Thamizh Songs in Carnatic Music
2-- sabhApatikku
vERu deyvam--சபாபதிக்கு வேறு தெய்வம்
Composer: GOpAlakrishNa
BhArati (GKB)
Composition: sabhApatikku vEru……..
Composer: gOpAlakrishNa Bharathi
mudrA: balakrishNan, or
(signature): gOpalakrishNan
rAgam: AbhOgi (janyam of meLam 22)
ArOhaNam: SR2G2M1D2S
AvarOhaNam:SD2M1G2R2S
tALam: rUpakam
பல்லவி:
சபாபதிக்கு வேறு தெய்வம்
சமானமாகுமா தில்லை (சபா….)
அனுபல்லவி:
க்ருபாநிதி இவரைப் போலக்
கிடைக்குமோ இந்த தாரணி தனிலே (சபா…)
சரணம்:
ஒரு தரம் சிவசிதம்பரம் என்று உரைத்தால் போதுமே
பரகதிக்கு வேறு புண்யம் பண்ண வேண்டுமா
அரிய புலையர் மூவர் பாதம் அடைந்தார் என்றே புராணம்
அறிந்து சொல்லக் கேட்டோம் கோபாலக்ருஷ்ணன் பாடும் தில்லை (சபா….)
Lyrics
in Roman script
Pallavi:
sabhApatikku vERu deyvam
samAnamAgumA tillai (sabhA….)
anupallavi:
krupAnidhi ivaraip pOlak
kidaikkumO inda tAraNi
tanilE (sabhA…)
CaraNam:
oru taram shivacidambaram enRu uraittAl
pOdumE
paragatikku vERu puNyam paNNa
vENDumA
ariya pulaiyar mUvar pAdam
aDaintAr enRE purANam
aRindu sollak kETTOm
gOpAlakrishNan pAdum tillai (sabhA….)
Meaning:
Is there another God who can match the
Lord of Thillai (Chidambaram) in
glory, i.e., SabhApati (Nataraja)?
He
is a treasure house of mercy. Could one get another entity like Him
in
this universe?
It
is enough if one utters the word “shivacidambaram” just once. To attain
salvation
one does not need to earn any other merit.
We learn from the
epics
that speak of the three rare “pulaiyars” (untouchables) attaining
Godhead. Is there
another God who is equal to Nataraja who is sung by
Gopalakrishnan?
General
Comments:
Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s favorite deity was Lord
Nataraja of Chidambaram. Most of his songs are on Nataraja. This particular
song is said to have been written soon after GB visited Thyagaraja, the bard of
tiruvaiyaRu. GB visited Thyagaraja and listened to his disciples sing a kriti
of Thyagaraja “manasu nilpa” in the rAgam AbhOgi. Then he went to bathe in the river KavEri, and
composed this kriti “sabhApatikku” on the spot in Thamizh in the same ragam on
Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram. When he came back to Thyagaraja’s house,
Thyagaraja asked GB if he has composed any kriti in AbhOgi. GB said he did so
after hearing Thyagaraja’s kriti and sang it for him. It is said that Thyagaraja
was happy and showered praise on GB.
The phrase “ariya pulaiyar mUvar” evokes deep
feelings in everyone who hears this kriti. It is widely known that GB, although
born a Brahmin, was an ardent supporter of the downtrodden folks, especially
harijans, as is obvious from his magnum
opus “Nandanar caritira kIrttanai”, a Thamizh opera glorifying the
low-caste farm hand Nandan for his flagrant bhakthi, who was later inducted in
the Nayanmar Hall of Fame as “TirunALaippOvAr”. The term “ariya pulaiyar mUvar”
refers to three “untouchables”—Nandanar, Thillai VettiyAn, and PeRRAn SAmbhAn—who
lived in the area around Thillai and were supposed to have attained Godhead as
a reward for their piety.
NandanAr was featured in the “Periya PurANam”
by SEkkizhAr. The other two lived in later times. A fervent shaivite by name
UmApati ShivAchAriyAr (14th century CE) initiated PeRRAn SAmbhAn (a
person born as a pulaiyar) into shaivism (a prohibited act those days) under
the guidance of a letter given by God (see
http://www.shaivam.org/adumapat.htm)
The ardent shaivite was excommunicated by the Thillai Brahmins for that sacrilegious
(!) act. This action has a parallel in early 20th century too as
seen by the ostracism of Subramanya Bharathi by the Brahmin community for his
‘reformist’ activities. GB glorified the “ariya pulaiyar mUvar” by including
them in this kriti. It is invariably a person from another segment of the
society who works for the upliftment of folks from an oppressed segment.
Composer’s
Bio:
Gopalakrishna Bharathi (1810-1896) was born
in a Brahmin family in Narimanam (near Nagappattinam) and lived in and around
Mayuram. He lived a celibate life. He was ostracized by the orthodox Brahmins for
performing a kathA kAlakshEpam
(religious story discourse) on ThirunIlakanta nAyanAr (a potter by profession),
one of the 63 nAyanmArs. His Nandanar caritiram received great acclaim and
kritis from that opera are very popular these days in the concert circuit. His
compositions number greater than a thousand and opera songs alone account for
about 400.
Some of the other songs of GKB which are
popular include: varugalAmO ayyA
(mAnji), saRRE vilagi irum piLLAi
(pUrvikalyANi), varuvArO (sAmA), ennEramum undan (dEvaghAndAri), eppO
varuvArO (jOnpuri), and tiruvaDi sharaNam (kAmbhoji).
Several musicians in the past and present
have sung GKB’s kritis in concerts with great pride. The late K. V.
Narayanaswami’s rendering of “varugalAmO” is considered a classic by many.
Other present-day musicians who have rendered GKB’s kritis are T. N.
Seshagopalan, Sriram Gangadharan, Bombay Sisters, Sudha Ragunathan, Nithyasri
Mahadevan, and Sanjay Subrahmanyan, among others.
Some audio and video clips
Listen to M D Ramanathan here
Listen to Neyveli Santhanagopalan here
Listen to T M Krishna here
Listen to Aruna Sairam here
Listen to Nithyasri here
Rare informations. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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