ಆಡ್ತಾ ಆಡ್ತಾ...

One of my earliest memories are of my paternal grandmother telling me stories as she used to feed me my lunch at our house or during bedtime in Trichy. And one of the stories that she used to tell me has stuck with me and I can never forget it. Now, I narrate this story to Godha any time she asks for a story during dinner or at bedtime. And it has become one of her favourites too.

Here is the story in Kannada. Pardon my Kannada spelling mistakes (I never learnt Kannada reading/writing formally).

ಒಂದು ಊರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಇತ್ತಂತೆ. ಅದು ಒಂದು ದಿನ ಊಟ ಹುಡುಕಿಕೊಂಡು ಕಾಡಿಗೆ ಹೋಯಿತಂತೆ. ಆ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ಆವತ್ತು ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರು ಅಕ್ಕಿ ಕಾಳುಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತಂತೆ. ಆ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಬಹಳ ಜಾಣೆಯಂತೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅದು ಮೂರು ಅಕ್ಕಿ ಕಾಳನ್ನು ತಿಂದು, ಮೂರು ಕಾಳುಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾರನೆ ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ತಿನ್ನೊಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂತ ಒಂದು ಮರದ ಗೂಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ಟುಬಿಟ್ಟು ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಯಿತಂತೆ.

ಆ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಜೋರಾಗಿ ಬಿರುಗಾಳಿ ಮಳೆಯಾಯಿತಂತೆ. ಮತ್ತೆ ಬೆಳ್ಳಗ್ಗೆ ಆ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ತನ್ನ ಮೂರು ಕಾಳು ಅಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋದರೆ, ರಾತ್ರಿಯ ಮಳೆಬಿರುಗಾಳಿಯಿಂದ, ಆ ಅಕ್ಕಿಕಾಳು ಇಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆ ಕಲ್ಲು-ಮಣ್ಣಿನಿಂದ ಮುಚ್ಚಿ ಹೋಗಿತಂತೆ. ಪಾಪ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ತುಂಬ ಬೇಜಾರು ಆಯಿತಂತೆ.

ಹೇಗಾದರು ಮಾಡಿ ಆ ಮೂರು ಕಾಳು ಅಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನು ತಿನ್ನಲೆ ಬೇಕು ಅಂತ, ಆ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಯು ಒಂದು ಉಪಾಯವನ್ನು ಯೋಚಿಸಿತಂತೆ. ಹತ್ತಿರದ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದ ಒಬ್ಬ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡು ಕಮ್ಮಾರನೇ". ಆದರೆ ಆ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನು ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ.

ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ಕೋಪಬಂತಂತೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ರಾಜನ ಅರಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಯಿತಂತೆ. ರಾಜನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡದ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಲ್ಲು ಅರಸೇ". ಆದರೆ ಆ ಅರಸನು ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ.

ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಕೋಪಬಂತಂತೆ. ಒಂದು ಇಲಿಯನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕಿ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡದ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಲ್ಲದ ಅರಸನ ಭಂಡಾರವನ್ನಿ ಕಚ್ಚು ಇಲಿಯೇ". ಆದರೆ ಆ ಇಲಿಯು ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ.

ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ಇಲಿಯಮೇಲೆ ಕೋಪಬಂತಂತೆ. ಆಲ್ಲೆ ಒಂದು ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಇತಂತೆ. ಆ ಬೆಕ್ಕಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡದ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಲ್ಲದ ಅರಸನ ಭಂಡಾರವ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಇಲಿಯನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚು ಬೆಕ್ಕೇ". ಆ ಬೆಕ್ಕು ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ.

ಮತ್ತೆ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಓಂದು ನಾಯನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕಿತಂತೆ. ಆ ನಾಯಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡದ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಲ್ಲದ ಅರಸನ ಭಂಡಾರವ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಇಲಿಯ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಬೆಕ್ಕನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚು ನಾಯೇ". ಆದರೆ ಆ ನಾಯು ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚಿಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ.

ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬಳು ಅಜ್ಜಿ ಇದ್ದಳಂತೆ. ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಆ ಅಜ್ಜಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡದ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಲ್ಲದ ಅರಸನ ಭಂಡಾರವ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಇಲಿಯ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಬೆಕ್ಕ ಕಚ್ಚದ ನಾಯಿಯಮೇಲೆ ಬಿಸಿಗಂಜಿ ಸುರಿ ಆಜ್ಜಿಯೇ". ಆ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯು ಇ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ.

ಆ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಕೋಪದಲ್ಲಿ, ಆ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯ ಮನೆಯ ಹಸುವಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡದ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಲ್ಲದ ಅರಸನ ಭಂಡಾರವ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಇಲಿಯ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಬೆಕ್ಕ ಕಚ್ಚದ ನಾಯಿಯಮೇಲೆ ಬಿಸಿಗಂಜಿ ಸುರಿಯದ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯ ತಿವಿ ಹಸುವೇ". ಆ ಹಸುವು ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಗಮನಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ.

ಅಲ್ಲೆ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ಹಸುವಿನ ಕರುವಿತಂತೆ. ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಆ ಕರುವಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿತಂತೆ - "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ ಆರಕ್ಕಿ ತಂದೆ, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ತಿಂದು, ಮೂರಕ್ಕಿ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಹುಚ್ಚುಗಾಳಿ ಬಂದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತು, ಕೆತ್ತಿಕೊಡದ ಕಮ್ಮಾರನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಲ್ಲದ ಅರಸನ ಭಂಡಾರವ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಇಲಿಯ ಕಚ್ಚದ ಬೆಕ್ಕ ಕಚ್ಚದ ನಾಯಿಯಮೇಲೆ ಬಿಸಿಗಂಜಿ ಸುರಿಯದ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯ ತಿವಿಯದ ಹಸುವ ಮೊಲೆಯನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚು ಕರುವೇ".

ಕೊನೇಗೆ, ಆ ಕರುವಿಗೆ ಈ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಮೇಲೆ ಕರುಣೆ ಬಂತು. ಅದು ತನ್ನ ತಾಯಿಯಾದ ಆ ಹಸುವಿನ ಮೊಲೆಯನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚೊಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಯಿತಂತೆ. ಆ ಹಸುವು ಹೆದರಿ, ಆ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯನ್ನಿ ತಿವಿಯಲ್ಲು ಹೋಯಿತಂತೆ. ಆ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯು ಹೆದರಿ, ಆ ನಾಯಿಯಮೇಲೆ ಬಿಸಿಗಂಜಿ ಸುರಿಯಲು ಹೊರಟಲಂತೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆದರಿ, ಆ ನಾಯಿಯು ಆ ಬೆಕ್ಕನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚಲು ಓಡಿತಂತೆ. ಅದನ್ನು ಕಂಡು, ಆ ಬೆಕ್ಕು, ಆ ಇಲಿಯನ್ನು ಹೆದರಿಸಿತಂತೆ. ಆಗ, ಆ ಇಲಿಯು, ರಾಜನ ಭಂಡಾರವನ್ನು ನಾಶಮಾಡಲು ಹೊರಟಿತಂತೆ. ಆ ರಾಜ ತನ್ನ ಭಂಡಾರವನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡಲು, ಕಮ್ಮಾರನನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿತರಲು ಆದೇಶ ಕೊಟ್ತನಂತೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆದರಿ, ಕಮ್ಮಾರನು ಕೂಡಲೆ ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿಯ ಜೊತೆ ಕಾಡಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ, ಆ ಮರದ ಪೊಟ್ಟ್ರೆಯನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟನಂತೆ.

ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ ಸಂತೋಷದಿಂದ ತನ್ನ ಮೂರುಕಾಳು ಅಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನು ತಿಂದು ತನ್ನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹಾರಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಯಿತಂತೆ.

ಕಥೆ ಕಾಡಿಗೆ ಹೋಯಿತು, ನಾವು ನಾಡಿಗೆ ಬಂದೆವು!!!!!

So much for the sake of 3 grains of rice :-) What is nice about this story is that it kind of lulls the kids into sleep because of the repetitive strain the story going "ಆಡ್ತ ಆಡ್ತ...". My parents tell me that for a long time, I had never heard the whole thing as I would fall asleep somewhere in the middle.

And in the story my grandmother told me, the sparrow did not have a name. But Godha would never let me get ahead without giving the ಗುಬ್ಬಚ್ಚಿ a name. And so I asked her to suggest a name and she has named the sparrow ಸರಸ್ವತಿ/Saraswathi. An interesting name for the persistent sparrow!!!!

Some things to note:

• The story teaches the value of saving (the sparrow saving 3 grains of rice for the next day)
• The value of persistence (try try again)

p.s.: When I find the time, I will translate this into English.

Types of Marriages

Marriages have always held a very important role in India. It is probably the most important amongst the basic 16 samskAras or rituals that everybody is expected to undergo during their life. As per the Dharma shastras followed in India, marriages have been divided into 8 types. It looks like this classification is made based on the qualities of the bride, the groom and the way the groom approaches the bride's family with the marriage proposal.

The main dharma shastras referenced are the "Manu Smrithi" and "Ashvalayana's Grihya Sutras".


brAhma vivAha(ब्राह्मविवाह:/ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮ ವಿವಾಹ) - For this type of marriage, a bride's father looks for a groom who is well-educated, knowledgeable, well-mannered, healthy, and is appropriate for the bride. The father then invites the groom, welcomes him home, honors him appropriately and arranges for the marriage of his daughter to such a groom.

As per the dharmashastras, the father's intention with getting his daughter married to such a groom was so that they lead a life of dharma (or duty) and produce worthy offspring who in turn will become good citizens and live according to dharma. The shastras say that offspring born to the bride of such a marriage will remove his/her own sins and those of 10 generations before and 10 generations after (a total fo 21 generations). This type of marriage has been hailed as the best as per the shastras.

daiva vivAha(दैवविवाह:/ದೈವ ವಿವಾಹ) - After the performance of yagnas, many times the the conductor of the yagna gives away his daughter to the Ritwik or the head priest who performed the yagna. Since this marriage is associated with rituals connected with Devathas, this is known as the daiva marriage. The daughter is given away in place of the dakshina to be given to the Ritwik. The father of the bride honors the main priest by giving him his daughter.

It looks like in the days of yore when yagnas were very common, this type of marriage was a common practice in some communities and there are accounts that many head priests ended up with many wives from the many yagnas they officiated over. Maintaining such large families might have been hard for these head-priests. Because of this and also because of the drastic reduction in the number of yagnas that take place, this type of marriage is no longer seen anywhere.

On certain occasions, in some communities, a token amount of money is given to the Ritwik instead of a daughter in marriage. Many commentators have strongly suggested that this not really a marriage of exchanging a daughter for services rendered by the head priest but an honoring of the priest by the father.

ArSHa vivAha(आर्षविवाह:/ಆರ್ಷ ವಿವಾಹ) - This type of marriage seems to have a fixed set of rules on when it can occur. If a man helps the doer of a yagna conduct the yagna by donating one or two cows (with the intention that the cows and their produce be used for the yagna), then the one who conducts the yagna can honor the donor of the cows by giving him his daughter in marriage. Note that the father of the bride cannot take more than one or two cows, and the intention of taking those cow(s) should be specifically to conduct a yagna.

This type of marriages are not seen any more.

prAjApatya vivAha(प्राजापत्यविवाह:/ಪ್ರಾಜಾಪತ್ಯ ವಿವಾಹ) - The father of a bride searches and finds a groom who is appropriate and worthy of his daughter, and arranges for his marriage. He instructs both the bride and the groom to live according to follow their duties and live according to their dharma in both worldly and spiritual matters. One of the main aims of this marriage is for the couple to lead a happy life, and have children who are worthy citizens.

Both the husband and the wife have equal standing in such a marriage and together lead a life in pursuit of dharma (righteous duty), artha (prosperity), and kama (desire). During the marriage rituals, the father of the bride specifically instructs the bride and the groom that they should live equally following the pursuits of dharma, artha and kama.

In today's Indian society, I think this is the marriage that is most common and the one that we colloquially know as "arranged marriage".

Asura vivAha(आसुरविवाह:/ಆಸುರ ವಿವಾಹ) - If a groom pays money to the bride or the bride's family and gets married to the bride, then the marriage is known as Asura marriage. In many cases, the bride might choose to get married to a groom based on how much money he is willing to give her. Unlike the rakshasa or paishachya marriages, the bride cannot be forced into marriage. It has to be with her consent.


This marriage does seem like one where the bride is being sold for money. However, as per the shastras, even the bride can choose to get married to somebody who is willing to pay her money.

gAndharva vivAha(गान्धर्वविवाह:/ಗಾಂಧರ್ವ ವಿವಾಹ) - This is one of the marriages that has been popularly known due to its depictions in Indian movies. As per the shastras, if a girl and a boy decide to get married to each other out of their desires for each other, and reach an agreement that they will get married, then it is known as a gAndharva marriage. Note, that the parents of the bride have no role to play in such a marriage. As per the shastras, such a marriage is only allowed amongst adults.

This type of marriage is a pretty ancient practice as mention of this marriage has been made in the RgVeda. Most of the shastras seem to indicate that such marriages took place after the bride and groom had known each other for a long time, and then decided to get married rather than a marriage of "love at first sight". It is also indicated that if a boy or girl decide to get married in this way, then they should select a partner who is worthy of them to ensure the success of the marriage.

I guess this is what is colloquially known as "love marriage".

rAkSHasa vivAha(राक्षसविवाह:/ರಾಕ್ಷಸ ವಿವಾಹ) - If a man gets married to a woman using force i.e. he does not obtain the consent of the woman or her family for the marriage, and uses violence and force to kidnap the woman with the intention of getting married to her, then it is known as rakshasa marriage. The shastras describe that there might be war and fighting between the groom and the bride's family with the latter trying to prevent the abduction of the bride.

There are some instances in our puranas and itihasas where such marriages seem to have taken place - such as Krishna abducting Rukmini and fighting with Rukmini's family. However, in most of these cases, the bride had wished for the marriage though her family was opposed to it. This is not an example of rakshasa marriage. For the rakshasa marriage, the abduction has to be against the will of the bride too.

paishAca vivAha(पैशाचविवाह:/ಪೈಶಾಚ ವಿವಾಹ) - This is considered to be the lowest type of marriage. It is similar to the rakshasa marriage, except that the bride is abducted while is sleeped, drugged or otherwise unconscious. And so, while the abduction is against the wishes of the bride or her family, it also happens without the knowledge of the bride.

There are a few things of interest to note from the above descriptions.

• In all cases the act of the giving of the bride to the groom or the kanyAdAna is considered extremely auspicious and the highest form of dAna.
• There is no concept of "dowry" or "varadakshina" in the shastras. If at all anything, in one or two types of marriages, the groom has to pay the bride or her family (opposite of dowry). And so, this whole concept of dowry is against our shastras and seems to be something of a more recent origin.
• The parents of the groom seem to have no role to play in the marriage process. All the formalities, decision-making and the rituals are between the groom, the bride and the father of the bride.
• The last 2 types of marriage (rakshasa & paishachya) specifically state that such a marriage is against the wishes of the bride. This would imply that the first 6 types of marriage implicitly include the consent of the bride in the marriage. In no case do the shastras indicate that the marriage can be done against the will or consent of the bride except in the rakshasa and paishacya marriages.

I wrote up this article as I found the 8 types of marriages in ancient India interesting. All the material for the description of the marriages is from the book "Samskara Mahodadhi:" written by the eminently knowledgeable and profound author Sri.A.Ananthanarasimhachar.

Interesting Tale

This was an interesting tale about a Bhutanese Buddhist monk narrated to us by our guide Mr.Tandin Dorji while touring in Bhutan.

Once a Buddhist monk was walking through a forest where he was a accosted by a fair lady who refused to let him pass unless he fulfilled one of her 3 conditions:

• Either he had to marry her
• Or he had to kill and eat a goat that she had with her
• Or he had to drink a bottle of Ara (a local liquor brewed from red rice)

For a Buddhist monk, all 3 are forbidden as he vowed to a life of celibacy, his faith does not let him harm or kill other living beings, and as a monk he is not allowed to consume liquor. But since he was not left with any choice, he debated and decided that the best option for him was to drink the bottle of Ara, which is what he did.

And then in his drunken stupor, he ended up marrying the woman, and killing and eating the goat. You can figure out the moral of the story...

Mandayam Kanchi Varadarajan(ಮಂಡಯಂ ಕಂಚಿ ವರದರಾಜನ್) - My grandfather

I have not had the good fortune of seeing either of my grandfathers. My paternal grandfather - Mandayam Kanchi Varadarajan - passed away in 1965, and my maternal grandfather - Mandayam Dhati Krishnan - passed away in 1972. This post on M.K.Varadarajan thatha (MKV henceforth) was triggered by the Ugadi festival celebrated last week (on Mar 16th, 2010).

MKV was born on Ugadi day at the turn of the 20th century - 1900. I am not too sure where he was born. But I would guess that it would either be Melkote in Mandya district of Karnataka or in the city of Mysore, Karnataka. He probably lost his father at a young age and his mother was the bread winner of the family. She was a Sanskrit teacher and as per my grandmother, she used to teach Sanskrit and Yoga to the Mysore royal family. At some point, she became a school teacher and was posted in some village near Hassan. Since educational facilities were not very good in that village, MKV was left at Mysore in his maternal grandmother's house. It was in Mysore that he did his primary, middle and high school education.

After completing his 10th (or its equivalent of those days), MKV's mother wanted him to start earning right away. However, MKV wanted to study further. Since all of his family were mired in dire poverty, they could not afford to let him study further and wanted him to start earning right away.

In the meantime, my grandmother's family hailed from a village called Gadi-Jogi-Hundi (near Srirangapatna in Mandya district, Karnataka) had migrated to Mysore for better opportunities. They were slightly better off than MKV's family as they owned some fertile land in Hundi. MKV probably heard that there was a girl of marriageable age in that family and decided to try his luck in pursuing his dream of further studies. He ran away from his house with just the cloth that he was wearing and approached Hundi Krishna Iyengar (my grandmother's father) to marry his daughter, Singamma (my grandmother). MKV probably also negotiated that Hundi Krishna Iyengar would pay for his education too.

Singamma was very pretty and was extremely fair complexioned. However, MKV was of a much darker complexion. At the wedding, it is believed that guests commented that the couple looked like butter placed on ragi muddhe (a dark colored savory).

MKV moved into his in-laws house and began further studies. He completed his B.A. probably from the Maharaja's College in Mysore. And then decided to study law in the Presidency College in Calcutta. By then, his in-laws family had also moved to the Shankarapuram area in Bangalore.

Life in Calcutta was hard for him as he was far away from home with not much money. Whatever money he got from his in-laws was probably spent on fees, books, accommodation, etc. Anytime, I wasted food or did not want to eat my food, my grandmother would always tell me that many times MKV would not have enough money for food in Calcutta and could only afford to eat one rasagulla a day.

He completed his education in Calcutta and returned back to Bangalore where he setup shop in the front portion of his in-laws house in Shankarapuram (where he started staying for rent). Though he put up a sign as an advocate, he did not get much business and very pretty poor. My grandmother used to tell me that she had exactly 2 saris in those days - one that she would wear and the other that was washed and hung up for drying (for use the next day).

Eventually, MKV got in touch with Sir Mirza Ismail who was a dewan in the Mysore government and got a job in the government. After that, things improved monetarily for the family and my grandfather had a good career too. He rose to the position of the Chief Electoral Officer in the Government of the Mysore state from which post he retired. To his credit, he conducted the first elections for the parliament in independant India in 1950 or so.

He also wrote a book titled "The Indian States and the Federation". Unfortunately, the only copy that my grandmother had is lost. It is possible that there are one or more copies of the book available in the Public Library near Vidhana Soudha. I should make a trip sometime and see if I can lay my hands on one.

After retirement, he devoted time to learning Sanskrit, reading the puranas, Ramayana etc. He also made sure that everybody in his family received good education. And he also paid for the education of others in his family (his brother-in-law, his sister etc). Because of the high position he held, he was also able to help many people get a good job too.

He passed away, again on Ugadi day (Chaitra Shuddha Prathami) in the year 1965. I will always remember this because we never celebrated Ugadi as that was always the day when thaatha's shraddham had to be performed.

It is on the shoulders of such people that we live today and are able to lead such comfortable lives. When I was studying, I never had to survive on one rasagulla a day. I probably ate more than one rasagulla as dessert after a very heavy meal. And God knows how much food I might have wasted. At least by remembering him and his struggles, I hope I do not forget the hardships that my ancestors have gone through because of which I lead a good life now.

विद्या ददाति विनयम् / ವಿದ್ಯಾ ದದಾತಿ ವಿನಯಂ / Vidya Dadhati Vinayam

The title gives the beginning of a verse whose meaning can be loosely translated as - "Knowledge creates humility - Humility creates worthiness - Worthiness beings in wealth - Wealth leads to righteousness - And that leads to happiness".

I was intrigued by the first phrase of the verse - "vidyA dhadhAthi vinayam" - after a recent conversation with my music teacher. The discussion centered around musicians, arrogance and humility. It turns out that a lot of musicians who I thought were very knowledgeable are really not that humble. Whether it is the fan following or the commercialization of music or the instant celebrity culture, I find that many many musicians of this generation are losing their humility.

I am not saying that musicians of the past were all humble or that musicians are in anyway special that things like arrogance and humility should not affect them. My banter is about the phrase mentioned before.

Is that phrase incorrect? Does knowledge not lead to humility? Or, if the phrase is correct, then am I wrong in assuming that certain people are knowledgeable (and so should be humble)?

Panchasamskara

Whenever any discussion on Srivaishnavism related topics come up with my relatives, I am always asked questions about "Samashrayanam". Most of these questions are along these lines:

• Does it hurt?
• Do I have to give up eating in a restaurant after getting Samashrayanam done?

I thought I would write up an article explaining what Samashrayanam is and hopefully answer these questions. I am not really an expert on this topic and there are many more people who are way more knowledgeable about this topic.

The technical word for Samashrayanam is पञ्चसम्स्कारा: / ಪಂಚಸಂಸ್ಕಾರ / panchasamskara. The word "samskara" means that which purifies. It is considered to be a ritual that purifies the unqualified to the qualified or the ineligible to the eligible. There are many such samskaras that one undergoes during their lifetime, such as  jaatakarma (purification ritual on birth), namakarana (naming ceremony), upanayana (initiation into study), vivaaha (marriage), etc. But for a Srivaishnava, the most important set of samskaras are what are known as the panchasamskaras or the 5 samskaras. It is these 5 samskaras that purifies our body and soul and qualifies it or makes it eligible to worship Sriman Narayana, do service to his devotees (bhAgavathas) and to do service to humanity, in general.

These 5 are described in this shlokam:
ताप: पुन्ड्र: तथानाम मन्त्रो यागश्च पञ्चम:
ತಾಪ: ಪುಂಡ್ರ: ತಥಾನಾಮ ಮಂತ್ರೋ ಯಾಗಶ್ಚ ಪಂಚಮ:
thApa: pundra: thaTHAnAma manthrO yAgashcha panchama:

What are the panchasamskaras?
thApa: - Let me explain this with an example. When you walk into a store and you need some help, how do you figure out who is a store employee and who is just another customer? Typically, the store employees wear some logo or id card. The same is the case when you want to recognize an airline employee in airport. Similarly, we need to be recognizable as Srivaishnavas. Towards that end, we are marked with the "shankha chakra lanchanam" - mark of the shankha and chakra. In the Ramanuja sampradayam, this is done by lightly marking the forearm (near the shoulder) with warm iron marks of the conch (left arm) and the discus (right arm).

This samskara seems to scare many people away from getting their panchasamskara done. There is really nothing to worry about as the iron mark is not really too hot and is only momentarily touched to the arm. The burning sensation is much less than what many of us have experienced while cooking or working with other hot objects.

pundra: - Srivaishnavas are also identified by the urdhva pundra that they wear on their body. The urdhva pundra are more commonly known as tiruman and sricharanam or as just namam. Srivaishnavas are expected to wear 12 urdhva pundras on their body.

nama - One of the samskaras is the adoption of a new name. The acharya who performs the samskara renames you with the name "Ramanuja Dasa". Prior to the samskara, each of us has a given name, which depending on the varna of caste of birth is suffixed with Sharma, Varma, Gupta or Dasa. However, after initiation with the panchasamskara, our name gets suffixed with "Ramanuja Dasa" indicating our association with Sri Ramanujacharya.

manthra: - This refers to the learning of what is known as Rahasya Thrayam (or 3 secrets) - Tirumanthram, Dwayam and Charama shlokam.

• Tirumanthram refers to the 8 syllabled verse - "om namo nArAyaNAya".
• Dwayam refers to the pair of verses - "shriman nArAyaNa charaNou sharaNam prapadhye" & "shrimathE nArAyaNAya nama:". The former claims wholehearted surrender to Narayana, while the latter requests for eternal service to Narayana.
• Charama shlokam talks about the ultimate means for liberation or moksha. This is the 66th shlokam from the 18th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita - "sarva DHarmAn parithyajya mAm ekam sharaNam vraja aham thvA sarva papEbhyO mOkshaishyAmi mA shucha:". Krishna directs Arjuna to take refuge in Krishna and Krishna only. Through the token of Arjuna, we are also directed to do the same.

The samashrayana acharya preaches these verses and their meanings to the initiate. Note, that the first 3 samskaras are more physical or for the body. This samskara is for our mind and soul.

yAga: - This does not refer to the regular yAgams that we hear of, but refers to the daily pooja that we do the Lord, also known as Tiruvaradhanam. The samashrayana acharya instructs us in the steps of performing this aradhana.

Once the acharya administers these 5 samskaras, one becomes qualified or eligible to perform service to Narayana, and to receive the Lord's grace. After performing these samskaras, the acharya turns to the Lord and introduces the initiate to the Lord as one who has expressed interest in forming an association with Sriman Narayana.

The association is like a link or a chain. Starting my immediate acharya, it goes through his acharya, and then his acharya and so on till Sri Manavala Mamuni, his acharya and so on till Sri Ramanujacharya, his acharya and proceeds till Nammazhwar, Vishwaksena, Mahalakshmi Devi and finally Sriman Narayana himself. This lineage is known as the "Guru Parampara".

The acharya then reminds the Lord of his promise to Sri Ramanuja that all people associated with Ramanuja will be granted moksham (this is a separate blog entry by itself). And hence, because of our link with Ramanuja now established, we also become eligible to receive the moksham as promised to Ramanuja.

Who can administer the panchsamskaras?
Sri Ramanujacharya setup a system of 74 mutts to propagate his Srivaishnava philosophy and he, in turn, authorized the heads of these 74 mutts to perform panchasamskara on their disciples. This authority then goes from the head of the 74 mutts to the next acharya who takes that position.

Who can get the panchasamskara done?
Anybody can receive the panchasamskara from an acharya. There is no restriction on caste, gender or age.

At what age should I get this done? Do I need to change my lifestyle?
To answer this question, let me quote an example I heard from one of Sri Velukkudi Krishnan's lectures. As part of an infant's regular checkup, the infant is vaccinated for different illnesses like Hepatitis, Polio, etc. The child is unaware of the purpose of the vaccination, but reaps the benefit of that vaccination at a later age (when she/he leads a healthy life). One does not wait for the child to grow up and understand the benefits of the vaccination before vaccinating the child. It might be too late by then.

Similarly, if one waits to reach a particular age before getting their panchasamskaras done, it might be too late. Getting association with Ramanuja can be done at any age, even though you might not realize the need or the importance of getting this done. And just like the vaccination, you will reap the benefits of this panchasamskara at a much later age when you think you are ready. When you are much older and wish to get Ramanuja Sambandham, you do not have to go hunting around for an acharya to perform the samskaras for you as you have already had it performed at a younger age.

You might be unable to perform Tiruvaradhanam daily today, but once you have received the panchasamskaras, you are qualified to do it for life. You can then choose to start doing it at a later stage in your life.

I hope this answers many of the questions that are commonly posed to me about samashrayanam. Please do send me questions and/or comments.

Why the need for "rathnas"?

Almost everybody familiar with Karnataka Sangeetha is aware of Thyagaraja's pancha"rathna" krithis -

1. Jagadanandakaraka in Natta,
2. Dudukugala in Gowla
3. Sadinchane in Arabhi
4. Kanakanaruchira in Varali
5. Endaro Mahanubhavulu in Sri

But these are not his only set of pancha"rathnas". There are a few more kritis of his clubbed together and known as pancha"rathnas". Here they are:

• Pancha"rathna" krithis on the temple at Srirangam

1. Raaju Vedala in Todi
2. Vinaradha Naa Manavi in Devagandhari
3. Oh Rangashayee in Kambhoji
4. Chuthamu Ra Re in Arabhi
5. Karuna Judumayya in Saaranga

• Pancha"rathna" krithis on the temple at Lalgudi

1. Isapahimaam in Kalyani
2. Laltihe in Bhairavi
3. Mahitha Pravriddhe in Kambhoji
4. Gathi Neevani in Todi
5. Deva Sri Tapasteertha in Madhyamavati

• Pancha"rathna" krithis on the temple at Kovur

1. Eevasudha in Shahana
2. Sundareshwara in Shankarabharana
3. Shambho Mahadeva in Pantuvarali
4. Kori Sevimparare in Kharaharapriya
5. Nammi Vacchina in Kalyani

• Pancha"ratha" krithis on the temple at Tiruvotriyur

1. Kanna Talli in Saaveri
2. Sundari Ninnu in Arabhi
3. Sundari Nannindarilo in Begada
4. Sundari Nee Divya in Kalyani
5. Dharini Telusukonti in Shuddha Saaveri

Thyagaraja is not the only composer whose songs have been thus grouped. A set of compositions by Shyama Shastri on Madurai Meenakshi are grouped together and known as Meenakshi Nava"rathnas". These are even more interesting because only 7 of these (8 by some accounts) are available to us today. But still they are not known as Saptha"rathnas"!!!!

1. Meenalochana Brova in Dhanyasi
2. Sarojadala Netri in Shankarabharanam
3. Devi Meenanetri in Shankarabharanam
4. Devi Nee Padasarasa in Kambhoji
5. Marivere Gathi in Ananda Bhairavi
6. Mayamma in Ahiri
7. Nannu Brovu Lalitha in Lalitha

Mutthuswami Dikshithar has not been so lucky. As far as I am aware, none of his compositions are grouped together and named as "rathnas". His compositions have been grouped together in many other ways (this should be a separate blog post), but none of them as "rathnas". Only once, I have seen a reference to Dikshithar's Srirangam pancha"rathnas", but this is also an obscure reference. I list them here anyway.

1. Ranganayakam in Nayaki
2. Rangapura Vihara in Brindavana Saranga
3. Sri Bhargavi in Mangala Kaishiki
4. Sri Ranganathaya Namasthe in Dhanyasi
5. Sri Ranganatham in Purnachandrika (not sure if this is a Dikshithar krithi at all)

And then the one set of "rathnas" which triggered this post are Purandara Dasa's nava"rathnas". The nice thing about these "rathnas" is that pretty much everybody sings them in the same ragas with the same melody, which cannot be said for most other dasa krithis.

1. Jaya jaya in Natta
2. Adidano Ranga in Arabhi
3. Kallu Sakkare in Kalyani
4. Odi Baarayya in Bhairavi
5. Sakala Grahabala in Athana
6. Pogadiralo in Shankarabharana
7. Na Ninna in Kaanada
8. Krishnamurthy in Kambhoji
9. Banda Ne Ne in Shri

But why do we have this need to classify compositions into "rathnas"? And does this mean that the other compositions of these composers are not "rathnas"?

This reminds me of an upanyasa that I had once heard. The speaker had said this, "When I am talking about Rama, I will tell you that Rama's avatara is the best amongst all of Narayana's avataras. But when I am talking about Krishna, I will tell you that Krishna's avatara is the best amongst all of Narayana's avataras". All these compositions are similar too - when you are listening to one of them, that will seem like the best composition of the composer. And so, arent they all "rathnas"?

I also wonder if the composers ever had the intent of grouping their songs as such. And why do we group them into groups of 5 or 9? Maybe a group of 3 is too small or a group of 11 is too large. And would a group of even number of krithis be too odd?

One advantage of grouping the compositions together seems to be that they are made easy for ghoshti gayana or group singing. The melody or the dhaathu gets fixed and all singers adhere to it and so singing them in a group makes it easier.

And why do we use the term "rathna"? Why not "mani" or "manikya" - pancha"mani" krithis or nava"manikya" krithis?

Most of these classifications seem to have happened much after the life of these composers (this is especially true of Purandara Dasa's navarathnas which were probably grouped together in the 20th century). Be that as it may, all these songs are more than worthy of being termed as "rathnas" and all the other non-"rathna" compositions are no less "rathnas" than these.

Where have all the stars gone???

The other day I was driving at night somewhere near Mono Lake, CA and my daughter suddenly looked out and exclaimed "Nakshathra mama". And I looked out too and saw a clear, cloudless sky filled with stars. And immediately, I was nostalgic. That night sky reminded me of the sky I used to see at night in my childhood.

The childhood in which there was no TV and so after dinner, time would be spent by sitting outside under the sky enjoying the cool breeze with all the adults discussing gossip or the days events.

But now, the few times that I do gaze up at the night sky, I find that there are no stars or at least not as many as there used to be. Where have all the stars gone???

It would be highly unscientific of me to even remotely think that the stars have all vanished. Its just that most stars (except the very bright ones) are not visible any more at night. And who is to blame? Who else but us.

"Light Pollution". It is defined as excessive or obtrusive light created by humans. Is there nothing that we have left unpolluted? Air, water, noise, environment, and now finally even light. But in a different sense. We have not polluted light itself the way we have polluted water and air. We are only polluting the environment and ecosystems by producing too much light.

And so, if you live in a city, there is so much light that human activity produces that our eyes get distracted and so the light from the stars does not reach them. And so, we feel that the stars have vanished.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution or http://www.darksky.org/. What is heartening is that a lot of towns and cities in the US are coming up with light ordinances which controls how much light is produced and also how it is directed. For eg: street lights will be forced to shed their light downwards on the ground only and not in all directions as they do now.

I just hope and pray that one day my children or my grand-children will not think of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as just a nursery rhyme.