The incomparable Haridasa

He is widely regarded as the pioneer of Carnatic music and among the first of the Dasa Koota founded by Vyasa Theertha (1447-1539). A trader and businessman by profession, he took deekshe from Vyasa Theertha and from one of the richest merchants of the Vijayanagar Kingdom, he took to begging for food.

This change in his lifestyle was because he became a Haridasa. In all his trials and tribulations, his wife and children never uttered a word of protest. His wife too was a composer of note and so were his three sons.

He has to his credit 4,75,000 compositions and this is gleaned from one of his own compositions which goes as, “Vasudevana nomavaliya”.

When his wife, Saraswati died, this Haridasa composed and sang, “giNuyu (giLiyu) panjaradoLLilla”, and continued his life as a wandering mendicant. This Dasa is none other than Purandara Dasa who compares his wife to a parrot which was taken away by a cat, leaving behind its family.

“giLiyu panjaradoLilla

shrI rAma rAma baridE panjaravAitalla

akka ninna mAta kELi cikkadondu GiLiya sAkide akka nAnillada vELeyalli bekku koDu hOyitayyo

artigondu giLiya sAkide muttina hArava hAkide muttukoNDu giLiyu tAnu ettalODi hOyitayyO

hasuru baNNada giLiyu kushala buddhiya giLiyu asuva kundi giLiyu tAnu hasana geDisi hOyitayyO

muppAga beNNeyannu tappade nA hAki sAkide oppadinda giLiyu Iga teppane hArihOyitayyO

rAma rAma embO giLi kOmala kAyada giLi prEmadi sAkida giLi Ommege summanayitallo.

ombhattu bAgila maneyalli tumbi tumbi mandi iralu kamba muridu bimba biDu ambarakke  hAritayya

angayyalli ADuva giLi mungay mEle kuniyo giLi ranga purandara viTTalana sangaviralu hoyitayyo”.

In an earlier composition, Aadaddella Valiye Aayitu, he had sung,

“gOpALa buTTi hiDiyuvudakke bhUpatiyante garvisutidde
patni kula sAviravAgali gOpLa buTTi hiDisidaLayya”,

Whereby he had credited his wife for reforming him.

He preached as he composed and he was an ardent devotee, disciple , follower and faithful companion of  Vyasa Raja. He went around the length and breath of the Vijayanagar Empire, singing the glory of Hari and propagating Dwaitha Siddantha.

He says he is more than satisfied after having accepted deekshe and sings,

“haridAsara sanga dorakitu enagIga innEninnEnu

varaguru upadEsha neravAitu enage innEninnEnu”.

He then pleads with Hari to take care of his family. In

“Enna kaDehAyisuvuda ninna bhAra”

Purandara Dasa says,  

“Enna kaDehAyisuvudu ninna bhAra

 ninna neneyutihude enna vyApArara

Enna sathi sutarige nIne gati

ninnanoppisuvudu enna nIti

Enna oDala porevudu ninna dharma

ninna aDigeraguvudu enna karma

hari nInallade Ara moreyiDuve

siri purandara viTTala ninna pADuve”.

Here, we see Purandara telling Hari that it is his job to take care of his family and feed them, while he (Purandara) continues pleasing the lord by singing.

He always exhorted people to follow God and lead a path of righteousness. He asked people not to lay stress on money which, he said, is a double edged weapon.

In, “DuggaNi embudu durjana sangha”, he warns people about the tarp of falling into love with money.  

  

“DuggaNi embodu Durjana sangha Duggani balu keTTadaNNa

Achara helodu Duggani bahu nichara maDodu Duggani

Nachike illade mane mane tirugi chi chi ennodu duggani

nentatana helodu Duggani Bahu nentara nudisodu Duggani

Onte hange more melakke selakondu kunta nenisuvudu Duggnianna

manava gelisuvudu Duggani mana hadagedisuvudu Duggani

Bahumananidhi shri purandaravittalana kanisadiruvudu Dugganianna”.

He was against superstition and blind beliefs. He was also among the first Haridasas to preach against untouchability, blind belief  and caste system and this is beautifully brought out in “Holeya horagihane urolagillave Sri  Hariyasmaraneyanu ballavaru.”

In another composition, he says:

“Madi madi madi endu adigadi haruve madi mAduva bage bEruntu

podavi pAlakana pAda dhyanavanu bidade mAduvudu adu madiyu

batteya neeroLagaddi moLagisi uttukondare adu madiyalla

hotteyoLagina kAma krodhavanu bittu nadedare adu madiyu

hiriyara gurugaLa haridAsarugala charana keragi bhakutiyali

paripAlisu endu purandaravithalana iruLu hagalu nenevudu adu madiyu”

He then goes on to say that all days and all dates are auspicious and no day is inauspicious.

 “ಇಂದಿನ ದಿನವೇ ಶುಭದಿನವು
ಇಂದಿನ ವಾರ ಶುಭವಾರ
ಇಂದಿನ ತಾರೆ ಶುಭತಾರೆ
ಇಂದಿನ ಯೋಗ ಶುಭಯೋಗ
ಇಂದಿನ ಕರಣ ಶುಭ ಕರಣ
ಇಂದು ಪುರಂದರ ವಿಟ್ಠಲ ರಾಯನ
ಸಂದರ್ಶನ ಫಲವೆಮಗಾಯಿತು”

Though these beautiful lines were written more than five centuries ago, they attest to this Haridasa’s faith against blind superstition and they are valid even today. In this composition, Purandara says all days are the same and there is no such thing as a good day or a bad day.

This is one of his Ughabhogas where he has moulded the language in his inimitable style to make a philosophical statement.  

A prolific composer, he has written on a wide spectrum of topics covering philosophical musings to deeply religious, historical, spiritual and even mundane everyday activities.

His name is known all over India and certainly across nations too. He is known for formalising Carnatic music and also for carrying forward the Haridasa tradition conceptualised by Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha.

He is also believed to be an amsha of Narada Muni and one of the favourite disciples of Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha (1447-1539).Yet, mush of his life and times are shrouded in mystery and the only source of his life are his own compositions and of his disciple, Vijaya Dasa.

Though he lived during the Vijayanagar period and he is popular for his compositions, many aspects of his life and his family are still unknown. Infact, not much is known about the place of his birth and even his family.

The general belief is that his birth place is Purandaragad near Pune. But recent research and epigraphical evidences in Karnataka have zeroed in on the fact that Purandara Dasa was born in Theerthalli  near Sagar in Shimoga district in Karnataka.

However, researchers and scholars of Maharashtra still maintain that Purandara Dasa was born in Maharashtra. He is given a high place  in the Santhamalike of Maharashtra. Besides this, Marathi scholar Ajagavker in his book “Maharashtra Kavicharitre:, says that the 18th century saint, Sant Vittoba Anna Daphtardar of Karad,  claimed to be an amsha of Purandara Dasa and that he had taken responsibility to compose 25000 songs.

On the other hand, the inscription found at Sagar in Shimoga district says that Kshemapura here is the Purandarapur where the dasa was born. This place, during the Vijayanagar period, was a thriving business and trading centre.

Purandara, as he himself acknowledges, belonged to Nayaka family involved in trade and business. An inscription discovered at Teerthahalli and another found in 1400 claim that the nomenclature of  Nayaka was the surname of  Brahmins of Teerthahalli.

Moreover, the name of one of the sons of Purandara was Hebanna. Even today, these type of names are common to residents of towns in and around Teerthahalli.

Historians Dr. R. S. Panchamukhi and S. R. Rao both have researched on this aspect. Others historians like Dr. P.B. Desai and Kapartal Krishna Rao debunk the theory that Purandara was born at Purandaragad near Pune. The Dwaitha scholar BNK Shara too argues against Purandaragad as being the birthplace of Purandara Dasa.

K. Krishnarao identifies Kshemapura as the birthplace of Purandara. Incidentally, the copper plate inscription of 1526 at Kamalapur near Hampi proves that Purandara Dasa belonged to Vasishta Gothra and Yajushaka. The same inscription also explains that the three sons of Dasa were Lakshmana Dasa, Hebanna Dasa and Madhwapathi Dasa. They received a grant from Vyasa Raja, the Rajaguru of Vijayanagar, in 1526.

BNK Sharma says the word Purandara has nothing to do with the place of birth of the Dasa. He argues that Purandara was only the ankita and that his full name was Purandara Vittala Dasa. No Dasa, he says, has been recognized by the place of his birth.

However, we know that Purandara Dasa obtained Deekshe and ankita from Vyasa Raja and that he was his constant companion for several years.  Researcher and musicologist Prof. P. Sambamoorthy, says it was sometime in 1525 that Srinivasa Nayaka was initiated as Purandara by Vyasa Raja. He was then 40 years of age.

Purandara was also a close associate and friend of Belur Vaikunta Dasa and Kanaka Dasa. All of them were very well acquainted with Vadiraja Theertha (1480-1600) and other disciples of Vyasa Raja. 

Purandara Dasa was patronised by Krishna Deva Raya (1509-1529) and his brother, Achuta Deva Raya (1529-1542). However, after the passing away of  Vyasa Raja in 1539, royal patronage to Purandara declined and it was almost non-existent during the reign of Aliya Rama Raya.

Purandara was anguished and deeply pained by the epicurean lifestyle of Aliya Ramaraya and the residents of  Vijayanagar and he warned them against such excesses. In “Nechhadiree bhagya”, he cautioned the people against going after material pleasures and neglecting god.

He asked people to chant the name of God and remember God till their tongues could speak. He sang:

“Narajanma Bandaga Nalige Iruvaga Krishna Endare”

Unfortunately, Purandara Dasa passed way in Hampi in 1564 and with him died the Haridasa Sahitya only for Vijaya Dasa to revive it several decades later.

Today, a little more than 800 compositions of Purandara Dasa are available. Many are autobiographical in nature and we get the information from them that Purandara was a wealthy merchant.

In Ana Lae Kara, which is generally regarded as among his first compositions, he laments how he has wasted several decades of his early life in indulgence and in worldly matters. . 

Coming back to his compositions, Purandara Dasa himself says,

“ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ನಮಗಾಯಿತು
ಶ್ರೀಪತಿಯ ಪಾದಾರವಿಂದ ಸೇವೆಯೆಂಬೋ |p|

ಹರಿಕರುಣವೆ ಅಂಗಿ ಗುರುಕರುಣವೆ ಮುಂಡಾಸು
ಹರಿದಾಸರ ದಯವೆಂಬೋ ವಲ್ಲಿ
ಪರಮಪಾಪಿ ಕಲಿಯೆಂಬೋ ಪಾಪೋಸು ಮೆಟ್ಟಿ
ದುರಾತ್ಮರಾದವರ ಎದೆಮೇಲೆ ನಡೆವಂಥ || ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ನಮಗಾಯಿತು||

ಬಿಳಿಯಕಾಗದ ಹೃದಯ ಬಾಯಿ ಕಲಮದಾನಿ
ನಾಲಿಗೆಯೆಂಬೋದೇ ಲೇಖನಿಯು
ಲೋಲನ ಕಥೆ ನಾಮಂಗಳ
ಶೀಲಮನವಿ ಬರೆದು ಹರಿಗೆ ಒಪ್ಪಿಸುವಂಥ || ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ನಮಗಾಯಿತು||
 

Here, ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ means trade or business. Purandara Dasa describes in this composition the dress worn by a trader. He also lets us know how he became a Haridasa. He says he has been tasked with the job of helping people fight evil.

In another composition, Purandara Dasa himself says:

ಎನ್ನ ಕಡೆಹಾಯಿಸಿರುವುದು ನಿನ್ನ ಭಾರ
ನಿನ್ನ ನಂಬಿ ಬದುಕುವುದು ಎನ್ನ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ

It is your responsibility to take me to the other side. It is my business to have faith in you. Here again, we see the word Vyapara or business used allegorically.
Apart from these compositions, there are several suladis where Purandara Dasa is autobiographical. However, the references are so cleverly concealed and they form an integral part of the composition, that we can coreleate some of the words and lines to his life only after we go through the composition several times. 

Just as we can come to know about his life, we can also zero in on the exact day and date on which Purandara Dasa died. This is so as one of his sons, Madhwapathi Dasa, who was later reborn as Vijaya Dasa, has written about it. 

The composition by Madhwapathi Dasa is matter of fact and there is no unnecessary glorirfication of death or lament of a father. The lines of the composition show that death was expected. Purandara Dasa died in 1564, an year before Hampi or Vijayanagar was sacked by the Muslim forces and he probably breathed his last at the Purandara pavillion.

The Mantapa which stands in the Tungabhadra even today. If we visit Hampi, we can see the Mantapa.

We get information on the death of Purandara in a composition by Madhwapathi Dasa.

Madhwapathi Dasa says his father died on Pushya amavasye in the Raktakshi samvatsara:

He says: 

ತೆರಳಿದರು ಹರಿಪುರಕಿಂದು || ಪಲ್ಲವಿ ||
ಪುರಂದರದಾಸರಾಯರು ದೀನಬಂಧು || ಅನುಪಲ್ಲವಿ ||

ರಕ್ತಾಕ್ಷಿವತ್ಸರ ಪುಷ್ಯಾಂತ ರವಿವಾರ
ಮುಕ್ತಿಗೈದಿದರು ಕೇಳಿ ಬುಧಜನರು || ೧ ||

ವಿರೂಪಾಕ್ಷ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಿ ವಿಠಲನ್ನ ಸನ್ನಿಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ
ಶರೀರವನಿರಿಸಿ ಅನಾಥರನು ಹರಸಿ || ೨ ||

Both the pallavi and anupallavi in the composition amply makes it clear that it was written on the day Purandara Dasa passed away. The first says that it was on amavasye, Pushya masa, Sunday when the death occurred.  

In Kannada, Ravivara means Sunday and Pushya is one of the masa or month that Madhwapathi Dasa refers to. The second charana mentions Virupaksha Kshetra and this nothing but Hampi or Vijayanagar. Hampi was well-known for the temple of Virupaksha and it was the family diety of the Vijayanagars. The temple of Virupaksha still stands in Hampi today and it was known as Virupaksha Kshetra.

The composition only hints that Purandara Dasa died somewhere in the vicinity of the Vijaya Vittala temple and this was probably at the  Purandara Mantapa where the he spent several years and composed thousands of songs.
Incidentally, even many of the compositions of Vijaya Dasa sheds light on the life and times of Purandara Dasa.

Vijaya Dasa considered Purandara Dasa to be his guru and he has collected several compositions of Purandara Dasa.

In Guru Purandara, he says,

“Asare nimma charaNakamalava nambide||

garuvarahitana mADi ennanu poreva bhAravu nimmade||1

ondu ariyada mandamati nAnindu nimmanu vandipe|

indireshana tandu tOrisi tande mADelo satkRupe||2

purandaragaDadolage nindu niruta dravyava galiside|

paramapuruShanu vipranandadi karava nIDi yAchise||3

parama nirguNavanavanaritu harige sUreya nIDuta|

aritu manadOlu haridu bhavagala taruni sahitA horaTane||4

mArajanakana sannidhAnadi sAragAnava mADuva|

nAradare I rUpadindali chArudarushana tOrida||5

ajabhavAdigalarasanAda vijayaviThalana dyAnipa|

nija su~JAnava koDisabEkendu bhajipenO kEl guruvara||6

A musician and a composer, he took giant strides towards systemising Carnatic music in many of his Suladis, Ughaboghas, Padas and Padyas. He fused Kannada with sangeetha and the result was the Haridasa sahitya.

Apart from biological references, there are nearly 30 compositions where he refers to music, musical instruments and the qualification of a musician. In “Keleno Hari Taaleno, Taalamelagaliddu”, he talks of tambura, Kombu, flute.

In the Suladi “Govindanaadidaatagalanu”, Purandara speaks of  swara, nada, murchana, jati, geeta and prabandha. He also refers to the ragas that were in vogue in many of his compositions.

He also introduced raga Thodi to Carnatic music and laid down certain other rules. He introduced Mayamalavagowla as the first scale in Carnatic music to be learnt by a beginner.

All his compositions were composed in Kannada and they were in the Bathisi raga that he had stressed. Purandara took pains to introduce the basic lessons of Carnatic music by structuring Swaravalis (graded exercises) and Alankaras (exercises based on the Sapta talas).  He also ensured that there was pallavi, anupallivi and charana in all his compositions.

Thus, though we have amass of information on the kritis and devaranamas of  Purandara Dasa, we do not have clear and undisputed information on his life. It appears that everyone today known Purandara only through his compositions. Even among his compositions, a majority of them appear to have been lost. Not much is known about his life and his family and of course his 4,75,000 compositions. What a pity.