Dasa Sahitya and the common man

In the annals of Indian history, 800 AD - 1700 AD are marked as the Bhakti movement. This period of time saw the emergence of rites and rituals in all the religions that were prevalent in India then. But this period also saw a change in the spiritual perception of the common man. In Hinduism, salvation was considered out of reach for the average individual in the society as he is supposed to be shackled in this worldly web by falling prey to materialism and other worldly pleasures. All the important scriptures were in Sanskrit or other so called elite languages and only learned scholars had access to the wealth of information and teachings these scriptures had to provide. The rigid society structure constricted the channels of downstream knowledge flow. But the Bhakti saints and teachers were mainly common people who tried to eliminate these notions by living as an average individual, opening up the knowledge channels and instilling confidence among the masses that the average man can reach the ultimate spiritual goal set for him by his religion. This article cites the reasons for the success and influence of the Bhakti saints.

Two such Bhakti saints were Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa, the singing bards from South Central India. Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) is known as 'Karnataka Sangeetha Pitamaha' (Father of Carnatic music) has a whooping 4,75,000 compositions to his credit. The first Geetha (song) you learn when taking Carnatic music classes is his composition. Legend has it that Srinivasa Nayaka a miserly and cruel gem merchant became Purandara Dasa after certain events that transformed his life. His compositions range from teachings in the holy scriptures, childhood exploits of Lord Krishna, to praise for his wife and kids who had such a big influence on his transformation. The songs are mostly in a vernacular language (Kannada) that makes everyone from the scholar to the laborer understand and relate to them. Some of his songs preach that deeds make a man superior rather than his caste or birth. There are other songs that allay the fears of the material world and breed encouragement among people to survive and overcome this world by being strong and fearless (Eesabeku iddu jaisabeku). Purandara Dasa doesn't hide his emotions in his songs. He has a composition that talks about his lost son (Gilliyu panjaradollilla (The parrot is not in it's cage)) or songs in praise of his wife who played a role in his transformation from a miserly merchant to a saint (Addadella olitheayithu (Whatever happened, happened for the good)). Some of his compositions have touches of humor in them like 'Hendathi prana hinduthi' (Wife, you squeeze the life out of me) that reflect the life of a common family man. But the central theme in all the songs is that of 'Hari Bhakti' or devotion to Lord Vishnu. His work earned the title ‘Purandaropanishat'. Kanaka Dasa was another famous hari dasa and was a contemporary of Purandara Dasa. History has it that he was once denied entering into the Udupi Sri Krishna temple (established by saint Madhvacharya) because of his caste. He stood praying at the rear of the temple and the walls of the temple are supposed to have broken down miraculously and the temple idol turned towards the saint allowing him to have an unhindered view of the deity . Kanaka Dasa also has a lot of good compositions. His compositions always end with a reference to deity Adikeshava of Kaginele.

I have gathered a few links that have songs and lyrics of these saints at the end of this posting. My first exposure to the Dasa literature was when I started listening to songs sung by Sri Vidyabhushan. He has over a 100 music cassettes most of them songs from different Hari dasas like Puranadara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, Vijay Vittala Dasa, Vadiraja Swamy et al.

Music:
http://www.udbhava.com
http://www.kannadaaudio.com
http://www.musicindiaonline.com

Lyrics:
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~kulki/kannada/dasa.html
http://www.missouri.edu/~physchan/kannada/DASA/dasa.html

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