Pranam
*What is ninda-stuti? { Ninda stuti is not created by me (this itself
revealed the knowledge of the Naraka and Goraka very well). It is a double
edged weapon- a good one really meaning trhe bad; and the vice-versa.
Nindāstuti (**निन्दास्तुति**):—[=**nindā-stuti**] [from nindā >
nind] f. ironical praise, irony, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as
amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.] Vaishnavaites used it in depth. KR
IRS 15322*
The Sanskrit word *ninda* means “abuse, blame.” *Stuti *is a general term
for devotional literary compositions, but literally means “adulation,
praise.” Putting these two together, we get what William Jackson calls a
“song of praise by way of sarcasm” (Jackson 367).
Madhu Khanna writes, “It is commonly understood that a *ninda-stuti* is a
form of *shlesha-kavya*, literary composition laden with double entendre.
This form of address is ultimately looked upon as a form of *dvesha- bhakti*,
devotion expressed through hatred and enmity.
Such forms of dialogue are well known in the epics and in the *Bhagavata
Purana*. In the *Mahabharata*, Shishupala and Dantavaktra recite a
*ninda-stuti* to Krishna. In the *Bhagavata*, Kamsa, Hiranyakashipu and
Hiranyaksha, and in the *Ramayana*, Ravana and Kumbhakarna don the roles of
god-haters.
The [idea] is that it is the god in question who empowers them with such
hatred, it is god who creates these situations through his power of
*maya* [illusion]
to put such characters in a quandary and finally it is god alone who
releases them and frees them from bondage to the immoral and evil traits of
their character” (Khanna 205).
*Ninda-stuti*s aren’t just found in epics, though. Their “familiarity and
humorous disrespect” lend themselves naturally to performances of music,
drama, and dance (Jackson 367). Quite a few* ninda-stuti*s are presented in
performances of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam dance. The Tamil composers
Muthu Thandavar (16th century), Papavinasa Mudaliar, and Marimutha Pillai
(both early 18th century) were especially known for their *ninda-stuti*s.
An online Carnatic radio station
<http://radioweb.in/programs/ninda-stuti> notes
that “these compositions are seen as passionate outbursts of the devotee,
who takes liberties with [the] Lord because of the special relationship
between them. Even though the [lyrics appear] to criticise the deity, the
songs are an expression of affection, with the composer treating the deity
addressed *as an equal*” (emphasis mine).
I want to emphasize that last phrase: the composers of *ninda-stuti*s are
addressing their chosen deity as an equal, and I think this is a really
unique and fascinating way of imagining a relationship to the divine. It’s
important that William Jackson reminds us that this attitude is not
totally unique to Hinduism: “there are also examples of this complaining to
the deity going back to the Old Testament: Job XVI 6-17 and XXI, 1-6.”
(Jackson 367). However, I would argue that most religious traditions,
including many Hindu traditions, have not fostered this attitude to the
extent that we see occurring in *ninda-stuti*s. In this post, I want to
highlight three examples of *ninda-stuti*, all composed in different
languages and addressed to different deities.
------------------------------
*Mocking Shiva in Tamil: Nadamadi thirindha*
Our first encounter with *ninda-stuti* is a *padam *composed by
Papavinasa Mudaliar, a Carnatic composer who lived in Tamil Nadu in the
early 18th century. This song is addressed to the god Shiva in the form of
Nataraja, “lord of dance”:Shiva’s dance has inspired a great deal of Hindu
poetry and music (some of which I’ve written about before
<https://nikhiletc.wordpress.com/2016/01/22/the-poetry-of-the-shiva-tandava-stotram/>),
and his classical pose as Nataraja—four arms, dancing in a circle of fire,
dreadlocks unraveled—has become one of the most recognizable symbols of
Hinduism worldwide. In this composition, Papavinasa Mudaliar takes aim at
this iconic pose, sarcastically asking Shiva why his left leg is always
raised: Has it become paralyzed? Did he sprain it? Did he stub his toe on a
doorstep? The composer makes reference to the Chidambaram temple, where
Nataraja is worshiped, as well as to a number of popular myths of Shiva,
some of which I’ve tried to explain.
“Nadamadi Thirindha” is set in the popular raga Kambhoji
<http://www.ragasurabhi.com/carnatic-music/raga/raga--kambhoji.html> and is
in khanda chapu (five-beat cycle). Below is a Bharatanatyam performance of
this *padam *(the recording begins with the *anupallavi*, or second
section: *diDamdEvum…*), and a translation of the lyrics. I love the way
the dancer portrays Shiva hobbling around hitting his foot on a
doorstep! You can also listen to a vocal rendition by T. M. Krishna here
<http://karnatic-mp3.blogspot.com/2011/08/nadamadi-thirinda-t-m-krishna.html>
.
Also, if you know Tamil and have suggestions for a more accurate
translation, please let me know; I can read and write the script, but I
don’t know the language at all.
*naDamADi t-tirinda umakkiDadukAl udavAmal*
*muDamAnadEn enDRu sholluvIrayyA*
Oh my Lord who wanders around dancing, please tell me: why has your left
leg become crippled and useless?
*diDamEvum tillainagar maruvu pErAnanda*
*shaDai virittADinavA dEvA ciRsabhai aRiya (naDamADi…)*
Oh Lord who blissfully danced in Chidambaram with such vigor that your
dreadlocks came undone! (Please tell…) so that everyone in the c*hit
sabha** can
understand.
*the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple
*tirunIRai c-cumandIrO, neruppAna mEnitanil*
*shItattinAl migunda vAdaguNamO*
*orumaiyuDan mArkaNDarkku udaviyAy marali vizha*
*udaikka shuLukkERi uNDa guNamO*
*paravaitanil teruvAshaRpaDi iDaRiTRO, endan*
*pApamO, en shivanE, mUvarkkum mudalvarenDRu (naDamADi…)*
Did your leg become crippled and useless because you carried too much
*vibhuti* (sacred ash)?
Did it become numb when your fiery warm body came in contact
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_in_Hinduism#Descent_To_Earth> with
the freezing waters of the Ganga?*
Did you sprain it when you came to the aid of your devotee Markandeya
by kicking
Yama <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalantaka>, god of death, to the ground?
Did you hit your foot on the doorstep when you went as a messenger
to Paravai Naachiyar’s house? (Shiva aided the Tamil saint Sundarar by
going as a messenger twice to the house of Paravai Naachiyar, a *devadasi* with
whom Sundarar had fallen in love)
Or, dear Shiva, supreme among the trinity, is it because I committed some
sin? (Please tell…)
*dhananjeya mahipanuDan shamaril aDipaTTu vizha*
*shandilE muDi pishagi nondaduvO?*
*inam purium dArukA vanamengum tirindadil*
*muLLERuNDadO shollum – muRindaduvO*
*kanakasabhaitanil naTanam kaNDOrgaL adishayikka*
*kaNNeNDRuNDadO shollum*
*viNNavarkkum mudalvan enDRu*
Did you dislocate a joint in your foot when you took a beating and fell
down while battling the great hero Arjuna? (refers to an episode
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kir%C4%81t%C4%81rjun%C4%ABya> that occurs in
the *Mahabharata *epic)
Or, tell me: did a thorn pierce your foot while you were roaming the
pine forest
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhikshatana#Visit_to_the_Deodar_Forest>,
testing the sages gathered there?
Did it get sprained when those watching your dance in the *kanaka sabha* *cast
the evil eye? Oh lord of even the gods, tell me…
*another hall in the Chidambaram temple
*bhakti sheyyum periyOrgaL pApanAshamAgum*
*paramapadam iduvenDRu tUkki ninDRaduvO*
*shakti shivakAmavalli tanpAdam nOgumenDRE*
*taraiyil aDivaikka tayangi ninDRaduvO*
*satyalOka adhipati tALattiRkERpa naTam*
*tAngiyE oru kAlait tUkki ninDRaduvO*
Does you keep it raised as a way to tell us that by taking refuge at your
feet, you destroy our sins?
Do you hesitate to place your foot on the floor to avoid hurting your
consort, the beautiful Shakti? (As Ardhanarishvara, Shiva occupies the
right half of the body and Shakti occupies the left half.)
Or… do you simply keep it raised as part of your dance?
*A Marathi warning: Pandhariche bhoot mothe*
This next example, an *abhang* in Marathi, has a bit of a darker mood. It
was written by Tukaram, a seventeenth-century poet-saint who came from a
lower-caste *shudra *background and was associated with the Varkari
*bhakti* movement,
popular in what are now the Indian states of Maharashtra and northern
Karnataka. Tukaram was a devotee of Vithoba, (also called Vitthala and
Panduranga), a deity popular in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and
Andhra Pradesh who is generally seen as a form of Vishnu.
Vithoba’s main temple is in the town of Pandharpur, also called
Pandhari. In this composition, Tukaram warns his audience *not *to visit
the temple town, because there’s a huge *bhoot* (ghost/evil spirit) who
lives there. He claims that because of this spirit*, *Pandharpur is so
dangerous that whoever goes there doesn’t return. In the final lines of the
song, Tukaram reveals that he himself went to Pandharpur, and he too didn’t
come back… because he had achieved liberation, thanks to the spirit*, *who
is in fact the god Vithoba.
The duo Ranjani and Gayatri (they’re sisters) are two of the most talented
Carnatic vocalists today, and they have also become known for their
renditions of Marathi *abhang*s in the concluding portions of their
concerts. Here’s Ranjani and Gayatri’s haunting yet lively rendition of
Tukaram’s *ninda-stuti* in the Hindustani raga Chandrakauns (which, by the
way, is such a beautiful word… *Chandrakauns*). Below is a translation of
the lyrics; I’ve included the original Marathi text as well, because I’m
not that familiar with the language.
पंढरीचे भूत मोठे
आल्या गेल्या झडपी वाटे
*panDharIchE bhUt moThe*
*AlyA gElyA ZaDapI vATE*
There’s a huge spirit/ghost who lives in Pandharpur,
and it possesses whoever comes and goes there.
बहु खेचरीच रान
बघ हे वेडे होय मन
*bahu khEcharIca rAn*
*bagh hE vEDE hoy man*
The forests around Pandharpur are dangerous;
You’ll lose your mind in them.
जाऊ नका कोणी, तिथे जाऊ नका कोणी
जे गेले, नाही आले परतोनी
*zAU nakA koNI, tithE zAU nakA koNI*
*jE gElE, nAhI AlE paratonI*
Don’t go! Don’t go there!
Those who went there never came back!
तुका पंढरीसी गेला
पुन्हा जन्मा नाही आला
*tukA panDharIsI gElA*
*punhA janmA nAhI AlA*
Tukaram went to Pandharpur,
And he was released from the cycle of rebirth. (i.e. achieved *moksha*,
liberation)
*Scolding Rama in Telugu: Adigi sukhamu*
This final *ninda-stuti* was composed in Telugu by Tyagaraja, arguably the
most popular composer of Carnatic music (and, as I recently found out, a
contemporary of Beethoven! How crazy is that?). As with most of his other
compositions, this kriti is in Telugu, and is addressed to the god Rama. In
this song, Tyagaraja sarcastically asks Rama, “Have you ever given *anyone*
happiness?”
As his evidence, Tyagaraja draws upon the *Ramayana*, the *Mahabharata*,
and various other myths about the gods Rama, Krishna, and Vishnu (who are
all related, in the sense that Rama and Krishna are incarnations of
Vishnu). He points out that Rama’s wife Sita just wanted a happy,
peaceful life, but after Rama was exiled, Sita had to go live in the forest
with him (where she was later kidnapped by a demon, but that’s besides the
point…) Vishnu’s devotee, the divine sage Narada, wanted to understand
Vishnu’s power of *maya* (illusion), but in order to do so he had to take
birth as a human and go through many, many struggles. Devaki prayed for a
son, and she gave birth to Krishna; but immediately afterwards,
baby Krishna had to be taken away and placed under the foster care of
Yashoda. And so on. By the end of the song, you may find yourself agreeing
with Tyagaraja; God’s antics seem to make everyone’s lives only more
stressful.
Below is a rendition of this song by the Carnatic vocalist Sripada
Pinakapani, followed by a translation of the lyrics. This *kriti* is in the
raga Madhyamavati
<http://www.ragasurabhi.com/carnatic-music/raga/raga--madhyamavati.html>,
and is set to misra chapu (seven-beat cycle).
*aDigi sukhamu-levvar-anubhavinciri-rA?*
*AdimUlamA rAma!*
O Rama, primordial lord! What did you give them?
The happiness they asked for?
*saDalani pApa-timira-kOTi-sUrya!*
*sArvabhauma! sArasAksha! sadguNa! ninnu…*
Like the sun, you are said to dispel the darkness of innumerable sins. You
are praised as the handsome lord of all, the possessor of good qualities.
Yet, who has attained happiness by asking anything of you?
*Ashrayinci varam-aDigina sIta,*
*aDavi bOnAyE!*
*Ashara-haraNa rakkasi-ishTam-aDuga,*
*appuDE mUkku pOyE! O rAma! ninnu…*
Addressed to Rama:
Your wife Sita took refuge in you and merely wished for a good life,
but she had to go to the forest, thanks to you.
When the demoness Surpanakha expressed her desire for you,
she ended up losing her nose.
*vAsiga nArada-mauni varam-aDuga,*
*vanita-rUpuDAyE!*
*Ashinci durvAsulaD-annam-aDuga,*
*appuDE mandamAyE! O rAma! ninnu…*
Addressed to Vishnu:
Your devotee Narada sought true understanding of your [Vishnu’s] creation,
but he was instead turned into a woman <http://www.srv.org/teachings/n1>.
The sage Durvasa wanted food,
but then lost his appetite <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akshaya_Patra>.
*sutuni vEDuga jUDa dEvaki yaDuga,*
*yaShOda sUDanAyE!*
*satulElla rati-bhiksham-aDuga*
*vArivAri patula vIDanAyE! O rAma! ninnu…*
Addressed to Krishna:
Devaki asked for a son,
but Yashoda got one instead.
The *gopis* (cowherd girls) begged for love,
and they had to leave their husbands for you.
*nIkE daya-buTTi brOtuvo? brOvavO?*
*nI guTTu bayalAyE! sAkEta dhAma!*
*srI tyAgarAjanuta! svAmi!*
*eti mAyA? O rama! ninnu…*
Who knows if you’ll protect me or not?
Your secret’s out. Why keep up this illusion?
Tyagaraja sings to you.
Ok, this isn’t a musical example but I couldn’t resist adding it to this
list. The fifteenth-century Tamil poet Kalamegham was known for his witty
*shlesha* poetry and *ninda-stutis*. Here’s one addressed to the god Muruga
(also called Kartikeya, Skanda, Shanmukha…) in which the poet makes fun of
the god’s family: his father Shiva, his mother Parvati, his brother
Ganesha, and his uncle Vishnu (seen as Parvati’s brother, and referred to
in this poem as Krishna):
*appan irandUNNi; attAL malaiNeeli;*
*oppaRiya mAman uRitiruDu; chappaikkAl*
*aNNan peruvayiRan; ARumugaththAnukku iNgu*
*eNNum perumai ivai*
Dad is a beggar, Mom is a mountain gypsy;
Your “peerless” uncle is a thief of butter;
You have a short-legged, pot-bellied brother; Oh six-faced one (Muruga),
*These* honors are what you’re famous for.
KR IRS 15322
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