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Re: Kaisika Puranam/Natakam

From the Bhakti List Archives

SundaraRajan • November 17, 2002 


Prof Ramanujam (who had been with the South Zone Culture Centre and is now
with the Tamil University at Thanjavur) had been kind enough to visit me 3
years back in Srirangam, and we discussed the primary preparations to make
for establishing meaningful theatre of 'kAiSika purANam' which would
authentically reflect the tradition and yet be more enriched and very
different from the sorry stuff 'presented' by the illiterate persons who
have been with it at tiru-k-kuRun-kuDi, heaven knows for how many
generations.   (In to-day's Tamil Nadu, illiteracy obdurate becomes sacred,
and boisterous illiteracy earns a State award !)

The professor struck me as highly committed to the cause.

I had the good fortune last night (kAiSika-EkAdaSee, November 16 Saturday)
to meet Sri Tirunarayana Aiyangar svami (who is the Sri-kAryam) of
tiru-k-kuRun-kuDi jeeyar svami maTham, at the commencement of araiyar-sEvai
on tk tiru-vAi-mozhi "ennganEyo annaimeer-kAL" in the audience of
namperumAL. When I protested that his visit to Srirangam was too brief for
my spiritual gains, he said he had to get back rightaway to be with the
rehearsal for staging of the kAiSika-purANam  in different places.

It has already been pointed out that the SrirAmAyaNa reference to 'kAiSikam'
is found in sundara-kANDam.

[1:174]  *sEvitE vAri-dhArAbhi: pataGaiS-cha nishEvitE, charitE
kaiSikAchAryai: airAvata nishEvitE*

Two of Sri-rAmAyaNa commentators, Govindaraja and Ramanuja (?), explain
"kAiSikAchAryA:" as the celestial vidyAdharas like tumburu who are masters
of the rare melody (rAGa-viSEsha:) known as 'kAiSikam'.   [The succeeding
epithet "AirAvata-nishEvitE" does not have to do with Indra's famed albino
elephant.   The phrase paints a rainbow ~~ AirAvatam ~~ across the skies
which Hanuman was traversing.]

----- Original Message -----
From: "M.N.Ramanuja" 
To: "Malolan Cadambi" 
Cc: 
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 3:05 PM
Subject: Re: Kaisika Puranam/Natakam


> On Thu, 7 Nov 2002, Malolan Cadambi wrote:

> > Here is a link on Kaisika Puranam and nampAduavan
 http://www.narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrvw35a.html

Sometime back Sri M N Ramanuja of IISc, Bangalore posted a note on Kaisika
Ekadasi. I am requesting him to share his reflections on this topic.> >

It was a pleasure to go through the link posting the interview of  Prof
S.Ramanujam of Thanjavur University regarding the revival / reconstruction
of the almost lost art of Kaisika Natakam  running to five hours duration
which was conducted  with great fanfare and  attendance at Tirukkurungudi
till 1955  with the efforts of  Sri T.V. Sundaram Iyengar.

It is unfortunate that no records or scripts are easily available, we have
to be grateful to the efforts of
Prof S Ramanujam who could collect relevant manuscripts from  Sri
Tirunarayanaiyengar. We hope that the Prof and Smt Anita Ratnam team will
be able, with their theatrical and dramatic expertise, to reconstruct the
Kaisika Natakam and play it regularly at various places.

> What is the origin of this word kaisika? Was  NampAduvAn the opener of
this word?

> Has it been cited in any reference  before? Why is the name kaisika
ekadasi/dvadasi given to that day?

>It will be great if some bhakta can throw some light on these?  Meanwhile,
adiyen has some clues about this, which have to be authenticated by very
enlightened members of the list.

This word kaisika  has appeared first of all in Srimad Valmiki Ramayana in
the first canto of  Sundara kanda [1:174]  *sEvitE vAri-dhArAbhi:
patagaischa nishEvitE, charitE  kaiSikAchAryai: airAvata nishEvitE*

Hanuman flew in the skies which  had a number of waterfalls, and various
birds frequented. where the great
order of gods or preceptors who were expert in singing the raga or svaras of
kaisika cruised; where airavata or indra's elephant resorted to. Here
'kaisika' is already referred to as well known in treta yuga as a special
kind of singing or raga or svara.

In the introduction of kaisika purana vyakhyanam by Sri Parasara Bhattar,
there is no reference to the genesis of the name kaisika purana. It is only
referred to as 'bhagavad guna apadAna gAnam' or singing in praise of
the qualities and heroic deeds of Lord Narayana.  Sri Bhattar makes an
interesting remark about the  holding  of nampaduvan (singer to god) or the
chandala
 (shvapacha, dog-cook or dog eater) by the brahma rakshasa.

"Avan brahmananallAmeyAle oru panjAdiyai chcholli tannai viduvittuk kolla
mATTitthilan. durbalanagaiyAle parakramatthAle viduvitthuk kolla
maTTitthilan. Avan nam pakkalile bharanyAsam panninAn kANum,"

as said by Sri varaha nayanar to bhoomi piratti. Not being a brahmin he
(nampAduvan) could not recite a panjAdi from veda and get himself freed from
the brahma  rAkshasa and not being strong he could not fight his way free
from the captor. He did only surrender to Me and waited.

After sixteen shlokas of various swearings taken by nampAduvan promising to
return to him after singing till daybreak, brahma Rakshasa allows nampaduvan
on his mission.  He returns after daybreak and offers himself as food to the
demon, when he  changes his mind and requests him to transfer all his merits
earned by  singing throughout the night of kaisika ekadasi and help him be
released  from the janma as a demon.

Nampaduvan refuses to part with any punyam and finally after listening to
the story of previous birth as a vile brahmin and death during a sacrifice
and consequent birth as a brahma rakshasa,  nampaduvan's heart softens and
offers to give the punyam of singing the  last song. "yanmayA pashchimam
gItam svaram kaisika samjnakam; phalena  tasya bhadram tE mokshayishyAmi
kilbishAt".  Here what he said is to be  noted. He said that he sang a last
song with the svara  named kaisika.  This single song earned so much merit
as to release the brahma rakshasa from his mean life and  send him to
heaven.  Perhaps, to point out the significance of this song,  the whole
episode was named as kaisika puranam.

We  know that in music, kaisika is associated with the svara nishAda as
'komala kaisiki nishAda and kaisiki nishAda' which is a part of several
enchanting ragas as nathabhairavi, kharaharapriya, rathnangi etc, of which
bhairavi etc, are janyaragas. Perhaps one of  these ragas was sung by
nampaduvan. We do not know if any specific song was sung or any song in
those ragas could be sung concerning His praise.

We have to wait and see what the research of Prof S.Ramanujam will  reveal
regarding Kaisika puranam from the manuscript obtained from  Tirukkurungudi.
The photos of nampaduvan's and brahma rakshasa's roles
posted in the website in the kaisika nataka are very interesting and we all
do wait eagerly to see the drama and enjoy it.

As srivaishnavas,  though, we do not think in terms of the other angles
viz.,  societal and social aspects as mentioned by the Prof. For us, it is
forbidden to inquire into the birth aspects of a srivaishnava devotee,
as in "vIttinba inbappAkkaLil dravyabhAShA nirUpaNa samam  inbamAriyil
ArAychi" and "mlEchchanum bhaktanAnAl ... pUjai  konDu, tIrthaprasAdanAm"
and "janma vritta vidyAnaipuNAdigal ... shava vidhavAlamkAram  enRu
kazhippargal".

It may be of academic and  political interest to say that a svapacha gave
moksha to a brahmin,  though in fact it was the power of kaisika mahatmyam
that cleansed  the sins of the brahmarakshasa.
> dasan > Ramanuja
>
>   Adiyen had posted the moolam of the kaisika puranam last year  in the
site http://mannaram.tripod.com/ramanuja
> I will try to post the translation of Bhattar's vyakhyanam asap.
Meanwhile, a posting of Sri Lakshmi Narasimhan in bhakti-list has thrown
more light on the kaisikam for which we are thankful to his respected
mother.   According to this information, it is a fact, that bhairavi raga
was sung,  agreeing with adiyen's guess.





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