Harikatha (lit. "stories of the Lord"), otherwise called Katha Kalakshepa is a form of Hindu religious discourse, also known as Katha storytelling format, in which the story teller explores a religious theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic.
Harikatha is a composite art form composed of story telling, poetry, music, drama, dance, and philosophy. Any Hindu religious theme may be the subject for the Harikatha. During its peak Harikatha was a popular medium of entertainment, which helped transmit cultural, educational and religious values to the masses.
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In Hindu mythology, the first Harikatha singer was sage Narada who sang for Vishnu, other prominent singers were Lava and Kusha twin sons of Rama, who sang the Ramayana in his court at Ayodhya.[1]
South India has a long tradition of religious discourse. Religious scholars such as oduvars who were knowledgeable in religious scriptures used to render discourses in Temples and monasteries. Villu Paatu, in which folk stories were told accompanied by a stringed instrument resembling a bow was also popular in Tamil Nadu. A form of Kalakshepa, in which the story teller, usually proficient in Carnatic music, interspaced the main story with music, dance and sub-stories, was also prevalent. This artform was modified and refined during the Maratha rule. Marathas were great supporters of art and culture, and Carnatic music flourished and grew during their reign.
Harikatha is believed to have originated in Maharashtra.[2] It involves popular storytelling combined with dance and music,[2] and is considered to be a specific form of spiritual teaching. During the 17th and the 18th century CE, the Marathi Harikatha was introduced in Thanjavur. The growth of Harikatha was further helped by the Hindu saint Samartha Ramdas Swami established his Matha in 1663 at Thanjavur. His disciples such as Bhimaraja Swami conducted keertans and bhajans in the matha. During the late 17th century, many other Maratha saints established their mathas in Thanjavur, which helped popularise the Harikatha style. One of the early pioneers of Harikatha in Tamil Nadu was Thanjavur Krishna Bhagavatar (1847–1903), who wanted to improve the Kalakhepa style.
The Marathi Keertan, or Harikatha was of two types: Varkari and Narada. The Varkari style consists of singing various compositions of Marathi saints. These songs were accompanied by explanations of the songs. There was no story telling in this style. The Narada style, which became popular in the Thanjavur court, gave importance to stories from the epics. Thanjavur Krishna Bhagavatar adapted the Marathi metrical compositions used in the stories to highlight the mood and the characters. Krishna Bhagavatar also realised the importance of dramatic enactment of various aspects of the story.
Harikatha came to Andhra Pradesh in 20th century with Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Dasu (1864–1945), scholar and musician, who composed Puranic stories, and interspersed them with prose commentaries, a style adopted by numerous singers.[1]
Harikatha involves the narration of a story, intermingled with various songs relating to the story. Usually the narration involves numerous sub-plots and anecdotes, which are used to emphasise various aspects of the main story. The main story teller is usually assisted by one or more co-singers, who elaborate the songs and a Mridangam accompanist. The storyteller uses a pair of cymbals to keep beat.
Following Krishna Bhagavatar, other great exponents of this art form such as Pandit Lakshmanachar, Tirupazhanam Panchapakesa Bhagavatar, Mangudi Chidambara Bhagavatar, Muthiah Bhagavatar, Tiruvaiyyar Annasami Bhagavatar, Embar Srirangachariyar, Konnoor Sitarama Shastry, Sulamangalam Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, Sulamangalam Soundararaja Bhagavatar, Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Dasu, Embar Vijayaraghavachariar, Saraswati Bai and Padmasini Bai popularied the Harikatha tradition.
Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri started out as a Harikatha exponent and then changed to Pravachan style. Recent practitioners of Harikatha include Veeragandham Venkata Subbarao, Kota Sachchidananda Sastri, Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar, Banni Bai, Mysore Sreekantha Shastry, Kamala Murthy, Embar Vijayaraghavachariar, Kalyanapuram Aravamudachariar, Gururajulu Naidu, and T S Balakrishna Sastry.