The Hindu : Friday Review Chennai / Tribute : Tracing Tirtha's glory Online edition of India's National Newspaper Friday, Mar 03, 2006 SrI: Dear SangItha RasikAs & KrishNa BhakthAs : The slOkams of Sri Krishna Leela TarangiNi were sung in front of the Lord and approved by AnjanEya , who kept time (TaaLam) . These are divine songs by the great Saint composed at VarahUr PerumAL Sannidhi . I hope one of these days , we can focus on Sri NaarAyaNa Theerthar's divine compositions. V.Sadagopan , Moderator P.S : Here is anarticle from March 3 , 2006 Version in The Hindu. > Tracing Tirtha's glory > T.S. PARTHASARATHY > > Hailed as South Indian Jayadeva, Sri Narayana Tirtha's > Krishna Leela Tharangini blends devotion with melody. > > > > > When the sway of the Vijayanagar empire was extended to cover > the whole of Tamil Nadu, there was large scale migration of scholars and > musicians, into Thanjavur and Madurai and they were patronised by the > Nayak rulers there. Most of them were Telugus but there were Kannadigas > also like Govinda Dikshitar, father of Venkatamakhi. > > The South Indian bhajana sampradaya was almost exclusively > nourished by the works of a few Advaitic scholars and musicians. most of > who were Telugus and wre sanyasins. They included Narayana Tirtha, > Bodhendra Swami of Govindapuram, Sridhara Venkatesa (Ayyaval) of > Tiruvisainallur, Sadasiva Brahmendra and Sadguru Swami, Marudanallur. They > firmly established the `Nama Siddhanta' tradition in Tamil Nadu. > > Narayana Tirtha, author of `Krishna Leela Tarangini,' is hailed > as the `South Indian Jayadeva' because there are several similarities > between him and the Oriya poet who wrote the `Gita Govindam.' Both were > ardent devotees of Krishna.While Jayadeva's work is based on the > Radha-Krishna episode in the `Brahma Vaivarta Purana,' Narayana Tirtha's > work is a condensed version of the Dasamaskandha of the `Srimad > Bhagavatam.' Both the plays are of the `gaya natakam' variety. > > There are several theories about Narayana Tirtha's birthplace > and the year of his birth, but scholars prefer Kaza near Guntur as his > native village and 1675 as the year of his birth. His family name was > Tallavajjala. Early in life he mastered Sanskrit, Carnatic music and > Bharata Sastra. He was ordained as a sanyasin by Sivarama Tirtha to whom > he pays obeisance in his work. > > Led by Divine will > > > It is stated that when Narayana Tirtha was on his way to > Thanjavur district he was afflicted with a severe stomach ailment and > prayed to Lord Venkateswara for relief. A divine voice told him to follow > the first object he saw the next morning. This happened to be a boar, > which led him to Varahur (Bhupatirajapuram). Tirtha settled down in the > village and rendered yeoman service to Carnatic music. > > His `Krishna Leela Tarangini' is the lengthiest musical play in > Sanskrit and comprises 12 tarangams, which contain 147 kirtanas, 267 > slokas, 30 gadyams, 30 derus and link passages. > > In his introduction, Narayana Tirtha gives a synopsis of the > story from the birth of Krishna to his marrying eight wives. The composer > writes a simple but unique style in which all the literary graces such as > assonance, and rhyming and liquid sounds are blended to create a total > picture of idea, sound and melody. > > He signed his songs as `Vara Narayana Tirtha', `Siva Narayana > Tirtha' and `Yati Narayana Tirtha'. `Jaya Jaya Gokula Bala' is, perhaps, > the most popular song from the Tarangini. Its original raga was Kurinji > but it was later converted into a ragamalika. by Tiruvotriyur Tyagayyar in > Bhairavi, Atana, Kambhoji, Kalyani and Surati. > > > It is believed that Narayana Tirtha was closely associated with > the Bhagavata Mela tradition of Melattur. `Krishna Leela Tarangini' is a > treasure, which deserves to be cherished by litterateurs, musicians and > dancers. > > The Tirupoonthuruthi Festival Committee is conducting the 260th > aradhana of the saint composer at Tirupoonthuruthi, 13 km from Thanjavur, > where Narayana Tirtha is said to have attained samadi, for three days > beginning on March 5. > > Musicians will render tharangams on all the days. Unchavriti, > Namasankirtanam, Harikatha and special puja will also form part of the > festival. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/XUWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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