Of Hindu God Songs

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From the chanting of ancient Vedic hymns to the melodic bhajans of modern-day devotees, Indian music is ultimately rooted in basic theological principles of sacred sound. These primordial principles are documented in Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas and Upanishads (ca 4000-1000 bce)-which are regarded as eternal and authorless, though later committed to written form.Music, both vocal and instrumental, is considered to be of divine origin and is closely identified with the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The Goddess Sarasvati, depicted with vina in hand, is venerated by all students and performers of Indian music as the divine patron of music and learning; indeed, She personifies the power of sound and speech. Lord Brahma, creator of the universe, portrayed as playing the hand cymbals, fashioned Indian music out of the verses of the Sama Veda. Lord Vishnu, the Preserver, sounds the conch shell, and in His avatara Krishna He plays the flute. Lord Siva Nataraja plays the damaru drum during the dance of creation.Each of these instruments symbolizes Nada-Brahman-the sacred, primeval, eternal sound, represented by the syllable Om, which generates the universe. This sound is embodied in the Vedas and itself symbolizes Brahman, the Supreme Absolute of the Upanishads.

Nada-Brahman appears in musical treatises as the foundation of music. Yoga texts use the term to denote the musical and inner sounds heard in deep yogic meditation. Nada refers to the cosmic sound, which may be either unmanifest or manifest. Since Brahman pervades the entire universe, including the human soul, the concept of sacred sound as Nada-Brahman expresses the connection between the human realm and the divine. Combining the principles of Nada-Brahman with Indian aesthetics of rasa and the structures of raga and tala, the various gharanas have nurtured the formal classical traditions of music to the present dayNada-Yoga, the yogic discipline that seeks transcendental inner awareness of Nada-Brahman, has also influenced Indian traditions of chant and music. Nada-Yoga techniques, including Om meditation, are found in philosophical yoga texts such as the Yoga Upanishads and the major hatha yoga texts, as well as Patanjali's Yoga Sutra and its commentaries.

My 1993 book, Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound, deals extensively with the Hindu philosophies of sound and Nada-Brahman.It begins with Vedic chantingIntrinsic to the ancient Vedic practice of fire sacrifice are chanting and meditation on sound. Recitation and chanting in Sanskrit are traceable to the Vedic period, when the Rig Veda was recited by priests during public and private fire ceremonies. From those early times, chanting has been seen as a powerful means to interact with the cosmos and obtain spiritual merit that would help one to gain a heavenly afterlife or an auspicious next life.Special brahmin priests known as Hotri chanted selected verses from the Rig Veda in roughly three tones, notated in early manuscripts as accents on particular syllables: anudatta (grave, 'not raised '), svarita (circumflex, 'sounded ') and udatta (acute, 'raised '). The grammarian Panini (4th century bce), who knew the early tradition, described the svarita tone as connecting the other two. But according to modern scholars-and in modern practice-the udatta, left unmarked, is considered the tonic, the principal note upon which the chants are intoned (like middle C); the anudatta, often marked with an underline, is a whole step below (B-flat); and the svarita, marked with a small vertical line above the syllable, is a half step above (D-flat).Sama Veda chantingThe chanting and hearing of sustained musical notes has been linked to the Divine in Hinduism from early Vedic times.

The Sama Veda contains Vedic verses set to pre-existent melodies. These songs, known as samans, were chanted by special brahmin priests called Udgatri during elaborate sacrificial ceremonies to petition and praise the Deities that control the forces of the universe. Unlike the three-tone chanting of the Rig Veda, samans were rendered in melodies of up to seven tones, ranging from F above middle C to G below.

These notes were in descending order, as the melodies of the samans were usually descending in contour.A unique feature of the Sama Veda chanting was the insertion of a number of seemingly 'meaningless' words or syllables (stobha) for musical and lyrical effect, such as o, hau, hoyi, va, etc. These stobha syllables were extended vocally, with long duration, on various notes of the Sama Veda scale for the purpose of invoking the Gods. Vedic scholar G.U.

Thite explains, 'The poet-singers call, invoke, invite the Gods with the help of musical elements. In so doing they seem to be aware of the magnetic power of music, and therefore they seem to be using that power in calling the Gods.' Thite elaborates, 'Gods are fond of music. They like music and enjoy it.

The poet-singers sing and praise the Gods with the intention that the Gods may be pleased thereby, and having become pleased they may grant gifts.' He stresses the importance of the singing of samans: 'Without it, no sacrifice can go to the Gods.' Precise methods of singing the samans were established and preserved by three different schools-the Kauthumas, Ranayaniyas and the Jaiminiyas, the oldest. Each has maintained a distinct style with regard to vowel prolongation, interpolation and repetition of stobha, meter, phonetics and the number of notes in scales. In each school there has been a fervent regard for maintaining continuity in Sama Veda singing to avoid misuse or modification over the years. Since written texts were not used in early times-were in fact prohibited-the priests memorized the chants with the aid of accents and melodies, passing this tradition down orally from one generation to the next for over three thousand years.Evolution of Gandharva SangitaThe early tradition of saman singing set the stage for the creation and development of Indian classical music known first as Gan-dharva Sangita, then as simply Sangita. According to Dr.

Raghavan, Sangita is born from the Sama Veda: 'Our music tradition in the North, as well as in the South, remembers and cherishes its origin in the Sama Veda, the musical version of the Rig Veda.' Indian music, known as Sangita, has three divisions, as understood from the musical texts: vocal music, instrumental music and dance. All three have always been intertwined, whether in religious observances, sacred dramas or courtly entertainment.Gandharva Sangita ( 'celestial music ') was considered to be similar to the music performed and enjoyed in Lord Indra's court in heaven.

Though primarily vocal, this ancient religious music included instruments such as the vina, flutes, drums and cymbals, as mentioned in Vedic literature. In fact, the vina was played during Vedic rites by the wife of the officiant. The celestial performers of the music were the Gandharvas, a class of male demigod singers who resided in heaven. They were accompanied by their wives, the dancing Apsaras, and by the Kinnaras on musical instruments. Each of these arts-vocal music, instrumental music and dance-was thus considered divine.

The leader of the Gandharvas was Narada Rishi, the son of Brahma and author of seven hymns in the Rig Veda (and Sama Veda). He was also said to be the inventor of the vina and the sage who instructed human beings in Gandharva Sangita, having learned it from Goddess Sarasvati Herself.Sangita's musical scale-used first in Gandharva Sangita and later in all other types of Indian music-differs from the Sama Veda scale described above. Sangita uses a seven-note system (sapta-svara) in ascending order. Current today, the standardized notes are sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni-sa, taking their sounds from the names of different birds and animals: sadja, peacock; rishabha, bull; gandhara, ram; ma-dhyama, crane; panchama, cuckoo; dhaivata, horse; and nishada, elephant).

These are set forth in the Narada Siksha (1st century ce), where the presumed author, Narada Rishi, explains how these seven notes were determined from the three Vedic accents: udatta into Ni and Ga, anudatta into Ri and Dha, and svarita into Sa, Ma and Pa.Complex rules and standards for scales, rhythms and instrumental styles of Gan-dharva music were gradually codified in a number of texts which came to be known collectively as the Gandharva Veda, an auxiliary text attached to the Sama Veda. Several of these works have been lost; but the oldest surviving texts of Indian music-the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni and the Dattilam by Dattila (both ca. 200 bce) and the aforementioned Narada Siksha-provide glimpses into the evolution of Gandharva Sangita. Bharata's work in particular was foundational. It was he who classified musical instruments into four categories based on the Gandharva instruments: vina (chordophones), drum (membranophones), flute (aerophones) and cymbals (idiophones). Based on these four divisions (given in parentheses), the famous Sachs-Hornbostel system-used today in the academic field of ethnomusicology-was established in the early twentieth century. Also, the term raga ( 'musical mood or flavor ') as a type of scale or melodic formula, first mentioned in the Narada Siksha, was derived from the parent jati enumerated in Bharata's work.Gandharva music soon developed into the principal style of music performed in Hindu festivals, court ceremonies and temple rituals in honor of the great Gods and Goddesses, like Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, Ganesha and Devi.

The ancient epics and Puranas describe temple musicians and dancers who performed for the pleasure of these Deities and contain numerous references to temple music in ancient times. Music was also associated with sacred dramatic performances-, as clearly evidenced in Bharata's Natya Shastra.Evolving vernacularsSpecial songs used to propitiate the Gods, called Dhruva, were rendered not in Sanskrit but in Prakrit, a derivative language with less rigid grammatical construction, which led to the evolution of several vernaculars. The Dhruva form was the prototype of the medieval Prabandha, from which arose the classical devotional forms sung in vernacular and known as Dhrupad (Dhruvapad) in the North and Kriti in the South.

The rapidly developing music of India also enlarged itself with materials from outside the original repertoire.Nada-BrahmanBy the period of the early Bhakti movements in South India (7th to 10th centuries ce), Indian musicological treatises such as Matanga's Brihaddeshi began to incorporate the theory of sacred sound as Nada-Brahman, the principles of Nada-Yoga and the Tantra traditions, interpreting all music as a direct manifestation of Nada-Brahman-and therefore as a means of access to the highest spiritual realities. Music was viewed not only as entertainment but as a personal vehicle toward moksha, liberation.Subsequent musicological authors influenced by Matanga discussed Nada-Brahman in relation to the Gods and as present throughout the cosmos, including all living beings. For example, the Sangita Ratnakara of Sarngadeva (ca. 1200-1250 ce), arguably the most important musicological treatise of India, opens with the salutation: 'We worship Nada-Brahman, that incomparable bliss which is immanent in all the creatures as intelligence and is manifest in the phenomena of this universe. Indeed, through the worship of Nada-Brahman are worshiped Gods (like) Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, since they essentially are one with it.' Thus by this time there was a full conflation of the tradition of sacred sound (the Nada-Brahman principle) with the art of music in all its phases, including religious, secular, classical and folk.Bhakti-SangitaCelebrated by many as a distinct doctrine and mode of religious life superior to jnana (knowledge) and karma (works), bhakti-initially propounded in the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna-became the primary motive for religious music from the early medieval period. As early as the sixth century ce in South India, bhakti emerged as a powerful force that favored a devotion-centered Hinduism, with songs composed not only in Sanskrit but in vernacular languages.

Tamil God Songs Download

Of Hindu God Songs List

Leading this trend were two main groups of poet-singer-saints in South India whose devotion to Siva and Vishnu lives to this day: the Saivite Nayanars and the Vaishnava Alvars. The collections of their devotional poetry in Tamil-the Saivite Tevaram and the Vaishnavite Naliyar Prabandham-represent the oldest surviving verses in Indian vernaculars. These two books are the first hymnals of Bhakti-Sangita or devotional music.Directly related to the word bhakti and to Bhagavan (a word for Supreme Being) is the term bhajan, which means musical worship. These three words arise from a single Sanskrit root: bhaj, 'to share, to partake of ' (as in a ritual). Bhagavan refers to the Lord who possesses bhaga, good fortune and opulence.

Bhajan, a somewhat generic term for religious or devotional music other than Vedic chant and Gandharva Sangita, is directly linked to the rising Bhakti movements. In bhajan, God (Bhagavan) is praised, worshiped or supplicated in a mutual exchange of loving affection, or bhakti. The Bhakti traditions contained various styles of bhajan or Bhakti-Sangita, ranging from formal temple music to informal group or solo songs. Hindu music incorporated a simple aesthetic, reflecting back to these emerging Bhakti movements and their perspectives on music as a means of immediate communion with a chosen Deity.The Upanishads describe Brahman, the Supreme Truth, as full of bliss and rasa ( 'emotional taste, pleasure '). In theistic Vedanta, Brahman as supreme personal Deity-whether worshiped as Vishnu, Siva, Sakti or in any other form-was believed to be the source of all rasa and extremely fond of music. The emotional experience produced by music in the minds of the listeners (bhava) was thus also linked to God.Raga and talaIt is said that the musical scales or melody formulas of Indian music, known as raga, are as timeless as the law of gravity and must be discovered, much like the Vedas themselves.

Each raga embodies a particular rasa (mood or flavor) and can thus generate those same feelings within both the listener and the performer when properly invoked. When those feelings are directed towards God as Brahman or Ishvara, the result is higher attachment (also called raga). And if the music is both understood as Nada-Brahman and performed properlyin the spirit of bhakti or bhakti-rasa, then the musician and the listener are said to gain release and the association of Ishvara (Supreme Controller) in both this life and the next.

Musicians in India have a saying: 'through svara (musical notes), Ishvara (God) is realized.' Tala (rhythm) is also of great importance in Indian music. Vedic ritual chants were punctuated by metrical divisions.

Besides aiding memorization, these divisions-when chanted-were believed to generate distinct units of merit that accrued to the priest or sacrificer, leading to afterlife in heaven. This connection of music to Vedic merit was explained in classical music texts such as the Dattilam. Since Vedic chanting was metrical, religious music also required a distinct rhythm or division of musical time sequence in order to yield the same benefits. In Gandharva music, similar metrical units were marked by the rhythmic playing of drums and metal hand cymbals (kartal or jhanjh).Emphasis on devotionThe ancient theory held that performing or hearing music hastened one's liberation solely through the marking of ritual (musical) time. But in the emerging Bhakti traditions, it was recognized that moksha depends also on one's emotion or feelings-the depth of one's personal relationship with the Deity, including the proper rasa and feelings of bhava.Bhakti literature saw a rapidly expanding assortment of song-texts in regional vernacular languages.

Of Hindu God Songs Mp3

Many of these were stimulated by Jayadeva's Gita Govinda, a Sanskrit work of 12th-century Bengal. This text contained linguistic innovations in Sanskrit meter which influenced the development of vernacular musical composition in Prakrit, including special dialects like Braj Bhasha and Brajbuli.