Purandara Dasa

Purandara Dasa (IAST: Purandara Dāsa; (c.1470 – c.1564) was a composer, singer and a Haridasa philosopher from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a follower of Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy. He was one of the chief founding proponents that shaped modern Carnatic music. In honor of his contributions to Carnatic music, he is referred to as the Pitamaha (lit. "grandsire") of Carnatic music. According to a legend, he is considered as an incarnation of Narada.
Purandara Dasa was a wealthy merchant of gold, silver and other miscellaneous jewellery from Karnataka, who gave away all his material riches to become a Haridasa (literally meaning a servant of Vishnu or Krishna), a devotional singer who made the difficult Sanskrit tenets of Bhagavata Purana available to everyone in simple and melodious songs. He was one of the most important music scholars of medieval India. He formulated the basic lessons of teaching Carnatic music by structuring graded exercises known as Svaravalis and Alankaras, and at the same time, he introduced the raga Mayamalavagowla as the first scale to be learnt by beginners in the field – a practice that is still followed today. He also composed Gitas (simple songs) for novice students.
Purandara Dasa is noted for composing Dasa Sahithya, as a Bhakti movement vocalist, and a music scholar. His younger contemporary, Kanakadasa, emulated his practice. Purandara Dasa's Carnatic music compositions are mostly in Kannada, though some are in Sanskrit. He signed his compositions with the ankitanama (pen name) "Purandara Vittala" (Vittala is another name of Vishnu) and this same form of Vishnu is his aaradhya daiva or ishta murthi or worshippable deity. His work was appreciated by many scholars of his time and later scholars.
Inscriptional evidence suggests Purandara Dasa was born to a diamond merchant in a Kannada Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family in 1470, in Purandara gada,18 kms far from pune present-day Maharashtra state. According to other opinions, his native town was Purandaraghatta in Karnataka, or Purandaragad near Pune, but the latter is considered a historical mistake – connecting his "pen name" (his ankita) with a location that mainly served as a military encampment in the 15th and 16th century. In 2018, a five-member committee set up by the Government of Karnataka to ascertain the birthplace of Purandara Dasa has submitted its report asserting Tirthahalli as the likeliest candidate. The committee included veteran singer and musicologist RK Padmanabha, scholars Aralumallige Parthasarathi, AV Navada, Veeranna Rajora, and former minister Leeladevi Navada. It is now ascertained that Purandharadasa was born in Araga, Vijayanagara Empire (Modern Day Thirthahalli, Shivamogga District, Karnataka, India), Karnataka
Purandara Dasa was the only son of the wealthy merchant Varadappa Nayaka and his wife Rukmini. He was named Srinivasa Nayaka, after the patron deity of Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. He acquired proficiency in Kannada, Sanskrit, and sacred music through education. At the age of 16, he was married to Saraswati Bai, traditionally described as a pious young girl. They had four sons, Varadappa, Gururaya, Abhinavappa and Madhvapati. He lost his parents at age 20, thereby inheriting his father's business of gemstones and pawning. He prospered and became known as Navakoti Narayana (an abundantly rich man; worth ninety million).
Popular legend narrates a miraculous incident in Srinivasa Nayaka's life, owing to which he was led to devote himself to the practice, propagation and inculcation of bhakti (devotion) towards Krishna through musical compositions. As a consequence of the event, he is believed to have relinquished his former greedy and miserly self having realized the worthlessness of attachment to worldly possessions: Per this version, the deity in a bid to cure Srinivaasa of his tenacious materialistic delusion and attachment and thereby claim his devotion to himself, approached Srinivaasa in the guise of a poor man. In this guise the deity is said to have made a piteous plea to Srinivasa for money to perform his son's 'upanayana'(sacred-thread investiture ceremony).
Having been summarily rejected, mocked and turned out, the 'poor man' repeated his plea before Srinivaasa's wife who per the legend was a generous soul of rigorous spiritual nature. She gave away one of her precious nose rings, unbeknownst to her husband. The 'poor man' sold the nose ring back to Srinivasa himself. The shrewd Srinivasa, privy to his wife's openhandedness, immediately identified the nose ring as his wife's and hurried home. He was enraged and anxious to ascertain the truth of the matter. He demanded his wife to produce the nose ring before him immediately.
Realizing that Srinivaasa had grown wise to her secret donation, the wife decided to end her life with poison. Having completed her prayers to Vishnu before her attempt, she was shocked to see a nose ring inside the poison cup – completely identical to the one she had just given away. Incredulous and rapturous, she recounted the entire episode to her husband, who was bewildered and lost. Meanwhile, a search for the 'poor man' was of no avail; he had as mysteriously vanished as he had appeared.
Per legend at that very moment, Srinivaasa became convinced of the inscrutable ways of Vishnu because of having witnessed the unfailing grace that saved his pious wife. He is said to have become bewildered at the power that could produce a gold ornament in a moment by mere will and is said to have instantly shook off the beginning-less, persistent veil in the form of 'I' and 'mine' which is believed to mask men's vision of the divine. At 30 years of age he gave away all his wealth in charity, and with his family he abandoned his house to lead the life of a mendicant. They start living on alms and singing the glories of Vishnu. In his first song composition, he laments his wasted life of indulgence. It begins with the words "Ana lae kara" in the Shuddha Saveri raga, set to Triputa tala.
In the course of his wandering, he met the sage Vyasatirtha, one of the chief exponents of Madhwa philosophy and the Rajaguru of Krishnadevaraya, emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. According to Prof. Sambamoorthy, Srinivasa had his formal initiation at the hands of Vyasatirtha in 1525 when he was about 40 years old, with the name Purandara Daasa bestowed on him. Purandara Daasa travelled through the length and breadth of the Vijayanagara Empire and Pandharapur in Maharashtra composing and rendering soul-stirring songs in praise of God. He spent his last years in Hampi and also sang songs in Krishnadevaraya's court. The mantapa (mandap) in which he stayed is known as Purandara Daasa Mantapa (mandap) in Hampi. He died on 2 January 1564 at the age of 95. Within a short period after his death, the Vijayanagara Empire collapsed. Tradition and legend hold that he composed 475,000 keerthanas (songs). Further, according to this legend, his original desire was to compose 500,000 keerthanas. Being unable to do it in his present life, he requested his younger son to complete them. His son Madhwapathi told his father that he could do this in his next janma (birth). It is believed that he was reborn as the famous Vijayadasa—birthplace is Cheekalparvi village near Maanvi town, Raichur district in Karnataka State—and completed the remaining 25 thousand keerthanas as promised. Most of his songs are in praise of Vishnu and other divinities. Due to this, he is believed to be an avatar of Narada, the celestial singer and son of goddess Saraswati. One of the Trimurtis (three icons) of Carnatic music, Saint Tyagaraja, has paid tribute to Purandara Dasa in his geya natakam (an opera) Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam.
Purandara Dasa's year of demise is 1564 as given by his son Madhvapati and this is well recorded. But his year of birth is unknown. Several different dates have been proposed by various scholars, authors and historians. B. N. K. Sharma in his book History of Dvaita Vedanta which was published in 1960, wrote year of birth of Purandara Dasa as 1484 based on his own logic and in later reprints he changed this year to 1494. But many scholars, authors and historians have different opinions on this. Authors Guy L. Beck of University of South Carolina and William Joseph Jackson of Oxford University gave dates as 1480-1564 CE. Prominent scholar Amaresh Datta, the chief editor of the Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature published by Sahitya Akademi in this book he gave Purandara Dasa dates as 1480-1564. But based on the historical event of Purandara Dasa meeting Annamacharya and the keerthanas (spiritual songs) that they have sung together on Sri Venkateshwara Swamy at Tirumala, which were recorded by Annamacharya's grandson Tallapaka Chinanna, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams gave year of birth of Purandara as 1470.
Most of the authors or scholars have not taken the historical event of Purandara Dasa meeting Annamacharya and both singing sankeerthanas (devotional songs) on Sri Venkateshwara Swamy at Tirumala into consideration while decided the dates. But based on the manuscripts found, which were written by Tallapaka Chinanna, the grandson of Annamacharya Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams gave it's analysis. Based on these manuscripts, Purandara Dasa met Annamacharya after taking Haridasa initiation from Vyasatirtha in Hampi when he was 30 years old and Annamacharya was in his 90's. After meeting both Purandara Dasa and Annamacharya sang songs in front of Sri Venkateshwara Swamy in Tirumala temple. Based on these historical recorded events the scholars of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams did analysis and finally declared that Purandara Dasa met Annamacharya in the year 1500 and the year of birth of Purandara Dasa as 1470.
R. Sri Hari, the Vice Chancellor of Dravidian University in his book, "Major Genres and Trends in Dravidian Literature: Classical", in 2003 also published about this historical event as follows, "The meeting of Annamayya and Purandaradasa as narrated by Tallapaka Chinnanna was a historical fact which heralded a new phase in the evolution of the Padakavita Paddhati in the south, into Karnataka Sangīta Paddhati on one hand and the Bhajana Sampradaya Paddhati on the other".
Purandara Dasa systematized the method of teaching Karnataka Sangita (Carnatic music) which is followed to the present day. He introduced the raga Mayamalavagowla as the basic scale for music instruction and fashioned a series of graded lessons such as swaravalis, janti swaras, alankaras, lakshana geetas, prabandhas, ugabhogas, daatu varase, geeta, sooladis and kritis. Another contribution was the fusion of bhava, raga, and laya in his compositions. He included comments on ordinary daily life and elements of colloquial language in his lyrics. He introduced folk ragas into the mainstream, setting his lyrics to ragas of his day so that even a common man could learn and sing them. He also composed several lakshya and lakshana geetas, many of which are sung to this day. His sooladis are regarded as musical masterpieces and are the standard for raga lakshana. Scholars attribute the standardization of varna mettus entirely to Purandara Dasa.
Travelling Haridasa successors are said to have followed the systems he devised, and orally transmitted his compositions. According to traditional sources, his compositions numbers as many as 4,75,000. His original collection of songs is referred to as Purandaropanishat as given by Vyasatirtha out of which only 1000 are available right now.
Shri.Dasa was a vaggeyakara (composer-performer), a lakshanakara (musicologist), and the founder of musical pedagogy. Musicologists call him the Sangeeta Pitamaha (lit. 'grandfather') of Karnataka (Carnatic) music.
Purandara Dasa tried to reform existing social practices and preached through devotional songs in the local Kannada language. Most of his keertanas deal with social reform and pinpoint the defects in society. The philosophy of Purandara Dasa is harmonious with the concept of bhakti in Hinduism, broadly based on the Narada Bhakti Sutras and essentially synchronous with the pan-Indian Bhakti movement. It teaches complete self-surrender and unadulterated love towards God. The philosophy of Bhakti in Purandara Dasa's compositions stems from the essential teachings of the realistic-pluralistic Madhva Philosophy of Vaishnavism, and has been rendered in simple Kannada. The individual soul (jeeva) is a pratibimba (reflection) of God (Vishnu/Ishvara), who is the bimba (source). The jeeva owes its existence, knowledge and bliss to the Ishvara, and any sense of independence with regards to one's actions and the results thereof is to be given up. The mind has to be turned away from transient pleasures and possessions of this world; instead, it is to be turned towards Vishnu, who alone is the abode of unadulterated, unswerving bliss. His keerthanas have simple lessons in this regard and implore men to lead the noble life of a Vaishnava.
Purandara Dasa fought the evils of casteism through his songs. In his song aavakulavaadarenu aavanadarenu aatma bhavavariyada mele he wonders what is the use if one does not understand the spirit of humanism whatever caste or status one might be accredited to. In the same song when relating to cows of different colours and sugarcane of different shapes he emphasizes that one's birth cannot merely decide the highness or lowness of any individual. He asks will the sweetness of crooked sugarcane be also crooked or will the milk of cows of many a colour be also of many colours. He asked people to do their best in the world, to provide food and charity to the poor, help others and give up attachments. He was against the caste system, and believed true caste was based on character, not on birth. Sacrifice did not imply the slaughter of animals, but the slaying of one's bad qualities.
According to Purandara Dasa, there were no inequalities among men and women. Both of them had the same rights and obligations in their conduct of everyday life as well as observation of piety. Purandara Dasa distinctly described the quality of a virtuous woman. According to him, the neck chains, bangles and other ornaments that women wore were not important; the beauty of mind and noble conduct were her true embellishments.
Purandara Dasa made some forceful expressions on untouchability, which was dogging society. His strength comes perhaps from the support of his guru Vyasathirtha with the backing of king Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara himself. In one such song Holaya horagithane oorolagillave he opines that an individual should not be branded untouchable based on his/her birth in any specific caste, however it is rather his conduct which should make him untouchable if at all he can be called so. The usage of the word untouchable is not used in the limited context of physical contact with the person, it is the worthlessness of the association with that person which is highlighted here. This is evident by the subsequent expressions in the song which says that one who does not practice self-discipline is untouchable, one who plots against his government is untouchable, one who shirks charity while having wealth is untouchable, one who poisons to eliminate his opponents is untouchable, one who does not use soft language is untouchable, one who prides over his purity of caste is untouchable and finally one who does not meditate on Purandara Vittala is untouchable. Dasa's message is loud and clear rejecting untouchability in our society. He uses the name of Purandara Vittala to imply any God. This is evident from his other songs on various Gods and Goddesses. Similar ideas were expressed by many other poets also.
In the pure Carnatic tradition, Bidaram Krishnappa was one of the foremost singers of modern times to popularize the compositions of Purandara Dasa. Singer Madras Lalithangi, and her illustrious daughter Padmavibushan, Sangeetha Kalanidhi M. L. Vasanthakumari have rendered yeoman service in propagating the compositions of Purandara Dasa; both were considered authorities on Purandara Dasa. M. L. Vasantha Kumari was awarded an honorary doctorate by Mysore University for her contributions to Purandara Dasa's music.
Though the compositions of Purandara Dasa are originally in the ragas of the Carnatic system of music, his compositions have been adopted and made equally popular in Hindustani music. Hindustani music legends such as Bhimsen Joshi, Madhav Gudi and Basavaraj Rajguru have made them more popular in recent years.
Classical vocalists and musicians such as Upendra Bhat, Puttur Narasimha Nayak, Venkatesh Kumar, Nagaraja Rao Havaldar, Ganapathi Bhatt, Vidyabhushana, Pravin Godkhindi, Nachiketa Sharma, Sangeetha Katti, and the Bombay Sisters are continuing the tradition of singing and performing Purandara Dasa's compositions and other Dasa Sahitya songs in Carnatic as well as Hindustani music concerts. Of late, Mysore Ramachandracharya is industriously propagating dasa sahitya through his concerts. Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams is also propagating the dasa krithis through the Dasa Sahitya Project. He also composed the first lullaby songs in Carnatic music, such as Thoogire Rangana and Gummana Kareyadire, which led to the creation of many similar songs by others.
The Purandara Mantapa adjoining the Vijayavittala temple at Hampi is one of the long-standing monuments relating to Purandara Dasa. This is where he is said to have composed and sung in praise of Vishnu.
Purandara Dasa is said to have composed his well-known song, ‘Aadisidaleshoda jagadoddharana’ on infant Sri Krishna, in raga Kapi, at the Aprameyaswamy temple in Doddamallur, Channapattana taluk, Karnataka. A small mantapa outside the temple is named after him, where he is said to have stayed as he passed through the village.
A statue of Purandara Dasa has been erected at the foothills of Tirumala in Alipiri. A statue of Purandara Dasa adorns the Asthana Mandapam (auditorium) on the Tirumala hill.
A huge statue of Purandara Dasaru is erected at the holy premises of Uttaradi Matha,Bangalore
Sri Purandara Dasa Memorial Trust (SPDMT), formed in Bangalore in 2007, has been actively involved in promoting and researching all aspects of the life and works of Purandara Dasa. A 3500-square-foot concert hall, called 'Purandara Mantapa', has been erected on the premises of the Trust.
The Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha (ISS) at Indiranagar, Bangalore formed in 1986, has dedicated an auditorium with a seating capacity of 600 called Purandara Bhavana exclusively for cultural events, inaugurated by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, to his memory.
Three biographical films, in the Kannada language, have been made on the life and compositions of Purandara Dasa.
Aradhana is a religious-devotional observation, held annually, to remember and honor saintly persons on the anniversary of the completion of their earthly lives. Purandara Dasa's aradhana or punyadina is held on the pushya bahula amavasya of the Indian Chandramana calendar (a new moon day, generally in February–March). Musicians and art aficionados in the state of Karnataka, South India and many art and religious centres around the world observe this occasion with religious and musical fervour. His compositions are sung by established and upcoming artists on this day.
In 2022, aradhanas are happening in India and around the world even to this day.
Another life sketch of Purandara dasa Purandara Dasa(1484-1564) was known as the father of Carnatic music. His signature was Purandara Vittala. He composed Lakshana geetams. He also composed swaralai varasaisa and swarajathi to be the first composition to be learnt by beginnners. He also made mayamalavagowla raga to be the first raga to be learnt by beginners. His compositions were mostly in kannada and sometimes sanskrit.