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| Yakshagana (Narashimha) |
The first ever mention in Telugu literature of Yaksha Gaana is found in PanditaaradhyaCharitra of Paalakuri Somanatha (1280–1340), where he says:
Aadata gandharva yaksha vidyaadha
raadulai paadedu naadedu vaaru.......
But a more clear mention is seen in Sreenatha’s Bheemeswara Puraana (ch 3, verse 65), where he says:
Keertintu reddani keerti gandharvulu
gaandgarvamuna yakshagaana sarani
This work is said to be written around 1430 AD. In the original Sanskrit work of Bheemeswara Puraana we don’t find the word Yaksha Gaana.
This leads us to infer that by the time of Sreenatha the concept of Yaksha Gaana was sufficiently popular. There are several evidences in later Telugu literature to convincingly prove the existence and popularity of Yaksha Gaana by the 15 century. Critics have proved beyond any shadow of doubt that the earliest format of Yaksha Gaana was primarily one of oral tradition, musical in nature, fit to be sung as the very name suggests, and was sung by a sect of people known as yekkala gaanalu and jakkula women. It is also proved that the concept of Yaksha Gaana embraced dance in course of time, apart from being just musical in nature, but remained as a folk art with only oral tradition. The format and the structure of Yaksha Gaana attracted the attention of poets and they gave it a discipline and definite shape, and brought it within the gamut of rules of prosody and poetics.
The earliest written Yaksha Gaana in Telugu Literature is Saubhari Charitam of Proluganti Chenna Sauri of late 15th century, which is not available today. Sugreeva Vijayamu, of Kandukoori Rudrakavi of late 16th century seems to be the earliest available Yaksha Gaana in Telugu literature. There are many evidences to show that by 15th century, Yaksha Gaana which was till then in oral tradition only, was taken up by poets and became a much sought-after form of writing attempted by scholars and also became stageworthy with a classical format. There are several other Yaksha Gaanas available to us whose dates are not known and some of them like the Garudaachala Vilaasam of Dinavahi Ahobilakavi seem to be earlier than that of Kandukoori Rudrakavi.
Yaksha Gaanas can be classified into three categories:
Those written just for the pleasure of reading and listening to – Sravya Yaksha Gaanas
Those fit to be staged – Drusya Yaksha Gaanas
Those fit for both – Sravya as well as Drusya Yaksha Gaanas.
Based on their utility, the Drusya kind of Yaksha Gaanas are classified into four categories:
Veedhi Natakas
Bommalata
Marga natakas
Modern dramas.
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| Kuchipudi (Prahlada Naatakam) |
Some people seem to entertain a very low opinion of the Yaksha Gaana, based on their earlier folk nature and ignorantly equate it with some kind of a nonclassical form of art even after it attained a classical format. In fact a careful look at the structure of the Yaksha Gaanas would reveal that it is one of the richest aspects of Telugu literature. It has been a successful tool in bridging the gap between the elite and the masses with its content in music, literature and dance as well. It is a comprehensive form of art which contains various components like kalaapam, prabandham, koravanji, veedhi natakam, bommalata, harikatha, marga natakam etc. It is a very rare kind of literary aspect which embraces so many art forms in its structure. Even in content, Yaksha Gaanas stand in an enviable situation because their content pervades almost into every aspect of literature: There are yakshagaanas with historical plots, pauranic, social, folklore, philosophical and about divine marriages, etc. Though Yaksha Gaanas with major rasa as Sringara are prominent, there are many which depict other rasas as well. Thus Yaksha Gaanaas occupy a unique place in literature.
The most important aspect of Yaksha Gaanaas is their structure, which made them adaptable for almost any form of performing art. Let us examine some of the salient aspects of the structure of Yaksha Gaanaas, with examples from traditional Yaksha Gaanaas and see how the same patterns are employed in Kuchipudi dance dramas.
The most frequently used meter in Yaksha Gaanaas is Ragada. There are 9 varieties of them. All of these fall under the four rhythmic patterns commonly used.
Examples:
Each line of a Vrishabhagati ragada contains 4 phases of 7 laghus each.
Triputareku is a composition which contains 2 lines of Vrushabhagati ragada minus 7 laghus.
Eg:
lalitagaatrudu subhacharitrudu dalitasatrudu sujanamitru
nalinanetru kandukoori janaradanundu......
—from Sugreeva Vijayam
When sung, it runs like this:
takita kitataka takita kitataka (thrice) + takka takita
Each line of a Dwiradagati ragada contains any four of the 6 ganas:
Naga, nalala, bha, sala, ta, ra
Jhamperaku is a composition which contains 2 lines of dwiradagati ragada minus 1 laghuvu.
Eg:
Suraraja sannutiki suruchiradhara matiki
karunaa rasonnatiki garudaadri patikin
—from Garudaachalam
When sung it runs like this:
Kita takita kita takita ….. takita
The rhythmic pattern in these compositions is seen in almost every Kuchipudi dance drama. One half of any reku, the kind of compositions illustrated above is called artha chandrika. Artha chandrikas are as old as rekus and are found almost in every traditional Yaksha Gaanaa. We find a lot of artha chandrikas in most of the earlier Kuchipudi dance dramas.
Examples:
From a traditional Yaksha Gaanaa entitled Saarada Koravanji of Poluganti Venkata Krishnayya:
panneeta jalakambu baagugaa naaden
sariganchu cheera chengulu deerchi katten
In a Kuchipudi dance drama, Aniruddha Naatakam of Duggaraju Chidambarakavi:
yuga tantrinpuri taganeledu sree
khaga gamanuni padayugamu smartintuIn the same:
ati veduka paarvati garbhamunu
ddhati buttina ganapati madi talatun.
Another very salient feature of the Yaksha Gaanas is Daruvu, which is nothing but Dhruva defined by Bharata in the 32 chapter verses 23–24 of Naatya Saastra:
Praavesiki tu prathamaa dwitiyaakspeikee smrita
praasadiki triteeyaa cha chturthee cha antaraa dhruvaa
naishkramikee cha vijneyaa panchamee cha dhruvaa budhaih
Of the five dhruvaas mentioned by Bharata, the praavesiki dhruva is equivalent to pravesika daruvu employed in the Yaksha Gaanas. While one of the prominent aspects of Yaksha Gaanaa structure is pravesika daruvu, it is also a salient feature of the Kuchipudi and Bhagavata Mela dance dramas, where a major character is introduced in the drama. Apart from this form of daruvu which introduces characters, there are other kinds of daruvus in Yaksha Gaanas which are used for different purposes. Daruvus are employed to describe a character, entrance of a character, the character speaking about itself, conversational daruvus, description of nature, narration of an episode of the drama, and so on.
Raaju vedale ravi tejamu ladaraga
kudi y edamala dhal kattulu merayaga
kora meesamunu gira gira tripputu…
—is a description of the exit of a king from the stage, from a traditional Yaksha Gaanaa, which is called as nishkraamiki dhruva by Bharata.
For the Pravesika Daruvu there are any number of examples in the Kuchipudi repertoire.
Examples:
Bhaamane Satya Bhaamane..... in the Bhama kalaapam.
Kanaka kasyapudanu danujendruduu ghanata toda tana sabhaku vacchenu... in Prahlada naatakam
Similarly in the Bhagavata Mela dance dramas also there are pravesika daruvus.
Example:
In the Prahlada Charitra of Melattur Venkatarama Sastry, Leelavati’s pravesika daruvu in Athana runs like this:
Ocche nidigo Leelavati...
In Usha Kalyanam, Banaasura’s pravesika daruvu in Todi runs like this:
Baannasuru didigo vedalina...
In Rukmaangada Charitra, the Pravesika Daruvu of Mohini in Khamas runs like this:
Kakalaka nagu momuto muddu loluku...
Apart from pravesika daruvu we find many other kinds of daruvus employed in the Kuchipudi and Bhagavata Mela dance dramas.
Siggayenamma ..... in madhyamaavati and
madana.. madana.. popularly known as madana daruvu usually sung in Aanada Bhairavi, both from Bhaamaa Kalaapam are random examples of this trend in Kuchipudi repertoire. In the Bhagavatamela dramas the following examples testify to the fact that daruvus are frequently employed.
Examples:
Hitulu mantrulu purohitulu bhoopalulu koluva... in Rukmangada charitra,
Paahi Sambho prabho .... in Nilambari from Usha Kalyanam,
Emani ne taaludunamma .... in Aahiri from Prahlada Charitra.
One finds that after the Ragadas and Daruvus, the third most important constituent of a Yaksha Gaanaa is Dwipada, the couplet. There is hardly any Yaksha Gaanaa in which the dwipada meter is not employed. The common notion that dwipada is a desi meter is not true, it is found even in Vedic literature. The Sangeeta Ratnaakara mentions the characteristics of dwipada in ch.4 verse 214–217. Various kinds of dwipada are employed in Yaksha Gaanaa and this process uninterruptedly continues in almost all the Kuchipudi dance dramas even today.
Examples:
In a Yaksha Gaanaa entitled Lilavati Kalyaanam of Giriraja, we find a manjari dwipada:
Ea reetiga dharaneesudu vedalina
saari vaarta tama chaarulache vini
verachiyu veruvani vithamuna vimatulu
gurigala tama tama kulagatu lennuchu.....
Another variety of dwipada is normally used in Kuchipudi and Bhagavata Mela dance dramas:
In Prahlada Naatakam of Kuchipudi:
Padapadi prathama sambhavamuna ditiki
vidita paraakramaanvita dheerulaguchu....
The Prahlada Charitra in the Bhagavata Mela begins with a dwipada:
Paatiga pada gadya padyaadulamara
naatakambugajesi navarasaaloluka...
Another component of Yaksha Gaanaa structure is Padyam, the verse. Both the desi and margi meters are employed by the authors of Yaksha Gaanaas and this is followed scrupulously by the composers of Kuchipudi dance dramas from the days of Siddhendra Yogi till today. But the real reflection of the Yaksha Gaanaa characteristics in the Kuchipudi dance dramas lie in the Artha Padyaas, the half verses like the Seesaarthams and the kandaarthams. The first half of these verses run as verses and the later halves run to rhythm as a daruvu.
Example:
The following kandaartham is from a traditional Yaksha Gaanaa entitled Lakshmi Naraayana Vilasamu jointly authored by two poets, Daruvuri Appalaachaaryulu and Vaaranaasi Achyutarama Kavi:
Suralu dharaasurulu dharaa
dharulu dharaavaarulu naatma taruneeyutulai
sura nadini munigi panktula
niravandaga nanta kaanta
limpalaraaran
kempu chekkadala dorampu pallemula va
dimpa saagiri melampu nerpu maata..... limpala raaran
It is a practise in some of the Yaksha Gaanaa to prescribe the names of raaga and taala to the kandaarthams. The one illustrated above is prescribed to be sung in Jayantasena, ata taalam. If we examine the kandams and kandaarthams in the Kuchipudi repertoire, it proves that there is a very great impact of the Yaksha Gaanaa structure on them.
An example of a kandaartham from Bhaamaa kalaapam:
taalam: misra chaapu
Erupagayunnee dustula
raarammami piluva padma raagamunagalan
korina vanniyu niccheda
maaraamulu jeyakipudu maadhavu temma
maryaada gaadani maadhavi yanuma
arkuni koorimi aadivaarapu sommu
haranambuliccheda nalavaanu goni temmu
Significantly we find that only Taalam is mentioned for this kandaartham.
Examples of some poems:
The ending poem of the famous letter of Satyabhama to Sri Krishna is a Kandam:
Chittajuni baarikorvaka
Tattara padi vraasinaanu tappo oppo
Chittamuna kopa menchaka
ittari brovanga raave ivive pranatulu
Other meters like Mattakokila, taruvoja, layagraahi, utsaaha, maalini, etc., which are used in Yaksha Gaanas are freely used both in the Kuchipudi and the Bhagavata Mela dance dramas.
In Yaksha Gaanaa we find many prose lines for the purpose of linking the lyrics and in conversations. This tradition is also adhered to in the Kuchipudi & Bhagavata Mela Natakams. There are a few varieties of them; Choornika, Kaivaaram, Vinnapam etc. While choornikas normally contain only Sanskrit, kaivaaram is a prosaic composition usually used at the beginning of the dance drama immediately after the naandi padyam or the introductory verse and contains eulogy with lot of Sanskrit compounds.
Example:
In the Prahlada Naatakam:
anarghya ramnee ramaneeya kireetakundalaanga......
In the same dance drama:
Kasyapa jathara vaaraasi nisaakaraa paraak...
The most significant part of any Yaksha Gaanaa is the lyrics. Though a particular variety of compositions were used in the ancient Yaksha Gaanaas, their impact is very dilute in the present-day dance dramas. In spite of the fact that there is a metrical difference in these compositions, still they come under the infinite category of lyrics enunciated by the aalankirikaas and are structurally within the parameters of the Yaksha Gaanaa literature. Even among the modern day dance dramas, we find yela, laali, jola and a few other varieties of compositions found in the ancient Yaksha Gaanaas.
Examples:
A laali song from a traditional Yaksha Gaanaa entitled Seeta Kalyaanam of Agastyaraju Ramana:
laali bangaru bomma laali maayamma
laali muddulagumma laali seetamma....
Another feature frequently employed in the Yaksha Gaanas is the conversational lyrics, the samvaada geyaas. We find these in abundance in almost every Kuchipudi dance drama.
Examples:
A daruvu in khamaas, from the Bhamaa kalaapam depicts the conversation between Satyabhama and Sri Krishna:
Krishna: karpoora gandhi to kaliyuta ledani
nippu laina battedaa
Satya: kaaru chicchu batti kabalinchu vaaniki
nippu lanaga nentaraa
Just as we consider Siddhendra Yogi as the trendsetter for the Kuchipudi dance, the same can be said of Melatturu Venkatarama Satry for the Bhagavata Mela dance dramas. He is said to be a contemporary of Tyagaraja and is said to have composed 12 dance dramas of which some are not available. It is significant that his dance dramas are also almost revolve round the same plots as those found in the Kuchipudi tradition, like Prahlaada Charitra, Usha Parinayam, Rukmini Kalyaanam, Seeta Kalyaanam etc. All these commence with a Kandam followed by a Dwipada.
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| Bhagavatha Mela (Prahlada Charitam) |
There are two different versions in vogue as explanation for these striking similarities between the Kuchipudi dance and the Bhagavata Mela tradition. While some critics say that the Melatturu Bhaagavatulu migrated from Kuchipudi village and hence the similarities, others are of the opinion that Kuchipudi dancers borrowed some of the features from the Bhaagavatamela tradition. But a careful look would lead us to accept both the arguments. Both the traditions followed the Yaksha Gaana structure and so look alike and there are evidences to prove that Kuchipudi Bhaagavatulu did migrate to Achyutapuram in Tanjore kingdom. It is also true that Kuchipudi dancers borrowed in due course the sabdam from the Melattur Bhagavata Mela tradition.
Some of the rakti raagaas employed in Yakshagaanaas are: Mukhari, Dhanyasi, Bhairavi, Todi, Kaanada, Kambodi, Saurashtra, Bhoopalam, Saaveri, Regupti, Bilahari, Naata, Aarabhi, Madhyamaavati, Pantuvaraali, Janjhoti, etc.
Critics have conclusively proved that most of these ragas are employed in both Kuchipudi and Bhagavatamela tradition. A list of ragas employed by Melattur Venkatarama Sastry runs like this: Aahiri, Mukhari, Bilahari, Useni, Mohana, ananda Bhairavi, Nilambari, Punnagavaraali, Pantu Varaali, Surati, Kalyani, Devagandhari, Madhyamavati, Begada etc.
In the Kuchipudi tradition we find the following ragas used frequently: Nata, Mohana, Saurashtra, Aarabhi, Khamas, Madhyamavati, Aanandabharavi, Todi, Kambhoji, Mukhari, Pantuvarali, Devagandhaari, etc.
If we take the dance steps of the Yaksha Gaanaa and look at how they have influenced the Kuchipudi and Bhagavata Mela traditions, we find that in all these the Natyasastra plays an important role but nevertheless, we find a lot of desi style in all the three. This is because of the dominant impact of the Yaksha Gaanaa on these two traditions, even before it attained classical stature. The tradition of Yaksha Gaanaa thus influenced both the Kuchipudi and Bhagavata Mela traditions and continues to do so to this day.
Pappu Venugopala Rao
Tamil Translation - யக்ஷகானம் குச்சுப்பிடி பாகவத மேளா - பப்பு வேணுகோபால ராவ்
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| Pappu Venugopala Rao |
Bibliography:
Andhra Yakshagaana Vaangmaya Charitra – Prof. SV Jogarao
Natya Sastra – Bharata
Tanjore as seat of music – Dr. S. Seeta
Kuchipudi Bhamakalapam – Sri Vedantam Parvateesam
Kuchipudi Natya Visistata – Dr. Chinta Ramanadham
Kuchipudi Nritya Roopakamulu – Pub: Swadharma Swaarajya Sangha
Andhra Vaggeyakaara Charitra – Sri. Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao
Bhagavata Mela Natya Natakam – Sri S. Natarajan
Music Academy Journal Articles – Dr. Pappu Venugopala Rao
Courtesy: Bhavans Journal
