Karuna or Kārunya is one of the navarasā-s (nine emotions) of the Indian cultural pantheon, embodying the highest form of unconditional compassion and mercy.

Since time immemorial, poets, saints, composers and bhakta-s (devotees) have performed sādhana (ardent practice of any pursuit) with a yearning for divine Karuna. When Narayana Bhattathiri wrote the magnum opus Narayaneeyam in the 16th century, he said, “Oh Krishna, oh Kārunya Sindhu! May your feet, where all the liberated souls reside, always rest in my heart. Oh, ocean of compassion, destroy all my sorrows and confer an abundant flow of Supreme Bliss”. In the 19th Century, Patnam Subramania Iyer composed a Kriti pleading Lord Venkatesha to forgive all his sins and bestow abundant Kripa (mercy) with no further delay. Even when we make a prayer today, it is only natural for us to seek the Lord’s Karuna. It is also this very unconditional empathy that we have for one another that makes the world a beautiful place.

This concert through the evocative literature and music of composers like Tyagaraja, Patnam Subramania Iyer, the Dāsā-s and others, hopes to invoke this Ocean of Mercy, this Kārunya Sindhu.

Supported by: