Bhakti & Music - History in India

8/16/2019 Bhakti & Music - History in India

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Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar ReddySri Venkateswara University, Tirupati

Prof. R. ThiagarajanPresidency College, Chennai.

Dr. V. PremalathaSri Venkateswara University, Tirupati

Prof. B. M. Jayashree

Bangalore University, Bangalore


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Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Indian aesthetics and fine arts

Module Name/Title Bhakti and Music

Module Id I C / IAFA / 32

Pre requisites Cultural history of India, Contribution of religious

saints and seers, Bhakti movement in India

Objectives This module enables a student to know the

various forms of devotion and the contribution of

great saints and seers to the Bhakti movement in

India. An outline knowledge of the contribution of

different religious leaders to the cultural

development of the country through music

Keywords Bhakti, navavidha bhakti, Religious leaders,

Saints & Seers, Vacana, K ī rtana, Bhajan, devotion

E-Text (Quadrant-1)

1. Introduction

Indian music has evolved with a strong relationship to devotion and spirituality. Many of the

brilliant composers of Indian music have been saints whose outpouring of devotion has been

expressed through music. The Bhakti movement was a religious movement that promoted

the belief that salvation could be attained by devotion to a chosen deity. In the sixth century,

the Bhakti movement originated in Tamil nadu. Later, it swept across India during the 14 th to

18th Centuries. In this movement, music was the vehicle of propagation of spirituality and

devotion. Therefore in India, Bhakti and music have been invariably intertwined over the

centuries.

Since Vēdic times, in Hinduism, there were three paths specified to attain salvation - Karma

(action), Jn ā na (knowledge) and Bhakti (devotion). Of the three, Bhakti was the easiest. The

saint composers of the Bhakti movement invoked and nurtured divine love in the common

man using the regional language and lilting music. In the North, the movement was centered

on the stories of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa and in the South it had both Śaivite and Vaiṣṇavite

torchbearers.

In South Indian classical music, the compositions which are considered the most musically

complex are also many times the ones that have lyrics that express deep devotion to a

chosen deity. In order to reach the masses, the bard-composers of India aimed at the most


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effective usage of musical material – as a result, much experimentation with Rāga, Tāla and

musical form took place. These experiments slowly but surely influenced the evolution of

Indian music, in particular, classical music. Thus, much development of Indian classical

music was a by-product of the Bhakti movement that originated in the country.

Many composers of the Bhakti movement seamlessly integrated folk and ritualistic music –

some examples of this are Bhramarag ī tā-s (bee-songs) of Sūrdas and Śr ī pādar āya, Nārada

Koravañji (a dance-drama) by Vādir ā ja, Ustava Sampradāya Kṛ tis (songs sung as

accompaniment to rituals) by Tyāgar ā ja, Suvvi Pāṭālu (songs sung while pounding grain) by

Annamācārya.

Several composers of Indian music travelled to places of pilgrimage (Kṣētra-s) and

composed songs in praise of the local deity, examples of this being the Kṛ ti-s by Muthusvāmi

D ī kṣitar - ‘Tyāgar ā ja Yōga Vaibhavam’ in praise of the deity Tyāgar ā jasvāmi at Tiruvārur and

‘ Akṣaya Liṅga Vibho’ in praise of the deity at K ī valūr near Tiruvār ūr.

2. Bhakti - stages & forms

The Sākāra Bhakti Mārga in Hinduism stands for the path of devotion that visualizes a deity

as having a tangible form. There are different stages in this path which are Ā tma

Niv ē danam (self-criticism and a desire to seek refuge in the deity), M ū rti Kalpan ā (visualizing

the deity), Dar ś anam (seeing the deity in a dream), Sandar ś anam (actual experience of the

deity), D ē vat ā s ā k ṣā tk ā ra (attainment of happiness on actual experience of the deity).

2.1 Nine types of Bhakti

Traditionally, there are nine types of Bhakti (devotion) to the chosen Lord which are

practiced in the Sākāra Bhakti Mārga. These are have been described in the Bhāgavata

Pur āṇa, as follows – Śravaṇam, K ī rtanam, Smaraṇam, Pāda Sevanam, Arcanam,

Vandanam, Dāsyam, Sakhyam and Ātma Nivedanam . A brief description of the nine types

of Bhakti is as follows:

· Ś rava ṇ am : listening to the glories of the chosen deity - descriptions of his good qualities,

his form etc. .

· K ī rtanam : singing the glories of the chosen Lord.

· Smara ṇ am : constantly remembering and reciting the name of one’s chosen deity.

· P ā das ē vanam : worshipping the feet of the chosen deity in an expression of complete

surrender


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· Arcanam : ritual worshipping the chosen deity in various ways. Several Sēva-s (ritualistic

services) are offered to the deity such as Arghya, Pādya, Abhiśēka, Vastra Samarpaṇa,

Puṣpa Pū jā, Nāma Pū jā, Dhūpa, D ī pa, Naivēdya etc. .

· Vandanam : bowing before the chosen deity in reverence.

· D ā syam : surrendering completely to one’s chosen Lord and becoming his servant.

· Sakhyam : considering the deity as a friend. Just as a friend is made fun of and criticized

in a light-hearted manner without any malice, the devotee composes many ‘Nindā Stuti’-

s or songs which apparently criticize or make fun of their chosen deity. Though the

superficial intent of the song is of criticism, the real intent is of praise.

· Ā tma Niv ē danam : this involves self-criticism, correction and a strong desire to seek

refuge in the Lord.

There are different ways in which the chosen deity is visualized by the devotee. These are

Dāsya, Sakhya, Madhura, Vātsalya and Śānta Bhāva-s. Apart from Dāsya and Sakhya

bhāva-s which have been described above, a brief description of the other Bhāva-s is as

follows:

Madhura : This is the feeling of considering one’s chosen Lord as one’s beloved.

V ā tsalya : This is the feeling of considering one’s chosen deity as a child and the devotee

showing motherly love towards him.

Śā nta : This is the feeling of complete peace and happiness with which a devotee worshipshis chosen Lord.

3. Bhakti movement in India and its impact on Indian music:

In this section, we look at how the Bhakti movement originated and flourished in various

parts of the country, and how it played a pivotal role in the evolution of Indian music.

3.1 Tamil nadu

Siddhars were Śaivite saints of South India who were said to have Yogic powers. They were

knowledgeable in Science and Fine Arts such as music, dance and drama. They havewritten many religious poems. These saints were eighteen in number. Some of their

ideologies are considered to have originated in the First Sangam period.

Then the Ālvār-s and Nāyaṇmār-s nurtured the Bhakti movement between the 6th and 9th

centuries in Tamil nadu. The Alvārs were a set of twelve saints who composed Tamiz songs

in praise of Lord Viṣṇu. They have composed 24 ‘Prabandham-s ’, songs of varying sizes,


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totally having 4000 hymns and are collectively known as ‘Divyaprabandham’. These were

revived by Nāthamuni in the 10th century. He is believed to have set the songs to particular

Rāga-s and Tāla-s and introduced the practice of singing them at the temple in Śr ī raṅgam.

Prominent among the Ālvārs were Poigai Ālvār, Pūtattaālvār, Pey Ālvār and Āṇḍāl (who was

the only female saint in the group).

The N ā ya ṇ m ā r -s were Ś aivite saints who were sixty-three in number. Their hymns were

popularized by Nambi āṇḍā r Nambi in the eleventh century. The hymns of the first three

N ā ya ṇ m ā r -s – Tirun ā vukkarasar , Tirujn ā nasambandar and Sundarar, with the works of

Māṇikkavāsagar along with the entire Śaiva religious poetry then available was arranged in

twelve books known as Panniru Tirumurai . From the eighth century, the twelve Tirumurai-s

were edited into seven and began to be sung in all Śaiva temples by designated singers

known as ‘Oduvār ’-s. This tradition continues even to this day. There is a references to ‘isai’

(music) throughout the Tevāram works. A number of instruments such as Yāz, V īṇā, Kuzal,

Caṅgu, Nagāri etc. have been referred to in them. T ē v ā ram -s are classified as Paṇṇ-murai

and Tāla-murai, the former having a formatted tune and Tālam and the latter having hymns

set in three speeds. In Tēvāram, the grammer for compiling and formatting of lyrics, svara,

the Paṇṇ (musical mode) to be used etc. is called Ka ṭṭalai. The Tēvāram and

Divyaprabandham form the bulk of known devotional music in the early period in South

India.

Aruṇagirināthar was a Śaivite saint who lived in the later part of the 15 th Century AD. A

devotee of Lord Muruga (the son of Śiva), he has composed 16,000 songs, collectively

known as ‘Tiruppugaz’. These are in Saṁskṛ ta and Tamiz and are known for their rythmic

variations.

Another Śaivite saint, Thāyumānavar, who lived in the eighteenth century, wrote Tamiz

songs espousing Śaivite philosophy. Sadāśiva Brahmendra composed many songs in

Saṁskṛ ta that are known for their poetic and melodic content. Rāmaliṅga Swāmigal or

Vallālar was one of the greatest Tamiz poets of the 19th century and composed 5818 poems.

Nār āyaṇa T ī rtha, who lived between the 17th and 18th centuries composed many songs and

operas, of which ‘Śr ī Kṛṣṇa L ī lā Taraṅgiṇi’ is the most famous. Annāmalai Reddiar was a

nineteenth-century Tamiz poet who composed songs known as ‘Kāvaḍi Cindu’-s in the

Madhura-Bhakti Bhāva.

3.2 Karnataka

The V ī raśaiva (Liṅgāyata) sect was founded by Basavaṇṇa of Karnataka in the 12th century.

Other saints such as Allama Prabhu, Akkamahādēvi and Cennabasavaṇṇa played an


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important role in the growth of this sect. The saint-composers belonging to this sect

composed Vacana-s and Svara-Vacana-s. The latter were associated with specific Rāga-s

and Tāla-s. The opening section of the Vacana-s is called ‘Pallava’. This was followed by a

two-line section (which is akin to ‘ Anupallavi’ of Kṛ ti-s) and several sections. In their works,

references to musical concepts such as Gamaka, 32 Rāga-s and some musical instrumentssuch are found. Among the V ī raśaiva saints, several were musicians and instrument-players.

Narahari T ī rtha, the disciple of Madhvācārya (the founder of the Dvaita school of philosophy)

is believed to have started the Vaiṣṇava Haridāsa sect of Karnataka in the early fourteenth

century. He is said to have composed many K ī rtana-s in Kannada, out of which only three

are available. Narahari T ī rtha is credited with starting a monastry in Sr ī kākulam in Āndhra

Pradesh. It is said that Siddhēndra Yōgi (the founder of the Kūcipuḍi style of dance) was

influenced by the followers of Narahari T ī rtha. Narahari T ī rtha also is believed to have

founded a dance-drama troupe of Daśāvatāra Āta, a precursor to Yakṣagāna, in Udupi. The

Haridāsa sect received impetus under the saint Śr ī pādar āya and his disciple Vyāsat ī rtha (

who was a Rā jaguru to the Vijayanagara Kings) in the 15th and 16th centuries. These two

monks, apart from being great Theologians, composed many Pada-s (or K ī rtana-s), Suḷādi-s

and Ugābhōga-s in Kannada. Vyāsat ī rtha founded the two sub-sects - Vyāsakūṭa (the order

of the ascetics) and Dāsakūṭa (the order of the householder Haridāsa-s). His disciples

included Purandara Dāsa, Vādir ā ja and Kanaka Dāsa who were prolific and brilliant

composers. Among them, Purandara Dāsa was the most famous and is said to be ‘the father

of Karnataka Music’. The Haridāsa saints created the musical compositional form called

‘Suḷādi’ which consisted of stanza-s set to different Tāla-s. They brought about a major

change in the Tāla system of South Indian classical music by implementing the ‘Suḷādi Tāla’

system which replaced hundreds of Dēśī Tāla-s that were in vogue earlier. Haridāsa-s also

composed long poems such as Daṇḍaka-s, Vṛ ttānāma-s and an opera – Nārada Koravañji.

Apart from using ancient Rāga-s, they experimented with newer Rāga-s. The Haridāsa

tradition continued from the 17th century onwards under Vijayadāsa, Jagannātha Dāsa,

Prasanna Veṅkaṭa Dāsa and others.

3.3 Andhra and Telangana

Pālkurk ī Sōmanātha, a writer and poet belonging to the V ī raśaiva sect who lived between

the 13th to 14th Century AD, composed many Vacana-s and poems in the ‘Ragale’ meter in

Telugu. Pōtana was a Telugu writer of the 15th century who composed the Bhāgavatam in

Telugu. Though born to a Śaivite family, he became a devotee of Viṣṇu.


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Tāllapākam Annamācārya (who lived between the 15th to 16th centuries) was a great

composer-saint who composed a large number of devotional songs in Telugu. He is hailed

as ‘Saṅk ī rtana Pitāmaha’ and ‘Padakavita Pitāmaha’ on account of his pioneering

contribution to Kar ṇāṭaka Music by composing 32,000 Pada-s in Telugu and Saṁskṛ ta

mainly in praise of Lord Viṣṇu. His wife Tirumalamma or Timmakka was the first female poetin Telugu literature and composed a poem called ‘Subhadr ā Kalyāṇam. Annamācārya was

the first composer to compose Kṛ ti-s or Padam-s in Telugu in the Pallavi-Anupallavi-Caraṇa

format. He has composed Suḷādi-s too. His son, Pedda Tirumalācārya composed several

Saṅk ī rtana-s along the lines of his father ’s songs. He also composed Prabandha-s and a

G ī ta. Pedda Tirumalācārya’s sons Cinna Tiruveṅkaṭa , Cinnaṇṇa and Cinna Tirumalācārya

too were composers of Padam-s. The Tāllapākam Composers have composed many long

poems like Śatakam-s and 12 ‘Śatakam-s’ (poems with 100 verses), Daṇḍakam-s and

Ragaḍa-s.

Kañcērla Gōpanna who lived in the 17th century in a village near Bhadr ācalam, Telangana

composed many Saṅk ī rtana-s and attained fame as ‘Bhadr ācala Rāmadāsu’. He acquired

the name due to his renovation of the Rāma temple in Bhadr ācala. He has composed

between 130 to 150 Saṅk ī rtana-s.

Kśētrayya or Kṣētrajña was a great Telugu poet and singer of the 17th Century who was

acquired his name as he is said to have visited many ‘Kṣetra’-s or places of pilgrimage. His

real name is not known. He has composed many Padam-s of Madhura Bhakti in praise of

his favourite deity Gopāla (Kṛṣṇa).

3.4 Kerala

Kerala is known for its ‘Sōpāna Saṅg ī tam’ or music that is performed along the steps leading

to the sanctum Sanctorum of temples. This genr ē of music probably originated from the time

of the king Kulaśēkhara Varman, founder of the second Cēra dynasty in the 9th century AD.

It is said to be a mix of Vēdic, tribal and folk music of the region. There are several schools

of Sōpānam music and there is a long oral tradition of this music being carried down in

generations of families dedicated to the art. It is characterized by use of ‘a’ kāram (singing

using the ‘a’ sound) and some typical instruments like the Iḍakka (glasshour shaped drum)and cengila (metallic gong).

Bilvamaṅgalam alias L ī lāśuka composed a romantic poem called ‘Kṛṣṇa-Kar ṇāmṛ ta which

deals with Kṛṣṇa’s early life. He is said to have been born in Kerala in the 13 th or 14th

century. Nār āyaṇī yam, a devotional poem of 1036 verses which is sung in Guruvāyūr temple

in Kerala to this day, was composed by Nār āyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri in the 16th century.


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Mahar ā ja Svāti Tiruṇāl Śr ī Rāma Varma Kulaśēkara Perumāl was the king of Travancore in

the 19th century. A polyglot and a very talented musician, he composed different types of

songs such as G ī tā, Tāna Var ṇa, Cauka Var ṇa, Pada, Svarajati, Tillāna, Jāvali and

Rāgamālikā in several languages – Malayālam, Samskṛ tam, Hindi etc. His ‘Bhakti Mañjari’

on Lord Padmanābha contains 1020 ślōka-s. He also composed the devotional poem

‘Padmanābhāśṭaka’.

3.5 Maharashtra

Vārkar ī tradition is a religious movement in which the ‘Viṭhōba’ or Viṭṭhal form of Kṛṣṇa is

worshipped. In Maharashtra, one of the important saints of the Vārkar ī tradition was Sant

Jnānēśwar, who wrote a commentary on the Bhagavadg ī tā called ‘Jnānēśwari’. This was

written in Mar āṭh ī in the ‘Ovi’ metre, traditionally used for women’s songs. He also composed

many songs called ‘ Abhaṅg-s’. Other than this, he composed a philosophical work called

‘ Amrutānubhav’.

Nāmadev was another saint belonging to the Vārkar ī tradition who composed hundreds of

Abhaṅg-s between the 13th and 14th centuries. Ēkanāth, who lived in the late 16th century,

too was a prolific composer of Abhaṅg-s in addition to variations of Bhāgavata and

Rāmāyaṇa. In the 17th century, the tradition of Abhaṅg composition was continued by the

prolific composers Tukār ām and Samarth Rāmadās. The latter, who also became the Guru

of the great Mar āṭha king Śivā j ī wrote many Ov ī -s and literary works in addition to Abhaṅg-s.

3.6 Gujarat, Rajasthan and Sindh

Narasimha Mehta or Naras ī Mehta/Naras ī Bhagat was the Ādi Kavi (first poet) of Gujar āt ī

literature who lived in the 15th Century AD. A devout Vaiṣṇava, he composed many songs in

praise of Viṣṇu including the popular ‘Vaiṣṇava Jana To’. He also composed narrative

works based on Bhāgavata.

M ī r ābai was a Rā jput princess who was born into a family known as ‘Mēḍatiya’-s in the late

15th century and passed away in mid-16th century AD. She was a staunch devotee of K ṛṣṇa

and composed many Bhajans in the Madhura Bhakti -Bhāva. Apart from Rā jasthān ī andBrajabhāśa, she has also used Gujar āt ī in some places in her compositions. She is said to

have used nearly seventy-five Rāga-s (including some rare ones) in her songs.


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Shāh Abdul Lat ī f Bhiṭṭai who lived between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth

centuries was a Sūf ī poet who composed many poems in Sindh ī . The tenets of Sūf ī sm,

though based on Islām, were in some ways similar to the tenets of the Bhakt ī tradition.

3.7 Kashm ī r

Lallēśwar ī alias Lallā or Lal Dēd was a Śaivite poet from Kashmir who lived in the 14th

Century AD. Her poems known as Lal Vakhs are among the earliest known poetry in

Kashm ī r ī language. She interacted with and inspired many Sūf ī -s of Kashm ī r.

3.8 Punjab

The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nānak, lived in the period between the fifteenth and sixteenth

centuries. Nine other Guru-s of the Sikh religion followed him in the next few centuries. The

songs composed by all the ten Sikh saints, along with those of some other earlier saints of

Maharashtra, Benaras etc. are preserved in the work ‘Guru Granth Sāhib’ which isconsidered as a permanent Guru of the Sikhs after the tenth Guru. This work has been

divided by musical settings or Rāga-s. There are 31 Rāga-s in the Sikh system, divided into

14 Rāga-s and 17 ‘Rāgini’-s (which are relatively less important than the Rāga-s).

3.9 Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

Am ī r Khusrau was a great poet and musician whose father lived in Uttar Pradesh and was in

the service of the slave King Iltutmish of Delhi in the 13 th century. Khusrau was a disciple of

the Sufi saint Nizāmudd ī n Auliya. Many new forms of religious music like Qual, Qualwāna,

Gul, Nakṣa etc. were composed by Khusrau. He is credited with inventing new Rāga-s, Tāla-

s and musical instruments.

The Saint Rāmānand, who lived between the 14 th and 15th centuries in the holy City of

Varanās ī had twelve disciples, prominent among them being Kab ī r, the Sūf ī -Bhakti saint.

Apart from philosophical works, Rāmānand has composed poems in Hind ī . Kab ī rdāsa, a

weaver composed Hindi poems (couplets or Dōhā-s) in a pithy and earthy style. Gōsvām ī

Tulas ī dās was another brilliant poet-saint who belonged to the Rāmānand ī tradition. His

magnum opus was the Rāmacaritmānas in Avadh ī , a dialect of Hind ī . Apart from long poems

such as Vinay Partikā and Sāhitya Ratna, he has composed many songs in Braj Bhāṣā aswell as Avadh ī .

Vallabhācārya was a great Vaiṣṇava saint who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries. He

lived near Allahābād and Braj near Mathur ā. For the Vaiṣṇava saints, an important part of

the devotional service was music. Vallabhācārya selected four of his disciples to render this

service at different times of the day, who were Kumbhanadās, Sūradās, Paramānandadās


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and Kṛṣṇadās. Among these, the blind poet, Sūrdās is said to have lived for more than 103

years and composed about a lakh songs. He is said to have used nearly 75 Rāga-s in his

compositions, prominent among which are those describing the childhood of Kṛṣṇa. After

Vallabhācārya’s death, four more musicians were selected by his son Viṭṭhalnāthj ī to perform

the musical service. They were Govindasvām ī , Citasvām ī , Caturbhujadās and Nandadās.

There were also some Muslim saints who composed poems on Lord Kṛṣṇa such as

Raskhān and Abdul Rah ī m Khānkhāna.

3.10 Bihar, Bengal, Assam and Orissa

In the 12th century, the masterpiece ‘G ī ta-Gōvinda’ was composed by Jayadēva, who is said

to be either from West Bengal or Orissa. This poem is considered the greatest lyrical poem

in the world and has been composed in the Madhura Bhakti -Bhāva. Each song in this work

have been composed in the Prabandha style with specific Rāga-s and Tāla-s assigned.

Nearly thirty-five commentaries were written on this work, the best being Rasikapriyā by

Mahār āṇa Kumbha in the 15th century.

Vidyāpati of Mithilā (Bihar) was a great composer of musical poetry who flourished in the 15th

century. Caṇḍī dāsa was a great Vaiṣṇava poet and musician of Bengal, who probably lived

between the 14th and 15th centuries.

Śaṅkaradeva was a great Vaiṣṇava poet who flourished in Assam in the 15 th-16th centuries.

He was a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Along with his disciple Mādhvadeva, he has composed

Barag ī tā-s or Varag ī tā-s, which were sung either with or without fixed Tāla-s. He alsocomposed Aṅkiya G ī tā-s, which had fixed Tāla-s. These were part of dramas such as

Bhakti ratnāval ī , Kāliyadamana etc. that were composed by Śaṅkaradēva and became

popular throughout Assam.

Rāmaprasād was one of the finest ‘Śakta’ (female goddess) worshipper-composer of West

Bengal in the 18th century AD, who has also composed songs in praise of Kṛṣṇa and Śiva.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu (1486 – 1534 AD) was a Kṛṣṇa worshipper who wrote two stotra-s in

Saṁskṛ ta and was responsible for a fresh upsurge of Bhakti in West Bengal.

4. Summary

We see that from the early Christian Era upto the modern times, the saint-composers of

India who have propagated the path of devotion and spirituality have deeply influenced the

evolution of music in the country. Their message of complete surrender to one ’s chosen

deity and worshipping him/her by visualizing him/her in different ways was made to reach

the masses by encapsulating it in lilting music. This led to many creative experiments taking


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place in Indian music with the introduction of new types of musical form, Rāga and Tāla. The

Bhakti movement brought together people from different religions and communities unified in

a common cause of devotion, thereby causing cross-cultural interaction in language and

music. The study of the Bhakti movement is an essential step in the study of the evolution of

Indian music.

Documents

Bhakti & Music - History in India