Today we
will explore “Keerthanam”.
Keerthanam
means “PRAISE”.
Keerthanams
are composed and sung in Praise of a Deity – God.
Music has always been a means of worship in Hindu Religion.
Music has a
profound ability to both impact and express human emotions.
The best way to
express your emotions to God is music.
Basics of Carnatic Vocal is a part of my certification
program in Bharatanatyam and I have to learn to sing 2 Keerthanams before my
exam in Dec 2020.
Lets start
exploring Keerthanams , usually Keerthanams are composed in Sanskrit.
As a child i have learnt a few Keerthanams dedicated to Lord Ayappa from my mother who learnt them from my Grand father.
Here is a
list of Carnatic music composers who have composed thousands of Keerthanams during their life time.
As seen from the list above ,
Basavanna was the first music composer of 12th century from Karnataka who composed
one of the main Ragams called Kalyani Ragam .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basava
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basava
The first
ever Ragam that came into existence was – “Kalyani Ragam”
Raagam means
a “ A Combination of musical notes “.
Kalyani Raagam
: Saa , ni , dha , pa , dha , ma , ga, ri,
ni , ri , saa, ni , ri , ga, ma , dha , ma , pa , dha , ni.
Basavanna’s Keerthanams
are dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Akka
Mahadevi was another music composer of 12th century from Karnataka who
composed a famous Ragam called – “Bhairavi”.
Akka Mahadevi’s Keerthanams are dedicated to Lord Mallikarjuna (Lord
Shiva).
While Basavanna was more
of a philosopher than a Musician , and Akka Mahadevi was more of
a poet than musician , Annamacharya was a 14th
century musician from Andhra Pradesh who wrote about
36,000 musical compositions or Keertanams praising Lord
Venkateshwara of Tirupati Tirumala Temple.
Annamacharya
brought the esoteric Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas within the
reach of the common man and he composed thousands of hymns in praise of
Lord Sri Maha Vishnu.
Annamacharya’s statue is found
in Tirupati Tirumala Temple and his Keerthanams are sung
inside the Tirupati Tirumala Temple.
“Purandaradasa”
was a Carnatic Vocalist, Scholar, Saint, Poet, Composer of 14th
century from Karnataka who wrote and composed music for as many 400,000 Keerthanams praising Lord Maha Vishnu.
Purandaradasa
was the one who created a standard structure for Keerthanams which are described below.
Pallavi -
This is the start of the song. The first two lines of the song. They occur
after every other stanza in the song.
Anupallavi - The pallavi that is followed by two or three more lines is called the anupallavi. Generally, there is only one anupallavi in any song. This may go to a higher frequency than pallavi and adds beauty to the music
Charanam - These are stanzas of the song which have the same tune. There can be more than one charanam for a song. Pallavi is sung after every charanam. These form the end root of the song.
Anupallavi - The pallavi that is followed by two or three more lines is called the anupallavi. Generally, there is only one anupallavi in any song. This may go to a higher frequency than pallavi and adds beauty to the music
Charanam - These are stanzas of the song which have the same tune. There can be more than one charanam for a song. Pallavi is sung after every charanam. These form the end root of the song.
The
Purandara Mantapa is found adjoining the
Vijayavittala temple (Lord Maha Vishnu temple) at Hampi in Karnataka is one of the
longstanding monuments relating to Purandara Dasa. This is where he is said to
have composed Keerthanams and sung in
praise of Lord Maha Vishnu.
Photos shot by me in July 2017.
HAMPI : A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.
If you have
heard of the combination of Arts and Science , then you can also witness this
combination at Vijayavittala temple in the city of Hampi
It is said
that the great music composer Purandaradasa , who lived in Hampi had
constructed a 100 stone pillared musical hall inside the temple under the
rule of Sri Krishnadevaraya , and there are 100 musical stone pillars inside
the hall
If you tap any pillar you will hear the music.
Indian History
try to match Hampi with Rome and Greece.
Hampi just can’t be compared not even with Taj Mahal. Hampi is a combination of MUSIC + SCIENCE which is absent in Taj Mahal.
Hampi just can’t be compared not even with Taj Mahal. Hampi is a combination of MUSIC + SCIENCE which is absent in Taj Mahal.
Musical Pillared Hall .
Tap any pillar and you hear the MUSIC in a particular Ragam (Sa......Ni...) with a particular Talam.
Every pillar produces a different Ragam with a Different Talam.
Its MAGIC!
2017 ..
There are many
such granite musical stones that lay abandoned inside the temple premise that produces music when you tap them, tears roll out of your eyes when you
hear the music.
Tap the stone and keep your Ear close to the stone.
In 2017,
There Is a
statue of Purandaradasa at the foot of seshachalam , the abode of Tirumala
Tirupati Lord Venkateshwara temple in Andhra Pradesh , as Purandaradasa conveyed the essence of the Vedas
, epics, puranas and upanishads in his poems for the benefit of humanity.
Purandaradasa’s
Sanskrit Keerthanams are also sung inside the Tirupati Tirumala Temple even
today.
Kanakadasa
was another music composer of 15th century from the state of Karnataka
and his Keerthanams are sung in Udupi Krishna Temple.
Udupi Krishna Temple photo shot by me in 2019.
Bhakta Kanakadasa a poet who
was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna once came to visit Udupi Krishna temple ,
temple priests did not allow him to
enter the temple because he was from a lower caste . Kanakadasa stood on the
backside of the temple on the west and began to sing poems praising Lord Krishna!
Lord could
not resist taking a look at his devotee and he turned his face towards the
window facing west.
In the temple – “Deity
can be seen only from the west”.
The deity in
this temple cannot be seen from the east front entrance, but from the west
through a window!
Such is the
power of Music and Keerthanams.
Bhadrachala
Ramadasu was a 17th century composer
of Carnatic music from the south Indian state called Andhra Pradesh.
In all his Keerthanams,
Bhadrachala Ramadasu has praised Lord Rama and his Keerthanams are sung in Lord
Rama Temples.
Bhadrachala Ramadasu’s Keerthanams is said to have a heightened emotional feeling that it can bring
life into the dead .
Ye theeruga nanu daya
joochedavo...
Inavamsotthama raama....
Naa
tharamaa.. Bhava saagarameedanu nalina dalekshana raama..
"In what way are
you going to show me your kindness.. Oh Lord Rama,
Please don’t take into
account the sins that I did unknowingly. I have been bleeding people to satisfy
my greed for power and wealth - Please help me cross the ocean of
materialism".
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