AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Sangeetha Vaibhavam Salutations to all. Though man proposes, God also disposes. Thus sometimes we find that initiatives that are undertaken end up in failure or there is a time in between when progress in the same doesn’t happen. It has to be considered as Ishwara’s will and with more strength one has to put effort in making the undertaking successful. Though in the last few months we didn’t have the magazine of Sangeetha Vaibhavam, we are restarting the same now. Hopefully due to Ishwara’s grace we will be able to continue forward with this magazine continuously without any breaks.
Music and devotion are the easiest way to attain Ishwara as naturally there is music found in nature itself. The rotation of the earth, the movement of wind, the beat of the heart and everything that we can find in the world has a pattern to it. Everything also has a tune associated with it. Since nature itself is filled with music, therefore it is easy to be attracted to music (to bring our focus from the external world unto the non-dual reality of Ishwara). Therefore one must strive to gain some knowledge in music so that devotion upon Ishwara is easily strengthened. Through strengthening of devotion, one will be able to ever abide in Ishwara. Through constantly abiding in Ishwara, the ultimate goal of moksha will be achieved here and now itself.
Though the path towards moksha through music and devotion appear to be very tough or almost impossible, there have been great masters of music of the past who show us that it is definitely possible. If they all were able to achieve the peak of moksha then we also can achieve here and now itself. Whether it be the trinities of music or Swati Tirunal or Tansen’s Guru Swami Haridas or M D Ramanathan or Dakshinamurthy swami of recent times, these masters all came from normal walks of life but were able to attain the goal of moksha.
How do we know these masters were able to attain the goal of moksha? These masters were able to ever rejoice in bliss at all times. This itself shows that they were realized masters. Even if music directors like Dakshinamurthy or Ilayaraja aren’t realized they are definitely very close to the goal of moksha and therefore if we are to follow the path of music and devotion then we will be able to achieve the goal of moksha here and now itself. http://vedantatattva.org/vedantagroup/SangeethaVaibhavam
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Of what use is life if we aren’t able to use anything and everything available to us for the ultimate goal of life as moksha. Until moksha is achieved we will be constantly roaming hither and thither in the cycle of birth and death experiencing nothing but sorrow alone. Therefore it is essential that everybody uses music as a means to attain the ultimate goal of life of moksha here itself.
May the non-dual reality of Lord bless us so that through music and devotion we will be able to get rid of all sorrows and will be able to ever rejoice in bliss here and now itself.
AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA Aug 6th
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Anukramaanika Sangeetha Vaibhavam .................................................................................................................................. 1 Sangeetha Prakaashanam ............................................................................................................................. 4 Hindustani Vivaranam................................................................................................................................... 7 Raaga Vivaranam .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Kriti Deepam ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Acharya Arpanam........................................................................................................................................ 15 Ishwara Smaranam ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Anukramaanika Nirdesham ........................................................................................................................ 21
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Sangeetha Prakaashanam In the previous article we saw about talam. In this article we shall see the popular syllabus for a beginner to learn Carnatic music and also see various types of compositions in Carnatic music.
Sarali varisai: When a person starts to learn Carnatic music, normally the person would start from Sarali varisai. Sarali varisai is just the recital of the swaras ascending and descending mostly in Mayamalava gowla raga and Adi tala in the middle octave. They are sung in 3 speeds. The first speed is singing one swara per beat, second speed is singing two swaras per beat and third speed is singing four swaras per beat. Sarali varisai is an important exercise to know to get used to singing each swaras correctly and also to be able to sing the ascending and descending swaras in various speeds.
Janta Varisai: After making progress in singing saralivarisai, the next that would be learnt is the Janta varisai in which each swara is repeated twice per beat in ascending and descending. Mostly, Mayamalava gowla raga is chosen for this exercise and it is practiced on all 3 speeds. This exercise is useful to be able to sing the same swara correctly in all 3 speeds.
Dhaatu varisai: After practicing Janta varisai, the next in the syllabus would be dhaatu varisai. In Dhaatu varisai, the swaras would be arranged in zig zag fashion. It will be straight like Sarali varisai but zig-zag. This exercise is practiced in order to be able to get more control over singing various swaras.
Mel sthayi and keezh sthaayi varisai: The next would be Mel sthaayi sarali varisai. After being able to sing the middle octave properly, the next exercise is to practice the higher octave. Normally, they higher octave exercise are to be able to sing till higher Pa. Some schools also teach lower octave sarali varisai to be able to sing lower octave till lower Pa.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Alankaara: The next is Alankara. Alankara is singing the swaras in different talam. This exercise is to practice singing in various talams. Normally this is practiced in Mayamalava gowla ragam. All talams are practiced in all 3 speeds. This exercise would ensure that we are able to put the beat in our hand and also sing it accordingly within the beat.
Geetham: After completing the initial exercises till Alankaara, the next level starts from geetham. Geetham are the first composition type especially for beginners. Geetham means songs, and the songs are simple short songs. This exercise is to be able to sing a song with lyrics. Until the previous exercise, it was all swaras. From this exercise, the swaras are hidden inside a set of words and the exercise is to sing the lyrics without the swara. There are two types of Geethams 1. Simple geetham, which is just a song in a particular raga and tala. 2. Lakshana geetham, which is a song highlighting the characteristics of a raga.
Swarajati: Unlike Geetham, Swarajati may have the structure of Kriti, like Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam. Some swarajati may not have anupallavi. This is an important exercise to get an idea of a raga and also rhythm control to be able to sing the raga with the appropriate Talam. The way it will be rendered is that first the pallavi will be sung with the lyrics and from Anupallavi the swaras will be sung and then followed by the words. Some swarajati are sung with swara starting from Pallavi till charanam and then lyrics are sung. The Thyagaraja Swami’s Pancharatna Kritis are mostly sung in Swarajati format, where the swaras are sung first followed by the words.
Varnam: Varnam is a type of composition which are used as the exercise to improve the voice. The varnam has a pallavi, anupallavi, charanam, muktayi swaram and Chittaswaram. Muktayi swaram is sung after anupallavi and chitta swaram is sung after charanam. There are two types of varanam 1. Tana Varnam: Tana varnam is the varnam that has swaram and sahityam in the above mentioned format of pallavi, anupallavi, muktayiswaram, charanam and chitta swaram
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
2. Pada varnam: These are often used during dance. They don’t have swarams like the tana varanam, but has sahityam only.
Keerthana: Keerthana is a type of composition in which Sahityam takes higher priority than anything else. Keertana may have pallavi, anupallavi and more than one charanam. Keerthanas are more popular in group singing like bhajans.
Kriti: Kritis are the type of music composition which has Pallavi, anupallavi and charanam. It also gives way for the singer to show his creativity in terms of singing Neravals or rhythm exposition.
Ragamalika: As the name suggest, it is a garland of Ragas formed together to form a song. The composition could be geetham or keerthana or Kriti.
Javali: Javali is a type of composition which are primarily used for Dance. They are mostly composed in madhyama kala and they are used to express love and other emotion between man and a woman.
Thillana: Thillana is a type of composition which don’t have sahityam but 1 or 2 words and phrases that are usually used for dance.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Hindustani Vivaranam Gharanas Though the origin of any music is the ancient texts in Sanskrit on music, still as time passes by (decades and centuries) different sub-schools or sub-systems are developed. We can consider this like two disciples who learn from the Guru – but when they themselves start teaching to other disciples, they teach in their own way. Though both of their styles might base itself on the teaching from their Guru still there will be subtle differences. Many times the differences might be just subtle and simple but other times we find huge differences that are very evident.
The categorization of singing styles is found in Hindustani music much more than in carnatic music. In Carnatic music, the categorization is based on a particular singer or a set of singers whereas in Hindustani music an entire system itself is established (though there would be a main singer or set of singers who lead to the particular system coming into existence or being established). A sub-system of Hindustani music which emphasizes itself on certain way or style of singing or emphasis put on different things is called gharana.
When a person starts learning Hindustani music (whether it is vocal or any instrument) he would learning the traits of particular gharana, part of which is the guru he is learning (there are other academicians who focus on not just one gharana but on different gharanas and learning music as a whole itself).
It is important to understand the concept of gharanas for when we start learning and we listen to music we should be able to know the particular traits so that as to differentiate or distinguish it from other gharanas. Unless one knows the specialty of a particular gharana and it’s difference from other gharanas, music will not be properly apprehended, learnt or implemented.
The gharanas of vocal or singing is different from those of instruments. Since there are way too many gharanas in extant today therefore it is impossible to discuss all of those in just an article (it would be a research topic to learn and delve deep into various gharanas).
The most common gharanas we can find today in vogue are Agra gharana, Mewati gharana, and Indore gharana.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Gurukula system It is important for all aspiring musicians to know that music is learned the same way as ancient scriptures are learned – one has to go to the guru’s place and while staying with the guru, being of service to the guru, it has to be learnt from the guru. Knowledge or sciences that cannot be learned merely through books have to be learnt through hearing and directly from the guru’s very presence. This is valid for all of education itself and hence we find the education systems of today not leading to fulfillment of life but just some knowledge that helps in earning money (and other worldly temporary pursuits alone).
Many think that music is very easy to learn and can be learnt just by going to a teacher daily or weekly. This isn’t the case and therefore we don’t find true musicians who are able to evoke the grace of the Lord unto themselves and others as well. Music ultimately is to be used for moksha alone – the lord says in Gita that he can be known through bhakti or devotion which is one-pointed (without any other distraction). The simplest way to attain and implement bhakti is music alone – it is in music that a person gets lost to the object of focus of Ishwara.
Even as only a lit lamp can lit another lamp, similarly only a true musician can evoke music out of the heart or mind of an aspiring musician. For this to happen, the aspiring musician has to be a disciple staying and learning from the direct presence of the guru. There is no other way to learn music in the right way that leads us to the goal of moksha than the gurukula system. Many musicians like bhimsen joshi, jasraj and others have mastered music through the gurukula system alone.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Raaga Vivaranam Kalyani Kalyani is the 65thMelakarthaRagam and it is also called MechaKalyani. This is a prathimadhyama Raga
Arohanam: Sa Ri2 Ga3Ma2Pa Dha2Ni3 Sa Avarohanam: Sa Ni3Dha2 Pa Ma2Ga3 Ri2 Sa
Kalyani is one of the most melodious raga and is a heavy raga that can be sung for very long time in a concert. This is a very vast raga as well which has many sancharas. As the name suggest, this raga is normally used in expression of happiness in one way or the other. Sometimes, Kalyani is sung at the very beginning of the concert just to have an auspicious beginning to the concert.
If we just see from the scale perspective, it differs from Shankarabharanam just in usage of pratimadhyamam. But kalyani can be easily identified in just they way other swaras are sung. In Kalyani, each swaram is sung as though coming from its next higher swara. Ri is sung like GaRi, or Dh is sung in Ni Dha etc. The nyasaswaras are Ri, Ga, Dha and Ni. The most popular patters are Ga-Ma-Dha-Ni, Ma-Dha-Pa-Ma-Ga, Dha-Ni-Ri-Ga-Ri-Sa etc. This raga exhibits devotion as an happy expression. Lot of Keerthanas are also set in this Raga.
Some of the most popular compositions Vanajakshi (varnam) – PallaviGopalaIyer Kamalaambaambhaja re – MuthuswamyDikshitar Nidhichaalasukhama – Thyagaraja Swami Biraanabrovaidi – ThanangampadiPancanaadaIyer
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Kriti Deepam KamalambaNavavarna was a set of Kritis written by MuthuswamyDikshitar on Devi in Sanskrit. KamalambaNavavarna has totally 11 Kritis consisting of 1 dhyanaKriti at the beginning, 1 MangalaKriti at the end and 9 Kritis between them. The kritis of KamalambaNavavarna are as follows 1. KamalambikeAshrita – Todi – Roopakam 2. KamalambaSamrakshatu – AnandaBhairavi – MisraChapu 3. Kamalaambaambhaja re – Kalyani – Adi 4. Sri Kamalambikaya – Shankarabharanam – Roopakam 5. Kamalaambikaayai – Kamboji – Ata 6. Sri kamalaambikaayaahparam – Bhairavi – Jampa 7. Kamalambikayaahtava – Punnaagavarali – Roopakam 8. Sri kamalaambikaayaam – Sahana – Triputa 9. Sri Kamalambikeavaava – Ghanta – Adi 10. Sri KamalambaJayati – Ahiri - Roopakam 11. Sri Kamalambike – Shri – KhandaEka
These set of Kritis are very special in many sense. From the subject matter perspective, the navavarna has lot of details about Sri Vidhyaupasana and Sri Chakra. Each of the navavarnakriti speak about each of the nine components of Sri Chakra – the outermost layer gateway of rectangular walls, three circles, a sixteen petal lotus, eight petal lotus, a set of fourteen triangle, two sets of ten triangles, a set of eight triangles, inner most triangle and single dot in the center called Bindu.
From the poetic sense, each of the navavarna is set in one of the noun cases in Sanskrit. There are 7 vibhaktis or cases in Sanskrit. The last kriti uses all 7 vibhaktis in the song. This shows the poetic expertise of MuthuswamyDikshitar of containing the theme as well as the exposition put them in apt melodies. In this article we will see Navavarnadhyanakriti, Kamalaambike.
KamalaambikeashritakalpalatikechandikekamaneeyaaruNashukekaravidrutashuke maamava
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Oh Goddess Kamalabika! Who grants boons to everyone who takes refuge in you, fierce one, wearing attractive red robe, who holds a parrot in her hand. Pray, protect me.
Scriptures point out that getting liberated from all bondages is the goal of every human and that is possible only through the knowledge propounded in the scriptures that Brahman alone is real and everything is not real. In order to be able to gain this Ultimate Knowledge mentioned in the scriptures, one should have the mental capability to grasp and scriptures prescribe various sadhanas in order to gain the required mental capability. Being focused on the ishtadeivam is very important to gain mental focus as well as getting rid of the ego sense which are two main obstacles inner obstacles towards gaining the knowledge of the scriptures. The seeker who is devoted to the Lord will perform various types of worship like pooja, japa, dhyana, kirtanaetc which would make him remember Lord.
For a devotee, whether he is spiritual seeker or not, Lord is the greatest refuge. A devotee would know that Lord is the most powerful than any power in the world and thinks that through his devotion towards the Lord, he would be able to get the grace of the Lord in terms of protection. Thus, at the beginning of this prayer kriti, Dikshitar starts by saying that Devi who grants boon to those who takes refuge in Devi. This doesn’t mean that Devi will not grant boon to others who don’t take refuge in Devi. Devi is ever ready to help reach the state of unlimited anandam, but those who open up through devotion would be able to realize the grace. Lord Krishna mentions in Bhagavad Gita that whoever worships with faith seeking something, Lord will grant them to strengthen their faith.
Devi is not bound by anything in the world. Devi do not have any duty to be performed in the world, Devi do not have any desires but the only thing Devi would want is that everyone in the world should be liberated from this world. Devi takes the form of Mother to caress Her children, Devi also takes fierce form in order to destroy the ignorance of people. A person who is focused only on the world, who doesn’t have time to think about Devi, Devi will have to take the step in order to get the attention. Devi thus takes a fierce form, in order to destroy the ignorance and thereby helping people to rejoice in the bliss of the Lord. Anything that is beautiful and attractive stays in our mind longer when we see them. Devi’s form is the most beautiful form that nothing can ever match it. The one differentiating factor that differentiates the beauty of Devi and others is that the Anandam that ever present. Dikshitar adds here that such a beautiful blissful Devi holds a parrot in her hand.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Parrot signifies Kama or desire. Parrot is considered to be the vehicle of Kama deva. Devi holding parrot in Her hand signifies that Devi that every desire in the world is under Her control. It also signifies that there is no greater desire than Devi itself. The line ends by asking for protection to the Devi.
Kamalaasansaadipoojitakamalapadebahuvaradekamalaalayateerthavaibhaveshive karunaarnave Worhipped by Brahma and other devataas, who has a lotus feet, who showers many boons, whose glories are present in holy temples of Devi, who is auspicious and who is the ocean of compassion.
Devi is the Ultimate Reality of Brahman from whom everything came into existence, even the trimurtis of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra came from Devi. Devi is the greatest of every devata and hence every devata fall under the feet of Devi and seek protection. This whole universe function only because of the Devi who is the taking care and nourishing everyone. And such a Devi who greatest of all devatas, who is been worhsipped by all devata, has a lotus like feet. Fully bloomed lotus signifies complete knowledge of the Truth and comparing the feet of Devi to Lotus signifies worshipping Devi’s feet would dispel the ignorance and thereby realizing the oneness with the Devi. Devi, who is the Lord of all gods, who is the Ultimate Knowledge itself, would grant boons to the devotees. Shankaracharya in his SoundaryaLahari says that Devi would grant all boons to Her devotees, even the unasked ones. Devi has everything in Her hands, and is always ever ready to grant whatever is needed for the devotee.
Wherever there is remembrance of Lord, that place becomes a holy place. That is the reason why temples are very holy. The place is filled with the thought of Lord by everyone coming into the temple. Thus Dikshitar here says that the holy temple of Kamalambika is a glorious place. The mere presence of Devi, makes everyone remember Her and thereby experience Anandam just being in the vicinity. People who have lot of worries, would feel relieved when they come to the temple. That is the kind of transformation a holy place can do to a person. And Devi is the ocean of compassion. We can see the glimpse of compassion in a mother towards her children. She showers same love and affection towards all her children, she takes care of them equally, she is ready to bear any pain for the sake of her children and she makes sure all her children are good. If a mother of few children is like that, what to talk about the Mother of the universe. The compassion that Devi shows
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
towards the entire world can never be measured. Devi wants everyone in the world to be liberated, but since not everyone strives for it, Devi waits patiently helping everyone with whatever they need.
Sakalalokanayikesangeetarasike Sukavitvapradaayikesundaraigatamaayike Vikalebaramuktidaananipuneaghaharane Viyadaadibhootakiranevinodacharanearune Sakaleguruguhakaranesadaashivaantahkarane Akcatathapaadivarneakhandaikarasapoorne O Devi! Who is the ruler of all worlds, who enjoys music Who grants the boon of poetic genius, beautiful, who has transcended the illusion Who liberates from the (identification with) body, adept in giving, who destroys all sins Who emanates the five elements starting from space etc, with enchanting feet which is reddish Who is everything, mother of Guruguha, who resides in the heart of Sadashiva Who is the embodiment of letters a, ka, cha, ta,tha, pa etc, who is complete and unlimited bliss
The whole world functions as per the order of Devi. Without Devi, nothing can ever exist in this world. That is why she is called the ruler of all the worlds. There is no one above Devi. And such a Devi enjoys the melody of music. Sangeetham is just a way of expressing ones own heart and what great music can there be than singing the song of that which is the substratum of everything. Such an expression is the expression of Anandam and Devi always rejoices such an expression with mind abiding in the Lord. When the mind is abiding in Devi who is the substratum of everything how can there not be sweetness in the words as well. Devi is the source of both music and words, thus Devi is the provider of the both the sweetness of poem and melody.
Until we realize the real nature of Devi, we will ever feel limited and will always be under the control of Maya. But Devi, who is the Mother the entire universe, is not limited by the illusory power of Maya. Therefore, Devi is never bound and hence ever Anandam. And only such a Devi can provide us help in getting rid of all our bondages. Our greatest bondage is our identification with this body, sense of doership after that and our greatest sin is the
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ignorance of the real nature of Devi as our own Self. Devi destroys removes our bondages, destroys our ego and removes the darkness of ignorance by giving us the right knowledge. When our ignorance vanishes with the dawn of the knowledge of scriptures, we will realizes our oneness with Devi and there will be nothing else to be perceived other than Devi. Such a knowledge which can destroy the greatest sin of ignorance is the most sacred and auspicious thing, and Devi who is the Knowledge itself, is also the giver of the Knowledge. It is Devi who is the subject matter of scriptures, who imparts knowledge as Guru and who is resides in the heart cave of the seeker to be realized. But Sadasiva, who has realized Devi in his heart every remains blissful and content.
Dikshitar also speaks about Devi as the only unlimited embodiment of Anandam. Devi is the way and Devi is the goal to be achieved. The benefit that we would get in attaining Devi is poornatvam or completeness and also that unlimited Anandam that would never vanish at all.
Thus, the dhyanaKriti of KamalambaNavavarna. We will see the first of the Navavarna in the next article.
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SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Acharya Arpanam In this article we shall see the life of Maharaja Swati TirunalRama Varmaof Travancore.
The kingdom of Travancore did not have a male heir for very long time. The then British Col. Monroe was running the administration of this small state of Travancore and he did not want this wonderful kingdom to be annexed to British India and he, like everyone else, wanted a male heir to rule this place. Around that time Rani Lakshmi bai conceived and everyone prayed the child to be a male child. Col Monroe announced to everyone that the state is going to have a male heir and an able to king to run the whole kingdom and thus Swati Tirunal was acclaimed a king even before he was born. The story goes like everyone in the state prayed at Padmanabha swami temple and made lot of offering to the temple that a baby boy be born to the queen. Maharaja Swati Tirunal Rama Varma was born in the year 1813 in Swathi star and as by the tradition in his family, he was named Swati Tirunal Rama Varma. The court musician EraryiammanThampi wrote one of the most famous lullaby in Malayalam, Omanathingalkidavo.
Rani Gowri Lakshmi Bai, who was the queen of the state at that time, was looking after Swati Tirunal along with his duties in the kingdom as the queen. But the queen passed away when Swati Tirunal was just 2 years old. Her sister Rani ParvathyBai took over the position of being the queen of the kingdom and also looked after Swati Tirunal. Swati Tirunal, right from his very young age, showed lot of signs of being a prodigy. Rani ParvathyBai thus showed lot of care in the upbringing of Swati Tirunal. She had put her proper education along with the study of arts and science as well. She made sure Swati Tirunal has good education on music, dance, political science, administration etc and she also made sure Swati Tirunal learned many languages like Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit, Hindi and Marathi along with their mother tongue of Malayalam. No wonder because of this proper care at the very young age by the queen, Swati Tirunal showed a lot of poetic sense in the songs he wrote and composed. On seeing the extraordinary intellectual exuberance, deeper interest and great grasping power, all tutors of various were really amazed.
Since the early demise of the mother of Swati Tirunal, her sister Rani ParvathyBai, showed lot of affection and care in the upbringing of Swati Tirunal and he was also very much attached to his aunt until her last days.
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SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Swati Tirunal’s great interest towards cultural activities made lot people to flourish in the court of Swati Tirunal. Many musicians, dancers, poets came from all over the country to the court of Swati Tirunal and were well appreciated and respected by the king. EraimmanTampi, who was the court poet and composer, was there in the kingdom for many years. Many of the songs and poems of Eraimman was very popular for the sweetness in the poem as well as in the melody. Among other musical greats in the court, were four brothers Vadivelu, Sivanandam, Chinnaih, and Ponnaih. Among the brothers Vadivelu was the great musician and dancer. He was also very good in playing violin and on listening to the expertise of playing violin, Maharaja presented Vadivelu with a violin made from ivory.
Another notable great musician in the court was AnanthapadmanabhaGoswami, who was one of the great instrumental expert. He was popularly called Meruswami. Meruswami was a great exponent of Harikatha and Hindustani music. He was very well respected by the king with good pension as well as the privilege to use the palanquin freely. Maharaja also appreciated Hindustani music as much as he was interested in Carnatic music. He had an Hindustani musical troupe which had one musician by name Alauddin and 3 dancers. There was also one more musician by name Syed Sulaiman who had the special ability to play Swarabath, which is a musical instrument. There was a person by name Chintamani from Tanjore who was an expert in playing Sarasangi. He was well respected in the court by Maharaja.
Maharaja also showed lot of interest in dance as well. He welcomed Bharatanatyam and showed special attention to Bharatanatyam right from his childhood. Vadivelu, who was the best among the dancers at that time, was given good respect in the court. There were others who were invited from various places and were asked to perform in the court. Nagaratnam
of
Srirangam,
PichuBhagavathar
from
Tanjore
were
invited
to
Thiruvananthapuram and they were very generously awarded. There were many others who came down to Travancore and settled there.
Maharaja also encouraged poets as much as the musicians and dancers. Poets like EraimmanTampi, KilimanurVidwanKoyiThampuran and great scholars like SimhadriSastri of Mysore and Krishna Sastri of Tanjore were very famous in the court. There were others like equestrian, astrologer, gymnasts, sculptors, physician and painters. Even though Maharaja showed as much respect and interest to other arts as he gave for music, there were thoughts among poets that Maharaja gave too much importance to Music and he didn’t give
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
similar importance to poems and poets. This could well be because Maharaja himself was a great poet. This lead to lot of jealousy in the minds of artists.
Maharaja was an able administrator as well. Even though he had lot of interest towards the arts, he maintained that dignity as the king and made sure all the kingly duties are also discharged. He followed his duties as per dharma shastra and took good care of his kingdom and people. He did not like the invasion of British into India and until the time he died he fought for the freedom for India. He had the knowledge of Indian tradition as well western way of administration and he performed in a manner that was beneficial for the people and the kingdom. He established lot of educational reforms to help young ones in education and encouraged agriculture in whatever way possible.
Maharaja never went to any corrupt way of running the kingdom and also never scared to stand against corruption. There was a diwan by name Subbha Rao who was the tutor of Maharaja when he was young, was misusing the money of the court and was doing lot of corrupt practices. On knowing about it, Maharaja at once removed Rao from service though he was one his tutors, showing an example that whoever the person may be, be it a close relative or member, he would not stand for corruption.
Maharaja
was
a
great
devotee
of
Padmanabha
swami
and
he
called
himself
Padmanabhadasa. He expressed his devotion and knowledge about the scriptures in his songs. He was great musician, scholar, poet, and by birth he had the temperament to be the King which he maintained that dignity till the end and was a server of Lord Padmanabha. Maharaja Swati Tirunal passed away in the year 1847.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Ishwara Smaranam KaitozhunenkrishnaKarunyavaaridhe Kaitavamelaamakattitane Kandituvaankrpaekuka Krishna Kanjadalaayatalochanane O Krishna! Ocean of Compassion. I salute Thee with joined palms. Please remove all of my sorrows and bless me to be able to see Thee, O Thou with eyes like lotus petals.
Our goal in human life is to be able to realize that everything is Lord alone. And in order to realize this ultimate truth, we should do the sadhana of remembering the Lord at all times, surrendering to the Lord and knowing that Lord is the goal to be achieved. In order to know about the Lord who is all pervading, formless, our mind should be capable enough. Scriptures provide the sadhana of focusing our mind on our Ishtadeivam with a form. When we focus our mind on the form of our Ishtadeivam, our mind gets purified and focused which makes our mind capable for realize the Lord as all pervading. In this song, the devotee prays to Lord Krishna seeking his grace to get rid of all sorrows and also praying to Lord to show up in front. Scriptures point out that we can focus on the Lord through any emotion. Any emotion we may have, it is better to be expressed to the Lord because such an expression will purify our mind and increase our focus. Here the devotee is praying to the Lord and praising the Lord as Ocean of Compassion. The compassion of Lord cannot be matched with anything and there is no boundary for the compassion as well. He is the ocean of compassion that He showers grace to everyone, to those who are devoted to the Lord and to those who do not think about the Lord. When we are eligible enough to get His grace or not, Lord’s grace is always there with us. Such is the compassion of the Lord. And it is important that we should strive to remember such a Lord which alone is the remedy for all sorrows we have in this world. And even to remember Lord we need Lord’s grace. Thus, the devotee prays to Lord to show His grace so that the devotee would see the Lord there by all his sorrows go away.
Kayambumanivarnakomala Sri Krishna Kaalunnenmaanasam deva Varijanetraaniporuvaanentra Taamasamerunnu deva
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
O Krishna of lovely dark hue like a blue lotus, O Lord, my mind is burning, O Thou with lotus like eyes, why are Thou so late in coming?
When we remember Lord all the time, the only thing we would experience is Anandam. When our loved ones are not close to us, we normally would think about some happy incidents about the loved ones and we would feel happy through that. In the same way, when we have love towards Lord, we would naturally have the thought of the Lord. Though this looks easy enough and logical enough, still it requires effort and Lord’s grace to remember the Lord. Until we have things other than Lord in our mind, we will experience sorrow and when we have the thought of the Lord, there will be Anandam. But once that Anandam of the Lord is experienced, we would feel that there is nothing else that could give same level of Anandam as the thought of the Lord and hence everything else would make the devotee feel uncomfortable. Thus, here the devotee is praying to the Lord and asking why the Lord is taking time to come in front. Calling the Lord to come in front is same as remembering the Lord in the mind.
Mohamvalarunnnumohanaroopanin Shobhanagaanamnukarneetuvaan Nenchakamtingunnasanchitabhaaram Aasundararaagattilcherrtitate O Thou of enchanting form, my infatuation is growing to enjoy Thy bright songs. Let all my accumulated burdens, that are swelling within, merge in Thy beautiful tune.
The song of the Lord is nothing but the truth present in the scriptures. Lord Krishna presented that scriptural truth to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita. There is nothing greater to listen than the scriptural truth and there is no greater teacher in the world than the Lord Himself. When we hear the scriptural truth and when are able to understand it, it will give us the Anandam to hear more and more, to understand more and more. When we hear more and more the scriptural truth, which is that everything is pervaded in and out by the Lord, our mind focusses on the Lord only. When our mind gets focused on the Lord, all dualities vanish and hence all sorrows vanish as well. Thus the devotee prays to the Lord to play the tune of the Vedas so that all the sorrows can be forgotten finally merge unto the Lord realizing the oneness with the Lord.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
This song of Amma was set in the Raga Kalyani.
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AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA
SANGEETHA VAIBHAVAM 6 Aug 13
Anukramaanika Nirdesham 1. Editorial – a general message 2. Sangeetha Prakaashanam – music and concepts of music explained in simple terms. 3. Hindustani Vivaranam – concepts of Hindustani music explained in a comparative study with carnatic music. 4. Raaga Vivaranam – analysis/explanation of a raaga. 5. Kriti Deepam – a kriti of music explained. 6. Acharya Arpanam – remembrance of an acharya of music. 7. Ishwara Smaranam – remembrance of Ishwara through a devotional song.
1. Comments 2. Suggestions 3. Corrections (word, sloka, content etc.) 4. Would like to see specific content 5. Would like to contribute (through research from websites, don’t need to write up the content yourself) Mail
[email protected].
Feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested. Online
download
of
the
magazine
can
be
found
at
http://vedantatattva.org/vedantagroup/SangeethaVaibhavam/ Subscribing and unsubscribing can be done by mailing
[email protected].
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