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Guruvaibhavam 2025 - Sri Narayana Theerthar
Guruvaibhavam 2025 - Sri Narayana Theerthar
Guruvaibhavam 2025, our fifth Guruvaibhavam event in the series, focused on Sri Narayana Theerthar, a saint-composer of Carnatic music.
40 talented singers from various age groups participated from various states across India. Our participants performed all the 21 kritis written by Sri Narayana Theerthar covering varied ragas and talas. They were accompanied by Kodunthirapully Sri Subbaraman on Violin and Sri Rajagopal Ramamoorthy on Mridangam.
The program was inaugurated by our chief guests Thripunithura Ramachandran Bhagavathar, Sri Sreedhar Gopalakrishnan, Shri. Kodunthirapully Paremeswaran, a highly reputed mridangam player, guru.
Our anchors Smt Aishwarya P L, Smt Savitha Sreenivasan & Ms Sreepa Sreenivas took us through the journey describing each Kriti origin, meaning, how it was created, ragas, talas, making the experience for our audience so blissful and complete.
The program was concluded with the felicitation ceremony of maithree members, our guru and momentos to our participants.
About Sri Narayana Theerthar
About Sri Narayana Theerthar
Narayana Theerthar (c. 1650 – 1745 CE) was a Hindu saint and composer, known to be a devotee of the deity Krishna.
Narayana Theerthar was born in South India in the region covered by the present-day Andhra Pradesh. He lived in Kaza, Guntur district near Mangalagiri. He belonged to Tallavarjula family. His birth name was Govinda Sastrulu. They eventually moved to Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.
He mastered music at a very early age and studied Puranas, Srimad Bhagavatam and other Sanskrit works. He renounced family at a very early age and took on a life of a religious devotion. He went to Varanasi to spread his philosophy.
Theerthar was very well versed in Music and, Natya Shastra, and a great scholar in Sanskrit. He used at least 34 popular ragas. He used Triputa, Adi, Rupaka, Chapu, Jampa, Matya, Vilamba, Eka and Ata taalams. Many of the songs are structurally well set for direct use as nritya or natya padams. He carefully avoided complex usages and utilized easy expressions. His Gadyams and Padyams are exquisite in beauty. He used 17 different Chandas or meters such as Anushtup, Arya, Indravajra, Bhujangaprayadam, Shardula vikriditam, Vasanta tilaka, Prithvi.
He wrote 15 books and some of them are available in Benares Hindu University and Parijatapaharanam at Saraswathi Mahal in Tanjore. He is also credited with composing two other operas, Parijaa Apaharanam and Haribhakti Sudharnavam.
Narayana Theerthar received divine blessings at Varagur in Thanjavur District. His mukthi sthalam (place of eternity) is at Varagur. Although he lived in Varahur, Narayana Teertha attained Siddhi in 1745 at a nearby village called Thirupoonthuruthy under a huge mango tree, on the banks of Kudamurutti River, on the Masi Sukla Ashtami, Guruvaram, Krithika Nakshatram day. It is said that he attained 'Jeeva Samadhi' (even while alive). A small shrine has been constructed on this hallowed spot, under the sprawling mango tree.
Sree Krishna Leela Tarangiri
Narayana Theerthar was the author of a Sanskrit opera called Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini on the life of the Krishna. It deals with the various pastimes of Krishna, starting from describing his various avataras, to his birth, childhood pastimes (Bala Leelas) and ending with his marriage to Rukmini. Narayana Theerthar uses various literary and musical forms such as songs, prose passages, slokas (praises in verse), dwipadis (couplets), etc. The songs are popularly called "Tarangas" means waves. The lyrics are simple yet beautiful and effective
We took 21 kritis from the Tarangas for the participants to learn and perform for the Guruvaibhavam 2025.
Kritis Performed
Participants
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