Navasandhi Kauthuvams

keeths · Post by **keeths** » 01 Feb 2009, 12:30

What are Navasandhi Kauthuvams? What is so special about it? Can someone tell.... is it done only in bharathanatyam?

natyasri123 · Post by **natyasri123** » 01 Feb 2009, 18:12

navasandhi is about reinging gods of nine directions.
brahma left:chatura,right:hamsasya
indra:tripataka both hands, crossed at wrists
agni: left: langula/kangula, right:tripataka
yama:left:pasha(almost like tamrachuda hasta facing the ceiling),right:suchi
nirruthi:left:khatva,right:shakata
varuna: left: shikhara, right:pataka
vaayu: left:ardhapataka, right:arala
kubera:left:alapadma, right:mushti
ehsaana: left: simhamukha, right:tripataka, in bharatarnavam, eshaana is depicted as left:mushti , right:tripataka crossed at wrists.
brahma is in the center
indra rules east
agni rules south east
yama rules south
nirruthi rules south west
varuna rules west
vaayu rules north west
kubera rules north
eshaana rules north east
u can google for their consorts and weapons and vahanaas.

natyasri123 · Post by **natyasri123** » 01 Feb 2009, 18:13

whether it is done only in bharatanatyam- may be. kuchipudi has kauthuvams but iam not sure they do it there.

avnipriya · Post by **avnipriya** » 01 Feb 2009, 18:44

I've seen Indra Kauthuvam in Kuchipudi style.

keeths · Post by **keeths** » 02 Feb 2009, 18:39

thank you natyasri123 and avnipriya

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 02 Feb 2009, 19:19

The navasandhi kauttuvams were composed and used in Saivaite temples in Tamil Nadu (they are in very chaste tamizh), and as such were part of the repertoire of the dancers who performed nATya sEvA in these temples. I am not entirely certain, but I think that the idea was that the Lords/guardians of the eight directions, and brahmA in the center were to be propitiated before the Lord was taken out of the temple in ceremonial procession. These then became part of the tradition of dAsiATTam/sadir, which later evolved into present day bharatanATyam. If these particular kauttuvams are presented in the kucipuDi format, they must be recent additions to that mArgam, because, traditionally, kucipuDi is performed to compositions in telugu and sanskrit. It is only of late that compositions in other languages are finding their way into these. It is possible that AndhrA nrityam or vilAsini nrityam (offered as nATyas EvA in temples in Andhra Pradesh) will have something similar.

Two sets of commercial DVDs of navasandhi kauttuvams have been presented by two students of Sri Kittappa Pillai (tanjAvUr style) - Prof. Sudharani Raghupati, and Smt. Vyjayantimala Bali. The former was commissioned by the SNA (I think) to record these for posterity.

avnipriya · Post by **avnipriya** » 02 Feb 2009, 20:34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Mh5PiRcyQ

Indra Kauthuvam in Kuchipudi style, I'm sure it's in Sanskrit.

http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... m-vdo.html

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 02 Feb 2009, 22:26

Avnipriya,

Where is that initial piece identified as indrasandhi kauttuvam? Are you aware of 8 other verses for the other sandhis in this set in sanskrit/telugu? If this is part of the navasandhi kauttuvam, it is different from the ones called typically 'navasandhi kauttuvam' from Tamil Nadu. That is why, in http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... m-vdo.html the lyrics posted by Lji are in tamizh, from the better known navasandhi kauttuvam popularized by Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy and Smt. Vyjayantimala Bali.
kauttuvams are typically in tamizh (and possibly in telugu for kucipuDi), although I am sure a sanskrit verse can be used as a kauttuvam.

natyasri123 · Post by **natyasri123** » 03 Feb 2009, 19:06

as far as i know, kauthuvam is another name of kavithvam- so there is no raga or tala restictions.and if this holds true, then there should be no language restrictions too. my knowledge about kuchipudi is limited. what i know is- there are no telugu kauthuvams. they use the sanskrit ones(ganesha kauthuvam). there is a lot of adoptation, the recent ones include varnams.

Rasikaas · Post by **Rasikaas** » 04 Feb 2009, 12:13

The Speciality about the navasandhi Kavutuvams..

The Navasandhi Kavutuvams propitaiate the ashtadikpalaks(the guardian of the 8 directions) and Bramha at the centre. These were composed by the Tanjore quartette and performed during the Dwajaroha(Flag hoisting) festival at the Thanjavur Periya Kovil or the Brihadeeshwara temple. The Navansandi Kavutuvams are composed on Bramha, Indra, Agni, Yama, Niruthi,Varuna, Vayu, Kubera and Isana as suggested earlier. It is interesting to note that though the TQ were proficient in very many languages, they chose to write all these kavutuvams in Tamil (Including the mention of the Tamil Pann). Probably it was an attempt to carry the message to the layman and the vernacular of the area being Tamil.

All the 9 Kavutuvams talk of the attributes of the particular deity(their mount, their consorts, their kriya (loosely translated as responsibilities etc.). The kavutuvams also provide details of each deity, such as the mount (vahana), the preferred tala, the hastas used, the consort, etc and the raga( actually the Tamil pan- equivalent of raga), dance style and thalam associated with that deity.

It is pertinent to point out that Smt. Vyjayanathimala Bali and Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy are disciples of Tanjore Kitappa Pillai, a direct descendant of the Tanjore Quartert.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 04 Feb 2009, 19:13

Rasikaas,

IIRC, these predate the Quartette, along the lines of the information posted at http://www.thehorizons.com/review/rev121.htm

Exerpts from that review:

The kauthuvam is defined by Professor U.S.Krishna Rao as a dance composition in praise of a Hindu deity, in the form of an invocation performed at the commencement of a Bharatanatyam recital, either before or immediately after the ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“alaripu.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ But according to noted scholar and critic, E.Krishna Iyer, its popularity waned after the Tanjore Quartet formalised the dance repertoire in the early 1800s.

Though their composer is unknown, the Nava Sandhi Kauthuvams can be traced back to before the Tanjore Quartet era, possibly performed by their ancestors in the Shaivite temples. These Tamil compositions are dedicated to the ashta dikpalas, the presiding deities of the eight directions, namely, Indra, Agni, Yama, Niruti, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, Ishan with Brahma propitiated in the centre.

Sri Kittappa Pillai revived the tradition:

Unfortunately, the performance of such rituals ceased when dancing in the temples was banned. It was later revived and restructured by Guru K.P.Kittappa Pillai, who was cautious about its popularisation owing to its religious connotation.

Rasikaas · Post by **Rasikaas** » 05 Feb 2009, 11:53

Shankarji,

IIRC- I dont get that! what is the expansion of this expression??

The authorship of the Navasandhi Kavutuvams is indeed debated and as you quote" are best traced to the era of the Tanjore quartet."

Dr. S. Bhagyalakshmi in her book "approach to Bharathanatyam" says "that the Navasandhi dances were believed to have been choreographed by the Tanjore quartette and their precursors(???)"
It may be pertinent to note that many Kavutuvams were choreographed by Gangai Muttu Nattuvanar, who was an ancestor of the TQ

But in the book "NityasumaÃƒÂ¡Ã‚Â¹Ã¢â‚¬Â¦galÃƒâ€žÃ‚Â«" By Saskia C. Kersenboom, which is a revised version of her Phd thesis, she credits TQ with the compostion of both the Panchamurthi and Navsandhi Kavutuvams.

One view is that the ashtadikpalakas (or the 8 direction) kavutuvams were probably created earlier. The TQ added the Bramha kavutuvam to it and made it the Navsandhi Kavutuvam. I dont recall the source for this info, unfortunately..
It has been Kitappa pillai who revived the lost choreography. and taught it to his students.. I would love to hear the inputs from Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy's interview in the ICCR (?) sponsored Navsandhi Kavutuvam CD.

The kavutuvams and Pushpanjali were never a part of the kutcheri performances " Being ritualistic in nature, there were many constraints regarding their performance: they could be performed only in the appropriate areas within the temple precincts." the same interview that you have furnished quotes. They are comparatively recent entries to the performance circuit.

natyasri123 · Post by **natyasri123** » 05 Feb 2009, 13:58

that reminds me, priyadarshini govind mentions about one Nityasumangali kauthuvam and kauthuvams on nature like Vanampadi kauthuvam etc. do someone have a script for any such kauthuvams, here? also there is a lot of talk of Kali Kauthuvam- i have never seen a performance of kali kauthuvam or even heard its music- can anyone help in this regard?

Rasikaas · Post by **Rasikaas** » 05 Feb 2009, 18:13

Pl refer to this thread for kali kavutuvam; http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... tuvam.html
It is composed by Gangai Muttu Nattuvanar and may be perfomed in gowlai ragam and adi thlam
I have seen Kali kavutuvam performed quite often in Chennai

avnipriya · Post by **avnipriya** » 09 Feb 2009, 08:15

The Indra Kauthuvam in Kuchipudi style starts with

" Sakala suravara makuta manigana
Jhrumbhitanghri Saroruham "

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 09 Feb 2009, 22:37

Avnipriya,

I do not think that traditional kucipuDi had any of the navasandhi kauttuvams, and just because there is one danced to indrA, it doesn't follow that it part of navasandhi - these navasandhi kauttuvams were clearly meant to be part of ritualistic worship in a temple, and kucipuDi was not the form prevelant in the temples in AP - it was AndhrA nATyam/vilAsini nrityam practiced by the kalAvantulu - so, IMO, your main resource for this would be Smt. Svapna Sundari

avnipriya · Post by **avnipriya** » 10 Feb 2009, 09:21

Thank for information.