The advocate who became a Haridasa

He was born and brought up in an orthodox Madhwa family. He became an advocate and a very popular one at that. He had a good practice and he gave it up after he became a Haridasa.

Today, he is more known as one of the persons who played a leading part in compiling, protecting and bringing to light many compositions of he Haridasas of Karnataka along with the scripts.

This man was from Raichur district and he was born in devout Madhwa family where discourses on Shastras and Puranas were held every day.

He was also a freedom fighter and he was put behind the bars for reading about the freedom movement and defying the censorship laws. 

This man is none other than Gorebala  Hanumantha Rao who was born in Lingasur of Raichur district in 1893. Hanumantha Rao was born in Gorebala village to Venkata Rao and Balamma.

Venkata Rao was working as a clerk and he gave good education to his son who then went on to graduate in law. He took up law as his good friend Swami Rao who later became Varadesha Vittala Dasa and was the son of  Rama Dasa ( Sri Pranesha Vittala), was a advocate.

Soon, Gorebala  Hanumantha Rao became a famous advocate. He practised law for some time before he became a disciple of Guru Jagannatha Vittala Dasa of Kosigi.

Guru Jagannatha Dasa initiated Hanumantha Rao into the Haridasa fold and gave him the ankita Sundara Vittala. Once Hanumantha Rao received the ankita, he stopped practicing law. He then turned his attention to Haridasa Sahitya.

He also earnestly translated Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Pancharatna, Puranas and Brahmasutra Bashyas from Sanskrit to Kannada. He then started Sri Varadendra Haridasara Sahitya Mandali. 

The Mandali collected many manuscripts of Haridasa Krithis belonging to Sripadaraja, Purandara Dasa, Raghavendra swamy, Vijaya Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa and his disciples, Vasudeva Vittala Dasa, Guru Vijaya Vittala Dasa and many others.

In 1957, he started Karnataka Haridasa Sahithya, a magazine, that was published for two years before being discontinued. He was felicitated in 1964 for his role in popularizing Kannada by the Raichur Kannada Sangha.

Even today, old timers of  Lingasugur recall how Mr. Rao used to travel from one house to another selling books on Madhwa philosophy and Haridasa Sahitya. His only aim was to popularise these books among the people and ensure that the teachings and compositions were not forgotten.

He passed away in 1969.  

The Haridasa with a difference

Haridasas are generally Vaishnavas and almost all of the Haridasas right from the time of Narahari Theertha have composed hymns and songs on Sri Hari and sung his glory.

The Haridasas have accepted Hari as the supreme god and Madhwacharya as their guru. All the Haridasas have scrupulously followed the tenets laid down by Madhwacharya.

Indeed, the origin of Haridasa Sahitya and Sangeetha goes back to the Dwadesha Stotra composed by Madhwacharya. Several Madhwa saints and composers who followed him  accepted the Vaishnava faith and propagated it in their compositions.

Thus, all the Haridasas were either Vaishnavas or converted to Vaishnava faith. If not, they wrote and sang about Hari even if they belonged to a different stream of philosophy. One of the best examples of such a Haridasa is Belur Vaikunta Dasa. A Srivaishnava, he had no hesitation in becoming a disciple of  Vyasa Raja, a Madhwa or Vaishnava saint, and writing several compositions on Hari.

Another fine example was that of Kanaka Dasa. Though not a Brahmin, he wrote about Hari and the other avatars of  Vishnu. However, in recent years, another Haridasa has shot into prominence. It is not merely because he belongs to another religion. It is also so because he sings with great devotion and faith.

This person is none other than Kanakagiri Hussein Sab or Hussein Sab Kanakagiri.

Kanakagiri Hussein Sab is a true Muslim but he also sings the glory of Hari as he finds no distinction between the two. A front runner of the Haridasa Sahitya movement today, he is at ease singing Haridasa compositions and reciting the Koran.

This Haridasa has given several concerts on Haridasa Sangeeta in Raghavendra Swamy mathas such as in Jogeshwari in Mumbai and other places including Bangalore.

A Hindustani musician himself, Hussein Sab also sings compositions of many Haridasas and even gives concerts on them.  He was born to Yamanur Sab and Honnur Bi of Kanakagiri on May 5, 1954. A devout Muslim by birth, he also grew up learning the philosophy of Haridasa. He learnt music from Devappayya Kakhandaki, a master of Hindustani music, in Bijapur.

He did his BSc in Agriculture and joined a agrochemical company. He is married to Raja Bi and he has three sons and all of them are engineers- Sabjan Sab, Habib Sab and Kasim Sab. Incidentally, Habib Sab is also a musician and he sung devotional and film songs.

What sets out Hussein Sab from others is that he has a vast repertoire of Haridasa compositions and he speaks in chaste Kannada. He also has a deep and abiding knowledge of Haridasa Sahitya, Sangeetha and of course Dwaitha philosophy. ‘

He has been awarded several times for his excellence in singing. The Mantralaya Matha of Raghavendra Swamy has conferred on him Gayana Gandharva. Some of his other awards include Sri Vijayeendra Puraskara, Vishwarupa National Celebration Award, Sri Narayana, Sri Krishnanugraha, Rajayogi, Pratibha Shree, Hari keertanashresta, Daasashree,  and Swara Surabhi.

He also been conferred the Rajyotsava award by the Karnataka Government in 1999.

He is the Chairman of Haridasa Seva Samiti and the district representative of Karnataka Gamaka Kala Parishat , founder member of Vijayaraaya Seva Samiti, Raichur.

By the way, he has also constructed a community hall at Chikallaparavi or Chippageri named as Sri Vijayaraaya Kalyana Mantapa.

He has several music albums to his credit including, Dasare Gati, Haridasaru kanda Gururajaru, Haridas Vani, Kori Karevevu Guru Raghavendrane, Kaayo Kaveri Ranga, Sri Vyasaraya Gana Chandrika. 

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.    

The sound of music

There has been a rather close connection between music and philosophy, at least in the Madhwa Parampare. The two has been  closely intertwined between the two right from the time of Madhwacharya (1199-1287).

Madhwacharya, the pioneer of  Madhwa Siddantha, sparked the first waves of  Haridasa Sahitya when he composed the beautiful and evocative Dwadashi Stotra. Soon, one of his four direct disciples, Narahari Theertha, followed his Guru and began composing poems in the name of Hari.

Though Narahari Theertha was a prolific composer, only three compositions of his remain. They are “Yanthu marulade nanenthu”,  meaning  how deluded have I become: “Hariye idu sariye” - meaning Hari is this proper and “Tiliko ninnologe neene,” meaning knowing within thyself. He wrote under the Ankita Narahari or Narahari Raghupathi.

The actual credit for writing in Kannada goes to Narahari Theertha and this was subsequently popularised by Sripadaraja (1404-1502) of  Mulabagal.  Some of his famous devaranamas with his ankita Ranga Vitala are “Ne ittahange iruveno hariye”, Kangalidyathako kaveri rangana nodada and Bhushanake Bhushana.

Sripadaraja wrote kirtanes, Ubhabhogas, suladis,Dandakas ands Vrittanamas and set them to music. 

It was Sripadaraja who taught Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha (1447-1539) all the arts and Vyasa Raja wrote under the Ankita Krishna or Sri Krishna. His most famous composition is “Krishna Nee Begane Baro” which today is ranked among the top songs of all times.

However, it is to the credit of  Vyasa Raja that he founded and nurtured the Haridasa or Dasa Koota and Vyasa Koota or philosophical school. He was entirely responsible for the coming of age of  several Haridasas such as Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa and Vaikunta Dasa.   

Vadiraja Theertha (1480-1600) was among the most prolific Madhwa seers. He wrote several songs and stotras which are popular even to this day such as Lakshmi Shibana, Dashavatara Stotra.

Raghavendra Swamy (1595-1671) is among the best known Madhwa saints among non-Madhwas. He is also ranked as highly by Madhwas as by others and he inspired the second renaissance of the Haridasa movement.

There are more than a hundred dasas (infact the count is closer to two hundred) who have written about Raghavendra Swamy and most of them are from Raichur and north Karnataka. Some of the notable dasas who have written on Rayaru include Vijaya Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa of Manvi who wrote Harikathamrutsara, Gopala Dasa, Guru Jaganatha Dasa (of Kosigi and Koutalam), Pranesha Dasa, Ibharampura Appa, Krishna Avadootaru and others. 

Historically, the earliest dasa is Achalananda of Haiganpura in Bangalore. He is believed to have lived in the 9th century. However what is amazing is that his compositions closely resemble those of the 16th century. He has written on Narasimha, his favourite deity.
He was the first Dasa to tour India and also propagate the Bhakti movement. His Ankita is Achalananda Vittala. After him, some of his family members or descendents such as Gopinatha, Haridasa, Mudduvithala, Timmannadasa, and Panduranga also propagated the Bhakti cult.

Unfortunately, most of Achalananda Dasa’s compositions are lost and there is also not much evidence of his exact period. All we know is that he placed Lord Narasimha in a palanquin or Pallaki and walked barefoot behind it. He travelled in this manner all over India and sang the glories of Narasimha.

He has been quoted extensively by Belur Keshava Dasa (1884-1944), the son of Belur Venkata subba Dasaru. He has traced his lineage to Vijaya Dasa.  

After this Dasa, the first trace of Haridasa movement is during the life and times of Madhwacharya and subsequently during the time of Sripadaraja and Vyasaraja and again during the period of Raghavendra Swamy and after the centuries after he entered Brindavana.

Another little known figure is Belur Vaikunta Dasa (1480-1555), a close friend and contemporary of  Purandara Dasa. He was also a disciple of  Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha and he wrote under the Ankita Vaikunta. He has many compositions on Hari to his credit. He is belibed to have been reborn as Venugopala Dasa and because of his earlier birth he was called Pangunamada Dasa.

Though Vaikunta Dasa was a Srivaishnavite by birth, he became a Haridasa. He never left Belur and whenever he did, he stayed at Hampi where he interacted with Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa and Krishna Deva Raya.

He was specially blessed by Lord Krishna who danced in front of him whenever he sang. It was Vadiraja who gave him the name Vaikunta Dasa. Both Vadiraja and Kanaka have praised Vaikunta Dasa and his compositions.