Dear SrivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,
Many a times in hours of crisis like plane hijack, riots, violence,
etc, we hear from the news sources that the `special commandos'
trained in tackling such situations were deployed, and, they were
able to quell the impending disaster. Is it modern news or somebody's
modern idea of creating such a `commando force?' Perhaps experts in
the subjects of `political administration' and `sociology' fields can
comment on that. But I feel, it is as old as `raamaayaNam'. Evidence
of such a `force' existence is available in sreemadh raamaayaNam.
Perhaps the name of that commando force may differ.
After the famous and many an army groups led by indhrajith
[raavaNan's son], kumbakarNan, virupaakshan, et al along with their
leaders have been killed or destroyed completely in war with sri
raama, raavaNan commands his `special commandos army' ? or his `core
inner commandos'. This, in raamaayaNam, is called raavaNan's `moola
balam'. In the yudhDha kaaNdam of sreemadh vaalmeeki raamaayaNam the
sargam 94 ? 94th chapter ? is on `moola bala yudhDham' ? a war
between the core inner army of raavaNa and sri raama and his monkey
army.
In this `moola bala yudhdham' saint thyaagaraaja describes
raama's `bowing' power. This krithi is in the raagam saavEri. That
krithi is presented below.
Krithi: `raama baaNa' raagam: saavEri
thaaLam: aadhi Composer: thyaagaraaja Language: Telugu
15 maayamaaLava gowLa janya raagam
Aa: S R1 M1 P D1 S
Av: S N3 D1 P M1 G3 R1 S
pallavi:-
raama baaNa thraaNa souryam
Emani pogaDudhuraa O manasaa ? raama baaNa
Meaning: hey mind ? what can I say about the valour [sooraththanam]
of sree raamaa's bow in protecting its [His?] subjects (thraaNam -
protecting).
anupallavi:-
bhaamaku aasaabaDu raavaNa moola
balamula nEla goola jEyu nija - raama baaNa
meaning: the inner circle army of that raavaNaa, who desired seethaa,
was completely thrashed and destroyed of their strength ? oh, that
true raamaa's bow [hey mind - ? what can]
charaNam:-
thammuDu baDalina vELa suraripu
themmani chakkera pancheeyaga gani
lemmanuchunu indhira ari balka
samayammani lEvagaa
sammathithO nilabaDi kOdhaNDa
poojya ghOshamula aasanula jEsi thaa
nemmadi gala thODunu joochEnuraa
nijamaina thyaagaraaja nuthudaku sree - raama baaNa
charaNam first part: when the younger brother lakshmaNa fell
unconscious, that enemy of dhEvaas [viz. indhrajith] enjoyed by
distributing sweets. [Later] The enemy of Indhira [raavaNan] was
challenging to get up, raama thought it was time to respond and stood
up.
charaNam second part: raama stood up with complete determination,
with His bow twanging like a thunder, He looked at His younger
brother [anuja] who follows Him subserviently, to such a Lord, truly
praised by thyaagaraaja - Hey mind, what can....]
Points or comments:
1. This krithi is rarely sung in the kutchEry mEdais ? music
concerts. This is not such a popular krithi.
2. The raagam selection by thyaagaraajaa is something very
special. The raagam name SaavEri, is probably derived from the
word 'Saavari'. This is a rakthi raga, apt for singing at the time
of `Soorya udhayam' - sunrise and Soorya asthamanam - sunset. Saaveri
is also one of the ragas confined to the realms of Carnaatic music.
3. In the comment on this raagam, the famous musicologist
Dr.V.V.Srivathsa says: Saaveri is an ancient raagam with many textual
references. This raagam is classified as a Bhaashaanga raagam in
Sangeeta Ratnaakaram, albeit with the name Saavari. This raagam has a
place of pride in Carnaatic music, as can be also seen in the
proverb, "KaavEri snaanam, SaavEri Gaanam", which is duly reflected
in a composition by Dikshithar. Each swaram has a significant role.
Gandharam and Nishadam, at Trisruti levels, render this raagam as
Bhaashaanga. Rishabham, Madhyamam and Nishadam are raaga-chhayya
swarams, which bring out the nuances of this raagam. Madhyamam is
unique, often called SaavEri Madhyamam. It is one of the select ragas
with compositions by all members of the Carnaatic Trinity. There is a
marked conceptual similarity between Dikshitar and Syaamaa Saastri.
Some rare sanchaarams can be found in "KarmamE Balavanta", a
Thyaagaraaja krithi. There is considerable esoteric significance in
some passages of the kriti "Sri Raajagopaala" by Dikshithar. Syaama
Saastri's first composition was in this raagam. Many post-Trinity
composers have used this raagam, unto recent times. A great legacy".
4. In the comment on this raagam, another musicologist Dr
Pramila Gurumurthy says: The earliest reference is by Parshwadeva
(11th Century). Naarada's classification under the time theory
details SaavEri as a derivative of Gauda, apt for rendition between
noon and 3 pm. Sarangadeva refers to raagam Sauviri only. The
Brihaddharma Purana mentions SaavEri as a janya raagam of Gowda mela.
Annamacharya and Purandaradasa have composed in this raga. Ramamatya
refers to SaavEri as a janya raagam of Saalanganaata mElam. The
references by Somanatha to a raga Saaveri as a derivative of the
Mallaari scale perhaps is in respect of Suddha saavEri. Venkatamakhin
opines that Saaveri is a derivative of Gowla mela. The melodic
identity of this raga is established in works like Raaga Lakshanamu,
Sangeeta Saaraamrita and Sangeeta Sampradaaya Pradarsini. The
Sangeeta Saaraamrita deems SaavEri to be a morning raagam. Shadjam is
used as Graha, Nyasa and Amsa swarams. Many compositions are
available with notation in the Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarsini.
5. This raagam expresses `karuNaa rasam'.
6. Now let us see sreemadh raamaayaNam slokams on the moola bala
yudhdham ? and see whether thyaagaraaja's krithi goes in similar
lines or picturises a different version. The `raama baaNa thraaNa
souryam' ? the raama baaNam protecting its subjects? Why and how?
Raama is not the king at that stage of fighting the `moola bala
yudhdham'. In fact raama was fighting raavaNa, the enemy, based on
the help of sugreeva and his army of monkeys. Then how can
he `protect' his subjects?' Yes. The vaalmeeki slokam reads
raakshasair yudhdhya maanaanaam vaanaraaNaam mahaa chamoo: |
SaraNyam saraNam yaathaa raamam dhasaratha aathmajam || 6-94-17
Meaning: The big army of vaanaraas being fought by the raakshasa army
surrendered to the son of dhasaratha viz. raama.
Chinnam bhinnam sarair dhagDham prabhagnam sasthra peeditham |
balam raamENa dhadhrusur na raamam seegra kaariNam || 6-94-22
meaning: they saw [onlookers of war or the army on both sides
themselves?] the raakshasa army as burnt by the arrows of sri raama,
cut by the raama sasthrams, and broken with raamaa's weapons. But
they could not see raama [from where he is showering the arrows so as
to effectively destroy the enemy army]
So, when his own army surrendered to raama, expressing their
incapacity or at a weak moment of being attacked seriously by the
raakshasaas, naturally he has to protect them. That is what is
described by the krithi ? `thraaNa' souryam. The souryam is being
described or available in above slokam.
7. When this moola bala yudhdham started? That question is
answered in slokam
sa sangraamO mahaan bheema: sooryOdhayanam prathi |
rakshasaam vaanaraaNaam cha thumula: samapadhyatha || 6-94-9
meaning: this war between the raakshasaas army and monkey army
started from the sunrise and was terrible and confusing.
Point: Now, dear readers, you understand why thyaagaraaja selected
saavEri raagam for this krithi ? this raagam is a morning raagam. So
a krithi in the morning raagam describing an act happening in the
morning - to glorify that `raama baaNa souryam in moola bala
yudhdham'.
More points in the next part since the length of the post puts a
brake on me.
Dhasan
Vasudevan m.g.
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