Shri Purandara Dasa

Purandara Dasa

Profile

Purandara Dasa is known as the pra-pithamaha (founder) of modern Carnatic classical music.

Purandara Dasa is believed to have been born in 1494 in the village of Pandarapura in Karnataka. This was the golden age of Kannada literature too, under the most famous Vijayanagar emperor Sri Krishnadeva Raya. The influence of Purandara Dasa on carnatic music and Kannada literature is immense. He virtually started the branch of literature which is now known as Dasa Sahithya. It was a blend of sublime poetry and music emphasizing the virtues of good life, over material wealth and religious ceremonies. Kanaka Dasa is another composer who was his contemporary and an important contributor to Dasa Sahithya.

There is a legend as to how he gave up a life of wealth to become an ascetic. He worked as a money lender and was infamous as a miser. Once, a Brahmin man wanted to perform the sacred thread ceremony (upanayanam) for his son and came to Purandara Dasa's wife for money. She gave him her nose-ring to sell for money, and the man went to Purandara Dasa himself to get the money. The miser lent the man his money, but his wife was worried about what to say to her husband, so she prayed to her favorite deity who gave her a nose-ring just like the one she had. When Purandara Dasa hurried home, anxious to know if the nose-ring was hers, he was bewildered seeing her wear the same one! She narrated the story, and he was converted, believing in the virtue of his wife and the virtue of a charitable life.

He renounced his riches and became a disciple of Vyasa Raya who titled him "Purandara Vittala" which became his signature. Then he is said to have composed 475,000 songs in both Kannada and Sanskrit.

He sang many rare ragas with the most beautiful lyrics. Tyagaraja's praise in "Prahalada Bhakti Vijayam" is for him.

Purandara Dasa is believed to have systematized the early music lessons - Sarali varisai, JanTai varisai, geetams, etc. and also chose maayamaalava gowla as the raagam to be used for these. He composed many devotional songs in kannada known as devaranaama.

He died in 1564 at the age of 70.