Adibhatla Narayana Dasu: A Rare Combo Of Poetry And Music
A t a concert, sometimes, it is customary for the audiences to express their desires and demand the performer to get creative. It’s more surprising when the performer’s chalokti becomes the reason for this kind of a demand and gives birth to an amazing work. There are many instances, especially at musical concerts and dramatic plays in India where the performers surprise the whole auditorium with their sheer talent.
This happened with śrīmadajjāḍa ādibhaṭla nārāyaṇadāsu/ శ్రీమదజ్జాడ ఆదిభట్ల నారాయణదాసు, popularly known as the harikathāpitāmaha, when he said as a chalokti at the beginning of his performance at an auditorium in Gunṭūru district of Andhra Pradesh while addressing the audience, “Do you want me to perform a harikatha or a girikatha?” and someone replied loudly, “Alright, perform a girikatha!”. This led to the birth of one and only extempore harikatha that’s out there, govardhanoddharaṇamu.
Born on 31st August 1864, at a village called ajjāḍa, near bobbili, vijayanagaram district, in a poor family, he exhibited his scholarship quailities in his childhood itself. Learnt Classical Telugu and Sanskrit literature by himself with sheer determination. Later he became such a luminary scholar that he composed music to 300 ṛgveda mantras and translated them into Telugu. He was the āstāna vidwān in the court of Ānandagajapati.
Adibhatla nārāyaṇadāsu was the man who revamped harikatha art form and mixed it with poetry and music. The Harikatha art manifested itself to its peak from via Sri Narayana Dasu and reached each corners of India, as if the harikatha saraswathi spread her hands to gently touch the lives of people. The fact that we can see wandering haridāsa-s even today in the Telugu villages is itself the proof of his impact on the society.
Even today, it is customary that harikatha artists offer salutations to him in the beginning of every performance.
He was well-versed in Telugu, Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Arabic and Persian Languages; classical music and literature. His multilingual capabilities didn’t stop at mere understanding those languages, but went on to composing creative poetry and found new and unique expressions like never before. The verse below is an example, which is a salutation verse to goddess Durgā, in his Umar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat translation.
The verse, though follows a metrical metre called kandaM of Telugu prosody, consists each line from a different language. Its worth noting that the word కొలుపు for worship is his coinage. This work is very famous in Telugu.
Poetry With Ingredients
For many, the literary ability of nārāyaṇadāsu is not known, which for sure, is the sad part. In his lifetime, he produced nearly 100 books, every work being unique in it’s own way. He composed hundreds of verses in Sanskrit and Telugu. The extempore rendition used to be a default output from him, whenever something/someone triggers.
His poetry can be divided mainly into two:
- Extempore, where he mixes prosody with wit where experiments happen;
- Bookish, where padagumphana and pānḍithīprakarṣa take over.
This division is so vivid that we can guess whether a verse is from a work or was composed on the go.
Look at the below verse he composed on a mosquito :
चक्रभ्रमणकरत्वात् कुदृष्टिभिः दूरं वर्ज्यमानत्वात् ।
शृत्यन्तखेलनत्वात् मशक! त्वामेव माधवं मन्ये॥
Since you
Go round and round (have sudarshana in your hand);
Get abandoned by the low-sights of the wicked;
Play around at the corners of the ear ( upanishad-s);
Oh Mosquito! You are no-one but mādhava!
What a pun!
In one way or the other, camatkāra is inevitable in Narayana Dasu’s poetry, in the way which no one could guess. The below is a praise verse on alaka nārāyaṇa gajapati -
सकलकला पाठशालाः दिवानिशं — तावकीन रसिकतां स्तुवन्ति
नियतवेलादत्त नित्य सत्रान्न स- न्तर्पितास्ते भवन्तं स्तुवन्ति
जागरूकास्त्वदुद्योगिनो भक्ति वि- श्वास विभासुरास्त्वां भजन्ति
परमसुहृत्प्राणबान्धवाः किङ्कराः — सर्वेपि युष्मद्वशाश्चरन्ति
दातृवर्य! प्रविमल स्वतन्त्रचर्य!
रसिकशेखर! दिव्यसूर्यकुलनृवर!
त्वं चिरंजीव! सज्जनतां सदाव
अलकनारायणाख्य! विद्यात्मसख्य !
I bet you’ve never seen something like this before. This is obviously, a Sanskrit verse, but written in a Telugu metre- sīsam. When other poets scratch their heads to discover new similes, Narayana Dasu wittily comes up with this kind of extempore poetry, simply stunning everybody. That’s his forte — no one should’ve attempted something like that before.
When he visited Mysore durbar in December of 1894, he composed the verses below spontaneously on the King cāmarāja oḍayār, which got recorded on a phonograph at that time with his own voice:
विद्वज्जने सविनयं
स्वजने दाक्षिण्यमार्द्रमार्तजने ।
शतृजने चात्युग्रं
प्रसरति भो! चामभूप ! ते दृष्टिः ॥
वाणी-विलासाक्षि-चकोर-चन्द्रं
सौजन्य-सन्तान-विभूति-सान्द्रम् ।
स्वच्छ न्द- कार्येषु- सदाप्यतन्द्रं
पायाच्छिवश्चामधराधिपेन्द्रम् ॥
Take a look at the brāhmaṇanindā he makes in one of his works-
उदवहदिह वृद्धो निर्घृणः क्षीरकण्ठा
मवृणुत कुलबाह्यः सम्पदन्धः कुलीनाम् ।
हतमतिरभिशस्तः प्राव्रजद्गूढभोगो
बहुलधनरतिः धिग् ब्राह्मणं नामशिष्टम्॥
Some old wicked marries a young girl; another does labour work for anarchists just for the sake of money; Some other becomes a fake ascetic to make himself popular — Shame on these name-sake brahmins!
Note the words क्षीरकण्ठ, उदवहत्, गूढभोग — Words like these we rarely come across in popular Sanskrit literature.
His descriptions, even in harikatha-s never go out of context. Take look at the below verse, for example, in his harikatha called srīkriśṇajananaṃ where he describes the evening twilight when kamsa almost reaches madhura having devakī and vasudeva in his chariot-
प्रवृद्धार्केन्दुकिरणैः परिपूर्णं दिगन्तरम् ।
शोकानन्दाश्रुसम्पातैः प्रसूताक्षितलं यथा ॥
The skies are filled with old rays of the Sun and the fresh rays of the Moon, like the surface of an eye getting filled with both sad and happy tears.
What a beautiful simile! It also inherently indicates the current and upcoming states for the couple sitting in the Chariot.
Nārāyaṇadāsu went to visit vāraṇāśi and composed kāśi śatakaṃ in Sanskrit, from which camatkāra gets spilled upon connoisseurs like rose water. Look at the verse below -
विश्वेश्वराभिषेकाय सति भागीरथी जले ।
काश्यां को मां वाञ्छतीति नारिकेलो न जायते ॥
When kāśi has gangā for abhiśeka, who would need me? — Thinking thus, the coconut, stopped coming into existence there!
Its a fact that we won’t be able to see coconut trees in kāśi. How nicely it got transformed into a poetic expression! This kind of beauty can be seen in all over this work. Facts intertwining with alankāras — a great recipe poetry.
Another one —
आरोग्यप्रतिकूलाఽपि काशी संसेव्यते सदा ।
मुमुक्षुणाఽतिदुष्टोఽपि भर्तेवोत्तमभार्यया ॥
Even the place gives adverse health effects, kāśi is well served by people seeking salvation, like a good-wife serving her cruel husband.
Telugu and Telugu-ness are most favourite things for nārāyaṇadāsu. In his poetry, the language took many forms — some places it seems very delicate yet profound; somewhere it’s head-scratcher for scholars yet extempore; sometimes its easy and sweet but filled with depth. But all the time, its very much near to Telugu people’s hearts, without missing.
His Telugu is either of āndhrabhāśa (Telugu mixed with Sanskrit) style or deśīya(pure native Telugu). He wrote many works in deśya style Telugu, which clearly states his love for the vernacular.
Nārāyaṇadāsu used his poetry as a tool to spread ethics and devotion. Expressing his heart, debunking current society are another two common themes one can find in his works.
He has written a shataka on simhācala nrusimhaswāmy with a makuṭa “రెంటత్రాగుడు తిండి మెట్టంటు వేల్ప!”. I know, this would be a difficult phrase to understand even for a Telugu native The whole line translates as :
రెంటత్రాగుడు = dvipa (elephant/ ఏనుగు)
తిండి = The one who eats it- Lion (సింహము)
మెట్ట = mountain (కొండ/అచలము)
అంటు వేల్పు = The deity who resides in that (స్వామి) — సింహాచల స్వామి.
In the verse below, he describes the typical conditions of wicked attributing those to himself —
ఎలనాఁగ మీదనే యెప్పట్ల నాకన్ను, పైవారి యిడుమ నా బ్రతుకు జున్ను;
కొంకక తిని త్రాగి క్రొవ్వుట నాపని, యేల్కలతోడ నాకెందున నని;
నను నేఁబొగడుకొంట నా పుట్టువు తెగులు, లాఁతి గొప్పకు నా తలంపు రగులు
ఎల్లరికన్న నేనే యెక్కువననుకొందు, నే సిగ్గెడసి తెగ నీల్గుచుందు
ముదిసిన కొలంది గొడవలన్ మున్గుచుంటి
నెందుకున్ బన్కిరాక యేనిట్టులుంటి
తెమల నీ తగులమిఁక వలమురి తాల్ప!
రెంటత్రాగుడు తిండి మెట్టంటువేల్ప!
My sight always craves for other women
My celebration starts when the wealthy are in pain;
My work is to eat, drink and become obese
My chest grows when others praise;
My ego grows with my age but
My character burns in rage;
I dwell in my faults, with no hope
Oh lord! help me let these things go.
When combined with rasa, the native Telugu sweetens itself to higher amounts. Look at the verse below, where he describes the viraha of a man who got separated from his wife:
చిలుకబూఁచులగుల్కి జిలిబిలిగా బల్కి సాబాలుగాఁ దిన్న చల్దిబువ్వ
చిఱుజగడములలోని బిఱబిఱఁ బొత్తూని తనివితీరక యాడు దాగురింత
పట్టుపంతములాడి బాగుగాఁ గవఁగూడి మెలపునఁ బాడిన మేలుకొల్పు
అంటు జంటగగట్టి దంటగా నీర్వెట్టి నిలుపు సంపగిగున్న తొలిసమర్త
ఆనవాళ్లవి నన్నుఁ గన్నారఁ జూప
నేఁగుదెంచిన యీ గాలి ప్రోగు బొమ్మ
మనసు వచ్చిన యట్ల నిన్మరులుకొల్ప
బొగలుచున్నది నిక్కంపు బొంది యిచట.
I will leave you to it.
Coming up next is a cāṭu on Bangalore city which he recited in Mysore court-
అలరుతేనియలూరు దలిరులజిగిమీరు విన్నగరువుదీరు బెంగుళూరు
చిరుత మబ్బులకారు చెమటరాని షికారు వేడుకలింపారు బెంగుళూరు
చెరకు తీయనినీరు చేలపచ్చనిబారు వేల్పునగరుగేరు బెంగుళూరు
ఆవుల పాలేరు తావుల వేమారు పిలువదగిన పేరు బెంగుళూరు
వింత నగనాణెముల నారు బెంగుళూరు
పెనుతెవుళులకు మందు వేర్బెంగుళూరు
తెల్లదొరలను రాగోరు బెంగుళూరు
వేనుడువులేల బంగారు బెంగుళూరు.
The King, Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, himself liked this verse very much and made a copy of it for himself!
It’s a daily task for nārāyaṇadāsu to perform samasyāpūraṇaṃ as someone or the other comes to him and challenges him with something. Once a man presented a samsya — అమితవిజృంభణమ్ములబలా! తగునా? సుజనాళి కెప్పుడున్ and asked him to solve it in śṛṃgārarasa. The response came within seconds thus:
క్రమమెఱుఁగంగలేని విధివ్రాత బలంబునఁదమ్ము మోయు మ
ధ్యముపయి నీదు చన్నులిసుమంతయునక్కటికంబు మాని యు
బ్బి మదకఠోరభావమున విస్తరమంది చలింపఁజేసి జృం
భమునటు జూపకున్న క్షతమర్దన బాధలపాలుగావు గా
యమిత విజృంభణమ్ములబలా! తగునా? సుజనాళికెప్పుడున్.
This verse reminds the verse of vikaṭanitaṃbā -
अय्ययि! साहसकारिणि ! किं तव चंक्रमणेन ।
टसदिति भङ्गमवाप्स्यसि कुचयुगभारभरेण ॥
The dhāra is unmatchable right? Now I will take you to the one and only play he wrote, named sārangadhara. Check out the descriptions of the moon he makes in two verses using a simple metre called teṭagīti:
ప్రొద్దుజాడలఁ గసిగంది హద్దుమించి
జుణిఁగిపోయిరి నాదగు చుక్కబంట్లు
ఇడుమపాటున బలగములెడసియుంట
తెల్లమని రిక్కరాయఁడు వెల్లబాఱె.
The moon became pale,
looking at his lurked star-servants
In the face of morning twilight
Like a Retinue in the plight
తానొనర్చిన చీఁకటితప్పెఱిఁగియు
మగని విధిలేక కనిపెట్టు మగువఁబోలె
వెలితివడి ప్రొద్దుముంగల నిలిచె చంద్రుఁ
డాకసపు పెనమందు మాడట్టువలెను.
Even after knowing the dark mistake of his
As a women who follows her husband,
The moon paled in the face of dawn
Like a burnt dosa in the Sky-plate.
Unique figures of speech, I know. The speciality of these verses is that it also describes the innate situations of the characters involved in the play. The first verse is the state of the King and the husband of citrāngi, who falls for his brother sārangadhara. Whereas the second verse denotes the state of citrāngi herself, where she had to compromise with her husband even if she loves her husband’s brother.
*
Harikatha Reformation
We cannot talk about Sri NarayanadaDasu’s life without harikatha. In 1883, when Sri Narayanadasu put his hands on the harikatha art form, it used to be a small platform, happening here and there. When he left the art after sixty years, it got wide spread all over India. The act used to take different forms depending on the audience. Sometimes it used to be musical spectacle, sometimes a literary play and manytimes a laughing riot. People of all ages enjoyed his performances. He didn’t use harikatha as a tool for entertainment, but to spread devotion and good will among people.
He himself, describes how the characteristics of a harikatha artist should be:
ఘనశంఖమో యన కంఠంబు పూరించి మేలుగ శ్రుతిలోన మేళవించి
నియమము తప్పక నయ ఘనంబులఁ బెక్కురాగభేదంబుల రక్తి గొలిపి
బంతులెగిర్చిన పగిది కాలజ్ఞతన్ జాతిమూర్ఛలనొప్ప స్వరము పాడి
చక్కని నృత్యము సర్వరసానుకూలంబుగాఁగ నభినయంబు చేసి
స్వకృతమృదు యక్షగాన ప్రబంధసరణి
వివిధదేశంబులం బిన్న పెద్దలు గల
పలు సభల హరికభక్తినుపన్యసింప
లేని సంగీతకవితాభిమానమేల? (An essay on Harikatha, Andhra Patrika, 1911)
One time, in the middle of his performance, he grabbed the opportunity and defined haridasa-laksha lakśaṇa :
सात्विकाहारनिरतः सर्वभूतदयापरः।
संसारविमुखो योगी हरिदास इति स्मृतः॥
Sri Narayanadasu introduced many aspects in Telugu harikatha. One of which was nṛtyam. Before him, there used to be only abhinaya. He also introduced manjari and nartaki, which weren’t present even in yakṣagāna. Manjari and nartaki song forms won’t contain pallavi or anupallavi, but filled with caraṇās of two, three or sometimes four parts. Every two parts will have same prāsa and each part with a different yati.
Another major reform done by Sri Dasu was mattu/మట్టు. These mattu-s /మట్లు are the combination of music and dance. The full fledged haridasa, according to him must have known the secrets of music, literature and dance in equal proportions.
Sri NarayanaDasru wrote 14 plays in Telugu, 3 in Sanskrit and 1 in desi Telugu. He performed his own works thousands of times. He used metrical metres extensively along with free-verse style, blending all of them musically with his great voice. His favourite meter sīsam/సీసము can be seen all over the place.
The below verse, for example, is from his aṃbarīṣopākhyāna harikatha, describing the attire of kṛtti, who was born because of sage dūrvāsa’s anger
అభ్రంలిహాదభ్ర విభ్రమాభ్రభ్రమకృన్నీల దీర్ఘశరీరమమర
బ్రళయకాలానలప్రభనుజక్రీకృతేక్షణముల రౌద్రమక్షయము గాగ
ద్రైలోక్యకబళనోత్పాతసూచక ఘనవక్త్రత్రయోగ్రత వాసికెక్క
బర్బుబర్బర కేశపాశారుణ ప్రభ కాల సంధ్యారాగకాంతి దనర
క్రకచకఠినకరాళ దంష్ట్రలు వెలుంగ
బదయుగోద్ధూత పాంశువుల్ చదలు గప్ప
నేలబదముల నింగిని నిడ్డ తలల
నత్తి కొనివచ్చి గృత్తి తామిత్తి పగిది.
What a mixture of Sanskrit and Telugu! Just by oral recital of this verse, one could get a sense of that demon forming.
Sri Adibhaṭla Nārāyaṇadāsu was a rare happening where the alchemy of poetry and music happened together. He is and always will be worthy of our salutations.
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