A Tuneful Tribute

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

A Tuneful Tribute

 

The December Music Season is on and all the SabhAs are

reverberating with the recitals of eminent and not-so eminent

musicians. It appears appropriate to participate, atleast by proxy,

in the musical fervour that grips everyone, right from connoisseurs

who hop from one hall to another in search of delectable fare, down

to people like me who have no deep technical knowledge of music

except an ear for a pleasing tune. It is indeed an enthralling

experience to sit in the audience, with the lights dimmed, listening

to one melodious exposition after another, expounded by maesteros

intent not on displaying their virtuosity, but on losing themselves

in the sublime svarAs finding expression in emotion-laden sAhityAs of

divine composers, transporting listeners to new heights of delight.

The hours pass as if in a trice and when the audience comes back to

earth, it is time for the mangaLam, “PavamAna suthudu”.

 

Why does music hold such a sway over people? Why does a good verse

evoke feelings of exultation in us when rendered as a song , rather

than when read out as a mere piece of poetry? What indescribable

magic grips us when we listen to a well-sung sAhitya as to keep us

spell-bound, unaware of the passage of time? Why does music tug at

the strings of the stoniest of hearts, which remain unmoved otherwise

even by the strongest of emotions?

 

The answer to all these questions is not far to seek. Music,

especially the uplifting variety, viz., classical music, has its

origins in the Shruti. To keep the record straight, I would like to

clarify at the outset that all references to music in this piece are

to classical music and not to the ear-splitting and raucous variety

that passes by the same name and which is favoured by film-makers as

the ideal accompaniment for obscene gyrations. Coming back to the

source of magnificent music, we find that the seven svarAs of which

all rAgAs are comprised of, owe their origins to the three principal

svarAs that characterise all Vedic intonation. The apparently

sing-song fashion in which Vedas are recited conforms to three basic

svarAs—the “udAtta” or the level-note, the

“anudAtta” or lower-register and the

“Svaritam” or the higher octave. It is from these three

basic notes that all music, of whatever description, whether it be

the English, Hindustani or Carnatic Classical Music, flows. Is it any

wonder, therefore, that music is bewitching and is capable of holding

us mesmerised?

 

People who have been fortunate enough to have heard Veda Parayanam

would attest to its extremely uplifiting nature, especially when

rendered in unison by learned vaidikAs. And more than the other three

branches of the Shruti, the SAma VEda consists almost entirely of

musical recitation, so much so that an unitiated listener would feel

he is attending a concert, rather than a Veda parayanam.

 

It is not only to us mortals that the Shruti forms a feast for the

ears—even the Paramapurusha in Srivaikunttam is forever lending

His ears to SAma gAnam by the ensemble of nitya sUrIs. The

TaittirIyOpanishad tells us that the inhabitants of Paramapadam

perform kainkaryam not merely with their other organs, but their

voices too, with mellifluous parayanam of SAma vEda, each syllable

and song of which is after all an eulogy to the

Ultimate—“Etat SAma gAyan AstE, HA u HA uHA u”. It

would thus appear that the Lord is a connoisseur par excellence,

listening always to the most magnificent of melodies, rendered by the

most excellent of ensembles. It is perhaps from this that the adage,

“Music is the speech of Angels” springs. Is it any

wonder, therefore, that the Lord, describing Himself to be the best

of all known things in each class of Creation, says that He is verily

the SAma vEda among the Vedas!.

 

Though the brilliant countenance of the Paramapurusha wears a beatific

and contented smile, we find the one playing upon the visage of arcchA

moorthies at various divya desams to be slightly less satisfied. When

we wonder why, the Lord seems to tell us that He misses very much the

gAnam or music, which He is accustomed to at Paramapadam. He finds

this so because the Tamizh Marai or the Divya Prabandas are just

recited and not sung.

 

While intending absolutely no apachAram to the venerated adhyApaka

ghOshttIs at various divya dEsams who are rendering such yeomen

service to the Lord, it appears as though Emperuman would relish

their recital of the Divya Prabandas, if it is musical. When the

Samskrita Shruti has endeared itself to the Lord through its

melodious recital, why should the Tamizh Marai lag behind? This must

have been the thought uppermost in the mind of Sri Nathamuni, to whom

the origins of our Sampradaya can be traced in this KaliyugA

(“NAthOpagyam pravrittam”). Not content with reclaiming

for posterity the Divine Four Thousand which had been lost, Sri

Nathamuni also painstakingly set these beautiful pAsurams to music,

choosing with loving care the particular rAgA appropriate for the

mood and emotion expressed in the pAsuram and the best beat

(“TALa”) to which it could be rendered. How splendorous

would a diamond be, if it is cut and polished to the maximum

brilliance? Setting to music thus imparted to the already emotive

pAsurams a poignance capable of conveying both the reciter and the

listener to new heights of ecstacy. The indescribable delight of

Bhagavat anubhavam was considerably enhanced by the musical rendering

of Azhwars’ outpourings. Music thus became a facile vehicle for

carrying Bhakti to even the unlettered masses. Consider, for

instance, the simple but extremely significant pAsurams of TirumAlai.

Who wouldn’t be moved by a rendering of the pAsuram

“oorilEn kANi illai, uravu mattru oruvar illai” in the

TOdi rAgA? Or, Tirumangai Mannan’s “VAdinEn vAdi”

in SankarAbharaNam or SahAnA? Or, “Chittram chiru kAlE”

in YamunA KalyaNi?

 

Though the present style of rendering pasurams by adhyApakA swAmIs has

a beauty and melody of its own, it appears as though it would afford

Emperuman greater delight, if aruliccheyal is sung, rather than

recited, in a more melodious style, in tune with the wishes of the

Acharya who has been described as “aghAdha bhagavat bhakti

sindhu”. Otherwise, “TALam vazhangi Tamizh marai innisai

tanda vaLLal”, a tribute lovingly offered by Swami Desikan to

Sri Nathamuni, would prove to be in vain and all the effort the

Acharya has devoted to setting these divine outpourings to music

would be reduced to a nought.

 

There is much internal evidence too in the Divya Prabandas to indicate

that they were indeed intended to be sung and not merely recited. That

these pasurams were to be sung in delightful tunes, is attested by Sri

Nammazhwar’s sreesookti, “PANnAr pAdal in kavigaL”.

And Azhwar seems to imply that these were tunes set originally by

Emperuman Himself—“PaNNAr pAdal in kavigaL yAnAi tannai

tAn pAdi, tennA ennum en ammAn”. Sri Kalian too tells us that

his pasurams are to be sung—“KAmaru seer kali kandri

kaNdu uraittha Tamizh mAlai

NA maruvi pAda vinayAya naNNAvE”

 

“Kalian Tamizh ivai vizhumia isaiyinOdu oli solum adiyavar uru tuyar ilareE”

“innisayAl sonna senchol mAlai”

“PalEy Tamizhar isai kArar patthar paravum Ayiram”

 

In fact, Sri Nammazhwar is categorical that these pasurams should be sung—

“teedil andAdi Or AyirattuL ivayumOr patthu isayodum vallAr

Adum Or teedilarAgi ingum angum ellAm amaivArgaL tAmE”

 

It is interesting to note that the twenty-four thousand slOkAs of that

great epic Srimad Ramayanam, were set to music and sung by Lava and

Kusa, the young sons of Sri Rama, in His presence. It only adds

credence to the belief that the Shruti took birth as Srimad Ramayana,

when the Lord was born as Sri Raghava

(“VEda: PrAchEtasAt Aseet sAkshAt RamayanatmanA”), to

continue its constant adulation of the Paramapurusha in His vibhava

avatArA too. Just so that the Lord should not miss the SAma gAnam to

which He is accustomed at Paramapadam, the Shruti too descended to

the earth in the form of Ramayanam. We are told that this musical

rendering was extraordinarily sweet and generated extreme ecstacy in

the listeners—“”shrOtrUNAm harsha vardhanam”

“madhuram gandharvam atimAnusham”. Sri Rama was so

impressed with the recital that He convened an enormous gathering of

experts in music and linguistics, vaidikAs, Rishis and others, to

share with them the delight that He Himself had derived from the

concert. The rendering was filled with the most captivating of

melodies, the most lilting of beats and captured the hearts of all

those fortunate listeners—“madhuram gEyam tantree laya

samanvitam”. Sri Rama Himself was moved beyond words and filled

with enormous delight at the extremely tuneful

tribute—“bAlAbhyAm Raghava: shrutvA koutoohalaparO

abhavat”.

 

The Bhagavat Gita too sounds wonderful, when sung. I had the good

fortune to be a judge at a Gita chanting competition (some misguided

soul not having ascertained my qualifications therefor) and I can

tell you that it was indeed an enchanting experience to hear all

those students sing the slokas of the Song Celestial.

 

There is thus no doubt that all works of devotion acquire an

additional depth when sung, and are capable of transporting us to the

rarefied heights of Bhakti more easily than through mere recitation.

Those who have heard the Gadyatrayam both in prosaic recitation and

as a musical rendering would be able to instantly appreciate the

profound influence that the latter has, even on our (speaking for

myself) stony hearts. DayA Satakam too, when sung in appropriate

rAgAs, is extremely moving, as those who have heard the same would

attest. Devotion, when packaged in melody, is incredibly effective in

evoking in us all those uplifiting emotions which lead to an

everlasting enchantment with Emperuman.

 

To cut a long recital short, it appears to be a good idea to

“Say it with a Song”, for it pleases the reciter, the

listener and, above all, the Lord.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan