Purandara Dasa - Father of Carnatic Music

Sri Purandara Dasa is the father of Carnatic Music. He is also referred to as Pitamaha.He was also a great devotee of Lord Krishna, a poet and also a musician. Purandara Dasa was born in 1494 in Kshemapura which is in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. There are however many tales which debate about the place of his birth. His parents were Varadappa Nayaka and Leelavathi. Varadappa Nayaka, his father, was a wealthy merchant. Earlier his parents had named him Srinivasa Nayaka. Purandara Dasa received good education and he was well versed with Kannada and Sanskrit languages and also music. When he grew up, Srinivasa Nayaka continued his family business because he was not yet drawn towards the spiritual path. Later, when he renounced the world, Srinivasa Nayaka then became the disciple of Saint Vyasaraja. It was Saint Vyasarja who gave Srinivasa Nayaka the title of Purandara Vittala. Thus, from that day onwards Srinivasa Nayaka came to be known as Purandara Dasa. Purandara Dasa had to beg for his food. He had to go walking on the streets singing songs that he himself composed and all these songs were towards the praise of Lord Hari. These songs were composed in simple and easy to understand words in Kannada. Everybody who heard these songs were left amazed. At the end of the day whatever he got,he took it and gave it to his family. This is what his life looked like after he renounced the world and embraced Bhakti.

PURANDARA DASA AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO  CARNATIC MUSIC

It was Purandara Dasa who formalized the way to teach Carnatic Music and this method of his is followed even today. He firstly introduced the Raga Mayamalavagowla which is the basic scale for music instruction. He also introduced a series of graded lessons like swaravalis, janti swaras, alankaras, ugabhogas, kritis, sooladis,etc. Purandara Dasa also fused the bhava, raga and laya in his compositions. His lyrics had comments on daily ordinary life and they were also very simple and easy to understand.He is also known for introducing folk ragas into the mainstream. He set his lyrics to the ragas of the day and since they were easy to understand even the common man could learn and also sing his songs. The lakshana and lakshya that he composed are quite many and they are even sung till today. The sooladis that he made are considered to be brilliant masterpieces and they are also the standard for raga lakshana. Many people attribute the standardization of the varna mettus to Purandara Dasa. He also identified 84 ragas. Most of his works are of various types like kritis, kirtans and also rare forms of music.It is believed that Purandara Dasa also influenced Hindustani Music through his disciple Swami Haridas who is then believed to have taught one of the nine jewels of the Mughal Emperor Akbar's court Tansen.

COMPOSITIONS OF PURANDARA DASA

Purandara Dasa was a music composer and also a performer. He was also a musicologist as well as the founder of musical pedagogy. Many musicologists even call him the Sangeeta Pitamaha of Carnatic Music. It is believed that he composed approximately 4,75,000 songs in Kannada as well as Sanskrit. However, today only approximately 1000 of his songs are available. His works have been called Purandaropanishat.Most of the songs strongly depict his love for Lord Krishna. He has sung songs which talk about the various aspects of the life of Sri Krishna. Other than this, in his songs he has also ridiculed the claims and vices that were prevailing in the society. He has also made fun of false Bhaktas who believed in all outward signs of Bhakti rather than having a kind thought or devotion in their hearts. His compositions are considered to be enchanting and also beautiful and the compositions have also inspired many musicians and poets in Karnataka. Sri Thyagaraja was also influenced by Purandara Dasa and he has offered homage to him in his Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam. Some examples of his compositions are aanalEkara geetam- suddha saveri, AbhimanavEke- Kedaragaula, Aadisidaleshoda jagadodharana, etc.

MEMORIALS AND MONUMENTS DEDICATED TO PURANADARA DASA

There are many memorials and monuments that are dedicated to Purandara Dasa. At the foothills of Tirumala in Alipiri one finds a statue of Purandara Dasa. There is another statue of his which adorns the Asthana Mandapam on the Tirumala Hall. The Purandara Mantapa is adjoining the  Vijayavittala Temple that is located at Hampi. It is believed that he composed and sang songs here which were dedicated towards the praise of Lord Vishnu. At the Aprameyaswamy Temple Purandara Dasa composed his well known song Aadisidaleshoda jagadodharana which was actually on infant Lord Krishna and it was in the raga Kapi. There is a small mantapa outside this temple which is named after him. It is believed that he stayed at this Mantapa when he passed through the village. There is also a  Sri Purandara Dasa Memorial Trust that was formed at Bangalore. This trust is involved in promoting and also researching about the life and works of Purandara Dasa. In the premises of the Trust there is also an approximately 3500 square foot concert hall which is called Purandara Mantapa. Another organisation called the Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha which was formed at Bangalore has actually dedicated an auditorium which actually has a seating capacity of approximately 600 people.

PURANDARA DASA IN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC TODAY 

There are many singers today who still popularize the songs and compositions of Purandara Dasa. Bidaram Krishnappa was the first singer in the modern times who popularized the compositions of Purandara Dasa. There are also many classical vocalists and musicians like Upendra Bhatt, Venkatesh Kumar, Nagaraja Rao Havaldar, Puttur Narasimha Nayak, Nachiketa Sharma,Pravin Godkhindi, etc who still continue the tradition of singing and also performing Purandara Dasa's compositions. Even though the compositions of Purandara Dasa are in the ragas of  Carnatic Music, they have been adapted and also made popular in Hindustani Music.

Thus, Purandara Dasa is rightly called the Father of Carnatic Music.