Bhagavatamela during the Maratha Period of Tanjore

Abstract

Our Tamil land has a rich history of art and culture. The popularly known ‘Muthamizh’ namely ‘Iyal’ – text or poetry, ‘Isai’ – music and ‘Nadagam’ – theatre has undergone various changes over a period of time due to various social and political factors in the society. Nevertheless, there are few art forms which follow the tradition with its original flavour. One such is the ‘Bhagavata Mela Nadakam’ which is an art form systemized during the Marata’s empire. This research work talks about it in detail. Marata’s period (17^th to 19^th century AD) is believed to be the glorious period for many art forms. During this period Bhagavata Mela gained its popularity with the patronage of the kings. With the support of literary evidences this research work aims at a detailed study of the patronage extended by the kings and about the growth of Bhagavata Mela and how it was systemized. Marata period plays a very important role for the growth of ‘Bhagavata Mela’. This work gives a detailed study on the systematic approach followed in Bhagavata Mela. An authority supervised the performing artist. There were certain rules to be strictly followed by the artist. They were honored with various titles and gifts, even with pieces of land sometimes. The Bhagavata Mela artists were also appointed as poets in King’s court during the Marata period. There are more such interesting facts. This research deals with the complete study of the evolution and growth of the Bhavata Mela during the Marata period including such interesting information.