Purandara Dasa

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Purandara Dasa
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Purandara dasa.jpg
Purandardasa painting
Background information
Native name
?????? ???
Birth name Srinivasa Nayaka ?
????????? ????
Born 1484
Kshemapura, near Tirthahalli, Shivamogga district, Karnataka
Origin Kshemapura, Shivamogga, Karnataka state, India
Died 1564
Hampi, Karnataka state, India
Genres Carnatic music
Occupation(s) Carnatic vocalist, instrumentalist
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Purandara Dasa (Kannada: ?????? ???)[1] (1484�1564) was a Haridasa (a devotee �
servant of Lord Hari (Vishnu)), great devotee of Lord Krishna (an incarnation of
Lord Vishnu) and a saint. He was a disciple of the celebrated Madhwa philosopher-
saint Vyasatirtha, and a contemporary of yet another great Haridasa, Kanakadasa.
His Guru, Vyasatirtha glorified Purandara Dasa in a song thus: Dasarendare
purandara dasarayya. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-
proponents of the South Indian classical Music (Carnatic Music). In honor of his
significant and legendary contributions to Carnatic Music, he is widely referred to
as the Pitamaha (lit, "father" or the "grandfather") of Carnatic Music.[2][3][4][5]
He is respected as an avatara (incarnation) of the great sage Narada (a celestial
being who is also a singer).

Purandara Dasa was a wealthy diamond merchant from Karnataka, who gave away all his
material riches to become a Haridasa, a devotional singer who made the difficult
Sanskrit tenets of Srimad Bhagavatam available to everyone in simple and melodious
songs, and is one of the most important music scholars of medieval India.[6][7][8]
He formulated the basic lessons of teaching Carnatic music by structuring graded
exercises known as Svaravalis and Alankaras,[6] and at the same time, he introduced
the Raga Mayamalavagowla as the first scale to be learnt by beginners in the field
� a practice that is being followed till date. He also composed Gitas (simple
songs) for novice students.

Purandara Dasa is noted for composing Dasa Sahithya, as a Bhakti movement vocalist,
and a music scholar. His practice was emulated by his younger contemporary,
Kanakadasa. Purandara Dasa's Carnatic music compositions are mostly in Kannada,
while some are in Sanskrit. He signed his compositions with the ankita (pen name)
"Purandara Vittala" (Vittala is one of the incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu).

Contents
1 Biography
2 Purandara Dasa and Carnatic music
3 In contemporary music
4 Memorials and monuments
5 Aradhana
6 In art and popular culture
6.1 Biographical Movies and documentaries
7 Philosophy
8 Example poem: Good � he became an ascetic-Hari Dasa
9 Salutations
10 Compilations of Purandara Dasa's lyrics
11 See also
12 References
13 Cited sources
14 Further reading
15 External links
Biography
Inscriptional evidence suggests Purandara Dasa was born to a diamond merchant in
Deshastha Madhwa Brahmin family[9][10][11] in 1484 CE in Kshemapura, near
Tirthahalli, Shivamogga district, Karnataka state.[12] According to other opinions,
his native town was Purandaraghatta in Karnataka,[13] or Purandaragad near Pune,
but the latter is considered a historical mistake � connecting his "pen name" (his
ankita) with a location that mainly served as a military encampment in the 15th and
16th century.[14]

The only son of Varadappa Nayaka, a wealthy merchant, and Leelavati, he was named
Srinivasa Nayaka, after the Lord of the Seven Hills. He received a good education
in accordance with the family traditions and acquired proficiency in Kannada,
Sanskrit, and sacred music. At the age of 16 was he was married to one Saraswati
Bai, held by tradition to have been a pious young girl. He lost his parents at age
20, thereby inheriting his father's business of gemstones and pawning. He prospered
and became known as Navakoti Narayana(an abundantly rich man; worth ninety
millions).

Popular legend narrates a miraculous incident in Srinivasa Nayaka's life, owing to

which, he was led to devote himself to the practice, propagation and inculcation of
Bhakti (devotion) towards Lord Krishna through musical compositions. As a natural,
inescapable consequence of such a transforming event, ubiquitous in the lives of
several saints throughout the ages, he is believed to have relinquished his former
greedy and miserly self of a wealthy, having realized the worthlessness of
attachment towards worldly possessions:[15] The Lord, in a bid to cure Srinivasa of
his tenacious materialistic delusion and attachment, and thereby claim his devotion
to Himself, approached Srinivasa in the guise of a poor man, with a piteous plea
for money; ostensibly, the money was direly needed to perform His (!) son's
upanayana (sacred initiation). Having been summarily rejected, mocked and turned
out, the 'poor man' surreptitiously repeated his plea before Srinivasa's wife; a
generous soul of rigorous spiritual nature, she gave away one of her precious nose
rings, unbeknownst to her husband; the 'poor man' sold the nose ring back to none
other than Srinivasa himself! The shrewd Srinavasa, privy to his wife's
openhandedness, immediately identified the nose ring as his wife's and hurried
home; enraged and anxious to ascertain the truth of the matter, he demanded his
wife to produce the nose ring before him immediately. Realizing that Srinivasa had
grown wise to her secret donation, the wife decided to end her life with poison.
Having completed her prayers to the Lord before her attempt, she was shocked to see
a nose ring inside the poison cup � completely identical to the one she had just
given away. Incredulous and rapturous, she recounted the entire episode to her
husband, who was bewildered and lost. Meanwhile, a search for the 'poor man' was of
no avail; he had as mysteriously vanished as he had appeared! At that very
propitious moment, Srinivasa's old self � convinced of the inscrutable ways of the
Lord, having witnessed the unfailing Grace that saved his pious wife, bewildered at
the Power that could, in a moment, produce a gold ornament by mere Will � instantly
shook off that beginningless, persistent veil in the form of 'I' and 'mine', which
masks the men's vision of the Divine. At 30 years of age, he gave away all his
wealth in charity, and together with his family, abandoned his house to lead the
life of a mendicant � living on alms and singing the glories of the Lord. In his
very first song composition, he laments his wasted life of indulgence. It begins
with the words 'Ana lae kara' in the Shuddha Saveri raga, set to Triputa tala.

In the course of his wandering he met the holy sage Vyasatirtha, one of the chief
exponents of Madhwa philosophy and the rajaguru of Krishnadevaraya, the emperor of
Vijayanagara kingdom. According to Prof. Sambamoorthy,[16] Srinivasa had his formal
initiation at the hands of Vyasatirtha in 1525 when he was about 40 years old, with
the name Purandara Dasa bestowed on him. Purandara Dasa traveled extensively
through the length and breadth of the Vijayanagara empire in Karnataka, Tirupati,
Pandharapura composing and rendering soul stirring songs in praise of god. He spent
his last years in Hampi and also sang in Krishnadevaraya's durbar. The mantapa
(mandap) in which he stayed is known as Purandara Dasa Mantapa (mandap) in Hampi.
He died on 2 January 1564 at the age of 80. Tradition and legend holds that he
composed 4,75,000 keerthanas (songs). Further, according to this legend, his
original desire was to compose 500,000 keerthanas. Being unable to do it in his
present life, he requested his younger son to complete them. His son Madhwapathi
told his father that he could do this in his next janma (birth). It is believed
that he was reborn as the famous Vijayadaasa�birthplace is Cheekalparvi village
near Maanvi town, Raichur district in Karnataka State�and completed the remaining
25 thousand keerthanas as promised. Most his songs are in praise of Lord Narayana
and other Devatas. Due to this, he is believed to be an avatar of Narada, the
celestial singer and son of Goddess Saraswati. One of the trimurtis (three icons)
of Carnatic music, Saint Thyagaraja, has paid tribute to Purandara Dasa in his geya
natakam(an opera) Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam.[17]

Purandara Dasa and Carnatic music

Purandara Dasa systematized the method of teaching Carnatic music which is followed
to the present day. He introduced the raga Mayamalavagowla as the basic scale for
music instruction and fashioned series of graded lessons such as swaravalis, janti
swaras, alankaras, lakshana geetas, prabandhas, ugabhogas, daatu varase, geeta,
sooladis and kritis.[2] Another of his important contributions[citation needed] was
the fusion of bhava, raga, and laya in his compositions. Purandara Dasa was the
first[citation needed] composer to include comments on ordinary daily life in song
compositions. He used elements of colloquial language for his lyrics. He introduced
folk ragas into the mainstream, setting his lyrics to tunes/ragas of his day so
that even a common man could learn and sing them.[18] He also composed a large
number of lakshya and lakshana geetas, many of which are sung to this day. His
sooladis are musical masterpieces and are the standard for raga lakshana. Scholars
attribute the standardization of varna mettus entirely to Purandara Dasa.[citation
needed]

The itinerant dasas who succeeded him are believed to have followed the systems he
devised, as well as orally passing down his compositions. According to traditional
sources his compositions number as many as four lac and seventy five thousand.[19]
But not more than 700 compositions are accessible now.

Purandara Dasa was a vaggeyakara (composer-performer), a lakshanakara

(musicologist), and the founder of musical pedagogy. For all these reasons and the
enormous influence that he had on Carnatic music, musicologists call him the
"Sangeeta Pitamaha" (lit. grandfather) of Carnatic music.[20]

Purandara Dasa had great influence on Hindustani music. The foremost Hindustani
musician Tansen's teacher, Swami Haridas also a Saraswat Brahmin was Purandara
Dasa's disciple.[21]

In contemporary music

Statue of Purandara Dasa

Purandara Dasa on a 1964 stamp of India

In the pure Carnatic tradition, Bidaram Krishnappa was one of the foremost singers
of modern times to popularize the compositions of Purandara Dasa. Singer Madras
Lalithangi, and her illustrious daughter Padmavibushan, Sangeetha Kalanidhi M. L.
Vasanthakumari have rendered yeoman service in propagating the compositions of
Purandara Dasa; both were considered as authorities on Purandara Dasa. M. L.
Vasantha Kumari was awarded an honorary doctorate by Mysore University for her
contributions to Purandara Dasa's music.

Though the compositions of Purandara Dasa are originally in the ragas of Carnatic
system of music, his compositions have been adopted and made equally popular in
Hindustani music. Hindustani music legends such as Bhimsen Joshi, Madhav Gudi and
Basavaraj Rajguru have made them more popular in recent years.

Many other young and well known artists such as Anant Terdal, Pandit Ananth
Kulkarni, Upendra Bhat, Puttur Narasimha Nayak, Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Nagaraja
Rao Havaldar, Ganapathi Bhatt, Vidyabhushana, Shankar Shanbhag flautists
Prapanchand performing Purandara Dasa's compositions and other dasa sahitya songs
in Carnatic as well as Hindustani music concerts. Of late, Mysore Ramachandracharya
is industriously propagating dasa sahitya through his concerts. Tirumala Tirupathi
Devasthanams is also propagating the dasa krithis through the Dasa Sahitya Project.
He also composed the first 'Lullaby' songs in Carnatic music such as 'Thoogire
Rangana'[22] 'Gummana Kareyadire'[23] etc., which led to the creation of many other
similar songs by others.

Memorials and monuments

The Purandara Mantapa[24] adjoining the Vijayavittala temple at Hampi is one of the
longstanding monuments relating to Purandara Dasa. This is where he is said to have
composed and sung in praise of Lord Vishnu.

A statue of Purandara Dasa has been erected at the foothills of Tirumala in

Alipiri.[25][26] A statue of Purandara Dasa adorns the Asthana Mandapam
(auditorium) on the Tirumala hill.

Sri Purandara Dasa Memorial Trust (SPDMT),[27] formed in Bangalore in 2007, has
been actively involved in promoting and researching all aspects of the life and
works of Purandara Dasa. A 3500 sq ft concert hall, called 'Purandara Mantapa', has
been erected on the premises of the Trust.

The Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha (ISS) at Indiranagar, Bangalore formed in 1986, has
dedicated an auditorium of 600 Seating Capacity called Purandara Bhavana[28]
exclusive for cultural events inaugurated by Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam,[29] to his
memory.

Aradhana
Main article: Purandara Dasa Aradhana
Aradhana is a religious-devotional observation, held annually, to remember and
honor saintly persons on the day of their departure from this world. Purandara
Dasa's aradhana or punyadina is held on the pushya bahula amavasya[30] of the
Indian chandramana calendar (a new moon day, generally in February�March). The
musicians and art aficionados in the state of Karnataka, South India and many art
and religious centers around the world observe this occasion in deep religious and
musical fervor. His compositions are sung by established and upcoming artists on
this day.

In art and popular culture

Biographical Movies and documentaries
Three biographical films, in Kannada language, have been made on the life and
compositions of Purandara Dasa.

Purandaradasa (1937)
Navakoti Narayana (1964)
Sri Purandara Dasaru (1967)
Film director and playwright Girish Karnad made a documentary film titled Kanaka-
Purandara (English, 1988) on the two medieval Bhakti poets of Karnataka.[31][32]

Philosophy
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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2012)
The philosophy of Purandara Dasa is harmonious with the concept of Bhakti of
Hinduism, broadly based on the Narada Bhakti Sutras and essentially synchronous
with the pan-Indian Bhakti Movement. It teaches complete self-surrender and
unadulterated love towards Lord Krishna, the Supreme. The philosophy of Bhakti in
Purandara Dasa's compositions stems from the essential teachings of the realistic-
pluralistic Madhwa Philosophy of Vaishnavism, and has been rendered in simple
Kannada. The individual soul (jeeva) is a pratibimba (reflection) of the Lord
(Ishvara), who is the bimba (source). The jeeva owes its existence, knowledge and
bliss to the Ishvara, and any sense of independence with regards to one's actions
and the results thereof is to be given up.[33] The mind has to be turned away from
transient pleasures and possessions of this world; instead, it is to be turned
towards the Lord, who alone is the abode of unadulterated, unswerving Bliss. His
Keerthanas have simple lessons in this regard and impel men to lead a noble life of
a Vaishnava.[34]

Casteism
Purandara Dasa fought the evils of casteism through his songs.[35] In his song
aavakulavaadarenu aavanadarenu aatma bhavavariyada mele he wonders what is the use
if one does not understand the spirit of humanism whatever caste or status one
might be accredited to.[35] In the same song when relating to cows of different
colours and sugarcane of different shapes he emphasizes that one's birth cannot
merely decide the highness or lowness of any individual.[35] He asks will the
sweetness of a crooked sugarcane be also crooked or will the milk of cows of many a
colour be also of many colours.[35]
Untouchability
Purandara Dasa has made some forceful expressions on untouchability which was
dogging the society.[35] His strength comes perhaps from the support of his guru
Vyasathirtha with the backing of powerful king Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara
himself.[35] In one such song Holaya horagithane oorolagillave he opines that an
individual should not be branded untouchable on the basis of his/her birth in any
specific caste, however it is rather his conduct which should make him untouchable
if at all he can be called so. The usage of the word untouchable is not used in the
limited context of physical contact with the person, it is the worthlessness of the
association with that person which is highlighted here. This is evident by the
subsequent expressions in the song which says that one who does not practice self-
discipline is untouchable, one who plots against his own government is untouchable,
similarly one who shirks charity while having wealth is untouchable, one who
poisons to eliminate his opponents is untouchable, one who does not use soft
language is untouchable, one who prides over his purity of caste is untouchable and
finally one who does not meditate on Purandara Vittala is untouchable.[35] Dasa's
message is loud and clear rejecting untouchability in our society.[35] He uses the
name of Purandara Vittala to imply any God.[35] This is evident from his other
songs on various Gods and Goddesses.[35] Similar ideas were expressed by many other
poets also.[35]