A Tuneful Tribute

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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