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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                                  A Tuneful Tribute

 

       The December Music Season is on and all the SabhAs are reverberating with the recitals of eminent and not-so eminent musicians. It appears appropriate to participate, atleast by proxy, in the musical fervour that grips everyone, right from connoisseurs who hop from one hall to another in search of delectable fare, down to people like me who have no deep technical knowledge of music except an ear for a pleasing tune. It is indeed an enthralling experience to sit in the audience, with the lights dimmed, listening to one melodious exposition after another, expounded by maesteros intent not on displaying their virtuosity, but on losing themselves in the sublime svarAs finding _expression_ in emotion-laden sAhityAs of divine composers, transporting listeners to new heights of delight.

The hours pass as if in a trice and when the audience comes back to earth, it is time for the mangaLam, “PavamAna suthudu”.

 

 Why does music hold such a sway over people? Why does a good verse evoke feelings of exultation in us when rendered as a song , rather than when read out as a mere piece of poetry? What indescribable magic grips us when we listen to a well-sung sAhitya as to keep us spell-bound, unaware of the passage of time? Why does music tug at the strings of the stoniest of hearts, which remain unmoved otherwise even by the strongest of emotions?

 

The answer to all these questions is not far to seek. Music, especially the uplifting variety, viz., classical music, has its origins in the Shruti. To keep the record straight, I would like to clarify at the outset that all references to music in this piece are to classical music and not to the ear-splitting and raucous variety that passes by the same name and which is favoured by film-makers as the ideal accompaniment for obscene gyrations. Coming back to the source of magnificent music, we find that the seven svarAs of which all rAgAs are comprised of, owe their origins to the three principal svarAs that characterise all Vedic intonation. The apparently sing-song fashion in which Vedas are recited conforms to three basic svarAs—the “udAtta” or the level-note, the “anudAtta” or lower-register and the “Svaritam” or the higher octave. It is from these three basic notes that all music, of whatever description, whether it be the English, Hindustani or Carnatic Classical Music, flows. Is it any wonder, therefore, that music is bewitching and is capable of holding us mesmerised?

 

 People who have been fortunate enough to have heard Veda Parayanam would attest to its extremely uplifiting nature, especially when rendered in unison by learned vaidikAs. And more than the other three branches of the Shruti, the SAma VEda consists almost entirely of musical recitation, so much so that an unitiated listener would feel he is attending a concert, rather than a  Veda parayanam.

 

 It is not only to us mortals that the Shruti forms a feast for the ears—even the Paramapurusha in Srivaikunttam is forever lending His ears to SAma gAnam by the ensemble of nitya sUrIs. The TaittirIyOpanishad tells us that the inhabitants of Paramapadam perform kainkaryam not merely with their other organs, but their voices too, with mellifluous parayanam of SAma vEda, each syllable and song of which is after all an eulogy to the Ultimate—“Etat SAma gAyan AstE, HA u HA uHA u”. It would thus appear that the Lord is a connoisseur par excellence, listening always to the most magnificent of melodies, rendered by the most excellent of ensembles. It is perhaps from this that the adage, “Music is the speech of Angels” springs. Is it any wonder, therefore, that the Lord, describing Himself to be the best of all known things in each class of Creation, says that He is verily the SAma vEda among the Vedas!.

 

Though the brilliant countenance of the Paramapurusha wears a beatific and contented smile, we find the one playing upon the visage of arcchA moorthies at various divya desams to be slightly less satisfied. When we wonder why, the Lord seems to tell us that He misses very much the gAnam or music, which He is accustomed to at Paramapadam. He finds this so because the Tamizh Marai or the Divya Prabandas are just recited and not sung.

 

While intending absolutely no apachAram to the venerated adhyApaka ghOshttIs at various divya dEsams who are rendering such yeomen service to the Lord, it appears as though Emperuman would relish their recital of the Divya Prabandas, if it is musical. When the Samskrita Shruti has endeared itself to the Lord through its melodious recital, why should the Tamizh Marai lag behind? This must have been the thought uppermost in the mind of Sri Nathamuni, to whom the origins of our Sampradaya can be traced in this KaliyugA (“NAthOpagyam pravrittam”). Not content with reclaiming for posterity the Divine Four Thousand which had been lost, Sri Nathamuni also painstakingly set these beautiful pAsurams to music, choosing with loving care the particular rAgA appropriate for the mood and emotion expressed in the pAsuram and the best beat (“TALa”) to which it could be rendered.  How splendorous would a diamond be, if it is cut and polished to the maximum brilliance? Setting to music thus imparted to the already emotive pAsurams a poignance capable of conveying both the reciter and the listener to new heights of ecstacy. The indescribable delight of Bhagavat anubhavam was considerably enhanced by the musical rendering of Azhwars’ outpourings. Music thus became a facile vehicle for carrying Bhakti to even the unlettered masses. Consider, for instance, the simple but extremely significant pAsurams of TirumAlai. Who wouldn’t be moved by a rendering of the pAsuram “oorilEn kANi illai, uravu mattru oruvar illai” in the TOdi rAgA? Or, Tirumangai Mannan’s “VAdinEn vAdi” in SankarAbharaNam or SahAnA? Or, “Chittram chiru kAlE” in YamunA KalyaNi?

 

Though the present style of rendering pasurams by adhyApakA swAmIs has a beauty and melody of its own, it appears as though it would afford Emperuman greater delight, if aruliccheyal is sung, rather than recited, in a more melodious style, in tune with the wishes of  the Acharya who has been described as “aghAdha bhagavat bhakti sindhu”. Otherwise, “TALam vazhangi Tamizh marai innisai tanda vaLLal”, a tribute lovingly offered by Swami Desikan to Sri Nathamuni, would prove to be in vain and all the effort the Acharya has devoted to setting these divine outpourings to music would be reduced to a nought.

 

There is much internal evidence too in the Divya Prabandas to indicate that they were indeed intended to be sung and not merely recited. That these pasurams were to be sung in delightful tunes, is attested by Sri Nammazhwar’s sreesookti, “PANnAr pAdal in kavigaL”. And Azhwar seems to imply that these were tunes set originally by Emperuman Himself—“PaNNAr pAdal in kavigaL yAnAi tannai tAn pAdi, tennA ennum en ammAn”. Sri Kalian too tells us that his pasurams are to be sung—“KAmaru seer kali kandri kaNdu uraittha Tamizh mAlai

                      NA maruvi pAda vinayAya naNNAvE”

 

“Kalian Tamizh ivai vizhumia isaiyinOdu oli solum adiyavar uru tuyar ilareE”

innisayAl sonna senchol mAlai”

“PalEy Tamizhar isai kArar patthar paravum Ayiram”

 

In fact, Sri Nammazhwar is categorical that these pasurams should be sung—

“teedil andAdi Or AyirattuL ivayumOr patthu isayodum vallAr

 Adum Or teedilarAgi ingum angum ellAm amaivArgaL tAmE”

 

It is interesting to note that the twenty-four thousand slOkAs of that great epic Srimad Ramayanam, were set to music and sung by Lava and Kusa, the young sons of Sri Rama, in His presence. It only adds credence to the belief that the Shruti took birth as Srimad Ramayana, when the Lord was born as Sri Raghava

(“VEda: PrAchEtasAt Aseet sAkshAt RamayanatmanA”), to continue its constant adulation of the Paramapurusha in His vibhava avatArA too. Just so that the Lord should not miss the SAma gAnam to which He is accustomed at Paramapadam, the Shruti too descended to the earth in the form of Ramayanam.  We are told that this musical rendering was extraordinarily sweet and generated extreme ecstacy in the listeners—“”shrOtrUNAm harsha vardhanam” “madhuram gandharvam atimAnusham”. Sri Rama was so impressed with the recital that He convened an enormous gathering of experts in music and linguistics, vaidikAs, Rishis and others, to share with them the delight that He Himself had derived from the concert. The rendering was filled with the most captivating of melodies, the most lilting of beats and captured the hearts of all those fortunate listeners—“madhuram gEyam tantree laya samanvitam”. Sri Rama Himself was moved beyond words and filled with enormous delight at the extremely tuneful tribute—“bAlAbhyAm Raghava: shrutvA koutoohalaparO abhavat”.

 

The Bhagavat Gita too sounds wonderful, when sung. I had the good fortune to be a judge at a Gita chanting competition (some misguided soul not having ascertained my qualifications therefor) and I can tell you that it was indeed an enchanting experience to hear all those students sing the slokas of the Song Celestial.

 

There is thus no doubt that all works of devotion acquire an additional depth when sung, and are capable of transporting us to the rarefied heights of  Bhakti more easily than through mere recitation. Those who have heard the Gadyatrayam both in prosaic recitation and as a musical rendering would be able to instantly appreciate the profound influence that the latter has, even on our (speaking for myself) stony hearts. DayA Satakam too, when sung in appropriate rAgAs, is extremely moving, as those who have heard the same would attest. Devotion, when packaged in melody, is incredibly effective in evoking in us all those uplifiting emotions which lead to an everlasting enchantment with Emperuman.

 

To cut a long recital short, it appears to be a good idea to “Say it with a Song”, for it pleases the reciter, the listener and, above all, the Lord.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan 


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