8/10/2019 HSS Assignment 4

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Venkat Parthasarathy

201401180

Presentational Movement

Music and Dance in the Vijayanagar Empire

The Vijayanagara Empire spawned most of India's dance and music forms. After many years

of war and conflict, the culture was revived by the Vijayanagara Empire. Most of the credit

goes to the king at that time, Krishnadeva Raya, for taking many initiatives to promote andestablish a society that appreciates aesthetics. Many things contributed to why Vijayanagara

Empire was a golden era for growth of music, and dance. One main reason is the educational

system present in the Vijayanagara Empire. Another factor that also contributes to this is the

incredible luck of India to have musical geniuses like Purandhara Dasa and Thyagaraja to be

born in that era of cultural liberation thereby allowing them to reach their full potential.

An aspect of the Vijaynagara Empire that contributes massively to the enhancement of culture

and tradition is the diverse educational system that the Empire established. All people

(including both genders) were trained in number of art forms like music, dance, painting etc

and also martial arts like fighting, wrestling and weapons of war. This ensured an overalldevelopment of art as not only do more people have the ability to contribute to art but more

importantly possess the ability to appreciate art. An example of this is that it was not

uncommon to see woman as bodyguards in Vijayanagara empire. With matters regarding to

values, education and freedom, Vijayanagara Empire may be more advanced than

contemporary India!

This appreciation and diverse education is important for the growth of aesthetics. This is

because this will encourage people to pursue a career in music or dance with a handsome

pay leading to more contributions. For example, the exact opposite of this situation is

happening now , which is leading to the deterioration of Koodiyattam, the oldest theatric

dance form of the world. Fifty years from now, India may lose one of its jewels in the area of

art and slowly it may begin to lose other dances as well in the same way, losing an integral

part of its identity. Hence, this appreciation and diverse education is imperative in the growth

of art and a standard that modern India needs to emulate.

Another factor that helped music shine in the Vijayanagar Empire is the presence of

remarkable individuals. One of the most prominent musicians to be born in that era was

Purandhara Dasa, the father of the contemporary Carnatic Music. He transformed carnatic

music from a few verses to a detailed body of knowledge and norms to be followed. Not only

did he commence an era of proliferation in carnatic music, he also served as an inspiration to

another great musician, Thiagaraja. Thiagraja also contributed immensely to carnatic music. Itis interesting to note the startling similarity of the lives led by these two musicians. Both were

saintly, pious, ascetic, and disliked wordly pleasures. An attitude of detachment is

emphasized in their lives. Maybe, this detachment and uni dimensional perspective towards

music was the reason for their immensely innovative contributions which still stand as the

model to be followed. Ironically, both were very poor during their times but carnatic musicians

nowadays earn lakhs singing their verses! (This poverty, however, is not because of

Vijanagar Empire's policies but rather a lifestyle that must be followed as a brahmin in those

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times.)

Many classical dances also flourished during the Vijaynagara era. But, Vijayanagara Empire

also made decisions regarding the growth of dances that would prove to be seminal in the

coming years. They handed the control of dance forms to the Devadasis or the temple

dancers. As I had asserted in my previous assignment (Raas Lila and Dandia), for a dance

form to retain its values and norms through centuries, a managing authority is necessary. Inthis case, the Devadasis have helped India to retain its classical dance even after 500 years,

which is an incredible achievement. Hence, not only did Vijayanagara Empire improve dance

during its own times it also made well weighted decisions that were important for the future of

dance.