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Navavaranams - A Study
Of Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi And Dikshitar
By Chitravina N.Ravikiran
The Navavarana pooja forms the mantric-tantric ritualistic part
of Devi worship, associated with the Srichakra pooja. An avarana
may be understood as a covering, a veil that must be removed
in order to reach the supreme Shakti, residing at the centre
point (bindu). It must be noted that each avarana has its own
set of rituals associated with it and those practicing this
worship are generally required to be thoroughly aware of details
such as chakra, yogini and mudra devatas associated with it.
This kind of ritual is said to have originated sometime around
the 10th century AD and is followed by certain sects even today. |
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Two of the greatest composers in Carnatic
music have composed krtis specifically intended for this occasion.
They are Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi and Muttuswami Dikshitar. Another
renowned composer, Swati Tirunal, has composed a set known as
'Navaratri krtis' addressed to Lakshmi, Saraswati and Devi but
these do not have the avarana ritualistic details like the other
two.
It is now fairly well accepted that Venkata Kavi was the first
to compose Navavarana krtis. Late T.S. Parthasarathy, in his
foreword to Sankaranarayanan's book, 'Kamakshi Navavaranams,'
states that "Venkata Kavi's command over Sanskrit is breath-taking
but the language used by him in many places is abstruse, as
it ought to be, as the subject is esoteric."
Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi is said to have lived
between the period of Purandara Dasa-Annamacharya and the Trinity
and his period is placed roughly between 1700 and 1765. Venkata
Kavi attained enormous popularity through mellifluous compositions
in Tamil such as Alaippayude (Kanada), Taye Yashoda (Todi),
Pal vadiyum mukham (Nattaikkuranji) but these are in reality
a small side of him. Only recently, a majority of his works
have been discovered by the music field at large and these reveal
that he possessed tremendous scholarship in both Sanskrit and
Tamil and was a master of melody and rhythm, who composed hundreds
of pieces suitable for music, dance, operas and musical discourses.
The doyen of Carnatiac music Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer had little
hesitation in stating in a commendation of Sankaranarayanan's
book (mentioned above) that "Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi is
in the same stature as the famed Trinity of Carnatic Music".
Muthuswami Dikshitar (1773 - 1835) needs no
introduction to music lovers. He is one of the greatest composers
in world music and arguably the most complete composer in Indian
music in the sense of his familiarity with Carnatic, Hindustani
and Western music. Dikshitar has few to rival him in planning
and executing grand themes like vibhakti krtis on Rama, Krishna,
Kartikeya and masterpieces like Sri Rajagopala (Saveri), Ranganayakam
(Nayaki), Chetashri (Dwijavanti), to name a few.
But, in reality, the Navavaranams of these two great seers have
a far greater significance than this glittering annual festival
of nine nights. They can be rendered at any time of the year.
This article attempts to take a bird's eye's view of both these
great composers' Navavaranams.
KAMAKSHI NAVAVARANAMS OF OOTHUKKADU VENKATA KAVI
| Song |
Raga |
Tala |
Remarks |
| Sri Ganeshwara |
Shanmukhapriya |
Adi |
Vinayaka stuti |
| Vanchayasi edi kushalam |
Kalyani |
Adi |
Dhyana stuti |
| Santatam aham seve |
Deshakshi |
Adi |
1st avaranam |
| Bhajaswa sri tripura sundari |
Nadanamakriya |
Adi |
2nd avaranam |
| Sarva jeeva dayapari |
Shuddhasaveri |
M Chapu |
3rd avaranam |
| Yogayogeshwari |
Anandabhairavi |
Khanda Triputa |
4th avaranam |
| Neela lohita ramani |
Balahamsa |
Khanda Dhruvam |
5th avaranam |
| Sadanandamayi |
Hindolam |
Sankeerna Mathyam |
6th avaranam |
| Sakala loka nayike |
Arabhi |
Adi |
7th avaranam |
| Shankari sri Rajarajeshwari |
Madhyamavati |
Adi |
8th avaranam |
| Natajana kalpa valli |
Punnagavarali |
Adi |
9th avaranam |
| Haladharanujam |
Manirangu |
Adi |
Phala stuti |
Notes:
1. The usage of the verb bhajasva is rare. The composer uses
the root bha, to ask the Goddess to resort to him, to turn her
attention towards him.
2. For the 6th avaranam in Hindolam, another version also exists
in Khanda Matya with largely different lyrics.
3. Some scholars believe that Sri chakra matangi (Suruti) is
appropriate for Mangala krti.
KAMALAMBA NAVAVARANAMS OF MUTHUSWAMI
DIKSHITAR
| Song |
Raga |
Tala |
Remarks |
| Sri Mahaganapatiravatumam |
Gowla |
Mishra Chapu |
Vinayaka stuti |
| Kamalambike |
Todi |
Tishra Ekam |
Dhyana stuti |
| Kamalamba |
Anandabhairavi |
Mishra Chapu |
1st avaranam |
| Kamalambam bhajare |
Kalyani |
Adi |
2nd avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambikaya |
Shankarabharanam |
Tishra Ekam |
3rd avaranam |
| Kamalambikayai |
Kambhodhi |
Khanda Atam |
4th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambayah |
Bhairavi |
Mishra Jhampa |
5th avaranam |
| Kamalambikayah |
Punnagavarali |
Tishra Ekam |
6th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambikayam |
Sahana |
Tishra Triputa |
7th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambike |
Ghanta |
Adi |
8th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalamba |
Ahiri |
Tishra Ekam |
9th avaranam |
| Sri Kamalambike |
Sri |
Khanda Ekam |
Mangala stuti |
Notes:
1. Dikshitar has composed the pieces in different vibhaktis.
Now, let me try and compare and contrast both these works.
Deity addressed: While Venkata Kavi has addressed
his compositions to the Goddess Kamakshi of Kanchi, Dikshitar
addressed his to Goddess Kamalamba of Tiruvarur. Both choices
are interesting in different ways. Tiruvarur was the birthplace
of Dikshitar and he highlighted the presiding deity of his hometown.
Kamakshi of Kanchi, on the other hand, is of direct significance
to followers of Srichakra pooja.
Intent and goal: It is remarkable that Venkata
Kavi asks the Goddess to grant the acquaintance of Lord Krishna
in the piece, Haladharanujam praptum in Manirangu. It is noteworthy
that the gopis worshipped the Devi with precisely the same end
in mind. Dikshitar's navavaranams seem intended directly for
the Goddess' own benevolence.
Complimentary pieces: Though the main pieces
are 9 in number, both Venkata Kavi and Dikshitar have composed
a preliminary worship piece (dhyana krti) and a concluding auspicious
piece (mangala krti/phala stuti). Venkata Kavi has also composed
a piece on Lord Vinayaka, Sri Ganeshwara (Shankmukhapriya) where
he specifically refers to this Lord as 'srividyopasana bodhakara'
while Dikshitar's Sri Mahaganapatiravatumam (Gowla) is taken
to be the Vinayaka stuti for his Navavarana set presumably because
it mentions Tiruvarur through the phrase, 'kamalalaya tataviharo'.
Style: Though the subject matter is much the
same and many essential facts cannot be changed, both these
composers have created the pieces in such contrasting styles.
The choice of words, the manner of expression leave one in little
doubt that two great minds have been at work and though they
think alike, their expressions are distinctly original. Venkata
Kavi's style is - like most of his other compositions - highly
personal and direct, while Dikshitar's is generally introverted
and meditative.
Ragas selected: Dikshitar chose several Ghana
Ragas for his Navavaranams like Todi, Shankarabharanam, Kambhodhi,
Kalyani, Bhairavi and also added some rakti ragas like Sahana,
Ghanta, Anandabhairavi, Ahiri and Punnagavarali. Venkata Kavi
chose rakti ragas like Anandabhairavi, Punnagavarali, Nadanamakriya,
a couple of (now) rare ones like Deshakshi and Balahamsa and
used a ghana raga like Kalyani only one piece (Dhyana stuti).
Tempo: The tempo (kalapramanam) of the entire
Navavarana set of Dikshitar is measured, often with sparse words
that clothe them with majesty. Compositions like Sri Kamalambikaya
(Shankarabharanam), Sri Kamalambike (Ghanta), have a meditative
feel to it. Venkata Kavi's compositions contrast with this style
in a significant manner and are mostly in medium tempo with
words akin to a torrential downpour in some instances. Even
the slow, meditative pieces such as Yoga yogeshwari (Anandabhairavi),
Neelalohita ramani (Balahamsa) and Sadanandamayi (Hindolam)
have faster (madhyamakala) sections reflecting his Niagara like
flow.
Scholarship: Both Venkata Kavi and Dikshitar
have shown their tremendous scholarship and familiarity with
the intricacies of mantric-tantric rituals associated with the
Srichakra pooja in their avarana krtis. Venkata Kavi's pieces
abound in the chakra, yogini details of each avarana as also
the Mudra devatas. Muttuswami Dikshitar has also incorporated
several of these details in his pieces. Venkata Kavi prefers
to reveal these early on in the piece while Dikshitar has tended
to do so in the latter part of his compositions. Venkata Kavi
also makes references to the seed (beeja) mantra in a few of
his compositions, like haim, kleem, eem and so on.
Rhythmic command: Both Venkata Kavi and Dikshitar
have shown their proficiency in rhythm in these compositions
by using some interesting talas, apart from Adi, Mishra Chapu
etc. Dikshitar opts for talas in the Sapta tala system like
Mishra Jhampa, Khanda Ata, Tishra Triputa etc. It should be
noted that many of Dikshitar's tala choices were based on the
kind of chakra that he was focusing on. For example, the 4th
song in Kambodhi is based on Sarvasowbhagya dayaka chakra symbolized
by 14 triangles and he used the 14-unit Khanda Ata for this.
Venkata Kavi has chosen his Kamakshi navavaranams to set bars
in rhythm that has seldom been rivaled. He opted to compose
in rare talas from the 35 tala system such as Khanda Triputa
(9 units), Khanda Dhruvam (17-units) and Sankeerna Matyam (20
units). He has also indulged in gati bhedam (shift of gait)
in his Madhyamavati piece, Shankari where he flits back and
forth from Chaturashra (4 units) and Tishra (3 units). In his
piece in Hindolam, Sadanandamayi, he has employed another remarkable
innovation - change of kalai in the charanam (from 2 kalais
to 1 kalai). This composition remains a singular example of
this excellent feature.
Signature: Venkata Kavi has used his mudra,
'Venkata Kavi' only in 3 compositions (out of nearly 400 compositions
that have come down to us). One of them is the avarana krti
in Madhyamavati, Shankari Sri Rajarajeshwari. 'Guruguha' was
Dikshitar's signature and appears in all of his works.
Overall Quality: The Navavarana pieces of Dikshitar
and Venkata Kavi can easily find their placement among the best
works in Carnatic music. The intellectual, aesthetic and the
spiritual merge to create a wonderful blend - that is the delight
of musicians, music lovers, students of music, Sanskrit scholars,
experts in the Srichakra pooja and numerous others. These compositions
speak volumes for the composers' melodic, rhythmic and literary
skills not to mention their sublime thoughts.
As Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi says succinctly in the final line
of the final avarana krti in Punnagavarali: "sarasara
navavarana gana dhyana yoga japa tapa rasike''.
"Oh Goddess, You are pleased by the navavarana singing,
meditation and practices". It would be no exaggeration
to state that listening to them, meditating upon them, learning
them and sharing them with people around would enrich our own
lives and musical worth several-fold.
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