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Navavaranams
- A Study Of Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi And Dikshitar
By Chitravina N.Ravikiran |
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The Navavarana pooja forms the mantric-tantric ritualistic
part of Devi worship, associated with the Srichakra
pooja. An avarana may be understood as a covering,
a veil that must be removed in order to reach the
supreme Shakti, residing at the centre point (bindu).
It must be noted that each avarana has its own set
of rituals associated with it and those practicing
this worship are generally required to be thoroughly
aware of details such as chakra, yogini and mudra
devatas associated with it. This kind of ritual
is said to have originated sometime around the 10th
century AD and is followed by certain sects even
today. |
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Two of the greatest composers in
Carnatic music have composed krtis specifically
intended for this occasion. They are Oottukkadu
Venkata Kavi and Muttuswami Dikshitar. Another renowned
composer, Swati Tirunal, has composed a set known
as 'Navaratri krtis' addressed to Lakshmi, Saraswati
and Devi but these do not have the avarana ritualistic
details like the other two.
It is now fairly well accepted that Venkata Kavi
was the first to compose Navavarana krtis. Late
T.S. Parthasarathy, in his foreword to Sankaranarayanan's
book, 'Kamakshi Navavaranams,' states that "Venkata
Kavi's command over Sanskrit is breath-taking but
the language used by him in many places is abstruse,
as it ought to be, as the subject is esoteric."
Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi is
said to have lived between the period of Purandara
Dasa-Annamacharya and the Trinity and his period
is placed roughly between 1700 and 1765. Venkata
Kavi attained enormous popularity through mellifluous
compositions in Tamil such as Alaippayude (Kanada),
Taye Yashoda (Todi), Pal vadiyum mukham (Nattaikkuranji)
but these are in reality a small side of him. Only
recently, a majority of his works have been discovered
by the music field at large and these reveal that
he possessed tremendous scholarship in both Sanskrit
and Tamil and was a master of melody and rhythm,
who composed hundreds of pieces suitable for music,
dance, operas and musical discourses. The doyen
of Carnatiac music Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer had
little hesitation in stating in a commendation of
Sankaranarayanan's book (mentioned above) that "Oottukkadu
Venkata Kavi is in the same stature as the famed
Trinity of Carnatic Music".
Muthuswami
Dikshitar (1773 - 1835) needs no introduction
to music lovers. He is one of the greatest composers
in world music and arguably the most complete composer
in Indian music in the sense of his familiarity
with Carnatic, Hindustani and Western music. Dikshitar
has few to rival him in planning and executing grand
themes like vibhakti krtis on Rama, Krishna, Kartikeya
and masterpieces like Sri Rajagopala (Saveri), Ranganayakam
(Nayaki), Chetashri (Dwijavanti), to name a few.
But, in reality, the Navavaranams of these two great
seers have a far greater significance than this
glittering annual festival of nine nights. They
can be rendered at any time of the year.
This article attempts to take a bird's eye's view
of both these great composers' Navavaranams.
KAMAKSHI NAVAVARANAMS
OF OOTHUKKADU VENKATA KAVI
| Song |
Raga |
Tala |
Remarks |
| Sri Ganeshwara |
Shanmukhapriya |
Adi |
Vinayaka stuti |
| Vanchayasi edi kushalam |
Kalyani |
Adi |
Dhyana stuti |
| Santatam aham seve |
Deshakshi |
Adi |
1st avaranam |
| Bhajaswa sri tripura sundari |
Nadanamakriya |
Adi |
2nd avaranam |
| Sarva jeeva dayapari |
Shuddhasaveri |
M Chapu |
3rd avaranam |
| Yogayogeshwari |
Anandabhairavi |
Khanda Triputa |
4th avaranam |
| Neela lohita ramani |
Balahamsa |
Khanda Dhruvam |
5th avaranam |
| Sadanandamayi |
Hindolam |
Sankeerna Mathyam |
6th avaranam |
| Sakala loka nayike |
Arabhi |
Adi |
7th avaranam |
| Shankari sri Rajarajeshwari |
Madhyamavati |
Adi |
8th avaranam |
| Natajana kalpa valli |
Punnagavarali |
Adi |
9th avaranam |
| Haladharanujam |
Manirangu |
Adi |
Phala stuti |
Notes:
1. The usage of
the verb bhajasva is rare. The composer uses the
root bha, to ask the Goddess to resort to him, to
turn her attention towards him.
2. For the 6th avaranam in Hindolam, another version
also exists in Khanda Matya with largely different
lyrics.
3. Some scholars believe that Sri chakra matangi
(Suruti) is appropriate for Mangala krti.
KAMALAMBA NAVAVARANAMS
OF MUTHUSWAMI DIKSHITAR
| Song |
Raga |
Tala |
Remarks |
| Sri Mahaganapatiravatumam |
Gowla |
Mishra Chapu |
Vinayaka stuti |
| Kamalambike |
Todi |
Tishra Ekam |
Dhyana stuti |
| Kamalamba |
Anandabhairavi |
Mishra Chapu |
1st avaranam |
| Kamalambam bhajare |
Kalyani |
Adi |
2nd avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambikaya |
Shankarabharanam |
Tishra Ekam |
3rd avaranam |
| Kamalambikayai |
Kambhodhi |
Khanda Atam |
4th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambayah |
Bhairavi |
Mishra Jhampa |
5th avaranam |
| Kamalambikayah |
Punnagavarali |
Tishra Ekam |
6th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambikayam |
Sahana |
Tishra Triputa |
7th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambike |
Ghanta |
Adi |
8th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalamba |
Ahiri |
Tishra Ekam |
9th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambike |
Sri |
Khanda Ekam |
Mangala stuti |
Notes:
1. Dikshitar has
composed the pieces in different vibhaktis.
Now, let me try and compare and contrast both these
works.
Deity addressed:
While Venkata Kavi has addressed his compositions
to the Goddess Kamakshi of Kanchi, Dikshitar addressed
his to Goddess Kamalamba of Tiruvarur. Both choices
are interesting in different ways. Tiruvarur was
the birthplace of Dikshitar and he highlighted the
presiding deity of his hometown. Kamakshi of Kanchi,
on the other hand, is of direct significance to
followers of Srichakra pooja.
Intent
and goal: It is remarkable that Venkata
Kavi asks the Goddess to grant the acquaintance
of Lord Krishna in the piece, Haladharanujam praptum
in Manirangu. It is noteworthy that the gopis worshipped
the Devi with precisely the same end in mind. Dikshitar's
navavaranams seem intended directly for the Goddess'
own benevolence.
Complimentary
pieces: Though the main pieces are 9 in
number, both Venkata Kavi and Dikshitar have composed
a preliminary worship piece (dhyana krti) and a
concluding auspicious piece (mangala krti/phala
stuti). Venkata Kavi has also composed a piece on
Lord Vinayaka, Sri Ganeshwara (Shankmukhapriya)
where he specifically refers to this Lord as 'srividyopasana
bodhakara' while Dikshitar's Sri Mahaganapatiravatumam
(Gowla) is taken to be the Vinayaka stuti for his
Navavarana set presumably because it mentions Tiruvarur
through the phrase, 'kamalalaya tataviharo'.
Style: Though the subject
matter is much the same and many essential facts
cannot be changed, both these composers have created
the pieces in such contrasting styles. The choice
of words, the manner of expression leave one in
little doubt that two great minds have been at work
and though they think alike, their expressions are
distinctly original. Venkata Kavi's style is - like
most of his other compositions - highly personal
and direct, while Dikshitar's is generally introverted
and meditative.
Ragas selected:
Dikshitar chose several Ghana Ragas for his Navavaranams
like Todi, Shankarabharanam, Kambhodhi, Kalyani,
Bhairavi and also added some rakti ragas like Sahana,
Ghanta, Anandabhairavi, Ahiri and Punnagavarali.
Venkata Kavi chose rakti ragas like Anandabhairavi,
Punnagavarali, Nadanamakriya, a couple of (now)
rare ones like Deshakshi and Balahamsa and used
a ghana raga like Kalyani only one piece (Dhyana
stuti).
Tempo: The tempo
(kalapramanam) of the entire Navavarana set of Dikshitar
is measured, often with sparse words that clothe
them with majesty. Compositions like Sri Kamalambikaya
(Shankarabharanam), Sri Kamalambike (Ghanta), have
a meditative feel to it. Venkata Kavi's compositions
contrast with this style in a significant manner
and are mostly in medium tempo with words akin to
a torrential downpour in some instances. Even the
slow, meditative pieces such as Yoga yogeshwari
(Anandabhairavi), Neelalohita ramani (Balahamsa)
and Sadanandamayi (Hindolam) have faster (madhyamakala)
sections reflecting his Niagara like flow.
Scholarship: Both Venkata Kavi
and Dikshitar have shown their tremendous scholarship
and familiarity with the intricacies of mantric-tantric
rituals associated with the Srichakra pooja in their
avarana krtis. Venkata Kavi's pieces abound in the
chakra, yogini details of each avarana as also the
Mudra devatas. Muttuswami Dikshitar has also incorporated
several of these details in his pieces. Venkata
Kavi prefers to reveal these early on in the piece
while Dikshitar has tended to do so in the latter
part of his compositions. Venkata Kavi also makes
references to the seed (beeja) mantra in a few of
his compositions, like haim, kleem, eem and so on.
Rhythmic command: Both
Venkata Kavi and Dikshitar have shown their proficiency
in rhythm in these compositions by using some interesting
talas, apart from Adi, Mishra Chapu etc. Dikshitar
opts for talas in the Sapta tala system like Mishra
Jhampa, Khanda Ata, Tishra Triputa etc. It should
be noted that many of Dikshitar's tala choices were
based on the kind of chakra that he was focusing
on. For example, the 4th song in Kambodhi is based
on Sarvasowbhagya dayaka chakra symbolized by 14
triangles and he used the 14-unit Khanda Ata for
this.
Venkata Kavi has chosen his Kamakshi navavaranams
to set bars in rhythm that has seldom been rivaled.
He opted to compose in rare talas from the 35 tala
system such as Khanda Triputa (9 units), Khanda
Dhruvam (17-units) and Sankeerna Matyam (20 units).
He has also indulged in gati bhedam (shift of gait)
in his Madhyamavati piece, Shankari where he flits
back and forth from Chaturashra (4 units) and Tishra
(3 units). In his piece in Hindolam, Sadanandamayi,
he has employed another remarkable innovation -
change of kalai in the charanam (from 2 kalais to
1 kalai). This composition remains a singular example
of this excellent feature.
Signature:
Venkata Kavi has used his mudra, 'Venkata Kavi'
only in 3 compositions (out of nearly 400 compositions
that have come down to us). One of them is the avarana
krti in Madhyamavati, Shankari Sri Rajarajeshwari.
'Guruguha' was Dikshitar's signature and appears
in all of his works.
Overall Quality:
The Navavarana pieces of Dikshitar and Venkata Kavi
can easily find their placement among the best works
in Carnatic music. The intellectual, aesthetic and
the spiritual merge to create a wonderful blend
- that is the delight of musicians, music lovers,
students of music, Sanskrit scholars, experts in
the Srichakra pooja and numerous others. These compositions
speak volumes for the composers' melodic, rhythmic
and literary skills not to mention their sublime
thoughts.
As Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi says succinctly in the
final line of the final avarana krti in Punnagavarali:
"sarasara navavarana gana dhyana yoga
japa tapa rasike''.
"Oh Goddess,
You are pleased by the navavarana singing, meditation
and practices". It would be no exaggeration
to state that listening to them, meditating upon
them, learning them and sharing them with people
around would enrich our own lives and musical worth
several-fold.
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