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If you are into south Indian music, then you might be aware of the common name confusions. I mean the raga names – Tyagaraja’s Manohari versus Muttuswamy Dikshita’s Manohari, for example. Melodically very different, but share the same name. On the other hand, Tyagaraja’s dArini telusukonTi (Shuddha Saveri) and Muttuswami Dikshita’s Sriguruguha tArayASu mAm (dEvakriya) have the same melodic structure. And as if to make matters worse, Tyagaraja has another dEvakriya, and Muttuswami dikShita a different Shuddha sAvEri (EkAmrEsha nAyike)!
Most of this happened because many manuscripts that contained Tyagaraja’s composition did not have raga names in them, or had them in some encoded form. When these were copied, and re-copied in the years after Tyagaraja, the scribes who copied these manuscripts assigned raga names very likely based a book they had access to. This resulted in many names unheard till then being assigned to some of these compositions, some compositions were even assigned to two different ragas (rasALi/vanAvaLi, dundhubhi/divyamaNi, Srutiranjani/Kantamani, dEvAmrtavarShini/nAda chintAmaNi etc). Tyagaraja’s school dominated the music scene of the later 19th and 20th centuries, these variations in names stay put.
This reference book these scribes referred to was most probably the ‘Sangraha Chudamani’ – written by one Govindacharaya. Although he got some of the facts wrong, and went against traditional music terminology, the usage of such terms has stayed on even till now as part of the musical vocabulary of Karnataka sangeetha.
So when I found out from the Guruguha blog that the text of Sangraha Chudamani is online on DLI’s website, I went ahead and read some parts of the text. Reading from the DLI site was not a very user friendly experience. Since the book is in public domain anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to post a .pdf version of the book for those who might be interested. Thanks Sunil for creating the PDF files!
Here are links to the first four parts of the book on Scribd (There are 16 PDF files). While the introduction is in English,the main body of the book is in Samskrta. Links for the remaining parts are available on the right hand side under the “From the same publisher’ menu, when you are browsing any of the following pages :
Happy reading!
-neelanjana
The name ‘Ranga’ may bring several things to your mind. At least it does to my mind! If you are a fan of Dr Rajkumar, you’d definitely know this song from one of his movies in the 1980s.
Although the movie is from the 1980s, the song predates it by a few centuries. This is a composition of Purandara dasa, and the tune used in the film pretty much sticks to how it has been sung traditionally, in shankarabharana raaga.
Ranganatha @Srirangam
If you are a history buff, I bet you’d think of Sriranga pattana – The capital of Tippu Sultan. The town takes its name from the the temple of the presiding deity Ranganatha. Sriranga Pattana is an island in the river Kaveri. In fact there are three such places where the river branches off into two parts creating a large island. There is a temple dedicated to Ranganatha at each of these places – Sriranga Pattana and Shivana Samudra in Karnataka, and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu.
In all these three places, Ranganatha is depicted in a reclining position on his serpent bed, the seven- hooded Adishesha.
Ranganatha Temple, Mavinakere
However Sriranga Pattana or Srirangam is not the first place that comes to my mind when I hear that name Ranga, but instead it takes me to memories of Mavina Kere. Perched atop a hill in southern Karnataka, a little temple houses the deity well known to locals as “Mavina Kere Ranga” or the “Ranga @Mavina Kere”. The view from the top of the hill is very nice, showing the countryside.
Steps up the hill
I’ve visited Mavina Kere several times. In fact one of my early memories is of a trip to Mavinakere which I did not make! I was probably 4 years old then. I was really looking forward to going to the hill with all my cousins, during one of the yearly summer gatherings. But as luck would have it, I did not wake up in time. Rather than trying to wake me up, the party had left me home, with a few others who could not climb the hill for health reasons!
At every visit, I have enjoyed climbing the hill at Mavinakere. During my latest visit a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see a road to the top. However, not to miss the joy of climbing the hill, I climbed down and went up again . Back in those days, the path up the hill was patchy. Now, there are nice steps all along.
Unlike the Ranga at Srirangapatna, and Sriranga, the Ranga of Mavina Kere is not in a sleeping position. Actually, he is not even depicted in a human form. Instead, a saligrama represents him. The inscription in the temple calls him ‘TiruvengaLa natha’ – another name for Venkateshwara (The master of Venkata hills). The floral decorations done around the saligrama also support this name.
Mavinakere Ranga
I’m not sure how the name Ranga caught up with Tiruvengalanatha. In general it is said that during the time of Hyder Ali’s and Tippu Sultan’s rule over Mysore, devotees often called their temples by the name of Ranganatha, to save it from any possible attack or damage. I too thought that was a very reasonable explanation, till I came across this song of Purandara Dasa.
ರಂಗನ ನೋಡಿರೆ ರಾಜಕುವರ ನರ-
ಸಿಂಗದೇವ ನಮ್ಮ ದೇವಕಿ ಸುತನ ||ಪ ||
ಹಮ್ಮಿನ ತಾಯಿತ ತೋಳ ಬಾಪುರಿಯೊ
ಘಮ್ಮನೆ ಘಲ್ಲೆಂಬ ಗೆಜ್ಜೆಯ ಧ್ವನಿಯೊ
ಸುಮ್ಮಹಿಮನ ಕಿವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚೌಕುಲಿಯೊ
ತಿಮ್ಮರಾಯನಿಟ್ಟ ಸೊಬಗಿನ ಬಗೆಯೊ ||
ಶುಕ್ಕುರವಾರದ ಪೂಜೆಗೊಂಬುವನ
ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಪಾಲ್ ಮೊಸರು ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ಮೆಲ್ಲುವನ
ಘಕ್ಕನೆ ಸುರರಿಗೆ ಅಮೃತವಿತ್ತವನ
ರಕ್ಕಸಕುಲವೈರಿ ರಾವಣಾಂತಕನ ||
ಪಾಪವಿನಾಶಿನಿ ಸ್ನಾನವ ಮಾಡಿ
ಪಾಪಗಳೆಲ್ಲವು ಬೇಗ ಬಿಟ್ಟೋಡಿ
ಈ ಪರಿ ದಿನ ದಿನ ಮೂರುತಿ ನೋಡಿ
ಶ್ರೀಪತಿ ಪುರಂದರವಿಠಲನ ಪಾಡಿ ||
Here the references to Papanashini and the name Timmaraya, clearly indicate that the song is about the deity at Tirumala (Tirupati) – However, at the same breath, Purandara Dasa calls the deity at Tirupati as Ranga too!
So, that makes me come back to thinking the validity of any theories involving Tippu Sultan, and Lord Ranganatha!
-neelanjana
I could even have called this post ‘The Tale of Two Brothers”, only displaced in time, that is “:)
The ‘older’ brother – is the Nandi, in front of Hoysaleswara temple in Halebeedu.The temple was built during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana (1121 AD).
It is a duet temple, and has two shrines to Shiva – one in the name of the king – Hoysaleshwara, and one in the name of his queen Shantala – Shantaleshwara. Two huge Nandis face the shrines.
Here is one of those Nandis – which I call “ಅಣ್ಣ” – Older brother 
The Nandi below is another famed bull from Karnataka – This is in Chamundi hill near Mysore. The statue seems to be from sometime during Mysore’s Odeyars rule – definitely a creation from a time later than the 15th century.
I call this one “ತಮ್ಮ” – Younger brother . If you go to Chamundi hill, do not miss to pay him a visit.
The ‘brothers’ may be centuries old, but remain as charming as when they were sculpted!
According to the Wikipedia, both these are among the largest 7 Nandis in India.
Picture courtesy: My camera.
-neelanjana
Program Details:
-neelanjana
No! This post is not about the famous story ರಂಗನ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ರಾಮ by Masti Venkatesha Ayyangar! Masti is one of the finest short story writers Kannada has seen. May be I will talk about Masti some other time – but today, I will sing a totally different tune
Sometime ago, I was listening to a talk show on the radio, where Papanasam Ashok Ramani was talking about different composers from Tamizh Nadu.
Arunachala Kavi (Birth:1711AD), and his well-known “En PallikonDIrayya” was one of the compositions he spoke about.
Click here to listen to ‘yEn paLLikkonDeer ayya’ sung by N C Vasantakokilam – On Sangeethapriya
Bird’s Eye View of Srirangam Temple (Courtesy: Google Maps)
Watch Neiveli Santhanagopalan singing this composition:
Here is my translation (of the mOhana section) of the song in Kannada. My Tamizh vocabulary is not in line for this composition of 18th century, and so no wonder I had to take the help of the lyrics and meanings of this song posted on www.karnatik.com to do this translation!
ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿದೆಯೋ ಶ್ರೀ ರಂಗನಾಥಾ
ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||
ಅರಳಿದ ಕಮಲದ ಕೊಳದ ಬದಿಯಲಿ
ಹರಿಯುವೆರಡು ಹೊಳೆಯ ನಡುವೆ ||ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||
ಕೌಶಿಕನ ಆಣತಿಯನಾಲಿಸಿದಕೋ? ಕಡು
ರಾಕ್ಷಸಿಯ ಅಂಬಿನಲಿ ಕೊಂದುದಕೋ?
ಈಶನ ಬಿಲ್ಲನು ಮುರಿದುದಕೋ?
ಪರಶುರಾಮನ ಗರುವವನಳಿಸಿದಕೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||
ಜನಕ ಸುತೆಯೊಡನೆ ಕಾಡುದಾರಿಯ ಸವೆಸಿದಕೋ?
ದೋಷವಿರದ ಗುಹನೊಡನೆ ಗಂಗೆಯ ದಾಟಿದಕೋ?
ಚಿತ್ರಕೂಟ ಮಲೆಯಲಿ ನೆಲೆ ನಿಂದುದಕೋ? ಮಾರು
ವೇಷದ ಮಾರೀಚನ ಬೆನ್ನಟ್ಟಿದುದಕೋ? ||ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||
ಮಡದಿಯ ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆಯೂ ಹುಡುಕಿದಕೋ? ಏಳು
ಗಿಡಗಳನೊಂದೇ ಬಾಣದಿ ಬೀಳಿಸಿದುದಕೊ?
ಕಡಲಿಗೆ ಸೇತುವೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ದಾಟಿದುದಕೋ? ಲಂಕಾ
ಕೆಡಹಿ ಲಂಕೆಯ ರಾವಣನ ಸದೆಬಡಿದುದಕೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ ||
(The song is about Sri Ranganatha in Srirangam and it could as well apply to Ranagatha at Sriranga pattana – Both temples are located on islands in river Kaveri)
The moment I set up translating ‘En paLLikondeerayya’, I could not help noticing the striking similarity with a song of Purandara Dasa (Birth – 1485 AD).
Vitthala of Pandharpur
(Image taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Syayambhuvithoba.jpg)
This song ponders on why Vitthala in Pandarapur, on the banks of river Bheema, is left standing with his hands on his waist. He wonders, if it is becuase he is too tired after playing with friends; Or tired running around homes of gopikas to steal butter at their homes or is it due to the fatigue after killing wicked demons. The list goes on.
Listen to Vidyabhushana sing kaTiyalli karaviTTanu:
ಕಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕರವಿಟ್ಟನೊ ಪಂಢರಿರಾಯ ಕಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕರವಿಟ್ಟನೊ ||ಪಲ್ಲವಿ||
ಗೊಲ್ಲ ಬಾಲಕರೊಡಗೂಡಿ ತಾ ಬಂದು
ಗೊಲ್ಲತಿಯರ ಮನೆ ಕದ್ದು ಬೆಣ್ಣೆಯ ತಿಂದು
ಬಲ್ಲಿದ ತೃಣಾವರ್ತ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಅಸುರರ
ಮೆಲ್ಲನೆ ಕೊಂದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?
ಮುದದಿಂದ ವ್ರಜದ ಹದಿನಾರು ಸಾವಿರ
ಸುದತಿಯರಾಳಿದ ಮದದಿಂದಲೊ
ಮದಗಜಗಮನೆಯರ ಮದದಂತಕ ಕೃಷ್ಣ
ಒದಗಿ ಮಾವನ ಕೊಂದ ಆಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೊ?
ರಾಜಸೂಯಯಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜೇಶ್ವರ
ರಾಜರು ಮೊದಲಾದ ಸುರರೆಲ್ಲರು
ಭೋಜನವನು ಮಾಡಿದೆಂಜಲು ಮೊದಲಾದ್ದು
ರಾಜೀವಾಕ್ಷನು ಎತ್ತಿದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?
ಸುರಪ ತನಯಗೆ ಸಾರಥ್ಯವ ತಾ ಮಾಡಿ
ಭರದಿಂದ ಚಕ್ರವ ಹಿಡಿದುದರಿಂದಲೋ
ಪರಿಪರಿ ವಿಧದಿಂದ ಕುದುರೆಗಳ ತಾ ತೊಳೆದು
ಪರಿಪರಿ ಕೆಲಸದಿಂದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?
ಪ್ರೇಮದಿಂದಲಿ ಬಂದ ಭಕ್ತರು ತನ್ನ ಚರಣ
ಕಮಲಯುಗ್ಮವ ಮುಟ್ಟಿ ಭಜಿಸುತಿರೆ
ಮಮತೆಯಿಂದಲಿ ಅವರ ಭವವ ಕಳೆವೆನೆಂದು
ಕಮಲನಾಭ ಶ್ರೀ ಪುರಂದರ ವಿಠಲನು ||
While Purandara dasa came in couple of centuries before Arunachala Kavi, here is another song which came in after Arunachala Kavi, but sharing the same theme.
Yes, I am refering to ‘ElAvatAramettitivo’ of Tyagaraja (Birth- 1747 AD). In this composition, Tyagaraja wonders why Rama might have taken an incarnation, and took birth as a human.
Listen to Ariakudi Ramanuja I singing this composition on Music India Online:
Here is my attempt in translating this song to Kannada:
ಏಕೆಂದವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?
ಏನದು ಕಾರಣವೋ? ರಾಮನೆಂ||ದೇಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||
ಕಾಳಗವನು ಮಾಡಲಿಕೋ? ಅಯೋಧ್ಯಾ
ಪಾಲನವ ಮಾಡಲಿಕೋ? ರಾಘವ ನೀ ||ನೇತಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||
ಯೋಗಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಲಿಕೋ? ಭವ
ರೋಗಗಳ ದೂಡಲಿಕೋ? ಶತ
ರಾಗ ರತ್ನ ಮಾಲಿಕೆಯ ರಚಿಸಿದ ತ್ಯಾಗ
ರಾಜನಿಗೆ ವರವೀಯಲಿಕೋ ನೀ || ನೇತಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||
These three composers were separated in space, and time – but the commonality of the theme is definitely striking.
This post started off with a song on Ranga, and ended with a song on Rama – making the title quite apt 
What do you think?
-neelanjana
Hoysalas were master temple builders. They have built temples all around in southern Karnataka. The temples at Belooru, Halebeedu and Somanathapura are very well known. You’ll find a wealth of information about Hoysala’s temple architecture on the wikipedia, here and here.
However, what is not so well known is that there are several temples where the temple architecture does not typically look like a Hoysala work, but the idols inside looks like a Hoysala work of art. The temples of Keshva at Kowshika, and at Haasana, Varadaraja at Kondajji are examples for such temples.
The temples do not have the stamp of typical Hoysala architectures, but the main idols do. Were the temples built later on to house original Hoysala images? May be yes. Folk tales also say (at least with respect to the temple at Kondajji), that the idol was buried under sand to protect it from invaders, and temples were built later on when the images were unearthed.
Kowshika is a village about 8 km away from the Haasana, in the heart of southern Karnataka. It has a temple of Lakshmi Keshava. The temple is very simple in structure. As per the information on www.karnatakatemples.com, it is built in the Vijaya Nagara style. You can see the front view of the temple at the top of this blog today. It is also available on here .
Here are few pictures from Kowshika.
Lord Lakshmi Keshava:
A close up – Who doesn’t fall for such a beautiful smile?
Kowshika village as seen from the temple entrance:
Utsavamoorti of Lakshmi keshava getting ready for Garudotsava:
Here is the main idol, decorated in flowers, for a special occasion :
(Picture courtesy: The first three are mine; The last two are by Dr Shreekanth Murthy)
Why am I writing about Kowshika of all places, when there are so many Hoysala temples?
Because it is my ancestral village, and this is the place which I wrote about in some of my earlier posts, here and here.
-neelanjana
I knew I forgot something. How did I forget 4th of May happens to be Tyagaraja’s birthday? Stuff happens, but I guess it was somewhere in the back of my mind. Otherwise I would not have remembered even now! Anyway, better late than never.
Any time is a good time to listen to some nice compositions of good old Tyagaraja. So off we go.
First, a feast of Kalyani. In my opinion, Tyagaraja must have played an important role in making this ‘alien’ raaga into one of our own, by composing 30 compositions in it – giving it the same status as the other big two – Shankarabharana, and Todi.
Instead of listening to the oft-repeated nidhi chAla sukhamA or E tAvunarA, here is another lesser known, but equally grand compositon – kAruvElpulu sung by Sri SRJ. I had written about this composition in another post earlier too.
Poor Venkatamakhi should eat his own words saying -”there are millions of rAgas like kalyAni, which are not fit for compositions such as geeta, thAya and prabandha” when he listens to this composition
Tyagaraja seems to have used dEshAdi tALa profusely. In my observation, most of his compositions in this tALa follow a general pattern. Pallavi mostly starts off the first part of madhya sthAyi, exploring parts of mandra sthAyi and madhya styAyi in different sangatis. Anupallavi typically goes from the middle of the madhya sthAyi, all the way to the middle reaches of tAra sthAyi. In many kritis, the landing in the anupallavi is on upper shadja. The charaNa comes back to madhyasthAyi, typically taking off from the madhyama, or panchama. I could give many examples, but I will limit it to three or four here.
First one is ‘atukArAdani balka’ in manOranjani, played on the flute by Sri Tejaswi Raghunath. The pallavi of the song takes off from the middle sa. Anupallavi starts with madhya sthAyi da, and goes all the way to tAra ma, and the charana takes off from madhya panchama.
Next is ‘Ora jUpu’ in kannaDa gouLa sung by Sri Sikkil Gurucharan. You can make similar inferences here too.
The next is ‘brova bhArama’ – another popular composition of this sort sung by Sri Vijaya Siva.
Finally, another such popular composition in a pratimadhyama rAga – ‘bA gAyenayya’ played on the flute by Sri VK Raman.
Why did Tyagaraja follow this pattern? I don’t know, but I find these compositions somewhat easier to learn. Was this his intent? Might be, may be not. I don’t know. But my guess is as good as any!
Tyagaraja passed away in his 80th year, and by known accounts, continued composing till his last days. And his spirit of exploring the unknown and new must have stayed with him till the very end.
Here is ‘Paramatumudu velige’ in Vagadheeshwari, which is one of his last compositions, and probably the first ever composition in this raga, sung by Dr Nagavalli Nagaraj.
Enjoy the clips! As I said, any day is a good day to remember Tyagaraja through his compositions. Isn’t it?
-neelanjana
Many people in South India celebrate Yugadi on 14th of April every year. This includes districts from coastal Karnataka as well.
You may wonder how this festival falls on the same day everyday? This is because it is a festival based purely on the solar calendar – instead of the luni-solar calendar which is used to calculate the date the dates for most other Indian festivals.
This is the day when the Sun enters mESha rAshi (Aries). But if you are used to read your predictions from the newspapers everyday, I’m sure you’d have noted they assign Aries to those who are born between March 21st to April 21st.
So where is the catch? Who is right?
Both , in their own ways.
The year used to be calculated from the Vernal Equinox. Back in that time when constellation boundaries were drawn, the Vernal Equinox also coincided with the time when Sun entered the boundary of Aries and hence the Zodiac begins with the constellation Aries. This point (where the ecliptic, and the celestial equator crossed each other was termed the “First point of Aries”, since it actually was close to the beginning of this constellation boundary. This was made the starting point (zero degrees) for all celestial calculations.
Due to precession, Vernal Equinox falls behind (in time) every year and now it occurs around the 20th/21st of March. The western astronomy found a way to get out of this problem by moving this reference point, and so the “First point of Aries” does not occur near the real boundary of the constellation Aries. However, it is still called by the same name, and causes some confusion. By doing this, the Vernal Equinox, always falls at the time when the Sun is at the “First point of Aries”.
Indian astronomy, on the other hand, does not move the reference point for the calculation of festivals. Hence, the mESha sankramaNa is celebrated on the day Sun enters the real boundary of Aries, and not when the Sun is at the “First point of Aries”. The equinox and the beginning of the year have been thus de-linked.
Here are couple of sky simulations showing the position of the Sun, around these days.
Around March 20th,2009 – Beginning of the ‘tropical’ year
Around March 20th,2009 - Near Vernal Equinox
Around April 13th, 2009 – Near the beginning of the traditional Indian solar year:
Solar position near the beginning of Indian solar new year
-neelanjana
The statue of Ugra Narasimha (Narasimha, the ferocious) in Hampe (or Hampi) was erected in the year 1528 AD. This was commissioned by Sri Krisnadeva Raya.
In the year 1565, after the war of Talikote between Vijayanagara and combined force of Bahamani sultans, tragedy befell on this statue just like most of the monuments in Vijaya Nagara. Today the place goes by the name Hampe or Hampi.
During the 1980s, the Department of Archeology took to some restoration and reconstruction of the statue after excavations revealed many broken pieces of the statue around it. It was also speculated that the statue depicted Lakshmi Narasimha, instead of Ugra Narasimha as it was believed earlier.
However, there was a court stay order on the restoration (if my memory serves me right), and Lakshmi did not come back to take her place on Narasimha’s lap. So, to this day, he remains somewhat ‘ferocious’ Narasimha.
Here is a collage showing how the statue looked around 1900 AD, and how it looks today.
Left: Around year 1900 AD. Right: A century later
The picture on the left is taken from the book – “A Forgotten Empire – Vijayanagar” by Robert Sewell. The picture on the right is taken from a blogpost on Sampada, by Nagaraj.
-neelanjana
This is the translation of a Kannada story I wrote a while ago. This takes the folklore of the story of Purandara Dasa, and tries to give it an alternate-history feel. I have posted footnotes, and a map of places that appear in the story to make it a little easier for those who may not know the geography of Karnataka very well.
In Kannada, the story was titled “Tamboori Meetidava, Bhavaabdi Daatidava..” , and was published in the sovenir published at the AKKA-2008 Kannada Sammelana held in Chicago, IL.
I have translated it primarily for all music lovers and my good friends on http://www.rasikas.org/, who can’t read Kannada.
Your comments and/or opinions are welcome.
Although I intended to post it by the time of Aradhane 2009, it was not to be. But I am glad to post it within a few days after Pushya Amavasye.
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It was almost noon by the time Saraswati finished her daily pooje. She observed she was singing aloud when she was doing mangalaarati to the deities. If her husband was home, she would only mumble the song to herself. In reality, she was quite a good singer, but lacked the confidence to sing in front of him because he was indeed very well versed in music. That was the cause for the hesitation to sing before him. He might say a thing or two about her sangatis. Or he might even bring the tamboori, and show how to sing those sangatis to make them sound better. That’s why the walls of their ancestral home heard Saraswati’s singing voice only when Srinivasa was away. She often wondered if he could dedicate himself to music if not for the family business. Saraswati just thought how nice it would have been to listen to his singing all day. It was several months since he had touched his tamboori. His singing was so overpowering and made her emotional that she would feel that Lord Krishna’s brindavana was right here at Kshemapura. The only other person she new who had a comparable voice was that of Vaikuntha Dasa of her hometown.
Saraswati felt very strange at thinking Belooru as her hometown even after being married for almost twenty years and living in Kshemapura! It reminded her that she had not visited her parents for couple of years. She was indeed worried when there was a talk of her marriage, and especially when she knew the suitor was from a hilly, rainy country. Her hometown was a real beauty. Such a peaceful and tranquil town with the three hundred year old Chennakeshava temple as the anchor for all activities. What to do? Once a girl gets married, she has to think her husband’s home as her own. She was indeed very happy when she arrived in Kshemapura for first time. So green! But when the rains arrived she was terrified at the force of the torrential rains that would not stop for four or five months! Now she preferred the rainy season since she heard more of her husband’s singing. As she went into the kitchen, Saraswati started counting how many more months till aashadha arrived.
****
Srinivasa looked at the pendant Nagachari gave. Yes, it looked good. May be few less emeralds would have made it look even better. He started to write the pattern for the necklace to match this pendant. Then noticing that Nagachari was still waiting, Srinivasa reminded him that the work should be finished soon because it had to get to the Palace before the festivals. As Srinivasa was completing his sketch, he thought of the hours he was spending at his store these days. Hebana was almost eighteen. It was time for him to take more responsibility in the business, Srinivasa thought. May be then he would have some time to pursue his first love, music.
Srinivasa’s father had trained him to be a jeweler right from the days he was a young lad. But among Srinivasa’s children, only little Madhvapati shows interest in coming to the store. Madhwa often watched has father designing the jewels, and also attempted to some of his own. The older two boys were not coming to the store even once in a bluemoon! May be it was time to make sure they come somewhat regularly, or else it might spell problems! But as Srinivasa recollected that he never came to the store regularly as a young boy, he thought all was not lost with Hebana and Abhinava yet.
In fact, Srinivasa’s father was quite lenient. He even had told his wife not to distract Srinivasa with household errands if he was practicing music, or studying all those books related with music and poetry. But Srinivasa still remembered what he had told one day : “Seenappa, I have seen the plight of musicians who depend on the kings and landlords. Thankfully, you have a business to carry on. Practice music as much as you want, but do not leave our family business. Keep your music to please yourself” Srinivasa had indeed followed his advice to the word. With riches that allow him to lend money to kings and chieftains, why should he leave the gold and gem business and stand at the doorsteps of the king? ‘Now, I am the king of my business or my music’, Srinivasa thought but when he remembered that it was amost three weeks since he touched his tamboori, it was not so pleasing. As he was sensing the unpleasantness of this, Madhwapati came in from the inner room to show a pattern he had sketched for an ear ring, and helped Srinivasa’s mind to dwell on something else.
****
It was the usual time when Abhinava would sit for his music practice. Father was very strict when it with music. Whether he taught any new lesson or not, the kids had to do their practice like a ritual. They had to practice all the varases daily in three speedszZ! Of the three brothers, Abhinava had the best voice. Although Srinivasa never explicitely said anything, Abhinava knew that he was always giving some extra attention to his lessons.
Abhinava suddenly remembered the comment Venkatesha, his friend from across the street had made sometime ago. “Ha! Your dad seems to have a lesson plan no other music teacher in this world has! I wonder how you would manage to sing with a teacher like him !” – he had remarked in front of all his friends when they were playing. Abhinava was felt angry, as well as humiliated.
Next day he had gathered courage to ask his father: “Appa, Is it true that you are teaching us in some new way that no other music teacher follows? Other kids make fun of me for that”
Abhinava remembered that Srinivasa did not even blink at this remark, let alone get angry. He had told calmly: “Yes. No other teacher teaches with the system I am teaching you and your brothers. You know what? I made these excercises myself so that it helps in making you musically aware much faster than you other wise would be. Why shoud you worry? I am sure that this system works well, and that is why I teach this way. Stop worrying, and sing Sri Gananaatha”
Saraswati was sure that Abhinava’s mind was wandering somewhere else. She softly patted his back, and asked him if he forgot what to sing next. Abhinava came back from his thoughts and started to sing the prabhandha in devagaandhara raga that his father had taught a few weeks earlier.
****
It was getting dark. Srinivasa called out Madhwapati to get a lamp from the back room. But when he did not come in for a few minutes, Srinivasa had to get up from his seat, and see where the lad was. To his surprise, little Madhwapati was not inside. As he walked to the main door, Srinivasa caught Madhwa speak with someone outside. Few days before someone from the Nayaka’s house had asked Srinivasa to make some new jewelery to the deity at Kollooru. May be someone from the palace had come. Srinivasa rushed outside to see who it was.
“No Sir, Today appa is busy. Come tomorrow, he might be making a small donation” Srinivasa heard Madhwa say to the stranger. Wow, he is the right person to run a business. “A grandson, fit for a grandfather like my father” thought Srinivasa. “Follows him to the core!”
Srinivasa recolleced his father’s advice when he was breathing his last. Little Madhwa was also besides Srinivasa that day. Father had given some thorough advice.
“Sheenappa, you never took the trouble of what was happening at the store all these days. But, now I am counting my days. You will have to take care of the business. Never spend a single varaha more than you need to. Never forget that one varaha saved is more than a varaha earned. Don’t spend money unnecessarily on God and Godly men! Haven’t you heard of the saying “Work is worship”? If you do your duty faithfully, the Almighty will be more pleased than you taking trips to temple on a pilgrimage”.
“Father, What’s wrong if we can afford to ..” Srinivasa’s speech was curtly stopped by his father.
“Who do you think will take care of you and your family when you are in trouble? You were very young and so do not remember the hardship I was in when I tried to be helpful to others, and lost lots of our wealth. Anyway I did recover out of that situation with great efforts and hard work. I don’t want you to undergo what I went through. And more importantly, I don’t want my grandchildren come to streets because of your mistake. Stay away from so called the path of daana-dharma, and stay true to this word”.
Srinivasa had no option than to consent. Father had continued on, in spite of his failing voice.
“Look here Sheenappa. You know the subhAshit that goes like- अन्नंदानम् परम् दानम् विद्यादानमतः परम् ॥ अन्नेन क्षणिका तृप्तिः यावज्जीवन्च विद्यया ॥ Instead of giving one varaha as alms to someone needy, if you can teach them how to earn one varaha, that will stay through his life. If you give a varaha, it will be there only till it is spent. You could help needy ones by teaching what you know – be it your music or the art of making jewelry. If they can use it to earn their living, that is great. If not, do not worry. You aren’t the Lord Brahma to change their fate”
Madhwa was speaking outside:
“No Sir. Be it a upanayana or a marriage. My father would exactly say what I am telling you now. Why do you waste your time as well as mine? You can come another day.”
By the time Srinivasa entered the veranda, the old man had left.
But Srinivasa understood that the old man was not one to leave so easily. Next morning, he was there by the time Srinivasa opened his store. Upon seeing Srinivasa, he asked – ” Oh Sir, I am performing upanayana to my grandson. Please help me”. Srinivasa brushed him off saying it was the beginning of the day, and asked him to wait for some time. It was a busy day for Srinivasa. Some officials from Keladi palace had come with their orders. At night, when Srinivasa was closing his store, he saw the old man waiting in the street corner – but he conveniently ignored him and rushed home. These events repeated a couple of times and Srinivasa heard Madwapati sending him away a couple of times too in the next fortnight.
It was the night of the full moon. Srinivasa had locked up all his chests and was ready to leave when this old man entered with folded hands. Just then Srinivasa saw a varaha under the pillow he was sitting, and tossed it to the man’s hands. As the varaha fell into the old man’s palm, Srinivasa noticed the varaha had corroded. But he did not have the patience to open up the locks and give another good coin. Perhaps the old man’s vision was poor, because he did not seem to notice the flaw in the coin and he walked away thanking Srinivasa.
******
It was early afternoon. Saraswati finished all her chores. Hebana and Abhinava were away, to attend a wedding in a relatives house. Saraswati was quite tired and sat on the swing in the inner hall, when she heard someone at the front door. She went out to see who it was. There was a old man, whom she had not seen before at the door.
“Can I come in Saraswatamma?”
She wondered how he knew her name. With his long nose, and the white turban, she thought he resembled her father.
“Please come in” – she said.
He came in, and asked “Saraswatamma, I am originally from your Belooru country. I want to perform upanayana to my grandson at right time, and send him to Sringeri for studies. Could you please help this old man”?
Saraswati never dealt with money anytime. Everythhing was managed by her husband. “What do I have? Want can a woman give?” She was feeling very sorry for her own plight. Knowing what her husband was, she knew there was no hope of convincing him to give something to this old man, too.
“If you have something that has come down from your parents’ could you please give me? I am an old man, and can’t really go and ask a lot of people”
Saraswati thought about the ornaments she had. Although their family trade was making jewellery, all she word was a mangalya, her nose ring and the earrings. Everything else was in the chest, safely locked by her husband.
Not getting a reply from Saraswati, the old man repeated his plea:
“If you have some ornaments, or some money from your parents in Belooru, please give me whatever you can “. Just then, she remembered she had another nose which was at the pooja room. She took off the pearl nosering she was wearing, and fell at his feet.
“Sir, Please take this. You remind me of my father. My mother gave this nose ring. Take this and bless me”
He said “Deergha sunangalee bhava” and blessed her and went away with the nose ring. After that, Saraswati fell in the dilemma whether she did the right thing. “I’ll wear the other nose ring. Hopefully, he would not notice” she said to herself. Just then Lakshmi devi came in. Poor girl. Young and newly married. No one to help her here. ” Saraswatamma, you said you’d teach me how to make huDigaDubu the otherday, so I thought of dropping in” she said. Saraswati took her into the kitchen.
****
Madhwapati was seated in the inner hall sketching a new design for a piece of jewelery. He had a very artistic hand. He always dreamed of making very fanciful jewelery, better than his father or grandfather did. As he was sketching his mind was also following what his father was telling the customers as they came in. “Your necklace would be ready in three days” – Madhwa could not see his father’s face, but he peeped out to see who the customer was. It was Ganapati Hegade from Ikkeri. “Well, we haven’t even started making a sketch for the necklace!” Madwa thought. He knew that being in this business, one has to tell some white lies anyway. Father must be sure that Ganapati Hegade would not come again in three days- That’s whay he must have told so. Madhwapati saw Ganapati Hegade go out from the front door, as the same old man enter! “Hey, I had sent this man away several times alreaday! I should say he has a very high perseverence!” he thought. Since his father was in the store anyway, Madhwa didn’t worry dealing with the old man now.
Madhwa heard the old man say: “Sir, I have this piece of jewellery. Could you please take this and give me whatever it worth?”.
“Just be here for about half hour. I shall be back soon, and pay you for the nosering” – Madhwa heard his father say. He thought his father would come in and ask him to take care of the store till he was back. But before he realized, Srinivasa had locked the front door and gone!
Madhwapati realized his father did not even know he was here in the back of the store – because Madha had entered the store from the back door, courtesy Nagachari! Now Madhwa was very curious to see this nosering. Would it be so valuable that father does not have enough cash, and has to get money from home?”. He had heard about the nose ring of devi in a temple in the south, where it was so bright that it lit up the sanctum? He could not contain his curiosity and went to the front of the store. The key to the draws were under the pillows, as usual. He opened the chest, and saw the pearl ear ring, right in the top drawer. It was nothing special, Madhwa thought. One bigger pearl, and three smaller pearls hanging down from there. He took a lens and examined it too. The pearls were of good quality, but nothing extra-ordinary. Then what made father to go out? And as he was looking at the nose ring, Madhwa started feeling that the jewel was very familiar. He held it his hand again. Yes. He knew where it came from.
****
After showing Lakshmi the recipe for huDigaDubu, Saraswati went to the front door to send her off, and was quite surprised to see her husband come home at this time! Also, his face bore a strange expression. As Saraswati got some water for him to wash, he asked pointedly.
“What happened to your pearl nose ring?”
Saraswati was shocked. She had totally forgotten to wear the other nose ring, since Lakshmi devi had come as soon as the old man had left. She gathered hear words to say ” I had taken it off when I was taking an oil bath – to save it from gathering oil, and forgot to wear it later”. But hear heart was thumping as the words came out of her mouth.
“Is that right? Fine. Why don’t you go and wear it now?”
Saraswati felt she had become a prisoner of her own words. But what to do? Words once uttered, can’t be taken back. She went in to the inner hallway, and sat in front of the Gods she worshiped everyday.
Her husband was there outside, on the porch, waiting for her to return.
In that very moment, all the twenty and more years of her married life zoomed past her. A loving husband, albeit a bit strict with money matters. Should she confess what she did?
Her mind went on a swing ride.
She took a jasmine flower from the tray that lay there, and placed it on the statue of Vithala she worshipped everyday. She was now ready to face the outcome. If it fell on the rightm she would go and tell everything. If it was on the left, she would keep her honor. But the price for that would be her life.
She was determined. She made three pradadhinas and opened her eyes.
The jasmine flower had fallen on the left side.
She knew what her Lord Vithala had chosen for her.
*****
Little Madhwa was running. Briskly. Very briskly.
It took about twenty minutes to reach home if he walked. But there was no time to lose.
What would happen if father went home and scolded mother? What if amma cried? He did not like that a bit. He remembered the chaos that had followed once amma had given a sack of paddy to somone. He wanted to go home quickly, and give this off to his mother, unnoticed by his father.
Even Madwa did not liked giving away stuff! But he did not want to see his mother in sorrow.
When he was near home, he saw his father sitting on the porch. So he went around the house to the window near the kitchen. He called out softly – “amma, amma”. The window was a little too high for him to climb.
Finally, he made it by holding on to the metal railings, and looked in.
Amma was doing her pooje. Madhwa thought. She had a cup in her hand. What was in there?
Just then he heard his father calling from outside – “Saraswati, How long does it take to wear a nose ring?”
Madhwa was scared. Dead scared. He knew something was definitely going wrong. He threw the small box he was clasping in his small handa towards his mother. But then, he lost his balance, and fell down on the ground.
*****
Saraswati could not beleive her own eyes. As she was about to dring the poison in the cup, a small box fell on her. And to see her nose ring in that she was greatly surprised. She wore that and went out, and could not help notice the look of astonishment in his eyes! So wonderstuck she was, that the cup was still in her hands.
Srinivasa was a jeweller. How could he not notice that one of the diamonds in her ear rings was missing? He knew at once what was there in the cup. He threw the contents out and ran to his store.
The front door was locked. The old man was nowhere to be seen. The nose ring was gone.
His mind was in a frenzy. He knew his wife had chosen death, not being able to face him, because she gave away a small jewel without his permission. Would she come back to life, even if he poured all his wealth?
His mind was made up. He locked to door and left.
*****
The whole town was surprised to hear Srinivasa Nayaka, famed as Navakoti Narayana was giving away all his wealth and becoming a haridasa.
After returning from home from the store, he had told his wife all that happened with the old man. He told her: “He must have been a great man indeed. I was definitely in the wrong. I might have lost you and become an orphan. Now let’s go to Vijaya Nagara. I will find a teacher there. I will continue where I had left of. Instead of composing songs, and teaching kids, I will sing those songs for the Almighty, asking for alms in the streets. Enough of Kshemapura. Today is the last day in Srinivasa Nayaka’s life. Are you ready to come with me?”
Saraswati was very surprised at what had ensued. She remembered Vaikuntha Dasa. How sweet his songs were in the streets of Belooru! Now, her dear husband is also thinking of following those footsteps.
Saraswati got his tamboori, and gave it to Srinivasa.
When the crowds were lining up outside to take in whatever Srinivasa was giving away, Madhwa told his mother all that had happned.
She said : “It is all an offering to Krishna”
Who was that old man? Even if it was Madhwa who got the nose ring, who gave that idea to him? It was none other than the Chenniga of Belooru, Vitthala of Purandara. Wasn’t it?
Saraswati’s mind told her: “All that happened, has happened for the good. The wealth indeed became the way to being in the service of Vitthala”***
She told Madhwa – ” All that happened has happend as per the wish of Vitthala. He will do as he pleases. Go and tell eveything to his father”.
When Madhwa narrated what happend, all Srinivasa said was “KrishnarpaNamastu”. His mind had chosen it’s goal.
The next morning, their house was empty. Srinivasa’s family was walking onthe road to Vijaya Nagara.
Srinivasa had his tALa, and tamboori in his hand and his pleasant singing was heard by others taking the same road.
“He who strums the tamboori,
Is the one who crosses the ocean of life,
One who keeps the tALa,
Is the one who becomes one with the Gods.
He who sings
Is the one who could see Vithala,
Is the one who would reach Vaikuntha”@@@
Yes. They were destined towards their target.
Their final target.
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Footnotes:
Folklore tells that Srinivasa Nayaka was the name of Purandara Dasa before he became a Haridasa, and that he was a jeweller by profession. His wife’s name is traditionally given as Saraswati. There are couple of records (from Vijayanagara times) that give the names of three of Purandara Dasa’s sons – Hebana (called Lakshma in another record) , Madhwapati and Abhinava. Each of these sons have also composed, with their own signatures. Scholars like R Satyanarayana believe that the Pillari geete – paduma naabha paramapurusha – traditionally thought to be Purandara Dasa’s is a composition of his son Abhinava Purandara Dasa.
The story of Srinivasa Nayaka becoming Purandara Dasa is very well known. But I would like to make it clear the variations in the details, as they appear in this story, are from my imagination. I have tried to place the family in the sorroudings of Kshemapura.
This is the translation of a story I wrote last year in Kannada. There is a little twist in the end in this translated version. Thanks to a friend who suggested this change.
Kshemapura (or Purandarapura): Scholars have identified this place mentioned in ancient records to be the same as (or very near ) Gerusoppa, in current day Shivamogga district in Karnataka – close to the famed Jog falls. This was a busy trading post during those times due because it was on the route between Vijaya Nagara and the ports on Karnataka’s west coast.
Ikkeri: One of the capitals of the Nayakas (chieftains) of Keladi-Bidanooru. Now this is a village near to Sagara town in current day Shivamogga district
Bidanooru : Another capital of the Nayakas who ruled this area in the 15-16-17 th centuries. Located near Hosanagara, in current day Shivamogga district.
Belooru : An ancient town in current day Hassan district. This place was also called Velaapuri. Hoysala kings have built an extremely beautiful temple of Channakeshava here (1117 AD)
Kollooru: A temple town in the Udupi district of Karnataka. Famous for the deity – Mookambike.
Sringeri : A temple town in the ChikkamagaLooru district of Karnataka. Shankaracarya established one of his four
mathas here in the 9th century. This has been a center of learning since then.
Vidyaranya, the pontiff of Shringeri in mid 14th century was the key man who stood behind Harihara and Bukka to establish the Vijaya Nagara empire
Vijaya Nagara : Current day Hampe, in Hosapete district of Karnataka, was the capital of the Vijaya Nagara empire.
varaha : a coin, a denomination of money, in ancient and medieval India
Kanyakumari: Referred to as ‘the place in the South, famed for a diamond nose ring of the deity’
Vaikunta Dasa: One of the Dasas in Haridasa Parampare. He is said to have lived in Belooru.
*** -> approximately the translation of the pallavi of a pada of Purandara Dasa – “Adaddella oLitE Ayitu, namma Sridharana sEvege sAdhana sampattAyitu”
Location map of places that are mentioned in the story :
A map of places mentioned in the story
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