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Social Philosophy in Thyagaraja's Songs c. RAJENDRAN Thyagaraja,the celebratedcomposerofCarnaticmusic,belongsto thegalaxy of saint musicians who have enriched India's musical as well as moral heritage. Bornin 1767and livingup toa ripe old age ofabout eightyyears, he enriched South Indian music with some eight hundred songs remarkable for theirlyricaland musicalbeauty.The Kritisand KirtanasofThyagaraja alsoreflect theethical and spiritualaspirationsofa mysticwhochoseto tread hissolitarypath to self-realisation in a society ridden with selfish pursuit of worldly gains. Thyagarajawas aluminousstar inthe galaxyofsaint musicianswhoemerged in various parts of India during the Bhakti movement. Dr. V. Raghavan rightly compares him to musician saints like Kabir and Purandaradasand the pioneers of devotional poetryofthe SouthliketheAlvars andNayanmars.Thyagaraja'smusic iscloselyallied to that of Narayana Tirtha,SadasivaBrahmendraand Bodhendra and to the cult of Namasiddhanta. The cultofRamabhaktiwhichwasgivenshape bymysticpoetslikeRamananda, Thulasidas and Ramadas, and workslike AddhyarmaRamayana,wastheconstant source of Thyagaraja's inspiration. It is significant that he makes respectful mention of mystics, poets and musicians like Thulasidas, Purandaradas, Bhad rachala Ramadas, Namadeva, Jayadeva, Tukaram and Narayanathirtha in his musical play called Prah/ada Bhaktivijaya'. It is therefore not surprising that Thyagaraja's vast musical literature expresses the values of the medieval Bhakti movement of India, a powerful mass movement whichappealed to the common man. The Bhakti movement in Indiafrom the thirteenth to the seventeenthcenturies hasbeenlikened to the reformationofWesternChristianitybecauseo(thechanges itbroughtaboutinHinduism.Vedicliturgywithitssacrificialtradition gavewayto passionatedevotion to personalgodslike Rama and Krishna.J.T.F.Jordans sums up the changes brought about by the new movement on Hindu society thus: A new attitude to God, emotional, passionate Bhakti, replaced the old approaches of sacrificial rite and monistic meditation, just as a new mysticism, practical yet ecstatic, replaced the former philosophical type. Forms ofreligiousexpressionchanged:lovesongstothe!:"rdweres~ng,~nd groupsingingcreateda newpopularculturalform, the Kirtan. Pushingaside old gods,old attitudes,old cultural forms,the newmovement alsc;'drove the sacred language, Sanskrit, back into the memories of the Pandits and the ~_ Nos. 108-109 April-Seplember t993 40 C. RAJENDRAN deepest precincts of temples and monasteries. In the first centuriesoftheir growth, all modern Indian vernacular literatures were moulded by this religious movement. and thus were essentially mass literatures. The socio ritualistic order dominated bythe Brahmans was not overthrown, but the Brahmans lost much of their spiritual authority, which passed to the saints and the gurus, whose songs and biographies soon became a new scripture. The newdevotional religion,without destroyingthe Hindusocialframework, fostered ideas of brotherhood and equality before the loving Lord, andits saintsdrawnfromalllevelsofsocietyproclaimed thatinBhakti,castehadno meaning.! ItisremarkablethatThyagaraja'smusicalliteraturereflectspreciselytheseideas and values. Repugnance to empty rituals and advocacy of sincere and single. minded devotion constitute the refrain of several of his songs. In some, he has severely criticised the exhibitionism of those who, from their vanity, showoffas piousdevotees. Thyagaraja criticisespedantic knowledge and pseudo-scholarship. He rejects the performance of expensive Vedic sacrifices unaccompanied by devotion. He stubbornly resisted persuasions from powerful patrons to make his musicsubservient tothe praise ofindividuals. TraditionmaintainsthatThyagaraja refused to sing in gloryof KingSarabhoji when invited by the latter to hiscourt, though there waslavishoffer ofland and gold. The lofty sentimentsofThyagaraja are expressed inhisimmortal Kalyani song 'Nidhichala Sukhama' whichstandsas his manifesto, A study ofThyagaraja's musicalliterature brings out his ideals of equality and universal brotherhood. In the Mohana raga composition 'Enduko baga reliyadu,' Thyagarajaexpresseshisaversiontowards the vulgarlifeledbyrichpersonsdevoid of character. A paraphrase of the song reads: Why is it that people of this Kali age do not realise that this body is perishable?They buildbighouses withstones,gathera numberof attendant! around themselves, fill their stomachs and pamper their bodies, neglecting their obligations to relatives, guests and others and gazing idly at wealth hoarded in bags and boxes. Employing iniquitous ways, they deprive o~er people of their money for their own aggrandizement, run after wom~nlike dogs, become prey to several diseases and waste their patrimony, WIth the result that people deride them, salvation is lost, and successive rebirths are certain. . Thiscriticalatlitud~towardsthevulgardisplayofwealth incontemporarysociety IS typical of the SOCIal content of the Bhakti movement, which,by and lar~e expressed a reformation spirit. Thyagaraja's disdain for wealth and power IS expressed time and again. In his Punnagavarali song 'Evaru teliyanu', he makesa 1lfYAGARAJAS SONGS 41 contemptuous reference to people wandering from place 10 place, coveting and enjoyingothers' moneyandwomen. Thesong 'RamaRamakrishna'inGaulipantu condemns hypocrites who envy others' prosperity and yet pass on kind words to them. In the Asaverisong 'Samayamudelisi', Thyagarajasaysthatitisimmaterial whether a millionaire, who does not give, lives or is dead. The low value attached by Thyagaraja to Vedic rituals is brought out in the Jayamanohari song 'Yajnadulu': "0 Mind, are there people who can match in respect ofignorance those who declare that sacrifices conduce 10happiness?" He goeson to say that thosewho are given tothe performanceofsacrificesare devoid .ofwisdom andcruel to animals.TheJayamanoharicomposition 'NibhaktiBhagya' alsodeclaresthatmereobservanceofVedic ritualsonlyincreasesdistress, entailing the cycle ofbirth and death. HereThyagaraja assertsthat a person born asaSura (angel)orBhusura(Brahmana)isamereburdentothe earthifhehasnodevotion. Manysongs ofThyagaraja deplore the show of piety bereft of genuine feeling. The Suddhabangala song 'Tappagane' condemns worship done with the object of gaining others' approbation or earning wealth. In his Dhenuka piece 'Telialeru Rama',Thyagarajaassertsthatpeoplewhoroam aboutinconfusion, bathingearly, smearingtheirbodieswith ashesandcountingwiththeirfingersinanexhibitionistic mannerneverrealisethepathofdevotion.TheBindumalinisong 'Entamuddo'isa scathing attack on pseudo Bhagavathas who are likened to the milk-container trying to enjoy the taste of milk. In his Abhogi piece 'Manasu nilpa', Thyagaraja asks: "Ifone has not the powerto control nne's mind,of what availis ringing the bell and conducting the Puja?Ifone is ascamp, of what availisitto bathe in the KaveriorGanga?...Ifthevoluptuaryandtheirateperformtspes,ofwhatavailwill it be1" Several songs ofThyagarajaspeak of the uselessness of rites like temple going and the holy bath unaccompanied by genuine devotion. In his Kharaharapriya piece 'Nadachi Nadachi', Thyagarajasays: "Ifbathingoften, fasting,closingone's eyesetc.constituteallthatisto bedone,surely thereare others, birdsandanimals, who will get first places in Heaven," The same idea isforcefully expressed in the Saveri song 'Balamu Kulamu': Crows and fish dive: does it become the regular morning ablution? Cranes close theireyes:doesit becomedivinecontemplation? Go~tseat only leaves: is that upavasa?Birds soar high, bUI do they compare WIth the sun or the moon? Monkeys residing in the forest do not become Vanaprasthas, and unclad children cannot be deemed svsdbutss. Thyagaraja's works thus reveal not only his mystical tendencies and singular devotion but also the social critic and the reformer in him. In this latt~r res~ct, ~haktl. Thyagaraja evinces affinity with other great personages of the cult like mo~ement reve~ls Kabir, Thulasi and Thukaram. A study of the Bhakti JDIndia not only itsindividualistic,romanticand lyricalaspectsbutItssocialcontentand Its 41 C. RAlENDRAN message of human equality. Thyagaraja's songs are in line with this general tendency. o NOTES 1. TheSpiritica1HeritageofThyagaraja byDr.V.Raghavan, SriRamakrishnaMath,Madras.p.41. 2. J.T.F.Jordana,'MedievalHinduDevotionalism', inA CulturalHistoryofIndia,ed.A.L.Basham., p. 226.