Araiyar Sevai
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Araiyar Sevai () is a Tamil Hindu performing art form, centered on the ritual singing and enactment of the hymns of the ''
Divya Prabandham The Naalayira Divya Prabandham () is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the 12 Alvars. It was compiled in its present form by Nāthamuni during the 9th–10th centuries. The work, an important liturgical compilation of the Tamil ...
'', the canon of the
Sri Vaishnava Sri Vaishnavism () is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god V ...
tradition. Araiyar Sevai is generally performed only inside Vaishnavite
temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
in the presence of the temple '' utsavar'' — the temple's processional deity — by hereditary male performers called Araiyars. Although temple inscriptions suggest its performance was once widespread, it is today only performed in few temples in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
: the temple shrine of
Srirangam Srirangam is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...
, shrine of Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Temple, the shrine of Alvar Tirunagari and the temple of
Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...
at
Srivilliputhur Srivilliputhur is a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396. The most important landmark of Thiruvilliputhur is 11-tiered tower st ...
. It is also performed in a different form at the Melkote temple in southern
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
, where the hymns of the ''Divya Prabhandham'' is sung, but not enacted.


Origin legends

Performing legends trace the origin of the Araiyar Sevai to Nathamuni, a 10th-century Vaishnavite teacher, who according to tradition compiled the ''Divya Prabandham''. According to the legends, Nathamuni composed musical tunes (''icaippa'') for the hymns along with dance steps to bring out their meaning. He instituted three annual festivals, called ''tiruvattiyayanam'' for the performance of the hymns. These include the festivals of Pongal, Panguni Uttiram, and Adi Puram.


The performers: Araiyars

The art form is practiced principally by a few families of hereditary performers, called araiyars. An araiyar is attached to a temple as a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
and conducts certain prayers throughout the year, but only performs the araiyar sevai during the ' festivals instituted by Nathamuni. Araiyars are male and must spend several years studying the hymns of the ''Divya Prabandham'' and the traditional commentaries on the hymns, particularly the commentary known as ' by , in addition to studying the art form itself. The araiyars are regarded to represent the lovelorn milkmaids seeking union with their divine lover,
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
.


Performance

The traditional clothes worn during araiyar sevai performances are the ''pañcakacam'' (a style of wearing the veshti) and a conical hat called ''araiyar kullai'', which bears the Vaishnavite symbols of the
conch Conch ( , , ) is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high Spire (mollusc), spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point on both ...
, discus, and tirunamam. During the actual performance, a piece of cloth taken from a garment used by the temple deity is tied to the hat. The araiyar wears a garland and holds cymbals which he plays during the performance. An araiyar sevai begins with a ritual summons, where the officiating priest using a ritual formula, calls upon the araiyar to come before the temple ''utsavar'' — the temple's processional deity. The araiyar replies with a formulaic response and puts on the ''araiyar kullai'' as he approaches. He then sounds a few strokes on the cymbals and begins the performance. Each verse is performed in three steps. In the first, the araiyar sings the verse. In the second, he dances a few steps which, through a system of ritualised gestures, give expression to the literal meaning of the verse. In the third step, he explains the inner meaning of the verse, as explained in ', a traditional commentary on the ''Divya Prabandham''. On specific days, the performance of individual verses is followed by a dramatisation of specific scenes from Hindu mythology, such as the churning of the ocean, the birth of
Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...
, or the slaying of
Kamsa Kamsa (, ) was the tyrant ruler of the Vrishni kingdom, with its capital at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura. He is variously described in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as either a human or an asura; The Puranas describe him as an asura, while ...
. The final element of the performance is the ''mutukkuri vaipavam'', which depicts a worried mother consulting a ''kattuvicci'' female soothsayer about her daughter, who is lovelorn.


Notable performers

Srinivasa Rengachariar (1930 - 2014) was a leading exponent of Araiyar Sevai at the temple of
Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...
at
Srivilliputhur Srivilliputhur is a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396. The most important landmark of Thiruvilliputhur is 11-tiered tower st ...
. Born in Srivilliputhur on Pooram day in the Tamil month of Purattasi in 1930, Araiyar Srinivasa Rengachariyar, a descendant of Melaiyagath Alvar, was initiated into this special art of presenting the sacred verses by his father Araiyar Vadapatrasayee at the age of seven. Since then, till the time of his death in 2014, he has performed the Araiyar Sevai in various Vaishnavite shrines including that of
Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...
at
Srivilliputhur Srivilliputhur is a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396. The most important landmark of Thiruvilliputhur is 11-tiered tower st ...
, Nambi in Thirukkurungudi, Badrinath Temple, Alwarthirunagari Temple, etc. In 2014, he was posthumously conferred the prestigious
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...
for his services to the art form. He is now survived by his son, Araiyar Balamukundachariyar and grandson Srinivasa Rengan, who perform the Araiyar Sevai today. In recent years, some Vaishnavites have attempted to broaden the range of temples in which Araiyar Sevai is performed and to teach it to non-hereditary performers in order to arrest its decline. Srirama Bharati is a noted proponent of a new enacted and sung form of Araiyar Sevai, which is a revivalist, modern form with no hereditary connection to traditional Araiyar Sevai performed at the Sri Vaishnava shrines.


See also

* Dance forms of Tamil Nadu * Ancient Tamil music


References

*{{Citation , last=Bharati , first=Srirama , title=Araiyar Sevai: Theatre Expression in Sri-Vaishnava Worship , year=1999 , publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan , place=Mumbai , isbn=81-7276-141-4 Hindu art Hindu practices