Ramanuja’s life and philosophy inspires a dance production

On the second day of the festival, K.P. Rakesh, Girish Madhu and Vidya Girish Madhu gave a presentation on the life and teachings of Ramanujacharya.

The performance began with Ramanuja Chatushloki, a set of verses which highlight Ramanuja’s role in dispelling ignorance and his mastery over the scriptures; this is recited to seek his grace and blessings. A nritta piece, it stood out for the dancers’ clear and firm footwork.

As the production unfolded,. in each of the scenes, the dancers took up different roles to effectively convey the essence of the philosophy.

Once Yumanacharya, a Vishishtadvaita philosopher saw Ramanuja in Kanchipuram and was impressed by his appearance. He was certain that he this was the disciple he was looking for. He asked his disciple Mahapoorna to bring Ramanuja to Srirangam. When Ramanuja reached the banks of Kaveri, they got to know that Yumanacharya had passed. They hurriedly went to his house and found that three of his fingers were closed. Just before his death Yumanacharya had expressed his three unfulfilled wishes. When Ramanuja vowed to fulfill his wishes, the fingers automatically opened.

The performance highligted Ramanuja’s teachings and philosophy through well-choreographed pieces
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath

CHENNAI: 16/08/2025: FOR FRIDAY PAGE: K.R. Rakesh, Girish Madhu, Vidya Girish Madhu, performing Ramanujacharya dance at the Natyarangam 27 th Annual Thematic Bharathanatyam festival Narada Gana Sabha Trust in Chennai on Friday….Photo: SRINATH M/ THE HINDU
| Photo Credit:
SRINATH M

Rakesh as Ramanuja brought out the character’s emotional turmoil with amazing restraint.

Ramanuja was determined to learn the maha mantra from Yumanacharya’s disciple, Ghoshtipoorna, who possessed the essence of Vishishtsdvaitham. He travelled to meet him 17 times, in vain. He finally managed to meet him on his 18th visit, when Ghoshtipoorna extracted the promise of secrecy from Ramanuja and gave the upadesha . However, Ramanuja climbed the gopuram of Soumyanarayana temple and taught the maha mantra to the gathering.

Once in Srirangam, Ramanuja noticed a young man walking with a beautiful woman. Unmindful of the public gaze, he held an ornate umbrella for her in one hand and fanned her with the other. Girish Madhu and Vidya Girish Madhu as the couple aptly brought out the sringara rasa in the scene.

Ramanuja sends for him and asks what had made him so brazen. The man, Dhanurdasa, replies that he was completely captivated by the woman’s eyes. Ramanuja tells him that he will show him a pair of eyes more captivating, and takes him to the temple of Ranganatha. As the lamp illuminates the Lord’s lotus-like eyes, the young man becomes ecstatic, and all worldly attractions fade into insignificance. He pledges lifelong service, renouncing material entanglements. This scene could have been portrayed more engagingly .

The profound impact of Andal on Ramanuja was shown in the incident where Ramanuja sees his acharya’s daughter and takes her to be Andal and goes into a trance. It is believed that he liked to be called Thiruppavai Jeer.

Ramanuja retrieves the idol of Ramapriya, whom he considers his chella pillai, from the sultan and reinstalls it as Sampathkumar. Ramanuja’s staunch devotion to Narayana was portrayed with realism by Rakesh. Girish Madhu exhibited well the royal demeanour of the sultan while Vidya Girish was impressive as the sultan’s daughter.

Ramanuja ensured continuity of his mission by appointing acharyas, creating a spiritual network that safeguarded the sampradaya.

The production concluded with the Charamashloka from Bhagvad Gita to convey the concept of sharanangati. This was a fitting finale to a well-researched production.

Dushyant Sridhar was the resource person and choreography was done by the dancers themselves.

The music ensemble was led by Sudarshini Devnath, who not only did the nattuvangam but also explained each scene. Parur M. S. Ananthashree, who had composed the music for the presentation, lent vocal support. Guru Bharadwaaj on the mridangam, N. Ananthannarayan on the veena, Shreeya on the violin and Adhvaith Bhanu on the flute enhanced the appeal of the presentation.