Essence of Vedanta in Purandara Dasa songs

Essence of Vedanta in Purandara Dasa songs
The quintessence of Advaita Vedanta established by Sri Shankaracharya can be
summed up in just half a verse:
ोकाधन पर्वयािम यदुक्तं गर्न्थकोिटिभः ।
बर् सत्यं जगिन्मथ्या जीवो बर्ैव नापरः ॥
//In just half-a-verse let me render what is said in millions of verses: Brahman is the
Truth, the world is false and the jiva is none other than Brahman.//
In a way, this one line forms a crisp commentary of the entire Vedic lore. Conversely,
the entire scriptural literature is an elucidation of this one line.
Sri Purandara Dasaru, a great saint-composer of the 15 th century, is well known for
bringing out the essence of the scripture in a manner that instantly appeals to the
audience. His message is lofty, packed in simple language and profound in meaning.
In the sequel are analyzed a few of his compositions that bring out the meaning of the
above verse summarizing the Advaita Vedanta.
The following song brings out the ‘jagat mithya’ aspect of Vedanta:
allide nammane illi bande summane
[My ‘home’ is ‘there’; I have come here only seemingly, with no real purpose. Another
reading of this second phrase is: ‘illiruvudu summane’ which means: what is ‘here’, in
this world, is just an appearance, or my being here is just an appearance.]
Comments: The opening line brings out the Reality of the Absolute and the falsity of the
relative. ‘Allide nammane’ = ‘Brahma satyam’, ‘illiruvudu summane’ = ‘jagat mithya’.

kada bagilirisida kalla mane idu
mudadinda loladO sullu mane
idiragi vaikuntha vAsa mAduvantha
padumanabhana divya baduku mane ||Allide||
[This fictitious house is endowed with doors and windows and is an unreal abode where
one wallows in passion. But that Lord of VaikunTha has made this His divine abode. ]
Comments: In this stanza the ‘house’ indicates the body with sense organs, which are
the doors and windows to the outside world. This body is a deceit, a make believe,
kaLLa mane. It is a trap camouflaged and appears to give great joy to the jiva who is
attached to the body by false identification: suLLu mane. But the truth is, the Lord
Padmanabha is the one who lives here.
This idea is reminiscent of the Bhagavadgita verse 15.10 where the Lord says that it is
Brahman that lives out the life of staying in the body, experiencing the samsaric events
and transmigrating to different bodies. He who fails to realize Him, so intimately
available, is the greatest deluded fool.
In the above stanza Sri Dasaru is bringing out the ‘jivo brahmaiva na aparaH’ idea. The
jiva thinks egoistically that he is the one living here but the truth Dasa teaches is that the
Lord is the one who is living here. The jiva is none other than Brahman. This
knowledge shatters the ego completely. This is the height of surrender. In the
language of the Srimad Bhagavata, it is ‘Atma nivedanam’ that Prahlada taught as the
culmination of the nava-vidha-bhakti:
shravaNam kiirtanaM viShNoH smaraNaM pAda-sevanam |
archanaM vandanaM dAsyaM sakhyamAtma-nivedanam ||
The path and the goal are brought out here.

mAligemaneyendu nechchi kedali beda
kElayya harikathe Shravanangala
nAle yamadootaru bandeledoyvaga
mAlige maneyu sangada baradayya ||Allide||
[Do not be enamoured by a multi-storeyed house and get deceived. Engage in listening
to the divine sports of the Lord Hari. When the messengers of Yama arrive to drag you
away, the multi-storeyed house will not be of any aid to you. ]
Comments: In this verse Sri Dasaru is teaching the need and method for developing
dispassion and cultivating bhakti. The fear of death is inculcated here which brings forth
vairagya for earthly possessions, including the body. The realization that it is the Lord
and Lord alone that could save one is conveyed here.
The caution about the unannounced arrival of death by Purandara Dasa is akin to the
famous lines of the Bhaja Govindam:
संपर्ाे सििहते काले निह निह रक्षित ’डुकृ ञ् करणे’
[when death arrives to snatch you away, the vyAkaraNa dhAtu pATha: ‘DukRRi~n
karaNe’ is not going to come to your rescue.]
Incidentally, it is pertinent to note that Sri Purandara Dasaru too has conveyed exactly
the same message in one of his very popular songs:
‘guruvina gulaamanaaguva tanaka mukuti dorakadaNNa’ (hear this song here) {So long
as you do not completely surrender to a Guru, mukti is nowhere near you.’} In this
song, Dasaru says:
Pari pari shAstragaLa Odidarenu vyarthavaayitu bhakuti [By studying various shAstras –
like vyakaraNa, meemaamsaa, tarka, Vedanta - nothing is going to be gained. On the
contrary cultivating Devotion to the Lord is given a go by.]

By the above messages, are Shankara and Purandara Dasa deriding the study of
Shastras? No, not at all. What they are pointing to is, in the absence of true devotion,
the mere study of these shastras will only serve to eke out a worldly living; they would
not lead to liberation. They are likely to inflate one’s ego. This meaning of their message
should never be missed. Shankara has also said in His ‘gurvaShTakam’:
षडङ्गािदवेदो मुखे शािवा किवत्वािदगं सुपं करोित ।
मने लग्नं गुरोरिङ्घर्पे ततः िक ततः िक ततः िक ततः िकम् ॥ ३ ॥
[Attaining mastery over the Veda-s along with their auxiliary sciences, proficiency in
various branches of study (shAstra-s), great skill in composing poems and prose – all
these are of no use if one’s mind is not set on the lotus-feet of the Guru.]
Continues Sri Purandara Dasa:
madadi makkalemba hambala ninagEko
kadugobbuthanadali mereyadiru
odeya sri purandharavitthlarayana
drudha bhaktiyali nee bhajiselo manuja ||Allide||
[Why do you crave for wife and children? Do not go about with haughtiness. Cultivate
firm devotion to the Lord Purandara Vitthala and make your life worthy.]
Comments: In Shankaracharya’s Bhaja Govindam there is this verse:
का ते कान्ता कस्ते पुतर्ः
संसारोऽयमतीव िविचतर्ः ।
कस्य त्वं वा कु त आयातः
तत्त्वं िचन्तय तिदह भर्ातः ॥

Who is your wife? Who indeed is your son? This samsara is extremely puzzling. To
whom do you belong? Whence have you come? O my Brother, contemplate deeply on
these questions. //
Purandara Dasa is prompting us to ask these questions. His line: ‘kadugobbuthanadali
mereyadiru’ is a close reflection of Shankaracharya’s ‘Bhaja Govindam’ verse:
मा कु रु धन-जन-यौवन-गवर्ं
हरित िनमेषात् कालः सवर्म्
मायामयिमदं अिखलं िहत्वा
बर्पदं त्वं पर्िवश िविदत्वा ॥
[Take no pride in your possession, in the people at your command, in the youthfulness
that you have. Time loots away all these in a moment. Leaving aside all these, after
knowing their illusory nature, realize the state of Brahman and enter into it.]
Hear the above Kannada song: http://www.raaga.com/player4/?id=71455&mode=100&rand=0.46149811396913454
(This is rendered by Upendra Bhat, in Hindustani style. Sri Vidyabhushana has rendered it in carnatic style, which I
could not locate on the net and which is my preference.)
Watch this thematic video, with the voice of M.S.Subbulakshmi, on Bhaja Govindam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4FUQxn4CnY
The following song of Dasaru is analyzed in the sequel:
(ಾಗ ಶಂಕಾಾರಣ ಅಟಾಳ)
ೂಳೂಟ್ ಎಾಲ್ ೂಳೂಟ್ ||ಪ||
ಆ ಕುದು ಒಂ ೂಳೂಟ್ , ಬಹು
ೕ ಭಂಾರವು ೂಳೂಟ್
ಾಯರ ಸಂಗ ೂಳೂಟ್ , ೂಡಡ್
ೂೕೕಶಂಬುದು ೂಳೂಟ್ ||

ಮುತುತ್ ಾಕಯ್ ೂಳೂಟ್ , ನನ್
ಛತರ್ ಾಮರ ಧವ್ಜ ೂಳೂಟ್
ಸುತತ್ಗಲ ಕೋ ೂಳೂಟ್ , ಮತ್
ಉತತ್ಮಪರ್ಭುತವ್ ೂಳೂಟ್ ||
ಕಂಟಕಂೂೕದು ೂಳೂಟ್ , ನಮಮ್
ಂಟರು ಇಷಟ್ರು ೂಳೂಟ್
ಉಂಾದ ಗುಣ ಪುರಂದರಠಲನನ್
ಬಂಟಾಗದವ ೂಳೂಟ್ ||
The meaning and purport of the above song:
In the above song, the entire worldly attainment is shown, by way of highlighting their
utter worthlessness. What is considered as royal wealth like elephant, horse, camel,
army, treasury - all this is insubstantial. Company of women is of no worth at all. To
have the haughty feeling: ‘I am a great emperor’ is simply naught.
Riches like pearls, diamonds and jewels are nothing at all. Insignias like gold, chAmara,
flag are all insignificant. An expansive fort and high lordship is all devoid of any worth.
‘These are my adversaries and these are my well-wishers’. Such a feeling is empty of
any value. Then what is of real worth at all in this world? Purandara Dasa replies,
implicitly:
He who has not surrendered to the Mine of Virtues, the Lord ViTThala, is a complete
wreck.
The above song is a clear depiction of the mAyA nature of the world. The जगिन्मथ्यात्वं and
बर्ैव सत्यं aspects of the essential Vedantic teaching are brought out in an appealing way.
Needless to say, that the jiva who has completely surrendered to the Lord, Brahman,
has no separate existence apart from Brahman. To claim any difference is the proof of
incomplete or incorrect surrender; the ego still remaining, आत्मिनवेदनम् has not yet been
accomplished. The last line of the song is indicative of the जीवो बर्ैव नापरः.

Thus, this one song of Purandara Dasa has in it the complete purport, verily an
elucidation, of the Vedantic verse quoted in the beginning.
Hear this song: (the audio link could not be located; anyone might pl. help and it shall be
updated here.)
The next song taken for analysis is: (alli nodalu Rama..)
alli nODalu rAma illi nODalu rAma |
ellelli nODidaralli shrIrAma ||
Hither Rama, thither Rama, wherever I look, I see Sri Rama there.
rAvaNana mUlabala kaMDu kapisEnE AvAgale bedari ODidavu|
IvElE naranAgi irabAradendeNisi dEva rAmachaMdra jagavella tAnAda||
Seeing the frightening power of RavaNa the vAnara army took to flight immediately.
Rama thought ‘Now I should not remain a human any longer’ and He ‘became’ the
entire world. And see the consequence of this:
avanige iva rAma ivanige ava rAma avaniyOlIpari rUpavuMTe |
lavamAtradi asura durularellaru avaravar hODedADi hatarAgi hOdaru ||
Each one sees Rama in the other’s place. A sees B as Rama and vice versa. Is there
a form other than that of Rama’s in the entire universe!!
The result of this transformation is two-fold. On the asura side, quickly they killed each
other and ended themselves. For, one asura saw Rama, as an enemy, where another
asura stood. Thus each asura saw another asura as Rama, the adversary and
beheaded him. This mutual Rama-darshana decimated the asura army. Now what
happened in the vAnara army?

hanumadAdi sAdu janaru appikoNDu kuNikuNidADidaru haruShadiMda |
kShaNadalli purandaraviTTalarAyanu konegoDeyanu tAnobbanAgi ninta ||
The noble-minded Hanuman and others, too, saw Rama in the place of each of
themselves. Out of devotion, joy, they embraced each other and danced in ecstasy. In
a moment, the Lord Purandara Vitthala, Sri Rama, remained as He Himself.
In the above song we see beautifully depicted: सवर्ं बर्मयम्, सवर्ं खिल्वदं बर्, नेह नानािस्त िकन्चन,
आत्मैवेदं सवर्म्, बर्ैवेदं सवर्म् - all scriptural passages declaring that Everything is Brahman
indeed. Also the passage: तत्त्वमेव त्वमेव तत्, अहं बर्ािस्म, तत्त्वमिस, ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव, etc. – all
proclaiming the fact that the individual is in truth Brahman alone. Of course, the names
and forms the inert world possessed were now disregarded and only Rama, Brahman,
mattered for all, everywhere. This is what constitutes the demonstration of jagat
mithyA.
Hear this song: http://bhakthigeetha.blogspot.com/2009/03/alli-nodalu-rama.html
To conclude, the three songs, selected as a sample from innumerable ones, affords a
bhakti-filled, soul-stirring, soul-filling, vedAntic mananam for a mumukshu. Glory to Sri
Rama, Glory to Sri Shankara, Glory to Sri Purandara Dasa. The exercise, along with the
hearing of the songs rendered by adept musicians, transports one to a transcendental
plane. And this is the purpose of any devotional composition, musical and literary.
Om Tat Sat
The Aradhane of Sri Purandara Dasa was observed all over Karnataka during this past week.
A rich resource on Purandara Dasa:
http://bellurramki18.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/sri-purandara-dasa-1494-1564/
Watch this beautiful animated video excerpt from a film on his life on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1PdHFWu4CE

(I bought this exquisitely produced animated picture on the life of Sri Purandara Dasaru. It is a marvel. The story has
been very well told, the sequences aptly depicted, songs thoughtfully selected and rendered with true bhAva.)
शर्ीसद्गुरुचरणारिवन्दापर्णमस्तु