In earlier posts, we had
dealt with some Haridasas and their works. There was also a post on suladis.
However, the suladi is not
the only vehicle of language that the Haridasas deployed. They wrote a range of
poetry encompassing several forms, each with its own uniqueness and
distinctness.
All the Haridasa writings are
a harmonious bend of music and language. Purandara dasa was the first to systematize
these and others followed suit.
Today, we are fortunate that
Haridasa literature has emerged as a distinct genre and it is much different
from mainstream literature.
Haridasa literature is purely
devotional and it is religious, moralistic spiritual and even ethical.
Haridasa sahitya is popular
even today unlike other forms of literature and this is because of its nearness
to the common man and a deep and abiding understanding of the trials and tribulations of the common
man.
The Haridasas preach the glory
of Hari and some like Purandara pick on common ay events and themes to drive in
their message. Kanaka Dasa talks of a
casteless, classless society.
Today, the Haridasa sahitya
has become so popular that it has gone beyond the Vaishnava houses and mathas
and the Haridasas have seen new readers and singers from all over the world, heralding
their composition.
The Haridasas used a variety
of forms to compose and they include pada or prose: suladi: Ugabhoga: Tattva-suvali:
Shloka: Kanda: Vachana: Vrittanama: Dvipadi: Tripadi: Choupadi: Shatpadi: Ashtapadi:
Ragale and Yalapada.
The first ever Suladi in
Haridasa sahitya can be ascribed to Narahari Theertha, one of the four direct disciple
of Madhwacharya. He is the first Madhwa Yati or seer (I am not including
Madhwacharya here as he is a class apart and he is the fountainhead of all
Haridasa and Vaishnava literature) to compose songs on Sri Hari and his
inspiration was his guru, Madhwacharya. Today, only three of his compositions
survive and they are Entu Marulade Nanentu: Hariye Idu Sariye and Tilako
Ninnolage Nine.
He is the first to use the
Pada for music and this was later developed by others who followed him . The
next to use the Suladi to great effect and also make an everlasting to Haridasa
Sahitya was Sripadaraya of Mulabagal (1406-1504).
He was the first Madhwa seer
to introduce rhythm oriented compositions set to seven talas called Suladis and
excluded other talas such as Misra, Marga, Sankara and Desi.
He also composed Ugabhogas,
Devaranamas and exclusive compositions for dance called Narthana Sevakritis,
Bhramara Geethe and Viraha Geethe. He has also composed the only Dandaka or
Uddanda in Kannada literature. Many of his compositions are in Kannada.
He also composed Gopi Geethe,
Venu Geetha and lullabies and set his own compositions to music. Many of them are based on Bhagavath Geeta. The
Vrittanama was perhaps the creation of Sripadaraja
himself. Its main features are that it comprises sections which are tala bound
and unbound by tala and they occur alternately.
He is also the first to
compose kirtanas or Keertanas in Kannada, which was subsequenbtly followed by other
Madhwa seers and all the Haridasas.
Sripadaraja thus laid the foundation
for Sangeeta by composing a variety of songs in different genres. The Haridasas
like Puradara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa and Vijaya Dasa and Madhwa seers after him like
Vyasa raja, Vadiraja and Vijendra Theertha composed in these forms and they
range from biographical to religious, philosophical, social, ethical,
ritualistic and introspective.
Purandara Dasa also composed
the famous pillari geetas, which is the basic foundation for students to learn Carnatic
music even today.
Sripadaraja also commenced
the genre of Vrittinama where verses are sung with tala first and without next.
Apart from Sripadaraja, it was Purandara who mastered this difficult form.
The Haridasas also used ugabhogas,
where the verses were set to ragas.
However, ughabhogas do not have any prescribed ragas.
The Ughabhoga is generally
divided into tow parts called Udgraha and Abhoga and in between are the Melapaka, Dhruva andAntara. These
compositions are four to twelve lines in length. Haridasas such
as Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa have excelled in using this form.
It is very similar to the Vachanas.
Keertanas or devaranamas
are perhaps the most attractive compositon of Haridasas. The emphasis here is
on its aesthetic excellence and the raga and tala aspects are adhered to.
The Vrittinama is a combination
of word and hymn. After Sripadaraja, we
find Vadiraja Theertha (1480-1600) using it extensively. Gopala Dasa has used
this to excellent effect in “Rakshiso Venktatagiri Raja, ravishta teja Ashritakalpa
bhUja”. All of them-Sripadaraja, Vadiraja and Gopala Dasa- used Sanskrit words
in these compositions.
One of the rarest forms of composition
is the Dandaka. This alternates between the text form and poetical form. In
this form, one pada constitutes 20 matras and it is again subdivided into five matras each. Sripadaraja has composed the
seventh chapter of Bhagavath Geeta in
this style.
Jagannatha Dasa of Manvi used
Tripadi extensively, particularly in his Tatwa Suvali, while the Shatpadi have
been used by Vadiraja Theertha in Vaikunta Varnane (description of Vishnu’s
Vaikunta) and Kanaka Dasa in his Nala Charitre and Hari Bhakta Sara.
Jagannatha Dasa has also used
the shatpadi in Sriharikathamruthasara, his magnum opus.
In Kavya genre, the
Sriharikathamrutasara is an unparalleled composition. These are highly
philosophical in nature.
Jagannatha Dasa was a master
of Tatwa Suvali. He has written a composition by that name and dedicated it to
his daughter-in-law.
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