Play with ragas

Muthuswamy Dikshitar inserts the raga mudra in many (but not all ) of his compositions whereas Tyagaraja and Syama Sastry not at all. Two of Tyagaraja’s compositions have a raga mudra — ‘Ganamurthe’ (Ganamurthy ragam ) and ‘Sarasiruha nayane’ (Amrutavarshini ragam ) but the authenticity of these compositions is doubted by many musicologists. In the Bhairavi swarajati of Syama Sastry, the word ‘Bhairavi’ occurs but it appears to be more a part of a flowing text than a deliberately introduced raga mudra, because in his other two swarajatis there is no raga mudra.

Raga mudra is of two types — pratyaksha (actual) and soochitha (suggestive). In the former case, the actual name of the raga is used and in the latter, a similar-sounding word which suggests the raga name is used. Both types are used by Dikshitar. Whenever the raga name is a meaningful word, it is relatively easy to insert it into the text. Even here, when the word has more than one meaning, Dikshitar chooses the appropriate one to suit the lyric.

When the raga name is not a meaningful word or when its meaning does not fit into the context (like Geyahejjajji), Dikshitar simply says, “one who is worshipped by so-and-so raga” or “one who enjoys so-and-so raga.” (A rasika may rightly wonder why an all-powerful God or Goddess should like Geyahejjajji of all ragas. Apparently, even for a Sanskrit wizard like Dikshitar, there are some limits!) Sometimes, even words which prima facie look irrelevant to the lyric or difficult to insert, are ingeniously split and made relevant to the lyric by Dikshitar.

Some examples:

Simply adding ‘nutham ‘ (‘praised by’) or ‘priyakaram’ (to be pleased) to the raga name:

“Sanmarga Hindola raga nutham (praised by the beautiful Margahindola ragam) in ‘Chandra sekharam sada bhajami’

“Nagagandhari raga nuthe” (praised by Naga Gandhari raga) in ‘Naga Gandhari raga nuthe.’

Using the raga name in its natural meaning:

“Kanaka kalashasu shankha ghantadi poojopakaranam” (with all the puja accessories like kalasam, shankham, bell, etc.) in ‘Sri Mangalambikam’-Ghanta raga.

‘Kalavati Kamalasana Yuvati’ (the source of all arts seated on a lotus) in ‘Kalavati Kamalasana Yuvathi’-Kalavati.

“Gauri Girirajakumari” (Gauri, daughter of the mountain king) in ‘Gauri, Girirajakumari,’-Gauri.

Splitting the raga name and/or using it innovatively:

“Rama kali kalusha nivaarana” (Rama, the remover of the evil of Kaliyuga) ‘Rama kali kalushanivarana’-Ramakali

“Bhogachaya nataka priye” (one who likes entertaining drama) ‘Bhogachaya nataka priye’-Bhogachayanata.

Alternative meanings

Using alternative meanings of the raga name to suit the context:

“Viraga chudamanim” (Master of detachment) ‘Shwetha Ganapatim’-Ragachudamani

“Nijaroopajitha pavakendu bhanumathi” (one who has excelled the sun, the moon and agni by his beauty) ‘Guruguhaswamini’-

Bhanumati

“Sharavathi thatavasini” (one who lives on the banks of Sharavati river) ‘Sharavathithatavasini’-

Sharavati

Using soochitha raga mudra:

“Palitha devagandharva brundam” (one who protected the group of gandharvas) ‘Vatanyeswaram”-Devagandhari.

“Kruthikasutha shuddha dhanyena” (the son of Krutika with a pure swaroopa) ‘Subhrahmanyena rakshithoham’-Suddha Dhanyasi

“Vimalarudrakanika narthana vinoda bheda modakarasya” (one who enjoys the dance of devadasis) Sri Tyagarajasya bhakhto bhavami’-Rudrapriya

“Ramayana parayana muditham narayanam” (one who enjoys listening to the recitation of Ramayanam and is the embodiment of Vishnu) ‘Shri Ramam Raghukulapthi somam’- Narayanagaula.

Dikshitar has exploited the scope for innovation offered by raga mudra — a luxury denied by vaggeyakkara mudra.

The writer is a retired IAS officer