I will always worship the elephant faced Siddhi Vinayaka who provides whatever we wish for
The saints, the demon clans of Yaksha and Kinna worship him. The entire universe knows about Ganapathy. He resides at the centre as the root and basis for existence in the body (the centre of மூலாதாரச் சக்கரம்). He has a sweet meat made of steamed rice.
The saints and the learned worship Him. The fourth day of the moon in Bhadrapada (August-September) is Vinayaka Chaturthi, the day of Ganesha’s birth. He holds the noose, the goad in his hand and has a fan and a royal umbrella. He has a peaceful and divine face devoid of anger and gory. Younger brother of the son of Rohini, Krishna worships Him (For info – On the advice of Narada, Krishna worshipped Ganesha to rid himself of the undeserved disrepute he acquired when the Syamantaka gem was lost. (Pl ref https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syamantaka for the story on the Shyamantaka gem). He is the son of Lord Siva and Parvathi. He is the elder brother of Guruguha (pen name of the composer) . He looks after the welfare of devotees by providing the wealth they need. He is radiant and has four hands
The Tamil Classic “Peria Puranam” narrates the incident of Sundaramurti Nayanar immersing 12000 gold coins in the river Manimutharu at a place called Thirumudukundram (near Viruthachalam, Cuddalore) and retrieving gold from the Kamalalaya tank at Tiruvarur and taking the help of this Vinayaka to assess its purity as per the directions of Lord Siva. Hence the Ganesha on the banks of the Kamalalaya Tank in Tiruvarur got the name Mattruraitha Vinakayar (Vinayaka who assayed)
This Kriti is in praise of “Mattruraitha Vinakayar (மாற்று உறைத்த விநாயகர் – Ganesha who evaluates gold and assess its purity) whose shrine is on the banks of the Kamalalaya Tank in Tiruvarur.
Please protect me the elephant faced Great Ganapathy, the provider of intellect and remover of obstacles.
You are worshipped by the Vishnu, the father of the Lord of Cupid (Manmatha), Brahma and Indra. You reside by the Lotus Tank. You have tender legs and hands like the stem of the water lily. You are the elder brother of Guruguha (Lord Subramanya & the pen name of the composer). You are the son of Lord Siva
The gold assayer and the lord of obstacles with lotus feet and moon on the forehead wears white garments and is praised by human beings and Gods. He has a protuberant belly and holds a water lily, his own tusk, a noose, a goad and steamed sweet meat in his hands. He is the boat that enables humans to cross the oceans of births. His nature is to be the root of the universe (cause). He is the embodiment of immense joy with a radiance brighter as thousand Suns. He is praised by the poets. He rides on a mouse and is worshipped by assembly of gods. He is the abode of eternal liberation.
वातापि – The name of an Asura devoured by Agastya. vāta wind, pā to drink. It also denotes the place “Vatapi”, today called as Badami in Karnataka. Paranjothi, the army chief of Narasimhavarman I (Pallava King), conquered Vatapi the capital of Chalukyas in 642 AD and brought a Ganapati (Ganesh) idol from the vatapi Fort to his native place Tiruchengattangudi. He constructed a Shiva temple where a separate shrine was constructed for installing Vatapi Ganapati. There is also a belief that the shrine in Tiruvarur was installed similar to the one in Tiruchengattangudi. Dikshitar in his composition referred to this Ganapathy in his composition.
Audio Link
There are hundreds of audios/videos available in the internet. I chose the link where we can listen to the Doyen Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagawathar
I worship Vatapi Ganapati, the elephant-faced giver of boons, the one whose feet are worshipped by the Bhuta-ganas etc., the one who protects the universe made of five elements and their derivatives, the one devoid of desires, the one saluted by Yogis, the cause of the universe,the preventer of obstacles.
Long ago, the one well-worshipped by the best of sages, Agastya( born from a Kumbha or pot), the one seated at the centre of a triangle, the one adored by gods led by Vishnu(the enemy of Mura), the resident of Tiruvarur,the one who embodies the four stages of speech beginning with Paraa, the one whose bent trunk has the shape of Om, the eternal one, the bearer of the crescent moon on his forehead, the one holding a sugarcane stalk with his left hand, the one whose lotus-like hands carry a noose and a pomegranate,the one far removed from sin, the one with a huge body,the one whose form pleases Shiva and Guruguha, the one known as Heramba Ganapati, who is adorned by the Raga Hamsadhvani …. I salute
I constantly salute the son of Gauri, the devotee of Vaasudeva who uses a snake as a couch. He is the Lord of the group of attendants of Shiva . Lord Indra and the Devas serve him. He wears a snake as a garland and is worshipped by sages. He holds his favorite sweetmeat (of liberation). He has an elephant face. He destroys the unlimited ego garva of Lord Chandra (moon). He grants happiness to those who bows to Him and protects His devotees who pray Him. He removes the obstacles fir our liberation.
I consider myself as extremely fortunate to make an attempt to understand the Dance of the Yuga from a three dimensional (Literary, Music and Dance) perspective. My learning has been immense. There is only one to thank – The Lord Himself. What better way to conclude these set of blogs than with a composition by Lalitha Dasar made universally popular by the legendary Carnatic Musician Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagawathar and later on by Dr KJ Yesudass.
I surrender to the holy lord of the town created by Lord Guru and Lord Pavan (Guruvayur). The Lord is Sri. Krishna, who is dark like the rain bearing cloud and lives in the cattle rearing village (Gokulam). He is worshipped by Narada and Shiva and is the is protector of the three worlds. He is worshipped by Brahma and Indra ,shines greatly holding a flute and gives happiness to the damsels of his village. He cannot be defeated and is very magnanimous. He as pretty as hundred Gods of Love (Manmatha). He is a never ending source of mercy and is like the Chakora bird to the moon like face of Radha. He is the divine brother of Parvathi.
(* Yuga – a Sanskrit term used to define a very large period of time spanning 1000s of years)
In the “Dvapara Yuga”, some say in 3228 BC an event happened on the banks of the River Yamuna in Mathura, a place near Delhi. This is about the dance of a little boy called Krishna. This is a dance with a difference – an young boy dances on top of a five headed King Cobra. The dance is called Kaliya Mardhan /Kaliya Daman in North of India and Kalinga Narthanam in South of India.
A Yuga later (in Kali Yuga) around the end of the 14th century and beginning of 15th century some one near Theerthahalli village in Shimoga Taluk in Karnataka broadly outlined the event through a composition in his native language Kannada.
In the middle of the subsequent century, another gentleman from Malayalam village Melpathur near Kurumbathoor in Mallapuram District of Kerala wrote a divine epic in Sanskrit language in a temple where it is is believed that the event was reproduced by the same boy who performed this act 5000 years ago. In that epic he wrote ten verses describing the entire event.
Two centuries later between 1700-1765, yet another one from a village in Oothukadu in Tanjore District of Tamil Nadu known for his compositions in Tamil, wrote in Sanskrit the way in which the boy danced.
In this current period we move to Chennai where we will witness one of the finest depiction of that dance (as envisaged by the man from Kurumbathoor in the fifteenth century) by a phenomenally talented and globally acclaimed lady.
The event is so imbibed in India’s culture that not a single year passes/will pass without someone somewhere in India celebrating that event through available medium of expression.
Now I will try to understand that immortal event through a series of blogs bringing out the three facets (3 dimensional) of the Indian Arts.
Only Three facets for Indian Arts ! I am not kidding. Well, I am just summarizing them into three categories like the Tamils of the Sangam era (300 BC – 200AD) viz, Iyal, Isai, Natakam (Prose/Literary, Music, Dance respectively).
The Literary description [ “Iyal – இயல் “] of the event
The gentleman from Theerthahalli is none other than Saint Purandara Dasa, the Grand Father(Pitamah) of Carnatic Music. he brings out in eloquent (yet even the ignorant can understand), the essence of the event in Kannada Language.
The gentleman from Kurumbathoor Village in his epic work called Narayaneeyam, devotes a set of ten verses (Slokas) to describe the event. Sri. Narayana Namboodhri called as Bhattathri brought Krishna from Mathura to every single home in south of India through his Naryaneeyam written in Sanskrit.
The works of these two great Saints drive devotion (Bhakti) through their works in a meta physical plane. It sets you thinking and appeals to the heart and soul of human beings through brain. I will try to understand these two works.
The Musical Description [ “Isai – இசை” ] of the event
Music in any language appeals to the heart and soul through the ears. This aural route requires that the lyricist/composer understands the nuances and brings out an integrated version of his thought processes about an event. An event like the dance of an young boy needs to be depicted taking into these factors.
The gentleman from Oothukadu who specialized in compositions in Tamil brought out a superb composition in Sanskrit about Krishna’s dance; ideally composed for the seamless integration of music with the dance movements. I will try and study the composition of Oothukadu Venkata Kavi.
The Dance [ “Natakam – நாடகம்” ] portrayal of the event
In this section we will watch three dance events. Dr. Padma Subramanyam is a living legend in the South Indian Form of Dance called Bharath Natyam. We will link with her depiction of the event as described by Bhattathri in Narayaneeyam.
Team led by Bhairavi Venkatesan of Sridevi Nrithalaya presents the dance as composed by Oothukadu Venkata Kavi.
The third dance by Janaki & Kalyani in Bharath Natyam style is for the composition by Purandara Dasa. This dance was performed at Guruvayur where Narayaneeyam was written.
These three dances are available in the social media. We will link up with them.These are just representative samples. Just type “Dances of India – Kaliya Daman”. You can view the dance in perhaps every single Indian Languages and in every type/style of Indian Dances like, Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchipudi etc.
She is the principal lady of SrI kAma kOTi , resident of Himalaya ! Virtuous One! dEvi is prayed by brahmA and vishNu! Mother lalitA – daughter of himalayas! Consort of Sankara! the great tripura sundari! She is Conch necked! Lotus like faced! Her gait is Majestic like King Elephant! You reside in house of gems! Delighter of Siva! Siva Sankari! The mother who always speaks sweetly! The expert who killed asuras caNDa and muNDa! whose hands hold sugar-cane bow! She whose feet have been worshipped by vishNu! resident in tri-pura! Beloved of Siva! O SyAmaLA! You enable crossing the Ocean of Worldly Existence! protects SyAma kRshNa! kAmAkshi bestows desired Worldly objects! She is the Witness of all Worlds!
Prabhu's Ponder 