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Gopalakrishna Bharathi (GB)
The Lord of Thillai
Composition:
sabhApatikku vEru……..
Composer: gOpAlakrishNa Bharathi
mudrA: balakrishNan, and
(signature): gOpalakrishNan
rAgam: AbhOgi (janyam of meLam 22)
ArOhaNam: S R2G2M1D2
S
AvarOhaNam:S D2M1G2R2
S
tALam: rUpakam
Pallavi: sabhApatikku vERu deivam
samAnamAgumA tillai (sabhA….)
Anupallavi: krupAnidhi ivaraip pOlak
kidaikkumO inda tAraNi tanilE (sabhA…)
CaraNam: oru taram shivacidambaram enRu
uraittAl pOdumE
paragatikku vERu puNyam paNNa vENDumA
ariya pulaiyar mUvar pAdam aDaintAr enRE purANam
aRindu sollak kETTOm gOpAlakrishNan pAdum tillai (sabhA….)
Meaning:
Is there another God who can match the Lord
of Thillai (Chidambaram) in glory, i.e., SabhApati (Nataraja)?
He is a treasure house of mercy. Could one get another entity
like Him in this universe?
It is enough if one utters the
word "shivacidambaram" just once. To attain salvation
one does not need to earn any other merit. We learn from the epics that speak of
the three rare "pulaiyars" (untouchables) attaining Godhead. Is there
another God who is equal to Nataraja who is sung by Gopalakrishnan?
General Comments:
 Gopalakrishna Bharathi’s favourite deity was Lord Nataraja
of Chidambaram. Most of his songs are on Nataraja. This particular song was
written soon after GB visited Thyagaraja, the bard of tiruvaiyaRu. GB visited
Thyagaraja and listened to his disciples sing a kriti of Thyagaraja "manasu
nilpa" in the rAgam AbhOgi. Then he went to bathe in the river KavEri, and
composed this kriti "sabhApatikku" on the spot in Thamizh in the same
ragam on Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram. When he came back to Thyagaraja’s
house, Thyagaraja asked GB if he has composed any kriti in AbhOgi. GB said he
did so after hearing Thyagaraja’s kriti and sang it for him. Thyagaraja was
happy and showered praise on GB.
The phrase "ariya pulaiyar mUvar" evokes deep
feelings in everyone who hears this kriti. It is widely known that GB, although
born a Brahmin, was an ardent supporter of the downtrodden folks, especially
harijans, as is obvious from his magnum opus "Nandanar caritira
kIrttanai", a Thamizh opera glorifying the low-caste farm hand Nandan for
his flagrant bhakthi, who was later inducted in the Nayanmar Hall of Fame as
"TirunALaippOvAr". The term "ariya pulaiyar mUvar" refers to
three "untouchables"—Nandanar, Thillai VettiyAn, and PeRRAn SAmbhan—who
lived in the area around Thillai and were supposed to have attained Godhead as a
reward for their piety.
Nandanar was featured in the "Periya PurANam" by
SEkkizhAr. The other two lived in later times. A fervent shaivite by name
UmApati ShivAchAriyAr (14th century CE) initiated PeRRAn SAmbhan (a person born
as a pulaiyar) into shaivism (a prohibited act those days) under the guidance of
a letter given by God. The ardent shaivite was excommunicated by the Thillai
Brahmins for that sacrilegious (!) act. This action has a parallel in the 20th
century too as seen by the ostracism of Subramanya Bharathi by the Brahmin
community for his ‘reformist’ activities. GB glorified the "ariya
pulaiyar mUvar" by including them in this kriti. It is invariably a person
from another segment of the society who works for the upliftment of folks from
an oppressed segment.
Composer’s Bio:
 Gopalakrishna Bharathi (1810-1896) was born in a Brahmin
family in Narimanam (near Nagappattinam) and lived in and around Mayuram. He
lived a celibate life. He was ostracized by the orthodox Brahmins for performing
a kathA kAlakshEpam (religious story discourse) on ThirunIlakanta nAyanAr
(a potter by profession), one of the 63 nAyanmArs. His Nandanar caritiram
received great acclaim and kritis from that opera are very popular these days in
the concert circuit. His compositions number greater than 1000, opera songs
alone accounting for about 400.
Some of the other songs of GB which are popular include: varugalAmO
ayyA (mAnji), saRRE vilagi irum piLLAi (pUrvikalyANi),
varuvArO (sAmA), ennEramum undan (dEvaghAndAri), eppO
varuvArO (jOnpuri), and tiruvaDi caraNam (kAmbhoji).
Several musicians in the past and present have sung GB’s
kritis in concerts with great pride. The late K. V. Narayanaswami’s rendering
of "varugalAmO" is considered a classic by many. Other present-day
musicians who have rendered GB’s kritis are T. N. Seshagopalan, Sriram
Gangadharan, Bombay Sisters, Sudha Ragunathan, Nithyasri Mahadevan, and Sanjay
Subrahmanyan, among others.
References:
1. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/co1020.html
2. http://www.sangeetham.com/others/m_perdetails.php3?submit=yes&rdoperson-34
3. http://carnatica.net/composer/gopalakrishnabharati.htm
4. http://www.shaivam.org/adumapat.htm
Sethuraman
Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com
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