Haridasas are a household
name in Karnataka and even elsewhere. Many of the Haridasas such as Purandara
Dasa never bothered to write down their compositions. They went about singing
their compositions, oblivious of the
need to preserve their literary gems in the written form.
However, the compositions
of the Haridasas needed no introduction
and people took to them like duck to water. Their compositions were simple to
understand, easy to sing and much easier to memorise.
The Haridasas came to widely
known even outside their place of residence. Thus, we have several Haridasas
such as Purandara, Kanaka, Vijaya Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa and others whose fame
spread far beyond the borders of Karnataka.
There was perhaps not a
single Haridasa except this one whose works remained largely unknown not only
to the people of the State but also to critics and literary historians. The
fact that this Haridasa was a native of
Udupi and he lived most of his life in and around this region was
perhaps another reason for his obscurity.
It took two German authors to
bring to light the compositions of this Haridasa. One of the German authors who
discovered the writings of this Haridasa was none other than Rev. Ferdinand
Kittel (1832-1903), the man who earned the gratitude of millions of Indians
when he published his remarkable dictionary.
The Haridasa was Nekkara
Krishna Dasa, an eighteenth century man of letters. He was essentially a
Kannada poet-saint who mainly wrote Keertanes or Devara namas under his pen
name Varaha Thimappa.
His remarkable compositions work
were first discovered by the Basel missionary
Hermann Mogling (1811-1881) of Germany
Subsequently, another German,
Rev. Ferdinand Kittel came to India
Kittel ranked this Dasa alongside
Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa.
After the Germans discovered
him, Krishna Dasa once again lapsed into obscurity and it is only in the past
few years that interest in him has revived. What is more sad is that many of
his compositions have been plagerised by some singers who have passed it off as
the works of Purandara Dasa.
Krishna Dasa was a great
devotee of Srinivasa of Tirumala. Hence, we see a lot of compositions dedicated
to Venkateshwara. He also has several compositions on Udupi Sri Krishna.
His compositions clearly
exhibit the influence of Madhwacharya. Some of his compositions are invaluable
as they document the daily, monthly and annual rituals and rites of the Sri
Krishna temple of
Udupi
Like Purandara Dasa, this
Haridasa too has written about the life and times of the people, the society in
which he lived and the trials and tribulations of people. Thus, we see a social
touch in his writings.
He was born as Krishna Raya to
a family of Perampalli Nekkars near Shivalli village. He later became a
disciple of Vibudendra Theertha Swamy of
Krishnapura Matha, one of the Asta mathas of Udupi.
Two of his compositions, “Lakshmi
Kalyanaa” and “Sri Krishna
Charitre” are considered as
classics of Haridasa literature. All his
compositions bear the Ankita Varaha Thimappa.
Some of his other popular
compositions include “Ballarolu”, “Ninna Nambidhe Nannu”, “Neene Guruvaagenage”,
“Dhanavu Iddhare Saaku”, “Yarige Dooruvenu” , “Salahikomuvarille”, “Endige
Dayebaa”, “Rokka Eradakku Dukka Kaanakka ”, “Kaadadiru”
and “Thannolagidhu”.
Varaha Thimappa Dasa was
perhaps only less prolific than Purandara Dasa and Vijaya Dasa. He is supposed
to have lived in the times of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. When Sagar fell into
the hands of Hyder Ali, he fled to Tirumala. He was a contemporary of Madhava
Dasa of Udupi.
It took several decades after
this incident for this Haridasa to be brought to the notice of the outside
world and we owe this to the two German authors. Thus, Varaha Thimappa Dasa
must be one of the few poet-saints who were first recognised by foreigners and
it was they who brought him back into circulation in the place of his domicile
and in the State he lived. 
No comments:
Post a Comment