Pancharatna Kritis
Encyclopedia
A pancharatna kriti is one of a set of five kriti
s (songs) in Carnatic classical music, composed by the 19th century Indian composer, Tyagaraja
. Four of the five pancharatna kritis are composed in Telugu language
, and one in Sanskrit.
. His compositions are considered to be some of the finest in Carnatic music. These five kritis are in Telugu set to music in five raga
s: Naata, Goula, Arabhi, Varaali and Sri.
deity, Rama
. They are set to Adi Tala
and each raga
represents the mood of the song and the meaning of its lyrics. All the kritis are set in the style of a Ragam Tanam Pallavi (RTP) with the charanas (stanzas) substituting for the kalpana swaras (improvisatory passages) in the pallavi section of the RTP.
The Pancharatna Kritis are:
The melodic forms of these compositions (Naata, Goula, Aarabhi, Varali, Sri) are the five Ghana ragas of Carnatic music
also called the ghanapanchaka. These 5 ragas lend themselves for elaborate improvisations. They are so called because they are suited to playing tanam
on the veena
. Naata and Varaali are the most ancient of the Carnatic ragas and date back to over a thousand years.
A particularly difficult musical challenge has been taken up successfully by Tyagaraja in three of these compositions. The raga Naata has a particularly distinctive use of the dhaivatam note or swara
(A in the C scale of western classic notes). Tyagaraja has avoided the 'dhaivatam' completely in the first pancharatna kriti without losing the swarupa, or tune, of the ragam. Similarly gandharam is an accidental note of some beauty in Goula (E in the C scale). Tyagaraja avoids this too, except in one instance, without losing the character of the ragam. Finally, he avoids the accidental dhaivatam in Sri ragam, again a note that is present in some very characteristic sancharas (phrases) of this ragam.
. He eulogizes Ramachandra as one who is the cause of all bliss in the universe. This is the only pancharatna kriti that was composed in Sanskrit
. All the other kritis were composed in Telugu
, which was used in the court of the Maratha king Sarabhoji who ruled this area in the 18th century.
. This composition is rarely taught, and even rarely heard in concerts, owing to a widespread superstition that it leads to a rift between the student and the teacher.
and is believed to be one of the early kritis of Tyagaraja. The song is a dedication to all the great maestros and performers. Tyagaraja enumerates clearly as who he deems as 'Mahanubhavalu' in the kriti itself which list includes saints Narada, Saunaka, among others. In this poem, Tyagaraja describes the greatness of devotees through the ages. The belief in Kerala is that Tyagaraja composed the kriti extempore in his spontaneous joy on hearing the spiritual and musically fantastic singing of Marar. But the version of the Walajapet disciples would have it that the kriti was already composed, and the disciples had learnt it before the arrival of Marar. This according to P. T. Narendra Menon was the legendary meeting between two great musicians. Since the kriti 'Endharo mahanubhavalu' is said to have been composed by Tyagaraja at a young age, it is possible that after hearing Marar sing and in appreciation of the greatness of Marar, Tyagaraja could have asked his disciples to sing the kriti, written by him earlier.
Kriti
-Structure:Kritis typically contain three parts#Pallavi. This is the equivalent of a refrain in Western music.#Anupallavi. The second verse, which is sometimes optional....
s (songs) in Carnatic classical music, composed by the 19th century Indian composer, Tyagaraja
Tyagaraja
Kakarla Tyagabrahmam , colloquially known as Tyāgarājar and Tyagayya was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music or classical South Indian music. He, along with his contemporaries Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastry, forms the Trinity of Carnatic music...
. Four of the five pancharatna kritis are composed in Telugu language
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, and one in Sanskrit.
Tyagaraja and the Pancharatna Kritis
Tyagaraja lived in the late 18th century and early 19th century in Tiruvayyaru in Tanjore district in Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. His compositions are considered to be some of the finest in Carnatic music. These five kritis are in Telugu set to music in five raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s: Naata, Goula, Arabhi, Varaali and Sri.
Composition
The Pancharatna kritis are written in praise of the HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
deity, Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
. They are set to Adi Tala
Tala (music)
Tāla, Taal or Tal is the term used in Indian classical music for the rhythmic pattern of any composition and for the entire subject of rhythm, roughly corresponding to metre in Western music, though closer conceptual equivalents are to be found in other Asian classical systems such as the notion...
and each raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
represents the mood of the song and the meaning of its lyrics. All the kritis are set in the style of a Ragam Tanam Pallavi (RTP) with the charanas (stanzas) substituting for the kalpana swaras (improvisatory passages) in the pallavi section of the RTP.
The Pancharatna Kritis are:
- Jagadananda Karaka - Ragam Naata
- Dudukugala - Ragam Goula
- Sadhinchane - Ragam Aarabhi
- Kanakana Ruchira - Ragam Varaali
- Endaro Mahanubhavulu - Sri Ragam
The melodic forms of these compositions (Naata, Goula, Aarabhi, Varali, Sri) are the five Ghana ragas of Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
also called the ghanapanchaka. These 5 ragas lend themselves for elaborate improvisations. They are so called because they are suited to playing tanam
Tanam
Taanam is one of the methods of raga improvisation in Carnatic Classical Music tradition, suited mainly for vocal music and veena....
on the veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
. Naata and Varaali are the most ancient of the Carnatic ragas and date back to over a thousand years.
A particularly difficult musical challenge has been taken up successfully by Tyagaraja in three of these compositions. The raga Naata has a particularly distinctive use of the dhaivatam note or swara
Swara
The seven notes of the scale , in Indian music are named shadja, rishabh, gandhar, madhyam, pancham, dhaivat and nishad, and are shortened to Sa, Ri or Re , Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni and written S, R, G, M, P, D, N. Collectively these notes are known as the sargam...
(A in the C scale of western classic notes). Tyagaraja has avoided the 'dhaivatam' completely in the first pancharatna kriti without losing the swarupa, or tune, of the ragam. Similarly gandharam is an accidental note of some beauty in Goula (E in the C scale). Tyagaraja avoids this too, except in one instance, without losing the character of the ragam. Finally, he avoids the accidental dhaivatam in Sri ragam, again a note that is present in some very characteristic sancharas (phrases) of this ragam.
Jagadanandakaraka
In this song, Tyagaraja praises Ramachandra, one of the incarnations of the main god, VishnuVishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. He eulogizes Ramachandra as one who is the cause of all bliss in the universe. This is the only pancharatna kriti that was composed in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. All the other kritis were composed in Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, which was used in the court of the Maratha king Sarabhoji who ruled this area in the 18th century.
Dudukugala Nanne
In this second pancharatna kriti, Tyagaraja lists all the errors he has committed in his life and asks who but Rama would redeem such a sinner. Among the sins described include: just wandering around as though being satisfied with a full meal, giving sermons to people who are really not interested in listening or who are too incompetent to understand, self-styling oneself as a great person, and mistaking the dross for the real thing. Interestingly he lists four categories of people before whom he has tried to pass off as a great man; the ignorant, the riff-raff, the shudras or low caste folk and women. In a play on words, he bemoans those who crave for wives and progeny.Saadhinchane
This pancharathna kriti has been to Arabhi. This kriti has been carved out in a language full of liberty, teasing tone, metaphor and simile without having a surfeit of adjectives - all the while arresting the attention of the singers. In this krithi, Thyagaraja appeared to be telling the greatness of the lord in a lucid manner most enthusiastically. The style adopted in this kriti is very sweet in comparison to the other four.Kanakanaruchira
This is the least sung or played of the five pancharatna kritis, but it is considered by some to be the most haunting and beautiful. It consists of the story of Duryodhana and Dushasana’s analogies to the RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
. This composition is rarely taught, and even rarely heard in concerts, owing to a widespread superstition that it leads to a rift between the student and the teacher.
Endaro Mahanubhavulu
Endaro Mahaanubhaavulu is a song written by TyagarajaTyagaraja
Kakarla Tyagabrahmam , colloquially known as Tyāgarājar and Tyagayya was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music or classical South Indian music. He, along with his contemporaries Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastry, forms the Trinity of Carnatic music...
and is believed to be one of the early kritis of Tyagaraja. The song is a dedication to all the great maestros and performers. Tyagaraja enumerates clearly as who he deems as 'Mahanubhavalu' in the kriti itself which list includes saints Narada, Saunaka, among others. In this poem, Tyagaraja describes the greatness of devotees through the ages. The belief in Kerala is that Tyagaraja composed the kriti extempore in his spontaneous joy on hearing the spiritual and musically fantastic singing of Marar. But the version of the Walajapet disciples would have it that the kriti was already composed, and the disciples had learnt it before the arrival of Marar. This according to P. T. Narendra Menon was the legendary meeting between two great musicians. Since the kriti 'Endharo mahanubhavalu' is said to have been composed by Tyagaraja at a young age, it is possible that after hearing Marar sing and in appreciation of the greatness of Marar, Tyagaraja could have asked his disciples to sing the kriti, written by him earlier.
External links
- Pancharatna Kritis Sung by Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna
- http://www.esnips.com/doc/872abe7c-0325-455a-9389-495e6709c8be/Kanakanaruchira ( excellent one)
- http://www.esnips.com/web/Pancharatna-Kriti/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUi5MJuCemM (Majestic Nattai)
- Hear the song Endaro Mahaanubhaavulu at musicindiaonline
- Meaning, Word by Word