Setting Buddha Vandana to tune

All the members of the Constituent Assembly witnessed the tireless experiments of Master Krishnarao at the parliament between the period of 1947 to 1950 to make Vande Mataram the national anthem of the independent India. At that time, along with all members, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar also appreciated the talent of this gifted music composer and singer.

'Pious Work of setting Gautam Buddha Vandana to tune'

Later in the year 1956, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar along with his followers visited him at his residence in Pune and requested him to set Buddha Vandana to music. Master Krishnarao humbly accepted the request and composed the Buddha Vandana without taking any remuneration, in the spirit of serving the Lord Buddha. As the lead singer, he sang the entire Buddha Vandana and effectively used the chorus wherever required. For this he had also taken the efforts to learn the Pali language to understand the meaning of these sacred chants. He had visited Siddharth college in Mumbai especially for this.

'Record played at mass conversion ceremony'

Dr. Babasaheb hailed this work, felicitated Master Krishnarao and brought out a 78rpm record of Buddha Vandana in 1956. This record was played during the mass conversion ceremony held at Nagpur on the 14th October 1956 which was the auspicious day of Samrat Ashoka Vijayadashami. Later, this record was played at all official Buddhist events such as lectures and speeches, and other ceremonies. The religious leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, as well as Buddhist monks from China and Germany took notice of this composition and welcomed it.