The style of the Haridasas

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.

When Purandara lost royal patronage

The Bheeshma Pitamaha of Carnatic music and the pioneer of Haridasa Sahitya, Purandara Dasa (1484-1564), gave up a comfortable life and took to a life of Sanyasa.

When he met Vyasa Theertha or Vyasa Raja (1447-1539) in Hampi of Vijayanagar, he obtained Deekshe from him and became his constant companion for several decades.

Both Purandara Dasa and Vyasa Raja were patronised by Krishna Deva Raya (1509-1530). The Vijayanagar Empire reached its zenith during this period and Sahitya, sangeetha and other arts received both royal and popular patronage.

Krishna Deva Raya patronised among others several writers in Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit. Himself a poet, he introduced the Prabandha to Telugu literature. He was also the author  of Amuktamalyada or “A Garland Dedicated to the Lord:, This books is also titled as “The Giver of the Worn Garland.”  It describes the pangs of separation by Andal, an incarnation of the goddess Mahalakshmi.

His court had the Ashtadiggajas or the “eight elephants”, all of whom were considered to be the greatest of poets of that time.

This “court of poets” were also called Bhuvana Vijayam (Conquest of the World). The poets were Allasani Peddana, (1510-1575AD), who is known as Andhra Kavita Pitamahudu or Grandfather of Andhra Poetry, Tenali Rama Krishna, Nandi Thimmana or Mukku Thimanna (1475-1550), Madayyagari Mallana, Dhurjati (1480-1540), Ayyalaraju Rama Bhadrudu, Pingali Surana, Tenali Ramakrishna and Ramaraj Bhusha.

Krishna Deva Raya’s was a poet’s king. He not only patronized poets and writers but also battled with them in the literary field. He frequently entered into literary bouts with them.

Poets, scholars, Haridasas, literary giants and seers were given importance and the Emperor honored them. Thus, these persons attained high social and economic status in the then society.

With Krishna Deva Raya personally interacting with Vyasa Raja as his Raja Guru and Purandara Dasa, foreign travelers and other Kings and Emperors too followed suit. They too paid visits and honored Vyasa Raja and Purandara Dasa.

The Adil Shahi Emperor, Yusuf Adil Shah, and the Mughal Emperor Babur conferred umbrellas on Vyasa Raja. The Madhwa religion and philosophy that Vyasa Raja propagated received high royal patronage.

The Vaishnava mathas and other Vaishnava seers that Vyasa Raja introduced to the Emperor too received grants and favours. Thus the institution of the Matha came to occupy an important position during the Vijayanagara period.

We can trace this close bonding to the time of Sripadararaja of Mulabagal who too was a Raja Guru and he too was placed on the throne of Vijayanagar and honored with Ratna Abhisheka. It was Sripadaraja himself who suggested the name of Vyasa Theertha as the Raj Guru. So we see the emergence of the Madhwa Matha from 1450 as a powerful force in Vijayanagar society from 1450 till the death of  Krishnadeva Raya and a few years later.

We can see the consecration of 732 idols of Hanuman in different parts of south India by Vyasa Raja as a means of conferring legitimacy to the Emperor and his vast Kingdom. Apart from the Madhwas, the Vijayanagar Emperors patronised Srivaishnavas (Tirupathi) and Shaivites (Kalahasti).

When Vyasa Raja ensues that the Kingdom is rid of Kuhu Dosha, Emperor Krishna Deva Raya hands over the Kingdom to the seer and refuses to take it back.This is sometime in 1523 and the Emperor also confers several villages near Hampi to Vyasa Raja who in turn hands it over to other Brahmins and Haridasas, including the sons of Purandara Dasa. Thus, we see that the Emperor honored saints and religious institutions alike.

This patronage extended to the Haridasa lineage too. Krishna Deva Raya recognised Purandara as the Naik who was a prominent money lender and an extremely rich man. He allows Purandara to wander around Vijayanagar city and other parts of his Kingdom unfettered. Purandara, on his part, not only meets the Emperor whenever he wants, but also leads a typical life of a wandering minstrel.

Purandara attached himself with Vyasa Raja and accompanies him on his tours. If Vyasa Raja preaches, Purandara sings. When in Hampi or Vijayanagar, these two are joined occasionally by Belur Vaikunta Dasa and Kanaka Dasa.

Other eminent seers and Haridasas make it to Vijayanagar when Vyasa Raja is in town. They include such stalwarts as Vadiraja Theertha (1480-1600), Vijendra Theertha (1517-1614), Sudheendra Theertha, Srinivasa Theertha, Rama Theertha and many others. All of them meet with Vyasa Raja, converse and debate with the seer on the premises of the Vijayanagar University. The Emperor, Krishna Deva Raya, joins them occasionally.

However, this rich bonding between Kingship and literature does not last.

When Krishna Deva Raya dies in 1539, literature literally goes to the streets. Poets and writers move in the bazaars trying to sell their writings.

Achuta Deva Raya is unable to stem the rot and he is caught in the crossfire between opposing camps in Vijayanagar. This brother of Krishna Deva Raya has to contend with the Raya’s son-in-law, Aliya Rama Raya.

Aliya Rama Raya come across as a scheming and intolerant ruler. He dismisses Brahmins from positions of power and prestige though Vyasa Raja remains the Raja Guru of Achuta Deva Raya till he passes away in 1539.   

Vyasa Raja and Purandara each have easy and continuous access to the Emperor and his court. There are many compositions of  Purandara Dasa wherein he celebrates the greatness of Vyasa Raja and in one of them he directly refers to the patronage by the Emperor.

After the demise of  Krishnadeva Raya and Achyuthadeva Raya, Purandara loses all patronage and in one of his compositions he asks Hari why he brought him into that state (Rajya), where there was no king to recognise him.

In another pada, he says he says he is bothered as there is no King or Emperor to honor him. This could be after 1542 when Achuta Deva Raya died and Aliya Rama Raya became de facto ruler of Vijayanagar.  

During the two and half decade rule of Aliya Rama Raya, royal  patronage to mathas and temples, religious institutions and seers,  Brahmins and Haridasas declined. Poets and writers, most of whom were Brahmins, also suffered. This is best exemplified by the state of the eminent Telugu poet, Allasani Peddana.

Peddanna is reduced to penury, and says “his life after the death of his patron (Krishna Deva Raya) was worse than death.”

All men of letters and seers move away from Vijayanagar. Vadiraja Theertha settles down on the coast and makes Sonda and Udupi his home. Vijendra Theertha and Sudheendra Theerta prefer to stay back at Kumbakonam. The seers of the Sripadaraja Matha at Mulabagal too keep away from Vijayanagar. The Vijayanagar kings also begin to give less patronage to the Sringeri Matha of Shankaracharya.

The Vijayanagar University declines and Kanchi and Madurai reemerge as main centres of learning in the south.

Kanaka Dasa also wanders all over Karnataka. Belur Vaikunta Dasa decides not to leave Belur in Hassan district.

Vijayanagar begins to rise as a decadant power, full of  internal disputes, family quarrels and a lazy life bereft of all morality and ethics. The punishment is quick and devastating. The Muslim states of the Deccan vanquish the Vijayanagar forces in the battle of  Talikota on 1565 and virtually grind Hampi to dust.  

The story of the suladi

The suladis were a form of poetry that were introduced in this world by the Haridasa of Karnataka.

The first among the Haridasas and saint-composers of Karnataka to use this form extensively to express his devotion to Hari was Sripadaraja (1412-1504) of Mulabagal near Kolar in Karnataka.

Sripadaraja used the suladi to describe Hari and he taught this form to his favourite disciple, Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha (1447-1539)who then passed it on to Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, Belur Vaikunta Dasa of the Dasa Koota and Vadiraja Theertha, Vijendra Theertha of the Vyasa Koota.

The word Suladi comes from the Sanskrit word Suda, which means gita. The Suladi is a composition rather very similar to the gita, another musical genre, in its arrangement and its musical structure. The Suladi is unique in the sense that for centuries after Sripadaraja it was composed only by Haridasas.

Musicians and musicologist trace the origin of Suladis to Salaga Suda (prabandha). The Salaga Suda was first described in detail in the 13^th century by Sarangadeva. These prabhandas comprised seven closely related sub-types all of the same tala. The first recorded Salaga Suda Prabhanda was called Dhruva Salaga Prabhanda and Sripadaraja, an incarnation of Dhruva, was among the first to use this form.

The content of the suladis by the Haridasa is more devotional and they are composed in different tempos such as vilambita, madhya and druta.

In a Suladi, each section is independent by itself. The pallavi (Pallavi generally is a single-line composition set to a single cycle of tala. The tala could range from the simple to the complex and there may also be different gatis being employed). is not sung at the conclusion of each section in a Suladi. In Suladis, some sections are sung in different tempos.

Usually, Haridasas, who were masters of music and literature,  composed their suladis in such a manner that a given Suladi will have a single raaga but multiple talas-generally seven. These talas will be set in place in a Suladi in succeeding parts. Some times, the Haridasas are such intricate masters of this genre that  there is a variation in raaga too. As such, it is not easy to compose Suladis. It requires mastery over music to render them properly. All the suladis of Haridasas have mythological, spiritual and religious themes. They do have an undercurrent of ethics too.

Purandara Dasa used the Suladi to focus on the conflicts of human life and Kanaka Dasa uses them to demolish the caste system. Vijaya Dasa uses them to exhort people to surrender to Hari and not to lead a decadent life.

Thus we see that the Suladi is an important vehicle for the Haridasas to give us a unique and thought provoking combination of intricate poetry with seamless music. The Suladis are lengthier compositions than the Ugabhogas and they are set to specific raagas and taalas.

Apart from Sripadaraya, other Dwaitha saints and Haridasas who composed Suladis were Vyasa Raya (1447-1539), Purandara Dasa (1484-1564), Kanaka Dasa (1509-1609) Vadiraja (1480-1600), Vijaya Dasa (1682-1755), Gopala Dasa (1722-1762) and Jagannatha Dasa of Manvi (1722-1809).

However, it must be remembered that it was Narahari Theertha, one of the four direct disciples of Madhwacharya, who first used this form to address Sri Hari. However, these suladis were in Snaskrit and his ankita here was Raghu Kula. After him, it fell into disuse and it was left to Sripadaraja to popularise it and compose in Kannada.

Sripadaraja taught the nuances of suladi to Vyasa Raja who in turn handed the baton to Purandara Dasa. Interestingly, Vyasa Raja follows his guru in writing a highly autobiographical suladi. In the Namasmarana Suladi, Vyas speaks of the many distractions and asks Hari to help him overcome them. He agrees that he has committed many sins and says he can get over them only by the grace of Sri Hari.

In Vyasa Raja’s next avatar as Raghavendra Swamy (1595-1671), he composed his only suladi- Avatara Traya Mukhyaprana Suladi – called Maruta Ninnaya Mahime.  

Vijaya Dasa in his suladi, “Dasa Purandara,” praises Purandara Dasa as his guru. He has also composed a suladi detailing the greatness of Sripadaraja.

In Andhra, Annamacharya composed the lone Suladi in Telugu and it has seven sections with each in a different raga. The suladi starts in Malavagaula and ends with Sriraga. The other ragas used in between are Daruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Trivida, Ata and Eka. This Suladi figures in the Tirupathi copper plate No: 41. In Tamil Nadu, Sahu Maharaja (1684-1720), the son of Shiavji’s half brother Ekoji, composed a suladi with seven sections in the order of  the following ragas- Malavagaula, Kedaragaula, Ritigaula, Kannadagaula, Narayanagaula, Purvagaula and Chhayagaula.

Much earlier, in Karnataka, Purandara Dasa had written  “navavidha bhakti prasamsa”, a Suladi where a particular bhakti mudra was introduced in each of the seven sections.   

By the way, the only available three notated Suladis composed by Purandara Dasa are contained in the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini written by Subbarama Dikshitar, a Telugu scholar and composer. It contains sections on composers, musicology and ragas of south Indian music. This book was first published in 1904.

Jagannatha Dasa of Manvi composed a suladi on Narasimha. It is a beautiful song and it shows us how much this dasa was devoted to his Narasimha. Gopala Dasa has written the suladi Virachita Rayara. In another suladi, he describes how Narahari, Rama, Krishna, Veda Vyasa can be seen atop the Brindavana of rayaru in Mantralaya and how they accept the offerings.

Kanaka Dasa has set his songs to Suladi as it is his most preferred genre.

Almost all the Haridasas have wriiten suladis and it would be well impossible to enumerate all of them. The suladi was one of the most popular forms of expression and in them, the Haridasas restructured music, made it more appealing and soul stirring. The Haridasas hewed the system to ensure that the suladis became the vehicle for propagation of Dwaitha philosophy in which Hari was supreme and Taratamya a way of life.    

When Rayaru gave moksha to Kanaka

Well, this incident happened in Hampi or Vijayanagar sometime in the early years of the 16^th Century.

Hampi was one of the greats cities of its time and its fame had spread far and wide. Foreign travelers and historians made a beeline to Hampi and went into raptures describing the beauty of the city.

The glory of Hampi  was not only due to the deeds of the Vijayanagar Emperors but also due to the unmatched growth in art, literature, religion and philosophy.

One of the shining lights of the Vijayanagar period Was Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha. Almost all the foreign travelers such as Nuniz, Domingo Peas and even Razak have spoken glowingly of this seer and his achievements.

Vyasa Raja had gathered a galaxy of shishyas each outdoing the other. Some of the Shiashyas were Vijendra Theertha, Sudhindra Theertha, Vadiraja Theertha, Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, Vaikunta Dasa and many others.

If Purandara was the master of Carnatic music, Vadiraja Theertha was God personified. Vijendra Theertha was an embodiment of  the 64 arts.

Many of the disciples, including the above mentioned greats met Vyasa Theertha, also called Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Raya at Hampi.

On one particular occasion, Vysaa Raja asked all his disciples to get together. The meeting took place at the Vijayanagar Vishwa Vidyalaya, of which Vyasa Raja was the Chancellor.

Even as the gathering watched, Vyasa Raja called all the three-Vadiraja Theertha, Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa- and discussed some aspects of the shastras and Vedas with them. The gathering was spell bound as they realized that they had in their midst four persons who had seen Sri Hari with their own eyes.  

It was then Vyasa Raja revealed a side he had never before shown anybody. Turning to Vadiraja Theertha, he said you will continue to live for many more years. (Vadiraja Theetha outlived Vyasa Raja and entered Brindavana only in 1600. By the way, Vyasa Raja entered Brindavana in 1536).

He then spoke lovingly to Purandara his favourite disciple. He said, Purandara you shall live longer than me but you have sic more births to go before attaining Moksha.

Vyasa Raja then astonished the gathering by telling Kanaka Dasa that he would meet him in the next birth. Vyasa Raja had given the Ankita Nama Kanaka to Thimappa Nayaka.

This was the first indication that Vyasa Raja gave to his devotees about his coming avatar as Raghavendra Swamy.

Vyasa Raja passed away in 1536 and took rebirth as Raghavendra Swamy in 1571.

By then, Purandara had died (in 1564 in Hampi) and Vadiraja Theertha was staying at Sode near Sirsi.  Kanaka Dasa was wandering around Karnataka and other places singing the glory of Hari. He died in 1609.

Raghavendra Swamy once came to Bellary and stayed at a Hanuman Temple on the banks of the Tungabhadra. Rayarui went to the river and had a bath. He then was about to enter the temple for performing the Moola Rama pooje when he noticed a person belonging to a lower caste standing nearby..

Rayaru looked at the person and spoke as if he had known him all his life.

“What, Kanaka. How are you. What are you doing here”, asked Rayaru.

The person called Kanaka relied. “I am as you see me. We meet again. I do not want to live anymore. I should be allowed to leave.”

Rayaru smiled at the answer and retorted, “If so what will you offer to my lord”.

The person said he would bring something and vanished from the place. He came back and gave a packet to Rayaru. The packet has mustard seeds, he said.

Rayaru did not say anything but handed over the packet to the cook and asked him to use it for the day’s cooking. This astonished everybody present there as it was Chaturmasa (October to January) and mustard seeds were Nishida or banned.

All the while, the person sat outside the temple watching the proceedings. When Rayaru finished the Moola Rama Pooje, he turned towards the person who then burst into a melodious song praising Moola Rama.

The moment the song ended. The person gave up his life and fell down dead. Even as the other devotees stood around the body anxiously, Rayaru did not show any emotion. Instead, he smiled and said,  “You have attained salvation or Moksha. Peace be with you.”

The perplexed devotes did not understand. It was then some persons in the matha where Rayaru was staying confirmed that Rayaru was Vyasa Theertha in his previous birth and he had just met Kanaka Dasa as a low caste person and helped him attain Moksha.

One of the eye witnesses to this entire episode was Krishna Swamy, a businessman.

Vyasa Raja had ruled over the Dharmic kingdom of Vijayanagar. However, Vijayanagar was shattered after the battle of Talikota in 1565. When Raghavendra Swamy visited Hampi, Nava Brindavana and Hospet, the Vijayanagar empire had practically vanished from the scene and all he saw was utter ruin and desolation.

Yet, not for a moment or even a day did Raghavendra Swamy allude to his glories during his past incarnation as Vyasa Raja. The only physical evidence he gave to his disciples was when he sat and meditated in front of the Brindavana of Vyasa Raja in Nava Brindavana.

The devotees could not contain their curiosity and some among them wanted to know why the venerable Vyasa was visible only to their Guru. It was then Raghavendra revealed that he was born as Vyasa Raja in his previous incarnation and he was only speaking to him.