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Among the 700 or so k.rtis of Saint TyAgarAja that are currently in
vogue, a majority is devoted to singing the Glory of Lord shrI rAma
through the medium of nAma japa (divine chanting) and bhakti
(devotion). These include his major k.rtis popularly heard in
concerts, the divyanAma sa"nkIrtanams, and the utsava saMpradAya
kIrtanams. Since his compositions are steeped with an intense devotion
to Lord rAma, and there is a wealth of rAma nAma mahima
sprinkled throughout his songs, several harikathA exponents have
successfully conducted rAmAyaNa kathA prasa”ngams employing solely
his compositions to illustrate the essence of this epic story.
Though
he was an advocate of rAma nAma tAraka mantram, TyAgarAja has taken
time out to deviate from this theme, to compose several beautiful k.rtis
in praise of other Gods and Goddesses of the South Indian Hindu Pantheon.
Unlike MuttusvAmi DIkSitar, he was not a zealous pilgrim, but he had traveled
to some nearby shrines in places like ShrIra”ngam, LalguDi, Tirupati, KOvUr,
TiruvoTToyUr, NAgapaTTaNam, SOli"ngapuram, and Chennai, to mention a few
places. Also, besides Lord rAma, he has composed and sung in praise of
gaNEsha, shiva, viSNu, pArvati (in several forms),
and even the sacred river kAvEri, in addition to a large number of
songs glorifying nAda brahmam, the medium of sapta svara
through which he expressed his feelings toward God. In this small note, I
shall try to point out the various TyAgarAja k.rtis that are not
related to the theme of rAma brahmam.
K.rtis
on gaNesha
On Lord gaNEsha, TyAgarAja
sang the k.rti “girirAjasutA tanayA sadayA'' in the
rAgam ba”ngaLa. This composition is in simple Sanskrit, and there are
numerous compositions of TyAgarAja in Sanskrit (for example,
sAmajavaragamana (hindOLAm), nadatanumani"sam (cittara~njani),
jagadAnandakaraka (nATa), niravadhisukhada (ravicandrika),
and so on). Another k.rti on gaNEsha, again in Sanskrit, “shrI
gaNanAtham bhajAmyaham'' in the rAgam kanakA”ngi (the first
mELam) is also attributed to TyAgarAja, but strangely, it incorporates
the mudra (signature) of both TyAgarAja, as well as MuttusvAmi
DIkSitar (in the phrase “guruguha''), but the style resembles more
to that of DIkSitar. The more famous TyAgarAja k.rti on gaNapati is, of
course, "shrI ganapatini sEviMparArE" in rAgam saurASTram.
This k.rti belongs to "prahLAda bhakti vijayam" opera, where it
serves as an invocative song for this dance drama.
The sacred river kAvEri
The
geographical location of the TiruvauyAru temple on the banks of KavEri has
inspired TyAgarAja to sing in praise of this sacred river, or to refer to it
in many songs. In the k.rti “sAri VeDalina'' in rAgam
asAvEri, TyAgarAja describes the flow of the sacred river kAvEri
--- "the river, which gloriously going towards her husband's house,
fulfilling the desires of all devotees, and after paying obeisance to the feet
of Lord shrI Ra”nganAtha, comes to Pa~ncanadIshvara, who is the life of the
fourteen lOkas". In the mukhAri rAga piece, "muripEmu
galigEgadA'', he further echoes: “Oh rAmA! are you not happy that you
have secured the abode of Pa~ncanada kSEtra in cOLa dEsham, a place so
beautiful, and worthy of being coveted by Lord shiva himself, situated on the
banks of the holy river kAvEri?" In the song, "ennADO rakSi~ncitE"
in rAgam saurASTram, he again echoes --- "to delight the hearts of all
good people who, feeling the want of water, eagerly look along the river-bed
for it, and to assure them that she would really bless them, does not kavEri,
sharing their concern, send in advance the western wind and start the spring?"
TiruvaiyAru Compositions
Since TyAgarAja spent a major portion of his time in the temple
city of TiruvaiyAru (Pa~ncanadi -- the bank of five rivers), we find a number
of compositions dedicated to the presiding deity of the temple at TiruvaiyAru,
Lord praNatArttihara (shiva), and the Divine consort
dharmasamvarddhani. The following k.rtis are all composed at this
sacred place.
K.rtis
on pa~ncanadIsha
illalO
praNatArttihara |
aThANA |
EvarunnAru |
mALavashrI |
Ehi
trijagadIsha |
sAra”nga |
muccaTa
brahmAdulaku |
madhyamAvati |
darshanamu sEya
|
nArAyaNagauLa |
shiva shiva
yena |
pantuvarALi |
dEvAdi dEva
sadAshiva |
sindurAmakriya
|
In the madhyamAvati
piece, "muccaTa brahmadulaku", TyAgarAja imagines Lord shiva in
a form that is completely different from the usual description we are used to.
The Lord, with his white captivating from, bedecked with jewels and rich
flower garlands, is seated in an ornamented palanquin, with royal
paraphernalia, carried by men of celestial bearings and with praises being
sung by real devotees.
In the
more popular "shiva shivayenarAdA" in rAgam pantuvarALi,
TyAgarAja says --- "chanting the vEdas extols the Lord. Avoid all the
fruitless talks and in the company of noble devotees, indulge in chanting the
name of the Lord and singing his glory. Knowing that shiva is the Lord whom
TyAgarAja bows down, chant the name of shiva eternally".
K.rtis
on dharmasamvarddhani
karuNajUDavammA
|
tODi |
parAshakti
manuparAda |
sAvEri |
nIvu brOvavalE
|
sAvEri |
bAlE bAlEndu
|
rItigauLa |
amma
dharmasamvarddhani |
aThANA |
vidhi
shakrAdulaku |
yamunAkalyANi |
shivE pAhi mAm
|
kalyANi |
innAllavalE
|
dEshya tODi |
nannu kanna
talli |
kEsari/sindhukannaDa |
amba ninnu
nammiti |
Arabhi |
In the
above collection, the k.rti "nanu kanna talli" is listed in most
books as in the rAgam kEsari (janyam of mELam 28,
harikAMbhOji) and in dEshAdi tALam. This particular k.,rti
has been rendered in a vinyl LP album by M. Balamuralikrishna, and the sleeve
notes mentions the rAgam as sindukannaDa. It is quite
possible that the two are identical. Professor S. R. Janakiraman's book, "Ragas
at a Glance" employs the terminology, sindukannaDa (ArOhaNam:
s m g m p s; avarOhaNam: s n d p m g r s), that is, a Ri, Ni varjya
vakra ArOhaNam and sampUrNa avarOhaNam. He adds that it is also
known as kEsari in some quarters. However the classical work, "saMgraha
cUDAmaNi" lists kEsari as a janyam of mELam 25,
mArara~njani) with the scale (s m g m g r g m p d s; s d n d p m g r s).
This particular rAgam is one that qualifies as an "Eka k.rti rAgam"
(only one song exists in that particular rAgam).
KA~ncIpuram
At the request of Saint
UpaniSad Brahmam, a head of the maTham, and a close friend of his
father, TyAgarAja visited the ancient city of KA~ncIpuram, renouned for its
numerous shiva and viSNu temples. Two k.rtis on Lord varadarAja,
in the rare rAgams rAgapa~njaram (mELam 28 - s r m p d n d s;
s n d m r s) and svarabhUSaNi (mELam 22 - s g m p d n s; s n p
m g m r s) and one in madhyamAvati on Goddess kAmAkSi are
available to us. While this number is much smaller than the number of
k.rtis shyAma shAstri or muttusvAmi dIksitar has composed on kA~ncIpuram
deities, they have not composed any songs in these two rare rAgams.
There is another k.rti of TyAgarAja in rAgapa~njaram ("sArvabhauma")
on rAma, but it is not related to kA~ncipuram. The k.rtis on
varadarAjasvAmi are: (i) varada navanItAsha
pAhi (rAgam rAgapa~njaram) , and (ii) varadarAja ninnukOri (rAgam
svarabhUSaNi).
The very popular composition
in madhyamAvati "vinAyaku ni valenu" is the only available
composition of TyAgarAja on Goddess kAmAkSi. In an old LP recording,
"kAmAkSi suprabhAtam", Smt M. S. Subbalakshmi has soulfully rendered
this composition.
TiruvoTTyUr pa~ncaratnam
VINa Kuppayyar was a prominent
disciple of TyAgarAja, and at his request, TyAgarAja visited the town of
TiruvoTTiyUr (also known as Adipuram). Here, he composed five beautiful
k.rtis on Goddess Tripurasundari, collectively known as TiruvoTTiyUr
pa~ncaratnams. These songs are given below.
kanna talli
|
sAvEri |
sundari ninnu
|
Arabhi |
sundari
nannindarilO |
bEgaDa |
sundari nI
divya |
kalyANi |
dhArinI
telusukonti |
shuddhasAvEri |
The last one in this series,
in the rAgam shuddhasAvEri, is a very popular song, included in many
present-day in concert repertoire. M. Balamuralikrishna has a recording of
the kalyANi song "sundari n divyarUpamuI" in an old LP. Bombay
Sisters have a 45 minute recording (Sangeetha 4ECDB 7308) of all the five
songs in this group.
KOvUr pa~ncaratnam
Sundara Mudaliar of KOvur, a
rich Landlord, and a sincere devotee of TyAgarAja, invited him to visit his
home town and the shrine of Lord SundarEshvara of KOvUr. Here,
TyAgarAja composed five beautiful songs on Lord shiva, which are at present
known as KOvUr Pa~ncaratnams. These songs are:
I vasudhA
|
sahAnA |
kOri sEvimpavE
|
kharaharapriya |
shambhO
MahAdEva |
pantuvarALi |
nammi vaccina
|
kalyANi |
sundarEshvaruni
|
sha”nkarAbharaNam |
Bombay sisters have n audio recording of the kOvUR pa~ncaratnam
group in Sangeetha ECDB 472.
shrIra”ngam pa~ncaratnam
In the
soul-stirring and weighty kAmbhOji composition, “Oh ra”ngashAyI” (rAgam
kAmbhOji), TyAgarAja refers to the shrine at shrIra”ngam as “bhUlOka
vaiku”nTha midiyani niloma nIve yuppo"ngi” (you seem to regard shrIra"ngam
as the vaikuNTha, your Supreme Abode itself and loose yourself in the
enjoyment of your Ra"nganAtha at shrIra"nagm!). This k.rti,
which is often chosen as a major item in concerts these days, and which
captures all the essential nuances of the majestic rAgam kAmbhOji,
belongs to a set of five gems, known as “shrIra”ngam pa~ncaratnam
(listed below).
jUtA murArE
|
Arabhi |
Oh ra”ngashAyI
|
kAMbhOji |
karuNa
jUtumayyA |
sAra”nga |
rAjuveDala
|
tODi |
vinarAda
|
devagAndhAri |
This is
a masterful collection of five k.rtis on Lord ra”nganAtha at
shrIra"ngam.. All these k.rtis are extremely popular and heard
regularly in concerts. A 45 minute audio cassette (Sangeetha 4ECDB 7289) of
the shrIra"ngam pa~ncaratham is commercially available.
LAlguDi pa~ncaratnam
TyAgarAja had several
disciples from the town of Tiruttavatturai, also known as LalguDi, the home
and birthplace of the violin maestro Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. At their request.
he spend some time in the small town of LAlguDi, worshipping the presiding
deities, Lord Sapta.rSIshvara (also known as shrI TapastIrtha dEva,
and Goddess prav.rddha shrImati. While at LalguDi, he is believed to
have stayed at house of the parents of LalguDi G. Jayaraman. (The name "shrImati''
is often a household name for women hailing from this village). The five
songs he composed here are known as “LAlguDi pa~ncaratnam”.
gati nIvE
|
tODi |
lalitE shrI
|
bhairavi |
dEva shrI
|
madhyamAvati |
mahita
prav.rddha |
kAmbhOji |
Isha pAhi mAm
|
kalyANi |
LAlguDi Jayaraman and his disciples (G.J.R. Krishnan, J.
Vijayalakshmi, Bombay Jayashri, vINai, Jayanthi, and S. P.Ramh) have
beautifully rendered all these five k.rtis in chorus, in a one hour
cassette (AVM audio 60B 491). Also, Bombay Sisters have given a 45 minute
rendition of these five gems in an audio cassette (Sangeetha 4ECDB 7272).
To be
Continued |