Katha (storytelling format)

Last updated March 26, 2024

Katha (or Kathya) is an Indian style of religious storytelling, performances of which are a ritual event in Hinduism. It often involves priest-narrators (kathavachak or vyas) who recite stories from Hindu religious texts, such as the Puranas, the Ramayana or Bhagavata Purana, followed by a commentary ( Pravachan ). Kathas sometimes take place in households, involving smaller stories related to the Vrat Katha genre. The didactic Satyanarayan and Ramayana kathas instill moral values by revealing the consequences of human action (karma).^[1]^[2]^[3]

History

Each region of India has developed its own style and tradition of storytelling in local languages. Epics and puranas, ancient stories of wisdom told in Sanskrit, are the story material common to most regions. Performances are given in temples and at weddings and other religious (or social) functions. The single performer should be versatile in exposition and able to interestingly narrate humorous anecdotes. The storyteller is seen as a teacher who is familiar with ancient texts in Sanskrit and other vernaculars and interprets the religious and mythological texts of the past to the present generation.

South India has a long tradition of storytelling and religious discourse. Religious scholars, such as Oduvars, were knowledgeable in the scriptures used for discourse in temples and monasteries; in Tamil Nadu, this was known as Kathaprasangam. The 17th-century Arunachala Kavi, the 19th-century Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer and Ramalinga Swami, and the 20th-century Nellai Sundaramurty Oduvar, Kripananda Variar, and Pulavar Keeran were Kathaprasangam experts.

Scholars such as Suki Sivam and Trichy Kalyanaraman perform in this style. The interpretation of a shloka depends on individual musical ability. Pravachan, Patakam, Upanyasam, Harikatha, Kalakshepa, Harikeerthan and Villupattu are interpretations and storytelling with a religious theme, in different styles.

Wall paintings in temples and shrines across India also served the same purpose. The propagation of Hinduism and the creation of awareness in worshippers of the characters of the deities were aided by katha with imagery in temples.

Traditions

There are three major katha traditions: Purana-Pravachana, Kathakalakshepa and folk narratives.

Purana-Pravachana

Purana-Pravachana (expounding the Puranas) is a pravachan: a lecture about scriptures in which the pauranika (pravachan pandit) is a spiritual interpreter of the scriptures. Pravachans generally have a religious theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic.

It is easier to listen to a pandit or purohit who is conducting a Pravachan to understand some of the scriptures. Pandits such as Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri elaborate on the significance of a shloka or scripture they read, providing several angles to look at a verse or word. Upanyasa or Pravachanas focus on Sanskrit and Tamil texts. Music is used sparingly to recite the shlokas. Reading the shloka and presenting its meaning is the method used by pravachan pandits. The 19th-century Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri provided interpretation and commentary for each verse; creating a new style, he is considered the father of pravachans. Pravachan, Patakam and Upanyasam can be synonyms for the narration of stories from epics and puranas and the interpretation of scriptures.

Kathakalakshepa

Stories with anecdotes, known as Kathakalakshepa, are told in Sanskrit, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. In a variant, a storyteller proficient in classical music, interweaves the main story with music, dance and digressions.

Harikatha is a composite art form combining storytelling, poetry, music, drama, dance and philosophy. In harikatha, a story is intermingled with related songs. The music may be congregational singing of Jayadeva's Ashtapadis, Narayana Teertha's Carnatic music, Tevaram , Naalayira Divya Prabhandham, Thiruppugazh, Annamacharya's kirtan, Bhadrachala Ramadasu, Tyagaraja and Purandara Dasa's padas .

Folk narrative

In Andhra Pradesh, folk narratives are known as burra katha. A burra is a drum shaped like a human skull (burra means "skull"). In this tradition, travellers narrate stories while beating the drum. In Tamil Nadu, folk narratives are known as Villu Paatu (bow songs); the stories are told accompanied by a stringed instrument resembling a bow. The stories are heroic ballads, and the medium is used to propagate social-welfare programmes such as AIDS awareness, family planning and election information. Kanian koottu and Udukkadipattu, prevalent in South Indian villages, are also folk storytelling traditions.

Performers

From 1870 to 1940, storytelling flourished in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Tanjavur Krishna Bagavathar (1841–1903) sang with Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri (1855–1911) during his early Katha performances. Krishna Sastri later performed only pravachans with minimal music. Krishna Bagavathar continued his Kathakalakshepam and introduced Marathi metric forms, which became the standard for the next 50 years.

The carnatic singers Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bagavathar (1866–1943), Mangudi Chidambara Bagavathar (1880–1938), Chitrakavi Sivarama Bagavathar (1869–1951), Soolamangalam Soundararaja Bagavathar (1890–1925), C. Saraswathi Bai (1894–1974) and N. S. Krishna Bagavathar (1892–1984) were all inspired by Krishna Bagavathar's style and technique. Pandit Lakshmanacharya, Tiruppazhanam Panchapakesa Sastri, Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar, Tanjavur T.N. Subramanya Bhagavatar and T.S. Balakrishna Sastrigal specialised in Harikatha. Andamin Sivarama Bhagavatar, Pandit Lakshmanacharyar and Tiruppazhanam Panchapekesa Sastri, Kalakkad Muthuswami Sastrigal, Sengalipuram Muthanna Vaidhyanatha Dikshithar, Samartha Ramadas Swamigal, Paruthiyur Krishna Sastri and Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikshitar were Pravachan and Upanyasam storytellers. After this period, storytelling became popular in North India.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda and Swami Dayananda Saraswati later presented discourses, and Dushyanth Sridhar has become popular. Present-day storytellers include satire, humor and music and can convey a message in several languages. Many of them play an important part in the religio-social life of India.

In Sikhism

In Sikhism, Katha (Punjabi: ਕਥਾ; Kathā) refers to a sermon, religious discourse, analysis, or exposition of a given text and its passages, which is verbal in form.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] The term refers to religious discourses focused on educating the congregation on the proper meaning of the teachings set-out in the Sikh scriptures and other texts to guide correct beliefs and practices.^[4]^[5] The Sikh tradition of katha formally traces back to Bhai Gurdas, who was ordained by Guru Arjan to expound upon a verse from the Adi Granth, which he had been the scribe of, on a daily basis to the Sikh congregation in a brief and concise manner. Later, the masands , which had been appointed by the Sikh gurus, were instructed to perform discourses on Sikh texts, beliefs, and practices to their local parish. Later, Guru Gobind Singh had appointed Bhai Mani Singh to perform katha. Not only are the main canon of Sikh texts analyzed, but also other historical texts related to Sikhs, such as the Suraj Parkash and Panth Parkash .^[4]

Notes

↑ Narayan, p. 46
↑ Hawley, p. 149
↑ Claus, p. 331
1 2 3 The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2. Harbans Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. pp. 459–60. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420. In religious terminology, katha stands for exposition, analysis and discussion of a passage from a scripture. It involves a full-length discourse on a given text, with a proper enunciation of it and elucidation with anecdotes, parables and quotations, of the underlying spiritual and theological doctrines and ideas. Since scriptural utterances and verses were generally pithy and aphoristic, they needed to be expounded for the laity and there emerged in the Indian tradition forms such as 'tika' (paraphrase), 'sabdartha' (gloss) and 'bhasya' (commentary), with 'pramanas' or suitable authoritative quotations from religious and didactic works to support the thesis or interpretation. These three modes of elucidation converge in the Sikh katha which is verbal in form.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
1 2 Sikh diaspora : theory, agency, and experience. Michael Hawley. Leiden. 2013. p. 322. ISBN 978-90-04-25723-8. OCLC 857971285.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
↑ Basra, Sukhwinder Kaur (2020). What is a Sikh? : twenty questions about Sikhi and the answers (1st ed.). Victoria, BC, Canada. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-5255-6023-1. OCLC 1229095133.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Myrvold, Kristina (2012). "10 - Transnational Sikh Preachers: Local Training and Global Aspiration of Kathavacaks in Punjab". Sikhs across borders : transnational practices of European Sikhs. Knut A. Jacobsen, Kristina Myrvold. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-1387-0. OCLC 801604646.

Related Research Articles

Puranas are a vast genre of Hindu literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Adi Shakti. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism.

<i>Kirtan</i> Musically recited story in Indian traditions

Kirtana, also rendered as Kirtan or Keertan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankara.

Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa. Scholars hesitate in defining the term "Hindu scriptures" given the diverse nature of Hinduism, but many list the Agamas as Hindu scriptures, and Dominic Goodall includes Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti in the list of Hindu scriptures as well.

The Vishnu Sahasranama, is a Sanskrit hymn containing a list of the 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the main deities in Hinduism and the Supreme God in Vaishnavism. It is one of the most sacred and popular stotras in Hinduism. The most popular version of the Vishnu Sahasranama is featured in the Anushasana Parva of the epic Mahabharata. Other versions exist in the Padma Purana, the Skanda Purana, and the Garuda Purana. There is also a Sikh version of the Vishnu Sahasranama found in the work Sundar Gutka.

The Bhagavata Purana, also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana or simply Bhagavata (Bhāgavata), is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (Mahapuranas). Composed in Sanskrit and traditionally attributed to Veda Vyasa, it promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya. It is widely available in almost all Indian languages.

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Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikshitar was a Śrauti scholar and also was a great exponent of the art of upanyasas (discourses) on various subjects in Hinduism. Born in the Thanjavur district as the second son to Sri Subramanya Dikshithar, boy Anantharaman was initiated into the learning of the Vedas under his father Subramanya Dikshithar who was also known as chinna Muthannaval brother of Sengalipuram Vaidhyanatha Dikshithar or Periya Muthannaval. *Paruthiyur Krishna Sastrigal was the first guru for Anantharama Dikshithar. He first had his Aksharabyasam from Krishna Sastri at Muthannavals's Gurukulam.At a very small age Dhikshithar was blessed by the Jagadgur Shankaracharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam,with a book called "Prasanna Raaghavam" which inculcated Rama Bhakthi on Dhikshithar and developed his interest over Ithihasas and puranas.Then he further studied other Shastras and Vedangas from eminent scholars of repute, astrology from Kadalangudi Natesa Sastrigal who also was his father in law.

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Sengalipuram Vaidhyanatha Deekshithar , also Sengalipuram Muthanna or Muthannaval (1830–1893), was a great guru from the family of Dikshitar from Sengalipuram near Paruthiyur, on the northern banks of the Kudamurutti River, in Thiruvarur District of Tamil Nadu.

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Paruthiyur K. Santhanaraman is an Indian writer, Pravachan pundit, and former Deputy Treasurer of the Reserve Bank of India. Santhanaraman retired as the Deputy Treasurer of the Reserve Bank of India in Chennai after 40 years of service. He also served as a guest faculty member of the Reserve Bank of India and taught many classes on banking and HRD. Santhanaraman is also a well-known orator and author of several books and numerous articles on Tamil culture.

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The Vishahareswara Temple is a temple to Shiva in the Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple was built in the early 9th century in the village of Kodandaramapuram, which later became part of Avanam Paruthiyur, situated on the banks of the Kudamurutti River, a distributary of the Kaveri. The presiding deity of this temple is a form of Shiva called Vishahareswarar, and his consort Prasanna Parvathy Devi. The temple today is an ancient heritage symbol of the village. The temple was one of the 108 Shiva temples built by Cholan Aditya Varman 1, on the banks of the Kaveri.

Vishakha Hari is a madhva Carnatic music vocalist and proponent of Harikatha, a form of Hindu storytelling. She is a mentor dedicated to instilling art and creativity within the education of children, who she believes are the torchbearer of culture.

It is not easy to trace out the origins of the Telugu folk literature, for that matter any folk literature. It is as difficult as tracing the origin of a language. In other words, one can argue that the origin and existence of any folk literature can be a parallel phenomenon along with that language, because the folk expressive traditions of any ethnic group are much earlier than the language of that particular ethnic group. Need not say about the developed literature in written tradition. The cave paintings and line drawings found in different archeological sites prove the ability of the creative expressions of prehistoric human beings even before they were not able to speak. The addition of verbal creativity in latter periods has widened the folk expressive tradition in another medium that is verbal folk arts or the folk literature. Therefore, the existence of any folk literature can go back to the time of the given language correspondingly.

References

Narayan, Kirin (1989). Storytellers, saints, and scoundrels: folk narrative in Hindu religious teaching . University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-8122-1269-X. Katha storytelling.
Claus, Peter J.; Sarah Diamond; Margaret Ann Mills (2003). South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-93919-4.
Hawley, John Stratton; Vasudha Nager (2006). The life of Hinduism. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24913-5.

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[1] Narayan, p. 46

[2] Hawley, p. 149

[3] Claus, p. 331

[:0-4] 1 2 3 The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Vol. 2. Harbans Singh. Patiala: Punjabi University. 1992–1998. pp. 459–60. ISBN 0-8364-2883-8. OCLC 29703420. In religious terminology, katha stands for exposition, analysis and discussion of a passage from a scripture. It involves a full-length discourse on a given text, with a proper enunciation of it and elucidation with anecdotes, parables and quotations, of the underlying spiritual and theological doctrines and ideas. Since scriptural utterances and verses were generally pithy and aphoristic, they needed to be expounded for the laity and there emerged in the Indian tradition forms such as 'tika' (paraphrase), 'sabdartha' (gloss) and 'bhasya' (commentary), with 'pramanas' or suitable authoritative quotations from religious and didactic works to support the thesis or interpretation. These three modes of elucidation converge in the Sikh katha which is verbal in form.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[:1-5] 1 2 Sikh diaspora : theory, agency, and experience. Michael Hawley. Leiden. 2013. p. 322. ISBN 978-90-04-25723-8. OCLC 857971285.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)

[6] Basra, Sukhwinder Kaur (2020). What is a Sikh? : twenty questions about Sikhi and the answers (1st ed.). Victoria, BC, Canada. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-5255-6023-1. OCLC 1229095133.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[7] Myrvold, Kristina (2012). "10 - Transnational Sikh Preachers: Local Training and Global Aspiration of Kathavacaks in Punjab". Sikhs across borders : transnational practices of European Sikhs. Knut A. Jacobsen, Kristina Myrvold. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-1387-0. OCLC 801604646.

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