Mudra on krithis of Carnatic Music

hvaidaya · Post by **hvaidaya** » 06 Apr 2008, 17:33

Can any body enlighten me who was the first Vaaggeyakar who started using Mudra in Carnatic Music?

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 06 Apr 2008, 20:20

Kshetragnya? He used muvva gopala..

-hari

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 06 Apr 2008, 20:26

I would think it is Purandaradasa. Ksetragna lived in the 17th century.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 06 Apr 2008, 21:20

If you consider Annamacharya's use of Venkateswara with slight variations as a mudra, then he would be ahead of Purandaradasa.

Let us expand the list of pre-trinity composers to Muthuthandavar ( earlier than Annamacharya?? ), Jayadeva, Manikkavachakar, Sundaramurthi Nayanar,
Thirugnanasambandar, Thirunavukkarasar and Andal. Have any of them used mudras?

The tradition of signing their name into their works in the last line is not uncommon. Not sure if this is limited only to musical works or true of even other literary works. As an example, I am now reading the translation of Dattilam, an old book on Indian music (4th century?) and the last verse there is
"akarod dattilah shAstram gItam dattilasamjnitam, iti dattilam samAptam" ( Dattila wrote this treatise, called Dattilam, in metrical form. Thus the Dattilam ends". ( not a mudra in the CM composition sense but still it is folded in to the work for self-identification purposes )

s_hari · Post by **s_hari** » 06 Apr 2008, 21:22

All andal tirupavai end with 'embavai'. Not sure whether this can be considered as mudra.

-hari

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Apr 2008, 01:58

Since the songs of tiruppAvai are wake up calls for her friends ( em pAvAi- my maidens), she ends all the verses by saying, come gather, my friends.
In the verses where she addresses the white conch (which vishNu bears), as in kaRpUram nARumO?--she addresses the conch (Sangu).
In vAraNamAyiram (her dream about getting married to krishnA), the refrain is--kanAk kaNDEn tOzhi nAn (I dreamed thus, my friend). She addresses the cuckoo with the refrain--kUvAi! (sing!) in most verses.

skrimech would know if any of the AzhvArs wove their names in at least a few verses.
Name tags (designer labels) came later I think.

My songs have no mudrAs. How much of an 'imprint' they make, time would tell! Which makes me wonder--did anyone hear my mudrA-less song in the Cleveland festival, sung by Jayalakshmi Santhanam? It was in kAnaDA. Quiz time, folks!

vijaykrish · Post by **vijaykrish** » 07 Apr 2008, 04:37

Last verse in many pAsurams have Azhvar name woven into it.
Ex, NamAzhvAr, ThondaradipodiAzhvAr, ThirumangaiAzhvAr

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Apr 2008, 06:59

Thanks, Dr. Vijaykrish. Was switched off about that.
By the way, enjoyed listening to Sahana Conversations...

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 07 Apr 2008, 10:51

vasanthakokilam wrote:Let us expand the list of pre-trinity composers to Muthuthandavar ( earlier than Annamacharya?? ), Jayadeva, Manikkavachakar, Sundaramurthi Nayanar,
Thirugnanasambandar, Thirunavukkarasar and Andal. Have any of them used mudras?

Jayadeva has included his name in his ashtapadis

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 07 Apr 2008, 20:12

AnDAL in the 30th thiruppAvai (vangakkaDal) identifies herself as "bhaTTar pirAn kOdai sonna" (daughter of periyaazhwar - she also referes to her town villiputtur as ani-puduvai). A majority of the AzhwArs have used mudras, typically as the 11th pAsuram in a 'decad' (10 + 1, the 11th being the equivalant of ' phala stuthi' where the fruits of reciting the preceding 10 verses are made known along with the mudra of the AzhwAr).

Other mudras used by various AzhwArs are:

periyAzhwAr: viTTu cittan (vishnu siddha), ten puduvai paTTan (bhaTTanAtha of 'southern' Srivilliputtur), paTTarpirAn (bhaTTa the lord?), puduvai mannan/ puduvaikkOn (king of villiputtur)

AnDAL: kOdai, bhaTTar pirAn kOdai, viTTu cittan kOdai, puduvaiyarkOn paTTan kOdai, villiputtUrkOn kOdai

kulaSEkhara AzhwAr: kulasEkaran. It was usually prefixed by one or more of the folowing: kUDalar kOn (King of Madurai), kOzhivEndan /kOzhikkOn (King of uRaiyur), kolli vEndan (king of kolli), kongar kOn (king of kongu)

nammAzhwAr: mARan, kurugUr nagarAn, saTagOpan, ten kurugUr caTagOpan, vaN kuruGUr catagOpan

tirumangai AzhwAr: kaliyan, mangai vEndan, mangai mannan, mangaiyarkOn, kali kanRi

Sri

hvaidaya · Post by **hvaidaya** » 08 Apr 2008, 11:12

I also do not think "embaavaai" can be taken as Mudra