Thyagaraja kritis with raga mudra

[sruthi]

We know Dikshitar's kritis usually contain raga mudras. (And I think some of Shyama Sastry ones also have the mudra)

Are there any Thyagaraja kritis that include the raga mudra?

[keerthi]

gAnamUrtE in gAnamUrti and mOhanarAma are about the full list.

However, in the sAvERi song samsArulaite, he mentions singing in srIrAgam [it may refer to singing in good/ auspicious rAgas or may actually refer to srIrAgam]

'vINAgAnamutOnu Agamacaruni srIrAgamuna pADucu' is the line.

[rshankar]

Isn't gAnamUrtE a contested kRti...another (contested kRti that I forget), in kalyANi also carries the rAga mudra.

[chitravina ravikiran]

Mohana rama - Mohanam is another one.

Ganamurte, along with krtis in Ratnangi, Kanakangi, Nasikabhooshani etc are all attributed to T but not confirmed. In fact Maravairi (Nasikabhooshani) doesn't even have his signature.

[sruthi]

Thank you for the responses. Would be interested to find out the Kalyani kriti referred to by rshankar.

A related question: does the fact that he didn't include raga mudra in his kritis indicate a bit more of spontaneity in Thyagaraja as a composer, compared to Dikshitar?

I mean to say, Thyagaraja swami composed his kritis extempore mode, and his disciples recorded them, while Diskhitar went through a few iterations before producing his final version. And Shyama Sastry seems to be in between the two on this spontaneity dimension (at least based on the raga mudra factor).

Is this a reasonable hypothesis?

[keerthi]

1. embedding raga mudra is no indicator of spontaneity. It is no big challenge to compose a lyric with any desired word embedded.

If you ever have occasion to witness an avadhAnaM - aSTAvadhAna or shatAvadhAna - you can see the interrogators posing such tasks to the avadhAni - 'Compose a verse in X metre/ chandas; with Y topic[say the love of the peacock and the cloud], with the words a,b and c [say puri, sambAr and dOsA]'.

this is one of the least challenging, and also least appealing tasks for the scholar, since it entails a literary somersault, but doesn't point towards any high aesthetic. they can accomplish it in a very matter-of-fact way.

2. While it may appear that dIkSitar employed a style that was more structured, and had a tight-knit frame with little scope forimprovisation, and that tyAgarAja's or shAma shAstri's compositions are more flexible or amenable to adding sangati-s, this may be a reflection of the musicians of the previous generation, rather than the vAggEyakAra-s.

Surely, certain songs of tyAgarAja allow for, and have also been invested with systematically unravelling sangati-s that grow in an organic style, building towards a climax, we can soon develop a nose(ear?)for a sangati that is the logical next, or is appropriate to the song, as different from a flourish of the performer's imagination.

On the other hand the songs in kalAnidhi, bhinnashaDja and suddha dESi, roughly have the same sangati-s in all paThAntara-s.

Songs like the divyanAma-kIrtana-s could easily be spontaneous outpourings. they have only one or two distinct tunes, to which all the stanzas fit, and having standardised the tune, in the first round of recitation, one can weave in lyric for the next round, while (say)the shishyas repeat the line. However it is most unlikely that the well-crafted lyric heavy songs like the ghanarAga-pancaratnam, or the prAsa-abounding bAlE bAlendubhUshaNi are impromptu snap-of-the-finger pieces.


3. We don't know how many iterations a song went through, in the composer's mind, and home; but surely the number of iteration in the oral/aural parampara are the same for all three composers.


In composition of shAma shAstri - there aren't more than two or at best three sangatis in every single song, but the unbridled manOdharma of performers had led to an imbalance of sangatis, depending on how familiar the rAga is, and how amenable the tAla is - hence lots of sangatis in himadrisutE (kalyAni/ Adi-tisra nadai) and sarOjadaLanEtri (sankarAbharanam/Adi); but fewer sangatis in nIlAyatAkSI (paras/ chApu) and kanakasaila (punnAgavarALI/Adi).

The same must be true for the imbalace in songs like bhajarE chitta (kalyANI), SrI subrahmaNYAya (kAmbhOJi) and vAtApigaNapatiM (hamsadhwani) versus most other compositions of MD, which have sparse sangatis, and less variable notation throughout.


We are in no position to comment on a spectrum of spontaneity in the composers. However, we can safely plot a scale of degree to which we have taken liberties with the songs of each composer.

[munirao2001]

Keerthi,
"We are in no position to comment on a spectrum of spontaneity in the composers. However, we can safely plot a scale of degree to which we have taken liberties with the songs of each composer"
Well said. But, the fact is, with Love and Reverence to the Vaggeyakaras, the Great Maestros, did use their creativity( with their Character, synonymous with creativity) to add sangatis full of rasa and bhava, resulting in magnum opus kritis. It is also fact, that stylists have added the sangatis, imposing their stamp of style statements, not adding any value other than novelty or temporary excitement.
Thus we have both positive and negetive effects on patanthara. With complete understanding and appreciation and descipline, the creativity of the performers should truly reflect the Vaggeykara Hridayam

[sruthi]

On a related note, some composers like GNB have not used vaggeyakara mudra in their compositions. I wonder what this indicates about their own personality/psyche.

[Purist]

Keerthi--well done. Very analytical.

[satyabalu]

*With deviation permitted,may I request to dwell on available Kshetra mudra .One, I can say- in first charanam of Dharini Telusukonti (which normally not sung)Amba trijagadheeswari..................Bimba.." Adhipura.". (another name for Tiruvottiyur).