KSHETRA SANGEETHAM - EPISODE 3 - e-Invitation

[HR]

Dear Rasikas,

Please find below, the invitation for the 3rd episode of Kshetra Sangeeetham on Srirangam to be held on 9th May (Sunday) at Narada Gana Sabha Mini Hall. All are welcome.

[satyabalu]

* The list of songs I could recllect ( came late).
*Kadiravan gunadisai-Bowli-Thondaradi podi Azhwar
*Ranganathudai-Sowrashtram-Ponnia Pillai.
*Yen Palli Kondir Ayya- Mohanam-Arunachala kavi- I am personally impressed by the words"masilada midilesan Pennudan vazhinadantha illaippo.Thusillada guhan odathile gangai thuraikadantha illaippo"One has to give tribute to ARI for having tuned the Ramanatakam.
*Rangapuravihara-Brindavana saranga-MD.
*Raju vedala-Thodi-RNS.Thiagaraja.
*Innisai.Kulasekara Azhwar-neelambari.**
*Thirupan Azhwar-Dharmavathi,Vasantha-set to tune by VS.**
*Thondaradi podiyalvar- Hamsanadham.?
*Then comes the magnum opus of Thiagaraja O Rangasayi in kamboji-with neraval in "Bhoolaka vaikundam"
*It is rather difficult to present the nos which were popular hits of doyens. But the way VS dealt with by giving a new dimension to Kamboji revealed her versatility in all depts.
*Dr.Hemalatha did her part in Violin consistently well with enthu.
*Next came Thani ably handled.
*Pachaimamalaipol-Thondaradi Podiazhwar.
*kangalityadako-kaveri ranga-Adi Thisra gadi-Sri Pada raya..
*One pasuram traditionally sung in Sindhu Bhairavi.
*Abhithisthavam-vedantha Desigar.
*one in Hamsanandi.
*mangalam-Surati.
*Sankari accompaied VS in all popular nos.
* There must be a special reason for VS to give in more towards Thondaradi Podiazhwar(tuning most of them she sang) as he had done all his 55songs in praise of Ranganathar only.
*Those who were present on that day felt virtually of being there in the shrine( sung in praise by11/12 azhwars with the exception of madhura Kavi)the first & foremost among the 108 Divyadesams-As we know ,in Vaishnava parlance"Koyil" signifies the Sri Rangam temple only- Goddess Lakshmi&Vibheeshana are believed to be worshipping daily even today in that divine place-brought through the painstaking efforts by VS covering various Vaggeyakaras on eventful day being coincidentally fallen on an Ekadasi day -which should have propelled the artists to come out with full gusto.
* Let us await atleast one of the two remaining episodes to follow shortly(Thiruvarur&Madurai) as I understand, she is due to take up the lecturer fellowship @Duke Unversity in North corolina thereafter.
*Just then she has done a prog on allied ragas covering Kanada-Darbari,Hindolam_malkauns ,Sivaranjani,Karaharapriya,Mohanam-Bhoop,Shanmugapriya,Sahana...before an invited audience supported by Sankari&Harini on the keyboard &One with Mridangam/tabla.
*she has chosen those nos in Tamil&Hindi films which donot warrant major deviation from /compromising sampradaya

[mahakavi]

>> I am personally impressed by the words"masilada midilesan Pennidam vazhinadantha illaippo.Thosillada guhan odathile gangai thuraikadantha illaippo"<<
Permit me to make some corrections in the lines above.
mAsilAda mitilEsan peNNuDan vazhi naDanda iLaippO
tUsilAda guhan ODattilE gangai tuRai kaDanda iLaippO

Is it because you walked (in the forest) with the blemishless daughter of the king of Mitila (that you are tired and now reclining)?
Is it because you crossed the river ganga in the boat rowed by the impeccable guhan that you are tired now?

[satyabalu]

Very pertinent .Thank you.

[rshankar]

*Yen Palli Kondir Ayya- Mohanam-Arunachala kavi- I am personally impressed by the words"masilada midilesan Pennudan vazhinadantha illaippo.Thusillada guhan odathile gangai thuraikadantha illaippo"One has to give tribute to ARI for having tuned the Ramanatakam.

We discussed the entire song (with the last caraNam that remains unheard) a couple of years ago.

Also, IIRC, ARI re-tuned (not tuned) some (may be all?) of the compositions in the rAmanATakam - the original tunesmiths were a couple of students of Sri MD (who were also students of Sri Arunacala Kavi as well)...

[mahakavi]

I have one more query. Since the kshEtram under consideration is Srirangam (in ThamizhnADu), why was a song about the Lord in SrirangapaTnam (in KarnATaka) "kangalityAdakO kAvEri" by SripAdarAya included in this concert? All other songs are on Srirangam.

[arasi]

Mahakavi,
A move towards integration. How can we fault that? Wherever he resides, paLLi koNDa perumAL (the reclining VishNu) is celebrated by songs in all local languages! I was there at SrirangapaTNa recently. Each of these temples has its own beauty. Take tiruanantapuram too! I do not know of a temple of a supine deity in Andhra. I'm sure there is one.

[mahakavi]

I was questioning because the title is "SRIRANGAM" and not paLLi koNDa perumAL. In that case there is a total of 27 divya dEsams in sayana kOlam. As for a supine deity in AP we come out empty. There are only 2 divya dEsams in AP--tirupati and ahObilam. No recumbent posture in either one.

Let me modify the above statement. In keezh tiruppati (not tirumalai) gOvindaraja perumAL (considered as elder brother of Lord Srinivasa) is in sayana kOlam.

[arasi]

Fine, Mahakavi. I withdraw my plea for integration I say these things because I do not possess a scientist's mind and so I wander away!
Anyway, having heard Vijayalaksmi sing, I would guess that it was a very good performance.

[ganesha]

The Sindhubhairavi rendition was one of the best in the concert and brought tears to many eyes, including mine! Raju vedale is a very cute little song in Todi that I haven't heard in a long while. The neraval swaras were very enjoyable. VS also renders Rangapura exceptionally well and the pasurams leading up to it were indeed a treat.
It was a truly inspired effort. The extra chairs brought in to accomodate the listeners proved inadequate and many peopole were sitting outside and listening while some others had to leave disappointed!

[keerthi]

I have one more query. Since the kshEtram under consideration is Srirangam (in ThamizhnADu), why was a song about the Lord in SrirangapaTnam (in KarnATaka) "kangalityAdakO kAvEri" by SripAdarAya included in this concert? All other songs are on Srirangam.

the lyric of this song can be found here -

http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... ko#p109514

What in the song tells you that it is composed on the deity at SrIrangapattanaM??

srIpAdarAya spent a significant part of his life in tiruvarangaM, and his guru's tomb (brndAvanaM) can be found there, which is the nucleus of activity for the madhva population of srIrangam.

This is the place where great saints like Svarnavarna Tirtharu and Sripadarajaru spent considerable part of their lives. It is said that Sripadarajaru got inspired by the shrIvaishNava tradition of singing Tamil hymns (divyaprabaMdha/Izhai) during various rituals of the temple and started the kannada haridAsa revolution.

from http://indiaguide.trailofview.com/trail ... /1111/show
Hence, irrespective of arasi's very sapient, pertinent comment... smt vijayalakshmi is justified..

[cksubra]

It was a great performance. was ver moving. Keep it going.

[kssr]

First a doubt:
Is En paLLi kondeerayya, a part of Raamanadakam or a separate piece by Arunachala Kaviraayar?

My feeling is that, many popular Raamanadaka kritis sung today like Raamanukku mannan mudi(pattam katta ethavandi!), etc appear a bit crude with many da's and di's - probably made for the stage and to attract the "paamaran(!)". In contrast En paLLi kondeerayya is a piece with extraordinary lyrical beauty and sophistication. Is it possible that it was composed in an entirely different context and mood?

Secondly Srirangapatna in Karnataka is also Srirangam, the suffix patna meaning "town". Although we do not know the mind of the organiser while calling the concert "Sriranga Kshetram", it can include the Karnataka version as well!! In fact the Karnataka Kshetram is called Aadi Rangam. Also there is one more Srirangam in Karnataka in Shivanasamudhra called Madhya Ranga. But I guess that will be stretching it a bit too far !! Right? :tmi:

[mahakavi]

First, a retraction. It was a wrong assumption on my part that SripAdarAya (1420-1486 CE) from Karnataka must have sung the song on the lord at Srirangapatnam. I read the full song. Here it is:
Sreepaadarayaru -- kangaLidyathako
kangaLivyaatakO
kaavErirangana nODada
jagangaLoLage mangaLamooruti
rangana sreepaadangaLa nODada ||
endigaadaromme janaru
bandu bhoomiyalli nindu
chandrapushkaraNi snaanava maaDi
(aa)nandadindali rangana kaaNada ||
haripaadOdaka-sama kaavEri
virajaanadeeli snaanava maaDi
parama vaikunTha rangamandira
para vaasudEvana nODada ||
haara heera vaijayanti
tOra muttina haara padaka
tEranEri beedili baruva
'rangaviThala'raayana nODada ||

While I don't understand all the kannada words, I could get the gist of it. The giveaway is the "chandrapushkaraNi'. That is the kshEtra puNya tIrttam in Srirangam, no doubt. I have written articles on several divya dEsams and I am familiar with such details. So, yes "kangalityAtakO" is on the lord at the "authentic" Srirangam (which is a divya dEsam and the foremost Vaishnavite shrine --"kOyil").

[mahakavi]

First a doubt:
Is En paLLi kondeerayya, a part of Raamanadakam or a separate piece by Arunachala Kaviraayar?

My feeling is that, many popular Raamanadaka kritis sung today like Raamanukku mannan mudi(pattam katta ethavandi!), etc appear a bit crude with many da's and di's - probably made for the stage and to attract the "paamaran(!)". In contrast En paLLi kondeerayya is a piece with extraordinary lyrical beauty and sophistication. Is it possible that it was composed in an entirely different context and mood?

Secondly Srirangapatna in Karnataka is also Srirangam, the suffix patna meaning "town". Although we do not know the mind of the organiser while calling the concert "Sriranga Kshetram", it can include the Karnataka version as well!! In fact the Karnataka Kshetram is called Aadi Rangam. Also there is one more Srirangam in Karnataka in Shivanasamudhra called Madhya Ranga. But I guess that will be stretching it a bit too far !! Right? :tmi:

1. En paLLi koNDIrayyA was the invocatory song sung as a prelude to rAma nATaka kIrttanaigaL by Arunacala Kavi which was debuted (arangERRam) at the Srirangam temple in the same spot that Kamban used to get his KambarAmAyaNam presented in the inaugural.

2." rAmanukku mannan muDi" may sound rustic but it is not. It is supposed to be sung by Kaikeyi as a retort to mandarai's jealousy-ridden advice to Kaikeyi about Rama's pending anointment as the prince regent. Mandarai was trying to inject poison into Kaikey's mind which was disliked by Kaikeyi to begin with. That is why she ridicules mandarai as "pAmaram" and declares everybody should rejoice about the announcement. Since mandarai was Kaikeyi's maidservant she could use the "ennaDi", "pODi" expressions. Even when you concede it is rustic, the song is still a beauty
3. There are three Ranganatha temples in islands enclosed by the river KAvEri. The Srirangapatnam temple surrounded by the two branches of KAveri is called Adirangam. The next one enclosed by the Sivasamudram falls (again an island formed by the two forks of KAvEri) is called madyarangam. But these two kshEtrams are called only abhimAna dEsams. Only the thrid one enclosed by kAvEri and KoLLiDam, Srirangam (tiruvarangam), is called divya dEsam (a divya dEsam is one which was sung by at least one AzhwAr). Srirangam is called andhyarangam.

[arasi]

Thanks, Mahakavi.
I have heard Bhimsen Joshi singing this song a few times in his concerts in sindhu bhairavi. Why do we possess eyes? To see kastUri ranga, kAvEri ranga.
Nandagopal perhaps has the song. Would like to hear that again!

[satyabalu]

Feel proud to be a part of this elite forum. With every reply we get updated &elevated!

[rshankar]

Shouldn't it be antyarangam (in keeping with Adi, and madhya) and not andhyarangam?

While yEn paLLi koNDIr ayyA is the invocatory song, IIRC, the first song of the nATakam per se is avatAram SeidiDuvIrE in mOhanam - Sri Arunacala Kavi took the stand of Kamban in this song - according to the vAlmIki rAmAyaNa, when vishNu agrees to incarnate as rAma to destroy rAvaNa, brahmA asks the other gods to 'create' an army to help rAma in his quest; the dEvas agree and accordingly beget many vAnara warriors - hanumAn as vAyu's son, vAli as indra's son, sugrIva as sUrya's son, naLa as agni's son etc. Sri kamban, in his version, changes it and describes it as vishNu ordaining the gods to incarnate as vAnara warriors - Sri AK follows this, and clarifies it further, describing who became who - with kaNNAyiravan (indra) as vAli, kadirOn (sUrya) as sugrIva etc...

[arasi]

satyababu,
'Elite' and 'elevating' don't necessarily go together

[ksrimech]

parama vaikunTha rangamandira para vaasudEvana nODada ||

In SrIranga mAhAtmyam (I think the brahmANDa and the padma purANas), it starts of with the verse which is most likely the inspiration for the SrIrangam being bhUlOka vaikuNTam. This is the SlOka recited by a parrot to King Dharmavarman

kAvEri virAjAsEyam vaikuNTam rangamandiram| sa vAsudEvO rangESayaha pratyakSam paramapadam||

The deity facing south in the praNavAkAra divya vimAnam is called paravAsudevan. The rest three sides have SankarSNan, aniruddhan, and pradhyumnan. These four are representative of the para and vyUhA, respectively. No other temple even in the 108 divya desams has a vimAnam equivalent to this divyavimAnam. This is the same vimAna with perumAL worshipped by chaturmukhabrahma, ikSvAku, dileepa,mAndhAttA, bhagirathA, daSaratha, SrIrAman and other great kings of the suryakula until SrIrAman gifted it to vibhISaNAzhvAn.

[mahakavi]

Pl visit the following for a descriptive account on Srirangam temple.
http://www.svtemplenc.org/stories/Story ... mPart1.pdf
http://www.svtemplenc.org/stories/Story ... mPart2.pdf
http://www.svtemplenc.org/stories/Story ... mPart3.pdf

[kssr]

In SrIranga mAhAtmyam (I think the brahmANDa and the padma purANas..the SlOka recited by a parrot to King Dharmavarman

kAvEri virAjAsEyam vaikuNTam rangamandiram| sa vAsudEvO rangESayaha pratyakSam paramapadam||

This is the same vimAna with perumAL worshipped by chaturmukhabrahma, ikSvAku, dileepa,mAndhAttA, bhagirathA, daSaratha, SrIrAman and other great kings of the suryakula until SrIrAman gifted it to vibhISaNAzhvAn.

I have also heard that Vibheeshana was carrying the Ranganathar (may be a bit too heavy for one person), when he had to attend to the call of nature! He left the Perumal in Srirangam and when he returned the Lord refused to move from Srirangam. Amazing and colourful stories associated with each temple. However the temple, architecture, the paasurams, literature and the wonderful music based on the Lord are all real and awe inspiring to this day.

[semmu86]

Sri.KalyAnapuram ArAvamudhAchAriAr used to tell so beautifully in his harikathAs, that there is one more reason for Lord RanganAthA to face the Southern direction apart from the promise given to VibheeshaNA. Srivilliputtur Lies to the south of Srirangam and that the Lord Faces AndAL, thereby facing his beloved and also his bhakthA.

[satyabalu]

so much of information in these links.Thanks to mahakavi.
*This is a swayam Vyakthi Kshetram(self manifested shrines).
*The temple has been mentioned during sangam period in Silapadikaram"
*Thirupanna Azhwar (covered by VS during the prog)attained mukthi in this shrine.
*7 enclosures denote 7 lokas.
*Four towers represent 4 vedas.
*There are about 600 wall inscriptions in the temple.

[ksrimech]

kssr - SrIrangamAhAtmyam in pAdma purANam states that SrIvibhISaNazhvAn got down to perform sandhyAvandanam and not for answering nature calls. Also, it clearly stated garuDan aka siriyatiruvaDi was the one who carried him. You can correspondingly see largest garuDan of any known temple at SrIrangam.

Satybalu - One more addition. It is the largest functioning temple in the world. It is even larger than the Vatican. The largest temple in ruins is Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Also, the AzhvAr is called tiruppANAzhvAr and not tirupaNNAzhvar.

Semmu86 - Here is the SlOka reference for that.
dik dakshiNApi paripaktrimapuNyalabhyAt sarvOttarA bhavati dEvi tavAvatArAt |
yatraiva ra~ngapatinA bahumAnapUrvam nidrALunApi niyatam nihitA: kaTAkshA: ||

[arasi]

Krishna,
Tirup 'paN'NAzhvArum tAnE??!!

[ksrimech]

It is true. He sang to a tune. paNNisaittu pADiya AzhvAr. Then, it is true for the other AzhvArs and nAyanmArs.

[arasi]

pannisai pADiya paNNisai AzhvArgaLil ivarum oruvaranRO?

[ksrimech]

Am arasiyArE