Value of OVK's contributions

Carnatic composers (other than performing vidwans)
Singer_USA
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Joined: 21 Jul 2008, 09:26

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Singer_USA »

Here is a link for
Sarasija bhava jaye by Savita Narasimhan

http://sangeethamshare.org/tvg/UPLOADS- ... baiyar.mp3

Regards,
Seetha.

chitravina ravikiran
Posts: 216
Joined: 28 Apr 2011, 10:30

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

Here is another song on Anjaneya. So far I have collected the tunes of 6 out of the Anjaneya Saptaratnas. I am yet to get the tune of this piece. I know another piece by OVK in this raga, Rasamanjari, which is a derivative of Kharaharapriya (distinct from MD-school Rasamanjari which is the asampoorna predecessor of the 72 melakarta, Rasikapriya).

Rasamanjari Adi

P: sattva guNa virachitAnga shailAvatAtanka shubhAnga
satya makuTa dharma kaTaka mangaLa tAraka nAma hArAlankAra shree

A: nitya jeevana jeevana tanaya – nirupama guNa mana nirmala vinaya
bhakta brndAraka bhAvita gaNya

M K: paramOttama raghu rAma doota –
divipati nAthAnuchara kShiti pati natAnuvara – shree

C: shree rAma pAda smaraNAnanda kShiti sutA dukkha hrta hanumanta
ArAdhita sarva sajjanAnanda avanata nArada geeta svachchanda
Anguleeyaka tatheeya jAnaki Anana kamala vilOhita nayana

M K: anagha naga dharaNa vinuta sura charaNa
gaganamapi gamana kali kaluSha haraNa

Apart from the Anjaneya Saptaratnas, I have seen another brilliant piece in Tamil, which is part of OVK's Mahabharata.

chitravina ravikiran
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

I have posted the Anjaneya krti that appears as a part of OVK's Mahabharata (I have only seen a few songs from this opera so far). Here, Bheema talks about Anjaneya's greatness to the 'old monkey' which has blocked his way, not realising its identity...

Madhyamavati Adi

P: sholla vallEnO - maRaiyOdi paravu malar pAdan
seeta nAthan shree rAma dootan perumai (sholla vallEnO)

A: vallavaraippOlum vazhi maRutta Or vAnaramE idu kELum
nalla uRai shonnEn aNNanadu perumai - gnyAnam vandavuDan vazhiviTTu meeLum (sholla vallEnO)

C 1: teLLiya pavana dEvanukkum anjanA dEvi tanakkum mahanAha udittAn
tihamoLi kadiravan kaLiru tilakamODu kaniyena manamODu piDittAn
Arum aRivadAna paDi kadiril mEvi Ayirattil onbadu paDittAn
Ahiri tannil munamE giri uruhavumAkki nAradanin mamadaiyai piDittAn (sholla vallEnO)

C2: tEDi vanam vanda shree rAmachandran enum daivam puhazhinukkAnavai yuTrAan
tirumahaLazhiyinai kaNDu annai tarum chiranjeevi enum Ashiyum peTrAn
nADi purudumoru vELai teeyaiyiDa rAvaNan nagar tanai teeyiDa uTrAan
rAma rAma jayarAma rAma jayarAma ena nAmamum kaTrAn (sholla vallEnO)

C 3: iyann mahizha ivayyam mahizha perum aDarum sanjeevi malaiyODum vandAn
anaivarum uyir pera Anandam tanaiyura attaruNam iyyanadu pAdam paNindAn
uiya vahai aRiya ninRu ninRulava uLLoLi tannoDum engum uvandAn
uRangi iDaRiDu munnaiyum valiyuRa OraruL endanukku uDanukkuDan eendan (sholla vallEnO)
--------------------------------------------------------
1. I could not grasp the full significance of line 2 in Charanam 1. OVK also mentions this in the Anjaneya saptaratna krti in Suruti.

2. In line 4, he mentions the raga Ahiri - so I wonder if the song was in Ahiri. I have not located the audio so far.

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

1. Apparently refers to Anjaneya thinking (manamODu) the Sun (kadiravan) for a fruit (kani) and trying to catch it (piDittAn). The story is wellknown.
But OVK states that he mistook the Sun for aan elephant (kaLiru) with a bright (tiha'zh'oLi ?) tilakam. I have not heard such a version of the story...

2.There is no record of the raga in which Anjaneya defeated Narada in the
musical context.
OVK's guess is as good as any..

chitravina ravikiran
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

In the Suruti song, he says: paripIDita airAvata sindUra tilakam.
I wondered where the connection was between airAvata and anjanEya. Then I saw the Mahabharata song which mentions something similar. Must be some rare story...

I agree, there is no documentation of the raga in the original story. Since I have not heard anyone sing this song and only copied the lyrics from NKB's student's book, which said Madhyamavati, I wondered if she had got the raga name wrong.

Ponbhairavi
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Ponbhairavi »

The continuation of CML's story appears to throw some light;
first song: thigazhoLi kadiravan= bright sun
kaLiru thilagam to be joined together. = the best or the chief of all elephants that is airAvatham of devendiran. Hanuman reached for the bright sun along with the airavatham which came as obstruction The continuation of the story is when Hanuman tries to catch the sun mistaking it for a fruit, Indran sends his elephant airAvatham which is also beaten by Hanuman.then Indiran himself comes personally and hits hanuman with his gathayudham which accounts for his swollen cheek and the overall sindhura smear.
this seems to account also for the Suruti song mentioned by RK. பரி has dozens of meaning one of which is strong, very poweful. pari pIditha is very angry ,full of rage etc
rajagopalan

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

Beautiful Ponbhairavi! That explains it.
Indeed the word 'thilagam' is used to indicate the best of its kind
e.g., naDikar thilagam = Sivaji Ganesan ( a bahuvrIhi compound)
paripIDita is a sanskrit word meaning 'oppressed'. OVK freely uses sanskrit words and even sanskrit grammar in Tamil showing his versatility in both the languages!

Actually the story I know is where Indra rushes to protect the Sun riding on his airAvata and the baby Anjaneya oppresses the elephant and then Indra smacks him on the face with his vajrAuta which produces the swollen face whence he is called 'hanumAn'(the one with a swollwnface hanu =chin).

Ponbhairavi
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Ponbhairavi »

Thank you
rajagopalan

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

I am intrigued by
'Arum aRivadAna paDi kadiril mEvi Ayirattil onbadu paDittAn'
What is the significance of 1009 ?

uday_shankar
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by uday_shankar »

cmlover wrote:There is no record of the raga in which Anjaneya defeated Narada in the musical context
And there can't be. Ragas were first mentioned by mAtanga in the 5th century...

Singer_USA
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Singer_USA »

Thanks to Ponbairavi and cmlover for the story of Hanuman.

mukta
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by mukta »

*pari pidita* is afflicted{?}

hamsaa
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by hamsaa »

samAsa-s (compounds) that have the noun (vishESya) before the adjective (vishESaNa) aren't common in SanskRt, and its family of languages. This is seen in languages like french though.. the international system of units is called 'Système international d'unités'.
I totally agree with this Keerthi. But in the same line, we have a similar usage - mukha para mandahAsam.

So there must be a specific purpose as to why OVK has used it this way. I was only looking looking at possibilities of how this could be interpreted.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks cml and ponbhairavi for some lovely interpretations about the airavatha and Sun God related incidents.

'Arum aRivadAna paDi kadiril mEvi Ayirattil onbadu paDittAn'
What is the significance of 1009 ?
It says Ayirattil onbadu !

uday_shankar
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by uday_shankar »

Could it be related to the fact that Hanuman was a "nava-vyakarna panditah"?

kaapi
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by kaapi »

Possibly it is "Ariyattil onbadu" meaning nava vyAkaraNa paNditha

chitravina ravikiran
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Joined: 28 Apr 2011, 10:30

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

Possibly it is "Ariyattil onbadu" meaning nava vyAkaraNa paNditha
Very good point.

I will now share the lyrics of a song that may be familiar to many of you, Padmavati ramanam, which is a tribute to Jayadeva. This has been a part of bhajana sampradaya tradition for many years.

pUrvikalyANi Mishra chApu

P: padmAvati ramaNam jayadEva kavirAja bhOja dEva suta
padmapAda smaraNam kuru mAnasa

A: yad gOpi vadanEndu maNDala ramitam
tad gOvinda pada candra cakOram shrI

C: kindubilva sadanam - ati
divya mangaLa vadanam
sundarAnga shubha shObhita madanam
sumukhi ramAdEvi priyakara sudhanam

M K: saha paNDita samUha sEvyam
shata manmatha jita mahanIyam
satata krSNa prEma rasa magna
samAna rahita gIta gOvinda kAvyam

1. The excellent dviteeyakshara prasa on the half syllable 'd' in P and AP reveal not only the poet's competence in rhyme but also his scholarship and original approach in Sanskrit (when viewed against the backdrop of CM literature). So also the word play sEvyam and kAvyam in the final MK.

2. The composer has mentioned most salient aspects of Jayadeva's life including his town, parents and his geeta govindam.

3. The final MK begins on the beat and ends 4/14 units after the beat - a subtle pointer that only the original composer tuned it as well.

4. Melodically, a brilliant treatment of the raga covering most of its familiar phrases in the first few sections and giving a refreshing turn in the final MK.

5. NKB notation has the whole pallavi in normal speed only (as opposed to some artistes singing parts of it fast).

Ponbhairavi
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Ponbhairavi »

My guess is as follows;
Arum aRivadAnabadi= ஆறு அறிவு படைத்த வர்கள் கற்றுகொள்வதைப்போல்
கதிரினில் மேவி = travelling through the rays(SUN was the guru of Hanumaan)
Ayirathil= The Sama veda was supposed to have 1000 sakas
onbadu =nine grammars as you have said nava vyakarana ( pandithar)
Ariyathil is also possible because Ariyam indicates the sanscrit language in which he has learnt the 9 grammars.
rajagopalan

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

Good work folks!
MD refers to Hanuman as Nava VyAkaraNa nipuNa in PavanAthmaja aagaccha
There is somewhere a reference to the Sun being the Guru of Hanuman.
Though I like 'Ariyathil' I think we should kkeep the lyric as it is.
In this case 'Ayirathil' perhaps mean 'many' indicating numerous vyakarnas wherein vyakarna gets the extended
meaning of the grammar of all arts and skills and Hanuman being a versatile genius on several aspects especially nine among them,
See also our own discussions
http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4029 ... ranas.html

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

Thx RK. A quick question
Has OVK composed any on the Ashtapadi style of lyrics?

Ponbhairavi
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Ponbhairavi »

I correct myself. arum is small r and not capital R therefore it means precious excellent- so " as precious knowledge " he went to learn etc....
rajagopalan

uday_shankar
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by uday_shankar »

cmlover wrote:Though I like 'Ariyathil
Me too! Maybe it might have even been "onbadum" instead of "onbadu" which would make the phrase "kadiril mEvi Ariyattil onbadum padittan" "learned all nine (grammars) of Sanksrit from the Sun's rays"...which squares well with the well-established notion elsewhere that a) there are nine major works on grammar b) Hanuman learned them all from the Sun God. Also maybe "Ariyattil" has a nice quasi-alliterative association with Arum aRivadAna ?? I better shut up :).

Ponbhairavi
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Ponbhairavi »

Two more observations:
1-Pl note the beginning word of the pallavi ;Padmavathi ramanam jeyadeva kavi.
It has a special connotation.All the ashtapathis (24) bear the signature of the author as "shri jeyadeva "
The lone exception is ashtapathi 19(Mukhari) where the signature is Padmavathi ramana jeya deva kavi
( the story behind this is well known in bhajanai sampradayam; lord shri krishna favoured Padmavathi with his darshan before bestowing it to Jeyadevar ) O V K has exactly adopted the very same words of Jeyadevar as the opening words of his composition in praise of him.
2- Similarly note the beginning words of the anupallavi: yadgopi vadanendu . These are exactly the same words with which begins the dhyana sloka preceding the recital of the gita govinda maha kavyam. This shows how deeply he is soaked in the bhagavatha Sampradaya.
rajagopalan-

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

Astute observation Ponbhairavi!
In fact this composition is used as a prelude to singing ashtapadi in some bhajana paddatis. In view of the hoary tradition of the bhajana sampradaaya we may speculate that the incorporation may have been quite ancient refuting OVK being modern according to some speculations.
In fact many of the rhyming patterns of OVK are reminiscent of Jayadeva and hence a lexical analysis of OVK vis-a-vis Gita Govinda may be fruitful...

chitravina ravikiran
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

Excellent points by all of you. Jayadeva was definitely one of OVK's idols - not only in terms of elegant expression but also to the extent that OVK is probably the only CM composer to have composed several songs on Radha and given her pride of place. (I have not seen ashtapadi style lyrics though.)

Yet, we have to remember that Jayadeva was only one of the people who inspired OVK. Here is OVK's salutation to Valmiki, with an equally significant beginning. The song has a samashti charanam. Other examples of such OVK songs include: Senapate (Gowla) and Tyagaraja paramesha (Chakravakam).

aThANa Adi

P. vandE vAlmiki kOkilam
MK. vANiIkara vINA gAna viramita ramaNIya kUjita madhura
varNita karNa manOhara rAghava mAdhurya chAturya charitam

C. ninditAbha ghana nIla sutanum
nirarkaLa charita nIla gaganam
antitAdhikAnanda tapanam - tat
anumOdita prasanna vadanam

MK. ati rUDhita kavitA taru sadanam aparimita kutUhala yuta vachanam
janakajA tanaya kusha lava krtAnu sangIta paramOnnata nidhanam

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

Obviously inspired by the dhyana shlokam
kUjantam rAmarAmEti madhuram madhurAkSharam |
Aruhya kavitAshAkhAm vandE vAlmIki kOkilam ||


Keerthi:
any idea who composed those dhyanashlokams that we recite before commencing
rAmAyaNa pAThaM..

rshankar
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by rshankar »

cmlover wrote:1. Apparently refers to Anjaneya thinking (manamODu) the Sun (kadiravan) for a fruit (kani) and trying to catch it (piDittAn). The story is wellknown...
Sri tulsidAs uses a variant of the same construct - his verse goes,
'bAl samay ravi bhakshi liyO tab tInahu lOk bhayO andhiyArO
tAhi sO trAs bhayO jag kO yeh saMkaT kAhu sO jAt na TArO
dEvan Ani karI binatI tab chAD diyO ravi kashTh nivArO
kO nahi jAnat hai jag mein kapi saMkaT mOcan nAm tihArO' In this version, hanumAn himself lets go of the sun at the request of the gods.

In either version, the conclusion is that the gods decide that he should develop amnesia for his extraordinary prowess - that is why, when he hesitates before crossing the sea to lankA, wondering if he'll be able to jump across, it needs jAmbavAn to rekindle his memories, and reaffirm his faith in his abilities.

rshankar
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by rshankar »

Ponbhairavi wrote:The lone exception is ashtapathi 19(Mukhari) where the signature is Padmavathi ramana jeya deva kavirajagopalan-
Whose composition is the viruttam (starting with SrI gOpAla vilAsinIm...)that Smt. MSS sings before 'praLayapayOdhi jalE', which ends with the salutation, 'tam vandE jayadEva satgurum aham, padmAvatI vallabham'?

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

I thought the shlokas are part of Gita Govindam, all composed by Jayadeva..

Ponbhairavi
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Ponbhairavi »

rshankar, CML,
In bhajanai sampradaya before starting to sing the 24 ashtapathis of jeyadeva , the dhyana slokas( dhyanam about Jeyadevar) are sung. in common practice there are 3 dhyana slokas for jeyadevar of 4 lines each. the first dhyana sloka starts with;yadgopi vadanendu... which we find in OVK's composition. the second one starts with rAdha manOrama ramA and third one starts with sri gOpAlavilAsinI. Pralayapajyothi jale is the first ashtapathi. In keeping with the tradition, MSS before starting to sing the first ashtapathi starts with the dhyana sloka sri gopala vilasini. The dyana slokas are not the composiiton of jeyadeva and are not part of the ashtapathis Gita govindam). You can notice that the 11th stanza of the first ashtapathi ends with sri jeyadeva kave which is his signature.There is no Padmavathi mention here.
rajagopalan

cmlover
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by cmlover »

Thx Ponbhairavi for the clarifications...

seeksha
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

Namaste,

I have seen the padmavati ramaNam composition in a bhajan book published in the early 18th century by the Upanishad brahma mutt. I don’t remember if it had other OVK compositions. But the book predates Sri Krishnamurthy bhagavatar for sure :)

Let’s look at the composition for a sec. I might be stating the obvious here, but it might be of some value to revisit even the obvious.

Say you belong to an era a few hundred years ago, a basic veda adhyana and Sanskrit study at the bachelor’s level is expected out of you. Then you have the option to study one or more disciplines in detail. Vyakarana, Sahitya, Vedanta, Mimamsa, ,Tarka, Dharma Sastras, Agamas etc. Most pundits would have been VyakaraNa and Vedanta experts, may be along with pUrva mImAmsa. This is what would put you in the main stream even today.

Venkata kavi displays a very good grasp of all the mentioned shastras. But he should have specialized in sahitya, kavya and naTaka for sure. Probably that is why you see him adore Valmiki and Jayadeva. This in itself points to a very unique caliber of OVK. To admire Valmiki you need to be a kavi yourself, like kalisada. Valmiki is the Adi kavi form whom sahitya, al~nkara and other shastras emerge.

Jayadeva was not just a kavi, but he was an expert in natya/sangita/al~nkara/kama shastra as well. Which explains why OVK had high regards for him. OVK must have enjoyed singing Gita govind mahakavya often, in fact every line in the padmavati ramaNam points to the kavya itself.

We normally sing it from anupallavi, so let me explore it that way.

yad gOpi vadanEndu maNDala ramitam tad gOvinda pada candra cakOram shrI -

gOvinda pada candra cakOram - Jayadeva is like a chakora bird to the moon like Govinda’s feet.

Who is that Govinda ?
yad gOpi vadanEndu maNDala ramitam tad gOvinda - the one who is delighted by the moon like face of the Gopi.

Notice a few things here.

The anupallavi skillfully used the “yadgopi vadadendu maNdana” verse. Gita govinda maha kavya starts with “meghair medhuramambharam” as the first shloka. The first verse summaries the entire kavya. But “yadgopivadendu” is the magaLAcharaNa, which is considered as a part of Gita govinda kavya.

Krishna is qualified as the one who is delighted by the moon like face of the Gopi(Radha). Jayadeva uses this metaphor in multiple places.

shrImukha chandra chakora jaya jayadeva hare – 2nd Ashtapadi

rAdhA vadana vilokana vikasita vividha vikAra vibhaN^gam – 22nd Ashtapadi. This is traditionally the Kalyana Ashtapadi. Notice that there is no tying of the knot or any such ritual, but Krishna looking at Radha’s face and being delighted is the samyoga sUchana here. Now you can appreciate why OVK’s Krishna here is gOpi vadanEndu maNDala ramita.

Also the two reference to moon in the anupallavi are done with two different words. indu and Chandra.

Pallavi:

padmAvati ramaNam
jayadEva kavirAja
bhOja dEva suta
padmapAda smaraNam kuru mAnasa

At the beginning of a kavya or a naTaka the author is expected to say a few words about himself. Sri Thyagaraja swamy does this in Prahlada bhakti vijaya and Nauka charitamu. (rAmasvarUpuDanatagu rAma brahmArya sutuDu, ragarahituDu…. kAkarlAmbudhi chandruDu.. (Sorry if it isn’t exact. I’m quoting from memory. )

Here is what Jayadeva has to say about himself,

vAgdevatA charita chitrita chittasadmA
padmAvatI charaNa chAraNa chakravartI .
shrIvAsudeva ratikeli kathA sametaM
etaM karoti jayadevakaviH prabandham.h .. 2..

The first qualification he puts for himself is he is ‘padmAvatI charaNa chAraNa chakravartI” – The emperor who guides the foot of Padmavati. Jayadeva and padmavati were supposed to have been mate for each other. Jayadeva sang and Padmavati danced. Krishna is said to have given darshan to Padmavati and written the verse ‘“smaragaralakhaNDanaM mama shirasi maNDanaM dehi padapallavamudAram” verse. Jayadeva acknowledges this in the same song, “jayati padmAvatI ramaNa jayadevakavi bhAratI bhaNitam ati shAtam”

After this incident Jayadeva kavi puts padmavati in front of his name.

“vihita padmAvatI sukha samAje bhaNati jayadevakavirAje”

Notice how Venkatakavi starts the song with the phrase “padmavati ramaNam".


bhojadeva suta – the son of bhojadeva

Jayadeva himself mentions his father’s name

“shrIbhojadevaprabhavasya rAmAdevIsutashrIjayadevakasya” - This song gita govindam is the rendering of poet Jayadeva who is the offspring of shrii bhojadeva and ramAdevi.

jayadEva kavirAja padmapAda smaraNam kuru mAnasa – meditate on the lotus feet of Jayadeva kavi.

Jayadeva kavi says meditating on the lotus feet of Krishna through Gita govinda kavya eradicates the evils of kali.

shrIjayadeva vachasi ruchire hR^idayaM sadayaM kuru maNDane .
haricharaNa smaraNAmR^ita kR^ita kali kaluSha bhava jvara khaNDane .. 8..

Make your heart listen to the auspicious saying rendered by Jayadeva, which is built up with the nectar derived from the meditation on the feet of yours, and which is an eradicator of fevers caused by the impurities of Kali yuga.

Venkatakavi wants to meditate on Jayadeva’s feet first.

..jayadeva kavirAja padmapAda smaraNam kuru mAnasa..

Sorry it became a lengthy post. I will post the charaNam if there is interest.

..kR^iShNArpaNam..

Enna_Solven
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Enna_Solven »

Could you please give more details about the 18th century book that you mention in the first paragraph? thanks. It will put to rest the "1940 conspiracy" theorists' arguments.

chitravina ravikiran
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

I will post the charaNam if there is interest.
Excellent points indeed. Do post the charanam too.

Although the surface meaning of the song can be obvious with a bit of study, it definitely enhances appreciation when the context is understood through commentaries with cross-references. Which is why, I have maintained that sAhitya should never be given any less importance than melody and rhythm - at least in the case of vaggeyakaras like OVK, Trinity etc. Every syllable and word was used intentionally by them and has significance, unlike many other composers who employed lyrics to structure their musical thoughts.

chitravina ravikiran
Posts: 216
Joined: 28 Apr 2011, 10:30

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

Say you belong to an era a few hundred years ago, a basic veda adhyana and Sanskrit study at the bachelor’s level is expected out of you. Then you have the option to study one or more disciplines in detail. Vyakarana, Sahitya, Vedanta, Mimamsa, ,Tarka, Dharma Sastras, Agamas etc. Most pundits would have been VyakaraNa and Vedanta experts, may be along with pUrva mImAmsa.
Precisely. These things were almost routine and normal for students at that time.

Similarly for music - one was almost expected to be decent with complex talas, gati bhedams or fluency in fast pace madhyamakalas (or jatis) and a host of other things that we consider challenging. These things were almost routine (probably along with rudimentary knowledge of music for dance/drama etc). They invested a number of years mastering these things. Therefore, the knowledge OVK, MD and T, which baffles us, need not be surprising when viewed against the backdrop of that context. Of course, they would have excelled in their era, which is why their works have stood the test of time and enabled us to telescope into the standards of that era. Also, since it was couched in bhakti and bhava, it was able to touch more number of lives than an average scholar would have been able to.

seeksha
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Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

Thanks for the observations. I will try to post more info on the Upanishad brahma mutt book.

Here are the charaNa lines. Let me post in small chunks for easy reading.


kindubilva sadanam – He was a resident of kindubhilva.
Jayadeva himself mentions the name of his village in the kavya.

“varNitaM jayadevakena hareridaM pravaNena .
Kindubilva samudra sambhava rohiNIr amaNena .. 8..” - These descriptions are by Jayadeva who is like a moon raising from the ocean of Kindubilva”.

Researchers equate the ‘Kenduli village’ in Orissa to Kindubilva. There is lot of material on the web about this. I think there is a temple for padmavati in this village.


ati divya mangaLa vadanam - He possesses an extremely auspicious speech/ He has a beautiful face.
We can take the word vadanam to mean vANI rather than mukham. Speech is more appropriate in this context.

Jayadeva himself refers to the divya ma^ngaLa nature of this gIta govinda kavya.

shrIjayadeva kaveridaM kurute mudam
maN^galam ujjvala gItaM jaya jayadeva hare .. 8..

Oh, Shri Krishna, let this brilliant and auspicious song on you rendered by poet Jayadeva, be auspicious and rejoicing to the singers and listeners as well.

Cont….

seeksha
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Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

[update]
sundarAnga shubha shObhita madanam - His beautiful limbs are adorned with signs of love/passion(mahA bhAva).
[/update]


This is a tricky one. Venkatakavi has a phrase ‘shathamanmatha jita mahanIyam’ in the krithi. Both phrases cannot be used to compare the physical beautify of Jayadeva to that of Manmatha.

This is a compound phrase declined in dvitIyA vibhakti. I think the word ‘madanam’ here means ‘adorned with passion’ and not Manmatha.

‘shubha sundarA^nga’ – auspicious limbs, ‘shobita’ – adorn, ‘madanam’ – passion/love. If you rephrase it we get ‘madana shobita shuba sundarA^Ngam’.

Jayadeva himself uses the word in this context, ‘madana manoratha bhaavitayaa’ , ‘vara madana madaat’. (madana-mada- love-pride, and madna-manoratha- love-desire).

Jayadeva himself becomes rAdhA or Krishna or the sakhi described in gIta govinda. His mind feels the same as them and hence his body exhibits feelings of these ecstatic mood.

Here is a popular verse by Chaitanya mahAprabhu where he longs for these,

nayanam galadashrudharayA
vadanam gadgada-ruddhayA girA .
pulakair nicitam vapuh kadA
tava nAma-grahaNe bhaviShyati .. (If you haven’t heard M.S rendering this in Balaji Pancharatnam album please do… It is very moving).


We will need some background in rasa-shastra to be able to understand this. Every mood or bhava of a hero/heroin exhibit different physical signs. Bharata in his Natya-shastra mentions these.(‘romaAncanaa kampana etc.’) These are called mahA bhAva in bhakti siddhanta works. Division like vibhASva, anubhAva, sa~nchArIbhava etc. are all adopted in bhakti siddhanta, but with a difference in locus. The locus is brahman/Atma/Ishvara. Upanishad verses like ‘rasovai saH’, ‘priyameva shiraH’ etc . support this view.

This is a very involved topic, my humble opinion is that Venkata kavi was an exponent in this. Notice his liberal usage of technical terms that are specific to this shastra.


Cont….

seeksha
Posts: 20
Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »


sundarAnga shubha shObhita madanam - His beautiful limbs are adorned with signs of love/passion(mahA bhAva).


This is a tricky one. Venkatakavi has a phrase ‘shathamanmatha jita mahanIyam’ in the krithi. Both phrases cannot be used to compare the physical beautify of Jayadeva to that of Manmatha.

This is a compound phrase declined in dvitIyA vibhakti. I think the word ‘madanam’ here means ‘adorned with passion’ and not Manmatha.

‘shubha sundarA^nga’ – auspicious limbs, ‘shobita’ – adorn, ‘madanam’ – passion/love. If you rephrase it we get ‘madana shobita shuba sundarA^Ngam’.

Jayadeva himself uses the word in this context, ‘madana manoratha bhaavitayaa’ , ‘vara madana madaat’. (madana-mada- love-pride, and madna-manoratha- love-desire).

Jayadeva himself becomes rAdhA or Krishna or the sakhi described in gIta govinda. His mind feels the same as them and hence his body exhibits feelings of these ecstatic mood.

Here is a popular verse by Chaitanya mahAprabhu where he longs for these,

nayanam galadashrudharayA
vadanam gadgada-ruddhayA girA .
pulakair nicitam vapuh kadA
tava nAma-grahaNe bhaviShyati .. (If you haven’t heard M.S rendering this in Balaji Pancharatnam album please do… It is very moving).


We will need some background in rasa-shastra to be able to understand this. Every mood or bhava of a hero/heroin exhibit different physical signs. Bharata in his Natya-shastra mentions these.(‘romaAncanaa kampana etc.’) These are called mahA bhAva in bhakti siddhanta works. Division like vibhASva, anubhAva, sa~nchArIbhava etc. are all adopted in bhakti siddhanta, but with a difference in locus. The locus is brahman/Atma/Ishvara. Upanishad verses like ‘rasovai saH’, ‘priyameva shiraH’ etc . support this view.

This is a very involved topic, my humble opinion is that Venkata kavi was an exponent in this. Notice his liberal usage of technical terms that are specific to this shastra.


Cont….

chitravina ravikiran
Posts: 216
Joined: 28 Apr 2011, 10:30

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

You are absolutely right in your exposition on

sundarAnga shubha shObhita madanam...

A surface meaning of the song would have led one to assume that the poet committed punarOkti dOsha by repeating the theme in the MK phrase - shata manmatha jita. (Of course, this is again not a 'mistake' if a composer of proven merit intends to emphasise something occassionally.)

However, OVK has shown time and again that every word or phrase of his has significance. He has often used common words in uncommon contexts.

madana for love (rather than manmatha) is a good example of that.

A couple more similar usages:

chandra for beauty and charm (rather than moon)
bhaja - protect/refuge (rather than worship)

His vocabulary and comprehension of the language being what they are, such usages by him have definitely been brain-teasers of scholars, compelling them to dig deeper and enrich themselves in the process.

seeksha
Posts: 20
Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

couple more similar usages:

chandra for beauty and charm (rather than moon)
bhaja - protect/refuge (rather than worship)

His vocabulary and comprehension of the language being what they are, such usages by him have definitely been brain-teasers of scholars, compelling them to dig deeper and enrich themselves in the process.
I can't agree more..

Just a couple of complementary observations. It is not the intent of these composers to explicitly do uncommon usages, rather usages and language changes from time to time, from one geographical location to another etc.

I think knowing what these composers knew helps a great deal to understand them.

Let’s take the case in point, OVK and the word ‘bhajasva’. As you pointed out; today the usage means pUjAm kuru (Worship) ,bhagavat guNa gAnam kuru (sing the praise of the Lord), sevAm kuru (do service) etc.
But the word occurs in Srimad Bhagavatam with three different meanings in multiple instances.

In praNaya gItam the gopikas tell Krishna,

maivam vibhorhati bhavAn gadituḿ nṛ-śaḿsaḿ
santyajya sarva-viṣayāḿs tava pāda-mūlam
bhaktā bhajasva duravagraha mā tyajāsmān
devo yathādi-puruṣo bhajate mumukṣūn Bhagavatam 10.29.31

duravagraha — O stubborn one, mA tyaja – do not reject, bhaktAH – your devotees, bhajasva – include us too.
This is the same bhajasva of OVK’s mAmapi bhajasva shrI tripurasundarI, meaning please accept me too(more like include me as well, Tamil - ennayum setukoyen .

It is a very beautiful usage. There are other places in bhagavatam where it is used the same way.

atho bhajasva māḿ bhadra
bhajantīḿ me dayāḿ kuru
etāvān pauruṣo dharmo
yad ārtān anukampate 4.27.26

“O gentle one, I am now present before you to serve you. Please accept me and thus show me mercy. It is a gentleman's greatest duty to be compassionate upon a person who is distressed.”

Krishna tells rukmini in karhicid adyaya.

athātmano 'nurūpaḿ vai
bhajasva kṣatriyarṣabham
yena tvam āśiṣaḥ satyā
ihāmutra ca lapsyase 10.60.17

“Now you should definitely accept a more suitable husband, a first-class man of the royal order who can help you achieve everything you want, both in this life and the next.”

Both karhichid and praNaya gItam are important portions that are committed to memory by sadhakas who have taken up bhagavata pArAyaNam. If you are like Venkatakavi for whom bhagavatam was a second nature, you are prone to use ‘bhajasva’ to mean accept me.

chitravina ravikiran
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

But the word occurs in Srimad Bhagavatam with three different meanings in multiple instances.
This is most instructive indeed. As you rightly say, OVK was passionately soaked in Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Lalitopakhyanam, Kanda Puranam, Periya Puranam and numerous other works which obviously makes it natural that he not only composed operas/songs based on these but also came up with usages which he may have assimilated from these.

Bhajasva must have been a natural usage for him but the word-scope may have shrunk later on to just denote worship which baffled quite a few Sanskrit buffs and musicians. (I had 2 of CM's popular artistes wonder about this usage with me about 10 years ago, which prompted me to find the meaning of the term and understand what the poet meant).

A similar case would be Tyagaraja using Shankara to address Rama (Shashi vadana - Chandrajyoti and Devarama - Sowrashtra). A surface level interpretation could lead one to wonder about it but the composer used it to just mean one who bestows good.

Among the puranas, Bhagavatam probably held a special place in OVK's heart. Even as we look forward for more on Padmavati ramanam, I am sharing another piece of his here in Shankarabharanam where the opening words are the ending phrase of its shloka (just like his piece, Vande valmiki kokilam).

shankarAbharaNam Adi

P: satyam param dhImahi (shrI)
ML: sarva nigama sAra bhUtamakhaNDa tattva rahasya niranjana sampada

A: nityam nigama para mukhyam panca bhUta
MK: leelAmaya nirvikAra nirguNa niratishayam niratajayam sadayam

C: janmAdi lOka kAraNa mUlam rasa
shabda rUpa sparsha gandhAdi jAlam
brahmAdi pramukha sadAnuta shIlam jIva
brahmaikya mOhita lOka pAlam
MK: sattva guNa bharita chitta nivAsam dharma rUpa vara bhAsaka bhAsam
matsya kUrma varAha narasimha vAmanAdi bahu rUpa vilAsam

rshankar
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by rshankar »

Sankara or SaMakara can also mean 'creator (kara) of auspiciousness (SaM)', right?

chitravina ravikiran
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

Sankara or SaMakara can also mean 'creator (kara) of auspiciousness (SaM)', right?
Yes... And T has used it in that context on Rama quite skillfully in the Sowrashtra song (Deva rama) I mentioned. In fact, he has played with that word in every line:

shankara karuNAkara ani-
sham kara dhrta shara bhakta va-
shankara danujAhava nish-
shanka rasika tyAgaraja

This is one of his pure Sanskrit pieces...

hamsaa
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Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by hamsaa »

Lovely observations, Seeksha. Thanks a lot for posting the interpretations on padmavati ramanam and the usage of 'bhajasva'. Very informative!

It would be very nice if you could post the meaning for 'satyam param dheemahi' too!

seeksha
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Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

sumukhi ramAdEvi priyakara sutanum – Endowed with a physical body that pleases Ramadevi.
As mentioned earlier Bhojadeva was Jayadeva’s father and Ramadevi his mother. I think the line is “sutanum” and not “sudanam”, corrections are welcome.


saha paNDita samUha sEvyam - Respected by fellow poets/pundits.
-loke satkavirAjarAja iti yaH khyAto dayAmbhonidhiH –

There were several poets who lived during the time of Jayadeva. Research scholars who have looked at the texts written by these poets conclude that Jayadeva was held in high esteem by them.

Jayadeva mentions the following poets in the prelude. Umapati dhara, SaraNa, Govardhana and Doyi.

vAchaH pallavayatyumApatidharaH sandarbhashuddhiM girAM
jAnIte jayadeva eva sharaNaH shlAghyo durUhadrute .
shR^iN^gArottarasatprameyarachanairAchAryagovardhana
spardhI ko.api na vishrutaH shrutidharo dhoyI kavikShmApatiH .. 3..

All these poets are set to have lived during the era of King Lakshmana Sena 1179 – 1205. There are thirty or so versus attributed to Jayadeva kavi in a text called Sadukti. The poets mentioned in the above verse are mentioned in Sadukti as well.


shata manmatha jita mahanIyam - His physical appearance conquers the beauty of hundred cupids.


satata krSNa prEma rasa magna samAna rahita gIta gOvinda kAvyam - Author of the unequalled Gita govinda kavya , an ambrosia of perpetual love for Krishna.

The Kriti concludes with a epitomic praise. It summaries why Jayadeva kavi will live in the heart of Krishna devotees forever. The ‘krishnaprema rasa” in gIta govinda is so powerful or full of taste that all other tasty things lose their taste.

Jayadeva kavi himself concludes the Gita govinda kavya with the same note.

saadhvii maadhviika cintaanabhavatibhavatashsharkare karkasha.asi
draakShe drakShya.ntiketvaam amR^itamR^itamasi kShiiraniira.mrasaste |
maaka.nda kra.ndakaa.ntaadharadhara na tulaam gacChayacChantibhaavam
yaavacChR^i~NgaarasaaramshubhamivajayadevasyavaidagdhyavaacaH || 12-12

O! maadhvi flowers it is not sAdhvI (good) for you to pride over your intoxicating looks…
O! sharkare (sugar), you are karkasha (bitter) now…
O! draakshe (grapes) who will dryakshayasi (will look) at you…
O! amruta (nector), you are mritamasi (dead) now…
O! kshIram (milk), watered is your taste...
O! maakanda (sweet mango fruit), kranda (bewail) from now on...
O! kaantaadhara (lip of damsel) under-balanced is your taste…

.. krishNArpaNam ..

seeksha
Posts: 20
Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

Lovely observations, Seeksha. Thanks a lot for posting the interpretations on padmavati ramanam and the usage of 'bhajasva'. Very informative!

It would be very nice if you could post the meaning for 'satyam param dheemahi' too!
Thank you,

This is a difficult one, I will give it a try. Please pardon me if I get too technical in Vedanta or if I just exhibit my lack of understanding of it.

This krithi is a verbatim reproduction of the first shloka of Srimad Bhagavatam. The essence of Srimad Bhagavatam is condensed in this one shloka by Veda vyasa. I am going to rearrange the krithi and the shloka to show the six major ideas conveyed here. I am just barrowing this approach from Venkata kavi. You will be able to appreciate his intellect in the way he had imbibed Bhagavatam and his poetic heart when he reproduces it.

Post to follow…

chitravina ravikiran
Posts: 216
Joined: 28 Apr 2011, 10:30

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

think the line is “sutanum” and not “sudanam”, corrections are welcome.
I had learnt it as sudhanam - treasure of Rama Devi. But su-tanum also seems equally appropriate...

I am looking fwd to your exposition of Satyam param...

seeksha
Posts: 20
Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

A little intro… please be patient with me..

Essentially Vedas are divided in to two parts, Karma kanda and Gyana kanda. Karma kanda deals with all things that are to be attained in this life and beyond. Gyana kanda addresses a different problem, “what is the cause of samsara (human suffering/cycle of birth and death) and how to overcome it ? The Vedic portions that deal with this issue are essentially at the end of the Vedas and are called ‘Veda-anta” or the Upanishads. There are a lot of Upanishads, 108 have been selected and grouped out of which 12 are the primary Upanishads. Shankara, Madhva and other Acharyas have written commentary to these 12 primary Upanishads.

Having said that there are a lot of Upanishads, the question arises whether or not the Upanishads convey a cohesive idea or not ? Veda Vyasa maharshi took the pain to analyze all the Upanishad and develop a comprehensive work that showed that all the Upanishads have a unified idea. Seemingly conflicting portions where analyzed and reconciled in his work. This work is the celebrated “Brahma sutra”. Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha and other Acharyas have written commentary on the Brahma sutras.

Now comes our hero, Lord Krishna. He took the opportunity when Arjuna got confused whether to fight or not in the Mahabharatha war to teach him something. The dialog between Krishna and Arjuna cohesively arranges the teachings of the Vedas and relates it to real word problems that we face on a daily basis.

The Bagavad Gita qualifies as “Smriti”, the Vedas as ‘Sruti” and the Brahma Sutras as “Nyaya” pramANa. Together they form “prasthaana triya”. If you have read all these three works in light of either Shankara, Ramanuja , Madva or other Acharyas, you are a Vedanta expert :).

Veda Vyasa was still not satisfied,. He wanted to make something more, package all three above and put a very attractive wrapper. He wrote Srimad Bhagavatam as a PuraNa pramANa and made it accessible to everyone. Men and women, brahmana and sudra, Kshatriya and Vaishya, etc…

arthoyam brahmasUtrAnAm bhArathArtha vinirNayaH
gAyatrIbhAshyarUposau vedArtha paribriMhitaH

(Bhagavatam is an explanation of Brahma Sutra, bhAratha (gItA) and the Vedas including gayatri.)

So what is the content matter of this Vedanta shastra ?. Surprisingly it is very simple :), it explores the basics.


• Who am I ? (jIva)
• What is this world? (jagat)
• What is the Cause of me and this world ? (Ishvara)
• What causes pain and pleasure/(human bondage. ? (Samsara)
• What is the nature of a pain-pleasure free existence?(moksha)
• Means by which a person becomes pain-pleasure free ? (saadana)


the answers to these six questions is the first verse of Bhagavatam and in turn the Krithi of Venkata Kavi.

Cont…

seeksha
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Joined: 02 Apr 2008, 00:17

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by seeksha »

As stated earlier this krithi is a rephrase of the first shloka of Bhagavatam.

Here is the shloka,

janmAdyasya yato.anvayAditaratashchArtheShvabhij~naH svarAT
tene brahma hR^idA ya Adikavaye muhyanti yatsUrayaH .
tejovArimR^idAM yathA vinimayo yatra trisargo.amR^iShA
dhAmnA svena sadA nirastakuhakaM satyaM paraM dhImahi ..


Let me present the main ideas conveyed in the Shloka and the in the Krithi side by side first. Then we will take up each portion and explore it a little and see how they answer the six questions that we had about Ishvara, jIva, jagat, bandha, moksha and sadhana. Finally see some of the unique ideas presented by Venkata kavi that help understand the shloka in light of bhagavatam in itself.

• He in whom the creation, sustenance and dissolution of this world is . Indirectly cognized as the material and efficient cause of it .

janmAdy-asya yatonvayAd-itaratsh-chArtheshh-vabijnaH

janmAdi lOka kAraNa mUlam

• He who is omniscient and self-effulgent.

svarAT

nityam
nirvikAra nirguNa niratishayam niyatajayam
dharma rUpa vara bhAsaka bhAsam


• He who revealed to brahmaa the vedA-s making him the aadikavi ( the first and the foremost poet) , the wisdom of which make the scholars (kavayaH – Rishi-s) wonderstruck.

tene brahma hRidAya Adi-kavaye muhyanti yat sUrayaH .

brahmmAdi pramukha sadAnuta shIlam
sarva nigama sAra bhUtam
nigama para mukhyam,


• He upon whom this tri-guNatmaka world caused by the fusion of fire, water and earth is superimposed.

tejo vari mRidAM yathA vinimayo yatra trisargo mRishA

panca bhUta lIlAmaya rasa shabda rUpa gandhAdi jAlam
satva guNa bharita nivAsam


• Who by His own light of Consciousness destroys this ignorance eternally.

sadA nirasta-kuhakaM

jIva brahmmaikya mOhita lOka pAlam
akhaNDa niranjana sampada


• Manifests with his own potency (in multiple forms like matsya, kurma, varaha, narasimha, vamana etc.)

dhAmnA svena

matsya kUrma varAha narasimha vAmanAdi bahurUpa vilAsam

• That Supreme Truth I meditate upon .

satyaM paraM dhImahi..

satyama param dhImah

Cont...

Vidyasankar
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Joined: 14 Jul 2011, 01:36

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by Vidyasankar »

• He upon whom this tri-guNatmaka world caused by the fusion of fire, water and earth is superimposed.

tejo vari mRidAM yathA vinimayo yatra trisargo mRishA

panca bhUta lIlAmaya rasa shabda rUpa gandhAdi jAlam
satva guNa bharita nivAsam
Not to interrupt your nice flow of thought and comparison, but let me insert
a small aside in this context:

The bhAgavata verse closely follows the chAndogya upanishat where only tejas,
ap (vAri) and anna/pRthivI (mRt) are mentioned, without explicitly noting AkAsha
and vAyu. This is addressed in the brahmasUtras (asti tu), which point out that
the five bhUta-s are mentioned elsewhere in the upanishad-s and should therefore
be implicitly understood in the chAndogya text. OVK's mention of panca bhUta-s
is in keeping with this brahmasUtra analysis. Interestingly, he explicitly mentions
shabda (attribute of AkAsha) along with rUpa (of tejas), rasa (of vAri) and gandha
(of pRthivI), but does not mention sparsha (of vAyu)!

Of course, the start of the bhAgavata verse itself resonates with the beginning
of the brahmasUtra-s ...

Regards,
Vidyasankar

chitravina ravikiran
Posts: 216
Joined: 28 Apr 2011, 10:30

Re: Value of OVK's contributions

Post by chitravina ravikiran »

Seeksha and Vidyasankar,

Brilliant and enlightening indeed... Please keep it going.
OVK's mention of panca bhUta-s is in keeping with this brahmasUtra analysis. Interestingly, he explicitly mentions shabda (attribute of AkAsha) along with rUpa (of tejas), rasa (of vAri) and gandha (of pRthivI), but does not mention sparsha (of vAyu)!
Actually he has mentioned sparsha - I have quoted the first 2 lines of the charanam.

janmAdi lOka kAraNa mUlam rasa
shabda rUpa sparsha gandhAdi jAlam

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