Purandara Dasaru

[Guest guest]

Thanks to Sri Sadagopan for visiting Purandara Dasa's works.

Sri Muralidhara Rangaswamy just gave us a brief

account of early life of Purandara Dasaru.

Here is a version I grew up(?) with.

 

Purandara Dasa, prior to his taking the Dasa hood

was (Srinivasa or Krishnappa Nayaka) a shrewed

Gold Smith and a pawn broker in a

town near modern day Pune.

 

This town is called Purandara Gad. I don't know if

the name came becuse of Purandara Dasaru or the

other way. Today, people speak only Marati language

there and most of them are oblivious of Purandara

Dasaru's name and works.

 

As S/K Nayaka, he was very stingy and was not

approving his father Varadappa Nayaka's generous

qualities. Once Varadappa fell ill, S/K Nayaka took

total control over the business and house affairs.

He also adviced the physicians attending his sick

father not to be too extravagant, as death is

inevitable and spending too much money does

not have to be inevitable!

 

After the demise of hi sfather, S/K Nayaka

went after the debtors unabated. As fate would

have it, his wife Saraswathamma was a true

devotee of God. She prayed incessantly to God

asking him to forgive her husband and turn him

around. God never fails in answering true devotees

and we have Purandara Dasaru. This transformation

was to come about in a rather round about way.

 

Lord, in the garb of a old man approached Nayaka

asking for financial help to conduct his grandson's

upanayanam. The old man was quite persistant

and annoyingly humble. Nayaka would pich up some

reason or the other and turn him away telling

him that he i stoo busy and to come some

other time. It seems the old man visited Nayaka's

shop for six months! Finally, Nayaka got so mad, he

gave him a faded coin of no value and asked him not

to ever come again for money.

 

The old man, smilingly accepte dthe worthless coin,

went straight to Nayaka's home and told Saraswathi

of his plight. Saraswathi suspected that the stingy man

who sent this old man with a faded coin is none

but her own husband. She wanted to help the old man.

But there was nithing in the house which she could

hand over without enraging her husband. A thought

came to her. One of her Gold nose ring was given to

her as a gift from her side of the family. This she had

woren for a long time, and was not part of her

wedding ornaments. Thus she felt 100% ownership

of that and gave that to the ol man.

 

The old man immediately ran to Nayaka's shop to

sell it to Nayak and get some money. Once Nayaka

looked at it, he kind of suspected it. He took it out of the

old man's hand and asked him to come next day as

he has to really evaluate th evalue of this exquisite

jewellery and would take some time. The old man

left with a grin.

 

Nayaka kept looking at it and was convinced that there

was no other one more stupid than his wife in the entire

town to part with such an exquisite jewellary in the name

of Dharma. He locked it up in a safe place and dashed home

to quizz his wife.

 

Saraswathi was taken aback at the early arrival.

Nayaka noticed that the nose ring was missing.

He demanded her to produce the nose ring.

Saraswathi said she had taken it out prior to

oil bath and she has placed it somewhere in the puja

room and she would get it right away. Saying thus,

she entered the puja room and made a diamond

potion from her diamond ring by scraping it on the

stone kept for making sandal paste. She was about to

drink the potion, then some object fell in it and it

was nothing but her own nose ring! She put on the

nose ring and appeared before her husband. Nayaka

was astonished at this. Nevertheless, he ran to

his shop looking for the nose ring he had placed in the

safe. It was not there!! He rushed back home again

like a mad man, and was transformed instantaneously.

He gave away all his material wealth to poor and with

the entire family (Wife and many children) became a Dasa.

 

One of his composition pays tribute to his wife thus:

 

"Hendati sanathati savirawaagali gandage bettha hidisidalayya"

Let the wive's leneage become 1000 fold as one such made

her husband to hold a staff ( a Dasa) !!!

 

No one really knows, how many padas (Pashurams)

Dasaru composed. I have heard the number as 1 lakh

(about the size of Mahabharatha). But I think, this is

just an expression for a large number. I have 800

of his Padas.

While Bhakti is the underlying theme of his works,

Purandara Dasaru was also a great social reformer.

He opposed many social practises and hypocracies

of his time which he felt were bad or evil:

1. Muppina Gandanu Bedakka

(Sister don't marry old man)

2. Ibbara sangha abhimana bhanga

(Against multiple wives)

3. Holaya bandanendhu...

(against untouchability)

4. Achara villada naaligae..

(against gossip)

 

 

Here is some observation for our introspection:

 

Why is not our Alvars poetry not received the

same popularity among Karnatic musicians,

although a good number of them are Tamilians?

I have heard Thiruppavai by MLV (very good)

and few others such as Thiruppaliellachhu and

few pashurams of other Alvars here and there by

DKP, Mani Krishnaswamy, T.A. Soundara Rajan etc.

 

One of our own local musician Kannikeshwaran has

rendered a tape entitled "Thiruvarangam" with 8 or so

Alvar Pashurams on Sriranga Nathar. In this

marvelous tape he has covered first verse

of Amalanaadipiraan of Thirupannalvar

(whose thirunakshatram falls on Nov 26).

I was told a local Sri Vaishnava (Sri Vijaya

Raghavan) gave him this idea.

Having heard that tape, I have numerously

requested Kannikeswaran to complete at least

all the Pashurams of Amalanaadipiraan if not

the entire 40000 DP.

 

Why is this void in presentation of these RICH works

among musicians?

 

Is it because Alwars are so systematically incorporated

by one sect?

OR is it because, we ourselves have held it

too close to our heart and hesitant to popularize?

(after all quite a few singers are Srivaishnavas).

If Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar can sing

GANDU DHANYA NADHEN (Kandu Dhanya Nadey)

of Purandara Dasaru, why did he not sing

" Kondar Vannaney..." of Thirupaanalvar? or

may be he did, just not popularized by the

Karnatik Music industry.

 

I hope Ganavisharadas such as Sri Sadagopan

will comment on this and those endowed with

sangeetha gnanam will make this revolution

in music happen.

 

Dasan

 

K. Sreekrishna (Tatachar)