UGABHOGAS AND SULADIS

‘Ugabhoga’ (ಉಗಾಭೋಗ) (ugABOga) is a term which is usually associated with Haridasa Sahitya’. (15^th Century) It has connotations with Karnataka Sangeetha as well as literature. Haridasas such as Purandara, Kanaka and others have written ‘Suladis’, ‘Mundige’s and ‘Ugabhoga’s in addition to Keertanaas. The ‘Ugabhoga’ is divided in to two parts, namely ‘udgrAha’ and ‘abhOga’ which refer to the former and later parts of the musical composition. ‘Ugabhoga’ is a short composition ranging from four lines to twelve lines. They are essentially literary utterances even though they follow the general pattern of poetry such as rhythm in a loose manner. Their subjects hover around adulation of God, social criticism, ethical advice and light humour. Usually they are transparent in meaning. Many a time Ugabhogas are attributed with various ‘rAga’s but no specific ‘tALa’ is mentioned. Ughabhoga comprises of five stages namely Udgraha, Melapaka, Dhruva, Antara and Abhoga for these five datus if one amalgamate adyantha padas it is called 'udgrahaa bhoga' in Sanskrit and in Kannada it is called Ughabhoga. The musical component of these poems is minimal. Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa and Vijayadasa are the major contributors to this genre. Their similarity to Vachanas is to be noted.

‘Suladi’ (ಸುಳಾದಿ) (suLAdi) is yet another category of Haridasa Sahitya which has provided charming combinations of poetry and music. They are lengthier compositions set to specific raagas and taaLas. Usually, a given Suladi will have one raaga but seven different taaLas in succeeding parts. Some times, there is a variation in ‘raaga’ also. It requires a mastery over music to render them properly. The suladis have themes that are mythological and spiritual. They have ethical overtones. The conflicts of human life are also delineated in many of them. For instance one of them is named ‘gOpikA viraha suLadi’ and it narrates the lament of Gopis in the absence of Krishna. There is navavidha bhakti prasamsa suladi by Purandaradasa. In each section, the particular bhakti mudra is introduced. Annamacharya of 15^th century has composed the solitary suladi in Telugu. This begins in Mayamalava Gaula raga and ends with Sriraaga. Sripadaraya, Vyasaraya, Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa, Vijayadasa, Gopaladasa, Jagannnathadasa, Narhari Tirtha and Sri Vadiraja have composed a number of Suladis.

An Illustrative Ugabhoga by Kanakadasa:

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Links: 1. YouTube - tArakka bindige - miSra tilang - Adi (Ugabhoga)

2. Suladi (Suladi)

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