ï
Sri:
Dear Sri Ranganatha BhaktAs :
A devotee of Sri Ranganatha had asked the
question
as to which Raagam and Taalam are offered to
Lord
Ranganatha during utsavams as VisEsha
upachArams .
It was an interesting question that takes us back
to
the early part of the last century ( 1920s to
1930s)
and the transformations that took place in the
" DEva Daasi" system in the temple worship .
The transition was made at that time from Satir
to Bahrata Naatyam so that many girls
from
Brahmin families could learn and practise
Bharata Naatyam . unfortunately , the role
of
"Deva Daasis" in the temple rituals got diminished
.
The Deva Daasis were very much involved
with
the Nava Sandhi Koutthuvam or offer of worship
to
the gods of the nine directions/intersections
.
It is like a grand scale Thiruvanthi Kaapu
,
which was celebrated by PeriyAzhwAr
in
His Kaapidal Paasurams .
The question of the Member was about
the special Raagamsand TaaLams used
for Lord Ranganatha during his daily
AarAdhanam and BrahmOtsavams
.
Sriman Murali Battar , one of the PradhAna
Archakar of Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam
was kind enough to respond to this query
,
which is attached
. It is in Tamil .His is
an
excellent response .
My extra inputs are added after His response
below
and cover the importance of Nava
Sandhi
Koutthuvam , which is a ritualistic
,
Aagama Sanctioned procedure to
offer
homage to the gods of Direction as
ParivAra Devathais of Sriman NaarAyaNan .
The sandhis are nine in number : Brahma
,
Indhra , Agni , Yama , Nirriti or Soorya
,
VaruNa , Vaayu , KUbhEra, Siva (
YeesAnya).
There are TaaLams and Raagams for each
of
the Lords of Directions .
At the Srirangam Temple , there is a tenth
direction , which is AakASam . There are
therefor Dasa (Ten) TaaLams used in
ancient times along with BhEri TaaDanam
at SrI Rangam during
BrahmOtsavam
according to SrimAn MurLi Battar Swamy
.
Mohana Raagam ( Mullai PaNN) and
Bhairavi
Raagam ( Kousika PaNN) for Kaisika
EkAdasi
PurappAdu are largely used at
Srirangam
today . The TaaLams have shrunk to
Aadhi
and ChApu TaaLams during
Naadhaswara
UpachArams .
The combinations of Raagam and TaaLam
at
the nava Sandhis to the accompaniment
of
"SaBdham of Bharata Naatyam " of Deva
Daasis
were :
1. Brahma Sandhi : MadhyamAvati and Tisra Yeka
TaaLam
2. Indhra Sandhi: Goorjari Raagam & Misra
ChApu
3. Agni Sandhi: NaatA Raagam & Chatusra JampA
TaaLam
4. Yama Sandhi : DesAkshi Raagam & Chatusra
Yeka TaaLam
5.Nirruti: KuntaLam Raagam & Tisra
Yekam
6. VaruNa Sandhi: VarALi Raagam & Chatusra
Yekam
7. Vaayu Sandhi: Makuta Raamagiri Raagam &
Roopaka TaaLam
8. KubhEra Sandhi: MaaLava SrI& Tisra yeka
TaaLam
9. Isaanya Sandhi: Malahari Raagam & Tisra
Yekam
The ten directions are implied in the
name
DaSaraTha , the Father of Lord Raama
chandra
in the IthihAsam . King DasarathA's chariot
in
battle was uninterrupted in the ten
directions:
DaSasu dhikshu apratihata raTha: ithi
DaSaratha:
These Lord of Directions the determinants of
Space ,
" the substratum of the Cosmos" ,
have special
significance in ritualistic worship . These are
Vedic Gods
that are subservient to Sriman NaarAyaNaa in
the VaishNavite and Saiva Aagamaas . Ritual
offerings ( Bali) are made with appropriate
SaBdham of Bharata Naatyam set in
prescribed
Raagam and TaaLam .
NaMO Sri KastUri RangAya ,
V.Sadagopan
----- Original Message -----
From: Murali Battar
Rangaraja
__._,_.___
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe __,_._,___ |
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |