Navaratri- Day 8- SarasijanAbhasodari Sankari- NAgagAndhAri- Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar- Sandhya Anand

One of the most popular kritis of Devi. It used to be so commonly heard in my childhood. Of late (in the last 10 years or so), I haven't heard it in any concerts, wonder why!!
Quiz for curious minds!
1. What is this raga janyam of?
2. Is this similar to a very popular Hindustani raga? What's it?
3. What is Dikshitar's mudra? In what meaning does it appear here?
4. Is there a raga mudra in this song?
5. Rupaka tala is put(shown while singing) in at least two different ways, are they same? Why is it done so?

[@satishkrishnamurthy]

Beautiful presentation
Saraswati pooja saranam

[@aarthisagi]

This is a beautiful kriti, rendered so beautifully. Thank you so much.

[@reenadhamecha2216]

Beautiful 🙏🕉

[@raghunathanks2557]

Beautiful rendition.

[@innar6190]

So beautifully sung❤

[@meenakshisunderkrishnan-xg7bu]

Very nice rendition

[@krganesan1680]

VNice👌8😊

[@soujanyareddyvari]

Hi auntie this is Navyatha the song is so good.
1. Natabhairavi 20th melakarta raga
3. Guruguha

[@ddivya.s_1]

Hello Sandhya Aunty- this was actually my first time listening to this ragam and Krithi and really liked them both!:)-Divya Suri
1. The ragam NAgagAndhari is a janya of the 20th Melakarta Raga Natabhairavi.
2. I tried finding similar Hindusthani ragas and tried listening to some ragas. But I couldn't find any ragas that in my opinion are very similar. I feel like I would have been able to find a similar raga if I listen to Hindusthani music more often in general.
3. Dikshitar' mudra is Guruguha. Guruguha is also a name for Murugan. In this song Dikshitar''s mudra appears in the Charanam line. "sadA nanditE sampadE (varaguruguha) janani madashamanI". Since this song is on Goddess Parvathi and the line says "Varaguruguha Janani" Which is why I (think) it might mean the mother of Gurguha.
4. The Raga mudra used by Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar can be found in the 2nd line of the charanam-
"pannagAbharaNayutE (nAgagAndhAri) pUjitAbjapadE"
5. The two ways that you have shown Rupaka Talam are different. Although they both are Chaturashra Jaathi Rupaka Talam, the way one of them is put has six beats. The other way in which Rupaka Talam is put it only has three beats. They both are the same because they both are Chaturashra Jaathi Rupaka Talam and they both can be used when singing a composition which has been composed in Rupaka Tala. I feel like there also two different types of Rupaka talas because sometimes it is easier to put the one with three beats, and other times it is easier to put Rupaka Talam that has 6 beats. I also noticed how when we learn Geethams we learnt it with the Rupaka Tala that has 6 beats. But for songs like Hamsadhwani Swarajathi and Kalyani Jathiswaram we learnt it using the Rupaka Talam that has three beats.

[@shriramkmurthy]

Hi aunty, my answers to the quiz are below:
1. Janya of naatabhairavi
2. It sounds a bit like darbaari
3. It is guruguha, shows up to call shankari as the mother of guruguha
4. Yes it appears in the charanam
5. One way is one anudhrutam followed by a dhrutam; the second way is to put one laghu and one dhrutam. Two of the first variety is equal to one of the second variety, as this will lead to 6 aksharams. My best guess for the reasoning behind 2 varieties is to yield a stress on a particular syllable, as the first beat of a dhrutam is usually stressed, as well as the anudhrutam.
- Bhuvaneshwari

[@koteshwarvenigalla7150]

🙏 Sandya garu. As usual, not sure if the answers are correct for the complex questions,. But still I tried my best.
1) Nagagandhari is janya of 20th melakartha raga Natabhairavi.
2) I am still analysing, but I feel it is very near to Jaunpuri raga in Asavari Thaat.
3) Dikshitar mudra is "Guruguha"
"Vara guru guha janani" - who is the mother of blessed Guruguha
4) It is Suddha Raga Mudra - in the 2nd line of the charanam "pannagabharanayute 'nagagandhari' pujitabjapade"
5) The Rupaka talam (usaually Chatusra Jathi) has 6 beats in a cycle- 1 Drutham and 1 Laghu (1-2,1-2-3-4). Even though this is a classical way of keeping the beats of Rupaka Tala, it is more conveniently kept by a 3-beat double-cycle as Clap-Clap-Turn-Clap-Clap-Turn (1,1-2 & 1,1-2). This is called a Chapu style Rupaka Talam.

[@srinavin6451]

Namaste Ms. Sandhya, this is Indu. I loved listening to the kriti, Sarasijanaabhasodari, sung and played on the violin by you. This raga reminded me of Jonpuri a lot; especially the line “Varadabhaya Kara Kamale.” It was such a beautiful kriti! Here is my quiz response for Sarasijanaabhasodari in the ragam Nagagandhaari, in Rupaka talam, and Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar as the composer.
1) What is this raga janyam of?
This raga, Nagagandhaari, is a janya raga of the 20th Melakartha raga, Natabhairavi, which is in Veda Chakra.
2) Is this similar to a very popular Hindustani raga? What's it?
Before I found out the answer to this question, I had thought that this raga was very similar to Jonpuri, as you had taught us Ramabhakta Hanuman in the Vayuputra Camp. I found out that the popular Hindusthani raga that is very similar to Nagagandhaari is Jonpuri.
3) What is Dikshitar's mudra? In what meaning does it appear here?
Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar’s mudra is ‘Guruguha.' It appears in a line of the charanam, “Sadaa Nandite Sampade Vara Guruguha Janani Madashamani Mahishasura Mardini…” I think it appears here because the word Guruguha is the name of Lord Muruga/Karthikeya, Parvathi’s son. As this song is about Devi (Mahishasura Mardini clearly indicates this), it makes sense that Guruguha appears in the meaning of Lord Muruga.
4) Is there a raga mudra in this song?
Yes, there is a raga mudra in this song. In the charanam, the line, “Pannagabharanayute Nagagandhaari Poojitabjapathe,” has the raga mudra in it. This raga, Nagagandhaari is recognized in this line.
5) Rupaka tala is put (shown while singing) in at least two different ways, are they same? Why is it done so?
Ms. Sandhya, I was not clearly able to tell, but I noticed that the first time you sang, “...Madashamani Mahishasura Mardini Mandagamani Mangalavarapradayini,” you put Rupaka Talam with 1 Anudhrutam and 1 Dhrutam. However, the second time you sang the same line, I didn’t see the Dhrutam, and only saw Laghu; multiple finger counts throughout.
Thank you Ms. Sandhya.

[@Sdeepthi_s1]

Hello Sandhya aunty. Here are my quiz answers below:
1) 20th Melakarta ragam Natabhairavi
2. Jhonpuri
3) Sri Muttuswami Dikshitar's mudra is Guruguha. Guruguha is also a name for Murugan.
Charanam line: "sadA nanditE sampadE (varaguruguha) janani madashamanI". "Varaguruguha Janani" Parvati is the mother of Guruguha(Murugan)
4) 2nd line of charanam- "pannagAbharaNayutE [NAAGAGAANDHAARI] pUjitAbjapadE"
5) There are two ways to [depict] rupaka talam- though they both are the same. One has six beats and the other has six. In some fast paced kritis, the 6 aksharam talam is hard to physically put (in my opinion)- that's why the 3 beat rupakam serves as an easy alternate.
Thank you:)
Deepthi S

[@salaisaraswathi4305]

Very beautiful rendering ma'am. Mesmerizing.
Ma'am, do you take online classes? If so, can you share the details?