Thoughts on and references to ‘Pushpanjali’ by Dr.Lakshmi Ramaswamy

Thoughts on and references to ‘Pushpanjali’

Among the five streams (ritualistic, devotional, festive, court & folk) of margam items, one that has taken an important place in opening present day’s repertoire is Pushpanjali. Earlier (the dance unit) Pushpanjali-s are understood as ritualistic in nature and were not meant for performance to public audience, entertainment or communication. 

Of the 108 Karanas that we know from the Natyasastra, the first one is ‘Tala-pushpaputam’. Incidentally the samyuta hasta ‘pushpaputa’ is connected with pushpanajali. We are given to understand that in the Big temple of Tanjavur, the first landing above the sanctum sanctorum had (has) four door openings from which the devadasis offered flowers to the moola vigraha, Brihadeeswara, after performing this first karana.

The literal split-up of the word pushpanjali is ‘pushpa+anjali’, which gives direct meaning as ‘flower-offering’. It is one of the rituals done in small households or at big temples to please deities. There are various types of pushpanjali-s that are known from various sources. 

What is that special about flowers? Is it only in our Indian culture or is it found elsewhere? Is it only in Sanatana Dharma or does it also form part of other beliefs? What are the flowers that are used and which are the flowers that are used? How does this matter to dance (natya) and visual?

Our Agama shastras point out that:

Only through sacrifices, especially fire – yagna, one attains the heavens. Deeds like puja and vratam, help mortal people attain the best in this world as well as other world. 

Fire and Flower seem to have taken a special place in all the ritualistic actions

Since flowers are the most beautiful things found in nature, they have been offered to Gods during worship. Some people also believe that by offering flowers, the deity grants good health, wealth and prosperity.

It is also said that since it’s a natural tendency to keep the atmosphere of the place of worship welcoming, flowers are used for their good fragrance and aesthetic appeal. According to another reason, Hindus offer flowers to Gods as part of a ritualistic worship. This is called ‘Puja’ wherein ‘Pu’ stands for ‘Pushpam’ or flowers and ‘Ja’ stands for ‘Japa’ or chanting the holy names of Gods. ‘Ja’ also stands for ‘Jalam’ or water as water is sipped during the worship

Offering flowers to deities is an important part of Hindu worship. Different Gods love different flowers. Traditionally, it is said that one should only offer those flowers that have a pleasant fragrance and are cultivated on good soil.

Pushpanjali mantras are highly symbolic and meaningful. In essence, they pray the central deity of a puja or vrata to give away blessings in abundance and thereby help the devotee achieve the purpose of the puja. Thus, these mantras can give the intended results of any puja or worship.

Making these offerings purifies negative karma as well as helping one to overcome the emotional mind. By being liberated from that, it allows one to practice loving kindness and compassion as well as tolerance. It allows one to have realizations of renunciation, realizing how this samsara is in the nature of suffering and so because of that one definitely needs to achieve liberation, ultimate happiness. Thus, we can use this life’s situation to inspire and awaken the sleeping mind, the hallucinating mind, to see the truth – how this life is in the nature of suffering, samsara. Our life is in the nature of suffering and we need to put effort to be liberated from this; otherwise, we will have to suffer again and again without end

Flowers for specific deities

For Lord Shiva, the offering of Hibiscus is generally made. Lord Vishnu is always pleased with white coloured flowers. The offering of Hibiscus or Japa flowers is mandatorily made before goddess Kali and goddess Chamundi in the Shakti cult. In West Bengal, goddess Kali is adorned with 108 Japa flowers garland around her neck during Kali Puja. All red colored flowers are favourites of Lord Ganesha. Though, yellow and orange marigold flowers are also offered to him.

Lotus flower has been given a sacred position in Hindu mythology. It is believed that Lord Brahma, the Creator of this Universe, was born on the lotus which sprung from Lord Vishnu’s naval. Lotus flower is also used in Durga and Saraswati propitiation and the flower is also offered to Sun God.

In the Hindu mythology, Kama Deva is symbolically presented as mango-blooms. Planet Saturn is worshiped by the Hindus, mainly on Saturdays, to set off the karmas; Saturn worship is always done with blue flowers.

Amongst the plant-leaves as offering to gods, it is well known that a Vishnu Puja is incomplete with offering him the sacred Tulsi (Sweet Basil) leaves and for Shiva Puja the offering of Bilva (Bael) leaves is must.

On the contrary, we are also given to understand that certain flowers are not offered to certain deities.

Our Agama sastras, mention about, ‘Sodasa upacaram’. These are 16 rituals that are performed during the Pooja offering. They are:

• Dhyana                             The supreme power is meditated upon
• Aavahana                          Deity is invited or invoked 
• Asana                                Seat is offered
• Padya                                Deity’s feet is symbolically washed
• Arghya                              Water is offered
• Snana/ Abisekha               Water offered for bathing
• Vastra                                Cloth is offered or wrapped to adorn the idol
• Upavida/ Mangalsutra      Offering sacred thread
• Gandha                              Perfumes, sandal paste are offered
• Pushpa                               Flowers are offered or adorned
• Dhupa                                Incense lamp is waved
• Dipa                                   Lighted flame is waved
• Naivedya                           Food is offered
• Namaskara                        Worshippers bow down or prostrate
• Parikrama                         Circumambulation around the deity
• Geetam                             Vadyam & Nrittam:Vocal, instrumental and dance are offered

On an intense philosophical note:

The text, Niyamasara of Shri Kundakunda Acharya, deals with the path of liberation. Niyama means rule or law. Sara is ‘right’. Thus niyamasara means right rule i.e., which is true and indispensable law for the attainment of liberation.

The sole object and the whole gist of this treatise is to show that the all-pure, all-conscious, all-blissful and self-absorbed soul alone is the Siddha, a perfect soul. If a soul is in bondage with karmic matter ie., if it is imperfect , under delusion, it is accountable for the continuance of transmigrations and experiences of pain and pleasure. In order to obtain liberation, perfection, eternal beatitude, a soul must get rid of all connection with the non-self. When this connection with the non-self is completely severed, siddha, ie., perfection is attained. This is called as pushpanjali by Kundakunda.

Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism when offering flowers to an image of Buddha, the chant is:

‘I worship the Buddha with these flowers; may this virtue be helpful for my emancipation; Just as these flowers fade, our body will undergo decay’

The Mahayana, the ideology of flowers represent the aspiration to achieve the body of the Buddha with the thirty-two marks of the Buddha as well as the teaching of impermanence. Alternately, a Zen verse expresses the desire for the mind’s ‘flowers’ to ‘bloom in the springtime of enlightenment’

Ashta Prakari Puja (Eight Symbolic Offering Prayer)

Of the eight pujas, Jalapuja, Chandana puja, Akshata puja, naivedya puja, deepa puja, dhupa puja and phala puja, the Pushpa puja is also another important ritual. Flowers symbolize right conduct. The devotee remembers that conduct should be like a flower that provides fragrance and beauty to all living beings without discrimination.

Pushpanjali in Natya

History:

As told earlier, the offering of flowers has been there from time immemorial. A small offering turns out later to be an important ritual. The ritual also gets connected with movement, a karana and an indispensable unit of the deity’s upacharam. 

Originally, not part of the ‘kacheri attam’, was also later included into the repertoire and continues to be an opening dance unit.

Grammar texts:

• Bharatarnava: Of the various texts that give details about dance units, the Bharataarnavam has one whole chapter on ‘Pushpanjali’. The author Nandikeswara, gives both the ritualistic and performance modes to be used.

We have recordings of information that the deva nartakis, who were also called as devaradiyars have performed pushpanjalis as a part of their routine temple ritual dance. 

• Natya Sastra lists out two types of rituals, ‘antar yavanika’ and ‘bahir yavanika’. Principal deities and lords of different directions along with Brahma, and the jarjara are worshipped for the performance to go on without hindrances of any sort. This was a part of the antar yavanika.

At the end of stage preliminaries, the dancer enters the stage for a flower offering. The curtain goes up.

• Here is a beautiful pushpanjali pose described by Aggala:

“padadol samapadam, hyatayadol anjali, mukhalidol amala, samadrusti bhedamgodavire, sutrisi bharethu andadolirtham.”

From the feet placed in ‘samapada’, Anjali hasta at chest level, clear face, eyes at samadrsti, the dancer starts executing the pushpanjali.

• Candrasekhara, in ‘Pampaasthaanavarnanam’, mentions the following:

‘When the curtain rises up, the chief danseuse took her pushpanjali pose behind a thin transparent curtain. In her classical tribanga pose for pushpanjali he describes the dancer as ‘looks like a thrice bent rainbow of Indra’. The vocalist is accompanied with a lute with the dulcet notes of the pushpanjali song.

• Sarngadeva in sangitaratnakara gives the following:

The orchestra plays the melapaka prabanda first and the gajara. At this time, the danseuse takes up a firm, beautiful pose behind the curtain on the stage with pushpanjali. [Here, Matanga mentions that the dancer is in ‘samapada’]

Then, the accompaniments orchestrate and she comes to centre stage and performs the flower-offering. She then performs the purely formal dance, involving a desi lasyanga unit.

• Matanga points out more elaborate on the units of the formal dance to be performed on the occasion. Nartaki enters the dance in samapada, displays the samdamsa hasta and nikuttita with the left foot.

• The text ‘Pancha Marabu’ lists a separate set of talas for pushpanjali. It is a question as to even understanding the viniyoga of these talas. The talas mentioned are: Parvati locana, gokulam, kanda gangaalam, raasa cudamani, vira vikramam, vanamalikai & vasantam. ‘Venba’s number 132 and 146 of Pancamarabu lists out these talas for pushpanjali.

Features

As the name implies, the dancer brings flowers and offers them as salutation. The traditional stage is decorated with lighted lamps and the principal deity is worshipped even before the curtains go up. After the flowers are offered nritta elements are performed with different permutations and combinations.

Compositions and composers

Most of the pushpanjalis are set to naattai or gambira naattai ragas. Mostly the sarvalagu pattern is preferred, since it is the opening number in a concert.

There are a number of pushpanjalis. Some traditional numbers are still performed for which are composer is not known. Eg ‘Tat tho daga taam tandandam dindindindin taga todanga takku taa thei…’

Mode of performance

The dancer enters the arena with handful of flowers and offers them. She bows down to the principal deity, the teacher, orchestra and the audience and then proceeds to perform a sequence of rhythmic patterns. Sometimes the dancer makes an entry, performs a sequence of rhythmic patterns and after finishing the muktayi or kuraipu, gathers the flowers to offer. Pushpanjali is generally followed by a sloka in praise of a deity mostly, ganesha or Nataraja.

Chollus/significance

The whole of pushpanjalis are set to chollu kattu-s. Chollus like ‘datto daga taam’, ‘tho tho din ga’, ‘thonga thonga’, ‘takku taatei’ are common. Recent compositions are done with various syllables like ‘Jhem’, ‘takuntari’, ‘kukuntari’ etc.

Pushpanjali Sloka for natya: 

The offering of flowers, symbolise the offering by the dancer - body, heart and soul to the Supreme Soul. 

Vignanaam naasanam kartum bhootaanaam rakshanaayacha

Devaanaam tustayae caapi prekshakaanaam vibhutaye

Sreyase naayakasyaatra paatra samrakshanaayacha

Aacharya siksha sidhyartham pushpaanjalim athaarabhet

‘Let the obstacles be destroyed, let all living being be protected. May I be able to please you through my dance and share knowledge with the audience, and bring welfare to our leader (king). O lord protect me as a dancer and may my commitment as a student to my teacher be completely fulfilled’

-Dr.Lakshmi Ramaswamy