Thyagaraja(May 4, 1767 – January 6, 1847), a Great Composer who has composed over 24.000 Songs in Telugu-only 700 are available now,is considered as the Pithamaha of Classical, Carnatic Music.
He was born in Thiruvaiyaru.
His compositions are sung even today and they are hugely popular.
He was not only a Composer but a great saint who lived and breathed Lord Rama.
His songs are devoted to Lord Rama, though he had sung on other Deities as well.
Saint ThyagarajaPancharatna Kritis singing at Thiruvaiyaru
Tyagaraja Aradhana, the commemorative music festival is held every year at Thiruvaiyaru in the months of January to February in Tyagaraja‘s honour. This is a week-long festival of music where various Carnatic musicians from all over the world converge at his resting place. On the Pushya Bahula Panchami,[Note 2] thousands of people and hundreds of Carnatic musicians sing the five Pancharatna Kritis in unison, with the accompaniment of a large bank of accompanists on veenas, violins, flutes, nadasvarams, mridangams and ghatams.
A crater on the planet Mercury is named Tyagaraja.
On this occasion all the Musicians of Traditional style congregate at Thiruvaiyaru, where his statue is installed and render his Songs. called kritis, are sung in chorus.
About ten thousand Musicians sing his Pancharatna Kriti in unison in a Pandal, a special and unique enclosure.
Pancharatna Kritis.
The term pancharatna in Sanskrit means five gems: The Pancharatnas are known as the five finest gems of Carnatic music. All the Pancharatnas are set to Adi Talam. So far as Pancharatnas are concerned, a stable text has been handed over by the earlier musicians to the present day. Several musicians have brought out editions of Pancharatnas. However, Veenai Sundaram Iyer’s edition is the most detailed and comprehensive. All the compositions of Tyagaraja show the way for the systematic development of the respective ragas. However, in the Pancharatnas, Tyagaraja has given full, exhaustive and complete treatment as to how to systematically and scientifically develop a raga. The two fundamental conditions that must be satisfied for a systematic development of a raga are the arrangement of the solfa swaras in the natural order of Arohanam and Avarohanam of the Ragas so as to satisfy the sound principles of harmony and continuity. Pancharatnas satisfy these scientific principles in an unparalleled manner. The Pancharatnas are composed in perfect sarvalaghu swaras.
The first pancharatna is Jagadanadakaraka, in the raga Nata. It is composed in lucid and poetic Sanskrit. It praises Lord Rama as the source of all joy in the universe. Originally there were only six charanams for the song and when the disciples examined the song it contained ninety names of Lord Rama in mellifluous Sanskrit. The disciples requested Tyagaraja to slightly expand the song by adding two charanas containing eighteen more names of Lord Rama. The saint acceded to the request of the disciples and that is the reason why the song Jagadanadakaraka contains two mudras containing the name of Tyagaraja while the other four songs contain only one mudra each.
The next is Duduku gala in the raga gowla set to adi talam. In this song Tyagaraja takes the blame upon himself for all the misdeeds of men and ruminates as to who would come and save him from this deplorable situation.
The third is Sadhinchene in the raga Arabhi set to adi talam. In this song Tyagaraja lovingly cricises Lord Krishna for his cleverness in getting what he wants to be done. Sadhichene is a breathtaking lullaby.
The fourth song, Kana kana ruchira is in the raga Varali set to adi talam. In this song Tyagaraja describes the infinite beauty of Lord Rama.
The fifth pancharatna is Endaro Mahanubhavulu. It is said that a great musician from Kerala, Shatkala Marar visited Tygaraja and performed before him. Tyagaraja was enchanted with his performance and then was born Endaro Mahanubhavulu, the unparallelled rhythmic beauty in Carnatic music.
Other notable compositions by Tyagaraja include saamajavaragamana in hindolam ragam, aadamodigaladhe in charukesi ragam, raju vedale in todi ragam, ninne nami naanura in pantuvaraliragam, and nagumomu kanaleni in Abheri ragam.
Ramayana is not only an Epic that sets forth ideals that guide Man in the Righteous path.
Being compiled by the great Seer Valmiki, it possesses the power of granting the wishes of those who read or recite it with faith.
Ramanama chanting, the recitation of Rama’s name absolves one of all sins and grants the beneficial results that accrue by reciting the One Thousand names of Lord Vishnu, Vishnu Sahasranaama.
Goddess Uma asks Lord Shiva the shortest route to get Lord Vishnu’s Grace and Shiva replies that it is the name Rama that will do the trick
Sri Rama Rama ramethi reme rame manorame,
Sahasra nama thathulyam rama nama varanan.There is interesting legend on Ramanama.
The Ramayana has 24000 slokas or verses.
All the Devatas excluding Lord Shiva had taken each Akshara, or letter as auspicious.
Lord Shiva, being late could not take anything
.
When Uma asked him he is reported to have replied that in their hurry the Devatas have forgooten two important letters, Ra and Ma.
and that he would take them.
Together they form Rama, the Bhjakshara of Lord Rama.
This, the Learned say is the origin of the Sloka Sri Rama Ramethi.
Though Ramayana showers benefits if recited, there are specific chapters for specific purposes or problems.
Sundara Kanda,or the Chapter of Beauty ,where Lord Hanuman finds Sita is believed, and, has to grant early marriage and good children.
There are various procedures in doing this Paarayana or daily recitation.
Women can also do the Parayan.
Parents of Children may also do the Parayan for the marriage of their children or for Grandchildren
Procedure.
!.To be done preferably in the Mornings.
2.Take bath and perform SandhyaVandan.
3.Pray Lord Ganesh and do Sankalpa, declare what exactly you Pray for.
4.Read preferably soundless the Sundara Kanda which has 68 Chapters.
Different ways of doing the Paarayana.
Reading 32 times
This consists of reading Chapter 1 to 38 on the first day and the rest the next day. This should be repeated 32 times in 64 days
Reading 24 times
This consists of reading Chapter 1-15 on the first day., 16-41 the next day and the rest of the chapters on the third day. This should be repeated 24 times in 72 days.
Reading 12 times
This consists of reading Chapter 1-15 on the first day., 16-32 on the second day., 33-51 on the third day and the rest of the chapters on the fourth day. This should be repeated 12 times in 48 days.
Reading 7 times
Read 7 chapters a day and complete reading on the fourteenth day and repeat it 7 times and complete the Parayana in 68 days.
Reading 4 times
Read ten chapters per day for the first 27 days and read the remaining 2 chapters on the 28th day,
Reading two times .
Read eight chapters per day and complete reading twice on the seventeenth day.
In all these cases on the last day, the last chapter of Yudha Kandam (131st chapter) should be read. On each day before and after the parayana boiled milk with Sugar should be offered as offering (Naivedya) to the God. On the day of completion it is desirable to give a feast to the Brahmins.
It is essential to offer Naivedya to God before and after the Parayana. It would be great if at the end of the Parayana, Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Lord Hanuman are worshipped using Sahasra Nama (1000 names). If someone is not capable of doing it, he can worship using 108 names of the God. As Naivedya boiled milk added with Sugar is supposed to be best offering to Lord Rama and Lotus and Thulasi (Ocimum) flowers are the best to worship the Lord. If not available any flower can be used. However Karavira(Arali) should never be used. Offering to God Pomegranate would bring in immense benefits.It would be better to the devotee to Chant Rama Gayathri during the beginning, Avahana and end of the worship.
Panaka or Jaggery water with Dry Ginger,Green chillies may be offered as Naivedya every day.
On the Concluding day Rama Pattabhisheka sarga may be recited in addition and as naivedyam Cooked Rice, Ghee, Dhal, Vada may be offered.
If you can afford , donate one set of Dhoti and Angavastra and a Saree and Blouse piece for the poor.
I have been reading the Eighteen Puranas in detail for the past couple of days.
La tristesse de Sîtâ (Preah Khan, Angkor) (Photo credit: dalbera)
Though I knew there are some differences between the Puranas, I never did realize that there could be something fundamentally contradictory between their narrative details of the Ithihasa, especially the Ramayana!
Though many of us are aware that there are various versions of The Ramayana,we assume that would be very minor,
For instance, some Ramayans state that Sita was not physically abducted directly by Ravana,”
a)The ground on which she stood was lifted by Ravana and he took of.
b)Ravana lifted Sita by her hair.
c)Sita was lifted by Ravana holding her by her hips.
But Valimiki states that Sita was abducted.
‘
“In Aaraya kandam, Sarkam 49, page 151,
Sri C.R. Srinivasa Iyengar translates that
Ravana lifts Sita by his right hand by touching her thighs.
It shows Sita’s willingness
The point is that Ravana’s head will burst and his body will be burnt
if he touches a unwilling woman
It was a curse on Ravana”(http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110323111752AAa7ajG)
But leaving these points apart, there has been a aview that Ravana did not abuct the Real Sita at all!
But I found a refernce to this in The Koorma Puarana.
It states that Sita knew it was Ravana who had come in the form of a Sanyasi and hence she ,with the blessings of Agni,had a Maya Sita created and it was this Sita Ravana abducted and when when the Maya Sita enetred into the Fire after the killing of Ravana by Lord Rama, the Real Sita emerged and the Maya Sita dispeeared in the fire.
This is explained while extolling the Virtuous that those who are vituous will come to no harm.
The same is stated in The Brahma Vaivastha Purana.
Though the Puranas are old and are also authentic I still belive the Valimki version because the additional details provided in The Ramayana by Valmiki on Lord Ram‘s Birth,Death, His
Date of Birth are found to be true9Please read my posts on these).
Probably these are interpolations in the Puranas to insist on the Glories of Virtues.
One of the most controversial topics is whether the Aryans invaded India and later settled here and if so from where did they come from?
I have already posted a blog .The Myth called Aryan Invasion’
The scientific research proves that there is no Aryan Invasion at all.
I will be adding some more points to disprove this Myth and before that there are some questions to be answered ,the questions arising out of Ramayana.
Rama and the others ; hailing from the Northerner part of India and if the Ramayana is a fact,which it is( I have posts on this under Hinduism),Lord Rama and others should have been fair-skinned,
But the description of Rama is Blue Black.
This is based on the conception of Lord Vishnu as Black in color.while Lakshmi is Golden (Hiranya varnaam(Sri Suktham), Lord Shiva of Reddish Hue,Parvati of greenish hue, as per the Purana.
But based on geographical origin and the present people living in North India Rama should have been fair-skinned.
We have two options.
1.Ramayana was a fiction.
This is incorrect as the Astronomical data provided in the Ramayana and other Purana stand the test of Science.
Ramayana is a fact.
So we are left with the other option that there have been other skinned people in India before Ramayana and there has been an a mix of various groups having different racial characteristics.
Lord Rama could have been an exception as far as color is concerned.
Others in the Ramayana were not of the same hue as Rama.
Sita was fair-skinned.
Against this Ravana was not described as dark-skinned and he is the brother of Kubera who is fair-skinned and Ravana is a Brahmin though he is described as a Dravidian!
Therefore logic forces one to conclude that there were more races in India than one homogeneous Race in India which included Sri Lanka.
Again if one refers to any of the Eighteen Purana, one would find descriptions of people both black and fair-skinned.
And not all Brahmins were fair-skinned.
For example, Aurava and you can find Brahmins of Dark hue in South India.
The Indian Society expanded outwards, not from outwards.
This is why one finds remnants of Hindu Thoughts in all the continents more specifically Egypt, central America , Australia and the Middle East.
The early Indian Society was based on disposition, Varna, Brahmanas, Kshatriya , Vaishya and Sudras.
Therefore the Brahmins did not come from any where to India and were a part of India Society.
There is a school of thought which establishes that the Dravidian were living South of the Vindhya range and later they mixed with the people from the South.
Sage Viswamitra banished his sons to the South and they intermingled with the Dravidians.
Sage Apasthamba came from this mixed race and he composed the Apasthamba Sutra of the Vedas and it is being followed by the Brahmins of South India even today.
Some more objections to Aryan Invasion of India.
“
1) If the ‘light skinned and mostly blonde haired and blue eyed’ Aryans had really invaded India and settled here thereafter, then why are such people with pure Caucasian features rarely found in India now? If it is because of centuries of racial intermixing, then how come one can still find some quite dark skinned people in India but not central Asian/ European type ‘white’ skinned people in India? Even the light brown skinned people found in the far north of India in places like Kashmir aren’t as fair as the ‘Aryans’ are considered to be.
2) The Aryans divided themselves into 3 classes. The fourth class was the lowly ‘Shudra’ class, explained by the European historians as the Aryan conquered Dravidians’ class. By this logic, all the high castes, esp. the Brahmins had to be white/ light brown skinned and the people belonging to the ‘Shudra’ class had to be dark brown skinned. And yet, many dark skinned Brahmins and light skinned ‘Shudras‘ can easily be found in India – both in north as well as south. And upon that, inter-caste marriages, esp. high and low caste ones, are still uncommon in almost all parts of India. Another point regarding castes is that – Valmiki, the writer of the great Indian epic ‘Ramayana’, was born a Shudra, but ultimately, by attaining the Brahminical aspect of knowledge earning, spiritual understanding and noble mannerisms, became a Brahmin. ‘Ramayana’ is the story (does not matter if it was factual or myth) of a Kshtriya (Aryan) prince of North India – Lord Rama, who at the climax of the story defeats and kills the demonic king of Sri Lanka (south of India) – Ravana. Now, even though Ravana was a Brahmin (Aryan) by caste, he is considered, in the Indian spiritual folklore, as an UnArya or a non-Aryan, on account of his demonic deeds. This all suggests that caste system, originally, was not rigid, and that, ‘Aryan’ was an open, attainable socio-spiritual status.
3) How come almost all the light brown skinned people in India (considered to be the descedants of the original Aryans) belong to the cold climate locations of India like Kashmir and Himachal and the dark brown skinned (considered to be the Dravidians themselves) belong to the warm climate locations? This suggests that skin colour in India has more do do with the climate and atmosphere of a particular region in India.
4) If the Aryans were outsiders in India, then why do their spiritual-cultural-social compilation ‘The Vedas’ do not mention any outside cities, rivers and mountains? Why do they only mention the places that are found in India, as their sacred most? Why not some place in Caucasus or Iran? Why don’t the Vedas, which contain references to many battles, contain no reference to an ‘invasion’ of the land of Indus-Saraswati (India)? How come the modern descendants of Aryans in India have no recollection of their foreign origins? How come the descendants of Shudras (so called Dasas or Dasyus or Dravidians or indigenous race of India) have no recollection of an Aryan invasion of their land and their subsequent subjugation because of a defeat at the hands of the Aryans?
5) If the Dravidians’ Indus valley civilization met its end at the hands of the invading Aryans, then how come no horse remains, broken chariots and burned buildings were discovered in and around the valley.
You must be logged in to post a comment.