bhajEham". Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

nIlakaNTa hr.dAnandakaram nitya-shuddha-buddha-muktAmbaram

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Lord as "the one who brings happiness ("Anandakaram") to the heart ("hr.d") of blue-black necked ("nIlakaNTa") Lord Shiva and the one who has permanance ("nitya"), purity ("shuddha"), knowledge ("buddha") and liberation/freedom ("mukta:") as his clothes ("ambaram")".

Look at how beautifully dIkshithar captures Lord bAlasubrahmaNya's essence in the word "nitya shuddha buddha muktAmbaram". As I mentioned earlier, Subrahmanya is associated with brahman, the infinite self. Thus, He is the origin of everything and is hence permanent, pure ("su+brahmanya"), a repository of knowledge and is the liberated one. Now the word ambara has two meanings. Depending on the context it could be interpreted as "clothes" or "sky". We all know that the Lord wears no physical dress as kutti bAlasubrahmaNya. And hence, these 4 things become the Lord's ambara. Actually, in this sense, the Lord actually wears ambara (the sky) as his ambara (clothes). Brilliance from dIkshithar as always. The "nS; nd; pn; mrmpn" phrase at "nitya; shudha; buddha; muktAmbaram" flows melliflously and brings in that beautiful invisible thread to tie in the 4 qualities as explained above. :)

CharaNam:

vElAyudadaram sundaram vEdAntArta bOdachaturam
phAlAksha guruguhAvatAram parAshakti sukumAram dIram
pAlita gIrvANAdi samUham panCabhUtamaya mAyAmOham
nIlakaNTavAham sudEham niratishayAnanda pravAham

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Lord as "the one who carries ("daram") the spear weapon ("vElAyuda"). The one who has a beautiful form ("sundaram") and the one who is intelligent and skillful ("chaturam") in explaining ("bOda") the inner meaning ("arta") of vedAnta. The one who incarnated ("avatAram") as the teacher ("guruguha") to Lord Shiva, the one with an eye ("aksha") on his forehead ("phAla"). The one who is the valiant ("dIram") noble son ("sukumAram") of the supreme ("parA") Goddess Shakti. The one who protects ("pAlita") the community ("samUham") of Gods led by Brahma ("gIrvANa"). The one who created this illusory world ("mAyAmOham") pervaded by ("maya") the five elements ("panCabhUta"). The one who has the blue-necked peacock ("nIlakaNTa") as his vehicle ("vAham") and the one who has a beautiful body ("sudEham"). The one who is a never-ending ("niratishaya") stream ("pravAham") of bliss ("Ananda")."

What a beautiful charaNam :). Very easy to understand. One might wonder why Lord SubrahmaNya, even as a kid carries a spear. The story goes that when He went to fight tArakAsura, Goddess Shakti (His Mother and ours too :)) made a weapon out of her amsha and this is the divine vElAyudam that the Lord carries. We know how Mothers carry their sons/daughters and Lord Subrahmanya has divine honour of carrying his Mother :).

dIkshithar describes the Lord as "vEdAntArta bOdachaturam", the one who is adept in explaining the vEdAntAs. Here is where dIkshithar the yOgi surfaces. To those ardent devotees who are on the path of self-realization, He becomes guruguha and explains the purpose and the inner meanings of the scriptures. The term "pancabhUtamaya mAyAmOham" has an interesting philosophical interpretation. mAyA is the counterpart of brahman who creates the physical universe composed of the five elements (panCabhUta); traditionally conceived as a female. She is also the mother of shUrapadma the asura. Lord SubrahmaNya was unable to defeat him in battle since mAyA was helping her son by recreating him everytime he was destroyed. Finally He uses his spear (vEl) and aims it at mAyA who swoons (mOham) and shUrapadma gains the ultimate knowledge to be relieved of the mortal coils. Hence it is traditionally claimed that Lord SubramaNya is the ultimate to be prayed to get over the illusions of prapancha.

As I mentioned before, this beautiful krithi richly deserves its prime position as one of the dhyAna krithis sung before the grand kamalAmbA navAvaranams. In my next post, I will follow up with one more krithi on Lord SubrahmaNya, the melodious "swAminAtha paripAlayAsumAm" in calanATTai (sung popularly in nATTai). I will try to post it in the next few days. See you all in the next post. shrI gurubhyO nama:

shrI vEnkaTa girISam AlOkayE-suruTTi

2008-06-16T19:24:00.005-05:00

I am finally finding time to blog a little frequently. If I am able to do this for the next few months, I will be really happy :). First of all, I hereby want to wish my wonderful friend, Ramaa Ramesh, a very happy and successful student life at XLRI, Jamshedpur :)..all the very best to one of the best ever :) !! Coming to music, I am really happy with the way the new thyAgarAja website has come out. It looks really professional and we have come a decently long way in designing websites now :). With the help of Bala sir, we should be able to upload 300 more krithis of Saint thyAgarAja even as a proposed Shyama Shastri website is waiting in the wings. I feel truly blessed to be in the good company of such great friends with whom, I am slowly realizing the purpose of this life.

Looking back on the past 1.5 years, ever since I started blogging, I am wondering how come I never blogged about one of my most favourite rAgams, suruTTi (affectionately called as "folder" by our session gumbal due to obvious reasons). A few weeks back, Hari, SK and I chanced to listen to this beautiful chouka kAla suruTTi varNam from SSP sung by Prof. SRJ maama. As usual I was in tears and Hari started calling me an azhu moonji :). Irrespective of the size of the gumbal, the members present or the number of krithis/ragams discussed about, no session closes without atleast a brief suruTTi :). An amazingly beautiful rAgam which soothes one's mind. "shrI vEnkaTa girISam AlokayE" is perhaps the first dIkshithar krithi I learnt to sing (thanks to hari). This krithi is on the fav list of many of my fav people (Hari, Aishu etc) and hence is very close to my heart :).

Regarding the kSEtram at which this krithi was composed, there are a few controversies because both the tirupathi temple and the pulivalam/gOkarNa temple get mentioned. Many people believe that this krithi was composed at the tirupathi temple praising Lord vEnkatAchalapati. There is another group of people who believe that this krithi was composed in pulivanam/ gOkarNa temple. In the maNipravALa krithi, vEnkatAchalapatE in karnATaka kApi, dIkshithar seems to be alluding to the legend linking Lord vEnkatAchalapati to the deity at pulivalam in the last lines of the anupallavi reading "mangaLam porundiya pulivalathil viLaNgum" in sundara tamil :). Since dIkshithar seems to have visited both temples and has composed on both deities, we can only guess where this was composed. Moving on to the krithi now,

Pallavi:

shrI vEnkaTa girISam AlOkayE vinAyaka turagArUdam

Meaning:
dIkshithar demands the attention of the Lord in the pallavi- "Behold ("AlOkayE"), auspicious ("shrI") Lord of the vEnkaTa hills!! The one seated on the powerful Garuda ("turagArUdam"), the king ("nAyaka") of all birds ("vi")."

These first lines of the krithi always strike me as a beautiful display of the divine romance between the bhakta and the Lord. Look at how dIkshithar, the bhakta, is demanding the attention of Lord vEnkaTeshwara, the protector of all the worlds. Musically, the "rmgr" prayOgam at "shrI" to open the krithi bowls the rasikA over straight away. dIkshithar employs the beautiful "psndp" phrase at "girISam" followed by the "ndpmgm;mgpmr" phrase at "A;lOkayE". dIkshithar caps off the pallavi with "rmpndp; pmgm;rmgs" at "turagArUdam" thereby bringing out the entire beauty of this rAgam in just one line. The beauty of the pallavi is its simplicity. Notice that, dIkshithar does not even use the mandira or the tAra sthAyis in these opening lines. The entire pallavi is structured simply in the madhya sthAyi extracting the rAgA's essence to the fullest. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:

dEvESa pUjita bhagavantam dinakara kOTi prakASavantaM
gOvindam natabhUsura brindam guruguhAnandam mukundam

Meaning:
dIkshithar describes the Lord with devotion as "the one who is worshipped ("pUjita") by Lord Indra ("dEvESa"-Lord of the dEvAs) and the one who is as resplendent ("prakASavantam") as crores ("kOTi") of suns ("dinakara"). He is gOvinda, the one who is saluted ("nata") by groups ("brindam") of virtuous people ("bhUsura"). He is Mukunda, the one who delights ("Anandam") Lord guruguha."

dIkshithar uses hyperboles inorder to give an idea of the magnitude of greatness he is talking about while describing the Lord. The last line of "guruguhAnandam mukundam" can be literally translated as explained above. If we dive a little deeper, we will find dIkshithar, the yOgi coming out. Mukunda, the name of the Lord means "the one who releases". As I have explained before, guruguha could be a yogic reference to a teacher ("guru") residing in the heart caves ("guha") of the disciple. So, this line can also be translated as " He is mukunda (the one who releases(the soul from this world)), the one who brings bliss ("Anandam) to the disciple's heart by being the divine teacher".

Musically, the anupallavi is rich in phrases that define suruTTi. I love the "SnSR" phrase at "dinakara" and the "pRSnn" phrase "prakASa". The "mpnsr; grsnrsndp" at "gOvindam; natabhUsura brindam" gives the madhyamakAla sAhityam its beauty and grandeur :). The charaNam has perhaps the most beautiful starts ever, one for which, I might give up my life :).

Charanam:

alamElumangA samEtam ananta padmanAbham atItam
kaliyuga pratyakSa vibhAtam kanjajAdi dEvOpEtam
jaladhara sannibha sundara gAtram jalaruha-mitrAbja-Satru nEtram
kaluSApaha gOkarNakSEtram karunArasapAtram chinmAtram

Meaning:
dIkshithar continues to describe the Lord as "the one who is in the company ("samEtam") of Goddess alamElumangA and the one who is the supreme ("atItam") ananta padmanAbha swAmi, the lotus naveled. The one who shines forth ("vibhAtam") as the omniscient one ("pratyakSa") in this yuga of kali and the one who is surrounded by ("upEtam") by Lord Brahma ("kanjaja") and other dEvAs. The one whose body ("gAtram") is beautiful ("sundara") like the black rain-bearing ("jaladhara") clouds ("sannibha") and the one whose eyes ("netram") are the sun ("jalaruha-mitra"-friend of the lotus) and the moon ("abja-Satru"). He is the one who removes ("apaha") all the sins ("kalusha") and resides in the kshetram of gOkarNa. He is the one who is the repository ("pAtram") of mercy and compassion ("karunArasa") and the embodiment of pure consciousness ("chinmAtram")."

There is nothing much to explain in the charaNam. dIkshithar keeps the sAhityams simple. But the beauty of the charanam is something that is to be experienced. Also, look at how he brings in the sun and the moon. He refers to the sun and the moon with reference to the lotus and uses mitra and shatru in the same word :). One must listen to Balaji Shankar's or SSI's rendition to get a good feel of this beautiful krithi :). The reference to alamelumanga thAyAr makes one's heart melt with devotion and is heavily inundated with bhakti rasA. Musically, the "rmpp" start for the charaNam followed by "M N" swarAksharam at "man"gA are truly mind-blowing. And finally to add spice, dIkshithar uses explicitly flat notes in the madhyamakAlam to expose the fast, racy aspects of the rAgam. The madhyamakAlam starts as "rpmpmpnd; Pmg pmR" and ends up with the "pmgrmgs" phrase at "chinmAtram" setting it up smoothly for the pallavi to take off :).

As I end this post, I am listening to an amazingly well rendered osOsi padam by Aishwarya Vidya Raghunath who seems to be a name to look out for in the future. In my next post, I will take up the krithi "bAlasubrahmaNyam bhajEham" once again in suruTTi making it a double punch :). Hopefully I can squeeze in time in the next two days or so and post the next krithi :). I hope you guys enjoyed reading this :). Catch you all in the next post..shrI gurubhyO namah:

annapUrNE- sAmA

2008-06-09T19:31:00.004-05:00

I have finally managed to squeeze in some time for blogging today :). Sangeethapriya moderators moved the dIkshithar website from one domain to another. In this process, some krithis have been wrongly named and linked :(. I have been working on it for the past 2 days. Hopefully, I will be able to resolve the problem within the next few days :). For all those Saint thyAgarAja devotees, we have launched a new website as a tribute to the sadguru. Please check it out at http://tributes.sangeethapriya.org/thyagaraja .

For the past 2 weeks, we (hari, SK and I) have been having music sessions daily. A few nights back, we (lavanya and bhaand joined us too) got to listen to this amazing artiste. K L Kaushik, a brilliant flautist played the most divine, soul-quenching music I have ever heard in my life. He played a beautiful kEdAragOwLa (tuLasi bilva), a paramAnandamAna Anandabhairavi (mAnasa guruguha) and ended the session with soothing surutti jAvaLi. His music promptly brought tears to my eyes..God bless him and his divine art. May God bless me with more opportunities to listen to such music.

sAmA is one of those serene rAgams which paint these pictures of beautiful landscapes whenever I think about it. This rAgam is supposed to give mental equipoise and is known to be soothing to the nerves. Goddess AnnapUraNi is the form of the divine mother at kASi and She seems to have had a divine overseeing of dIkshithar's life. It is believed that the great chidambara nAtha yOgi, his guru, told him to think of this dEvi in his heart and meditate. And dIkshithar is said to have got a darshan of the Goddess before his soul left this world. dIkshithar has composed this krithi at the ancient annapUraNi temple in kuzhikkarai. On the deity at kASi, dIkshithar has composed another masterpiece, the brilliant Ehi annapUrNE in punnAgavarALi. And because of these similarities, the temple at kuzhikkarai is also called as madhyakASi. Goddess annapUraNi is not only the provider of food to the body, but also the divine bestower of chidAnanda. It is perfectly appropriate that dIkshithar chose this soothing, meditative rAgA to compose a krithi on the Goddess.

Pallavi:
annapUrNE viSAlAkSi akhila bhuvana sAkSi kaTAkSi

Meaning:
dikshithar addresses the Goddess directly- "Oh Goddess annapUrNi, the one with wide eyes ("visAlAkSi"). You bear witness ("sAkSi") to all that is happening in all the worlds ("akhila bhuvana"). Please bless me with your divine glance ("kaTAkSi")."

dIkshithar starts the krithi off with a beautiful "DSRM" prayOgam. The subsequent sangathis like "rsdsrm" that vidwAns sing for the pallavi's opening lines are extremely appealing too. But, somehow that DSRM opening at "annapUrNe" has a special tone attached to it. One can clearly visualize how a devotee of the devi would join his hands in prayer and sing the Goddess's praise here. dIkshithar aptly calls Her the witness to the universe. She is the divine mother responsible for the creation and sustenance of this universe. The "dsrpmgr" phrase at "sAkSi" in the tAra sthAyi is beautiful and brings out the essence of the rAga in full. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:
unnata gartAtIra vihAriNi OmkAriNi duritAdi nivAriNi
pannagAbharaNarAjni purANi paramESwara viSwEswara bhAsvari

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings "You reside ("vihArini") in the hallowed ("unnata") gartatIra (explained below). You are of the form of omkAra ("OmkAriNi"). You are the remover ("nivAriNi") of all difficulties ("duritAdi"). She is the consort ("rAjni") of the one who is adorned ("AbharaNa") by serpents ("pannagA")-Lord Shiva. You are the primordial one ("purANi") and the one who makes Lord ParamEshwara, the Lord of all worlds ("viSwEswara") shine with his luminosity ("bhAsvari")."

dIkshithar refers to the kSEtram by addressing kuzhikkarai as gartatIra. garta means pit and tIra means bank and so kuzhik-karai literally translates to garta-tIra. By referring to Her as OmkAriNi, dikshithar alludes to sAmavEda where Goddess UMA is said to be the embodiment of the praNava mantra AUM. Representing the praNava mantra, She automatically becomes the primordial power responsible for the creation and the sustenance of this universe and dIkshithar aptly follows this by calling Her "purANi".

To whom does a kid run to when he/she has a problem- his/her mother. In the same way, human beings (the kids) run to our divine mother who will solve all the problems ("duritAdi nivAriNi"). I love the "SDPM" phrase at "unnata" and I also love the "dsRPMGRR" at "tIravihAriNi". The beautiful "pdsdpm" phrase at "pannagAbharaNa" and "dRdS" phrase at " purANi" are the most beautiful phrases in the anupallavi bringing the rAga chAya to the fore. Moving on to the charaNam,

CharaNam:
pAyasAnna pUrIta mAnIkya pAtra hEmadarvI vidrutakarE
kAyajAdi rakSaNa nipuNatarE kAnCanamaya bhUshaNAmbaradarE
tOyajAsanAdi sEvitaparE tumburu nAradAdi nuta varE
trayAtIta mOkSaprada CaturE tripada kshObita guruguha sAdarE

Meaning:
dIkshithar describes the Goddess (please see the picture above to see how exactly he describes the devi) as " the one who holds a gem studded ("mAnIkya") vessel ("pAtra") filled with ("pUrita") rice cooked in milk ("pAyasAnna") in her left hand and a golden ("hEma") ladle ("darvI") in the other hand ("vidruta karE")". dIkshithar continues to describe Her as- "the one who is adept ("nipuNatarE") in protecting ("rakSaNa") manmata ("kAyaja") and others. The one who is adorned completely with ("darE") golden ("kAnCanamaya") ornaments ("bhUshaNa") and golden silk ("ambara"). The one who is served by ("sEvitaparE") Lord Brahma ("tOyajAsana") and worshipped ("nuta") by great sages like tumburu and nArada".

dIkshithar as usual brings in his vEdanta in the last two words of the madhyamakAla sAhityam. He describes the Goddess as "the one who bestows ("prada") salvation ("mOksha"), the fourth purushArta ("caturE") beyond ("atIta") dharmA, artha and kAma ("traya"). The one who is dearest to Lord guruguha ("guruguha sAdarE"), the one who shines as the three words ("tripada")-tat tvam asi".

In the charaNam, dIkshithar uses some amazingly beautiful words to describe some Gods and to keep the prAsam flowing. He addresses Cupid as kAyaja. kAya refers to the body and all the six afflictions associated with it-kAma, krOda, lObha, mOha, mada and mAtsarya. Manmatha is supposed to be born in every human being only because of these 6 attachments of the body and hence he is referred to as kAyaja ("the one born from the body"). dIkshithar refers to Lord Brahma as toyajAsana, the one who is seated ("Asana") in the lotus ("toyaja"). dIkshithar could have used a lot of other words to refer to lotus-kamala, padma etc. But in order to keep that prAsam and that invisible thread going, dIkshithar carefully selects the word tOyaja. He is just a smart, extremely skilled, brilliant artist beautifully sculpting this krithi. :).

In the last two words, dIkshithar crisply summarizes that the dEvi is a yOgini who will guide your soul to mukthi. Musically, dIkshithar begins the charaNam with a " P p p p" phrase :). I love the entire madhyamakAlam beginning with "ddpp, pmmgrsrmmp" at "tOyajAsanAdisEvitaparE". On the whole a masterpiece in one of the most serene rAgams known to mankind :) and one of my all time favorites :).

I will next take up another krithi which I have been wanting to blog about for a long time, the surutti beauty, "shrI vEnkata girIsham AlOkayE". It is one of those krithis which is very close to my heart because of a few of my friends who love it :). Till then, wish you all a wonderful, musical week ahead :). See you all very soon. shrI gurubhyO namah:

sArasa daLa nayanA- khamAs

2008-05-10T18:19:00.003-05:00

Ages..Its been Ages since I wrote anything here :(. This has by far been the longest hiatus ever :(. There were primarily 3 reasons for me not posting anything for the past 1 month. First, my computer crashed thanks to that "wonderful" operating system called "Vista". I had some major issues removing vista and "downgrading" to XP. Second, work has got so hectic that I no longer even remember the projects I am working on..there are atleast 20 projects running at the same time and I am rarely able to find time for even listening to music ;(. And finally, because of the above two reasons, I have not been able to mentally connect with music for the past 1 month :(. I have not been able to enjoy music sessions and all these issues kind of added up and reduced my interest and inclination towards carnatic music ;(. But this also made me realize how meaningless life becomes without music and now I am back with a refreshingly new passion :). And this month, I am going to make up for the month of may and post as many krithis as I can.

The last week has been awesome..thanks to some wonderful music sessions with Hari, SK and Lavanya. Our session gumbal has exploded in numbers and we have around 50 members I suppose. The weekend sessions are buzzing with amazingly talented musicians from all over the world and it has been an absolute pleasure to listen to all these wonderful people. Thanks a lot makkaLE. For the last two days, the tanukIrti bug has bitten me. I have been totally captivated by the rAgA's beauty and thalaivar's "cidambara naTarAjamUrtim". Moving on to the krithi, khamAs was actually one of those earliest rAgams I could recognize as a kid :). And this krithi was definitely one of the very first I heard. I tend to always associate this rAgam with my dear friend Ramaa Ramesh. Her numerous renditions of mAthE malayadhvaja in this rAgam have enriched my understanding of it :).

From what I have noticed, when dIkshithar really falls in love with a kshEtram, he composes two krithis at the same temple in the same rAga. That seems to be the case here..dIkshithar has composed both sArasa daLa nayanA and santAna gOpalakrishNam upAsmahE in khamAs at the same mannArguDi kshEtram. This rAjagOpAlaswAmi temple seems to have been showered with some amazing dIkshithar krithis with shrI rAjagOpAla in sAvEri capping it all off as the numero uno. Now, starting with the pallavi,

Pallavi:
sArasa daLa nayanA sankaTa haraNa harE gOvinda mAm pAhi

Meaning:
dIkshithar seeks the refuge of the Lord in the opening lines of this krithi and starts off by addressing the Lord as "Oh gOvinda!! The one with eyes ("nAyana") like lotus petals ("sArasa daLa") and the remover ("haraNa") of all obstacles ("sankaTa"). Please protect me ("mAm pAhi")."

dIkshithar starts the krithi off with a swarAksharam. The opening phrase of "S; dndsdP; P nd M Gm; dnp DNS" at "sArasa daLa nayanA" followed by the MGM phrase at "sankaTa" completely captures the beauty of khamAs and pretty much sums up the entire scale of the rAga. This krithi is more of a nAmasmaraNam according to me. He brings in all those beautiful names of God like hari, gOvinda, mukunda, mAdhava etc. The pallavi is extremely simple and easy to understand. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:
nIrajAsanAdi pUjitAnga shrI ramAntaranga shubAnga
murahara abhayaprada mukunda yAdavakulabhUshaNa mAdhava

Meaning:
dIkshithar describes rAjagOpAlaswAmi as "the one worshipped ("pUjitAnga") by Lord Brahma ("nirajAsana"-seated on the lotus) and others. The one who resides in the heart ("antaranga") of Goddess Lakshmi ("ramA") and the one whose form is auspicious ("shubAnga"). The one who vanquished ("hara") the demon named mura and the one who provides ("prada") protection and refuge ("abhaya"). The one who liberates ("mukunda"), the pride jewel ("bhUshaNa") of the yAdhava clan and he is mAdhava, the Lord of knowledge."

The anupallavi is where the rAgam blossoms completely. The beauty of tripuTa tALam comes to the forefront. dIkshithar shows his brilliance once again with swarAksharams at nIrajA"sanAdi" employing the "SND" phrase. Look at the antyAkshara prAsam in the first line of the anupallavi. I love the "DPmp Dnd; PNDP" phrase at "pUjitAnga". To finish the anupallavi on a high note, dIkshithar uses some kutti yet amazing prayOgams like "SSGR" at "murahara" and "DNSR-N" at "prada mukunda". Grammatically and spiritually speaking, as you can clearly see, this krithi is pretty simple. dIkshithar is not trying to play with words or show his yogic brilliance here. Moving on to the charaNam,

CharaNam:
mAghamAsotsava prabhAva mAnita guruguha vandita bhava
gOkula janapAla gOpikAmanOhara gOvardanadhara

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings "The one who is honoured ("prabhAva") during the festivities ("utsava") held in the month ("mAsa") of mAgha (March-April). The one who is worshipped ("vandita") by the esteemed and respected ("maanita") Lord guruguha. The one who protects ("pAla") the cowherd clan ("gOkula jana"). The beloved ("manOhara") of the gOpika damsels and the one who held ("dhara") the gOvardhana mountains in His hand."

What an amazing charaNam. dIkshithar kills 3 birds with one stone in the first word of the charaNam. First, he incorporates one of the most beautiful rAga mudrAs ever at mA"ghamAs"otsava. Second, he brings in one of the most beautiful swarAksharams ever at "maghamA"sotsava. And finally by talking about the utsavam held during the magha mAsa, dIkshithar has pretty much given a good identity of the kSEtram. The tiruvizha held at the rAjagOpalaswAmi temple is a grand event for which huge number of people gather from all the villages around mannArguDi. Symbolizing Lord krishna's liking for the butter, the "vennai-thAzhi" and the "thiruthEr" festivals are extremely famous. What a genius..look at that rAgamudra..cha ;(.

dIkshithar continues with his swarAkshara arAjagams in the charaNam by using the "MND" phrase at "mAnita". If the anupallavi was filled with antyAkshara prAsam, in the charaNam, dIkshithar shows that he is equally adept with adyAkshara prAsam with all the words of the first line of charaNam starting with "mA" and all the words in the second line starting with "ga". The madhyama kAla sAhityam gives the krithi its completeness and brings to end, one of the most soothing khamAs's ever.

In my next post, I will take up the beautiful sAma masterpiece, annapUrnE. As I end this post, I am listening to a majestic lathAngi sung by Sanjay sir. Check out these two videos on youtube- lathAngis sung by Sanjay sir and SRJ maama. Absolute treats :). I will surely post the next krithi tomorrow itself in my attempt to make up for this 1 month gap :(. Till then, signing off..shrI guruguhasya dAsOham.

rangapuravihAra-bRndAvana sAranga

2008-05-01T20:26:00.004-05:00

I have taken up a new oath this week and that is to listen to atleast one concert a day :). What could more enlightening and invigorating than listening to some great musicians. I also found out that a combination of heavy workload and fever could be devastating, mentally and physically. At the end of the day, all I need is some good food, good music and good rest. The absence of the first and second factors seem to have a heavy influence on the third. It makes me mentally tired and so I get a good amount of "sleep" but not good rest. Anyway..I hope to bring all of this to an end very soon :).

I will now take up the beautiful masterpiece in bRndAvana sAranga, "rangapuravihAra" composed by the nAdhajyOthi at the enchanting shrIrangam kSEtra. As I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts, in almost all of the rAgAs which dIkshithar adopted to carnatic music, he has composed one krithi keeping the hindustAni style intact (ammaDi) and one krithi sketching out the adapted carnatic version (maDi). In the case of bRndAvana sAranga, dIkshithar's soundararAjam (refer to earlier blogs for explanation on this gem) is the maDi version while rangapuravihAra seems to be the ammaDi, hindustAni variant. The rUpaka tALam flows brilliantly in this krithi, pretty much in sync with the lapping waters of the kAveri. As is the case with most rasikAs, I always attribute this krithi to MS amma. Her mellifluous voice and the melodious gamakAs she employs are truly mind blowing. Moving on to the krithi now,

Pallavi:
ranga pura vihAra jaya kOdanDa-rAmAvatAra raghUvIra shrI

Meaning:
dIkshithar directly addresses the Lord "Lord RanganAtha!!The one who resides ("vihAra") at rangapura, victory ("jaya") unto thee. The one who incarnated ("avatAra") as bow ("kodanDa") wielding Lord Rama. The warrior ("vIra") of the raghu dynasty."

What a beautiful start to the krithi. One of those starts which definitely has a bang attached to it. The "R S" beginning for the krithi is haunting to say the least. And look at how beautifully dIkshithar loops the shrI at the end of the pallavi to the ranga beginning thereby giving the kSEtram. The incomprehensible beauty this line of the pallavi exudes will reverberate forever. The "psnrnsp; mnpmrs" phrase at "rAma;avatara" oozes with rAga chAya. It is because of krithis like this that I tend to become too biased and make statements like dIkshithar is the one who defined classical music best. Anyway, moving on,

Anupallavi:
angaja janaka dEva bRndAvana sArangEndra varada ramAntaranga
shyAmaLAnga vihanga turanga sadayApAnga satsanga

Meaning:
dIkshithar continues to describe the Lord with references to mythology as "The father ("janaka") of Cupid ("angaja"). The one who protected the celestials ("dEva") and Gajendra, the Lord of Elephants ("sArangEndra") in the forest ("bRndAvana"). The one who grants boons ("varada") and the beloved one ("antaranga"-intimate) of Goddess Lakshmi ("ramA")".

The beautiful madhyamakAla sAhityam continues "The one with the bluish-black ("shyamaLa") body ("anga"). The one who has the divine Garuda ("vihanga") as his vehicle ("turanga"). The one who is full of mercy and compassion ("sadayApAnga") and the one who is always in the company of noble-minded men ("satsanga").

The hindustAni face of the rAga is clearly brought in the first line of the anupallavi with the "rPnmp" phrase at "angaja" followed by the "SsnpsNS" phrase at "janaka dEva". The "P R" take off at bR"ndA"vana makes one's hair stand up and this is where the goosebumps really start getting too much to handle. Similar to "soundararAjam", dIkshithar once again uses the reference to Lord gajendra to bring in the rAga mudra. The madhyamakAlam in the anupallavi is one of my all time favourites. dIkshithar explores the complementary phrases in this rAga which goes as "PSnRs;NP;MnpmR;SRnS" at "shyAmala;anga;vihanga;turanga".

Throughout this krithi, one can see the simplicity in the structure and usage of sanskrit grammar which is very simple to understand. Further, the absence of any yogic or vedantic references makes this krithi a demonstration of beauty and bhakthi straight from the heart of the bhakta in dIkshithar. He does not intend on bringing in any science here. It is a plain description of the Lord and the rasika can easily relate to a heart pouring out with pure bhakthi and surrender, captured completely by dIkshithar. The charanam continues in that same tone set by the pallavi and anupallavi,

Charanam:
pankajApta kula jala nidhi sOma
vara pankaja mukha paTTAbirAma
pada pankaja jita kAma raghurAma
vAmAnka gata sItA varavEsha
SEshAnka Sayana bhakta santOsha
EnAnka ravi nayana mRdu-tara bhAsha
akaLanka-darpaNa kapOla viSEsha muni-
sankata haraNa gOvinda vEnkata ramana mukunda
sankarSana mUla kanda shankara guruguhAnanda

Meaning:
dIkshithar beautifully describes the Lord as "the one who rose as the moon ("sOma") in the ocean ("jalanidhi") dynasty ("kula") of the sun ("pankajApta"-friend of the lotus). The revered one ("vara") with a lotus-like ("pankaja") face ("mukha") and the one who was coronated as king ("paTTAbhirAma"). The one with the lotus-like ("pankaja") feet ("pada") who surpasses ("jita") the beauty of the cupid ("kAma") as Lord Rama of the raghu clan; the one who beautifully appears ("vEsha") with the revered ("vara") sItA seated gracefully on His left lap ("vAmAnka gata"). The one who reclines on ("shayana") AdiSEsha, the serpent and the one who delights and pleases ("santOsha") His devotees ("bhakta"). The one who has the sun and the moon ("EnAnka ravi") as His eyes ("nayana") and the soft-spoken one ("mRdu-tara bhAsha"). The one who has cheeks ("kapOla") that shine like a blemishless ("a-kaLanka") mirror ("darpaNa"). He is Govinda, the one who destroyed ("haraNa") all the troubles ("sankata") for the munIs. The one known by many names like vEnkataramaNa and mukunda. The one who bestows auspiciousness ("sankarshana") in His primordial form ("mUla kanda"). The one who delights ("Ananda") Lord Shiva ("shankara") and Lord guruguha".

What an amazing charaNam ;(. Just beautiful. dIkshithar plays with the word "pankaja" in the first few lines of the charaNam. And see how he maintains the prAsam throughout the krithi right from the first word (r"anga") to the last word (sh"anka"ra). That is why I keep saying that he is He!! Genius ;(. I actually am deeply emotional now thinking about this charaNam and have nothing more to say. I am just at a complete loss of words sitting here with tears in my eyes and goosebumps on my skin. I am not even equipped or qualified enough to talk about the charaNam and hence I stop right here. Musically, there are too many beautiful phrases in the charaNam for me to point out and it would end up as more like "notations for the entire charaNam" kind. Hence I feel it is better for the rasika to listen and experience personally. Just amazing how big a genius he should have been. ;( Anyway..life has to go on. If you have not already, I would highly advise watching Ranjani and Gayathri render this beautiful krithi on youtube; one of the purest renditions of this krithi I have heard.

I will take up yet another of my favorite krithi about which I have been wanting to write for a long time now, "sArasa daLa nayanA" in khamAs which happens to be one of the very first dIkshithar krithis I listened to :). As I sign off, I am listening to SSI taking mukhAri to a whole new level in the famous airport concert . I would rate this concert as one of the very best I have heard in my whole life. Please listen to it if have not already. shrI gurubhyO namah:

shrI abhayAmbA- shrI rAgam

2008-04-26T20:44:00.003-05:00

In the past 3 or 4 days, I seem to have developed a sudden passion for varNams. Though I have always loved them, I have not sat down and learnt a varNam in a long time now. So, I started (and finished) learning the majestic chauka kAla varNam in shrIranjani from the Sangeetha sampradAya pradarshini. Whats unique about this varNam is the starcast, so to speak :). Ramaswami dIkshithar composed the pallavi, anupallavi, muktAyi swarams, charaNam and first of the chitta swarams while the second, third and the last chitta swarams were composed by ShyAmA shAstri, chinnaswAmi dIkshithar and the great nAdhajyOthi respectively. One of the most wonderful things I noticed as I learnt this varNam was the rapid pace at which I was able to easily learn it. I realized that I have actually developed some decent musical skills in the past year or so thanks to some wonderful friends :).

As work continues to be hectic, I am trying my best to find solace in music. I finally found time to update my resume and have started applying for jobs in Bangalore. Hopefully I get some good interviews and come back to India very soon :). I will now take up the tenth and the final krithi of the abhayAmbA vibhakthi series. The maNgaLa krithi in shrI rAgam, shrI abhayAmbA set to Adi tALam is a beautiful maNipravALa (multi-lingual) masterpiece in which dIkshithar shows his command over 3 of the most beautiful languages ever; sanskrit, telugu and tamil. The way he fuses the 3 languages while still highlighting the rhyme scheme and the prAsam is just mind-blowing. Since I do not know telugu, please pardon me if I interpret anything incorrectly.

Pallavi:
shrI abhayAmbA ninnu cintincina vAriki
cintai kavalai ellAM tIrum ammA

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings- "Oh auspicious ("shrI") mother ("ammA") abhayAmbA, for the people ("vAriki") who think ("cintincina") of you ("ninnu"), all ("ellAM") their mental ("cintai") worries ("kavalai") will be eliminated ("tIrum")."

To completely appreciate this krithi, one must definitely listen to DKJ's version. The different sangathis and the clarity with which he sings this krithi is something to be experienced. dIkshithar starts this krithi off with the tAra sthAyi rishabham. All the krithis that start off in the tAra sthAyi are simply shtudly; "karikaLabamukham" in sAvEri for example :). The "R;SNPNS" phrase at "shrI abhayAmbA" and the "pRsR" phrase at "ellAM" are special phrases which embellish the pallavi. dIkshithar beautifully brings out the rAga mudra with the first word of the krithi itself. Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:
hE abhayakarE varE Ishwari kR.patOnu-
endannai rakshikka idhu nalla samayam ammA

Meaning:
dIkshithar addresses the Goddess as "the one who bears the abhaya ("protection") and the vara ("boon bestowing") mudras in her hands ("karE"), the Goddess ("Ishwari"). This ("idhu") is the right time ("nalla samayam") for you, my mother ("ammA") to come and protect ("rakshikka") me ("endannai") showing your compassion ("kR.patOnu")."

Just like the shrI maNgaLa krithi in the kamalAmbA series, dIkshithar keeps it very simple in this krithi also. He does not bring in any vedantic or purAnic references. He simply prays to the Goddess, praises her compassion and seeks her blessings. The "SRNS; PNMP; PDNPM; RMRS; RMPNS" at "endhanai; rakshikka; idhu nalla; samayam; ammA" acts as a perfect ending for the anupallavi leading to the rishabam take-off for the pallavi. Apart from that, there is nothing much to explain and so I move on to the charaNam

CharaNam:
nI atyadbhuta Subha guNamulu vini-
nIvE dikkani nEra nammiti
nIrajAkshi nijarUpasAkshi
nityAnanda guruguha kaTAkshi rakshi

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings "Hearing of your ("nI") miraculous ("atyadbhuta") and good qualities ("Subha guNamulu"), I trusted ("nEra nammiti") that you ("nIvE") are my refuge ("dikkani"). You are the lotus-eyed ("nIrajAkshi") one and the witness to the true form ("nijarUpasAkshi"). You are the one who graces ("kaTAkshi") the eternally blissful ("nityAnanda") guruguha. Please protect me ("rakshi")."

In the charaNam, dIkshithar shows the bhaktha inside him. He goes into a mode of surrender and requests the Goddess to be his saviour. He brings in a few advaita fundas here by referring to Her as "the witness to the true form" implying that the Goddess bears witness to the true supreme soul which the jIvAtma realizes at the supreme level of consciousness. The madhyamakAla sAhityam just gallops along beautifully and gives that vaibhava and maNgaLa mood to end the krithi and hence the majestic abhayAmbA series.

As I complete this krithi, I feel extremely blessed and fortunate to have been able to cover the kamalAmbA navAvarNams and the abhayAmbA vibhakthi krithis, two grand series' of masterpieces composed by the great nAdhajyOthi. This ardent devotee will now resign with a sense of satisfaction :).

In my next post, I am going to take up a krithi which I have been waiting a long time to write about, one of my favourite krithis which never fails to bring a tear to my eye, the magnum opus, "rangapuravihAra" in brindAvana sAranga. Probably I should not be taking up Brindu right after shrI rAgam, but I guess the similarities make it all the more reason for me to take it up right away :). Hopefully I will find time to post this krithi tomorrow. Till then, keep rocking..I must admit that eventhough Work sucks, Life is still beautiful :D :D.

dAkSayaNi-tODi

2008-04-07T00:37:00.002-05:00

My first post in April and it is already the 21st :(. Work, work and more work ;(. This seems to be the excuse that I am constantly giving for not being able to blog. Well, that unfortunately has been the case the whole of this year and I expect this to continue for a few more months :(. Still, I somehow squeezed in time to have music sessions on the weekends (though not as regularly as before :( ). I managed to learn two krithis that I have been wanting to learn for a long time now; one being rangapuravihAra, perhaps the more popular masterpiece of dIkshithar's in brindAvana sArangA and the other krithi being madhurAmbikAyAm in dEsisimhAravam (hEmavathi for all practical purposes). Thanks to the wonderful satsangam I have been blessed with, I am able to keep myself completely drowned in this blissful ocean :).

I managed a short but sweet trip to Sunnyvale, California to meet up with Ashwin, Aditya and Sudherssen, some cherished friends (read: brothers) from Ann Arbor. We spent a fun-riddled 2 days together. I also got a chance to meet my sweet little friend, MLKMA Aishwarya Chandiramouli. Though I did not spend as much time with her as I would have liked, it was so peaceful and serene just to meet her :). Round Rock has never looked more barren and bleak :(. I am really looking forward to jetting out of here and I cant wait to go home to my amma and anna.

Anyway, I will now take up "dAkshAyaNi abhayAmbikE", a majestic krithi in tODi composed exclusively in the sambOdhana vibhakthi where dIkshithar directly addresses the Goddess as "hE abhayAmbikE". The highlight of this krithi is the soul-stirring mandira sthAyi deivatham start for the pallavi, thereby making "dA"kshAyaNi a swarAkshara beginning. dIkshithar presents an absolutely different shade of tODi in this krithi. By comparing with the nishAda start of kamalAmbikE, this mandira sthAyi deivatham beginning shows the versatility of this genius. The krithi on the whole is an extremely simple set up but it still oozes with rAga bhAva and amrita rasa.

Pallavi:
dAkSayaNi abhayAmbikE
varadAbhayahastE namastE shrI

Meaning:
dIkshithar addresses the Goddess in the pallavi- "Oh abhayAmbA, the daughter of King dAkshA, the one who bears the mudrAs of abhaya ("protection") and varada ("boon-granting"). Prostrations unto you ("namastE") Oh auspicious one ("shrI")".

As I mentioned earlier, the mandira sthAyi deivatham with which the krithi begins is mesmerizing to say the least. The rishabam at dAkshAya"Ni" followed by "GDP" phrase at "abha"yAmbikE completely makes the rasika to surrender. dIkshithar employs a madhyamakAlam in the pallavi itself at "namastE" which descends as "DNS,SNDPMGRS" thereby looping back to first line with the beautiful "S D" prayOgam. This is one of those krithis in which dIkshithar clearly portrays the meditative essence of this entire set of abhayAmbA vibhakthi krithis. Because of the grandeur of this tODi, many musicologists still argue that this krithi should be the dhyAna krithi of this series (similar to the tODi dhyAna krithi of the kamalAmbA navAvarNams). Moving on to the anupallavi,

Anupallavi:
dIkSAsantuSTamAnase dInAvanahastasArase
kAMkSitArthapradAyini kAmatantravidhAyini
sAkSirUpaprakAshini samastajagadvilAsini
Meaning:
dIkshithar describes the Goddess as "the one who's mind ("mAnase") is pleased ("santuSTa") by initiation ("dIkSa") and the one whose lotus-like ("sArase") hands ("hasta") protects the destitute and the needy ("dInavana")." In the madhyamakAla sAhitya, dIkshithar continues to describe the Goddess as "the one who grants("pradAyini") all the wishes of devotees ("kAmkshitArtha") and the one who displays ("vidhAyini") the primary essence of all creation, the tantra of desire ("kAma"). She is the one who shines forth ("prakAshini") as a witness ("sAkSirUpa") to this game of birth and death in this playpen called the world and she is the one who pervades ("vilAsini") the entire universe ("samastajagad")."

dIkshithar clearly shows that he is a shrI vidyA upAsakA by bringing in the topic of initiation ("dIkSa") and in the words "kAmatantravidAyini". In shrI vidyA, kAmatantra or kAmakalA represents the inner heart of the bindu (the third eye") and symbolizes that for creation, the sperm and the egg must unite. Musically, the "SNDp; GM PGRS" phrase at "samastajagadhvilAsini" is absolutely divine and it once again loops back with the "S D" prayOgam while merging with the pallavi. Vedavalli maami's rendition of this part of the anupallavi is a must hear. Moving on to the charaNam now,

CharaNam:
sakalaniSkaLasvarUpatejase sakalalokas.rSTikaraNabhrAjase
sakalabhaktasaMrakSaNayashase sakalayogimanorUpatatvatapase
prabalaguruguhodaye pa~ncAnanah.rdAlaye
bharatamataN^gAdinute bhAratIshapUjite

Meaning:
dIkshithar describes the dEvi as "the one who displays the true powerful form ("svarUpatejase") established as the undivided absolute state of brahman ("sakalaniSkaLa"). The one who glitters and shines ("bhrAjase") through all Her creations ("s.rSTikaraNa") in all the worlds ("sakalaloka"). The one is famous ("yashase") for protecting ("saMrakSaNa") all ("sakala") Her devotees ("bhakta"). The one who is the embodiment ("rUpa") of penance ("tatvatapase") in every ("sakala") yogi's mind ("mano")."
In the madhyamakAla sAhitya, dIkshithar continues to describe the Goddess as "the one who is the source ("udaye") of the mighty ("prabala") guruguha. The one who resides ("Alaye") in the heart ("h.rda") of Lord Shiva, the five-faced one ("panchAnana"). The one who was praised ("nute") by great sages like Bharata and matanga and the one who was worshipped ("pUjite") by Lord Brahma, the husband of Goddess Saraswathi ("bhAratIsha")."

Vedavalli maami and kalpagam maami seem to present extremely different facets of this krithi. While the former's rendition is pretty fast paced suggesting a madhyamakAla krithi, kalpagam maami's version seems to establish the grandeur a lot more stronger. Her slow, chouka kAla rendition of the krithi adds a grand flavour to this masterpiece. dIkshithar once again establishes advaita fundas in the first line of the charaNam.

One more thing to note in this krithi is that the tAra sthAyi prayOgams are very sparingly used. dIkshithar seems to emphasize that the beauty of the rAgam and the meditative phase he is trying to portray is based out of the madhya and the mandira sthAyis. As I complete this post, I sincerely hope that I will get some time in the next few days to take up "shrI abhayAmba" and complete this set. I am suddenly in the grasp of dwijAvanti now, listening to SSI's beautiful swarams for cEtaH shrI. I guess I will loop the krithi and go to sleep listening to it. All of you have a wonderful week ahead and I will surely meet you all once again before this week is over :). Till then, Godspeed!!

abhayAmbAyAm-sahAnA

2008-03-24T20:06:00.003-05:00

The past weekend, I felt really homesick after a long time. I had some random dreams of lying in my mother's lap and listening to anna sing a beautifully sahAnA ;(..how I long for those days. Eating good food, listening to good music, enjoying the comforts of being at home and being showered with love..what more could a human being ask for :(. Anyway, on a more cheerful note, the music session we had yesterday was pure bliss. The star of the day was our gumbal's baby, shAmbhavi, the cute kid with an amazing voice and a heart filled with warmth :). Her renditions of mAnji and sucharitra have completely consumed me since yesterday..just amazing..thanks a lot GB!!! >:D<. In this post, I will continue to explore the majestic abhayAmbA vibhakthi krithis by taking up "abhayAmbAyam" in sahAnA set to tripuTa tALam composed entirely in the sapthami vibhakthi (seventh/locative case) by the great nAdhajyOthi. With the masterpiece kEdAram krithi I discussed in the previous post, I guess dIkshithar reached the pinnacle of his meditative trance and decided that he will keep the last three of the abhyAmbA krithis relatively simple. This beautiful krithi in sahAnA (perhaps my most favourite rAga ever) is a short samASTi charaNam (the only one in this vibhakthi series) in which dIkshithar still manages to grasp the rAga by the throat and bring it to life :) . dIkshithar addresses the Goddess in various forms in this krithi thereby giving all of us a chance to sing the name of the Goddess and thereby gain some puNyam. The antyAkshara prAsam adds to the grace and completely mesmerizes the rasika. Moving on to the krithi, Pallavi:
abhayAmbAyAM bhaktiM karomi
saccidAnandarUpAyAM svasvarUpAyAM shrI

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings "I offer my devotion ("bhaktiM karomi") to Goddess abhayAmbA, the one who is an embodiment ("rUpAyAm") of truth/existence-consciousness/knowledge-happiness/bliss ("sat-chit-Ananda"). She is the auspicious one ("shrI") with the form of the unified, supreme self ("svasvarUpAyAM")."

The "PMG" start to the krithi straight away brings sahAnA's core essence of shringAra rasa to the forefront. He follows this up with the "PMD; N;S" phrase at "bhaktiM karomi" and hence more or less covers the entire scale of the rAga in one line :). dIkshithar brings in vEdAnta in the pallavi itself by referring to the Goddess as the unified, supreme self. Moving on to the samASTi charaNam,

charaNam:
vibhavAdivitaraNanipuNamantriNyAM
vijayakAraNanipuNataradaNDinyAm
viyadAdibhUtakiraNamAlinyAM
vikalpaharaNanipuNashUlinyAm
abhedapratipAditAyAM AdiguruguhaveditAyAM
sabheshamoditanaTanAyAM sAyujyapradacaraNAyAm

Meaning:
dIkshithar praises the Goddess in many names in the charaNam. He addresses her as "mantriNi, the one who is an expert ("nipuNa") in bestowing ("vitaraNa") many riches and powers ("vibhava")"; as "daNDini, the one who is adept ("nipuNatara") in granting the causes/skills required ("kAraNa") for victory ("vijaya")"; as "mAlini, the one who is an embodiment of the five elements ("bhutakiraNa") beginning with the sky ("viyat")" and as "shUlini, the one who is an expert ("nipuNa") in destroying ("haraNa") confusions and difficulties ("vikalpa")."

dIkshithar beautifully slips into the madhyamakAla sAhityam here. He describes the Goddess as "the one who is completely understood ("pratipAditAyAm") by a clear mind without any distinctions ("abheda") and the one realized ("vEditAyAm") by guruguha." He finishes the krithi sweetly by describing the Goddess as "the one whose dance ("naTanAyAm") delights ("modita") Lord Shiva, the Lord of the dance court ("sabEsha") and she is the one whose feet ("charaNAyAm") bestow ("prada") sAyujya mukthi on her devotees."

The subtle sahAnA is handled very delicately in this krithi by dIkshithar. The " SPM; NDPM DNS" at "abhEdapratipAditAyAm" is one of my most favourite lines in sahAna ever :). dIkshithar once again clearly emphasizes in this krithi that by surrendering to the dEvi, one will be bestowed with all siddhis and happiness and finally given salvation, thereby bringing a purpose in living. I am planning to visit the mAyUranAtha temple in this november. When I go there, this will perhaps be the first krithi I sing there :). Somehow I am not finding any flow to write today. :( I think this is by far the worst post till date on this blog. My mind is a little troubled I guess..I will surely make it up in my next post, in which I will handle "dAkshAyaNi abhayAmbikE", the amazing krithi in tODi. All of you have a wonderful weekend :). shrI gurubhyO namah:

ambikAyAH abhayAmbikAyAH-kEdAram

2008-03-15T16:58:00.004-05:00

I wanted to finish the abhyAmbA vibhakthi krithis by this weekend, but unfortunately, work has been very interesting and hectic and hence I have not been able to blog for a couple of weeks now :(. Hopefully I will be able to post the last 4 krithis (including this blog) in the coming week and finish the series off before the next weekend. But I must confess that some new things at work have completely engrossed my mind for the past few days and I have made some really wonderful progress. :). Musically, I have been consumed by kannada gOwLa thanks to thalaivar's masterpiece, "nIlOtpalAmbikayA" rendered beautifully by Vedavalli maami. If you have not heard this krithi, please do so immediately. It is perhaps the most mind-blowing kannada gOwLa ever composed.

I will now take up "ambikAyAH abhayAmbikAyAH", perhaps the most grandest composition among the abhayAmbA vibhakthi krithis in kEdAram set to Adi tALam. This krithi is composed extensively in the shashTi vibhakthi (sixth/genitive/possessive case). In this krithi, dIkshithar completely exploits the beauty of this rAgam. In the pallavi itself, dIkshithar brings the essence of this rAga to the forefront. But more than the musical aspect, I would say that it is the grammatical brilliance displayed in this krithi which overshadows musical beauty. The adhyakshara and antyakshara prAsams in the anupallavi build-up to the 86 syllable word in the charaNam which runs for 5 lines. And the esoteric yogic and tAntric references in the charaNam are way beyond description. A careful rasika will be able to completely imagine the highly meditative state of surrender and devotion dIkshithar must have been in when he composed this amazing krithi. As always, I will make yet another humble attempt and try to explain this great work of a genius. If there are any mistakes, please pardon me and correct me. If the explanation is incomplete, please post your comments and help me learn. Moving on to the krithi now,

Pallavi:
ambikAyAH abhayAmbikAyAH tava dAso.ahaM AdijagadambikAyAH

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings " I am the servant ("dAso.ahaM") of you ("tava"), Goddess ambikA, the one who provides shelter ("abhayAmbikayAH") and the one who is the primordial mother of the universe ("AdijagadambikAyAH")."

The "PMGP" start for the krithi wakes the rasika up and issues a clear command to get ready for a treat. The typical "PSNP, MGR; SSMG;R" kEdAram phrase at "tava dAso.ahaM" brings out the beauty of this rAgam in its entirety. The pallavi ends with a small madhyamakAla sAhityam. Other than that, there is nothing much to explain here..yet another simple pallavi which provides infinite scope for improvization.

Anupallavi:
shambarAriharishashikuberapramukhopAsitanavayoginyAH sAMkhyatArakamanaskarAjayoginyAH shivabhoginyAH bimbapratibimbarUpiNyAH bindumaNDalavAsinyAH svarUpiNyAH

Meaning:
dIkshithar describes the Goddess as "the one who is an embodiment of the nine yoginIs ("navayoginyAH") who are worshipped ("upAsita") by great/significant Gods ("pramukha:") like cupid ("enemy of Lord Shiva-shambarAri"), Lord Vishnu ("hari"), the moon ("shashi") and kubera. The one who is beyond the 3 stages of enquiry ("sAMkhya") of the mind ("manaska") leading to liberation ("tAraka") and the one who is established in rAja yOga. The one who delights ("bhoginyAH") Lord Shiva. The one who is of the form ("rUpiNyAH") of the light, image ("bimba") and reflection ("pratibimba"). The one who dwells ("vAsinyAH") in the bindu maNDala and the one who manifests as her"self" ("svarUpiNyAH")."

What an amazing anupallavi. The anupallavi of this krithi itself shows what a masterpiece this is. dIkshithar directly jumps into the yogic and tAntric stuff. For a yogi, dIkshithar depicts the Goddess as the ideal source of light who is beyond all doubts and questions a human mind could ask. dIkshithar follows this up by describing Her as the one who delights shivA. Apart from taking the direct meaning of the dEvi being the consort of Lord shivA, one can also interpret this description of the Goddess as "the one who delights the still mind of the yOgi, the still soul, shivA. To consolidate this, dIkshithar brings in direct advaita vedanta by describing Her as the source ("paramAtmA") as well as the reflection ("jIvAtmA"). dIkshithar finishes the anupallavi by describing Her as the one who resides in the bindu maNDala. The bindu maNDala or third eye is a five pointed star at the seat of the eyebrows. It is supposed to be a blue dot (hence the name bindu) and dIkshithar once again emphasizes that surrender to Goddess abhayAmbikA is a sure step towards jIvana mukthi.

The greatness of this anupallavi, in addition to all the esoteric meanings as explained above, is that it sets a wonderful platform on which dIkshithar builds perhaps the magnum opus of all charaNams ever composed by dIkshithar in terms of grammatical mastery. The charaNam is a monstrous display of dIkshithar's skill in handling meter, grammar, musical succinctness, esoteric vedAntic references and what not. I once again salute him and pray to him to give me the strength to try to interpret this complex charanam.

Charanam:
yamaniyamAdyaSTAN^gayogaviSayAdinigrahakaraNa- mUlAdhAramaNipUrakAdyabjabhedanasphurakuNDalinI- sahasradaLabrahmarandhrasthakamalAntargatashivasammeLana- gaLitaparamAm.rtabindusecanasamujj.rmbhita- nADImukhavikAsakaraNanijAnubhUtiyoginyAH amoghavarashivasArUpyAnandAnubhavapradAyinyAH aprameyaguruguhAdijananyAH brahmAdipa~ncakakAriNyAH

Meaning:
dIkshithar beautifully describes the ways in which one can truly realize and experience the existence of ("nijAnubhUti") the Goddess as the yogini ("yoginyAH"). dIkshitar sings "by contemplating and practicing ("nigrahakaraNa") the essence of ("vishaya")eight fold path of yoga ("aSTAN^gayoga") beginning with yama, niyamA (self-restraint and penance); by awakening the kundaliNi ("coiled snake") and making it pierce through ("bhedana") the quivering ("sphura") chakras/lotuses ("abja") starting with mUlAdhAra and maNipura and going all the way upto the brahmarandra seated at the sahasrAra, the thousand petalled lotus ("sahasra dala kamala) and thereby bringing about a great harmony, causing union ("sammeLaNa") with shiva which causes the oozing flow ("galita") of eternal ambrosia ("paramAmr.ta") which makes the third eye ("bindu") to become resplendent ("secana") and make the energy engulf ("samujrambita") the nerve centers ("nADimukha") and enervating ("vikAsa karaNa") them, thereby making the yOgi experience the truth ("nija") and realizing the divine existence of ("anubhUti") the Goddess as the yogini."; thus ending the 86 syllabled word..perhaps the biggest ever word written in sanskrit.

dIkshithar ends the charaNam by continuing to describe the dEvi as "the one who bestows ("pradAyiNyAH") the rare and immeasurable boon ("amOghavara") of experience of bliss ("Ananda anubhava") by merging and identifying the soul with Lord Shiva ("shivasArUpya"). The mother of ("jananyAH") the immeasurable ("apramEya") guruguha and the cause of the 5-fold acts ("panchaka-kArinyAH") beginning with brahma."

What an amazing charaNam :O :O. I completely surrender to dIkshithar. One can very clearly see the deep meditative state he must have reached and must have been marinating in to express in such great detail, the purpose of a human being and the spiritual progress he should make. dIkshithar explains the essence of the propagation of the kundaliNi through the chakras in the astral body and how one can achieve this by meditating on the Goddess. And how beautifully he explains the dynamics of this practice, enunciating the way and the end result..opening of the 2 million nerves of the body and experiencing the bliss of merging with "the one", the supreme light. And to put such vEdanta in a musical form with unimaginable meter shows the greatness and the genius of the musical yogi, the great nAdhajyOthi. I salute and lie prostrate at the feet of him, shrI guruguhasya dAso.aham.

There is nothing more to write about this krithi. My mind has gone blank because of the exhaustive charaNam and I am vibrating with pure bliss listening to shrI vijay shivA's rendition of this krithi. I have not discussed the musical aspects of this krithi owing to the sheer volume of explanations which would add more complexity to the already convoluted composition. I leave it to the rasika who (I hope) should have been able to understand the krithi better after reading this blog, to listen and appreciate this masterpiece..trust me, it will add more beauty and value to your life..just listen to it.

I will next take up the beautiful "abhayAmbAyAm" composed in sahAna. I am hoping to find time today and tommorrow and finish this krithi and probably the next one, thereby leaving me with only the maNgaLa krithi to write about inorder to complete the set. Signing off with a deep sense of surrender to dIkshithar, shrI gurubhyO namah:

abhayAmbikAyAH-kEdAragOwLa

2008-03-05T20:47:00.002-05:00

I once again apologize for the delay in posting this krithi. The last few weeks have been very hectic. Office work has been getting a little too heavy for poor me. On the weekends, music sessions take the entire morning and afternoon and ofcourse I have the other chores to do. So, its been konjam crazy, the past few weeks. Last weekend, my dear friend and college junior, Harsha Nagarajan came to Austin to give a concert. It was wonderful to meet him after such a long time. The concert (needless to say) was awesome. The beautiful shankArabharaNam main still rings in my ears. Dr. BhattachArya, a professor in Texas A&M university also came along with Harsha and he performed on the sarode. The soul stirring kIrvANi and jOg he played were just too much to take.

These days, I have started to sit down, sing and properly practice. Hopefully I will be a decent enough singer to sing thalaivar krithis. The 15 years or so I have wasted since childhood have to be made up. There is nothing beyond human effort and as SK and I always recall, we should draw inspiration from Paramahansa Yogananda's words of wisdom- "You must not let your life run in the ordinary way; do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God's creative principle works in you." What an amazing thing to say.

Anyway, continuing with the abhayAmbA vibhakthi krithis, I will take up the mellifluous "abhayAmbikAyAH" in rAgA kEdAragOwLa composed exclusively in the panchami vibhakthi (fifth/ablative case). This krithi, in my humble opinion is perhaps the best ever kEdAragOwLa composed. The beauty, scope and depth of the rAga is beautifully brought out and completely exploited by dIkshithar. The entire krithi (especially the charaNam) is rich in tAntrik references and vedantic allusions. The pallavi itself is a comprehensive display of the rAgam.

Pallavi:

abhayAmbikAyAH anyam na jAnE
ajHnAnadhmAnE aparOksha jHnAnE

Meaning:

dIkshithar sings "I know ("jAnE") of none other ("anyam na") than Goddess abhayAmbikA, the one who removes ("dhmAnE") all ignorance ("ajHnAna") and the personification of limitless ("aparOksha") knowledge ("jHnAnE")."

The pallavi brings out the majestic as well as the gentle natures of this beautiful rAgam. The "S S rsndp" start at "abhayAmbi"kAyAH straight away takes you to seventh heaven and promises no return :). And the highlight of this krithi is the mind-blowing "S ndp" phrase at "anyam". The chill it sends down my spine each time I listen to it or sing it is just indescribable. "S ndp-mgr" phrase at "ajHnAnadhmAnE" and "nd, dp, mg, rmpnsr" at "aparOksha jHnAnE" are the final nails in the coffin. There is absolutely nothing more to do in kEdAragOwLa..dIkshithar takes the entire juice out of the rAgam in the pallavi, in one stroke..just amazing. If you are reading this blog without having listened to the krithi, please immediately rush to the website and listen to this masterpiece..thats all I can say.

The anupallavi ofcourse has to live up to the billing after such an explosive start, which it more than does :).

Anupallavi:

ibharAjagatyAh IshvaryAh jagatyAh
nabhOmaNi gatyAh nAdalayagatyAh

Meaning:

dIkshithar describes the Goddess as "the one who has the majestic ("rAja") gait ("gatyAh") of an elephant ("ibha") and the supreme Goddess ("IshvaryAh") of the universe ("jagatyAh"). In the madhyamakAla sAhityam, dIkshithar sings "She is the one who makes the sun ("nabhOmaNi"-star/gem of the sky) shine ("gatyAh") and the one who is embodiment ("gatyAh") of sound ("nAda") and beats ("laya")."

Look at the prAsam in these few lines of the anupallavi. dIkshithar plays around with different meanings for the same word "gatyAh". True to the sAhityams, the krithi itself just gallops along with that majestic gait. The "r R mg, rsndp" phrase at "nabhOmaNi gatyAh" and "P mgr, rmpns" phrase at "nAdalaya gatyAh" to finish the anupallavi and beautifully take off at the pallavi once again shows how well dIkshithar has handled this rAgam. He literally toys around with all the different sangathis and creates that magical effect as usual. How carefully he has woven the thread..look at that "rmpns" ending for the anupallavi (a proper ArOhaNam) culminating in the pallavi. One is reminded of John keats' words- "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"..what else can I say. I shut up and move on to the charaNam

charaNam:

bAlAdi nAmadhEya prakAshinyAh
kAlAdI tatvAnta prakAshinyAh
mUlAdi dvAdashAnta prakAshinyAh
sthUlAdi maunAnta prakAshinyAh
trailOkya mUlA prakRtyAh svashaktyAh
sAlOka sAmIpya sArUpya muktyAh
mAlinImantra mAlAdi tantrOktyAh
shUlinI guruguha svAnubhava gatyAh

Meaning:
dIkshithar sings of the Goddess as "The one who shines ("prakAshinyAh") in various manifestations like ("nAmadEya") bAla, etc. The one who shines forth ("prakAshinyAh") as the philosophy ("tatva"), beginning with time ("kAla"). The one who radiates ("prakAshinyAh") from the twelve ("dvAdasha") nerve centers ("anta-inner parts") starting with mUla ("mUlAdi"). The one who manifests as ("prakAshinyAh") various forms starting from the gross ("sthUlAdi") and ending with the esoteric/subtle ("maunAnta")."

The galloping madhyamAkAla sAhityam unfolds where in he describes the Goddess as "The one who is the primordial force ("mUlaprakrutyah") responsible for the creation of the three worlds ("trilOkya") and the self-propelling force ("svashaktyAh"). The one who gives all the four types of liberations ("muktyAh"), namely, sAlOkya, sAmIpya, sArUpya and sAyujya. The one who is the essence of ("uktyAh") of tantric works like mAlini and mantamAlA. The one who bears the trident ("shUliNi") and the one who is the self experience ("svAnubhava") of guruguha."

What an amazing charaNam..look at the prAsam ;(. dIkshithar's references to tAntric philosophy and vEdAntAs are perfectly showcased in the charaNam. He refers to the dEvi as the one who transcends everything from the gross physical plane to the subtle astral and the esoteric causal planes. For the yogi, She is the one who resides in the 12 nerve centers of the body, starting with mUlAdhAra chakra at the base of the spine and extending upto the sahasrAra, the thousand petaled lotus at the top of the head. Thus, by pleasing the Goddess and praying to Her, one can meditate on Her and make the kundalini move up the spine thereby reopening the nerve passages from these chakras and hence attaining supreme consciousness.

dIkshithar gives the Goddess the ultimate compliment by saying that She is the one who gives the four types of liberation, sAlOkya mukthi (Being in the same plane of God consciousness-Co-located with the Lord), sAmipya mukthi (Being close to or near God consciousness-Being in the vicinity of God), sArUpya mukthi (Attaining the same form as the parabrahman) and sAyujya mukthi (union with the Lord, this is the final stage of liberation). It has taken me five lines to (in)completely sketch one word of dIkshithar..such is the depth, profoundness and brilliance of this genius.

Musically, the charaNam starts off with the "r R" phrase which is overflowing with beauty. The "S ndp" phrase at "kAlAdi" and the "r M m g R" phrase at "tatvAnta" brings the rasikA to life and kills him/her once again..such is the beauty. The "p m pN S r r" at "mUlAdidvAdasha" is perhaps one of the best ever take-offs composed by dIkshithar. By this stage of the krithi, the rasikA is sure to have given up on life and closed his/her eyes, peacefully floating in the ocean of bliss. The madhyamakAla sAhityam literally flows to give that crescendo effect. The "gr rmp" ending to the charaNam leading to the "R S rsndp" take-off at the start of the pallavi completes the masterpiece, making this krithi, perhaps my most favourite krithi of the abhayAmba series. Such beauty and bliss is impossible to describe and it must be experienced by every human being with an ear for carnatic music.

I am now listening to the recording of varadarAja avAva in gangAtaraNgini (33rd mELa) in which SK and I completely gave up and went gA gA. I suddenly become extremely senti as I close this post listening to this recording. If it was not for the satsangam of friends like SK, hari and many more, my life would have continued along less meaningful paths. Anyway, I will next take up "ambikAyAh abhayAmbikAyAh" in kedAram, perhaps the studdest gem among this set of krithis. Till then, keep listening and as usual drown in the ocean of nectar :). shrI gurubhyO namah: