guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya-sAma

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!!

annapUrNE- sAmA

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: