Shankarabharanam

[Guest guest]

Shankarabharanam

 

Renuka Narayanan

 

Shankar-Abharanam means the ‘Ornament of God’. The

Brahmanda Puran tells an old tale called the

‘Bhadragiri Mahatmyam’ of how Narada, the wandering

sage, once stopped by that place and worshipped its

presiding deity Chandrachoodesvara (Shiva) with sweet

tunes on Mahathe, his divine veena.

 

The Lord teased him with one glimpse of himself as an

iridescent iguana. Baffled, Narada went off to

Satyaloka, the abode of Brahma, to beg an explanation.

(Shiva wanted to lure Parvati there in one of his

lilas and took the form of a jewel-like iguana.

Chasing behind, Parvati managed to touch the tip of

its green tail, which gave her an emerald hue and the

name ‘Maragathavalli’, the green-hued-goddess).

Bhadragiri is the Tamil border town of Hosur, on the

Salem-Bangalore highway.

 

The raga that pleased Lord Shiva so much in this

ancient legend is a very important and beautiful

Carnatic raga. In the Hindustani scale it corresponds

to the noble Bilawal, which the great musicians of the

north have sung with relish, notably Mallikarjun

Mansur of Dharwar, Kumar Gandharva and Nissar Ahmed

Khan of the Rampur-Seheswan gharana (Sumiran kara mana

Rama nama).

 

The power of this raga to cure emotional disturbance

and stress-related pain is a byword. Many say they

feel lifted to great heights of devotion after

listening to Shankarabharanam, sort of fearless and

empowered, as if God’s hand is sensed on one’s head.

There’s a story that Carnatic singer-saint Muthuswami

Dikshitar opened the shut doors of the Shiva temple at

Kivalur by singing Akshaya linga vibho in

Shankarabharanam.

 

In early 19th century Tanjore, Shankarabharanam

produced such ecstasy that Raja Sarfoji declared that

the singer, Narasaiyer, be called “Shankarabharanam

Narasaiyer” and so he was known through the Madras

Presidency. Once Narasaiyer, who badly needed a loan,

approached the landlord Ramabhadra Moopanar of

Kapisthalam. For 80 sovereigns (gold guineas) he

grandly offered Raga Shankarabharam as collateral,

with a promissory note not to sing it till he had

redeemed his debt. Soon after, a powerful employee of

the East India Company called ‘Wallis’ Appuraya after

his English boss, invited Narasaiyer to a concert and

wanted Shankarabharanam.

 

When the story came out, he sent the money at once to

Moopanar, who rushed over to chide the singer for not

demanding the money as a right in the first place and

gave it back. Yes, but what’s the big deal with this

raga, you say? It’s just that it’s locked securely in

our hearts: think ‘Jana Gana Mana’.

copy right: The Indian Express-daily

 

 

 

 

 

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