Sacred Songs of India

Sacred Songs of India, Volume V

by V K Subramanian


THE SACRED SONGS OF INDIA VOLUME FIVE, like its four predecessor volumes, encompasses selections from the lifework often mystic poet-saints of India.

The mystic poet-sages included in this volume lived between 7th and 19th century and came from such diverse regions of India as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra and Bengal.

They are: Perialwar, the doyen of Alwars, Tirujnanasambandhar, the Saivite spiritual prodigy, Mahadevi Akka, the Veerasaivite Karnataka saint, Vallabhacharya, the Vaishnavite saint, who founded the pushti marga in the Bhakti cult, Dadu Dayal, the Muslim saint who sang of the love-sports of Lord Krishna, Poontanam and Narayana Bhattadiri, the two Kerala contemporary saints who sang of the glory of the Deity in the Guruvayoor temple of Kerala, Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, Samartha Ramadas, the Maharashtra saint who was a contemporary of Shivaji and Ramprasad Sen, the Sakta saint of Bengal who poured out his burning devotion to the divine Mother in simple songs, sung even today all over Bengal.

They sang in different languages: Tamil, Kannada, Sanskrit, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Marathi, and Bengali. But all of them sang of the glory of God, with whom each had an intense spiritual communion.

This precious spiritual legacy bequeathed by the mystics of India will be a perennial source of inspiration for all scholars of Indology and a limitless repertoire for the artists in the fields of music, dance, drama and ballet.

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 and Sri Rudraprasna.

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.