Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam · M.s. Subbulakshmi, T. K. Murthy, V.v. Subramaniam
Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatham
℗ 2020 Saregama India Ltd
Released on: 2006-02-28
Producer: N/a
Composer: Traditional
Auto-generated by YouTube
Music
1 songs
Suprabhatam.
M.s.subbulakshmi/radha Vishwanathan (vocal Support)
Supraba..va Shirdi Mandiratil Parampa-marathi Dev.
The short description was originally belongs to SWARAJAYAMAG.COM. This researched article was written by Sri K Balakumar and published on 22nd July, 2023 on the website. Entire rights of this article, content and information belongs to the publishers. Mandara Mala has no right on this subject. A link for the original full article was given in this description. Jai Srimannarayana.
https://swarajyamag.com/culture/a-recitation-that-many-hindu-households-wake-up-to
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60 years of the most famous rendition of 'Venkateswara Suprabhatam'.
Which is the largest selling non-film recording in India's musical history?
Actually, it is not a tough one to guess. It is that of Venkateswara Suprabhatam rendered by the peerless M S Subbulakshmi, whose rendition to this day remains the early-morning anthem of many Hindu households, across continents.
"The first verse in the Venkateswara Suprabhatam is taken from the Bala Kanda of Valmiki’s Ramayana, and the rest was written by the Sanskrit and Tamil scholar-poet Prathivadhi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya". Anna or Annan, as he was later known, became a disciple of Manvala Mamuni, the Vaishnava theologian whose influence can still be felt in the religious traditional practices in Perumal temples across Tamil Nadu.
But Venkateswara Suprabhatam becoming a clarion chant in Hindu homes is mostly a 20th century phenomenon, and perhaps owes it to, according to the book Venkatesa Suprabhatam: The Story of India’s Most Popular Prayer, an unsung employee of HMV (His Master's Voice) recording company whose brainwave was to record the Suprabhatam and put it out in the market as a commercial offering.
He is believed to have been a regular visitor to the Tirumala Tirupati temple where the Lord is woken up daily to the verses of Suprabhatam
But a few years before 1963 --- 1958, to be precise --- All India Radio (AIR) on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadasi had MS render the verses in a 20-minute episode. It is not clear whether a copy of this original recording is still available. But before MS, it was the rendition of PV Ananthasayanam Iyengar that was well known.
The thing to note is it is this Ananthasayanam Iyengar whom MS reached out to, through the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam, to grasp the nuances of Sanskrit pronunciation of the tricky verses.
Before committing herself to the venture, she, as is her wont, sought the permission and blessings of the Kanchi seer Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal.
After Periyava's benediction, MS intricately understood the inherent prosody of the verses to help deliver them musically. Many accounts of people acquainted with MS say that the great singer, along with Radha Vishwanathan (her step-daughter), practised the song day in and day out for nearly six months.
She is said to have rendered the full version at least 100 times before she sat down for the rendering. It was a show of humility before the art and a grand exhibition of professionalism.
In any case, a rendition fit enough to wake up the God daily could not be delivered with casual abandon.
She worked on her enunciation with monkish one-pointedness, and her innate musical sense took off from there.
The HMV recording was done at a stretch and there was nothing to patch up.
On listening of the same, the recording crew, it is said, was convinced that this was a divine rendition as it touched their souls. But none of them present at the recording knew that it would go on to break all records in musical history of India.
The LP vinyl record was released in November 1963 (along with her rendition of Swati Tirunal's Bhavayami Raghuraamam, and this too had an earlier AIR version) by the then President Sarvepillai Radhakrishnan.
The recording brought enormous financial rewards to HMV.
Did you know?
Suprabhatham means 'auspicious morning'.
The divine process of waking up the holy Lord at Tirupati begins with the recitation of Venkateswara Suprabhatam at 3 am. Everyday.
The Venkateswara Suprabhatam comprises 29 slokas.
The first part of the Suprabahatam consists of 'Stotram', which means an entreaty. This includes 11 stanzas in praise of Lord Venkateswara requesting Him to offer protection from all the evils.
The second part, Prapatthi, has 16 verses that are about complete surrender to Him.
The last part, Mangalaa Saasanam, which means 'auspicious felicitations', has 14 slokas in praise of His noble qualities.