NaadhOpAsana : 72 MeLakarthA Raaga Krithis of Kaimakrya SrI Padma VeerarAghavan on Oppiliappan ( ThiruviNNagarappan) : Part II

[Guest guest]

SrI: Dear Sangeetha RasikAs and NaadhOpAsakAs :

 

Raagam has been defined as the dhvani, which is formed

by the combination of svarams and which delights the ear

and mind of the listener . When that listener happens to be

the Lord Himself , the NaadhOpAsana with the Raaaga

dEvatAs becomes very special .When a composer is blessed

to create samarpaNams ( Naadha NaivEdhyams) in various

Raagas and offer them to the Lord , such a composer is

truly blessed .These offerings by a composer can also be

recognized as Naama KusumAnjali to the Ishta Dhaivam .

Saint ThyagaraajA of ThiruvAyUr has presented many

Raaga Ratna Maalikais to Lord Raamachandra . Saint

AnnamayyA of TaaLappAkkam has presented such

Raaga ratna Maalikiais to the Lord of Saptha Giri .

Purandara Daasa's bhakthi for Vittala of PandrApur

is another legendary outpouring of NaadhOpAsanA

that flowed thru His krithis .

 

There are occasions where an AchAryan like

Swamy Naatha Muni sets the divine collect

to music and tALam for devotional use

to celebrate the Lord's glories . An AzhwAr

like ThiruppANar sings and plays His Veenai

on the banks of Cauvery river .

 

 

Let us now have a brief introduction to the RaagAs here .

There are 72 KartA ( MeLa KartA ) Raagams and

they have in turn many , many children , Janya RaagAs .

 

The 72 MeLa Raagams arise from the three kinds of

PrastArams of the five vikruthi svarams: ri ,ga, ma,

dha, ni. These 72 MeLa Raagams are divided into

Suddha Madhyama MeLa KartA Raagams ( 36 in

number) and Pratimadhyama Mela Karta Raagams

( another 36 in the count) .

 

These 72 MeLa Raagams can also be grouped

under 12 chakrams with six of the MeLa Raagams

assigned to these chakrams .

 

The 36 Suddha Madhyama MeLa rAgams fit under

Indhu ( First chakram , one Moon) , nEtra

( 2nd chakram,Two eyes) Agni ( 3rd chakram

representing three kinds of Agnis) , Veda

(4th Chakram denoting the 4 VedAs) ,

BhANa( 5th chakram representing the five

arrows of Manmatan) and Rutu ( 6th chakram

denoting the six seasons of the year) chakram .

 

The 36 Pratimadhyama Mela rAgams that follow

the Suddha Madhyama MeLams form another six

chakraks with 6 MeLa rAgams each : Rishi (7th

chakram, Saptha Rishis) , Vasu ( 8th chakram ,

Ashta Vasus),Brahma , DiSi (Tenth chakram,

10 directions), Rudra ( 11th chakram ,

EkAdasa RudrAs) , Aditya ( 12th chakram,

Twelve AdityAs) chakrams .Tens of thousands

of Janya rAgams are generated from these

72 MeLa kartA rAgams .

 

Please refer for details in URL:

 

http://www.Thiruppavai.org

 

In the SrI VenkatEsa Gadhyam , we can

come across many of the names of

the 72 MeLa Raagams and Janya raagams

as they bow before the Lord of

Saptha giri:

 

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/devotional/s/album.333

 

We will now enlist the names and chakrams of the 72 Mela

Raaga Krithis in which the Naadha NaivEdhyam for

Oppiliappan is presented :

 

36 Suddha Madhyama MeLams :

 

1) Indhu chakram( MeLams: 1-6):KanakAngi ,

RatnAngi ,GhAnamUrthy , Vanaspathy ,

Maanavathy and Taanaroopi .

 

2) nEtra Chakram ( MeLams: 7-12): sEnAvathy ,

Hanuma ThODi , DhEnukA , NaaDakapriyA ,

Kokila PriyA , Roopavathy .

 

3) Agni chakram ( MeLams:13-18) :

Gaayaka PriyA , VaguLAbharaNam ,

MaayAmaaLava gouLa , chakravAkam ,

SooryakAntham ,HaaDakAmbhari .

 

4) Veda Chakram (MeLams: 19-24):

JangAradhvani ,NaDa Bhairavi ,

KeeravANi ,KaraharapriyA ,

Gowree ManOhari , VaruNa PriyA .

 

5) BhANa chakram( MeLams: 25-30):

Maara Ranjani , ChArukESi ,SrasAngi ,

Hari KaambhOji , Dheera SankarAbharaNam ,

NaagA Nandhini .

 

6) Ruthu Chakram( MeLams : 31-36):

Yaaga PriyA , Raaga Vardhini ,

GaangEya BhUshaNi ,Vaagdheeswari,

Soolini and Chala Naattai .

 

The 36 Prathimadhayama MeLa Raagams

fall into another set of 6 chakrams:

 

7) Rishi Chakram( MeLams : 37-42):

ChAlakam , JalArNavam ,Jaala VarALi,

Navaneetham , Paavanee and Raghu PriyA.

 

8) Vasu Chakram ( MeLams:43-48):

GavAmbhOdhi ,Bhava PriyA ,

Subha PanthuvarALi , shadvidha MaargiNi ,

SuvarNAngi and dhivya MaNi.

 

9) Brahma Chakram( MeLams: 49-54):

DhavaLAmbhari , Naama NaarAyaNi ,

Kaama Vardhini , Raama PriyA ,

GamanASrama and ViSvambhari .

 

10) Disi Chakram: ( MeLams: 55-60):

SyAmaLAngi , ShaNmukha PriyA ,

SimhEndhra Madhyamam ,Hemawathi ,

Dharmavathi and Neethimathi .

 

11) Rudhra Chakram ( MeLams: 61-66):

KaanthAmaNi ,Rishabha PriyA ,

LatAngi , Vaachaspathi , Mesa KalyANi

and ChithrAmbhari .

 

12) Adhitya Chakram ( MeLams: 67-72):

Sucharitram , JyOthi svarUpiNi ,

DhAthu Vardhini , NaasikAbhUshaNi ,

KoSalam and Rasika PriyA .

 

We will continue next with the brief

coverage of Janya Raagams ,

the children of MeLa KarthA Raagams ,

their variations into the three categories of

SampoorNam ,ShADavam and OuDavam

and their 483 differences among them

due to their permutations and combinations

without going into detail .

 

The main thrust of this series is to

enjoy the Krithis on Oppliyappan

and BhUmi Devi and their meanings.

The purpose is not for discussions on

the grammar ( lakshaNam) of Carnatic Music .

 

NamO SrI VenkatEsAya ,Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan