Shyama Sastri

Carnatic composers (other than performing vidwans)
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rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Post by rshankar »

Bharath,
I think Gayatri or Nityashri has sung a composition on Murugan...I may havve heard it in an old cassette. I was also under the impression that these kritIs were considered controversial (regarding their authorship).
Ravi

drshrikaanth
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Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 17:01

Post by drshrikaanth »

I may be too silly to ask this. Has shyama sastri composed any kriti praising some other deity than ambal?

I vaguely remember reading somewhere about existance of some such kriti(s?)
His padavarNa- "sAmini" in Ananda bhairavi is in praise of kanci varadarAja. And he has composed another kRti on kArtikEya(subrahmaNya)- "sAmi ninnE nammiti" in bEgaDe

rbharath
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Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50

Post by rbharath »

rshankar and drshrikaanth, thanks for the info.

rbharath
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Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50

Post by rbharath »

third composition in sankarAbaraNam

today while perusing thro' the 'kriti maNi mAli' by rangarAmanuja Iyengar, there were 44 kriti listed as shyama sastri kritis and there was a third composition in sankarabaranam listed as 'nannu karuninchu' set to rupaka talam. any info on this kriti with anybody??? i guess, recordings would be too much to ask.

kmrasika
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 07:55

Post by kmrasika »

It is interesting to hear ShrI ShyAma ShAstri has composed on ShrI kanchi varadarAja and murugan. It would be great to read the lyrics and listen to these rare pieces when they become available. I just listened to the Carnatica CD of A Sundaresan a few days ago and the composition, "pAhimAm ShrIrAjarAjEshvarI" in nATTa caught my attention. Somehow, it seemed even ShAstri was interested in bhajana as the tune of the kriti had some semblance with the traditional tODaya mangaLam rendered foremost in the paddhati.

Lakshman
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Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Post by Lakshman »

Here are the lyrics for the three songs under discussion.

sAmi ninnE nammiti. rAgA: bEgaDa. Adi tALA.

P: sAmi ninnE nammiti rA rArA muddukumArA
A: nAmIda dayajUci nannu rakSimparA vEgamE tAmasamu jEsitE nimiSamika tALa jAlanayyA muddayyA
C1: nI mahimalu brahmAdulaninci nirNayimpa taramaunA pAmaru nEnu pogaDa
taramA patita pAvana SaDAnana nA manavini vinarA anayamu nI nAmamE japamurA
gambhIrA bhUmilO nIsATi deivamevaDu nIvE mahAnubhAva nannu brOvu
2: tApamunella ika bApuduvani prApu kOritirA nEnu nI pAdamulE dikku
lOkamulanu nikhila santApa haraNa pApa haraNa sammOhana kaLA vidhrta
shrIpati pada vidita vEdAnta rUpa kOTi manmatAnga jita sarOja nEtra dhIra raNavIra
3: kOriyuNTi nIdu sannidhini kOrinavArikella dayatOnu kOrikalaniccEdi nI birudu gadA
kuTila tAraka vidAraka sArasa carita nI dayarAdA shyAmakrSNanuta vaidyE
su-nIlakNTha vAhanadInAvana su-hradayavAsa darahAsa


sAmini rammanavE. rAgA: Anandabhairavi. k/aTa tALA.

P: sAmini rammanavE sArasAkSi I vELa
A: kAmini ganna mA kAncIvAsuDaina shrI varadarAjuni
(ciTTasvara)
, ma pa ma ma ga ri *ni sa ga ri sA sa *ni *ni sa *ni sa ga , ri ga ga ma pa dha pA ma ga ga ma pa ga mA ga ri *ni sa ga ri ga
, ma pa dha dha pa ma pa , ma ga ga mA ; ; *ni sa ma ga ri sA ga ma pa dha pa sa* ni , sa* ma* ga* ri* ga* ri* sA* ga* ri*
sa* ri* sa* ni nI sa* pa dha pa sA* sa ni dha pa dha pa mA dha pa ma ga ma pa gA ma ga ri sa *ni
C1: mAruni bANamulu vEmAru nE tALagalEnu kUrimitO nannElina guNavantuDaina shrI varadarAja
2: pATiyani madi calamukoni sarOja saramula sAraku ghanakucamuladara varALi gamula virALimgalaganIsugOnu nala
3: mAmagu nalasOmuni kAkala kavari sAmin dalaci niratamunu nE viraha vEdanan-vEsarimpa nI tarini IlAgu nanu
4: nelatalagumulu nITulanavari gioluvaga sadA matALula gamulkarakari mrOyaganu I rasamugA madini tA dalaci sAhasamuna mIri ghana rOsamuna shukALipika sEnalanu tA dalaci mAnakanu sAmOdamuna mAyagoni I samayamuna
(ciTTasvara sAhitya)
sarasa jEri samaratula mETi yuparatulacE nenaka garima mIraganu ghanamu jEyucunu taLiribONi bhaLa mAnini vinavE


nannu karuNinci. rAgA: shankarAbharaNa. rUpaka tALA.

P: nannau karuNinci brOvu shankari tripurasundari
A: sanaka sanandanAdi munulu sadA bhajincE talli
C: vArija sutA gambhIrA dInajananutA duSkarma vidhu vidAriNI girirAjakumAri

Ecstacy
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Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 23:06

Post by Ecstacy »

Could some one provide me the lyrics for the Shyama Satri's krithi - Brovu Brovu, Ragam: Keeravani,Talam: Jambai.
Thanks

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

Brovu Brovu, Ragam: Keeravani,Talam: Jambai.
It is 'brOvumu manine' set to Adi, "sometimes" attributed to sree SS.

Ecstacy
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Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 23:06

Post by Ecstacy »

Yes Meena, that's brOvumu manine - kIravANi/Adi. Its strange to note that brovu brovu is what is mentioned in CD or Cassette description and talam is jhambai (Maharajapuram Santhanam's AVM audio twin cassette album BSFR 192/193 on Shyama Saatri compositions). These are one of those compositions that are attributed to Shyama Sastry, but have never been verified in any way, and are also not listed by T. K. Govinda Rao in his book.

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

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Last edited by meena on 06 May 2008, 04:17, edited 1 time in total.

meena
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Post by meena »

Does anyone have sree SSI version of yedukula kambhoji swarajathi? Please share. thanku

Ignore my request.

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

Does anyone have any info. abt. 'Sangeetha Swamy' (SS guru)? What was his real name?

Lakshman
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Post by Lakshman »

brOvu brOvu. rAgA: kIravANi. cApu tALA.

P: brOvu brOvu maninE endu vEDitE nIvu vinna nA vinnapamu nA talli shrI lalitE
A: dEvI shrI mInalOcani brOva sundarEshuni rANi nI shrI madurApura vAsini
(ciTTasvara)
nI sa rI ni sa rI gA ri nI sA ni sa sa ni dha pa dha ni sa rI ga mA pa dha ni sA ri ga mA ga ri sA ni dhA pA mA gA ri
C: shyAmakrSNa sahOdari shyAmaLE shatOdhari amba kAmitArtha mosage kalpakavalli
tAmasamElE tanayuni pAlincuTE sAmagAna kanjalOcani kIravANi
(ciTTasvara sAhitya)
nI sari bhuvilO pati nAtu evarunnArammA shrI mahA tripurasundari shankari vEgamE vacci nannu

hsuvarna
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Joined: 27 Aug 2006, 06:47

Post by hsuvarna »

Wikipedia has interesting info on SS. I am cut pasting the info...from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syama_Sastri


-The first composition of Shyama Shastri 'janani natajana paripaalini' in raga saveri is unique in the aspect that it does not have the 'shyama krishna' mudra.

-There are only four shrines that were eulogized by all the members of the trinity. (Dharmasamvardhani enshrined at Thruvaiyar, Kamakshi at Kanchi, Nilayadakshi at Nagapattanam and Varadaraja at Kanchi)

-Almost all compositions of Shastri are in praise of the supreme mother goddesses except for a krithi in raga begada 'sami ninne nammitirara ra muthu kumara' and a varnam in raga Anada bhairavi 'samini rammanave'. The begada krithi is in praise of Lord Muthukumara swami at Vaideshvaran koil and the Ananda bhairavi varnam is in praise of Lord Varadaraja at Kanchipuram.

-Though raga Ananda Bhairavi enjoys the status of being the most beloved raga to Shastri, his maximum compositions are in raga Kalyani:

1. Talli ninu nera - Chapu 2. Devi nannu brovavamma - Jampa 3. Nive gathi - Matya 4. Paraamukhmenamma - Triputa 5. Birana varalichi - Adi (tishra gati)/Rupaka 6. Himadri sute - (tishra gati)/Rupaka 7. Shankari - Ata 8. Sri kamakshi - Adi 9. Rave parvataraja kumari - Jampa.

-Maanji and Paraz are two beautiful ragas that were exempted by Thyagaraja, but handled by both Dikshitar and Shastri. Though Dikshitar is well known for handling ragas in vilamba kala, both the maanji krithis of Dikshitar (Ramachandrena & Sri Sarasvatihite) are set to medium tempo, while Shastri's masterpiece "Brovavamma tamasamela" brims with subtle nuances of maanji in a majestic vilamba gait. Both Dikshitar and Shastri have four compositions to their credit in raga paraz. Shastri has composed two giitams and two beautiful krithis while Dikshitar has two madhyama kala and two vilamba kala krithis in raga paraz.

hsuvarna
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Joined: 27 Aug 2006, 06:47

Post by hsuvarna »

Hmm, none of the links of Coolkarni-ji are working. Is anyone having the same difficulty? Even meena's vedio link too is not working.

hsuvarna
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Joined: 27 Aug 2006, 06:47

Post by hsuvarna »

rshankar wrote:Kiran,
Great job. Thanks!
What does vinathA mean?
Ravi
vinatha is mother of garutmanta, vehicle of vishnu.

vinatha sutha ghana vaahana muni maanasa sadana...
(in sharanam bhava karunamyi) or
vinatA suta vAhanuDai veDalenu kAnci varaduDu of Tyagaraja..

hsuvarna
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Joined: 27 Aug 2006, 06:47

Post by hsuvarna »

hsuvarna wrote:
Hmm, none of the links of Coolkarni-ji are working. Is anyone having the same difficulty? Even meena's vedio link too is not working.
Oh.. Please ignore. these are outdated links. Sorry...

ramakriya
Posts: 1876
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 02:05

Post by ramakriya »

hsuvarna wrote:
rshankar wrote:Kiran,
Great job. Thanks!
What does vinathA mean?
Ravi
vinatha is mother of garutmanta, vehicle of vishnu.

vinatha sutha ghana vaahana muni maanasa sadana...
(in sharanam bhava karunamyi) or
vinatA suta vAhanuDai veDalenu kAnci varaduDu of Tyagaraja..
In the case of this kriti, or many others where the word 'vinata' is used, it is a verb - and means 'praised' 'revered' etc.

vi - is a upasarga
nata -> bow in reverence

-Ramakriya

meena
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Joined: 21 May 2005, 13:57

Post by meena »

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Last edited by meena on 06 May 2008, 04:17, edited 1 time in total.

hsuvarna
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Joined: 27 Aug 2006, 06:47

Post by hsuvarna »

ramakriya wrote:
hsuvarna wrote:
rshankar wrote:Kiran,
Great job. Thanks!
What does vinathA mean?
Ravi
vinatha is mother of garutmanta, vehicle of vishnu.

vinatha sutha ghana vaahana muni maanasa sadana...
(in sharanam bhava karunamyi) or
vinatA suta vAhanuDai veDalenu kAnci varaduDu of Tyagaraja..
In the case of this kriti, or many others where the word 'vinata' is used, it is a verb - and means 'praised' 'revered' etc.

vi - is a upasarga
nata -> bow in reverence

-Ramakriya
You are absolutely right that in this kriti, this meaning fits well. Care needs to be given if 'suta' follows. Even then care needs to be taken
to see the context.

Two other places it is garuda vinata-suta-vaahana-sri-ramana(jayantasena), vinatasuta-vaahanudai(harikambhoji),
vinata-suta-raara(huseni).

hsuvarna
Posts: 138
Joined: 27 Aug 2006, 06:47

Post by hsuvarna »

meena wrote:
Even meena's vedio link too is not working.
the video links:
http://www.sendspace.com/folder/398bf8

Pl. note : NOT u/l by moi, links are posted on sangeethapriya.org
Oh.. Please ignore. these are outdated links. Sorry...
:):):) "Rasika", here u go :
http://www.rogepost.com/n/6501269128

Enjoy!
Thanks meena. I was confused about another thread on SS which started recently. Then I saw this one with somany
uploads and lyrics. None of the links work and then I saw the dates which were in 2006.

ysaradhambal
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Joined: 03 Mar 2008, 12:25

Post by ysaradhambal »

This is Y Saradhambal. Regarding the details of the kritis of Syama Sastri, you can get some information in the blog syamasastri.blogspot.com.

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

Thanks Saradhambal. The Syama Sastri blog is quite impressive.

mohan
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52

Post by mohan »

Yes http://syamasastri.blogspot.com/ is very impressive and basically Saradhambal's Phd thesis on Shyama Sastri and his descendants.

rbharath
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Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 10:50

Post by rbharath »

hsuvarna wrote:-Maanji and Paraz are two beautiful ragas that were exempted by Thyagaraja
I beg to differ.

There is a kriti of tyagaraja in Pharaz. I have heard Sri VV Srivatsa sing it at a recent lec-dem. It is 'varamaina nEtrOtsava' which is part of the prahlada bhakta vijayam. Sri Srivatsa also mentioned that Dr S Ramanathan and Smt Seetha Rajan sing it.

about mAnji as well, i have heard somebody say about the existance of a tyagaraja kriti.

could somebody throw some light on this?

revanthv552
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Joined: 31 Jan 2008, 22:26

Post by revanthv552 »

even i love the krithis of syama sasthry..
the emotions in his krithis are juss awesome..
aadinamuninchi is a gr8 krithi
evn d one in karnataka kaapi..akhilndeswari durusuga brovumu..is a gr8 number....
i juss love all his krithis

vasanthakokilam
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Inspired by the Vijaya Siva Rasikas Shyama Sastri Krithis Concert, I was looking for some Shyama Sastri material and bumped into this blog post by our rbharath.
I thought I will provide a bump to this thread by posting it here.

rbharath's blog on the 2008 lec-dem on SS by Nadita Ravi: http://me-and-music.blogspot.com/2008/1 ... hyama.html

Nandita Ravi talks about the SS Saurashtra varnam in the above lec-dem. Here are a couple of links to that varnam

http://sangeethapriya.org/tributes/shya ... a-Ravi.mp3 ( Rama Ravi )

http://sangeethapriya.org/tributes/shya ... nathan.mp3 ( Ambujam Viswanathan )

I could not quite figure out if these two versions illustrate what Nandita Ravi says about how to sing the charana portions of this varnam.

keerthi
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Post by keerthi »

vasanthakokilam wrote:
Nandita Ravi talks about the SS Saurashtra varnam in the above lec-dem. Here are a couple of links to that varnam

http://sangeethapriya.org/tributes/shya ... a-Ravi.mp3 ( Rama Ravi )



I could not quite figure out if these two versions illustrate what Nandita Ravi says about how to sing the charana portions of this varnam.

The ettugade caraNa starts 'Bhaktudai' which is approximately to the tune PMDD and ends with 'mAyamma' which is to the tune DPM-GR-GM..

The first and second muktAyi swara-s begins with Pa, that is a natural following from the M of the charanam ending..

The 3rd swara begin with D and the 'mAyamma' to the tune of PDPM-GM which again dovetails into the P of bhaktuDaina.. (GMD and PMD are legitimate, and characteristic phrases in saurASTra)..

The fourth swara begins with a tAra S, and hence the caraNa when sung before it ends on a different tune - DDPM D,N, for mayamma so that it can naturally lead to the swara that begins S,,RRSN..

vasanthakokilam
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Post by vasanthakokilam »

Got it. Thanks very much Keerthi.

ragam-talam
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Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by ragam-talam »

In the finale concert as part the recent YACM anniversary celebrations, Lalitha Sivakumar and Nithyasree included a Tamil kriti by Syama Sastry - ennEramum un nAmam - in Purvikalyani ragam.

I believe there are a small number of Tamil kritis by Syama Sastrigal (another kriti I can think of is ennEramum un padakamaladhyAnam in Punnagavarali). I am curious to find out what is the general opinion regarding these kritis compared to his Telugu kritis. Also interested in vocal renditions of these kritis.

Lakshman-ji, can you please provide a list of SS's Tamil kritis?

rshankar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by rshankar »

While some people doubt the authenticity of these tamizh kritis, IIRC, the late Smt. Vidya Shankar was of the opinion that they were genuine.

Lakshman
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Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by Lakshman »

ennEramum unpAda kamala. rAgA: punnAgavarALi. tripuTa tALA.
ennEramum un nAmam. rAgA: pUrvikalyANi. tripuTa tALA.
parAmukhamEnammA. rAgA: kalyANi. tripuTa tALA.
santatam ennai rakSippAi. rAgA: paraju. Adi tALA.
taruNam IdammA. rAgA: gauLIpantu. Adi tAlA.

karthikbala
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Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 09:58

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by karthikbala »

ragam-talam wrote: ...Also interested in vocal renditions of these kritis.
A clip of Enneramamum-Purvikalyani is available here:
http://charulathamani.com/music/carnati ... _music.php

ragam-talam
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Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by ragam-talam »

Came across this statement at the Sumithra Vasudev concert review thread:
It seems a very senior musician (famous as a teacher & scholar than a performer) remarked once that inclusion of SS in the trinity is a mere accident.
Any viewpoints on this assertion?

venkatakailasam
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Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 19:16

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by venkatakailasam »

ragam-talam wrote:
...Also interested in vocal renditions of these kritis.

I am providing links where you can get the songs:

http://www.sangeethapriya.org/tributes/ ... ithis.html

16 ennEramum-un punnAgavarALi
18 ennEramum-un-nAmam pUrvikalyANi
56 parAmugamEnammA
73 taruNam-IdammA gauLIpantu

The sl number is indicated against each song in the download link.

santatam ennai rakSippAi. rAgA: paraju. Adi tALA.-This is to be located.

venkatakailasam

mankuthimma
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Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by mankuthimma »

It seems a very senior musician (famous as a teacher & scholar than a performer) remarked once that inclusion of SS in the trinity is a mere accident.Any viewpoints on this assertion?
It must have been one of those rare happy accidents , I think 8)

venkatakailasam
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Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 19:16

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by venkatakailasam »

It must have been one of those rare happy accidents , I think 8)[/quote]
-mankuthimma

"Sri Shyama Sastri's kritis are veritable crystals in the respective ragas.

For the polished nature of his music and the beauty of the language, his compositions remain unsurpassed.

The presentation of ragas in his modern setting is uncommon facility with which he composed in apurva ragas, with the abundance of feeling running through them. All these and more have entitled him to be ranked as one of the Musical Trinity, who are primarily responsible for making Thanjavur the brightest spot on the musical map of South India."

venkatakailasam

Can we know the Senior musician ?. Just curious!

mankuthimma
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010, 13:38

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by mankuthimma »

Nisha Rajagopal is singing a beautiful Durusuga Right now -
AIR Sammelan

ragam-talam
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Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by ragam-talam »

MT - the sangeeth sammelan concert of Nisha is already uploaded here: http://www.sangeethamshare.org/tvg/UPLO ... _Sammelan/

The durusuga rendition is indeed great.

venkatakailasam
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Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 19:16

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by venkatakailasam »

Here is a 46.43mts concert of his Swarajathi- Group singing brodcast by DD SRSN

-Kamakshi_ni_padayugame-yadukulakambhoji
-kamakshi_amba-bhairavi-
-Rave_himagiri_kumari-todi-
-Devi_brova_samayamide-chintamani

E'-SWARA -001-Shyama Sastry-Swarajathi-group singing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvS4-1mjho0

venkatakailasam

satyabalu
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Joined: 28 Mar 2010, 11:07

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by satyabalu »

#2 - darshan

» 17 Feb 2006 19:02
Sahana-priyan, I didn't know that Pahi Maam Sri Rajarajeshwari was a composition of Sri Syama Sastrigal. Even the krithi listings of SS at Sangeetham.com do not give it. Can you please throw more light on it?
My reply:-
"Sarasa padayugale swarajathikalpitha sangeetha rasikke'' this portion of Charanam was interpreted by Late A.Sundaresan ,a specialist on SS -According to him this kriti should have preceded (if my memory serves me correct)the composing of Swarajathis.

Lakshman
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Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by Lakshman »

I have posted the lyrics for this song here:

http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15509

vgovindan
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Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by vgovindan »

Re : Emani migula - rAga tOdi.

In the third caraNa of the kRti, SS calls Mother dharma saMvardhani (Mother at tiruvaiyAru) as 'kanjanadAntuni kAmitA'. In the book of TKG, this has been taken to mean 'Consort of Siva'. In the book of Vidya Sankar, it has been translated as 'Beloved of Victor of manmatha'. This word is to be split as 'kanjanada+antuni' (antuni - of one who has put an end). Therefore, 'kanjanada' (or is it 'kanjanata?) should mean 'manmatha'. I have not come across this usage anywhere. Any clarifications please.

Further, in the same caraNa, SS mentions as 'pancApakESa muni nutA'. In the book of Vidya Sankar, this has been translated as 'hermit pancApakESa'. Is (was) there any such hermit?

keerthi
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Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by keerthi »

kanjana means manmatha and dAnta means warrior or vanquisher.

kanjana-dantuni kamitA would translate to the lover of the destroyer of cupid.

It is an uncommon expression, and I haven't encountered that choice of words anywhere else.

In this remarkably beautiful song, there is a need for critical edition, and this caranam [kanjana-dAntuni..] has been further altered in M.Balamuralikrishna's singing. There is some major prAsa dislocation.


It would be nice if we could contact the composer's descendant shri RajaH who lives in Chennai, and took a look at the manuscript that he has, which has more than a hundred songs of shyama shastri.

For one, we could get a better, close-to-foolproof version of the lyrics; and more hopefully unearth more sAhityams of this composer par excellence.

pancApakEsha itself is a contentious word, and I've been convinced by some Sanskritists that it should be pancApagEsha with apagA meaning river. The word pancApakEsa has got firmly entrenched in literature.
pancApakEsha-muni-nutA should probably read pancApagEsa-vihita, but then, what do I know?

vgovindan
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Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by vgovindan »

keerthi,
In regard to 'kanjandAntuni kAmitA', I feel it should be 'kaM+janita+antuni' - kanjanitAntuni.
In regard to 'pancApakESa' I agree with you that it should be 'pancApagESa'. But, 'muni' is still a problem.
I have received your email.
I shall await your further inputs.
However, I shall be publishing these kRtis in my blog. This can be further revised.

Any other inputs from others please?

vgovindan
Posts: 1865
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 20:01

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by vgovindan »

keerthi,
In the MD kRti 'paramESvara jagadISvara' on praNatArti hara at tiruvaiyAru, Siva is mentioned as 'vIra kshEtra pAla vinuta caraNa'. This refers to 'bhairava' aka 'muni' in Tamil Nadu. May be 'pancApagESa muni' might refer to bhairava.
http://www.vgovindan.info/Nadopasaka/default.html

vgovindan
Posts: 1865
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 20:01

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by vgovindan »

In the kRti 'karuNA nidhi ilalO' rAga tODi, certain major variations has been observed in the book 'Compositions of SrI Syama Sastry' by Mr and Mrs NC Parthasarathy (Telugu script). The other two books - by SrI TK Govinda Rao and by Vidya Shankar have similar version. The major variations are as under -

anupallavi---------------------------------------------------------------Variation (in the book of Parthasarathy)
aruNAmbuda nibha caraNA sura muni ---------------------aruNAmbuda nibha caraNAmbudhi sura muni
SaraNAnantEshTa dAyaki SrI bRhan-nAyaki---------------SaraNAnantEshTa dAyaki SrI bRhan-nAyaki

caraNam 2
pAmara pAlini pAvani nIvu gadA nI------------------------pAmara pAvani (amba) pAvani mUrtivi nIvu gadA nIdu
pAdamE gatiyani namminAnu------------------------------pAdamE gatiyani nammiti

How this much of variation can crop up?
Any suggestions please?

vgovindan
Posts: 1865
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 20:01

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by vgovindan »

In tODi kRti 'rAvE hima giri kumAri', composed in praise of kAmAkshi of Kanchipuram, Syama Sasty extols Her as 'kAma pAlini' - one who protected manmatha. manmatha is stated to have been revived (without body – hence ‘ananga’) by Mother after he was burnt to ashes by Lord Siva. This kRti seems to have a saundarya lahari connection. 'saundarya lahari', verse 6 -

dhanuH paushpaM maurvI madhu-kara-mayI panca viSikhAH
vasantaH sAmantO malaya-marud-AyOdhana-rathaH |
tathApy-EkaH sarvaM hima-giri-sutE kAmapi kRpAM
apAngAt-tE labdhvA jagad-idam-anangO vijayatE ||

O Daughter of hima giri! Even that manmatha, to whom, flower is bow, bee-line is bow-string, arrows are five, spring is minister, malaya marut is chariot of war, being helpless by himself, receiving grace through Your side glance, conquers the whole world.

It is interesting that SyAmA Sastry uses ‘hima giri sutE’ referred to in the above verse as ‘hima giri kumAri’.

But there is a subtle difference between what is said in the verse 6 - 'dhanuH paushpaM' (bow of flowers) - 'panca viSikhAH' (five arrows) and the traditional description of manmatha - wielding sugar-cane bow (tyAgarAja would call him 'tuNTi viNTi vADu) and five flowers - including Lotus - as arrows. Similarly Mother is called 'kAma rUpiNi' (lalitA sahasra nAma) and as kAmAkshi she also wields sugar-cane bow.

Can someone explain the variation in Verse 6 of saundarya lahari, please?

Please refer to - http://www.kamakotimandali.com/advaita/lahari_6.html for full meaning of the verse.

keerthi
Posts: 1309
Joined: 12 Oct 2008, 14:10

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by keerthi »

1. I don't think any of the vAggeyakAras (trinity) have made the bhairava-munIshwara conflation.

2. While all the books say aruNAmbuda-nibha; I strongly feel it should be aruNAmbuja-nibha.

There is no precedent in literature (that I've seen so far) where feet are compared to red clouds. ambuda is cloud and ambuja is lotus. There are countless examples with references to lotus-feet.

3. pAmara-pAvani pAvani is a redundancy (paunahpaunya) that the trinity weren't entirely free of; but avoided as far as possible. pAmara-pAlini pAvani seems to be a better reading.

4.
aruNAmbuda nibha caraNAmbudhi sura muni
This is definitely an aberration. I even have a speculation about where it comes from. Our excessively devout singers have tendency in stick in 'amba!'-s in the middle of songs, wherever there is a longish pause. They all abhor vacuums and inject a bunch of amba-s, often in the middle of phrases.

I know of one particular instance of an amba! included in bAlagOpAla, the bhairavi song. Some calf in the vicinity of bAlagOpAla must have bellowed 'ambA' and it got incorporated ito the song.

The second ambudhi must be a metamrphosed amba, which is anyway an interpolation.

pAvana-mUrtivi is acceptable pAvani mUrtivi is wrong.


It seems funny that the aruNa caraNa SaraNa prasa isn't continued to the other caraNa.

5.
Can someone explain the variation in Verse 6 of saundarya lahari, please?
What is the variation you allude to? Flowery bow and sugarcane bow?

vgovindan
Posts: 1865
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 20:01

Re: Shyama Sastri

Post by vgovindan »

keerthi,
Yes, the variation about the type of bow - whether flower or sugar-cane?
I know of one particular instance of an amba! included in bAlagOpAla, the bhairavi song. Some calf in the vicinity of bAlagOpAla must have bellowed 'ambA' and it got incorporated ito the song.
It is surprising that what singers sing on the stage should become a standard and also get incorporated in books. Much similar to a discussion in this form about how a Bridge at Triplicane got its name as 'Barbers' Bridge'!

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