How does a vaggeyakara compose a kriti? What goes into the composition process? Is this process different in CM versus, say, western classical music? How much of it is inspiration and how much 'perspiration'? Does the sahitya come first or does the music come first and then the words are inserted later? Or is it a case of 'it depends'?
A quote from the article at http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1616/16160960.htm suggests that even Tyagaraja's compositions may not have been just 'on the spot' ones, but he could have sat down and spent some time on them: "He had tremendous scholarship, many of the compositions he composed are not merely inspired works, but were also extremely deep, scholarly works."
There is mention in the Ogirala thread of how Devi came and sat at the composer's side and inspired him to compose a kriti for her. Does this indicate a case of divine intervention?
Do we have information on how some of our great composers of the past came up with their compositions?
I have spoken to a modern day composer during my days in Pittsburgh. He would say how he could go thru several days without any idea coming up in his mind at all. Then suddenly inspiration would pour on him and he would compose kritis one after another.
Would be interesting to hear from resident composers and others who have studied the composition process. It is an intriguing subject indeed.
The composition process
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mridu
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 15 Jan 2007, 01:05
My guess would be that it is mostly inspired music. Our vaggeyakaras were all quite proficient in the technicalities of CM, so once the words came to them, the music would have followed straightaway. The choice of the ragam and talam to use is a mystery to me, someone more knowledgable can tell us.
Why don't we ask our own composer-in-residence, DRS?
Why don't we ask our own composer-in-residence, DRS?
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ragam-talam
- Posts: 1896
- Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15
Interesting questions. I feel the approach would have differed by composer. Dikshitar's kritis have lots of scholarly depth, so he must have sat and refined his work. Thyagaraja's kritis have lot more spontaneity about them. He is said to have composed many of his kritis with his disciples present, and they wrote them down. Shyama Sasty - don't know much about his style. His kritis do suggest that his must have been similar to Dikshitar's.
Overall, the common theme in most of CM compositions is the invocation to the divine. You choose your ishta-deivam, then try and glorify the god in various ways. Good technical knowledge of CM, especially all aspects of ragam and layam would be essential pre-requisites for a good vaggeyakara.
On a slight deviation from this topic, are there kritis in praise of just ragas? For example, do we have a composition that describes one (or more than one) raga in some detail, e.g. a kriti on bhairavi or kalyani? The concept of music and in particular each of the ragams having divine qualities has been mentioned in our treatises I believe.
Overall, the common theme in most of CM compositions is the invocation to the divine. You choose your ishta-deivam, then try and glorify the god in various ways. Good technical knowledge of CM, especially all aspects of ragam and layam would be essential pre-requisites for a good vaggeyakara.
On a slight deviation from this topic, are there kritis in praise of just ragas? For example, do we have a composition that describes one (or more than one) raga in some detail, e.g. a kriti on bhairavi or kalyani? The concept of music and in particular each of the ragams having divine qualities has been mentioned in our treatises I believe.
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Sam Swaminathan
- Posts: 846
- Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:45
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vgvindan
- Posts: 1430
- Joined: 13 Aug 2006, 10:51
True. From the study of Thyagaraja Kritis, it is my humble opinion that not all kRtis are inspired. There are many instances where he seems to composed with due deliberation. One of the inspired kRtis which I liked most is 'nA jIvAdhAra'.That might apply to the simple kritis .. Even there I think he would have sung them a few times and brought them to the final form
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jayaram
- Posts: 1317
- Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08
Shri Govindan - are you able to detect a distinguishable difference in style between the 'inspired' (i.e. extempore) and 'carefully planned' kritis of the Saint? If I were to take a guess, I would say that a kriti such as 'O Rangasayi' is an inspired one, while 'Nannu palimpa' would be a planned one. Am I right?
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srinidhi
- Posts: 227
- Joined: 09 Feb 2010, 08:59
AFAIK, the kriti Nannu Palimpa was an inspiried one composed when his disciple Waljahpet Venkatarama Bhagavathar brought a painting of Sri Kodanda Rama on the occasion of his (Thyagaraja's ) daughter's wedding walking all the way from his village. A moved thyagaraja then burst out into "Nannu Palimpa nadachi nadachi...." (Did you come walking all the way to protect me O Rama?)jayaram wrote:Shri Govindan - are you able to detect a distinguishable difference in style between the 'inspired' (i.e. extempore) and 'carefully planned' kritis of the Saint? If I were to take a guess, I would say that a kriti such as 'O Rangasayi' is an inspired one, while 'Nannu palimpa' would be a planned one. Am I right?
Seems an inspired kriti rather than a planned one.
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vgvindan
- Posts: 1430
- Joined: 13 Aug 2006, 10:51
As regards 'nanu pAlimpa', according to Brahma Sri TS Balakrishna Sastrigal, (discourse - tyAgarAja rAmAyaNam), Sri tyAgarAja sang this song after he beheld Sri rAma, sItA and AnjanEya leaving his house after an over-night stay in the garb of an old couple and a brahmacAri respectively. Similar such anecdote is the one quoted by srinidhi, but it needs to be ascertained whether these assumptions are true, because excepting the pallavi, the body of the kRti does not carry any such reference to the occasion.
According to the same discourse, Sri tyAgarAja further sang mOhanam rAga 'bhava nuta' regretting his failure to entertain the honoured guests. This kRti does carry such wordings.
As regards non-inspired kRtis, I formed such opinion based on the way Sri tyAgarAja has laboured to form epithets in certain kRtis; also many kritis in the two dance-dramas 'prahlAda bhakti vijayam' and 'nauka caritram' do seem to belong to this category. Also some - not all - of the kRtis in other kShetras like tapastIrthapura - Lalgudi, kOvur - near Kanchipuram and Adipura - Tiruvotriyur, would, IMHO, fall in this category. Of these also, 'tera tIyaga rAda' at tirupati seems to be inspired.
Yes, most of the very short kRtis would, IMHO, fall into the category of 'inspired'.
According to the same discourse, Sri tyAgarAja further sang mOhanam rAga 'bhava nuta' regretting his failure to entertain the honoured guests. This kRti does carry such wordings.
As regards non-inspired kRtis, I formed such opinion based on the way Sri tyAgarAja has laboured to form epithets in certain kRtis; also many kritis in the two dance-dramas 'prahlAda bhakti vijayam' and 'nauka caritram' do seem to belong to this category. Also some - not all - of the kRtis in other kShetras like tapastIrthapura - Lalgudi, kOvur - near Kanchipuram and Adipura - Tiruvotriyur, would, IMHO, fall in this category. Of these also, 'tera tIyaga rAda' at tirupati seems to be inspired.
Yes, most of the very short kRtis would, IMHO, fall into the category of 'inspired'.
Last edited by vgvindan on 24 Jan 2007, 10:29, edited 1 time in total.
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ragam-talam
- Posts: 1896
- Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15
On Dikshitar's composition style - http://www.saigan.com/heritage/mindex.html
There is no doubt that Dikshitar's expertise on the veena was emphatically mirrored on the construction of his composition. They bear a peculiar splendour because of the rich combination of laya, percentage diction and a perennial majestic flow of melody. His kritis replete with soothing, sweet Sanskrit lyrics, adi prasam and antima prasam, many with winsome Samashti Charanams, a Chowka Kala Pramanam, comparable to the Dhrupad style in Hindustani Music, and prayogas that never repeat themselves, occupy an exclusive niche that would well withstand the challenging tides of time.
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vijay
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 27 Feb 2006, 16:06
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mohan
- Posts: 2808
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 16:52
The composition process would vary from composer to composer. Like others have said, some compositions have been spontaneous. Dr Balamuralikrishna has told me that sometimes when he is thinking about a particular situation the words and basic tune just come to him. Later he would refine it with sangatis, etc.
The process I follow when composing swara pieces for dance is roughly like this:
1. I find out about the story being portrayed in the scene.
2. I choose a raga to suit the scene. Is it a slow emotive piece portraying sorrow? Is it a fast lively scene? Would a Hindustani raga suit better than a heavy Carnatic one? For dance I also have to think of the context of this scene with respect to other scenes. For example, if the previous scene has a Shanmughapriya, I wouldn't use Simhendra Madhyama for the next.
3. Once the raga is chosen I start the actual composition. Again the scene would give a guide to how the rhythmic combinations should be used and how the piece should start. If it is a lively piece perhaps in Hamsadhwani - I can use S'R'G'-NS'R'-PNS'-GPN-S',,NPGRS. But if it a slow pathos piece perhaps in Saramathi .. N,,, D,M, G,S, R,G,|S,,,.
4. I try to give some variety in the rhythmic patterns used and make sure each line blends well with the next.
5. Quite often I will compose a passage and then delete because it doesn't quite fit well.
While this approach seems quite methodological, there needs to be some inspiration at every step.
The process I follow when composing swara pieces for dance is roughly like this:
1. I find out about the story being portrayed in the scene.
2. I choose a raga to suit the scene. Is it a slow emotive piece portraying sorrow? Is it a fast lively scene? Would a Hindustani raga suit better than a heavy Carnatic one? For dance I also have to think of the context of this scene with respect to other scenes. For example, if the previous scene has a Shanmughapriya, I wouldn't use Simhendra Madhyama for the next.
3. Once the raga is chosen I start the actual composition. Again the scene would give a guide to how the rhythmic combinations should be used and how the piece should start. If it is a lively piece perhaps in Hamsadhwani - I can use S'R'G'-NS'R'-PNS'-GPN-S',,NPGRS. But if it a slow pathos piece perhaps in Saramathi .. N,,, D,M, G,S, R,G,|S,,,.
4. I try to give some variety in the rhythmic patterns used and make sure each line blends well with the next.
5. Quite often I will compose a passage and then delete because it doesn't quite fit well.
While this approach seems quite methodological, there needs to be some inspiration at every step.
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Music
- Posts: 149
- Joined: 21 Jul 2006, 20:25
People who compose songs (both lyrics and tune) seem to fall into two categories:
1. Those who are scholarly both in music & literature and music and have had training in these areas. Their works reflect their scholarship. There must be a lot of inspiration involved, but it appears to be a conscious effort.
2. People who don't have any substantial training in music/literature, but start composing all on a sudden in spurts. AFAIK Mangalam Ganapathy is a good example of this category of composers. She is a contemporary composer and artists like Sanjay Subramanian do sing her compositions.
I remember my friend's mom suddenly start composing devotional songs in Telugu. She had no training in music, nor did she study Telugu literature. But her songs very poetic and in lucid Telugu. Her family would laugh at her saying she is turning crazy writing all these songs. So she started jotting them all down in a diary and would share them with my mom and she would sing them. I was a kid then and didn't understand much of it. But I have heard of other people like her who compose good songs even without any great backgroud. Quite mysterious.
1. Those who are scholarly both in music & literature and music and have had training in these areas. Their works reflect their scholarship. There must be a lot of inspiration involved, but it appears to be a conscious effort.
2. People who don't have any substantial training in music/literature, but start composing all on a sudden in spurts. AFAIK Mangalam Ganapathy is a good example of this category of composers. She is a contemporary composer and artists like Sanjay Subramanian do sing her compositions.
I remember my friend's mom suddenly start composing devotional songs in Telugu. She had no training in music, nor did she study Telugu literature. But her songs very poetic and in lucid Telugu. Her family would laugh at her saying she is turning crazy writing all these songs. So she started jotting them all down in a diary and would share them with my mom and she would sing them. I was a kid then and didn't understand much of it. But I have heard of other people like her who compose good songs even without any great backgroud. Quite mysterious.
Last edited by Music on 06 Feb 2007, 23:15, edited 1 time in total.
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Lakshman
- Posts: 14165
- Joined: 10 Feb 2010, 18:52
Jigyaasa wrote:
P: ezhiluDai hamsanAdam engum inimaiyuDan kATril kalandu vandadu
A: pizhai illAmal su-svarangaLuDanE pa ni sa ri sa ni pa ma ri ma pa ni pa ma enru
C: ArOhaNam avarOhaNam auDavam sa ri ma pa ni sa sa ni pa ma ri sa
pratimadhyamam catushruti riyum poruttamAi kAkali nIyum kalandu
ezhiluDai. rAgA: hamsanAda. Adi.@ragam-talam, I've heard of a composition, Ezhilurai HamsanAdam... extolling the rAga HamsanAdam by Thanjavur Sankara Iyer.
P: ezhiluDai hamsanAdam engum inimaiyuDan kATril kalandu vandadu
A: pizhai illAmal su-svarangaLuDanE pa ni sa ri sa ni pa ma ri ma pa ni pa ma enru
C: ArOhaNam avarOhaNam auDavam sa ri ma pa ni sa sa ni pa ma ri sa
pratimadhyamam catushruti riyum poruttamAi kAkali nIyum kalandu
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ogirala sri ramakrishna
- Posts: 126
- Joined: 30 May 2006, 15:58
in case of h h bhakta gnanananda tirtha ( sri ogirala veera raghava sarma garu ), the saint composer of carnatac music of 20 th century he always composed a song under the influence of an incident . one incident will happen. due to this he will get happiness or sorrow or angry. immediately a song will flow down to earth from the depth of his heart like holy rivrer gamga.
i have seen with my own eyes when he was composing songs during the period 1976 to 1989 till his maha samadhi on 04-01-1989, margasira bahula dwadasi.
in his case a song will flow down automatically with BHAva, RAga and TAla and with all the sangatis together.
he will sing the song immediately.
immediately after getting a song he will write it on the paper . then he will try to identify the raga and tala.
he never composed a song for the sake of composing a song.
due to this reason only he has composed very few songs ie 85 songs only.
he never composed a song in praise of a human being for the sake of money, to get some title, to get some award.
the songs composed by him are having divine power .
in some cases he will not have a paper or pencil to note down the song when the song is comming.
oneday h h bhakta gnanananda teertha was going to the river godavari at kovvur in the west godavari district of andhra pradesh to take bath. while going he has observed some persons weeping near a dead body . he moved further towards river. after reaching the river he was unable to take bath as he was mentally disturbed due to the sorrowful incident he has seen.
suddenly a song epudainA bhinnamau DAnikoraku in the raga khamAs. at that time he was having towel and his kamandal only neither a pen nor pencil nor paper. the song started flowing like river godavari from the depths of his heart.
no body is accompanying him. he was alone.
then he looked arround. then he found a piece of coal which was used in the funeral rites of some body.
then he has picked up that piece of coal and started noting down the song on the river bed it self when it was comming.
this song belongs to one of the philosophical songs( on vedanta ) composed by the saint composer of 20th century.
pallavi ;; epudainA bhinnamau DAni koraku imta mamata ETKE O manasa
;; epudaina ;;
anupallavi ;; ipudaiNA DEhi DEha BHEdha marasi nipunatato nityAanitya tatva merugaKAA ; epudaiNA ;;
CHARANAM ;; pavaNAdi pamcha BHUUta vistrutamau
nava DWARAvruta GEha saudhamuna
nivasimCHE parabrahmame nityamani
vivaramuGA delpu RAghavuni MAta vinaKAA ;; epudaiNA;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o mind ;; you have to leave this body at any time. it is certain. then why you are so much crazy for this body.
anupallavi ;; you try to understand at least now the difference between soul and body and think about the existence and non of the material objects.
charanam;; generally the human body is compared with a house. it is built with five elements like air, water etc. it is having nine entry points. god is living in this body. the body is not permanent. but god is only permanent.
raghava is explaining about the nature of body like this in a detailed then why don't you listen to the words of raghava
instead of becomming crazy for this body blindly.
the body will certainly go. there is no doubt about this.
the essence of bhavanopanishad is here in this song.
we can see the essence of subhagodayam and bhagavadgita.
we can see atma nivedana one of the nava vidha bhaktis.
One evening h h bhakta gnanananda terrtha was preparing his bed with mosquito net in the year 1983. after that he was relaxing on his bed. suddenly a small , beautiful girl came and sat on his bed. he asked herr who was she. then she asked him to tell who she was in his view. he told that he couldnot recognise her due to old age and requested her to tell about her. then she told him that she was kamchi KAMAkshi she came to listen a song in her praise and requested him to sing a song in her praise. he was very much surprised. at that time she was sitting on his lap. he was seing into her facing and asking her is it correct. then she said yes. he was holding her with his hands around her neck and she was sitting on his lap.
in that happy mood came the song DEvi KAMAkshi in the raga mayamalava gowla.
opallavi ;; DEVI KAMAkshi para siva DEHARdha DHArini nannu BROvave ;; DEVI KAMAkshi ;;
anupallavi ;; NIIVEE tribhuvana DHIswari yani pogadiri
DEVENDRADI sura BHUsurulella SEvimpare
;; DEVI KAMAkshi ;;
charanam ;; chira KAlamuga NI charaNAMbujamula nemaraka bhajimpuchu mari mari VEditi janani
sara dimdu muKHI KAMCHIPURADHIIswari
dhara nirupama GNANANAMda TIIRTHARchita
;; DEVI KAMAkshi ;;
when he was composing this song i am with him .
after composing the song he sat down to put the song on the paper . then i asked what he was doing at that time . then he narrated his experience. i was shocked.
then he taught me the song immediately.
this song was one example to call him as a paramahamsa .
THE MEANING OF THE SONG IS
pallavi ;; o KAMAkshi;; you will live on the lefthand portion
of lord siva's holy body. pleasesave me.
anupallavi ;; lord devendra and other gods worship you praising you as the ruler of all the three universes .
charanam ;; i am worshipping your holy feet since long time with alertness. you are the presiding deity of kanchipuram. your face is very beautiful full moon.
o mother worshipped by gnanananda tiirtha ; i am requesting you repeatedly to save me .
laita namam is there in the anuopallavi.
H H BHAKTA GNANANANDA TIIRTHA COMPOSED THE SONG aPAra kruPAnidhi in the year 1983. during composing this song he has faced many problems. due to old age some times he uses to forget the tune some times SAhitya. finally he has completed the song with the kindness of mother gayatry . after completing the song he couldnot idenify the name of the raga due to old age. whenever he faces a problem his spiritual guru h h sriNAthanamda TIIrtha uses to appear to him in a dream and solves this problem.
on this occassion also guru h h sriNAthanamda TIIrth appeared to the saint composer in a dream when he was sleeping afer his lunch.
in the dream his guru started singing the song aPAra kruPAnidhi playing tambura. then he asked his guru how he know this song.
after singing the song for some time his guru stopped singing the song and said GNANANAMDA VARDHANI for three times and disappeared . then he has realised that his problem was name of raga and his guru suggested the name of the raga as GNANANAMDA VARDHANI. then he has decided to name the raga as GNANANAMDA VARDHANI. IT WAS published in telugu and tamil with the same raga name. after some years some body told it was gamBHIra NAta. even to day the name of the raga is GNANANAMDA VARDHANI as it was decided by his spiritual guru.
the oher spiritual purpose of this name is who ever sings this song they will be blessed with spiritual knowledge and happiness
by the divine mother gayatry as i was told by divine mother in one of my spirtual experience.
this song was one of the three songs composed by h h bhakta gnanananda tiirtha on gayatry.
they are 1.sri gayatry in the raga valagi
2. devi gayatry in the raga huseni.
3. aPA ra kuPA nidhi in the raga gnananamda vardhani.
these songs are to sing in the morning , in the afternoon , in the evening as per one of my spiritual experience. these are equivalent to tri KAla SANDHYAVANDANA.
this song should be sing in the evening time.
sri gayatry song came when bhakta gnananamda tiirtha was very young , devi gayatry was composed during his middle age , aparakrupanidhi was composed when he was very old ,75 years old, the sun is very much going down in his life ie he was very
close to sunset in his life.
i am the first person to learn this song. i am very much with him at the time of composing this song.
pallavi:
apArakRupAnidhi vani NII NAma
MEPAra NA madi nuPA simtunE aMba ||apAra||
anupallavi:
kaPAla Samkha chakra gaDAMmkusa khadga DHArini
MA PAli daivaMA sri MAhEshwaRI GAyatri || aPAra ||
charaNam:
saNAtaNII sachiDAnamda ROOpini
shree NAthanamda sadguru TIIrthoPAsini
aNAdiGA harihaRAdi sura lella
ghaNAbhi nutu lidare GNANAnamda TIRTHARchita teerthArchita || aPAra ||
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o moher;; i will always mediate on your holy name in my mind thinking you as founain of grace.
anupallavi ;; o maheswari ; gayatry;; you are my goddess having kaPAl, samkha, chakra, and sword in your hands.
charanam;; o saNAan worshipped by saguru sri bhakta gnanananada tirtha
all the gods including lord siva and hari worshipping you praising you since so long time.
this song starts with the letter A which is a first letter in telugu alphabet endwith letter ha which is the last lettter in the telugu alphabet. we can find all most all the telugu letters in this song.
the lalita namam MATRUKA VARNA ROOPINI was reflected in the formof this song.
navavidha bhaktis smaranam ,vamdanam, archanam are in this song.
we can see the essence of subhagodayam in this song.
once h h bhakta gnanananda teertha got an invitaion
as a principal of a music college at kaulalampur during his stay at repalle in guntur district of andhra pradesh. he decided to go.
after hearing this news his admirers at chennai c rajagopalachari, chitoor v. nagaiah, sri dwaram venkaa swami naidu etc arranged a farewell in his honour.
that is friday. he has to go to madras after puja.
after completion of puja a song vomtarigA videsamula kunupaka NA vemta in the raga vAchaspati.
after the song he went to madras. after the farewell he is sleeping.
during the sleep divine mother appeared to him and told him not to go to foreign land. he should take up the assignement as per the request of some gentlemen who will meet him in a couple of days .
when he came back some persons came from kovvur in west godavari district of andhra pradesh and invited him to come to their place as principal of a music college. then he has cancelled his trip to kaulalampur and came to kovvur.
pallavai ; vomtariga videsamula kanupaka NA vemta rAvale nAmma mukkamti nE bamtu ;; nomtariga;;
anupallavi;; kamtireppa kaivadi NAdu venu vemta nilachi
durghata samkata mula TErpavale ;; omtaiga;;
charanam ;; nija DArasutodara POshanakE proddu ninu marachi
poNAda kanisamu jagatini
bhajana sugatinidu pathamani emchina tanaku
vijaymulidi ella velala RAghavuni krupa JOOdaka ;; Vomtariga;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o mother , wife of lord siva ; don't send me to foreign land alone. you please accompany me as iam your obedient servant.
anupallavi ; o mother ; you should always accompany me like a shadow and save me from all accidents, problems vrey carefully like eye lid.
charanam ; o mother ; i have frorgotten you in earning my livelyhood, for my wife, children and for my self.
in this universe worshipping your holy feet is the
only way to reach your holyfeet.
i know this fact. always stand by the side of raghava and bless him with victories .
please don't send raghava alone to the foreign country without showing your kindness. don't be merciless in his case.
please accompany him to foreign country as he is your faithful servant.
bhakta gnanananda teertha uses to say that the daily pujas, japams we do will reach god like an ordinary post card. if we sing a song with devotion and if we lead a pure life that song will reach god like a fax message.
whenever we send a fax we write reply by return fax.
whenever he had a problem he uses to convey that to mother in form of a song . after receiving that message mother also will send him some reply or she her self appear to him in a dream or some times she was forced to run to earth for his rescue. we can see all the above things in his life. in this case she appeared to him in the dream to solve his problem.
the relavance of this song is mahamrutyumjaya mantram is there in this song. if we sing this song regularly we will be protected from all types of accidents and we will be blessed with victories.
if you think still deeper if we sing this song daily when we are leaving this body the mother herself will come personally to take us to her kingdom.
NARADA BHAKI SOOTRAM IS HERE IN HIS SONG.
he essence of bhagavadgita is also there in this song.
dasya and keertana bhakis of nava vidha bhaktis are here in his song.
bhaka gnanananda teertha has practised all the nava vidha bhaktis during his life time and had darshan of gayatry in all he nine types.
i sing this song daily whenever i am in movement. when ever i
travel by auto , bus ,train, aeroplane, ship , while driving my car i always sing his song.
when i leave the house in the morning first i will sing his song only.
once h h bhakta gnanananda teerha was attending a concert of his close friend at kovvur. during the concert the vocalist making swarakalpana in a beautiful way . suddenly one gentleman stoodup and said to the artist that they are getting bored of swarakalpana and requesed him to sing some more songs instead.
after hearing this comment the saint composer became very angry and shouted who is that person not interesed. after seeing him that gentleman who himself was a fan of the saint sat down immediately feeling sorry for his mistake.
at the end of the concert the saint composer was taking leave from the artist. then the artist requested to accomany him
to the station.
they are moving to station. at that time the artist has taken wine already and apart from that he has started smoking cigar also which disturbed the saint composer. after leaving his friend the saint composer started walking towards his house.
then came the song mumduVAra lemaiRO MOha PAsa badhulaina in the raga poorvikalyani.
pallavi ;; mumduVAra lemaiRO MOhaPAsa badhulaina mana ;; mumduVAralu ;;
anupallavi ;; sumdaRAMgulaGUdi TAgI tamdaNAla prodhubuchina mana ;; mumduVAralu ;;
charanam ;; kanna talli tamdrulanaka annadammu LAtmajulanaka punne KARyamu lerugaka bhutalamuna virraveegi
chinna NAtanumdi emto vanne LAdula valala gikki
pannagadhara nijabhamini RAhavanuta gunasSAlini NI sannidhi jeri bhajimchuta KEmari SOmari tanamuna chedi ;; mumduVAralu;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; what happened to your ancestors who lived on this earth earlier wihout caring any body and with ego .
anupallavi ;; our elders spend their time in drinking wines and enjoying in the company of beautiful ladies.
charanam ;; our ancestors didn't bother for their parents, brothers and childen.
they lived on this earth without doing any noble work.
raghava is questioning that what happened to our ancestors who are very much reluctant and lazy to worship holy mother and to meditate on her holy feet.
the essence of bhavanopanishad is here in this song.
we can see narada bhakti sutra also in this song.
after reaching the house bhakta gnanananda teertha noted down the song. then he went to bed for sleeping. then he remembered the comment of the gentleman during the concert again he became angry and felt very unhappy for the comment.
then in that mental situation the song swarajani tomKAra in the raga Arabhi came from the depth of his heart like holy river godavari and made him relieved of his disturbance.
pallavi ;; swara janiTOMKAra NADA khamda pamjarapu chiluka NEmaraka bhajimpara sapta ;; swara janiTOMKAra;;
anupallavi ;; aravimDAsana hari harula keella MOOLADHAramai negadu
chidanamda MOORthiyagu ;; swara;;
charanam ;; vimaLATMAgni manonila PREranamuche
kramagati NABHEE hruthkamtha MOORthasyamula yamdu
kamanEya NAda suDHA kalasa mudhBHOOta mau
marma merigi YAjanmamu RAghava sannuta su ;;swarajaniTOMKAra ;;
pallavi ;; meditate on omkara nadam which will be generated by singing sapta swaras with full devotion and alertness.
anupallavi ;; holy mother is the other form of this pranava naadam. she is the main source of energy for lord brahma. vishnu and siva. she will always appear in a happy mood .
charanam ;; because of this type of meditation nectar (amrut ) will be genarated in the heart of the singer which will lead him to salvation. after knowing this fact raghava is worshipping the holy mother by sapta swaras with good tunes.
we can see the essence of bhavanopanishad , bhagavadgita, varivasya and keertana bhakti which is part of nava vidha bhakti margas.
this song is on the science and purpose of swara kalpana in carnatac music.
if a singer who leads a pure life without any bad habits and with good character sings with devotion nectar ie amrut will be generated in him which will lead him to salvation.
because of his devotion nectar was generated in bhakta gnanananda teertha when he was singing which led him to salvation.
bhakta gnanananda teertha composed this song putting that nectar generated in him behind each letter with the purpose that who ever sings this song will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
bharma vidhya was told in this song.
the essence of yoga vidhya and the movement of kumdalini was told in the charanam.
one day bhakta gnanananda teertha started cooking food in the house due to some problem in the house. he started cooking in the morning around 7 o clock. he has kept the utensils with rice , dal etc on the ovens. simultaneously he has started his nitya puja also. after puja he has started singing songs in praise of divine mother. he was so immersed in the nada yoga he has totally forgotten about the cooking.
at 2 pm one child approached him and requested him for food.
then he has realised his duty.
he entered the kitchen. to his surprise the whole food was prepared . it was very hot with fumes.
he was very much surprised and felt happy .
even though it is a ritual he has to offer maha naivedya to mother. but he is not doing. he has forgotten about cooking also.
then holy mother lost her patience and came down to the earth , cooked his food , taken some thing as her part , left some thing to her devotee bhakta gnanananda teertha with her blessings.
in that happy mood came the song vinnanamma janani in the raga manaramgu.
pallavi ;; viNNA naMMA janani NE kathaleNNO bhaKTA panna rakshani vainatu ;; viNNA ;;
Anupalavi ;; annaPORNEswari ilalo AKonna VAri kamruTAnnamidi BROtuvani ;; viNNA ;;
charanam ;; PAvana gamGA TIramamdu
baragu VAraNAsi purini velasina
BHAvaja ripu priya BHAminivai BHUBHAramanachu RAghaVARchita BHAgyamani ;; viNNA ;;
HOLY mother gayatry came to his house in the form of kasi annapoorna and cooked his food.
kasi annapoorna mantra is here in this song.
who ever sing this song he will be blessed with good food amruTAnna by the mother.
when ever i sing this song mother offered me delicious food many times unexpectedly from un expected persons suddenly without any notice. this is happening in my life regularly since so many yaers.
we can see narada bhakti sutra in this song.
we can also see sravana bhakti one of the nava vidha bhaktis in this song
the meaning of the song is
pallavi ;; o mother ;; i have listen so many stories about you. all of them are saying that you will save your devotees from their problems .
anupallavi ;; o annapurneswari ; you will save the people who are feeling hungry by giving them good , delicious meal.
charanam ;; o mother ; you are living at varanasi on the banks of holy river ganges. you will remove the burden of earth by killing bad people.
o mother worshipped by raghava ; i have listen so many stories about you because of my good luck.
bhakta gnanananda teertha was a saint composer by birth. he has composed songs in praise of different gods when he was a boy. the elderly ladies in his village uses to learn them from him in return they uses to offer him sweets.
they uses to sing those songs during their puja times.
even to day we can find some persons singing those songs in those areas.
i have got one such song in the year 1977 at ongole when i am doing my final year b.sc.
i am studying in my house at that time.in the next portion one lady singing a song while doing her puja. suddenly at the end of song to my surprise i found the signature (mudra ) as raghava.
WHEN i asked her how she got that song she told that was told to her by an elderly in her family.
i hvae noted down the song and shown to bhakta gnanananda teertha during my next visit to kovvur. he was very much surprised after seeing the song. then he told me that he has composed that song when he was a boy of 7,8 years old .
the song is like this
pallavi; amba nannu brovaga bharama aadarimchi brova samayamamma
charanam ; samagana lola samara daitya pala
naamadin talamtu lochanaruna
yeri nee sarii sati velpu lila veera raghavaarchita pada yuga
meaning is
pallavi; o mother don't think saving me is a burdenfor you. this the time tosave me.
charanam: no god will match with you .
mother worshipped by veera raghava.
after hearing this the saint composer recollected two more songs.
one song is
pallavi : vevega rava deva venugopabala
paavana susiila bhakta jana paala
srivanita hrudaya lola bhara mela nannu brova
anupallavi :yogi brumda gogkula namda govimda raara
maa paali daivamaa naa madin bhajimcheda
paapa doora paramapurusha
patita paavana devaki namdana
charanam ; akshayamuga ogirala raghavavaabhi dhanudan saaaakshiga nee pada seva salupedara sarvesa
pakshi vaahana muraharana
bharamela nannu brova
meaning is
pallavi; o venugopala come quickly for my recue you are the saviour of devotees.
anupallavi; o devakinamdana come quickly to save me
charanam; ogirala raghava worshipping your holy feet . don't hesitate to save me considering it as a burden.
one more song composed by him during his childhood was mamgalaharati
pallavi :mamgala haarati gonuma amganalamta uppomguchu nosagau mamgala harati
anupallavi ; amgajumata sagarajata madhavi gonuma amganalamta uppomguchu nosagu mamgala harati
charanam : dhara dhenvaadrini velayu
amganalamtauppomguchu nosagu mamgalaharati.
dhenuvadri is the place dhenuvakomda near ongole in andhra pradesh where he has taken birth in the year 1908.
i am lucky enough to learn these compositions from him directly.but i could not get sufficient time to ask him about ragas of these songs .
i can sing all the above songs. i will sing atleast one song from these songs during my programmes .
Bhakta gnanananda teertha worshipping gayatry during holy navaratry days. one day he was sleeping during night. then divine moher appeared to him during a dream and asked him what he want from her ? then he asked her to bless him with sri vidhya maha mantra. immediately she blessed him wih srividhya maha mantra.
after some time he woke up. immediately came the song pinnavAniga nannu pilachi brovave in the raga maya malavagowla.
pallavi ;; pinnavAniga nannu pilachi brovave amba ;; pinnavAniga;;
anupallavi ;; tinnagA bhavAbdhidAtu tennu JOpi nEvu kanna ;; pinnavAniga ;;
charanam ;; karmaseshamuna bahu Kayamula dharimchi jagatini
durmadhAmdhudanai tirigi duritamule jEsi umti
dharmarOpini dakshAyani daya jEsi rAghavuni ;; pinnavAniga ;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o bhavani ; please save me after calling me into your holy presence as a small child.
anupallavi ;; o moher ; please show me the proper way to reach your holy feet consideing me as your own child
chaanam ;; previously i have taken so many births. at that time i did so many misakes and i lived wih so much ego and proudness wihout caring any body.
o daakshayani ;; please save raghava . righteousness is your another form.
sakhya bhakti one of he nine bhaktis is here in this song.
bhaka gnanananda teertha being blessed with srividhya mantra by divine mother her self shows his attachment wih the mother.
this was a great incident in his life.
but he never told about this incident to any body . very few persons know about this .
because of this incident only kanchi samkaracharya sri chandra sekharendra saraswati send one ips officer who approached him for sri vidhya mantra to bhakta gnanananda teertha for initiation into srividhya.
bhakta gnanananda teertha initiated very few persons into a mantra as he was against that type of practices.
in his view we should pray god with niskaamabhakti yoga
ie without any desires.
Compsers of carnatac music are of two types.
1. saint composers ;; they copmose songs in praise of their god only not in praise of human beings for the sake of money or fame. ex ; saint thyagaraja and bhakta gnanananda tirtha etc . they have sacrificed each and every thing for the sake of god.
they didnot know any thing other than god. they have used music as a launching vehicle like rocket to reach god .
they came to earth as messengers of god to convey the feelings of god to mankind and to show the path to salvation to mankind.
we can see divine touch in their lives.
they have lived and prayed for the sake of man kind .
in every saint composers life we can see apart from music we can see their spiritual initiation by a great soul.
in case of h h bhakta gnanananda tirtha he was initiated at the age of 15 years old into purna gayatry by h h srinathanamda tirtha who was 90 years old at that time at sri kalahasti.
there he did penance on gayatry for three years without any food. during this period he was given some types of leaves and water only by his spiritual guru.
after attaining mantra sidhi he was named as gnanananda tirtha by his guru.
at that time his spiritual guru advised him to stay in seclusion without any publicity and wituhout showing any miracles.
bhakta gnanananda tirtha follwed his spiritual gurus advice in letter and spirit.
he never showed miracles in his life time. he lived in seclusion which resulted in the form of songs with raga , bhava and tala.
bhakta gnananda tirtha has a tendency to compose songs since childhood at the age of 8 years old before learning vedas and carnatac music.
by birth he was a saint composer.
2. composers ;; they live normal life in the society. they are great scholars in music ,
and musicians .
in this context i remember a statement of late sri hari nagabhushanam , the music guru of h h bhakta gnanananda tirtha . while expressing his happiness on the compositions of his disciple he compared the songs as pure gold , the songs of ordinary composers as roldgold ie artificial gold.
s / sri mysure vasudevachari , papanasam sivan , patnam subramanya iyer, balamurali krishna etc are prominent great omposers.
o s ramakrishna
i have seen with my own eyes when he was composing songs during the period 1976 to 1989 till his maha samadhi on 04-01-1989, margasira bahula dwadasi.
in his case a song will flow down automatically with BHAva, RAga and TAla and with all the sangatis together.
he will sing the song immediately.
immediately after getting a song he will write it on the paper . then he will try to identify the raga and tala.
he never composed a song for the sake of composing a song.
due to this reason only he has composed very few songs ie 85 songs only.
he never composed a song in praise of a human being for the sake of money, to get some title, to get some award.
the songs composed by him are having divine power .
in some cases he will not have a paper or pencil to note down the song when the song is comming.
oneday h h bhakta gnanananda teertha was going to the river godavari at kovvur in the west godavari district of andhra pradesh to take bath. while going he has observed some persons weeping near a dead body . he moved further towards river. after reaching the river he was unable to take bath as he was mentally disturbed due to the sorrowful incident he has seen.
suddenly a song epudainA bhinnamau DAnikoraku in the raga khamAs. at that time he was having towel and his kamandal only neither a pen nor pencil nor paper. the song started flowing like river godavari from the depths of his heart.
no body is accompanying him. he was alone.
then he looked arround. then he found a piece of coal which was used in the funeral rites of some body.
then he has picked up that piece of coal and started noting down the song on the river bed it self when it was comming.
this song belongs to one of the philosophical songs( on vedanta ) composed by the saint composer of 20th century.
pallavi ;; epudainA bhinnamau DAni koraku imta mamata ETKE O manasa
;; epudaina ;;
anupallavi ;; ipudaiNA DEhi DEha BHEdha marasi nipunatato nityAanitya tatva merugaKAA ; epudaiNA ;;
CHARANAM ;; pavaNAdi pamcha BHUUta vistrutamau
nava DWARAvruta GEha saudhamuna
nivasimCHE parabrahmame nityamani
vivaramuGA delpu RAghavuni MAta vinaKAA ;; epudaiNA;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o mind ;; you have to leave this body at any time. it is certain. then why you are so much crazy for this body.
anupallavi ;; you try to understand at least now the difference between soul and body and think about the existence and non of the material objects.
charanam;; generally the human body is compared with a house. it is built with five elements like air, water etc. it is having nine entry points. god is living in this body. the body is not permanent. but god is only permanent.
raghava is explaining about the nature of body like this in a detailed then why don't you listen to the words of raghava
instead of becomming crazy for this body blindly.
the body will certainly go. there is no doubt about this.
the essence of bhavanopanishad is here in this song.
we can see the essence of subhagodayam and bhagavadgita.
we can see atma nivedana one of the nava vidha bhaktis.
One evening h h bhakta gnanananda terrtha was preparing his bed with mosquito net in the year 1983. after that he was relaxing on his bed. suddenly a small , beautiful girl came and sat on his bed. he asked herr who was she. then she asked him to tell who she was in his view. he told that he couldnot recognise her due to old age and requested her to tell about her. then she told him that she was kamchi KAMAkshi she came to listen a song in her praise and requested him to sing a song in her praise. he was very much surprised. at that time she was sitting on his lap. he was seing into her facing and asking her is it correct. then she said yes. he was holding her with his hands around her neck and she was sitting on his lap.
in that happy mood came the song DEvi KAMAkshi in the raga mayamalava gowla.
opallavi ;; DEVI KAMAkshi para siva DEHARdha DHArini nannu BROvave ;; DEVI KAMAkshi ;;
anupallavi ;; NIIVEE tribhuvana DHIswari yani pogadiri
DEVENDRADI sura BHUsurulella SEvimpare
;; DEVI KAMAkshi ;;
charanam ;; chira KAlamuga NI charaNAMbujamula nemaraka bhajimpuchu mari mari VEditi janani
sara dimdu muKHI KAMCHIPURADHIIswari
dhara nirupama GNANANAMda TIIRTHARchita
;; DEVI KAMAkshi ;;
when he was composing this song i am with him .
after composing the song he sat down to put the song on the paper . then i asked what he was doing at that time . then he narrated his experience. i was shocked.
then he taught me the song immediately.
this song was one example to call him as a paramahamsa .
THE MEANING OF THE SONG IS
pallavi ;; o KAMAkshi;; you will live on the lefthand portion
of lord siva's holy body. pleasesave me.
anupallavi ;; lord devendra and other gods worship you praising you as the ruler of all the three universes .
charanam ;; i am worshipping your holy feet since long time with alertness. you are the presiding deity of kanchipuram. your face is very beautiful full moon.
o mother worshipped by gnanananda tiirtha ; i am requesting you repeatedly to save me .
laita namam is there in the anuopallavi.
H H BHAKTA GNANANANDA TIIRTHA COMPOSED THE SONG aPAra kruPAnidhi in the year 1983. during composing this song he has faced many problems. due to old age some times he uses to forget the tune some times SAhitya. finally he has completed the song with the kindness of mother gayatry . after completing the song he couldnot idenify the name of the raga due to old age. whenever he faces a problem his spiritual guru h h sriNAthanamda TIIrtha uses to appear to him in a dream and solves this problem.
on this occassion also guru h h sriNAthanamda TIIrth appeared to the saint composer in a dream when he was sleeping afer his lunch.
in the dream his guru started singing the song aPAra kruPAnidhi playing tambura. then he asked his guru how he know this song.
after singing the song for some time his guru stopped singing the song and said GNANANAMDA VARDHANI for three times and disappeared . then he has realised that his problem was name of raga and his guru suggested the name of the raga as GNANANAMDA VARDHANI. then he has decided to name the raga as GNANANAMDA VARDHANI. IT WAS published in telugu and tamil with the same raga name. after some years some body told it was gamBHIra NAta. even to day the name of the raga is GNANANAMDA VARDHANI as it was decided by his spiritual guru.
the oher spiritual purpose of this name is who ever sings this song they will be blessed with spiritual knowledge and happiness
by the divine mother gayatry as i was told by divine mother in one of my spirtual experience.
this song was one of the three songs composed by h h bhakta gnanananda tiirtha on gayatry.
they are 1.sri gayatry in the raga valagi
2. devi gayatry in the raga huseni.
3. aPA ra kuPA nidhi in the raga gnananamda vardhani.
these songs are to sing in the morning , in the afternoon , in the evening as per one of my spiritual experience. these are equivalent to tri KAla SANDHYAVANDANA.
this song should be sing in the evening time.
sri gayatry song came when bhakta gnananamda tiirtha was very young , devi gayatry was composed during his middle age , aparakrupanidhi was composed when he was very old ,75 years old, the sun is very much going down in his life ie he was very
close to sunset in his life.
i am the first person to learn this song. i am very much with him at the time of composing this song.
pallavi:
apArakRupAnidhi vani NII NAma
MEPAra NA madi nuPA simtunE aMba ||apAra||
anupallavi:
kaPAla Samkha chakra gaDAMmkusa khadga DHArini
MA PAli daivaMA sri MAhEshwaRI GAyatri || aPAra ||
charaNam:
saNAtaNII sachiDAnamda ROOpini
shree NAthanamda sadguru TIIrthoPAsini
aNAdiGA harihaRAdi sura lella
ghaNAbhi nutu lidare GNANAnamda TIRTHARchita teerthArchita || aPAra ||
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o moher;; i will always mediate on your holy name in my mind thinking you as founain of grace.
anupallavi ;; o maheswari ; gayatry;; you are my goddess having kaPAl, samkha, chakra, and sword in your hands.
charanam;; o saNAan worshipped by saguru sri bhakta gnanananada tirtha
all the gods including lord siva and hari worshipping you praising you since so long time.
this song starts with the letter A which is a first letter in telugu alphabet endwith letter ha which is the last lettter in the telugu alphabet. we can find all most all the telugu letters in this song.
the lalita namam MATRUKA VARNA ROOPINI was reflected in the formof this song.
navavidha bhaktis smaranam ,vamdanam, archanam are in this song.
we can see the essence of subhagodayam in this song.
once h h bhakta gnanananda teertha got an invitaion
as a principal of a music college at kaulalampur during his stay at repalle in guntur district of andhra pradesh. he decided to go.
after hearing this news his admirers at chennai c rajagopalachari, chitoor v. nagaiah, sri dwaram venkaa swami naidu etc arranged a farewell in his honour.
that is friday. he has to go to madras after puja.
after completion of puja a song vomtarigA videsamula kunupaka NA vemta in the raga vAchaspati.
after the song he went to madras. after the farewell he is sleeping.
during the sleep divine mother appeared to him and told him not to go to foreign land. he should take up the assignement as per the request of some gentlemen who will meet him in a couple of days .
when he came back some persons came from kovvur in west godavari district of andhra pradesh and invited him to come to their place as principal of a music college. then he has cancelled his trip to kaulalampur and came to kovvur.
pallavai ; vomtariga videsamula kanupaka NA vemta rAvale nAmma mukkamti nE bamtu ;; nomtariga;;
anupallavi;; kamtireppa kaivadi NAdu venu vemta nilachi
durghata samkata mula TErpavale ;; omtaiga;;
charanam ;; nija DArasutodara POshanakE proddu ninu marachi
poNAda kanisamu jagatini
bhajana sugatinidu pathamani emchina tanaku
vijaymulidi ella velala RAghavuni krupa JOOdaka ;; Vomtariga;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o mother , wife of lord siva ; don't send me to foreign land alone. you please accompany me as iam your obedient servant.
anupallavi ; o mother ; you should always accompany me like a shadow and save me from all accidents, problems vrey carefully like eye lid.
charanam ; o mother ; i have frorgotten you in earning my livelyhood, for my wife, children and for my self.
in this universe worshipping your holy feet is the
only way to reach your holyfeet.
i know this fact. always stand by the side of raghava and bless him with victories .
please don't send raghava alone to the foreign country without showing your kindness. don't be merciless in his case.
please accompany him to foreign country as he is your faithful servant.
bhakta gnanananda teertha uses to say that the daily pujas, japams we do will reach god like an ordinary post card. if we sing a song with devotion and if we lead a pure life that song will reach god like a fax message.
whenever we send a fax we write reply by return fax.
whenever he had a problem he uses to convey that to mother in form of a song . after receiving that message mother also will send him some reply or she her self appear to him in a dream or some times she was forced to run to earth for his rescue. we can see all the above things in his life. in this case she appeared to him in the dream to solve his problem.
the relavance of this song is mahamrutyumjaya mantram is there in this song. if we sing this song regularly we will be protected from all types of accidents and we will be blessed with victories.
if you think still deeper if we sing this song daily when we are leaving this body the mother herself will come personally to take us to her kingdom.
NARADA BHAKI SOOTRAM IS HERE IN HIS SONG.
he essence of bhagavadgita is also there in this song.
dasya and keertana bhakis of nava vidha bhaktis are here in his song.
bhaka gnanananda teertha has practised all the nava vidha bhaktis during his life time and had darshan of gayatry in all he nine types.
i sing this song daily whenever i am in movement. when ever i
travel by auto , bus ,train, aeroplane, ship , while driving my car i always sing his song.
when i leave the house in the morning first i will sing his song only.
once h h bhakta gnanananda teerha was attending a concert of his close friend at kovvur. during the concert the vocalist making swarakalpana in a beautiful way . suddenly one gentleman stoodup and said to the artist that they are getting bored of swarakalpana and requesed him to sing some more songs instead.
after hearing this comment the saint composer became very angry and shouted who is that person not interesed. after seeing him that gentleman who himself was a fan of the saint sat down immediately feeling sorry for his mistake.
at the end of the concert the saint composer was taking leave from the artist. then the artist requested to accomany him
to the station.
they are moving to station. at that time the artist has taken wine already and apart from that he has started smoking cigar also which disturbed the saint composer. after leaving his friend the saint composer started walking towards his house.
then came the song mumduVAra lemaiRO MOha PAsa badhulaina in the raga poorvikalyani.
pallavi ;; mumduVAra lemaiRO MOhaPAsa badhulaina mana ;; mumduVAralu ;;
anupallavi ;; sumdaRAMgulaGUdi TAgI tamdaNAla prodhubuchina mana ;; mumduVAralu ;;
charanam ;; kanna talli tamdrulanaka annadammu LAtmajulanaka punne KARyamu lerugaka bhutalamuna virraveegi
chinna NAtanumdi emto vanne LAdula valala gikki
pannagadhara nijabhamini RAhavanuta gunasSAlini NI sannidhi jeri bhajimchuta KEmari SOmari tanamuna chedi ;; mumduVAralu;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; what happened to your ancestors who lived on this earth earlier wihout caring any body and with ego .
anupallavi ;; our elders spend their time in drinking wines and enjoying in the company of beautiful ladies.
charanam ;; our ancestors didn't bother for their parents, brothers and childen.
they lived on this earth without doing any noble work.
raghava is questioning that what happened to our ancestors who are very much reluctant and lazy to worship holy mother and to meditate on her holy feet.
the essence of bhavanopanishad is here in this song.
we can see narada bhakti sutra also in this song.
after reaching the house bhakta gnanananda teertha noted down the song. then he went to bed for sleeping. then he remembered the comment of the gentleman during the concert again he became angry and felt very unhappy for the comment.
then in that mental situation the song swarajani tomKAra in the raga Arabhi came from the depth of his heart like holy river godavari and made him relieved of his disturbance.
pallavi ;; swara janiTOMKAra NADA khamda pamjarapu chiluka NEmaraka bhajimpara sapta ;; swara janiTOMKAra;;
anupallavi ;; aravimDAsana hari harula keella MOOLADHAramai negadu
chidanamda MOORthiyagu ;; swara;;
charanam ;; vimaLATMAgni manonila PREranamuche
kramagati NABHEE hruthkamtha MOORthasyamula yamdu
kamanEya NAda suDHA kalasa mudhBHOOta mau
marma merigi YAjanmamu RAghava sannuta su ;;swarajaniTOMKAra ;;
pallavi ;; meditate on omkara nadam which will be generated by singing sapta swaras with full devotion and alertness.
anupallavi ;; holy mother is the other form of this pranava naadam. she is the main source of energy for lord brahma. vishnu and siva. she will always appear in a happy mood .
charanam ;; because of this type of meditation nectar (amrut ) will be genarated in the heart of the singer which will lead him to salvation. after knowing this fact raghava is worshipping the holy mother by sapta swaras with good tunes.
we can see the essence of bhavanopanishad , bhagavadgita, varivasya and keertana bhakti which is part of nava vidha bhakti margas.
this song is on the science and purpose of swara kalpana in carnatac music.
if a singer who leads a pure life without any bad habits and with good character sings with devotion nectar ie amrut will be generated in him which will lead him to salvation.
because of his devotion nectar was generated in bhakta gnanananda teertha when he was singing which led him to salvation.
bhakta gnanananda teertha composed this song putting that nectar generated in him behind each letter with the purpose that who ever sings this song will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
bharma vidhya was told in this song.
the essence of yoga vidhya and the movement of kumdalini was told in the charanam.
one day bhakta gnanananda teertha started cooking food in the house due to some problem in the house. he started cooking in the morning around 7 o clock. he has kept the utensils with rice , dal etc on the ovens. simultaneously he has started his nitya puja also. after puja he has started singing songs in praise of divine mother. he was so immersed in the nada yoga he has totally forgotten about the cooking.
at 2 pm one child approached him and requested him for food.
then he has realised his duty.
he entered the kitchen. to his surprise the whole food was prepared . it was very hot with fumes.
he was very much surprised and felt happy .
even though it is a ritual he has to offer maha naivedya to mother. but he is not doing. he has forgotten about cooking also.
then holy mother lost her patience and came down to the earth , cooked his food , taken some thing as her part , left some thing to her devotee bhakta gnanananda teertha with her blessings.
in that happy mood came the song vinnanamma janani in the raga manaramgu.
pallavi ;; viNNA naMMA janani NE kathaleNNO bhaKTA panna rakshani vainatu ;; viNNA ;;
Anupalavi ;; annaPORNEswari ilalo AKonna VAri kamruTAnnamidi BROtuvani ;; viNNA ;;
charanam ;; PAvana gamGA TIramamdu
baragu VAraNAsi purini velasina
BHAvaja ripu priya BHAminivai BHUBHAramanachu RAghaVARchita BHAgyamani ;; viNNA ;;
HOLY mother gayatry came to his house in the form of kasi annapoorna and cooked his food.
kasi annapoorna mantra is here in this song.
who ever sing this song he will be blessed with good food amruTAnna by the mother.
when ever i sing this song mother offered me delicious food many times unexpectedly from un expected persons suddenly without any notice. this is happening in my life regularly since so many yaers.
we can see narada bhakti sutra in this song.
we can also see sravana bhakti one of the nava vidha bhaktis in this song
the meaning of the song is
pallavi ;; o mother ;; i have listen so many stories about you. all of them are saying that you will save your devotees from their problems .
anupallavi ;; o annapurneswari ; you will save the people who are feeling hungry by giving them good , delicious meal.
charanam ;; o mother ; you are living at varanasi on the banks of holy river ganges. you will remove the burden of earth by killing bad people.
o mother worshipped by raghava ; i have listen so many stories about you because of my good luck.
bhakta gnanananda teertha was a saint composer by birth. he has composed songs in praise of different gods when he was a boy. the elderly ladies in his village uses to learn them from him in return they uses to offer him sweets.
they uses to sing those songs during their puja times.
even to day we can find some persons singing those songs in those areas.
i have got one such song in the year 1977 at ongole when i am doing my final year b.sc.
i am studying in my house at that time.in the next portion one lady singing a song while doing her puja. suddenly at the end of song to my surprise i found the signature (mudra ) as raghava.
WHEN i asked her how she got that song she told that was told to her by an elderly in her family.
i hvae noted down the song and shown to bhakta gnanananda teertha during my next visit to kovvur. he was very much surprised after seeing the song. then he told me that he has composed that song when he was a boy of 7,8 years old .
the song is like this
pallavi; amba nannu brovaga bharama aadarimchi brova samayamamma
charanam ; samagana lola samara daitya pala
naamadin talamtu lochanaruna
yeri nee sarii sati velpu lila veera raghavaarchita pada yuga
meaning is
pallavi; o mother don't think saving me is a burdenfor you. this the time tosave me.
charanam: no god will match with you .
mother worshipped by veera raghava.
after hearing this the saint composer recollected two more songs.
one song is
pallavi : vevega rava deva venugopabala
paavana susiila bhakta jana paala
srivanita hrudaya lola bhara mela nannu brova
anupallavi :yogi brumda gogkula namda govimda raara
maa paali daivamaa naa madin bhajimcheda
paapa doora paramapurusha
patita paavana devaki namdana
charanam ; akshayamuga ogirala raghavavaabhi dhanudan saaaakshiga nee pada seva salupedara sarvesa
pakshi vaahana muraharana
bharamela nannu brova
meaning is
pallavi; o venugopala come quickly for my recue you are the saviour of devotees.
anupallavi; o devakinamdana come quickly to save me
charanam; ogirala raghava worshipping your holy feet . don't hesitate to save me considering it as a burden.
one more song composed by him during his childhood was mamgalaharati
pallavi :mamgala haarati gonuma amganalamta uppomguchu nosagau mamgala harati
anupallavi ; amgajumata sagarajata madhavi gonuma amganalamta uppomguchu nosagu mamgala harati
charanam : dhara dhenvaadrini velayu
amganalamtauppomguchu nosagu mamgalaharati.
dhenuvadri is the place dhenuvakomda near ongole in andhra pradesh where he has taken birth in the year 1908.
i am lucky enough to learn these compositions from him directly.but i could not get sufficient time to ask him about ragas of these songs .
i can sing all the above songs. i will sing atleast one song from these songs during my programmes .
Bhakta gnanananda teertha worshipping gayatry during holy navaratry days. one day he was sleeping during night. then divine moher appeared to him during a dream and asked him what he want from her ? then he asked her to bless him with sri vidhya maha mantra. immediately she blessed him wih srividhya maha mantra.
after some time he woke up. immediately came the song pinnavAniga nannu pilachi brovave in the raga maya malavagowla.
pallavi ;; pinnavAniga nannu pilachi brovave amba ;; pinnavAniga;;
anupallavi ;; tinnagA bhavAbdhidAtu tennu JOpi nEvu kanna ;; pinnavAniga ;;
charanam ;; karmaseshamuna bahu Kayamula dharimchi jagatini
durmadhAmdhudanai tirigi duritamule jEsi umti
dharmarOpini dakshAyani daya jEsi rAghavuni ;; pinnavAniga ;;
the meaning is
pallavi ;; o bhavani ; please save me after calling me into your holy presence as a small child.
anupallavi ;; o moher ; please show me the proper way to reach your holy feet consideing me as your own child
chaanam ;; previously i have taken so many births. at that time i did so many misakes and i lived wih so much ego and proudness wihout caring any body.
o daakshayani ;; please save raghava . righteousness is your another form.
sakhya bhakti one of he nine bhaktis is here in this song.
bhaka gnanananda teertha being blessed with srividhya mantra by divine mother her self shows his attachment wih the mother.
this was a great incident in his life.
but he never told about this incident to any body . very few persons know about this .
because of this incident only kanchi samkaracharya sri chandra sekharendra saraswati send one ips officer who approached him for sri vidhya mantra to bhakta gnanananda teertha for initiation into srividhya.
bhakta gnanananda teertha initiated very few persons into a mantra as he was against that type of practices.
in his view we should pray god with niskaamabhakti yoga
ie without any desires.
Compsers of carnatac music are of two types.
1. saint composers ;; they copmose songs in praise of their god only not in praise of human beings for the sake of money or fame. ex ; saint thyagaraja and bhakta gnanananda tirtha etc . they have sacrificed each and every thing for the sake of god.
they didnot know any thing other than god. they have used music as a launching vehicle like rocket to reach god .
they came to earth as messengers of god to convey the feelings of god to mankind and to show the path to salvation to mankind.
we can see divine touch in their lives.
they have lived and prayed for the sake of man kind .
in every saint composers life we can see apart from music we can see their spiritual initiation by a great soul.
in case of h h bhakta gnanananda tirtha he was initiated at the age of 15 years old into purna gayatry by h h srinathanamda tirtha who was 90 years old at that time at sri kalahasti.
there he did penance on gayatry for three years without any food. during this period he was given some types of leaves and water only by his spiritual guru.
after attaining mantra sidhi he was named as gnanananda tirtha by his guru.
at that time his spiritual guru advised him to stay in seclusion without any publicity and wituhout showing any miracles.
bhakta gnanananda tirtha follwed his spiritual gurus advice in letter and spirit.
he never showed miracles in his life time. he lived in seclusion which resulted in the form of songs with raga , bhava and tala.
bhakta gnananda tirtha has a tendency to compose songs since childhood at the age of 8 years old before learning vedas and carnatac music.
by birth he was a saint composer.
2. composers ;; they live normal life in the society. they are great scholars in music ,
and musicians .
in this context i remember a statement of late sri hari nagabhushanam , the music guru of h h bhakta gnanananda tirtha . while expressing his happiness on the compositions of his disciple he compared the songs as pure gold , the songs of ordinary composers as roldgold ie artificial gold.
s / sri mysure vasudevachari , papanasam sivan , patnam subramanya iyer, balamurali krishna etc are prominent great omposers.
o s ramakrishna