Sacred Songs of India Volume IX

Sacred Songs Of India Volume IX

 by V.K. Subramanian

by V.K. Subramanian

THE SACRED SONGS OF INDIA VOLUME NINE, like its predecessor volumes, encompasses selections from the life work of ten mystic poet-saint-musicians of India.


The poet-saint-musicians included in this volume lived between the 5th century and the 20th century A.D. and came from such diverse regions as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Punjab and Bengal.

They are: Karaikkal Ammaiyar, famous woman-saint of Tamil Nadu, Pattinattar, the Saivite'saint, also from Tamil Nadu, who turned from a wealthy trader to a recluse, Vedanta Desikan, the famous Vaishnavite poet saint, who passionately spread the teachings of Ramanuja, Jana Bai, the Maharashtra woman saint, who though a servant-maid of Namdev attained highest spiritual advancement, feeling God in every fibre of her being, Sankaradeva, the Vaishnavite saint reformer of Assam who rejuvenated the life of Assam with his Vedantic Vaishnavism, Guru Tegh Bahadur, -the ninth Guru of the Sikhs who became a martyr to save the religious faiths of India, Bulleh Shah, the mystic Sufi saint whose songs conveyed the message of pure Vedanta, Abhirama Bhattar, the

God-intoxicated temple priest who saw his beloved goddess, Abhirami, everywhere, Swami Vivekananda, the passionate social reformer who was also a religious mystic and poet, and Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar, the outstanding music composer, who continued the tradition of the Carnatic music Trinity: Tyagaraja, Muttuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.

They sang in different languages: Tamil, Sanskrit, Marathi, Assamese, Punjabi and Bengali. But all of them sang of the glory of God.

Sacred Songs of India, Volume Nine, will be a valuable repertoire for all artistes and a useful reference source for Indological scholars.

About The Author :-

Vadakaymadom Krishna Iyer Subramanian (b. 1930, Kerala, India) is an eminent scholar, whose life mission is to present to the world the treasures of ancient India, in the fields of art, literature, philosophy and religion.

He has already translated several ancient texts into English.

These include: Saundaryalahari, Sivanandalahari, Sacred Songs of India, Maxims of Chanakya, Sri Rudraprasna, Wondrous Whispers of Wisdom from Ancient India.

As a consultant for holistic health and spiritual development, he has spelt out the Hindu regimens in this regard in his popular book: The Holistic Way to Health, Happiness and Harmony.

Subramanian's prolific literary output covers a variety of subjects ranging from astrology to art. He has been an astropalmic counsellor for over 35 years.

A retired officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (which he joined in 1953), Subramanian is also a reputed painter, who has held 22 one-man shows and whose paintings (some of them in the Chandigarh Museum) have won wide acclaim from leading art critics of India.

Subramanian who has travelled extensively in India, now lives in the United States of America.