Mysore Vasudevachari 38576w

MYSORE VASUDEVACHARI Mysore Vasudevachar (Kannada: ಮಮಸಸರರ ವವಸರದದದವವಚವರ) (May 28, 1865 - May 17, 1961) was a renowned musician and composer of Carnatic music compositions who belonged to the direct line of Thyagaraja's disciples. Tyagaraja --> Manambuchavadi Venkatasubba Iyer --> Patnam Subramania Iyer --> Mysore Vasudevacharya

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1 Life & Career 2 Compositions 3 Notes 4 References

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5 See also

Life & Career Vasudevachar was born in an orthodox Madhva Brahmin family in Mysore and started learning music from Veena Panabhiah, the chief musician of the Mysore court. He also mastered Sanskrit and allied fields such as Kavya, Vyakarana, Nataka, Alankaram, Tarka, Itihasa, Purana having studied at the Maharaja Sanskrit college in Mysore while learning music privately. He then went on to learn from the famous composer-musician Patnam Subramania Iyer ed by the Maharaja's generous stipend and imbibed the music of not only his Guru but also other great maestros of the Thanjavur-Cauvery delta. Vasudevachar eventually became the chief court musician(Asthana Vidwan) at the Mysore court. He was known for his madhyama-kala tanam singing which he learnt from his Guru. Patnam Subramania Iyer often requested his sishya "Vasu" to help him with the sahitya(lyric) aspects of his compositions. This aspect of his training undoubtedly helped Vasudevachar as a composer. Vasudevachar's compositions (numbering over 200) were mostly in Telugu and Sanskrit. Some of his most popular kritis include Brochevarevarura in Khamas raga, Devadideva in Sunadavinodini, Mamavatu Sri Saraswati in Hindolam, Bhajare Re Manasa in Abheri and Ra Ra Rajeevalochana Rama in Mohanam. He published a large number of his compositions in the book Vasudeva Kirtana Manjari. His compositions in Telugu have such sweetness and lilt, and beautifully blend with the tune of the raga as do the Sanskrit compositions, which are mellifluous. His songs reflect his mastery of Sanskrit and show his erudition and scholarship in Sanskrit literature. He considered his insight into Telugu as a gift from Thyagaraja (Thyagaraja's bhiksha). Unlike the Dasa kuta songs, his compositions don't have any Dvaita undertones but many have the words "Paramapurusha Vasudeva" or "Vasudeva" which means the supreme Vasudeva/Lord

Vishnu which incidentally is also his mudra or signature. True to his Vaishnava heritage and the Thyagaraja shishya parampara to which he belonged, most of his compositions are in praise of Lord Rama. In addition to Kritis and Keertanas, he also composed Varnams, Thillanas, Javalis and slokas. His iration for the trinity of Carnatic music specially Thyagaraja resulted in Srimadadi Thyagaraja Guruvaram in Kalyani, Shri Ramachandra (a ragamalika) and two other ragamalikas in praise of Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Sastri. Vasudevachar's compositions are thus like sugar candy which gives one instant pleasure and yet lingers on in the mind and heart long after. He is also credited with two writings in Kannada, one of them an autobiography called Nenapugalu (memories) and Na Kanda Kalavidaru (the musicians I have met) in which he wrote the biographies of many well known musicians. Mysore Vasudevachar also taught in Rukmini Devi's Kalakshetra, (founded in 1936). He was already quite old by then, but thanks to Rukmini Devi he agreed to shift to Kalakshetra. He became the chief musician in Kalakshetra and helped in setting the Ramayana to music. He died in 1961 at the ripe old age of 96. He lived a simple and austere life devoted to the study of Sanskrit and music. S. Rajaram, his grandson worked at Kalakshetra eventually taking charge of the institution at Rukmini Devi's request. Vasudevachar had composed the music for only the first four kandas and it was left to Rajaram to finish the work. An accomplished musician and Sanskrit scholar, he was amongst the few musicians, the sole repository of Vasudevachar's compositions. He died on June 2, 2009. S. Krishnamoorthy, his other grandson worked at All India Radio(A.I.R) and has translated his grandfather's memoirs into English. He's also published a memoir of his own.

Compositions Composition bhajana sEyarAda SrI rAmuni

Raga

Tala

dharmavati rUpaka

brOcE vArevaru kamAs rA

Adi

Type Language

Telugu

Telugu

Audio Links Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan (Part 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5WNYzUXbe4 Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan (Part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcS0nExnwHk MS Subbulakshmi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqd9Pmksx8s Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2QkYh9Eesc Bombay Sisters - http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=eHwqrpXxHms

girijA ramaNA natajana sharaNA

gambhIra nATa

Adi

Sanskrit

Vani Sateesh - http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=4TpEJtzi-aw

gOkula nilaya abhEri kRpAlaya pAlaya

Adi

Sanskrit

TM Krishna - http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=3fHEVqhre7o

mAmavatu SrI saraswatI

Adi

Sanskrit

mari mari vaccunA mAnava janma nIkEla daya rAdu rAmacandrA nimishamainA shrI rAmaA yana rAdA Ra Ra Rajeeva Lochana vara lakshmI namOstu tE Sri Chamundeshwari

Hindola

kAmbhOji Adi

Telugu

kadana Adi kutUhalam

Telugu

sAma

Adi

Telugu

Mohanam Adi

Telugu

gourI rUpaka manOhari

Sanskrit

bilahari

Sanskrit

Adi

Priya Sisters - http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=bnvGV7GtKlM Sudha Raghunathan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_-UV1mLZug

Musical Background: He learnt music from Patnam Subramanya Iyer in Tiruvayyar and from Vina Panabhayya. Region: He was born in Mysore, Karnataka and lived in Tiruvayyar and Chennai, Tamilnadu. Contribution: He has composed about 200 songs. He was adept in all the creative aspects of Carnatic music, namely, raga alapana, neraval, kalpanaswara, tanam and Pallavi. He was also proficient in handling Hindustani ragas, besides being a great teacher. His compositions have been published in two books entitled 'Vasudeva Keertana Manjari' and 'Navaratna Ragamalika'. He has composed swarajatis, tillanas, varnams and a tala-ragamalika, covering the 35 talas. He is also known for the group of 24 songs with different names of Lord Vishnu, ragamalikas on the Trinity and the music he set for the Ramayana ballet, choreographed at Kalakshetra. Theme: Devotional Languages used: Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu. Signature: His mudra was Vasudeva. Popular Compositions: Brochevarevarura (Khamas), Devadideva (Sunadavinodini), Bhajare re manasa (Bhimplas) etc.

Mysore Vasudevacharya (1865-1961) Mysore Vasudevacharya was a towering musical personality encoming a part of the last century and major part of this century-having lived for 96 years. He is a composer of great merit, tracing his musical lineage to Saint Tyagaraja through Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbayyar and Patnam Subramania Iyer. Young Vasudeva learnt music initially from Veena Panabhayya of Mysore. Having come to know of his precocious talents in music, the Maharaja of Mysore arranged for the teenager, Vasudeva be sent to Tiruvaiyaru to learn music under Patnam Subramania Iyer. There Vasudeva started his gurukulavasam at his mentor's. After he finished this stint in Tiruvaiyaru, Vasudeva came back to Mysore and he was appointed as an Asthana vidwan of the Royal court in Mysore palace. Much later in his life, he came to Madras on the invitation of Rukmini Arundale to the faculty at the famed Kalakshetra school of music and fine arts. He became the principal of the school eventually. His contemporaries at the Kalakshetra were stalwarts like Tiger Varadachariar, Veena Krishnamachariar and Mazhavaraya-nendal Subbarama Bhagavatar. He was a prolific composer -with more than 200 compositions which include pada varnas, thana varnas, kritis, javalis, tillanas and ragamalikas. He has used Telugu and Sanskrit as the media for his kritis. Vasudevacharya's lyrical Telugu used in his kritis is more chaste than that of composers of his time. For his compositions, he has used many common ragas plus several unusual ragas like Megharanjani, Sunadavinodini, Pushpalatika, Shudda salavi etc. He has also employed several types of talas such as chaturasra rupaka, tishra rupaka, adi, ata, tishra triputa, khanda triputa, mishra triputa, mishra jampa , etc. in his compositions. Vasudevacharya has composed captivating chittaswaras for some of his kritis. Two examples will suffice here- 'Ra-ra-rajeeva lochana' in raga Mohana and 'Sri Chamundeshwari' in raga Bilahari. It is noteworthy that Vasudevacharya has elevated the stature of minor ragas like Abheri (Bhajare re manasa), Behag (Bhavayeham Raghuveeram) and Khamas (Brochevarevarura) by composing major kritis in them. Note that these kritis were composed at the turn of 20th century even before these ragas were popularly rendered. He introduced kakali nishada for his Khamas instead of the conventional kaishiki nishada as in Saint Tyagaraja's Khamas. Vasudevacharya's Khamas is eqaully appealing raga also. Around 1930's, Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer rendered Vasudevacharya's kriti- 'Brochevarevarura' in Khamas with much polish in his concert. Vasudevacharya, who happened to be at the concert remarked to Vishwanatha Iyer "My composition like a simple girl was metamorphosed into a beautiful damsel. That is how well you beautified the composition with your embellishments". Vasudevacharya had a number of disciples trained while he was in Mysore and later in Madras. He published 150 of his compositions himself. Recently, a set of 21 cassettes containing more than 140 compositions of Vasudevacharya has been commercially made available. The kritis of Vasudevacharya are appealing and I wish more vidwans present these kritis in their concerts.

Mysore Vasudevacharya (1865-1961) Mysore Vasudevacharya was a great disciple of Patnam Subrahmanya Iyer. He was Asthana Vidwan in the court of Mysore Maharaja. In the later years of his life, he was invited by the famous Rukminidevi Arundale to head Kalakshetra in Madras. He has about 200 compositions to his credit, which include pada varnams, tana varnams, krutis, javalis, etc. in Telugu and Sanskrit. His famous compositions like Brochevarevaru ra, Devadi deva are very popular.

Mysore Vasudevacharya Krutis  bhajana sEya rAda  nee daya eTula  dEvAdi dEva  brOchE vArevaru ra  rA rA rAjeeva lOchana  praNamAmyaham Sri saraswati  praNamAmyaham Sri gouri  ninnE nammiti  paluka vadEmi ra  vara lakshmi  janaki manOharam  mAmavatu  praNamAmyaham  mari vachchunA  kani karamutO  ninnu nammiti  varalakshmi  dEvi ramE  ninnE nammitinayya  bhaja mAnasa  girijA ramaNa  mama hrudayE  rAmAbhi rAma

bhajana sEya rAda - dharmavati - chatusra roopaka In this kruti of Mysore Vasudevacharya, appeals to himself to worship Sri Rama the protector of devotees, with devotional songs. P

bhajana sEya rAda O manasa Sree rAmuni ||

Oh my mind, why don't you sing the praise of Sri Rama.

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Brahma, Siva, Indra and other devatas adore him. He is endeared by pious people. para nAri sahOdaruni pari poorNa He is the brother of the supreme goddess kAmuni Parvati. He is free from all desires. He dharaNijA manOharuni para vAsu stole the heart of Sita and he is Supreme dEvuni || Vasudeva. SaraNa janA dhAruni saraseeruha He is the prop for devotees. His eyes are nEtruni beautiful like lotus. He is bestower of nira vadhi Suka dAyakuni paramAtmuni perpetual happiness and is the Supreme bhakta pAluni || Soul. He is the protector of his devotees. aja bhavEndrAdi nutuni sujanAvana lOluni ||

nee daya eTula - SankarAbharaNam - chatusra tripuTa Vasudevacharya seeks the grace of Rama praising his great qualities. He exemplifies this by Mandaradhara, Govardhana, and Gajendra stories.

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nee daya eTula galgunO rAma neeraja lOchana nirupama suguNa ||

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Adaramuga nee pAdamu nammina sAdhula vale bhava bAdha lEka yunDuTaku ||

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mandara Dhara gOvinda neevEgati mundu venaka tOchaka ninu nammiti kunda radana Sara dindu nibhAnana sindhu Sayana sura brunda vandita nA pai ||

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sAmaja varada ninnEmani pogaDudu kAma janaka nee kenduku nirdaya Sree manOhara kankAmbara giridhara SyAma sundara suguNa kara nA meeda ||

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dAsa janula paritApamu lellanu vEsaraka teerchEvAdu neevE kada vAsu dEva jaga deeSa janArdana bhAsura maNi maya bhoosha manjuLa bhAshA ||

How can I be blessed with your kindness, Oh Rama? Oh lotus-eyed one, your virtues are unparalleled. I want to be like ascetics who keep faith and respect for your feet to get rid of the wordly problems. You bore the Mandara mountain as turtle. Oh Govinda, you are my refuge. Unmindful of pros and cons, I have full faith in you only. Your teeth are like jasmine buds. You are bright like autumn moon. You recline on the ocean and you are adored by all the celestial beings. You showered grace on Gajendra. How can I describe your greatness? You are the creator of Manmadha. Why don’t you be kind? You captivated the heart of Lakshmi. Your attire is golden. You lifted the Govardhana mountain. Oh Syama Sundara, you are the ocean of virtues. You only, untiringly comfort your devoted servants who are in distress. Oh Vasudeva, oh lord of the universe, oh Janardana, you are decorated with gemstudded ornaments. Your speech is

delightful.

dEvAdi dEva - sunAda vinOdini - chaturasra tripuTa In this song, Vasudevacharya expresses his gratitude to God Vasudeva for blessing him to be his devotee dispelling the six evils. P

dEvAdi dEva Sree vAsu dEva kavumayya nannu karuNala vAla ||

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ee vELa nA yAru Satrulanu neeve pAra drOli nija bhaktu jEsi ||

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nE jEsina poojA phalamO nA poorvajula puNya phalamO Sree jAnakeeSa ee janmamichchi nannu dhanyuniga bhuvi jEsitivi ||

Oh Lord of all Gods Sri Vasudeva, protect me, You are embodiment of mercy. Today you dispel all my six enemies namely lust, anger, delusion, greed, arrogance and jealousy ( kama, krodha, moha, lobha, mada, matsarya) and make me your humble devotee. It may be the result of my prayers. It may be due to the piety (punyam) of my forefathers. Oh Lord of Janaki, you blessed me with this birth and made me fortunate in this world.

brOchEvArevaru rA - khamAs - chaturasra tripuTa In this popular song, Vasudevacharya entreats Rama not to be indifferent to protect him. He expresses that Rama's virtues and merciful nature are beyond any description.

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brOchE vArevarurA ninu vinA raghu varA nee charanAm bhuja munu nE viDajAla karuNAla vAla ||

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O chaturAnanAdi vandita neeku parAkEla nayya nee charitamu pogaDa lEnu nA chinta teerchi varamulichchi vEgame||

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seetApatE nA pai nee kabhimAnamu lEdA vatAtmajA rchita pAda nA moralanu vina rAdA ||

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Oh most esteemed Rama, who else will protect me, Oh the most esteemed one of the Raghu dynasty? Oh embodiment of mercy, I can never leave your lotus feet. Oh lord that is bowed by Brahma and other Gods, why is this indifference towards me? Your life and nature are beyond my description. You please assuage my agony. Bestow me your grace soon. Oh lord of Sita, have you no interest in me? Anjaneya, the son of the wind God, worships your feet. Why don't you pay heed to my lamentation? Are you not the same Vasudeva who

Aturamuga kari rAjuni brOchina vAsu rescued the king of elephants dEvuDe neevu kadA expeditiously? Kindly dispel all my sins nA pAtaka mella pOgoTTI gaTTiga nA and hold my hand firmly. cheyi baTTi viDuvaka ||

rA rA rAjeeva lOchana - mOhana - Adi In this kruti Vasudevacharya praises Rama as the supreme soul and as the Lord of Sita. He declares that he always kept absolute faith in Rama only.

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rA rA rAjeeva lOchana rAmA nannu Oh lotus eyed Rama, please come to brOchuTaku protect me. You are the sacred Mandaara deenA Srita jana mandAra karuNA pAra flower for the distressed who seek your vAra || protection. You are ocean of comion. Oh Rama, I don't know why you are not comionate to me. You are adored by E rA nee karuNa kalgani kAraNa Sri Krishna. You are bestower of mEmO kAnarA happiness and you are known for your murAri vinuta subhada sucharita excellent character. You are the supreme parAtpara dharaNi jA manOhara || soul. You captivated the heart of Sita the daughter of the earth. I considered you as my sole lord and I nee vE nA vibhuDani niratamu always had absolute faith in your feet. nee pAdamulanu nera nammiti Pity me as your own and please don't nee vADani nanu karuNinchi leave my hand. Oh lord of the lords, Oh ee vELa nA cheyi viDuvakurA son of King Dasaratha, you defeated the dEva dEva daSaratha nrupa nandana ten headed Ravana and his clan. Please dasa mukhAdi sakala ripu jana haraNa don't neglect me. Oh Vasudeva, you are neevanAdaraNa sEyakurA very dear to Anjaneya, the son of Vayu pavanajApta Sree vAsudEva || the wind- god.