Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Carnatic composers (other than performing vidwans)
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ajaysimha
Posts: 831
Joined: 19 Apr 2018, 18:16

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by ajaysimha »

well put, Nadopasaka. these extrapolation of thoughts opens up many views.

dikshitar also brings in concept of nava vida bhakthi in the krithi - AnandESvarENa saMrakshitO(a)haM

the line from charana, speaks for itself -

SravaNa manana nididhyAsana samAdhi
nishThA-aparOksha-anubhava sva-mAtra-avaSEshita-
prakASamAna mahESvarENa


SravaNa manana nididhyAsana samAdhi nishThA-aparOksha-anubhava - realized after the direct (aparOksha) experience (anubhava) of Samadhi attained through listening (SravaNa), reflecting (manana) and repeated meditating (nididhyAsana),
prakASamAna mahESvarENa - the resplendent great lord

DKP amma used to sing this krithi soulfully.
https://youtu.be/9ie65HCgRkE

Regards,
Ajay Simha

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the rAga selection of the Dikshitar’s tyAgarAja vibhakti aka “nava-vidha-bhakti/vibhakti )

Post by nAdopAsaka »

on the rAga selection of the Dikshitar’s tyAgarAja vibhakti (or henceforth to be known as the “nava-vidha-bhakti/vibhakti !” )

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar....

It is indeed a great privilege and blessing to utter the names of the Dikshitar and the tyAgarAja in the same breath !

There is no greater worship of nAda and nAma than their kritis.

The great vAggeyakAras also were not in hermetically sealed echo-chambers, but living and breathing the same tiruvArur air and turning it into song.

The post I made ( post # 550) above identifying the Dikshitars tyAgarAja vibhakti with their specific nava-vidha bhakti themes indicates evidence of the intersection of their nAda-spheres.

I now show below how it is possible to “assert with some confidence” that the rAga selection of the Dikshitar for this particular vibhakti is linked to the rAgas chosen by the tyAgarAja for each corresponding bhakti-mode.

I say “assert with some confidence” because the statistical odds of all 9 kritis matching up , as shown, for both bhakti-theme AND rAga, purely by coincidence, is beyond astronomical !!

I reproduce the list from the above post below and add each particular tyAgarAja kriti with its “bhakti-mode specific” reference in each rAga.

Yadukula kAmbOji
KIRTANA as "tyAgarAjam bhajare" where bhajan = kirtana

In “adi kAdu bhajana”, the tyAgarAja defines bhajana by what it is not !

sAlaga bhairavi
SMARANA as "guruguha smaraNEna" in tyAgarAjena Samrakshitoham

in padavi ni sadbhakti, the tyAgarAja sings “japa tapAdi aNimAdi siddhulacE”, where japa is the repetitive remembrance aka smarana of the Lord

athAna
SEVA as “guruguha gaNEsha rAjO samsEvita” in tyAgarAjO VirAjite

in his “rAra raghuvira”, the tyAgarAja accepts the duties of seVA when he says “kArya-mAye dayALO”

gaulA
ARCHANA/PUJA as “shrI guruguha pUjita” in tyAgarAja pAlayASu mAm

In the famous “duduku gala”, the tyAgarAja similarly wants to awaken and alert the Lord to his rescue, by enumerating instead his lengthy list of defects. Of course this formally became an ArAdhana kriti some hundred years later…

begada
VANDANA as “vAgIshAdyakhila dEva vandita” in tyAgarAjAya namaste

Notice the similar salutation appears as “tyAgarAja vandyulu svatantrulu” in nAdopAsanACe

rudrapriya/purna shadja
DASYAM as “bhakto bhavAmi” in Sri tyAgarAjasya bhakto bhavAmi

in lAvanya rAma purnashadjam the tyAgarAja uses kanulAra Cudu which is a very unique type of request from a bhakta (see also the usage kanulAra sEvinCi for the great bhakta Sabari in the mukhAri)

purna-shadja is very similar to rudrapriya, though not identical

vira-vasanta
SAKHYAM as “vIra vasanta tyAgarAja mAm tArayAshu

this is the Lord as companion/ferry-man/sustainer

in emani pogadudu when the tyAgarAja says “Sivuniki tAmasa guNam kamala bhAvuniki rAjasa guNam” he is by default assigning rAma the role of “sattva guNam” as the “sustainer” /companion

sAranga
ARPANAM in "tyAgarAjE kRtyA-kRtyam arpayAmi"

in his sA-ranga, (i.e. with ranga) the tyAgarAja says with no ambiguity that he is nothing without the Lord, his everything is the Lord, his everything is with the Lord as in ni vAda ne gAna, nikhila loka nidAna,

darbAr
SHRAVANAM “rAgAdi vritti rahita” in tyAgarAjAd anyam Na jAne

Reminding ourselves that this is the Hearing or Sruti bhakti-vidha, we see that..

in nArada guruswami the tyAgarAja refers to Sruti as veda using "yoga naigama" (note also the famous “vyAsO naigama” shloka)

So, the question arises , perhaps only for the upAsaka....did the Dikshitar independently arrive at the idea of using these rAgas with these bhakti-vidhas or did he somehow become aware of these specific kritis of the tyAgarAja,...thus influencing his rAga choice for this tyagarAja vibhakti set..

especially rarer rAgas like vira-vasanta, and sAlaga bhairavi (each has only one kriti in these) are too esoteric for both vAggeyakAras to have “independently” converged on them for the same themes !

A nice rendition of vira-vasanta is available

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0QtzNFbRX8

It can be compared to rAdha-jayalakshmi doing the emani pogadudu in vira-vasanta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pog0S0_5o9Q

Excellent observation !! ajaysimha..

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

ref-p-552
---------
Really surprising find!
Grand!
As Thyagaraja Swami was the senior, his composition should have been mentioned first and then the corresponding MD kruthi with the same theme and Ragam. next.
Particularly , pertaining to the same 'sthalam'. Your presentation is unique.
Thank you

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

MS Subbulakshmi
Muthusvami Dikshitar bicentenary celebrations, Shanmukhananda Hall, Bombay - March 1975

Vocal: M S Subbulakshmi
Vocal Support: Radha Viswanathan
Violin: V V Subramanyam
Mridangam: Karaikudi Mani
Ghatam: V Nagarajan
----
Information provided by the uploader Vaak
The Bombay concert list makes impressive reading with familiar and unusual songs alike, including ‘Vatapi’/Hamsadhwani, the luminous ‘Veena pustaka dharini’/Vegavahini, a learning from T. Brinda sung as it is in the traditional style of that school,
‘Minakshi’ in Gamakakriya,
both the Anandabhairavi and Todi navavarana kritis,
‘Sadasivam upasmahe’/Sankarabharanam,
‘Hariharaputram’/Vasanta,
the appropriate vaara kriti for the day, ‘Divakara tanujam’/Yadukulakambhoji,
‘Ranganayakam’/ Nayaki,
‘Sri Parvati’/Bauli,
the evergreen ‘Rangapura vihara’/ Brindavanasaranga,
‘Gange mam pahi’/Jenjuti and
‘Mamava Pattabhirama’/ Manirangu."

This is the concert presented here.

=====.

Muthuswami Dikshitar bicentenary recital sponsored by the National Centre for the Performing Arts at the Shanmukhananda Hall, Bombay, Saturday 15 March 1975

https://youtu.be/d3UmMOEeisg

00:00:00 - Vatapi/ Hamsadhwani/Adi
00:09:45 - Veena pustaka dharini/ /Vegavahini/Jhampa
00:17:41 - Meenakshi/ Gamakakriya/Adi
00:41:04 - Kamalamba /Anandabhairavi/Misrachapu
00:52:39 - Sadasivam upasmahe/ Sankarabharanam/Adi
01:24:59 - Hariharaputram/ Vasanta/Khanda Eka (Incorrectly labelled in the video)
01:32:18 - Divakara tanujam/ Yadukulakambhoji/Eka
01:39:18 - Ranganayakam/ Nayaki/Adi
01:49:24 - Kamalambike/Todi/Rupaka
02:25:00 - Tani Avarthana
02:32:54 - Sri Parvati/ Bauli/Adi
02:37:07 - Rangapura vihara/ Brindavanasaranga/Rupaka
02:43:19 - Gange mam pahi/ Jenjuti/Khanda Eka (Incorrectly labelled in the video)
02:47:19 - Mamava Pattabhirama/ Manirangu/Misrachapu

lyrics and meaning can be obtained from
guruguhavaibavam.blogspot of Sri.Govindan

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the dva-daSa-vidha bhakti (the 12 bhakti modes) of the nilOtpalAmbA vibhakti set !)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the dva-daSa-vidha bhakti (the 12 bhakti modes) of the nilOtpalAmbA vibhakti set !

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar....

I do remember this particular MSS kutcheri. I also remember that , in rather poor humor, it was pointed out at the time that the SankarAbharanam kriti was chosen also as a tribute to her own husband.

RSR, Thank you for your interest and comments.

I rank the finding of ALL 9 bhakti-vidha modes in the Dikshitar tyAgarAja vibhakti kritis (post # 550 and post # 552) alongside the discovery of his rAga choices for the Navagraha (post # 500) , the discovery of the subrahmanya-sthala vibhakti kriti set (posts # 542 & 546) , the connection between panCalinga-panCabhuta linga via the nAgalingam Mohana (post # 537) , the asAveri-mAyavaram kritis (post # 549) and the upadeSa in the Guruguha vibhakti ( post # 528).

Various other meaningful patterns in the Dikshitar kritis can be seen based on the 100 or so posts I have made on this subject in the last 9 months.

As I see it, this dimension of the Dikshitar, revealed by my posts, was almost extinguished over the last 200 years in contrast to the emphasis made on his technical and musicological contributions. But it is an absolutely undeniable and important aspect of his unique legacy.

In my opinion, any fact or any detail or any aspect that can put the upAsaka closer to or even at the scene (not just the physical sthalas) of the Dikshitar receiving his divine inspiration is of immense value. The choice of rAga or the choice of words the Dikshitar makes is only part of these aspects.

With the help of this forum/web-site, it is now possible to illuminate many of these features for all in future.

It is indeed a stark and bleak realization that entire generations of musicians, MSS included , as well as most rasikA’s and their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents etc etc., have “gone to the five elements” without realizing, for example, that the nAgalingam Mohanam connects the tiruvArUr panCalingas with the panCa-bhuta linga kritis, indeed by complete design, as seen in my post # 537.

The learnings I am posting are based on about a half-century of “listening”, and I do not consider them “easy” to have come by.

One of the laws of nature paraphrased is “anything at rest prefers to stay at rest”. The conventional thinking about the Dikshitar in regard to this aspect of his legacy seems to follow this law.

Fortunately there is also a related law of nature where “something in motion prefers to remain in motion”.

In the tradition of this second law and my 100 odd posts, I move now to show that the Gaula-antya Vibhakti set called the nilOtpalAmbA vibhakti ALSO carries every one of the nava-vidhi bhakti mudrAs,… in fact an additional 3 bhakti-vidha’s also prescribed in the ancient texts are noticeable !!..making the nilOtpalAmbA vibhakti set the dva-daSa-vidha bhakti set (12 bhakti modes) .

I list first the kriti set/rAgas for clarity. The detailed texts can be found in many sources.

nIlOtpalAmbikE nitya shuddhAtmikE mAmava DHYANA in chAyAgauLa
nIlOtpalAmbA jayati Vib.1 in nArAyaNa gauLa
nIlOtpalAmbam bhajarE 2 Vib.2 in nAri rIthi gaulA
nIlOtpalAmbikayA nirvana 3 Vib. 3 in kannaDa gauLa
nIlOtpalAmbikAyai namaste 4 Vib. 4 in kEdAragauLa
nIlOtpalAmbikAyAh param 5 Vib. 5 in gauLa
nIlOtpalAmbikAyAstava dAsOham shrI 6 Vib. 6 in mAyAmALavagauLa
nIlOtpalAmbikAyAm bhaktim karOmi Vib. 7 in pUrvagauLa
shrI nIlOtpala nAyikE Vib. 8 in rItigauLa (this nAri-ritigaula is also described as nata-bhairavE in the kriti)

Previously in post # 420 I have pointed to an anomaly in the rAga naming of this set.

For about 200 years this Gaula-antya nature of the nilotpalAmbA set as listed above, has been observed and commented on by all honest rasikA’s, web-sites, forums, “gawkers” and vidwAns/viDUSi’s alike etc., but no one has really bothered to examine this massive Great Pyramid any further. This is that same first law of nature at work.

There has also been little comprehension in the past about the interconnected-ness of these Great Pyramids of the Dikshitar particularly those that are concentrated in one sthala. We will of course discuss the mighty kamalAmbA set separately in this regard.

For now I want to focus on the nilOtpalAmbA set.

In post # 552 the connection of the tyAgarAja vibhakti set to the vAggeyakAra tyAgarAja has already been indicated thru the rAgas used.

More careful attention to the tyAgarAja vibhakti set leads to the following..

It is immediately noticeable that the so-called dhyAna kriti of this tiruvArUr tyAgarAja vibhakti set is in the Gaula rAga and that the (tiruvArUr) nilOtpalAmbA Devi is specifically mentioned in the first and second vibhakti kritis (the athAna and the yadukula kAmboji) of this tyAgarAja set.

The bread-crumbs are indeed in place !

And, unerringly, once again, the ocean of mercy rises !!

I list below in bold/black the bhakti-vidha and next to it the particular reference/words made in the specific vibhakti kriti.

KIRTANA bhajarE in Vib. 2 and upAsita in Vib. 7

SMARANA/Smriti the multiple references to the purAnas/Siva-purana etc. (the purAnas are known as part of Smriti ) in Vib. 1,Vib. 2 and Vib. 3

SEVA sevita in Vib. 3 and Vib. 5

ARCHANA/PUJA as ArAdhita or pujita in Vib. 3 , Vib. 4, Vib. 6 and Vib. 8

VANDANA vandita in Vib. 3

DAASYAM dAsOham in Vib. 6

SAKHYAM/trust-confidence as viSwASini in both dhyAna and Vib. 2

ARPANAM/dissolution-into as “Cittam vilaya-tu” in Vib. 1. and sAloka in Vib. 5

SHRAVANAM/hearing as vANI in Vib.1, Vib. 3 and Vib. 4

another beautiful illustration of Shravanam/Hearing is also given via the Devi gently nodding her head on hearing the Sruti ! sAma gAna Sira kampini in Vib. 2

KAANTAM (attachment as a beloved) “SrngAra” noted in Vib. 1

AAVIRAHA (pain of separation) as “kAmitArttha” in Vib. 4

TANMAYAM (absorption in /UNION with) "sAyujya: in the dhyAna kriti

I consider it a sacred duty to share any and all such learnings and findings to pay this unique vAggeyakAra the total respect that he commands and deserves.

Like the petals cast during any puja, I continue my practice of adorning these findings with suitable renditions ..many thanks to singers and upload agencies..Thanks of course to the rasikAs forum.

An excellent rendition of the purvA gaula kriti is given by the mallAdi brothers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPuyS4MdjKY

Likewise vidWAn sandhyAvandana SRao does the kedAragaulA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaaZTy_VQfQ

So does viDUSi B. Kalyanaraman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRH7BOSwTXY

We will take up the other majestic kritis of this set in due course.

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Muthuswamy Dikshithar (from evening to morning–nilOtpalAmbA vibhakti Gaula-anta rAga’s adhere to rAga kAlam/prahara)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

from evening to morning – how the nilOtpalAmbA vibhakti Gaula-anta rAga’s adhere to rAga kAlam/prahara

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar....

There can be no doubt that the Dikshitar intended the majestic nilOtpalAmbA kriti-mAlikA as a continuously evolving prayer/worship of this “night-time deity”, starting from the early evening and culminating at dawn/day-break, and following the sequence of the vibhakti invocations (i.e. from Vib. 1 to Vib. 7).

The night-time motif is quite important given the nature of the niLOtpala flower. (see for example post # 483 on the kumuda-kriya , for the midnight or ardha-yAma alankAra). Elsewhere the moon is described as kumuda-mitram in the Dikshitars Candram asAveri.

Only from a comprehension of the fidelity of the Dikshitars worship, is it possible to glimpse the logic of the rAga selections made for the kriti-mAlikA sequence that is the niLotpalAmbA set, even if they are all of the somewhat “narrow” gaulA-anta regime !

Generally kAlam/prahara (time of singing) has been ignored or bypassed in Carnatic music , but in terms of the Dikshitars worship, it is actually quite reasonable to expect an adherence to this.

After all, to the upAsaka, the rAga’s and their vehicles, the kritis, are offerings to the deities , (not merely clever combinations of svaras and gamakas/tAlas, as most musicologists would have us believe)

The night-time aspects begin right away with the two sambodhana vibhakti 8 kritis.

0-A. dhyAna sambodhana nIlOtpalAmbikE nitya shuddhAtmikE in chAyA-gaula

This is in rAga chAyA-gaula where “chAyA” quite literally means the advent of dusk/darkness or the shade of twilight.

0-B. “Sri nilOtpala nAyikE” in nAri-ritigowla

Next in the sequence is the sambodhana kriti “Sri nilOtpala nAyikE” in nAri-ritigowla which is also traditionally a late-evening /night rAga.

Interestingly mudras for both riti-gowla and nata-bhairavi appear in this kriti.

This kriti is important since it cites the Vithanka tyAgarAja , also referred in the tyAgarAja vibhakti gaula dhyAna kriti and also effectively introduces the upcoming 7 rAgas/kritis via the phrase “padma-rAga manimAlE

Next we have the Vibhakti 1 to Vibhakti 7 kritis.


1. nIlOtpalAmbA jayati in nArAyaNa-gauLa

Vib. 1 in nArAyana-gaula is an evening/early night rAga.

In fact in his other masterpiece in this rAga, “Sri rAmam”, the Dikshitar is quite explicit with the rising moon motif..via “ravi-kulAbdhi sOmam” even going so far as to calling lord rAma “the rising moon of the solar-race”

2. nIlOtpalAmbAm bhajarE in rIti-gowla

Vib. 2 in riti-gaula as noted above for the sambodhana vibhakti kriti is a late-evening/early night rAga.

3. nIlOtpalAmbikayA nirvana in kannaDa-gauLa

This kriti in Vib. 3 in rAga kannada-gaula goes further into the night.

In the kriti the words “halliSa lAsya” are given which indicate a specific form of “rAsa-lila” dance performed in the late night hours.

4. nIlOtpalAmbikAyai namaste in kEdAra-gauLa

Vib. 4 in kedAra-gaula. This rAga is also later in the night perhaps even towards mid-night… Indeed the rAga desh, the deshya equivalent of kedAra-gaula has a late-night/midnight prahara.

In his other kedAragaula kriti “nilakantham” the Dikshitar also notes the appearance of the crescent-moon quite explicity as “bAlaCandra sevitaya” which emphasizes the time of night.

5. nIlOtpalAmbikAyAh param in gauLa

Vib. 5 in gaula which is also rendered preferably late into the night. ..in this kriti too the crescent moon is specifically noted as bAlaCandrasEvita.

In the gaulA anupallavi of the "Sri viSwanAtham" rAgamAlikA the brilliance of the gaula dominates even the moon as in “kSIra-kunda-indu-karpurAdi-vijaya-bhasita-uddhULita-gaulANgam”.

Quite interestingly the other immortal bard also refers to the moon in the very first charana ‘shrI vanitA hrtkumudAbjA vAngmAnasa gOcara” of his fantastic "duduku-gala"

6. nIlOtpalAmbikAyAstava dAsOham in mAyAmALavagauLa

Vib. 6 in mAyA-mAlava-gaula. This is traditionally an early morning rAga in parallel with the bhairava thaat.

Tellingly, the Dikshitar notes the appearance of “prakASa” for the first time in the entire kriti sequence !

We see the beginnings of day-break !!


7. nIlOtpalAmbikAyAm bhaktim karOmi in pUrvA-gauLa


Vib. 7 in purvA-gaula..,,No question this choice is based on several indications of dawn including the time period aka “purva-anha” , the rising sun of the east/purva and the unique reference made by the Dikshitar to “surya-kOti prakASa” !

Day has broken and the nilOtpalAmbA pujA is concluded !

May the infinite mercy of the Dikshitar forgive me for intruding on and revealing his pujA details, particularly to the unready and the uninitiated, as well as the unworthy and the undeserving, all of which I have been.

excellent kannada-gaula renditions are available

MLV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlpwvSxYsqE

AlatUr bros.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPu6Qil0BC0

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by rajeshnat »

Nadpasaka
Great post . More than centering on the raga for the time of the day, Dikshitar possibly adding even the meaning of the word associating with the raga was bit new to me For eg chaya means advent of dusk slipped to me . Do we possibly morph that word chaya and in tamil we call it sayankalam.

All said I am wondering if Dikshitar indeed ever repeatedy sang in ragas that he had put as mudra in krithis whenever he composed , for eg could that have been a case of initially writing with a raga mudra validating with he singing with krithis whenever he visits temple OR is that a case may be his sishya paramparas sang looking at krithi manuscripts 50 years later . I am not saying that would have happened to all krithis , say for eg shree natadi in maayamalavagowlai that may have not happened , but some krithis there is a chance that was just sung by a 2nd or 3rd sishya parampara of MD for the first time ,then advent of 4th generation of Poochi Iyengar and his disciple Ariyakudi more practioners polished and reaffirmed the paddhati.

If some artist can just for the sake of it take a krithi say ananda natana prakasam in kedaram may be just carefully morph it to some other ragam say ananda natana vasantham and sing in vasantha, i am assuming that would be even be beautiful as possibly the prasa Dikshitar could have abstracted even away for most ragas.

All said the most analytic vaggeyakkara is Muthuswami Dikshitar,how he toured temples, how he recollected what he had already composed and most importantly logically grouping with dieties and krithis- certainly there is divinity right there , it is just we are born 400 years late- our bad luck.

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

reg-p-557
This is an excerpt from a Shodhganga paper on Muthuswami Dikshitar
https://sites.google.com/site/ncvasanth ... hikshithar
------
This may be helpful to students to better appreciate the nice post of @nAdopAsaka .The emphasis is more on info about the raagams used.
-----
<quote>
Nilotpalamba Vibhakti kritis
<
Nilotpalamba is the consort of Lord Tyagaraja of Tiruvarur. She is the bhogini while Kamalamba is the yogini. Muthuswami Dikshitar has composed a set of eight kritTs on Nilotpalamba in the eight vibhaktTs. In
the Ritigaula raga kriti, Dikshitar has mentioned Devi as the one who
resides in the heart of Tyagaraja as, 'Tyagaraja Antarangam'.

In the Kannadagaula kriti, Dikshitar says that he is protected by Nilotpalamba. She is capable of granting 'Nirvana' or 'moksha'.
'Nilotpalambikaya nirvanasukhapradaya rakshithoham'

A peculiar form of dance 'Hallishalasya' finds mention in this kriti.

Dikshitar has also given the raga name and sthala name through the phrase
'Kasi Kannadagauladi desa'.
The Chayagaula raga kriti has the avarana chakra name woven
into the sahitya as 'Trailokyachakravasini'. The Devi wears blue clothes,
'NTlambara' and she is adorned by blue flowers. 'Nllapushpa malavrita'

All the kritTs are composed in ragas which have names ending in
Gaula and thus these kritTs are often called 'Gaula kritTs'. The kritTs
included in this group are.
---------------------------------------------
1 . NTlotpalambajayati
2. NTlotpalambambhajare
3. NTlotpalambikaya
4. NTlotpalambikayai
5. NTlotpalambikayah param
6. NTlotpalambikayah
7. NTl5tpalambikayam
8. NTlotpalambike

1-Narayanagaula
2-Nariritigaula
3-Kannadagaula
4-Kedaragaula
5-Gaula
6-Mayamalavagaula
7-Purvagaula
8-Chayagaula

Since all these kritis begin on the term 'Nllotpalamba' ,Dikshitar has cleverly commenced all these kritis in the swara 'Ni' which naturally gives a literary beauty.

</quote>

Trying to locate renderings of the left-out kruthis in this set

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (My “ratha-kalpana” continues at tiruvArUr….. the tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhakti kritis ! )

Post by nAdopAsaka »

My “ratha-kalpana” continues at tiruvArUr…..how the gaula kriti leads off the tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhakti kritis !

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar....

I thank RSR and rajeshnat for their comments and interest.

My “ratha-kalpana” detoured from mAyavaram these last few posts, lingers at tiruvArUr.

One might have wondered based on my last few posts focused on the SivA and the Devi at tiruvArUr, what happened to that happy , elephant headed deity ?

Naturally he is never far from the Dikshitars thinking ! and, indeed adjacent to the Great Pyramid of the nilOtpalAmbA and the Great Pyramid of the tiruvArUr tyAgarAja, sits the great (or mahA) Ganapati complex !

As I have pointed out repeatedly, the Great Pyramids of the Dikshitar are interconnected. I examined the Ganapati kritis in post # 421 previously.

Much has been said in the last 200 years about the so-called shodaSa Ganapati kritis, supposedly aligned with 16 different idols of this unique sthala.

I am however quite doubtful if the following items have ever been comprehended !!

1. There is a complete vibhakti ( 1 to 8 ) arrangement for the Ganapati kritis at tiruvArUr.

2. The first 4 of these Ganapati vibhaktis are in the first 4 ghana rAgas.

3. The 5th ghana rAga kriti is in rAga Shri which is in the 8th vibhakti and acts like a Mangalam of sorts.

4. The only first vibhakti kriti to the Ganapati is in the ghana rAga gaula !....and what else could it be , given the dhyAna kriti to the adjacent tyAgarAja and the whole gaula-anta saga of the nilOtpalAmbA, which has been unraveled in my few posts above.

It is only with the boundless grace and mercy of the Dikshitar that I list below his organized adoration of the tiruvArUr Ganapati.

The ghana rAga kritis are shown in bold red. The vibhakti is bold black.

By my count there could be more than sho-daSa (16), perhaps even an aSta-daSa Ganapati tiruvArUr kriti collection (18).

Vibhakti 1
1 SrI mahAganapati ravatumAm in Gaula

Vibhakti 2
2. mahAgaNapatim manasA smarAmi in nAta
3 vAtApi gaNapatim bhajEham
4 siddhi vinAyakam anisham
5 mahAgaNapatim vandE
6 vighnESwaram
7 gaNanAyakam bhajEham bhajE
8 vAmANka sthitayA

Vibhakti 3
9. gaNarAjEna rakSitOham in ArabhI
10 paHncamAtaHNgamukha gaNapatinA

Vibhakti 4
11. lambOdarAya namastE in varAli
In this kriti the reference to kumbhajapUjitAya is the same as in the tiruvArur vAtApi kriti to the kumbha muni
12 hErambAya namaste
13 hastivadanAya namastubhyam

Vibhakti 5
14. shrI gaNEshAtparam
The puja by the yOgirAja (described in multiple tiruvArUr tyAgarAja kritis ) confirms this location of this kriti (yOgirAjarchitAt)

In addition it can be seen that the usage “bhuta bhautika” is reserved for only this Ganapati and one other kriti.. the vAtapi Ganapati also of tiruvArUr.

Vibhakti 6
15. vallabhA nAyakasya

Vibhakti 7
16. ucchiSTa gaNapatau

Vibhakti 8
17. SrI mUlAdhAra cakravinAyaka in rAga Sri

these two are also in the 8th or sambodhana vibhakti
18 mahAgaNapatE pAlayAshu mAm
19 gaNESa kumAra pAhimAm

Once again we see the Dikshitar's painstaking attention to detail. Just like his care with the wielding of svara and laya and his nuances of rAgas, each deity and name is uniquely worshipped.

With all his grammar and his meter and his vocabulary, the Dikshitar has done his best to tame the giant flood of his inspiration.

It is only proper for the upAsaka to pause and wonder …What is the depth of imagination needed !, what is the degree of worship ! that can bring forth the 40 odd gems just at tiruvArUr (and of course the many others)..

To paraphrase another great seer, the most incomprehensible thing about the Dikshitar is that he is somewhat comprehensible...

The gaula kriti
AlatUr bros.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utxtYC_Xn8I

veena and violin viDUSi's jayanti and Akkarai S
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P4G2pyUzv8

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (rAga selection of the 8 tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhaktis )

Post by nAdopAsaka »

rAga selection of the 8 tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhaktis – why the ghana rAgas, why ardradeshi, why bEgada and why kASi-rAmakriya plus an embedded upadESa

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar....

We are still in tiruvArUr ! and we haven’t even got close to the mighty kamalAmbA complex..

It is absolutely necessary to meditate further on the 8 tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhakti kritis.. and of course all the other ones too .

Noticing that there are only solitary kritis in Vibhaktis 5, 6 and 7 (post # 559), it is completely logical to assert the following.

The First 8 tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhakti kritis are in order ! the 4 ghana rAgas kritis followed by the Vibhakti 5, 6 and 7 kritis and culminating in the Vibhakti 8 kriti in ghana rAga Sri.

There can be no doubt that ALL the rAga selections are deliberate !!

The “ghana” rAgas for the “gana”-pati is a quite natural choice and easily comprehensible except to the ultra-dim-witted.

The real lesson is in the choice of the remaining 3 rAgas , each of which explanation, I have given in the list below.

The full list is shown below.
Vibhakti 1
1 SrI mahAganapati ravatumAm in Gaula

Vibhakti 2
2. mahAgaNapatim manasA smarAmi in nAta

Vibhakti 3
3. gaNarAjEna rakSitOham in ArabhI

Vibhakti 4
4. lambOdarAya namastE in varAli
The similarity to the tiruvArUr hamsadhwani "vAtApi" kriti via "kumbhajapujita" has already been noted. In addition this kriti also carries the unique and iconic Ganapati offering reference "jambu kadali phala sAra bhaksita" also made only in the "mAhAganapatim vandE" tiruvArUr todi.

Vibhakti 5
5. shrI gaNEshAtparam in Ardradeshi

This rAga choice is based on the dual physical appearance of the deity, its elephant head and its human body, i.e. ardha-dehi, (Ardra implying portion of)

Vibhakti 6
6. vallabhA nAyakasya in bEgada

This rAga choice is based on the extended trunk of the elephant-headed deity, and comes from the “long” throat/neck/gullet as in “brh-gala” morphed into “bE-gala” and then “bE-gada” by generations of slurred (conversational etc.) impurities.

In fact in the “Sri mAtah” begada (see my post # 516 ), bE-gala is the chosen way to deliver the mudra.

Vibhakti 7
7. ucchiSTa gaNapatau in kASi-rAmakriya

The rAma-kriya is linked to a specific puja performed by lord rAma (including at rAmanAthapuram, see for example the other kAmavardhani kriti) as part of cleansing/purification at a critical moment of the rAmAyana.

This “ucchiSTa” Ganapati kriti is also undoubtedly a purification ritual, so this is indeed the proper choice.

Vibhakti 8
8. SrI mUlAdhAra cakravinAyaka in Sri

Arriving at this plateau of realization does not go unnoticed.

Unerringly the ocean of mercy of the Dikshitar swells and bestows further enlightenment !

Once these kritis are assembled in the above ordered sequence from Vibhakti 1 to Vibhakti 8, another set of revelations can be made.

1. Each kriti carries one unique word from the previous one in the sequence.

2. The 8th vibhakti kriti in Sri rAga, carries one word from each of the preceding 7 kritis of the list.

3. The 8th kriti also cycles one word back to the first vibhakti kriti.

The list below shows these words.

(bold red for the ones shared with the successive and preceding one and bold black for the ones donated to Vib. 8 kriti)

Vibhakti 1
mula (from Vib. 8)
mahAganapathi (for Vib. 2)
vinAyakO (for Vib. 8)

Vibhakti 2
mahAgaNapatim (from Vib. 1)
kOTi prakAsham (for Vib. 3)
dEvAdi (for Vib. 8)

Vibhakti 3
kOTi prakAshEna (from Vib. 2)
pUjita (for Vib. 4)
siddha (for Vib. 8)

Vibhakti 4
pUjitA (from Vib. 3)
shivAtmajA (for Vib. 5)
lambOdarA (for Vib. 8)


Vibhakti 5
shivAtmajA (from Vib. 4)
pada (for Vib. 6)
SaT (for Vib. 8)

Vibhakti 6
pada (from Vib. 5)
bhakthO (for Vib. 7)
dAyaka (for Vib. 8)

Vibhakti 7
bhakthim (from Vib. 6)
shabaLIkRta (for Vib. 8)

A phrase is also observable upon collecting the 8 shared words
mula, mahAganapathi , kOTi prakAsham , pUjita , shivAtmajA , pada , bhakthO

We have already seen in post # 528 that the Guruguha tiruttani vibhakti carried a similar upadESa embedded across those 8 kritis.

In the Vibhakti 8 kriti the following 7 words are contributed by each of the first 7 kritis.

vinAyaka from Vib. 1
dEvAdi from Vib. 2
siddha from Vib. 3
lambodara from Vib. 4
SaT from Vib. 5
dAyaka from Vib. 6
shabaLIkRta from Vib. 7

And this word “mula” completes the cycle back to Vib. 1.

tiruvArUr is the kSetra where the Dikshitar has emphasized the “group” kritis.

As shown by my many posts these group kritis are “connected” by a variety of deeper themes and methods. (see for e.g. post # 537 nAgalingam Mohana connecting the tiruvArUr panCa-lingAs or the bhakti-vidha’s of the nilotpalamba-post # 552, post # 555 or tyAgarAja post # 550).

These connections and their embedded meanings are the treasures that a proper musical archaeology of these Great Pyramids unearths.

It is only with the infinite mercy of the Dikshitar that I am able to make these posts.

Here MSS describes the Ganapati reaching the mulAdhAra cAkra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRJbobuTK3Y

A very nice violin exposition is also available vidWAns M Sarma/rAjaSri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOIXJnR-VIM

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Nava-vidha bhakti mudrAs in the tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhakti kritis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

Nava-vidha bhakti mudrAs in the tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhakti

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar....

As expected, ALL the Nava-vidhi bhakti mudrAs are also observable in the tiruvArUr Ganapati Vibhakti set described in my post above # 560.

This is understandable since this frame-work has already been noted for the tyAgarAja and nilOtpalAmbA sets in my recent posts.

I do not believe this has been comprehended in the past.

I list below these mudrAs similar to previous posts made and the kritis they are observed in.
The vib. 1 gaula kriti carries two of the bhakti modes.

KIRTANA vib. 5 "upAsitAt" in Sri ganeSAt param nahi

SMARANA vib 2 "manasa smarAmi" in the nAta

pAdasEvA vib. 7 "bhaktim krtva unnata-pada vim vrajarE" in ucchiSta ganapatau

ARCHANA/PUJA vib 4 "pujitAya" in lambOdaraya

VANDANA vib. 3 "vanditEna" in ganarajEna

DAASYAM vib. 6 "bhakto bhavAmi" in vallabha nAyakasya

SAKHYAM vib. 1 "bhava jala nAvo" in Sri mahAganapati ravatu mAm, same as the cosmic ferryman noted earlier

ARPANAM vib. 1 "kaivalyam" in Sri mahAganapati ravatu mAm

SHRAVANAM vib. 8 "vaikhari svAbhava" in sri mulAdhAra Cakra, being an embodiment of sound/speech that is “heard”

A couple of minor corrections are needed for the SMARANA and PAADASEVA aspects in the tyAgarAja vibhakti/vidha-bhakti (per my post # 550)

SMARANA “purANa pratipAdita” in tyAgarAjO VirAjite , the athAnA refer to what are known as “smriti” or memory

The corresponding tyAgarAja kriti in athAnA is still "rAra raghuvira" with the reference “anudinamunu ninu manasuna kanugoni “ indicating the constant/daily memory or dhyAna on the lord (per my post # 552 regarding rAga selection of the tyAgarAja vibhakti)

pAdasEvA "shrI ramaNAdi pUjita caraNEna" in tyAgarAjena Samrakshitoham, (the sAlaga-bhairavi) is the proper mudra. This is aligned with “padavi ni sad bhakti: of the corresponding unique tyAgarAja kriti in sAlaga-bhairavi.

In addition, In the nilOtpalAmbA vibhakti set, the Vib. 3 kriti "nIlOtpalAmbikAyAh param nahi" gives the pAdasEvA mudra quite clearly as "guruguha sannuta caraNAyAh" which I had forgotten to point out in post # 555.

The appearance of unique nava-vidha bhakti mudrAs in the tiruvArUr vibhakti kritis of the Dikshitar , particularly in the linked sets of the tyAgarAja, nilOtpalAmbA and now the Ganapati indicates considerable premeditation.

Perhaps these realizations are all a required preamble, at least for the upAsaka, like the "foothills" before trying to ascend the peaks of the even more esoteric kamalAmbA navAvarana. That journey may well be a lifetime in the making.

Fortunately there are a multitude of kritis of the Dikshitar that can illuminate the path in the interim.

excellent Ardradeshi renditions are available

vidWAn V. sadAsivam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fetrQQUn75Q

vidwAn S. Gursharan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6AkcDTOLBc

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (rAga selection of the 8 tiruvArUr Ganapati vibhaktis )

Post by rajeshnat »

nAdopAsaka wrote: 19 Jul 2021, 20:01
6. vallabhA nAyakasya in bEgada

This rAga choice is based on the extended trunk of the elephant-headed deity, and comes from the “long” throat/neck/gullet as in “brh-gala” morphed into “bE-gala” and then “bE-gada” by generations of slurred (conversational etc.) impurities.

In fact in the “Sri mAtah” begada (see my post # 516 ), bE-gala is the chosen way to deliver the mudra.
1.Could this morph all the way from brh-gala to bE-gala to bE-gada is all done just to suit our pre drawn conclusion that we have to put raga mudra for every Dikshitar krithi. In short is that all conjecture and fiction by you and many before you. ?? Just asking not really confronting your viewpoints?

2.In your experience are there any popular krithis of Dikshitar where you could not trace raga mudra??

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

I am certain the use of bE-gala is deliberate on the part of the Dikshitar and is motivated by the connection to the neck/gullet etc. The Sri mAtah kriti makes this quite clear, where he also fixates on the Cakra-rupa ear-rings , adjacent the neck.

Regarding “popular” kritis this can of course be relative but it is a good question..

I suggest following..

“annapurne visAlAkSi” in sAma (although the less heard “tripurasundari Sankari” gives the sAmagAna mudra clearly).

“shrI rAjagOpAla bAla” in sAveri is another such (with “karikalabha” giving the sAveri mudrA)

“gaNarAjEna rakSitOham” in Arabhi

“bAlagopala pAlaya” in bhairavi is another ..the last line is quite famous for other reasons and intriguing but I do not think is about the raga mudrA “vaiNika gAyaka guruguha nuta pura vairi vihita” although intriguing

most glaring example however is “diwAkara tanujam” in yadukula kamboji (this choice of this rAga for this kriti is undoubtedly linked to the vehicle of the Sani deity the vulture/raven etc. ( per my post # 500 for example) however the word/s (yadukula kAmboji) for the mudrA do not appear in any way , directly or indirectly , in this or the other 2 YK kritis

“bRhaspatE tArApatE” in athAnA is another such widely heard kriti (but as I note in post # 500 this is the elephant vehicle of the Thursday deity derived from the word for the elephant). “vAmAnka sthitAya” Ganapati kriti gives the rAga mudrA and is appropriate for the elephant deity.

Since its Thursday good to hear brhaspatE kriti

s rAjam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVv_9VIwXjA

MMI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVq6VDgQEds

a fine effort is made here on the rarely heard "vAmAnka stithayA" kriti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq2BGs5rIhQ

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the kamalAmbA navAvarana rAga selection and it’s nava-vidha bhakti mudrA)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the kamalAmbA navAvarana rAga selection and it’s nava-vidha bhakti mudrA

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..


In T-nAdu hath Dikshitar
the tirvArUr music dome decreed !

It is not known widely (or even at all ? ) that Coleridge and the Dikshitar lived pretty much over the same the same 60 year period, from 1770’s to 1830’s !
But while Xanadu and the Alph (and the drunken sailor/mariner etc. ) are but fables, tiruvArUr and the kAveri are real.
We have been parked in the “tirvArUr music dome” these past few posts, working up towards the supreme kamalAmbA navAvarana, after proper puja to the other deities under this dome, i.e. the tyAgarAja, the nilOtpalambA and the Ganapati.

By the inexhaustible grace and mercy of the Dikshitar, I say that the following are also real.

1. Every mudrA of nava-vidha bhakti can be found in the kamalAmbA navAvarana.

I use the word Avarana instead of vibhakti in the list below, since Avarana is the proper term for the enclosures in the Sri-vidyA theme..i.e. these are not merely grammatical nuances.

KIRTANA in Ava 2 bhajarE
SMARANA in Ava 1 nigama purAna (aka smriti)
pAdaSEVA in Ava 4 dAyakAmbhOja caraNAyai
ARCHANA/PUJA in Ava 5 samAradhita
VANDANA in Ava 9 jayati
DASYAM in Ava 6 tava bhaktOham
SAKHYAM in Ava 8 santApa hara
ARPANAM in Ava 3/Ava. 9 paripurna brahmAsmi/macittam vilayatu
SHRAVANAM in Ava 7/Ava. 3 vAgdevata/mUka vAkprada

That the kamalAmbA navAvarana is also a nava-vidha bhakti should not be too surprising …..we have already shown the same aspect for ALL three of the other major tiruvArUr deities.

2. Every rAga mudra of the kamalAmbA navAvarana set can also be inferred from the kritis. This has already been shown in my post # 530.

finally and most interestingly

3. Every rAga selection of the kamalAmbA navAvarana can be explained logically.

In 6 of the 9 kritis the selection is made by deriving the rAga name/meaning from the corresponding Cakra information/kavaCam and/or the corresponding dEvI’s names from the lalitA sahasranAma.
The combinations are unique and in my opinion, irrefutable.

For the last 3 kritis, other overriding aspects are used to select the rAga, which will immediately be seen to also be irrefutable.

It is important to remember that the texts I note below like the lalitA sahasranAma, mArkandeyA purAna, dEvi stuti, various Sri vidyA scriptures and kavaCams on the different CakrAs, as well as different yoga and horoscopical texts have been part of the Dikshitars vocabulary and studies , just as much, or even more so than his musical training.

I list below in order of Avarana each explanation for each kriti/rAga.

Avarana 1 kamalAmba samrakshatu mAm in Ananda-bhairavi

Cakra name
The Cakra is trailOkya mOhana.

The tripura trailokya mOhana kavaCam has the following excerpt...
. “tathA tripura-bhairavya bIjAnnamapi nAmatah
vAgbhavah kAma-rAjasca tathA trailokya-mohanah”

This supplies one aspect i.e. bhairavya of the rAga name.

The second aspect comes upon noting that this is the first Avarana and the start of the joyous journey that will ultimately culminate in the union of Sakti and Shiva (aka the upAsaka and wisdom/self-knowledge several Avaranas later in the sarva-Ananda maya Cakra) . It is this joy/bliss aka cit-Ananda or brahm-Ananda that drives the choice of the second aspect/word Ananda.

dEvI name
Notably several names of dEvI in the lalitA sahasranAma invoke the word Ananda such as paramAnanda (252), yogAnanda (656), brahmAnanda (676), satCitAnanda (700) etc. and can she can also be interpreted as Ananda-bhairava, she who pleases Siva

(it should be noted that one name of dEvI is also ranjani (309) and this while is also the name of a rAga and although this word appears also in the kriti, there is no mention of the word “ranjani” in the kavaCam, so it is eliminated as a possible rAga for this Avarana)

Conclusion
The only choice of rAga that combines at once the relevant Cakra/kavaCam , the dEvI name and the concept of the joy of wisdom is Ananda-bhairavi.

Avarana 2 kamalAmbAm bhaja rE in Kalyani

Cakra name
The Cakra is sarv-AshA paripUraka – which means the fulfillment of good/desires

dEvI name
kalyAni is also the 324th name of dEvI in the lalitA sahasranAma and obviously means she who does good and who also fulfills such good desires.

Conclusion
Therefore there is no question this rAga is the proper one for this Avarana.

Avarana 3 Sri kamalAmbikaya katAkshitOham in Sankar-Abhara-nam

Cakra name
The Cakra is saMkShOb-haNa – which means the removing (hana) of agitation/tensions and in particular excitement/exciting urges… (ananga Sakti)

dEvI name
SankarI is also the 126th name of dEvI in the lalitA sahasranAma.
As consort of Sankara, she keeps him calm and reduces his agitation.

In addition, phonetically the word “kSobhana” is very similar to “shobhana” which means adding luster or adornment, aka “Abharana”

Conclusion
The dEvI as Sankar-Abharana is the symbol of the removal of agitation. Therefore this rAga is the only proper choice for this Avarana.

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the kamalAmbA navAvarana rAga selection and it’s nava-vidha bhakti mudra part 2)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the kamalAmbA navAvarana rAga selection and it’s nava-vidha bhakti mudra part 2

In the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

In T-nAdu hath Dikshitar, the tirvArUr music dome decreed !

Remaining Avaranas to complete previous post # 564


Avarana 4 Sri kamalAmbikAyai kanakAmSukAyai in kAmbhOjI

Cakra name
The Cakra is saubhAgya-dAyaka – which means the giver of good fortune and prosperity.

More significantly one should note that one of the Sakti names of this Cakra is samkShobhinyA ! ( a legacy of the 3rd Avarana)

To understand the choice of kAmbhoji, one has first to comprehend that the Sri-Cakra navAvarana is a staged sequence, a highly organized evolution towards the final sarva-AnandaCakra/Bindu. Each stage has to be passed in sequence.

Therefore, to reach the “14 triangles” of the fourth Avarana, the upAsaka has to pass first through the 8-petalled “lotus” periphery of the third Avarana (i.e. symbolically conquering the “agitation” and “excitement” noted in the 3rd Avarana, principally emanating from excitement due to kAma etc urges).

dEvI name
kAma-pUjita 375 or kAma-sevita 486 are the names of the dEvI from the lalitA sahasranAma, that are relevant for this Avarana.

Because it is in this mode that we see that kAma has been subjugated (has become the servant (bhaja) of the dEvI or has been “consumed”/bhoja and not the other way around ) as a prerequisite for reaching the 4th Avarana !

The Dikshitar further reminds us of this when he sings in the charana “samkshObhinyAdi Sakti yuta” wherein this “exciting Sakti” is formally incorporated into the 4th Avarana emphasizing the subjugation of this Samkshobana/kAma.

Of course the Dikshitar also takes advantage of the 117th name of dEvI , “bhakta saubhAgaya dAyiNi” to simultaneously bring forward the Cakra name, dEvI name and the rAga name via the transit across the “lotus” periphery of the 3rd Avarana as in “saubhAgya dAya-kAm-bhoja caranEna”

But the choice of the rAga itself is independent of the use of this phrase and depends solely on the reasoning as shown.

Conclusion
The rAga kAmbhoji is the ONLY meaningful choice that can be made for this Avarana.


Avarana 5 Sri kamalAmbikAyA Param Nahi in bhairavi

Cakra name
The Cakra is “sarvArtha sAdhaka” or the attainment of all goals and wishes, the universal provider.

dEvi name

It is noted that in the very first Avarana, the Dikshitar introduced the word “nigama-purAnAdi samvEdini”.

In fact, the dEvI in the mArkandeyA purAna devi stuti is known as “sarva mangala mangalyE SivE sarvArtha sAdhikE

In another section of this same stuti/purAna the Devi is also referred to as “mahA vidyE”.

The tenth mahA vidyA is of course the name bhairavi (the so-called laghna deity) , distinguished from the 9 other vidyAs that correspond to the nine grahas
And Bhairavi is itself the 276th name of the dEvI from the lalitA sahasranAma.

The Dikshitar also makes reference to this “dasha” or tenth aspect of the “bhairavi “ mahA-vidyA nature several times in this kriti (bahir-dashara, daSa-SaktyAradhita, dasha-karana, dasha-dhwani )

Conclusion
Obviously, nothing more need be said about this suitability and exactness of this rAga choice for this Avarana.

We have come this far following the Dikshitar’s footsteps on his majestic journey towards the sarva-Anandamaya Cakra/Bindu.

The idea linking the rAga choice to the specific Cakra/dEvI is consistent and coherent for the first 5 Avaranas.
What has eluded entire generations of rasikAs and musicians for the last 200 years now begins to make sense.

None of this happens without the infinite benevolence of the Dikshitar. Indeed it is as if the great serpent adorning the nAgalinga of tiruvArUr has loosened its grip.

Now the great serpent uncoils further as the ocean of mercy surges towards the upAsaka.

Avarana 6 kamalAmbikAyAstava Bhaktoham in punnAgavarAli

Cakra name
The Cakra is “sarva rakSAkara” which signifies the universal protector/protection/shelter.

This protection motif undoubtedly is linked to the great serpent that churned the milky ocean in the iconic ‘sAgara manthana” when the very fate of the universe was in the balance (sarva-rakSA indeed) , and the many gifts received as a result !…punnaga-vara where punnaga is a synonym for the serpent and “vara” are boons/gifts.

dEvI name
Although “punnAga-sowgandhika” is the 13th name for dEvI in the lalitA sahasranAma., the reference of interest for the 6th Avarana is not to the punnAga flower/ tree but to the great serpent/nAga for which the 110th name dEvI name Kundalini is known.

It can be seen that this is the only Avarana to carry the word “kundalinyA” by which Dikshitar is emphasizing the serpent motif.

Conclusion
punnAgavarAli is the proper rAga that expresses the 6th Avarana Cakra idea of protection as well as one of the iconic names of the dEvI.


Avarana 7 Sri kamalAmbikAyAm Bhaktim Karomi in shahAna

Cakra name
The Cakra is “sarva roga-hara” implying the destruction of all disease.

In the sarva rOgahara kavaCam, one of the iconic symbols for disease is “poison” known also as “vi-sha” .

We also know that the suffix “hana” describes destruction.

Conclusion
Immediately it can be observed that the word “vi-sha-hana” which means destruction of poisonous disease is the only proper basis for the use of rAga sha-hAna.

Coming right after the 6th Avarana which also had a serpent motif, there is little doubt this is exactly the path followed by the Dikshitar for this choice.

Avarana 8 Sri kamalAmbike Avava in ghanTA

Cakra name
The Cakra name is “sarva siddhi pradAyikE

Upon reaching any objective, especially such as completing a prayer or completion of achieving “siddhi” , ringing of a bell is customary in Hindu religious practice.

The choice of ghanTA for this Avarana is because this is the 8th vibhakti and the penultimate one before the final step.

In fact the Dikshitar signals the bell-ringing to herald the arrival at the doorstep of the final Cakra, which is the culmination of the journey, “ghanTA mani ghOShAyamAna kavATa-dvArE"

dEvi name
Although the dEvI has names implying the tinkling of bells "Rathna kinkinika ramya rasana dhama bhUSita" # 38..also "ranat kinkini mekhala # 312", in this Cakra the driving motif for the ghanta rAga choice is the heralding of the completion of the siddhi and penance of the first 8 Avaranas that constitute the approach to the final/next Cakra, the Bindu Cakra.

Conclusion
There can be no doubt the imagery of the bell tolling the approach to the Anandamaya Cakra is the reason for the ghanTA rAga choice.

Avarana 9 Sri kamalAmbA Jayati in Ahiri

Cakra name
The Cakra name is “sarva Anandamaya

With the Dikshitar holding our hand, we have been led through the 8 majestic kritis of the first 8 vibhakti/Avarana/enclosures and are now completely immersed in the ocean of Ananda and nAda.

The Dikshitar salutes the dEvI with the Vandana “jayati”.

More importantly he also says “pritiyukta ma-Cittam vilayatu”, whereby he is dissolved (vilayana) into the very spirit and bliss of this Cakra and dEvI/Siva union !

This is the arpanam vidha-bhakti mode signifying complete surrender.

The synonym-word for “offering” is “Ahara” and there is no other rAga name which captures this “meaning” , and the intent of this kriti, indeed of the entire process, starting from the first Cakra, than the rAga/name Ahiri.

Conclusion
The kamalAmbA navAvarana is this supreme offering and there can be no question the dEvI and all her associated deities have heard and blessed and even participated in each kriti , each word, each note as it left his breath , in his journey towards the Ananda bindu.

From the sacred to the mundane…

Various theories have been advanced in the past 100-150 years on the source and basis of the kamalAmbA navAvarana rAgas. In my opinion and from what I have shown above , all those approaches have fallen short.

I believe these have all missed the essence of the Sri-vidyA pujA that drives every aspect of the Dikshitars musical offering.

Perhaps a crumb to all such “shylocks of svaras” and “merchants of murchanas”, is the mildly curious fact that all the rAgas chosen happen to belong to the unique graha-bheda mela set of 6 (noted in post # 510) which incidentally also incorporates the Todi dhyAna kriti and also the Sri mangala kritis. But this is incidental !!.. ..

For the kamalAmbA navAvarana which is the crown-jewel under the tiruvArUr music dome decreed by the Dikshitar the rAga choice is driven entirely by the Cakra detail/dEvI name and/or the sequenced pujA offering of the Sri vidyA upAsana.

I bathe and revel always in the fountain of the Dikshitars inspiration.

some excellent examples are available
DKJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k9QMSDGFGA
viDUSi’s ranjani/gAyatri Ananda-bhairavi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNkVy6ZjJ68

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

https://youtu.be/qki_U_i-At4
Bala Girish upload
Smt.MS rendition of the famous kruthi in Poorvi KalyANi----
-----------
There is a good article in Thamizh on Muthuswami Dikshitar's 'Meenaakshi Memudham dehi in PoorvikalyANi. in Solvanam; web magazine.
The article in simple language gives a basic introduction on the notes, gamakam, MD , speciality of this kruthi without sounding bombastic.
https://solvanam.com/2021/07/25/%e0%ae% ... %e0%af%87/
--
Very nice translation


“மீனாக்ஷி, மே முதம் தேஹி
(மீனாக்ஷி, எனக்கு நிரந்தரமான ஆனந்தம் தருவாயாக)
மேச்ச ஹாங்கி ராஜ மாதங்கி
(தங்க நகைகள் பூண்டவளே! பத்து மஹா வித்யைகளில் ஒன்பதாவதான ராஜ மாதங்கி நீயே!)
அனுபல்லவி
மான மாத்ரு மேயே மாயே
( நீயே அறிவு, அறிபடு பொருள், அறிவின் முழுமை, மாயை)
மரகத சாயே ஷிவ ஜாயே
(பச்சை வர்ணத்தவளே! சிவனின் அன்பே!)
மீன லோசனி, பாச மோசனி
(மீன் போன்ற அழகிய கண்களைக் கொண்டவளே! பாச பந்தங்களை விலகச் செய்பவளே!)
மானினி கதம்ப வன வாசினி
(பரந்தவள், இனிய நறுமணத் தோட்டத்தில் இருப்பவளே)- (மீ)
சரணம்
மதுராபுரி நிலயே மணி வளையே
(அழகிய மதுரை நகரில் வசிப்பவளே! நவரத்தினக் கற்கள் பொருந்திய வளையல்கள் அணிந்தவளே!)
மலயத்வஜ பாண்ட்ய ராஜ தனயே
(மலயத்வஜ பாண்டிய அரசனின் மகளே!)
விது விடம்பன வதனே விஜயே
(முழு நிலவைப் பழிக்கும் தோற்ற எழில் முகத்தவளே! வெற்றி பெறுபவளே!)
வீணாகான தச கமகப்ரியே
(வீணை இசையும், பாடலுமாக பத்துவித கமகங்களை இரசித்திருப்பவளே!)
மது மட மோதித ஹ்ருதயே சதயே
(இனிமை நிரம்பியவளே, இரக்கம் உள்ளவளே)
மஹாதேவ சுந்தரேச ப்ரியே
(சுந்தரேசனின் அன்பிற்குப் பாத்திரமானவளே!)
மது முரரிபு சோதரி சாதோதரி
(மது கைடப அசுரர்களின் எதிரியான விஷ்ணுவின் சகோதரியே! மெல்லிடையாளே!)
விதி குருகுஹ வசங்கரி ஷங்கரி
( அனைவரையும் வசப்படுத்துபவளே! சங்கரியே)- (மீ)

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the abhayAmbA navAvarana rAga selection and (ALL) it’s Sri Cakra mudras )

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the abhayAmbA navAvarana rAga selection and (ALL) it’s Sri Cakra mudras

In this post, for the first time, the abhayAmbA group is shown to also be a complete navAvarana.

All the rAga selections are logical and explained using texts that the Dikshitar would have had access to.

We are truly …
in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

As the last 100 odd posts in this thread show, it has become possible to exhibit and illustrate some new aspects of the nAda-sAmpradAya of the Dikshitar.

The “rosetta-stone” used to decode the messages in the Great Pyramids of the Dikshitar, is an approach that places the core basis and intent of his music principally as prayer and offering.

The driving force of this “offering” is undoubtedly the Sri-vidyA and has been shown amply in posts # 564/565 with reference to the kamalAmbA navAvarana.

Of course the Dikshitars Sri-vidyA focus has been well known for 200 years.

But none of the inferences on rAga choices, have ever been made in the manner that is being shown now in these posts.

I further believe this aspect is even more forcefully illustrated in the abhayAmbA navAvarana aka nava-kriti-mAlikA.

Historically the abhayAmbA set has been relegated to consideration only as the abhayAmbA vibhakti.

In fact, however, it carries ALL the emblems of an organized Sri Cakra worship.

Additionally because these Cakra mudras (starting from the outer Avarana) are NOT in the sequence of the vibhaktis , as they are for the kamalAmbA navAvarana, the grammatical declension sequence, (aka the vibhakti) does NOT seem paramount for the worship…this will be examined in later posts..

I begin by first noting that 4 of the rAgas of the abhayAmbA set are exactly those from the kamalAmbA set (kalyAni, SankarAbharanam, bhairavi and Sahana).

We can also easily add the yadukula kAmboji as counterpart of the kAmbOji to this list.

For these 5 rAgas, the Sri-Cakra mudras are also identifiable/inferrable from within each of the corresponding abhayAmbA kritis. These will be explained in the list below.

It will be noted in contrast that all Cakra mudras are specifically given in the kamalAmbA navAvarana.

Proceeding from this realization, it is proper to infer that the rAga choice of these 5 abhayAmbA kritis follows exactly the reasoning followed for the corresponding kamalAmbA kritis (post # 564 and post # 565).

It is when we examine the other 4 kritis/rAgas that other interesting features emerge ! i.e. with the kEdAra-gaulA, the tOdi, the kEdAram and finally the CAmaram !!

It will be noted that the so-called dhyAna kriti “sadASrayE” of the abhayAmbA list is actually misplaced as such !!

This kriti in CAmaram = Sanmukhapriya, is properly the last or summary kriti, the precise counterpart of the Ahiri from the kamalAmbA navAvarana !…but I am getting ahead of myself..all in good time..if we have waited 200 plus years what’s a few more minutes..

It is useful to remind ourselves of the philosophical construct of the abhayAmbA dEvi, the grantor (or receiver as the case may be) of fearlessness or the remover of fear, symbolized by the abhaya-hasta mudra.

This dEvI is quite distinct from the kamalAmbA !

The idea of fearlessness endowed to and by the pArvati is the key feature of the mAyavaram shrine.

For example, in post # 513, the connection between the kari-kalabha Ganapati (the sAveri) kriti of mAyavaram and the abhayAmbA was revealed, where her “soon-to-be-decapitated” creation (the primordial “fearless” gana-pati, the protector of the gana) is but one compelling aspect of this particular dEvI.

Other aspects (purAnas etc) invoke the dakSa yagna legend and the mayuranAtha’s protection of the pea-hen form of dEvi.

But it will be shown below that the SoundaryaLahari of the Adi Sankara is the unmistakeable source of the remaining 4 abhayAmbA kritis of the Dikshitar (the ones in kEdAra-gaulA, tODi, kEdAram and CAmaram )

This is seen not only in the words used but also through the rAga selections made.

I elaborate on this in each relevant case in the list below, which is given in the sequence of the Sri-Cakra mudra (from outer to inner) with explanations for their rAga choices and also the Cakra mudras for each of the nine.

Avarana 1 abhayAmbikAyAh anyam na jAne in kEdAra-gaulA

Cakra name is trailOkya mOhan

Cakra mudra appears as “trailokya mulA”.

Further this dEvI is mentioned in the kriti as the one who illuminates the path from the mulA to the sahasrAra as in “mUlAdi dvAdashAnta prakASinya”.

Clearly the journey to the nAda bindu is about to commence, but this time in mAyavaram, instead of tirUvArUr !

That this journey is about nAda , one of the core principles of the Sri-vidyA, is also noted via “nAda laya gatyA”.

The kriti itself starts with the construct “abhayAmbikAyA anyam na jAne

It is quite interesting to refer to the 4th stanza of the SoundaryaLahari which also uses the same “anyam” or exclusionary idea, i.e. no one else being capable like the dEvi !

Of course the abhaya mudra is also mentioned in this stanza…incidentally fearlessness is bestowed by both the hands and feet of the dEvI.

Stanza 4 of SoundaryaLahari
tvad anyah pAnibhyam abhaya-varadO daivata ganah
tvam Eka nAivAsi prakatita-varabhItyabhinyA
bhayAt trAtum dAtum phalam api cha vAnchA samadhikam
Saranye lokanAm tava hi charanAveva nipunau

why is kEdAra-gaula the rAga ?

This comes from the 1st stanza of the SoundaryaLahari excerpted here.

Stanza 1 of SoundaryaLahari
Sivah SaktyA yuktO yadi bhavati SaktAh prabhAvitum
na chEdEvam dEvo na khalu kuSalah spanditumapi
atas tvA mAradhyAm hari-hara-virinCadi bhirapi
pranantum stOtum vA kathamkrta punyah prabhavati

The very first words of Adi Sankara in the SoundaryaLahari describe the abhayAmbA dEVi as key to the SivA himself…SivaSaktya which is the ultimate union and expresses the goal of the Sri vidyA tantra.

To commemorate this goal and the start of the navAvarana, the Dikshitar picks the only rAga where both Siva and dEvi’s names appear together kEdAra-gaulA.

kEdArah is sometimes a synonym for Siva (distinct from kEdAram, the rAga or the ksetra).
Gaula or Gauri is of course the 635th name of dEvi from the lalitA sahasranAma.

So the very first Avarana commences with mimicking the "SivaSakti call" made by the SoundaryaLahari with the kEdAra-gaula rAga.

Verily has the pujA begun, ultimately to lead to the nAda-bindu !


Avarana 2 abhayAmbA jagadAmbA in kalyAni

Cakra name is sarvAshA paripUraka

Cakra mudra is given as “bhukti phala prada” encompassing the “granting of all desires”.

Therefore rAga choice has the same basis as for kamalAmbA navAvarana kalyAni kriti (posts # 564/565)

Avarana 3 girijayA ajayA abhayAmbikayA in SankarAbharanam

Cakra name is saMkShObhaNa

Cakra mudra is “samatva vrtti vitarana” , the giver of calmness (samattva) to counter kShObha/agitation

Therefore rAga choice has the same basis as for kamalAmbA navAvarana SankarAbharanam kriti (posts # 564/565)

Avarana 4 abhayAmbikAyai aSwArudhAyai in yadukula kAmbOji

Cakra name is saubhAgya dAyakAmbhOja

Cakra mudra is given as “shubhaga-kArA-yai” and also as “vara pra-dAyai” where “shubhaga” itself means fortunate/auspicious and is related to soubhAgya.

Although this is yadukula kAmbOji, I believe the rAga choice being a “kAmbOjI” , has the similar basis as for kamalAmbA navAvarana kAmbOji kriti (posts # 564/565)

Avarana 5 Aryam AbhayAmbAm Bhajare in bhaIravi

Cakra name is sarv Artha sAdhaka

Cakra mudra is “CaryAdi CatuShTaya vitaraNa” a clear reference to the iconic four-fold sAdhana prescribed by the Adi Sankara that allows attainment of all goals and wishes.

Therefore rAga choice has the same basis as for kamalAmbA navAvarana bhairavi kriti (posts # 564/565)

Avarana 6 dAkSAyani abhayAmbikE in tODi

Cakra name is sarva rakShAkara

Cakra mudra is “sakala bhakta samrakSana”, where “sakala” refers to the totality of those who are protected.

Clearly the sthala purAna indicates some form of rakSa was desirable since dakSa was out of control.

Of course in mAyavaram, abhayAmbikA is known as dakSa’s daughter, dAkSAyani.

why is tODi the rAga ?

This comes from the 75th stanza of the SoundaryaLahari excerpted here.

It is linked to the tevAram poet sambandAr who has roots in the mAyavaram shrine as I explain below.

Stanza 75 of SoundaryaLahari

tava stanyam manyE dharanIdhara kanyE hridhayatah
payah parAbhAra parivahathi sAraswatamiva
dayAvatyA dattam drAvida SiSu rAswadhya tava yat
kavInAm prouDAna
majani kamanIyah kavayitA

(this is the reference made by the Adi sankara to the tevAram child poet sambandAr, as the king of poets benefiting from the milk of goddess saraswati’s wisdom)

The very first words in the first tevAram hymn by sambandAr are “tOdu-daiya chEviyan” referring to the ear-rings of the Siva.

The Dikshitar has commemorated the reference of Adi Sankara simultaneously with the sthala of mAyavaram where sambandAr is known to have worshipped by focusing on the “hearing” motif pertinent to the “ear”.

The word tOdI is phonetically similar to tOdu…there can be no question the Dikshitar “heard” this (ear-ring motif) hymn , and that the Dikshitar was aware of sambandAr’s connection to mAyavaram.

Likewise the SoundaryaLahari stanza 75 shows that there is no question that Adi Sankara was also aware of the tevAram poet a thousand-plus years ago.

Avarana 7 abhayAmbikAyAm Bhaktim KarOmi in shahAna

Cakra name is sarva rOgahara

Cakra mudra is “vikalpa-haranena”, this is the disease/rOga of doubt or uncertainty which of course accompanies any disease, as in anxiety over whether one survives or not !!

In fact the Dikshitar uses the much-clearer descriptor “vikalpa-roga” in more than one kriti !

vikalpa-roga-vaidyena in Sri gurunA/pAdi
vikalpa-rOga-vaidya-nipuNEna in viSwanAthena rakSitOham/sAmanta

The reference to sAyujya in this seventh kriti is also indicative of the nearing of the completion of the worship, being on the doorstep of siddhi and Ananda Cakras.

Therefore rAga choice has same basis as for kamalAmbA navAvarana shahAna kriti (posts # 564/565)


Avarana 8 ambikAyAh abhayAmbikAyA in kedAram

Cakra name is sarva siddhi pradAyikE

Cakra mudra is given several times by referring to yoga siddhi attainment.
yama niyamAdyaShTAnga yOga viShayAdi nigrahakaraNa”, “sAnkhyatAraka manaska rAjayOginyA:

Also “yogini” is mentioned several times.

why is kEdAram the rAga ?

This comes from the 95th stanza of the SoundaryaLahari excerpted here.

Stanza 95 of SoundaryaLahari
pura arati (Siva) antah puram asi (in the inner abode of) tatasthvach Caranayoh
saparya maryada tarala karana nAma sulabhA
tathA hyEtE nIthAa Sathamakha-mukhAh siddhim atulAm
tava dvArOpAnta sthithibhir animA-dyAbhiramarAh.

The dEVI has reached the inner abode of Siva (kEdAra ksetra) , from which unmatched siddhis (animA etc) are attained.
There is only one rAga name which matches this description (i.e. kEdAra-ksetra), namely kEdAram.

Noticeably the Dikshitar also uses the entire word "sArupyAnanda" only in this kriti.

It is considered that the Adi Sankara attained samAdhI in the kedAra-nAtha sthala. Symbolically this is the joyous union of Adi Sankara (sArupya-ananda) in kEdAra-sthala with the Siva-Sakti.

Avarana 9 sadAsraye abhayAmbikE in CAmaram

Cakra name is sarv Anandamaya

Cakra mudra is given via “mudA-ASraye”, (abode of bliss denoting sarvAnanda)

The added reference to “nAda bindu” emphasizes this too

A stanza from the “yogini hrdayam” mantra text (from 11-12th century) also gives this connection between the sarvAnanda Cakra and the nAda-bindu.

vishAnI dUtarI Caiva sarvAnandA kramAt sthitAH
niraMSau nAdabindU cha kalA chechChA svarUpakam

In parallel with the Ahiri summary kriti of the kamalAmbA navAvarana, the dEvI is also resting on the Siva manCa !! after the majestic trek through the 8 Avaranas.

And of course the last phrase captures the classical hand mudra of abhayam via “varadAbhaya hastE”

why is CAmaram the rAga ?

This comes from the 99th stanza (penultimate stanza) of the SoundaryaLahari excerpted here.

Stanza 99 of SoundaryaLahari
saraswatyA lakshmyA vidhi hari sapatnO viharatE
ratEh pAtivrityam Sithi layathi ramyEna vapushA
Ciram jivan nEva kshapitha paSu pASa vyatikarah
par-Ananda-bhikhyam rasayati rasam twad bhajanavAn.

According to this stanza, both saraswati (vAni) and lakShmi (ramA) are performing worship/service with vidhi and hari to the dEvi.

This type of "service" is typically operating the “fan” aka fly-whisk etc. from both sides !!!

We have previously seen (post # 499/500) how the Dikshitar used this fly-whisk or fan idea to describe the periodic motion of the eclipse-graha in the kEtu CAmaram kriti.

Because the 614th name of the dEvI from the lalitA sahasranAma is “Sa-CAmara ramA vAni savya dakSina sevita”..there is only one rAga which captures this image !...i.e. CAmaram..

The fact that this rAga name also coincides with the word “Sanmukha-priya” , the synonym for the skandA/guruguha, is mildly interesting.

However, the SoundaryaLahari 99th stanza is undoubtedly the source of the rAga choice.

It can be asserted also that (with apologies once again to Coleridge)

“In T-nAdu hath Dikshitar, the mAyavaram music dome decreed”

good rendition by vidUSI's vidya kalyAnarAman and vasudhA ravi (and their top-flight accompaniments)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VzySA6rmfc

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (navAvaranas at kAnCipuram, madurai, vaithiSwarakovil and the nilotpalAmbA navAvarana)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the Dikshitar’s navAvaranas at kAnCipuram, madurai and vaithiSwarakovil as well as the nilotpalAmbA navAvarana !!

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

It has been established in above post # 567 that the Sri-Cakra dominates the Dikshitars view of dEvi worship for the abhayAmbA navAvarana.

It becomes imperative for the upAsaka to ask whether this approach is actually much broader and deeper.

Unerringly and with their infinite mercy the dEvi and the Dikshitar once again reward this quest..

It is now shown in this post, for the first time, that all the major dEvi group kritis of the Dikshitar carry the Sri-Cakra modes of worship. By major groups I mean the following

1. the kAnCipuram kAmAkSi
2. the madurai minAkSi/madurAmbA
3. the tiruvArur nilotpalAmbA (gaula-antya)

I believe even the vaithiSwara-kovil bAlAmbikA , which has only 7 known kritis can be organized in this Sri-Cakra worship mode.

In this mode, the Avarana progression (from outer to inner) of these sets follows what post # 567 showed on the abhayAmbA set….i.e. that the Avarana does not need to adhere to the so-called vibhakti sequence (only the kamalAmbikA navAvarana has this feature where vibhakti is in sequence of Avarana).

In fact for the nilOtpalAmba navAvarana, even the rAga prahara/kAlam prescriptions (described in post # 556 ) are also cast aside !

The Siva-Sakti sammelana evolving from the trailokya Cakra to the nAda-bindu/sarvAnanda-Cakra, overwhelms all such “puny” grammatical and kAlam details..

I give 3 of these navAvarana collections below, with the associated Sri-Cakra and its appropriate mudra that is found in each kriti.

Although the fourth , i.e. bAlAmbikA set has only 7 known kritis…. it also appears to adhere to the above principle...i.e. .of traversing from outer to innermost Avarana...I will fill in the details of this set in other posts.

It should not be a surprise at all that dEvis other than the kamalAmbA are also worshipped with the Sri-Cakra format.

What is a surprise is that this important aspect of the Dikshitars legacy has not been recognized as such in the last 200 years.


After all the madurai meenAkSi was so much in the Dikshitars thoughts that it was his last heard kriti (meenAkSi mEmudam dEhi ).

This kriti further confirms that the complete vibhakti of madurAmbA is not necessary for the Sri-Cakra (e.g. there are only 8 such madurAmbA kritis). The famous purvi-kalyAni (gamakakriya) supplies the proper 9th kriti for the completion of the madurai/meenAkSi Sri-Cakra navAvarana !

the Dikshitars kAmAkSi navAvarana inferred from the embedded Sri-Cakra mudras
nIrajAkSi kAmAkSi hindolam trailOkya mOhana shiva shaktimaya navAvaraNE and tripurE
ekAmreSa nAyikE shuddha sAveri sarva-AshA paripUraka purna phalE
kancadalAyadAkshi kAmAkshi kamala manohari sarva-saMkShObhaNa durita bhanjani
namastE paradevatE devarAnji sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA vinodakara sampatte
kAmAkSIm kalyANIm kalyAni sarva-Artha sAdhaka kulotirna yogini
kAmAkSi varalakSmi bilahari sarva-rakShAkara divya chAye (the umbrella of protection)
saraswati manohari saraswati manoharisarva rOgahara vikalpa jatila (the removal of the dis-ease of doubt)
kAmAkSi kAmakOTi pIThavAsini sumadyuti sarva-siddhi pradAyaka kAmakalA pradarshini
ekAmreSa nAyakIm cAmaram sarva-Anandamaya kaivalya pradAyinim


the Dikshitars madurAmbA navAvarana inferred from the embedded Sri-Cakra mudras
madurAmbA jayati Paraj trailOkya mOhana mahA tripurasundari
madurAmbayA tava dAsOham begada sarva-AshA paripUraka kAmitArttha pradAyinyAh
Sri madurApura vihArini bilahari sarva-saMkShObhaNa kAma dahana
madurAmbAm bhajarE stavaraja sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA varaprada
meenAkSi mEmudam dEhi purvi kalyAni sarva-Artha sAdhaka pAsa moCani !! where removal of all bondage makes it possible to attain all goals
madurAmba samrakSatu mAm dEva Kriya sarva-rakSakara samrakSatu mAm
Sri madurAmbikaya rakshitOham athana sarva-rOgahara sanjiva ouShada
madurAmbikayam sada bhaktim karOmi dESi Simharavam sarva- siddhi pradAyaka yoginyAm
shrI madurAmbikE shrI shivE avAva kalyAni sarva-Anandamaya kaivalya dAyini

the Dikshitars nilOtpalAmbA navAvarana inferred from the embedded Sri-Cakra mudras
nIlOtpalAmbikE nitya chAyAgauLa trailOkya mOhana trailOkyacakra
nIlOtpalAmbikAyai namaste kEdAragauLa sarva-AshA paripUraka kAmitArtthaprada
nIlOtpalAmbam bhajarE nAri rIti gaulA sarva-saMkShObhaNa mahA durita bhanjanIm
nIlOtpalAmbikAyAstava dAsOham mAyAmALavagauLa sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA varadAyinyAh
nIlOtpalAmbikayA nirvana kannadagaula sarva-Artha sAdhaka nirvAna sukha
nIlOtpalAmbikAyAm bhaktim karOmi pUrvagauLa sarva-rakShAkara kamalESa palinyAm
nIlOtpalAmbA jayati nArAyaNa gauLa sarva-rOgahara bhava rOgahara
nIlOtpalAmbikAyAh param gauLa sarva- siddhi pradAyaka yoginyah
shrI nIlOtpala nAyikE ritigaula sarva-Anandamaya AnandAtmAnubhavE

The choice of rAga hindOlam (which also means the celestial “swing” upon which krSnA woos the Gopis and from where married couples begin life together) is the superb and proper choice for the introductory kAmAkSi navAvarana, signaled also by the introduction of the words "SivaShakti maya navAvaranE" .

Likewise, this navAvarana ends with the rAga CAmaram from the sarva-Anandamaya Cakra, (used also in the abhayAmbA set as we have seen earlier).

ALL these navAvaranas or nava-kriti-mAlikAs represent one of the major components of the Dikshitars musical offering.

I think that by singing these kritis individually, as has been done by professional artistes over the last 200 years, the common thread that holds them together has been torn apart and the theme and messages almost extinguished..until now..

I thank the rasikAs forum managers for providing a secure place where the proper legacies of the Dikshitar nAda-sAmpradAya can be illustrated for generations to come.

Some fine renditions are available

NirajAkSi kAmAkSi (by vidUSi’s ranjani and gayatri)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlIHSUX90jA

sri musiri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgQrarNALSQ

ekAmreSA nAyakIm – CAmaram

Trichy S Ganesan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr2GxPW7nUA

trichur brothers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7JiPxCsyGg

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the tanjAvUr brhadAmbA/brhannAyaki navAvarana)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the tanjAvUr brhadAmbA/brhannAyaki navAvarana

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

Once again, the sands shift in the desert of my ignorance, this time to reveal the shining navAvarana of the brhadAmbA of tanjAvUr.

The Dikshitars mercy is without limit.

We have seen already (in post # 477) that the grand/brhat ksetra of tanjAvUr (quite literally the “colossal” shrine) has about 22-25 kritis in the most abstract and uncommon rAgas.

9 of these kritis to the brhadAmbA dEvi ALL carry unique Sri-Cakra mudras as shown below, for the first time.

the Dikshitars brhadAmbA navAvarana inferred from the embedded Sri-Cakra mudras
bRhadISvarIM bhaja rE citta Lalita panchamam trailOkya mOhana maha tripurasundari
pAmarajana pAlinI pAhi bRhannAyaki sumadyuti sarva-AshA paripUraka kAmitArttha phaladAyini
pAlayamAm bRhadIshvari tODi sarva-saMkShObhaNa parama-shAnta prakAshini
saindhavI rAgapriyE saindhavi sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA maNgaLa-varadAna-kari
santAnamanjarI shaHNkarI santAna manjari sarva-Artha sAdhaka CintitArtha dAyaki
himagirikumAri Ishvari ravikriya sarva-rakShAkara kriya sakti (which refers to the dEvi as protector i.e as durga/kAli)
shRNgArAdi navarasAHNgI dhavaLANgam sarva-rOgahara bhayabhaNga as the remover of disease of fear (the additional reference to angAraka confirms the connection to disease..in the navagraha kritis angAraka etc. are in the vaidyalinga shrine)
bhUSAvatim manjubhASAvatim bhajEham bhUSAvati sarva- siddhi pradAyaka bhASA (bhASA or speech is related to the yogic siddhi of vAk)
bRhannAyaki varadAyaki AndhALi sarva-Anandamaya sahasradaLa sarasIruha vAsini sadAnanda

Amidst all the rare rAgas one additional kriti in rAga vasanta is also found , “bRhadambikAyai namastE namaste”...suggesting the possibility of a deliberate Mangalam kriti (even though this is not an absolute requirement for a navAvarana).

vasanta is sometime used in mangalam just as rAgas souraStra, Sri or madhyamAvati.

Likewise introductory (dhyAna type) kritis may exist, which is also not a prerequisite of a navAvarana, again in rare rAgas , in bRhadambA madambA jayatI in bhAnumati and satchidAnandamaya vijrumbhini in kumbhini .

The appearance of the Sri-Cakra mudras is typically unique to each kriti and not super-camouflaged. The connection of the seventh in the list rOgaharana to angAraka-vaidyapati etc. seems quite deliberate. The choice of rAga dhavalAngam or paleness seems quite appropriate as well for the pallid nature of rOga.

It would indeed be foolish to think that, after all the navAvaranas shown above for the auspicious shrines in tiruvArur, mAyavaram, kAnCipuram and madurai in post # 567 and post # 568, , the Dikshitar would somehow overlook the tanjAvUr brihadAmbA/brhannAyaki.

After all this is the most democratic of the great vAggeyakAras... and in all his tirthas across the sub-continent of bhAratavarsha, every single deity seems to have sung along with him.

Some fine examples

T Brinda AndhAli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnlPt8uQVZo

bangalore bros. bhAnumati
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dmxPLAo-M0

A. murali dhavalAngi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyMnwTXRD_g

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the Dikshitar’s nAda-sAmpradAya illustrated by the guruguha tiruttani navAvarana )

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the Dikshitar’s nAda-sAmpradAya illustrated by the guruguha tiruttani navAvarana

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

the basis of the guruguha tiruttani navAvarana

Now the Cakra turns full circle..

May I remain worthy of the Dikshitars grace and mercy..

In this post, I return to tiruttani where it all began e.g. post # 526.

The circumnavigation of the nAda universe as decreed by the Dikshitar at the other great ksetras and performed in the previous posts, prepares us to receive this, his next message.

Indeed, in retrospect , it seems as if all these recent realizations are themselves like Avaranas/stages that needed to be passed through (the Navagraha kriti rAga choices, the ratha-kalpana of the golden chariot at mAyavaram, the vibhaktis of the tiruvArur Ganapati and the subrahmanya-sthala vibhaktis, the mohana-lingam of tiruvArur, the relationship between all 10 lingam kritis, the nava-vidha bhaktis at tiruvArur, the basis and source of the kamalAmbA and abhayAmbA navAvarana, the other multiple major dEvi navAvaranas..and all the other details big and small assembled and deposited like so many petals in a pujA) before reaching this next plateau of awareness..

I now assert the following.

1. There is a complete tiruttani guruguha navAvarana (nine=9 kritis).

The words that confirm the existence of this navAvarana are given by the Dikshitar himself in the kritis. It can be seen by all that this is indeed a careful and deliberate orchestration.

It is no longer possible to remain wilfully ignorant of these composite messages in the Dikshitar kritis. In fact doing so is a disservice and a disgrace to the legacy and heritage of the Dikshitar.

2. The rasika forum founders and managers are to be thanked for providing modern tools that serve to bring forward, preserve and disseminate the important nAda-sAmpradAya upadeSa of the Dikshitar. Cometh the hour, cometh the “app”.

3. Once again just like with several of the dEvi navAvaranas shown previously, vibhakti order is secondary to the Cakra order.

4. This guruguha navAvarana , uniquely emphasizes the union of the upAsaka with the bliss of self-awareness.

However it does NOT point overtly to the Siva-Sakti union , which in the tantra is crystallized as the interlocking of downward pointing “feminine” triangles and upward pointing “linga” triangles. This Siva-Sakti union is of course the focus of all the dEvi navAvaranas, as we have seen in the recent posts.

5. Post # 538 showed that the vibhakti-based guruguha kriti sequence carried a hidden message emphasizing the equivalence of skanda with Siva, and the bliss of this enlightenment. Indeed the tiruttani sthala is the site for the “mahA-tatva-upadeSa” given by skanda to the Siva and the skanda is known in tiruttani as sadASiva-avatAra and guru-mUrti.

The fact that the Dikshitar , who identified himself with this “guruguha” , embedded this particular interpretation of the Sri-Cakra specifically for the guruguha navAvarana is remarkable.

6. In fact the entire set of these 9 guruguha kritis suppresses mention of the dEvI !

In contrast the words Ananda and prakASa appear multiple times. The usage nAdAnta-vihArEna also appears.

7. It is precisely this interpretation of nAda, as the guiding light of sound which leads to the bliss of sat-Cit-Ananda, that is given in the Adi Sankara’s 8th century commentary on the even older brhad-Aranyaka upAniSad.

Is there a better illustration of the nAda-sAmpradaya of the Dikshitar !

the Dikshitars tiruttani guruguha navAvarana inferred from the embedded Sri-Cakra mudras

Sri guruguhasya dAsOham pUrvI trailOkya mOhana bhUpurAdi navAvaraNasya The die is cast once these words are observed.. bhUpura is sometimes used as synonym of the trailokya mohana Cakra
Sri nAthAdi guruguhO mAyAmalavagaula sarva-AshA paripUraka dInAvanOdyukta divyatarO this is the reference to the kalpa-taru, the wish (or AshA ) fulfilling tree..no such reference appears in any of the other kritis in this list.
mAnasa guruguha rupam bhajarE Ananda bhairavi sarva-saMkShObhaNa mAyAmayahRt tApam tyajarE the subjugation of the illusory distractions that create agitation (tApam)
guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya sAma sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA bhaktAnugrahAya where anu-graha is the bestowing of good fortune (saubhAya)
Sri guruguha murttE udayaraviCandrika sarva-Artha sAdhaka yugapAd bhOga yOga pradAna nipuNa shaktE
gurumUrtE bahukirtE Sankarabharanam sarva-rakShAkara sEnAdhipatE the only kriti in this set to refer to the skanda as commander-in-chief, implying the universal protector. also... the name guru-mUrti is unique to tiruttani, because of the incarnation taken by skanda as “guru” delivering the tatva-upadeSa, in addition this kriti mentions indrA, as surapati who is also part of this temple legend
Sri gurunA pAlitOsmi pAdi sarva-rOgahara vikalparogavaidyena
Sri guruguha swAmini bhaktim karOmi bhAnumati sarva- siddhi pradAyaka yama-niyam-AdyaSTAHNgayOga
guruguhAdanyam Na jAneham balahamsa sarva-Anandamaya sahasradaLa sarasija madhya nivAsinah

The Dikshitars music is always anchored by a deeper purpose, and embodies key aspects of Hindu philosophy and worship, that reach back centuries.

The guruguha navAvarana described here for the first time, is yet another example of this timeless nAda-sAmpradAya.

Some excellent renditions are in order

the bhupura Cakra pUrvi kriti SrI guruguhasya dAsOham

vidUSi a. murali
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3tklc-stGA

the sahasrAra Cakra balahamsa kriti guruguhAdanyam na jAnEham

vidwAn Sanjay S
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-wv2Z2QGUw

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the basis for the rAga selections of the guruguha tiruttani navAvarana)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the basis for the rAga selections of the guruguha tiruttani navAvarana

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

May I always bathe in and remain worthy of the Dikshitars boundless fountain of mercy..

As some of the few singing creatures on the planet, the Hindu nAda-yOgins believe that every breath inspired/taken-in must be returned with gratitude and joy to their maker.

The vAggeyakAras are the pinnacle of this evolution and their musical sculptures (called kritis) are the quintessence of this thinking.

As I see it, it is vital to understand whatever we can about their gifts to us and all their intentions and approaches. All these posts are with this aim.

Especially for the Dikshitar, the arrogance of ignorance and the ignorance of arrogance cannot be permitted to ruin his unique legacy.

But....Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Once again I thank the rasikas forum for their role in preserving this legacy.

In this post, it is shown for the first time, that every one of the rAgas chosen for the guruguha navAvarana originates from the corresponding Cakra, either thru word/name or idea.

This is similar to what was discovered for the kamalAmbA navAvarana (posts # 564/565) and the abhayAmbA navAvarana post # 567.

Indeed we could not have expected anything less from the Dikshitar for this particular deity and shrine, the skanda/guruguha/subrahmanya.

the basis/explanation for the rAga selections made for the Dikshitars tiruttani guruguha navAvarana

kriti start phrase/rAga/Cakra/Cakra mudra are given identical to previous post, followed by the explanations

Sri guruguhasya dAsOham pUrvI trailOkya mOhana bhUpurAdi navAvaraNasya

As the first kriti introducing the Sri-Cakra Avaranas specific to skanda, it should be expected that this rAga choice has substantial deliberation and pre-meditation.

The Dikshitar does not disappoint.

pUrvi is clearly related to pur-Ana.

The kriti makes the logical reference to the skanda purAna , the most important scripture concerning skanda (via the way the rAga mudra is given…sanakAdi pUrvika muni gana… the sanaka muni is traditionally associated with this ancient purAna).

None of the other 8 tiruttani kritis refer to the skanda purAna. It is logically reserved for this introductory kriti.

.but wait..there is more…the Dikshitar goes further.

purAna also carries the meaning of a tale of ancient “cities” aka pUra or pUram.

Notably the Dikshitar mentions for the only time in his entire collection the word “bhUpura-Adi” to introduce this important first Avarana.

In the dEvi Avaranas, this Avarana word is “trailokya Mohana” or sometimes “tri-pura”, even tri-loka. But this “triplet” is a connotation typically reserved for the dEvi or the Siva.

The Dikshitar is fastidious and a stickler for formality, so here expressly the alternate word bhU-pura appears.

It is also noted that the skanda purAna, gives the relative distances between “bhuloka” and other “worlds” (swarga-loka etc).

The rAga “pUrvi” is the only one that focuses the “pur-Ana” reference with the name and ideas associated with the Avarana that is bhU-pura.

In contrast the rAgas purva-gaula and purva-varAli , while also in his repertoire, introduce distractions and have been discarded.

Sri nAthAdi guruguhO mAyAmalavagaula sarva-AshA paripUraka dInAvanOdyukta divyatarO

this is the reference to the mahipati-pujita pradeSa (i.e. the lords of mAyApur, mAlava and gaulA (i.e Siva, vISnu and brahmA ) worshipping the tiruttani skanda/guruguha and being granted their wishes (or AshA ).

In fact this is also how the Dikshitar introduces the rAga mudra !

The vibhakti approach suggests this is the “first” kriti’s rAga because the Dikshitar is honoring the very first rAga used in music teaching etc.

I believe this explanation/approach is less relevant since in the Cakra framework now discovered, this rAga is properly the Asha-paripurna motif….if the wishes and prayers of Siva-viSnu-brahmA are fulfilled by the tiruttani skanda, verily will all others wishes be also satisfied.

The reference “kalpa-taru” has already been noted in the previous post as being a unique usage in this kriti.

So mAya-malava-gaula is the only meaningful rAga choice for this Cakra.

mAnasa guruguha rupam bhajarE Ananda bhairavi sarva-saMkShObhaNa mAyAmayahRt tApam tyajarE the subjugation of the illusory distractions that create agitation (tApam)

Being the Siva’s beloved offspring, the skanda brings joy to bhairava (as the kriti says Ananda-bhairavam), In doing so he calms the agitated and fearsome mode of Siva when he is “bhairava.

So Ananda-bhairavi is the meaningful rAga choice for this Cakra.

guruguhAya bhaktAnugrahAya sAma sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA bhaktAnugrahAya where anu-graha is the bestowing of good fortune (saubhAgya)

sAma itself means “welfare” among other things like tranquility and peace sukham, shubham, shubhagam etc synonymous with good fortune... And in this Avarana, the tiruttani guruguha grants this fortune as “sAmarasya sampradAyakAya “

Even the tyAgarAja could not resist this theme in his terrific sAma kriti “SAntamu lEka, sOukhyamu lEda”.

So sAma is the meaningful rAga choice for this Cakra.

“Sri guruguha murttE udayaraviCandrika sarva-Artha sAdhaka yugapAt bhOga yOga pradAna nipuNa shaktE

This Avarana namely “sarva-Artha sAdhaka” is about the ability of the deity to grant the accomplishment of all goals. The Cakra mudra says that “simultaneously (yugapat) both bhoga (material) and yoga (spiritual) goals” are satisfied.

The rAga choice comes from examination of the deity associated with this Cakra also known as the viShuddha Cakra, ruled by sadASiva who carries a two color motif, red and white.

In fact the Dikshitar gives this description in the kriti itself as “Arakta Sveta miSra Carana”

There is only one rAga that gives both these colors “simultaneously” and that is udaya-Ravi-Candrika where "ravi" signifies the red of the sun and "Candrika" is the white of the moon.

gurumUrtE bahukirtE Sankarabharanam sarva-rakShAkara sEnAdhipatE

In the SoundaryaLahari stanza 65 describes that skanda (identified by “viSAkh”, his birth star) along with Indra and viSnu (viSAkhEndrOpendraha) are resting after defeating the asurAs, and worshipping both Siva and dEvi.

Another SoundaryaLahiri stanza 73 describes skanda as the one who defeated “kraunCAsura”.

Both are ample evidence of the skanda acting as supporting Siva (as Siva’s commander-in-chief) in the eternal battle against various asurAs.

Of course “bharana” is the proper word for such support.

Therefore SankarA-bharana is the natural choice for the rAga representing this Avarana.

Sri gurunA pAlitOsmi pAdi sarva-rOgahara vikalparogavaidyena

The word pAdi is phonetically derivable from “bAdhi” which of course means disease/pain/torment cf. bAdha etc.

No question this is the logical choice for the roga-hara Cakra.

Here the Dikshitar shows how variety is truly the spice of life, instead of re-using the (vi) sha-hAna from the dEvI navAvarana kritis !

Sri guruguha swAmini bhaktim karOmi bhAnumati sarva-siddhi pradAyaka yama-niyam-AdyaSTAHNgayOga

yOga , especially that of Patanjali and mantra-yoga etc. leads to attainment of siddhis and reaching this penultimate 8th Cakra.

tiruttani is the shrine where the pranava mantra was disclosed by the skanda to his preceptor, by the temple lore.
The skanda in this upadeSa mode is always an immensely radiant figure, as the Dikshitar sings in the first Avarana, dinakarakOTi vibhAsvarasya.

Now the brilliant light of awareness begins to dawn, also on the upAsaka !

Our “rosetta-stone” says that the Dikshitar requires a rAga word meaning that captures the brilliance of this almost-final Cakra, where the brilliant light of enlightenment is greater than a thousand suns.

Naturally the Dikshitar agrees.

bhAnu-mat (as related to bhAnumatI) is at once the only choice, since the suffix “mat” also has the root of overwhelming bhAnu the sun (cf. bhAnu-koti in the kEdAram etc etc) surpassing etc. mat-hana etc.

Conveniently the great nAda-yOgi poet also says “nijarupa jita pAvak-EndU bhAnu-mat(i)” taking into account all three sources of “conventional light”, fire and moonlight and the sun as being overwhelmed by the skanda’s brilliance (at tiruttani)

This is of course a re-statement of the brhad-Aranyaka upAniSad verse, interpreted by the Adi Sankara as the basis for nAda, some 1000 years before the Dikshitar

guruguhAdanyam Na jAneham balahamsa sarva-Anandamaya sahasradaLa sarasija madhya nivAsinah

For this final Cakra, also known as the Bindu (the point), the point itself is to achieve self-realization (and the sarva-Ananda associated with this).

The Dikshitar picks the only rAga/name that signifies the power of self-realization, i.e. bala-haMsa, where haMsa derives from ahaM-sa the iconic mantra .

We see now , especially in all these Avaranas, that the Dikshitars rAga choice is driven by “thinking” about how its meaning as word or idea fits the context of the particular Cakra and of course the shrine and subsequently the lyric.

It is not some sudden knee-jerk narcissistic response to a creative impulse (often glorified by considering “artistes” who mutilate themselves with chemicals or knives as fits of passionate creativity) nor is it a robotic adding and subtracting of svaras by a calculating musicologist.

It is in contrast, a highly disciplined, controlled sAdhana and worship at every stage.

It is no surprise that rAga mudra appears in so many of the Dikshitar kritis..

It is a direct consequence of the focus and concentration of the worship of Dikshitar who is using each unique rAga to offer his breath back to each unique deity and honor the legacy of his nAda-sAmpradAya.

vidUSi Sowmya illustrates the pAdi kriti “Sri gurunA pAlitOsmi” to the roga-harana Cakra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crYHc0t1I14

TMTyg. performs the bhAnumati kriti “guruguha swami ni bhaktim” to the Siddhi-pradAyaka Cakra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKfJywCRK88

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the tiruvArUr tyAgarAja navAvarana and the basis for its rAga selections)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the tiruvArUr tyAgarAja navAvarana and the basis for its rAga selections

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

May the waves of beauty and the waves of joy from the Dikshitar and his nAda sAmpradAya never cease to embrace me.

As I continued my walk along the shores of the great ocean of nAda, yet another pebble washed up at my feet. Gladly did I pick it up.

Yes, there is a complete tiruvArUr tyAgarAja navAvarana (it is not merely a vibhakti as has been thought of in the last 200 hundred years !).

The Cakra mudras identifying these Avaranas and embedded by the Dikshitar are given below,

In addition, each of its rAga choices can be shown to be linked to the corresponding Cakra/Avarana, which further repudiates the importance of vibhakti versus the Sri-vidyA and also strengthens this navAvarana, just as shown for the kamalAmbA, abhayAmbA and tiruttani guruguha navAvaranas. They also supersede the findings in post # 552 where the nava-vidha bhakti aspect was examined.

Of course one should have expected this..

After the navAvaranas now known for the kamalAmbA and also the nilOtpalAmbA at tiruvArUr, why would one think the mighty Siva/tyAgarAja would be left out ?!

After all, he is the consort of the nilOtpalAmbA, referred in her Avarana kritis as “vithi vitanka tyAgarAja” and also described as of dual body with her (e.g. nagarAja suta ardhAngam ) multiple times in both sets of kritis.

I give the same format as used for all the other Avarana discoveries made in my recent posts…

the Dikshitars tiruvArUr tyAgarAja navAvarana inferred from the embedded Sri-Cakra mudras

kriti start phrase/rAga/Cakra/Cakra mudra are given identical to previous posts

tyAgarAjam bhajarE yadukula kAmboji trailOkya mOhana trailokya
tyAgarAjO virAjitE athAna sarva-AshA paripUraka vAnCitArtthaprada
Sri tyAgarAjasya bhakto bhavAmi rudrapriya sarva-saMkShObhaNa kAmAdi vRttiharaNa
tyAgarAjAya namaste bEgada sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA sukha vyAptayE
tyAgarAja pAlayASu mAm gaulA sarva-Artha sAdhaka bhOgAdiprada
tyAgarAjAdanyam nA jAne darbAr sarva-rakShAkara tamO gunAtita, tArakabrahma
tyAgarAjEna samrakshitOham sAlaga bhairavi sarva-rOgahara vikalpa virahit AntakaraNEna
tyAgarAjE krtyAkrtyamarpayAmi sAranga sarva- siddhi pradAyaka bhOga yOgAtmakE
tyAgarAja yogavaibhavam Ananda bhairavi sarva-Anandamaya Siva SaktyAdi sakala tatvA swarUpa prakASam, nAdabindu

We can easily add two more kritis, a so-called dhyAna kriti the vira vasantam which ends with the extremely evocative phrase “jananAt kaivalya dAyaka caraNa jananI shrI kamalAmbikA smaraNa “, as well as a Mangalam kriti “tyAgarAja mahAdhwajAroha – Sri rAga.

Once again, we see that vibhakti is not paramount, rather it is traversing the Avaranas from outer to inner that drives the sequence.

And because the consort is the nilOtpalAmbA (NOT the kamalAmbA) it will be observed that the gaula rAga kriti is part of the Cakra progression (it was previously relegated to dhyAna status in the narrow-minded world of vibhakti). The gaulA rAga of course forms the basis for the gaula-antya rAgas chosen for the nilOtpalAmbA navAvarana.

basis/explanation for the rAga selections made for the Dikshitars tiruvArUr tyAgarAja navAvarana

tyAgarAjam bhajarE yadukula kAmboji trailOkya mOhana

For this kriti, the Dikshitar uses a rAga name that carries the iconic reference to krSnA (as mOhana) which is also the Cakra name, namely "yadukula"

I surmise that “mohana” rAga was already used up in that other tiruvArUr kriti “nAgalingam namAmi”, the grand summary of all linga kritis discussed previously in post # 537. This suggests that the tiruvArUr linga kritis were assembled chronologically before the tyAgarAja navAvarana was composed.

and so yadukula kAmboji is the only available rAga/name/word

tyAgarAjO virAjitEathAna sarva-AshA paripUraka

For this we have to look at the other name for this Cakra namely" sva-dhiS-a-thAna", and immediately the rAga name can be discerned from this.

This is an analog of the “suchita” mudra technique somewhat similar to the embedding/hinting of rAga mudra in his other kritis.

Sri tyAgarAjasya bhakto bhavAmi rudrapriya sarva-saMkShObhaNa

Here too one needs to look at the alternate name for this 3rd Cakra, namely the “manipUra Cakra”.

Indeed rudra is the presiding deity for this Cakra and the relevant rudrAkSa-mAla japa is also known

The Dikshitar also pointedly uses the words “mAlA” and “mani” in the kriti, (just in case we didn't fully get the message...)

Conclusion..rudra-priya is the only suitable choice for this kriti..and the Dikshitar has made it.

tyAgarAjAya namaste bEgada sarva-saubhAgya dAyakA

This one is succinct and purely phonetically driven..the idea “saubhAgya dAyaka” is abbreviated to “bhA-gya-dA” which then naturally leads to “bE-ga-dA”.

There is no other explanation needed.

tyAgarAja pAlayASu mAm gaulAsarva-Artha sAdhaka

For this again we refer to the alternate name which is “vishuddha” Cakra, which means “purity” or “blemishless”, which is also the meaning of the word “gaulA”

So gaulA is the choice. It would be out of place to have 9 gaula-antya kritis for the consort (nilOtpalAmbA) and none for the tyAgarAja. The Dikshitar is fastidious and a stickler for balance.

tyAgarAjAdanyam nA jAne darbAr sarva-rakShAkara

here the rAga word derives from the combination of “dara” (fear) and ”barh” (uproot etc) meaning destruction of fear “darbar”, This aligns with the rakSa/protection motif of this Cakra.

tyAgarAjEna samrakshitOham sAlaga bhairavi sarva-rOgahara

This is a beautifully concealed example. The mela rAga sAlagam is known as “sau-gandhini” in the Dikshitar school.

The Devi herself is also effectively :sau-gandhin"i in the lalitA sahasranAma (for example the 13th name or from the 950th name).

In the Hindu tradition, “gandha” (fragrance) is always classically linked to the Candana tree (or sandalwood tree).. which is also one of the five classical trees, refer mandAra, pArijataka, santAna, kalpavrikSa and hari-Candana from the (what else !) the vaidya-nAtha ksetra angAraka navagraha kriti as“ASrita-jana mandAram”

The Candana tree is well known in the Ayurveda etc for its medicinal value.

Conclusion: There is no better alternative to sha-hAna or pAdi/bAdhi than sAlaga bhairavi for the roga-harana Cakra where the sweet smelling goddess is herself the motif for the cure of all disease.

tyAgarAjE krtyAkrtyam arpayAmi sAranga sarva- siddhi pradAyaka

We are almost at the doorstep of the 9th (and final) Avarana.

But it is still the 8th Avarana, where the kriti says the upAsaka has dissolved/surrendered to the deity… arpayAmi.

Fittingly, the Dikshitar picks the rAga which is a name for Siva as “sAranga” to symbolize this “union”.

tyAgarAja yogavaibhavam Ananda bhairavi sarva-Anandamaya

Naturally the sarva-Ananda Cakra is most easily invoked by using the rAga which carries the Ananda word as well as the Devi/Siva’s name bhairava/bhairavI.

It is a fitting choice for capturing the Siva-Sakti union.

rAga selections made by the great vAggeyAkaras is an intriguing question all by itself and at first might seem insurmountable or unanswerable to an un-inquisitive or timid mind.

However, I believe this is a fascinating aspect because to me it opens a window into this particular vAggeyAkaras mind at the very moment of his conceiving the kriti.

Of course the Dikshitars penchant for embedding information such as specific temple details or rAga mudras etc. is well established, long before any of my posts.

But as we have seen already in scores of his kritis , the Dikshitar has also left unmistakeable traces of his intentions and choices related to rAga choice, all motivated from the Sri-vidyA perspective.

I think the explanations are accurate and that this is the path followed by the Dikshitar..because no one could have the imagination to invent all of these..

fine sAranga “tyAgarAjE krtya krtyam arpayAmi” by vidwAn TM Krishna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBtxuVnhSyY

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (tiruvArUr ganapati navAvaranas ! aStAdaSa=18 versus shodaSa=16 Ganapati kritis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the tiruvArUr ganapati navAvaranas !! (aStAdaSa = 18 Ganapati versus the shodaSa = 16 Ganapati )

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

It becomes necessary, even urgent, for the upAsaka to “ask” the Dikshitar, if he had somehow forgotten the Ganapati in his Sri-Cakra based worship at the tiruvArUr ksetra..

And unerringly and resoundingly the Dikshitar answers…”MOST certainly NOT

The Dikshitars munificence and mercy is truly without bound.

In this post is revealed, the existence of not one but two tiruvArUr Ganapati navAvaranas based on the Sri Cakra Avarana mudra words embedded by the Dikshitar himself.

For about 150-200 years the legacy of the Dikshitars tiruvArUr Ganapati kritis has been obscured by vague and unsubtantiated connections made to the so-called “shodaSa (= 16) Ganapati kritis”, supposedly related to 16 actual Ganapati idols scattered about the tiruvArUr complex. Of course these connections, are repeated without thought in the digital age by mindless bloggers and other websites, including some on this site, perhaps some well meaning and also some with other unknowable and even undesirable agendas.

ALL of these lack the deeper consideration this vAggeyakAra deserves by deliberately or otherwise ignoring the messages in his words.

I intend to correct this monumental omission once and for all.

First I give in Cakra/Avarana order the 9 pairs of (i.e. 18) tiruvArUr Ganapati kritis , with each of their unique Cakra mudras, that constitute the 2 navAvaranas.

In my opinion, there are two distinct ganapati navAvaranas. Deciding which kriti belongs in which navAvarana will be discussed later in the post.

The individual rAgas/kritis are so well known that I do not need to mention in the list, although their rAga choices which also emanate from the Sri Cakra (no surprise !) will be discussed later.

The only poignant thing to note immediately is that the great masterpiece kriti in haMsa-dhwani (which literally translates to "sound of self-realization") has been staring at us for the last 200 years, sending its mulAdhAra (or fundamental) message like some desperate pulsar, anxiously waiting for a reply/RSVP. I had discussed this special kriti in post # 532.

mUlAdhAra Cakra
vAtApi gaNapatim bhajEham mUlAdhAra kshEtra sthitam SrI mUlAdhAra Cakra vinAyaka mUlAdhAra Cakra

Asha-paripuraka Cakra – svadhiSa-thAna
vAmAHNka sthitayA iSta phalada lambOdarAya kumbha , purna kalaSa of kumbhapuja

samkSobhana Cakra
mahaganapatim manasa prakAsham shAntam gaNanAyakam bhajEham kAmaripu sutam

saubhAgya-dAyaka Cakra
hasti-vadanAya namastubhyam bhaktAnugrahAyavallabha nAyakasya valli vivAha kAranasya

artha-sAdhaka Cakra = viSuddha
Sri mahAganapati ravatu mAm vignarAjO herambAya vinAyaka

rakSakara Cakra
mahAgaNapatE pAlayAshu pAlayASu ganeSa kumAra pAhimAm

rOga hara Cakra
ucchista ganapatau mahAduritakadanE panCamAtaNgamukha gaNapatinA kalimalaharaNa

siddhi pradAyaka Cakra
ganarAjEna aNimAdyaSta siddhi pradEnasiddhi vinAyakam anisham siddhi vinAyakam

Anandamaya nAdabindu Cakra
SrIgaNanAtham bhajarE citta parAshakti yutam, nAdalayAnanda mahAganapatim vandE shaktivihitam and AnandadantamEkadantam

The rAga choices for these 18 kritis can also be linked to the specific Cakra (in the manner shown for all the other Avaranas in last few posts). I will discuss in later posts. Also I specifically note that “lambOdara” is a term used in at least 3 other tiruvArUr Ganapati kritis and the varAli kriti also properly belongs in this ksetra.

At this time, it is meaningful to ask why there are two sets.

I begin by noting that for tiruvArUr, there is no formal skanda specific shrine at least in the Dikshitar panorama.

So the Dikshitar is truly an "observer" in his guruguha mode and this gives his imagination enormous latitude, in interpreting the Ganapati as a special aspect of Siva-Sakti union.

Accordingly, in the Dikshitars nAda-universe at tiruvArUr. the Sri Cakra Avarana progression to the goal of the Siva-Sakti union or self-realization (as expounded in the Adi Sankara and other Sri vidyA treatises) takes two distinctly different progressons !

One follows the nilOtpalAmbA, the other follows the kamalAmbA, , for example one is night-time, one is day-time also one is bhoga the other yoga, in each of these navAvaranas, of course each culminates in the Ananda-maya Cakra.

I believe each of the 18 Ganapati kritis can be linked to one or the other of these two fundamental themes and that the Dikshitar's words will themselves provide the clues for this. I will discuss this in later posts and also their relationship to the tiruvArUr tyAgarAja navAvarana.

It is not my intention with all these posts to be any kind of eye-opener to those who are already blind, or to try to redeem those who choose to listen to the Dikshitar without "hearing".

But as I see it, Dikshitars rasikAs in particular cannot and should not be just hedonistic interpreters of titillating sound such as one may find in advertising “jingles” or other insipid cavortings.

I strongly believe that this ongoing musical archaeology of all the Great Pyramids of the Dikshitar and their magnificent inter-connections and themes is important and merits placement in the digital historical record.

It is part of my pujA..but is also acknowledgment of the Dikshitars “nAda-sAmpradAya pradarSini”.

Here are the two mulAdhara Cakra kritis

hamsa-dhwani

vAtApi ganapatim

MSS (who else)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG1v8PccduI


Sri rAga

Sri mulAdhAra Cakra

MSS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRJbobuTK3Y

vidUSi mani krishnaswAmi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhZNIJ0m_dw

And here are the two Anandamaya Cakra kritis

iSa-manohari

SrIgaNanAtham bhajarE citta

MDR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq7zX9yB2Yk
triChur bros.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Sg6Q8psOY


tOdi

mahAganapatim vandE

GNB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y2PMCivjLQ
MMI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wNxIpg3IFQ

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

A thought -provoking and nice article by Sriram.V on the Ganesa kruthis of Muthuswami Dikshitar and a few observations about SSP .
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https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2021/09/1 ... dikshitar/
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@nAdopAsaka is requested to add his viewpoint briefly on the points raised by Sriram

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

RSR, I appreciate the interest in my posts and in my response to this article you mention.

I had already referred to just this type of narrative in my post # 573.

None of these bloggers read (or try to understand) the Dikshitar kritis beyond the first 2-3 words.

This particular blogger ends with the refrain that we should not go into details !

What utter nonsense and disregard for the totality of the Dikshitars nAda-sAmpradAya and its legacy.

It is ALL the Dikshitars words and ALL the contexts they are used in that are the key to his upadeSa.

In the modern digital age, there is no excuse for ignorance about the details, since all the kritis and also the other texts (SoundaryaLahari, upAniSads etc) are available with the use of merely 1-2 fingers.

Not only are these age-old parroted narratives (and the texts associated with them) unable to see the individual strands that make up the fabric of the Dikshitars worship, I believe they are also trying to dilute and even deny his Sri-VidyA focus and core source of his musical inspiration.

For the tiruvArUr kSetra in particular this deliberate denial is criminally flawed.

The level of organization shown by the Dikshitar at tiruvArUr is remarkable and of course emanates from the worship of the Goddess and her consort and extends naturally to the Ganapati. Even the panCalinga kritis show this organization and connectivity culminating in the summary mOhana kriti, the pentatonic or panCa-svara kriti to the panCAkSara deity as I have shown previously in post # 537.

People are free to believe whatever they want, but in the case of the Dikshitar, a different and meaningful narrative that is consistent across the kSetras and kritis is now available in the modern digital age through my posts, thanks to the rasikas forum.

The Hindu view of life allows for the continual battle and balance between dharma and a-dharma, between truth and un-truth, between Sruti and apa-Sruti. The scripture embodies this in the iconic statement that begins with “yadA yadA hi dharmasya glAnir bhavati,,,” also put succinctly by the man-from-Avon, "cometh the hour, cometh the man..:

This struggle has been the same since the times of the mahA-kAvyas, then the Adi Sankara and echoed again and again over the centuries, and also by the nAdajyoti of the Dikshitar.

All my posts are emblematic of this same struggle between ignorance and the light.

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the SAradA/bhArati dEvi at tiruvArUr )

Post by nAdopAsaka »

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

May I remain worthy of the Dikshitars joyful embrace and his mercy.

In this auspicious month of learning, the Sarad ritu, it can be observed that the Dikshitar reserves a special place for the SAradA/bhArati dEvi at tiruvArUr.

He gives her her own pitha, distinct from the kamalAmbA and the nilOtpalAmbA, as “Sripura swa-pitha – antara”.

He gives her ownership of the alphabet (AdikshA-antA) as is natural for the goddess of learning.

As “kanjaja-deva manohari”, he refers to her as the consort of the lotus god (brahmA), which is also the rAga mudra.

This is the ONLY kriti of the Dikshitar where the word “vAgadiSwari” appears. (perhaps inspiring the mahArAja’s choice in the famous navarAtri kalyAni).

The kriti also describes the bhArati dEvi , who is synonymous with "saraswati" as “kArunya sudhA-lahari” .

To the nAda-upAsaka (or any nAda-upAsaka) there is zero doubt that this usage springs from the 60th stanza of the SoundaryaLahari where the Adi Sankara says “sarasvatyA sUktIr-amrita-laharI kauSalahariḥ"


bhAratI maddhiSaNAjADyApahE in devAmanohari

Amruta M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0kYIentc40

Sumitra V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugrHrL_hHv4

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the 2 tiruvArUr ganapati navAvaranas)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the Dikshitars two tiruvArUr ganapati navAvaranas

what are the two themes and how they influence rAga selection - part 1

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

It is the nAda-upAsakas duty and responsibility to understand the upadeSa and teachings within the kritis of the Dikshitar, who is the messenger of the deities.

May I remain worthy and capable of fulfilling this duty, not just in the sacred month of the navarAtri.

As first revealed in post # 573 of this thread, the Dikshitar constructed two separate Ganapati navAvaranas at tiruvArUr, which constitute the aStadaSa (18) Ganapati kritis.

In post # 573, it was stated that these two navAvaranas follow two distinctly different themes, i.e. 9 kritis following one theme and the other 9 following the other theme.

These themes are now identified, as my tribute to the SAradA dEvi and the Dikshitar for this navarAtri. Their mercy is unbounded.

Consistent with all my previous posts, the discoveries are once-again made using the Dikshitars own words and rAga choices, which have now, after 200 years, become clear when viewed thru the lens of the nAda-sAmpradAya.

4 of the 18 kritis will be used in this post. The remaining 14 will be taken up in later posts.

The 4 kritis are
1. the starting/first or mulAdhAra Cakra of the first theme
2. the ending/ninth or sarva-Anandamaya Cakra of the first theme
3. the starting/first or mulAdhAra Cakra of the second theme
4. the ending/ninth or sarva-Anandamaya Cakra of the second theme

So, what are these two themes ?

The themes emerge when the rAgas/word-names used by the Dikshitar are dwelt upon.

It should be amply evident by now (except of course to the most dim-witted who sullenly cling to their narratives) that the Dikshitars rAga choice, particularly for kSetra group kritis is NOT AT ALL random.

For the aStadaSa 18 Ganapati kritis, the strategy on rAga choice is no different, either for the Dikshitar or for the nAda-upAsaka following the footsteps of the Dikshitar.

The keywords for each of the 4 kritis discussed in this post are , in order, Sri , iSa-manohari, haMsa and ahanta.

It can be seen from these words that the first two are names/icons for the dEvi. (Sri and iSa-manohari) and other two (haMsa and ahanta) are concepts.

The separate themes will originate from this observation.

I take each kriti in turn starting with the pair of names Sri and iSa-manohari.

the first tiruvArUr ganapati navAvarana

the kriti in Sri

Sri mulAdhAra Cakra in rAga Sri is a natural choice to unveil the string of kritis (the kriti-mAlikA) where the rAga names are themselves icons for the dEvi. The choice is also natural since it coincides with the word Sri of the Sri-Cakra.

the kriti in iSa-manohari

SrIgaNanAtham bhajarE Citta parASakti yutam

In the very first line the Dikshitar says the Ganapati is united with the parASakti. This is the ninth kriti of the Avarana which signals the sarva-Anandamaya Cakra. The dEvi is, of course, herself “iSa-manohari”.

Both these kritis summarize the intent and goal of this Sri-Cakra worship, which is to initiate and then realize the Siva-Sakti union, by following the stages of each Avarana.

The approach parallels the kamalAmbA navAvarana, where we have seen (post # 564/565 ) that the rAga names are themselves intimately derived from the meaning of the corresponding Cakra/Avarana, all the way to the 9th Cakra kriti in Ahiri.

So the kriti in Sri and the kriti in iSa-manohari form natural book-ends in the journey towards the Sri-Cakra goal for the first tiruvArUr Ganapati navAvarana. It will be shown in later posts that the other 7 kritis also conform to this theme, where the dEvi as Sakti is first invoked and then realized thru her iconic names.

the second tiruvArUr ganapati navAvarana

Compared to these kritis, the kriti in haMsadhwani and the kriti in tODi reveal an entirely different intent and interpretation. The goal and theme here is self-realization.

The kriti in haMsadhwani vAtApi ganapatIm

This is a famous kriti but so far no one has realized the hidden meaning and its position as the first of the 9 kritis in this navAvarana.

I have previously elaborated on this kriti in post # 532.

haMsadhwani is literally the sound of self-realization, where “haMsa” derives from the root “ahaM-sa”. From the choice of the rAga word/name onward the spectacular kriti has key signatures of self-introspection. The Dikshitar picks the rAga created by his own father, almost like a guru-dakSina, then proceeds to completely dominate it with his own ideas, both in music and concepts. He also manages to cite the pranava mantra , which is often an icon for the skanda instructing the Siva.

The kriti in tODi mahAganapatIm vandE

With the ninth or sarva-Anandamaya Cakra kriti in tODi, the deliberate intent of the Dikshitar in setting up this navAvarana with self-realization as the goal, becomes clear.

Here the unique word “ahanta-adi rahitam” is used, appearing as “ahantAdi rahitam”.

The only other kriti of the Dikshitar in which the word “ahanta” appears is the sarva-Anandamaya Cakra kriti in rAga AndhAli for the brihannAyaki navAvarana (see my post # 569).

The word “ahanta-adi rahitam” means complete dissolution of the self/ego where "ahanta" is the ego. The dissolution or subjugation of the ego is a central theme of many of the upaniSads.

Clearly the Dikshitar is aware of this connection since the kriti ALSO refers to the upaniSads directly. (as in “upaniSad pratipAditam”).

The significance of the usage of this word is that it gives an inferrable mudra for the rAga name tODi/janatOdi from the phonetics of the word a-han-tAdi.

The rAga selections and their position in one or the other of the two themes for the other 14 kritis will be discussed in later posts.

The two distinct themes identified here, corresponding to the Siva-Sakti union and the goal of self-realization will also be examined in later posts for the other navAvaranas , in tiruvArUr as well as the other major kSetras.

The importance of the Sri-Cakra in the Dikshitars musical offering cannot be understated. It permeates his word choice, his rAga choice and his grammar, musical as well as literary. It is now clear that the rAgas chosen for the kritis are governed by the particular Avarana. This finding does not limit the Dikshitars musical legacy in anyway. It places the music in its proper place, as a tool for worship rather than an end in itself, as nAdam versus mere sangitam.

The wealth of the Dikshitars imagination and the perfection of his choices that expose different rAgas in all their variety, is directly linked to the depth of his worship and adoration of the individual deities.

It is easy to be a rudder-less rasikA, as I have been for more than 5 decades, consoling myself with some knowledge of svaras and talas and drifting in groupie like cults that honor this-or-that narcissistic attention-seeking crooner, who claims this-or-that technical skill, under the garb of AlApanA etc.

But the nAda-sAmpradAya demands that the legacy of this vAggeyakAra is honored only when his kritis are heard and understood in their entirety.

On this navarAtri, I give my thanks to the deities that allow me to make these observations and discoveries.

At the end of this navarAtri, the Dikshitar’s kriti to the saraswati in kalAvati is highly suitable.

kalAvati kamalAsana yuvati

vidUSi Sowmya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BIgUQXx0h8

rajeshnat
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Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by rajeshnat »

@nAdopAsaka or @The Lost Melodies or @RSR ,

I just read another thread about Upanishad Brahmendra Yogin thtat TLM created and the reference of an article by sreenivasarao .Thank you all. In that article i came to know that Muttuswami Dikshitar has also tuned other compositions.Any insights on tunesmith role of MD . I assumed MD may have done few tunings in early years like few western notes, but i wanted to know if he has taken compositions and body work and tuned like below.

Below is the relevant text that Rao mentioned in the blog

As regards Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar, he too met Sri Upanishad Brahmendra. After about seven years of stay and study at Varanasi, Sri Dikshitar on his way back home to Thiruvarur, stayed for some time with Sri Upanishad Brahmendra in his mutt at Kanchipuram. This is said to have taken place in the year 1809 when Sri Dikshitar was about thirty-four years of age; and Sri Upanishad Brahmendra was about sixty-two. During his stay, Sri Dikshitar set to music Rama Ashtapadhi a collection of stanzas composed by Sri Upanishad Brahmendra adoring the glory of Sri Rama. This musical composition is, sadly, lost now.

RSR
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

ref-p
@rajeshnat
To the best of my knowledge, the music for the Rama Ashtapathy of Upanishad Brammam has been lost. Only the text remains. The only reliable source in this matter may be the SSP. If there is no notation, the music is as good as lost. TLM being a researcher might have come across some notation . ..Again, the very early Nottuswara Sahithyams of MD are authentic . We cannot mix these two.
This may be the ONLY instance when MD tuned other's works. Scholars and Researchers would know better.

The Lost Melodies
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by The Lost Melodies »

@rajeshnat

The only authentic source that gives information about Muthusvamy Diksitar tuning the Sri Rama Ashtapadi-s comes from Sri Subbarama Diksitar. To the best of my knowledge, I have not come across any other information regarding this.

The original music of these ashtapadis are lost. The retuned ones were posted by me. This was made clear in both the video-s. Few rudimentary notations are available for the first tarangam in Mohana ragam.

There are few other details in the post by Sreenivasarao which have no authentic evidence.

nAdopAsaka
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

in the footsteps of nAdaJyoti Muthuswamy Dikshitar..

I believe this notion is completely flawed and is a terrible disservice to the Dikshitar.
It should be strongly condemned.

The act of nAda-upAsana is deeply and essentially personal.

Although the Dikshitar uses many words borrowed from various texts/scriptures etc. the completed assembly of every kriti is entirely his own.

Just like it is impossible to think of the tyAgarAja as “tunesmith” for someone elses words/stanzas, it is impossible to think of the Dikshitar as a “tunesmith” , regardless of which source is being cited.

There are many other verses (such as from SoundaryaLahari, yOgini hridayam, dEvi stotras, Ganapati shlokas etc.), which the Dikshitar could have considered for any such “tunesmithing” in their entirety, before this particular one.

The fusion of word, idea, meaning , worship and music is the very essence of the individual vAggeyakAras offering as a kriti.

All the above does not mean that the Dikshitar was unaware of the upaniSad brahmendra (see e.g. post # 409).

The rAmaCandra vibhakti set is often considered the Dikshitars tribute to the upaniSad brahmendra.
Perhaps it is more fruitful to examine these kritis of the Dikshitar in comparison with any of the upaniSad brahmendras compositions.

But then, the impact of the tyAgarAja, as the most potent and influential rAma-bhakta of that era dominates everyone of that time-period, perhaps even the upaniSad brahmendra.

In post # 522 I have noted the mukhAri and dharmavati kritis that enshrine the Sabari moment of the rAma saga as seen by these vAggeyakAras. It would be interesting to see how the upaniSad brahmendras words (if they exist) view this important moment.

RSR
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

reg-p-581
@nAdopAsaka
Just like it is impossible to think of the tyAgarAja as “tunesmith” for someone elses words/stanzas, it is impossible to think of the Dikshitar as a “tunesmith” , regardless of which source is being cited.
True!
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. But, if MD had been personally asked by a great scholar, sanyasin, and composer like Upanishad Brammam, there is nothing improbable for him not to reject it. He would have taken it as an order, especially given the stature of Upanishad Brammam and the fact that MD stayed in the mutt for 4 years. He might even have taken part in the congregation singing if there had been any. . . Considering the age difference, it would have been in deference to the wishes of the Seer.
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Brings to mind the tuning of Thiruppaavai poems by Sei.ARI, at the behest of the Seer of Kanchi.
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And also, it is the only instance.( if at all)
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We cannot approach this issue on the basis of style.
Each had his own style.
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It would be more relevant to quote the exact page from the SSP .and see how far we are justified in using the slender reference and rudimentary notation to build upon. and relate itt to MD
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For all that , the attempted 'tuning' could be nice . And there is no need to bring in the name of MD. We can simply say that we have set the Rama Ashtapathy to tune. (as indeed TLM has clarified)
Last edited by RSR on 18 Oct 2021, 10:43, edited 2 times in total.

RSR
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

There is a very nice blog-post by SriramV on Upanishad Brammam's mutt.
'Where two composers met a philosopher'
-----------------------------------
https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2017/02/2 ... ilosopher/
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there are nice photographs and some information on this topic.
--
<quote>
As is clear from the above, Upanishad Brahmam was a composer too, and apart from the Rama Taranga, he created Divyanama kritis on Rama, Namavalis and a Rama Ashtapadi. Early in the 19th century, Muttuswami Dikshitar, fresh from his sojourn at Kasi and shortly after his visit to Tiruttani, came over to Kanchi. He was invited by Upanishad Brahmam to musically edit his Rama Ashtapadi. Dikshitar stayed in Kanchi for four years and worked on the text, even as he composed songs on the deities in the principal temples of the town. As Raghavan points out, it is noteworthy that both Upanishad Brahmam and Dikshitar were advaitins. The former’s songs appear to have had an impact on the latter and Raghavan cites the sixth Rama Ashtapadi’s striking similarity to Dikshitar’s Sri Guruguhasya Dasoham (Purvi) as an illustration.
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The music that Dikshitar gave the Rama Ashtapadi is now lost, which is a pity, for if it had survived, we would have an instance of him setting someone else’s work to music.
-

RSR
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

ref-p-580
@The Lost Melodies
---------
<quote>
There are few other details in the post by Sreenivasarao which have no authentic evidence
</quote>
What are those details? Why not educate?
-.
srinivasaraos is past 85 and a brilliant blogger, as many in this forum would readily agree. He covers a stunningly vast range of topics and does meticulous study and always cites his reference materials...His blog series on the Trinity is a Treasure. He has written about Sadasiva Brammendram also. He too is using the Adyar Library. He is no stranger to Dr.Raghavan's writings either.
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nAdopAsaka
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

In the footsteps of nAdajyOti Mutthuswamy Dikshitar..

Undoubtedly the merciful goddess teaches us in the month of SAradA !

I appreciate the careful way RSR lays out the possibility, however I think there is absolutely zero chance of this being true.

The Dikshitar is NOT a kacherI vidwAn but a nAdayOgi performing his personal worship with his every breath.

To the nAdayOgis this worship demands an unalloyed combination of word, sound and music. Anything else is not organic and is unnatural.

The tyAgarAja captures this same personal theme in his immortal summary of the purpose of the seven notes. For he sings in “Sobhillu saptaswara” that sound and word and musical beauty involve the undivided focus and participation of the key organs, emerging from the nAbhi (the plexus/mulA) and traveling up thru the heart, kantha, rasana etc. And he picks the “universally captivating” jagan-mOhini.

That sangita and sAhitya both emerge from the same source is an established tenet of nAda-yOga.

This source is considered the saraswati dEvi herself by the nAdayOgins.

It is noticeable in the SoundaryaLahari stanzas of the Adi Sankara where the skanda (aka guruguha) and the hEramba/Ganapati each drink from this milk and her body.

stanza 72 samaṃ dEvi skanda dvipavadana pItaṃ stana-yugaṃ

stanza 75 tava stanyaṃ manyE dharaṇidharakanyē hṛdayataḥ, payaḥpArAvAraḥ parivahati sArasvatamiva

From the sacred unfortunately to the mundane.

A (terribly incomplete) compendium of notations nor its ignorant and misinformed agents cannot and should not be the measure of the Dikshitar’s nAda-sAmpradAya and legacy.

There is no regard or consideration of the content of the Dikshitars upadEsa in ANY of these texts or in the scurrilous blogs and websites that continue to peddle these untruths.

Even the literally exact translations by generally sincere rasikAs over the decades have missed the deep and profound connection of the Dikshitar to the Sri-vidyA that shines at the core of his kritis.

I think the fault lies with the musical “scientists” and musicologists etc. and in the unfortunately competing shishyA lines of last 150 years, who in their nefarious narrow-minded agendas and TOTAL lack of understanding of why the Hindu nAdayogis sing, are trying to disfigure the legacies of (all) Hindu nAdayOgins.

Indeed, in some cultures it is known that poets-artistes are chained in dungeons and deliberately maimed/blinded/crippled by kings and sultans and despots to try to control their charm and diminish their brilliance. The continued tampering with the Dikshitars legacy by these entities is a similar attempt at disfiguring him and his 3D musical sculptures posthumously.

Fortunately Hindu dharma will also always provide for a handful of nAdOpAsakas every generation to combat this asatyam and this anyAyam.

And from this mundane back to the sacred..

The less heard chAya Gaula, saraswatyA bhagavatyA is just one example where the indivisibility of sangita and sAhitya is overtly noted by the Dikshitar.

rendered here nicely

veena kalpakam S (since the kriti itself says veena vAdana utsukayA )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0g1QC1rrlI

and

mAmbalam sisters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qaW9J715Lw

The much less-heard girvAni , which is itself an amalgam of the words that mean word and sound , and therefore completely natural for the Dikshitar to pick for the saraswati dEvi

crisp "namo namastE girvAni" by a young student..very good..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJlfp0GEZQ0

RSR
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

ref-p.585
@nAdopAsaka
A (terribly incomplete) compendium of notations nor its ignorant and misinformed agents cannot and should not be the measure of the Dikshitar’s nAda-sAmpradAya and legacy.

There is no regard or consideration of the content of the Dikshitars upadEsa in ANY of these texts or in the scurrilous blogs and websites that continue to peddle these untruths.

Even the literally exact translations by generally sincere rasikAs over the decades have missed the deep and profound connection of the Dikshitar to the Sri-vidyA that shines at the core of his kritis.

I think the fault lies with the musical “scientists” and musicologists etc. and in the unfortunately competing shishyA lines of last 150 years, who in their nefarious narrow-minded agendas and TOTAL lack of understanding of why the Hindu nAdayogis sing, are trying to disfigure the legacies of (all) Hindu nAdayOgins.
With due reverence, the quoted passage in the post is too harsh
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If the reference is to the SSP, almost the entire CM community of musicologists, performers and followers hold very high opinion about the work. There are many kruthis of MD not mentioned in the work. True. But, it cannot be gainsaid that what are found there are genuine creations of MD.
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SSP did not go into the spiritual fount of the listed creations. It is just an attempt to provide notation .
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The musical tradition can be preserved only through two methods. First, by the Oral Tradition of Gurukula guidance ( the better method) and then by attempted documentation of the notation. The oral tradition unfortunately , is liable to get corrupted in different schools of disciples . The written documentation is less prone hopefully, though history is replete with instances of forged manuscripts and such records. - though may not be totally - but by clever interpolations. This is a very difficult field not meant for pure listeners. Music is primarily about the melody and rhythm.
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It may be pointed out that mere tune cannot expound any philosophy! and an Instrumental performance , cannot expound the philosophy behind the composition. however orthodox and brilliant it might be.
- -
The illustrative clips should then be necessarily 'vocal renditions'.
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We cannot simply brush aside the role of tuning, orchestration and singing in spreading the message among the people. The compositions of pre-Trinity and the Trinity are all meant for spiritual guidance and not for exploring the intricacies of Musicology or even Prosody and Philosophy. It is significant that the earliest musicologists were spiritual heads. We may agree there.
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If we insist on the listener knowing about the esoteric concepts and practices, and even subscribing to those tenets, we are restricting the audience to an already miniscule minority. may be nearly nil.
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And the essence of music is definitely not found in lyrics but in the tune and beats
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That is why Musicologists of great repute, have not spoken anywhere about the theme of devotion. and the musicologists derive their grammar from the spontaneous music of the music composers. - even of common folk.
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All this is not to refute that the Trinity and the Dasa composers were not mere poets but spiritual souls .
--
Considering that almost the whole set of keerthans of Annamacharya and Purandara dasa and Sadasiva Brammendram , even of Swathi ThiruNaaL, are re-tuned versions, they do not lose their value at all.( more due to the appropriate tuning and the RENDITION).. The message gets conveyed correctly.
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An aside...
I prefer Sivananda Lahari.

The Lost Melodies
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by The Lost Melodies »

I am aware of the articles of Srinivasa Rao and have consulted his posts many times. His blog posts are important as they provide available information in a single place. Additionally, he also gives reference texts so that we can refer to them if required. Though he has not done research on each and every topic, he cites much-accepted research materials.
These are much different from the so-called posts of 'storytellers' who rely on their limited sense to approach a topic. Generally, I never respond to posts that do not give valuable insights These kinds of posts are contributed by people who lack comprehension. This is a form of 'cognitive dissonance' as they wish to be in dark.

Since a genuine query was raised about a post of Srinivasa Rao, I wish to give a clarification. With respect to the blog post cited, there are a few points for which I feel there is no concrete evidence.

1. "stayed for some time with Sri Upanishad Brahmendra in his mutt at Kanchipuram. This is said to have taken place in the year 1809 when Sri Dikshitar was about thirty-four years of age; and Sri Upanishad Brahmendra was about sixty-two."

We need not have any doubt about Diksitar's stay in Kanchipuram. But his stay with Upanishad Brahmam in his mutt is questionable. Subbarama Diksitar was much clear when he said Muthusvamy Diksitar stayed in Kanchipuram for 4 years with his brothers and his brothers propagated the kritis of Muthusvamy Diksitar during their stay. A grahastha staying in a mutt established by a sanyasi for 4 years with his family is really questionable.
Second, we cannot be certain about the year of their meet; only a range can be given. Muthusvami Dikhitar could have returned from Kashi anywhere between 1790-1800, preferably during the latter half of this decade. In that case, he could have stayed in Kanchipuram between 1795- 1805. These are not exact years, but only a rough estimation based on the information given by Subbarama Diksitar.

2. "Upanishad Brahman too did not stay long thereafter in Thanjavur; but went on a pilgrimage to North India. On his return, say, towards the end of the year 1780, he settled down in Kanchipuram and established his own mutt at a place then known as Agasthya-ashrama".

Again this statement needs validation. The famous Tamiz writer Bharanidharan, who has met the descendants of Upanishad Brahmendra and Dr. Raghavan, who has read a published biography of Upanishad Brahmendra didn't give this information. It is pertinent to validate when a piece of information is available only in the later works.

3. "At the end of his gloss on Muktikopanishad , Sri Upanishad Brahmendra mentions that he completed the huge task in the year Prajothpatti , Dhanrus masa (Margasirasa) , Ekadasi , Asvini , Tuesday (According to some , this works out to 17 – December – 1751 . But, I am , however, not very sure. Sorry)".

Not accepting the words of an author is not to be dismissed easily. Upanishad Brahmam was very clear in mentioning the date of completion of his commentary to Muktikopanisad. Raghavan has reproduced the author's own words in his article. Raghavan also quotes another internal reference elsewhere. He says another work of Upanishad Brahemendra can be dated back to 1709 AD. This reveals Upanishad Brahmam could have lived for more than 100 years and was a much-respected sanyasi.

The points raised are only against the points made by the mentioned blogger. I will be much happy if I get to know genuine references that give the information provided by him.

To get a truth all the available literature is to be examined. The limitations and advantages are to be weighed. The next step would be to compare it with the genuine and earlier records. Then a plausible inference has to be made. All this requires patience. Additionally, at no point, the views will be thrust into a research publication.

The storytellers who only aim to garner attention can never understand these intricacies. 'Nadha' is everywhere. But not all qualify to be called sublime music. Many are nothing less than a noise. The wise ignore the latter.

RSR
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

p-587
@The Lost Melodies
I am aware of the articles of Srinivasa Rao and have consulted his posts many times. His blog posts are important as they provide available information in a single place. Additionally, he also gives reference texts so that we can refer to them if required. Though he has not done research on each and every topic, he cites much-accepted research materials
--
Glad. !
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Sri.SRao , has written wonderfully presented blogs not only on Indian Classical music and the Trinity but on other topics like evolution of the Sanskrit language, Aagama , Temple architecture, Ancient Indian paintings, Buddhism, Indian Classical dance, The Bengali Renaissance, MN Roy, Formation of Communist party in Tashkent, Comintern debates on National Liberation movements in colonies, Rahula Sannkruthyayana, Bankim, Tagore, Sarath Chandra, and many more. A vast ocean. Also some personal reminiscences about the effect of loss of memory disease of one of his employees.
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We can always raise doubts and ask for clarification and he always responds nicely. Never rude. and overbearing. One cannot be a researcher in so many areas. but this much coverage even is bountiful.
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As for story telling, MD is known for his deep knowledge of Sthala-PuraaNas. and Aagama rules. There seem to be many who admire him for his knowledge of such things .rather than his music.!
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CM is inevitably entwined with PuraaNaas.
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When Rao says that MD stayed at the Mutt for 4 years, we need not not take it literally. MD would have paid his respects to the Seer as soon as he arrived at Kancchi and doubtless visited the mutt frequently for discussion and participation.
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Generally, people do not remember much about their grandparents! We need not take every word as such of the family-memory. as narrated in SSP
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The article in guruguha by you is nice. and informative.

And a nice Thamizh translation..
https://guruguha.org/wp-content/uploads ... lation.pdf

nAdopAsaka
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

in the footsteps of nAdajyOti Mutthuswamy Dikshitar..

I have zero interest or desire to have any kind of interaction with those I believe are detrimental to the Dikshitar legacy, other than condemning them at all times. There are fewer years in front of me than behind, so I have no care for anyones attention.

People can read and hopefully examine what is being written (somewhat easier now with things on the Web though unfortunately also lots more garbage to sort through), and come to their own conclusions.

I appreciate RSR’s thoughtful responses, including where he notes that the essence of music is in tune and beat.
The rhythmic keening sound of her mother is undoubtedly also music to the baby whale just like bird song is music to everyone and everything that hears a lark.

But I think the essence of the Dikshitar is in BOTH the music and the sAhitya, and they cannot be disengaged without mutilating each. Lets not do this.

As the first “vainika gAyaka”, the giver of nAda aka the saraswati dEvi, is herself this union.

Hopefully this thread stays on the Dikshitar (the other “vainika gAyaka” ), instead of veering off onto others.

To that end, how appropriate in the month of vijayadaSami to note that the Dikshitar celebrates the hanumAn deity in at least 3 unique ways !

1. one is the kar-nAta-ka kApi obviously chosen for the word "kapi", which is synonymous with the ape/monkey as well as the word nAtaka, representative of the whole rAma-nAtaka. ( some closeness in the structure to rAga kAnadA is noted)

It is also noticeable that the Dikshitar specifically says "para mantra vinASa karana kapi vinuta"
emphasizing the rAga is karanAtaka kApi....obviously something lost on those who don't care for sAhitya..the mahArAjA's suma sAyaka comes to mind as well..

vira hanumatE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pSgM6JpLYU

2. And of course another is nAta, pavanAtmaja . which is chosen (again naturally ) because it refers also to the rAma-nAta-ka i.e. rAma saga. Here in addition the use of the word pava-nAt-maja is deliberate as the unique name of this deity that carries also the nAta word.

Noticeably in this kriti the word upaniSad is also used, (which we will get into separately)....it is the only usage in the Dikshitar collection other than the mahAganapatIm vandE tODi.

Sikkil Gursharan
pavanAtmaja Agachha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAT6a6yc920

3. And finally the geya-hejjeji where hejjeji (ja-eji) derives from “born of the trembling wind” , quite literally "pavan-Atma-ja"

(geya is the decidedly klunky prefix of the decidedly klunky katapayAdi scheme for this 13th mEla )

nicely illustrated here

rAmaChandra bhaktam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5TmgJFGoLs

Coincidence is Gods way of remaining anonymous, as Einstein notes.

RSR
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

p-589
Sir,
If Ragam 'Kaapi' is related to 'Kapi', can 'vaadham' be related to 'vadham'? '...Are we really doing justice to the composer? I am afraid, Not.

nAdopAsaka
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the Dikshitar uses suchita mudras in many places...in a few cases the words are somewhat different so the mudra is inferred..

bE-gala for bEgada (post # 563) the long necked or long trunked deity

kArt-asvara for asAveri (post # 549)

karana kapi is definitely the intended mudra for this rAga.

And yes, kApi-ka pertains to "of the ape", just like pArvati extends parvata .

nAdopAsaka
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Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (the saraswati dEvi at kAnCi )

Post by nAdopAsaka »

in the footsteps of nAdajyOti Mutthuswamy Dikshitar..

the saraswati dEvi at kAnCi

At kAnCi, the Dikshitar uniquely describes the saraswati dEvi as "vinA-pustaka dhArini" which reinforces the union of sangita and sAhitya, at least for the Dikshitar and his upAsakas.

She holds the vinA in one hand and the book in the other. They cannot and should not be disengaged. Do or can the notation-mongers comprehend this ?

There are many other descriptors in this kriti of the value and importance of the “word/sound/speech”, including “parAdi Sabda svarupa” , she who is of the form of speech and word and “bhakta-jihva-Agra vAsam”, she who resides on the tip of the tongue of the upAsakas. And as this union, she should be meditated on with the full concentration of the mind "EkAgracitta nidhyAtAm".

Once again the rAga for this deity is chosen by the Dikshitar with some care, motivated directly by the MEANING of the rAga word itself.

Appropriately enough, in the kAnCi legend (aka “story”) vEga-vAhini is the “fast-flowing river” assumed by the saraswati dEvi that cleansed the kSetra of an ill-advised brahma puja.

As we have seen by now, most, if not all, of the rAgas used by the Dikshitar are linked to their word-meanings either in the context of the specific kSetras or related to the Sri-Cakra Avaranas.

Or they are linked to the idea being explored such as for the navagrahas, (see my post # 499 or post # 500) where for several kritis of the 9 grahas, it is the very vehicles of the “moving” heavenly objects /grahas that a horoscopical expert (like the Dikshitar) is contemplating. And horoscopy is very much concerned with the transit/motion of these grahas.

Today being Thursday it is notable that the Navagraha kriti to brihaspatE (aka the "brahma-jAtE") also illuminates the 4 fold speech of the dEvi. In this kriti in the rAga athAna, the Dikshitar uses “parAdi-catvAri-vAk-svarUpa-prakAshaka”.

The rAga athAna is, of course, the word/synonym for the elephant vehicle of the Brihaspati deity, as revealed in post # 500.

It is only proper for the nAdopAsaka to invoke the thursday graha kriti in tandem with the vEgavAhini to the dEvi.

May the merciful Dikshitar continue to grant me the strength to proclaim his true musical and spiritual heritage.

vinA-pustaka dhArini in vEga-vAhini

MSS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpCDPShdgVM

Brinda/Mukta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Mib0e2mNI

brihaspatE in athAna

sandhyAvandana SrinivAsa r.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em6gULHDNiE

nice youthful versions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSwbzsx-E0U

by a child
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYbrug39Fkw

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

p-592
@nAdopAsaka
Goddess Saraswathi is traditionally associated with Learning and Arts , primarily as Art Music. Music should never be confused with Text. By too much such analysis, we may be doing injustice to MD
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Subramanya Barathy has wonderfully brought out the essence of Saraswathi, in his 'VeLLaith thaamaraip poovil iruppaaL.;
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Let us not unnecessarily and unjustifiably, denigrate the tune-smiths. Where are the lyrics in Venugaanam of Lord Krushna? Even MD kruthis will lose all their value if they go without the associated tune and mode of singing. He is held in reverence more for his music than for his lyrics. by music lovers...The same goes for the creations of Daasaas , Thyagaraja Swami and Shyama Sastry.
..What you assert about the interdependence of tune and theme and lyrics is perfectly true regarding the Trinity but it is not applicable rto no-less dedicated HM vocalists.
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I do not find any web-reference, where each of his kruthis, ( either mentioned in SSP or elsewhere) are analyzed to find the raga-mudhra. Many nice kruthis, music- wise have no raaga-mudhra.
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To reiterate, Music per se has nothing to do with the theme and lyrics. Strictly confining ourselves to The Trinity, we can assert that they perceived their music as a medium for their message- ….devotion oriented.
I would request you to focus more on the music than on the lyrics. Tune-smiths whom you deride, can turn round and claim that those who admire the composers for their lyrics and theme are ignorant of music appreciation. if rendered in an instrument, Flute, VeeNa, Naagaswaram, Violin, and so many wonderful HM instruments.
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Most of Swathi ThiruNaaL creations are re-tuned. by HMB and SSI.

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

In Shri SSI’s own signed foreword/introduction , dated Oct 15, 2002, to the TKG book of mahArAja swAti tirunAl’s compositions, SSI does NOT take credit for having tuned or composed ANY of them.

SSI only says in this foreword that he carried forward the work of Shri H. Muthiah bhAgavatar in collecting the mahArAjA’s compositions and adds also that Shri Musiri Sub. Iyer was part of this effort.

There are also forewords by several other dignitaries in the TKG book, attesting to the same.

If needed this can be discussed further in the swAti tirunal thread, but as I see it, there is a solid unity of word and song in the mahArAja’s works that precludes any second or third parties involvement.

---------------------
regarding other details of the Dikshitar, I think there has been colossal neglect over last 200 years.

The Sri-vidyA tenets driving him were laid out a full thousand years before him, in the SoundaryaLahari of the Adi Sankara, stanzas 66/69 in particular give the origins of the 3 grAmas, from the dEvis throat as well as the relative components of vinA versus word.

As for some of these tunesmiths, I couldn't care less what they think. Naturally they are free to reciprocate this contempt.

There used to be a compendium of Dikshitar kritis on the Web, assembled by one PPNarayanaswami, which gives rAga mudras (in bold font within the text) for several of the kritis. Others can be figured out by reading between the lines.
In many cases, the rAga is signaled not necessarily by a direct word or even an indirect word but by the theme or context, such as Chandram for the night-time asAveri navagraha etc. etc.

Here is another example, the less-heard rAga ardra-dEsi where the mudra appears across the words umA-rudra-darsi-tat. Actually the rAga is used for the ganapati quite suitably, since it also mimics the word "ardra-dEhi", or part human/part elephant.

shrI ganESAtparam

by KNRS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M8Qwap-_ts

by sadASivam V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fetrQQUn75Q

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (minAkSI mE mudam dEhi, the Dikshitars deathbed testimony final kriyA)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

minAkSI mE mudam dEhi, the Dikshitars deathbed testimony final kriyA

in the footsteps of nAdajyOti Mutthuswamy Dikshitar..

In the auspicious week leading to narakAsura Caturthi (which coincides with dIpAvali and also traditionally the Dikshitars day of passing) it becomes incumbent on the nAda-upAsaka to focus on the Dikshitar’s self-chosen last-heard-sound, “minAkSi mE mudam dEhi”

To the nAda-upAsaka, the end of the Dikshitars mortal existence is not a catastrophe or a tragedy. Hardly !

It is instead a time of solemn and calm joy to know that the messenger of the deities is reunited with the deities.

And, of course, the messenger will reincarnate , because the primordial reverberation never dies out. There will always be such nAdayOgis in the Hindu dharma, even if only one or two every 500 years, who reaffirm the beacon of nAdajyOti in the vast ocean of ignorance.

May I remain worthy of this light and of understanding the upadeSa of the Dikshitar.

So.. what is special about “minAkSi mE mudam dEhi”, that in his fading mortal moments, the Dikshitar selected it in particular out of scores of other kritis for his students to sing ?

The kriti itself was most likely developed several years prior to his demise. In fact post # 568 shows that it is part of the madurAmbA navAvarana, based on the unmistakeable Avarana mudra for freedom from all bondage , the sarva Artha sAdhaka Cakra, denoted by “pASa mOCani’.

Obviously “pASa mOCani” makes sense for some one on their deathbed.

Although the Dikshitar also uses the same words “pASa mOCani” in the other gamaka-kriyA dEvi kriti “kASi viSAlAkSim bhajEham”, it does not take long to realize there is a very big difference between the two kritis. Their gait !

The overall tenor of the kASi based kriti is much more upbeat with a lively tempo sustained by its rupaka tAla. Not at all a farewell anthem.

In comparison “minAkSi mE mudam dEhi” is deliberately subdued and ponderous, its gait like an elephant and even a “queen elephant” at that , “rAja-mAtangi”.

Ever the stickler for formality, propriety and balance, this more subdued kriti is clearly more appropriate for the Dikshitars deathbed sensibilities.

Along these lines it is also possible that just like the Dikshitar appeared to have some awareness of (and response to) the English music system (e.g. the English note svaras, the western violin etc), he may have had some exposure to a western ”funeral march” or “dirge”.

Such funeral marches could have been conducted by English soldiers or other English residents of the Dikshitars acquaintance or area for either a military figure or royalty etc. These dirges are also typically subdued and measured just like “minAkSi mE mudam”, without outbursts.

Of course these dirges are also melancholic, which I would argue is certainly NOT inherent to the Dikshitars kriti. In fact there is serene happiness in his call to the minAkSi.

Clearly at the time of creation of this kriti, the Dikshitar was not contemplating his mortality. But it is the invoking of this specific kriti as he breathed his last, that draws attention (at least of the nAdOpAsaka) to its gait, its words, its context and of course its rAga.

While gamaka-kriyA gives the rAga mudra in the kriti, the presence of the word “kriyA” in the rAga name is quite suggestive, ...because kriyA is also a word/synonym for the “rite” which is associated with postmortem rituals.

I am certain the Dikshitar was aware of the “rites” (kriyAs) that were inevitably coming to the students and soon-to-be pall bearers, who were requested to sing this kriti.

It is also of some note that another name for the gamaka-kriyA rAga is “gamana-ASrama” which has the word meaning of “going to refuge” which is equally appropriate for this moment.

One also cannot help noticing that in the other stupendous gamaka-kriyA, “gyAnamOsaga rAda”, the tyAgarAja seeks that supreme knowledge and the niravadhi sukham/bliss where he can himself unite the paramAtmA and jivAtmA.

Likewise the Dikshitar beckons the dEvi who is the measure and knowledge of all things “mAna mAtr mEya”, the supreme knower.

And in his chosen farewell, the Dikshitar is also asking for this same bliss as in “mudam dEhi”

It is a HUGE mistake to deliberately ignore or dilute the upadEsa, words and messages of the Dikshitar, particularly his deathbed testimony.

I revel always in the infinite fountain of his mercy.

minAkSi mE mudam dEhi

MDR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xajE2WJqJ4g

BMK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b85kjSqqrEE

b. srikar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v110LAtilEs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVIswWEuVGg

It is valuable to hear the tyAgarAja masterpiece as well, as a gamaka-kriyA

ably rendered by ranjani-gAyatri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2K0-QokwHU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_xjx0NsmUI

thanks to the agencies and artistes

The Lost Melodies
Posts: 78
Joined: 28 Jan 2021, 21:40

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by The Lost Melodies »

The music of Muthusvamy Diksitar is to be viewed in the sphere of the contributions made by his family. His musical imagination is actually an extension of the thoughts of Sri Ramasvamy Diksitar. Unfortunately, the popularity of the son eclipsed the contributions of the father. This tradition was continued by Subbrama Diksitar.

Hence, if we need to understand and enjoy his music, the works of all the Diksita-s belonging to this family are to be studied. Needless to say, this is for the devotees who are interested in contemplating the 'real' musical thoughts of Muthusvamy Diksitar.

viewtopic.php?p=373734#p373734

nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar(the coronation of rAma , bejewelling of rAma aka maNi-ranga–mAmava pattAbhirAma)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

the Dikshitars coronation of rAma , the bejewelling of rAma aka maNi-ranga – mAmava pattAbhirAma on dipAvali day

in the footsteps of nAdajyOti Mutthuswamy Dikshitar..

And once again the Sri-vidyA denying heretics are heard from, seeking attention for lost causes.

The insinuation that artistic and particularly musical genius must travel genetically is not only completely false, it is also culturally offensive at many levels.

Pathetic attempts to prop up these other entities , on the shoulders of the Dikshitar, particularly on the Dikshitars anniversary are disgusting and disrespectful.

the nAdopAsaka, indeed the rasikas forum itself, has arisen because misrepresentations and falsehoods about the Dikshitar have reached a crescendo and by Hindu dharma cannot be tolerated further.

Should one silence the stray dogs that bark when the vigrahas are taken around the shrines ?

Probably impossible, but there is value in keeping them in their own kennels.

For the current thread, the only recourse is to refocus on the Dikshitar and his messages.

Naturally the influence of the skanda on the Dikshitars musical world-view is also denied or glossed over by the heretics. For example Post # 571 clearly shows that the tiruttani skanda is described by a navAvarana, per the tenets of the Sri-vidyA. In tandem, there is also a complete subrahmanya/skanda sthala based vibhakti shown in posts # 542 and 546.

But given that today is dipAvali (other than the already discussed gamaka-kriyA in post # 595) it is relevant to examine how the Dikshitar regards the viSnu deities, both rAmaCandra and krSnA, in the context of his chosen guruguha i.e. skanda. Are there any unique aspects regarding how this word has been woven into these particular kritis ?

We will only dip our toes in the deeper waters of this topic, with the starting observation that the usage “guruguha-mitra” appears ONLY for the AbhOgi "Sri lakSmi varAham" and the maNirangu "mAmava pattAbhirAma".

"mAmava pattAbhirAma" is not considered part of the Dikshitars rAmaCandra vibhakti set, though it can easily be a sort of dhyAna kriti for that set. Notably the kriti ends with the words “mEdinipAla rAmaCandra”.

The usage “guruguha-mitra” also reflects the direct influence of the tyAgarAja (and not any other spiritual leader)

Naturally the rAga choice is also not random, which the heretics are also unaware of.

maNi-ranga is exactly the bejewelling coronation (mani) of ranga (rAma=viSnU) on the day of dipAvali.

a nice veena rendition of the maNirangu

the vainika S. thyagarAjan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA7TFr0yXXg

DKP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA_qDYpSHPU

RSR
Posts: 3427
Joined: 11 Oct 2015, 23:31

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by RSR »

p-597
@nAdopAsaka
@The Lost Melodies
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Though Ramaswami Dikshitar is known to have been a great scholar and composer, and likewise the author of SSP, also is a scholar-musician -composer, I would consider it a sacrilege to treat Muthuswami Dikshitar , as just another composer who inherited the music and Sanskrit legacy of the family. Sri'.Nadopasaka' is perfectly right there. The unique and distinguishing feature is the TOTAL absence of Narasthuthi in any of MD's compositions. and he was never attached to any patron or court. All his compositions are entirely on the Hindu pantheon. And he did not compose any 'light'
kruthis which are meant for dance.
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None of the Trinity were attached to any court. None gave any Light music.
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While studying the Trinity, we should NEVER miss or ignore the devotional element in their LYRICS. This is what I believe makes Nadiopasaka uncomfortable about too much reliance and reverence to SSP. There he is 80% right. Going by the SSP, even the said zamindar is a composer of the same grade as the greats of the family! How many of such compositions have been accepted as such by the CM community of 1900-1970? Not because, SSP was not known to them? No.
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Expertise in Musicology, Linguistic scholarship, and compositional ability are not enough. A study of the life of Sri.MD very clearly brings out that extra' something. A question of values in life. and the main purpose of Carnatic Music. Sri.MD was a Yogi.
--
Should one silence the stray dogs that bark when the vigrahas are taken around the shrines ?
I would request both TLM and Nadopasaka, to eschew harsh terms.
MD would never have used any such terms. either directly or by implication. He was a great soul. Was n't he?
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As devout followers of Sri.MD, and scholars , you should set high standards of discussion. , for lay-rasias like me.
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nAdopAsaka
Posts: 878
Joined: 20 Jul 2020, 17:05

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (structure of the rAmaCandra kritis)

Post by nAdopAsaka »

structure of rAmaCandra kritis

in the footsteps of nAdajyOti Mutthuswamy Dikshitar..

I do not think RSR is a lay-rasika. I appreciate his comments even though we do not agree always. However, I must say I do not feel much remorse for my choice of words.

Mere banishment is but a light sentence. Indeed the punishment must fit the crime. And crime there has unquestionably been, rivalling the “blowing up of the buddhAs”.

For more than 100 years and upto the present time, a concerted conspiracy has been transpiring to strip the value and meaning and context of the Dikshitar’s words in the notation books being held up as bibles for performing musicians by the notation-police. Even his so-called family members have participated in this. Well might the Dikshitar say..with friends like these who needs enemies.

Nowhere has a consistent comprehension of the unified structure of the Dikshitars worship been considered, in particular his unique use of the Sri-vidyA Cakra/Avarana across ALL his output (and not just the kamalAmbA navAvarana)

The sacred pujA utterances of the lonely traveling vainika-gAyaka nAdayOgi have instead been scattered in the wind, squandered to the whim of high flying technical artisans who care more for high-degree-of-difficulty gymnastics with voice or instrument.

It took the seminal work of V. rAghavan and C. rAmAnujachAri to rescue the spiritual heritage of the tyAgarAja from the oblivion of shapeless crooning.

It is the nAdopAsakas duty and responsiblity to do the same for the Dikshitar.

I have endeavored in last 100 odd posts do so. Others can also think about it .. it only takes one or two to keep the light alive, every century.

Having rid myself of some bile for now, it is suitable to move to more pleasant thoughts. I believe the distinction between a lay-rasika and a fully immersed nAdopAsaka is not very large. And the transition is made easy by the great Hindu vAggeyakAras, if we truly hear what they say and how they say it. What a stupendous gift they have given us.

This week we continue in the afterglow of the pattAbhiSekam/coronation of the “garuda-gamana” who the tyAgarAja literally crowns in his (gamana-Asrama derived) kriti as “pari-purna niS-kalanka niravadhi sukha dAyaka”.

May we be worthy of this unending stream of bliss.

It is valuable to continue to dwell on the rAmaCandra kritis of the Dikshitar.

Everywhere in the Dikshitars kritis an “organization” is noticeable, whether based on Sri-Cakra Avaranas, kSetra themes or grammar-sequences, tAla (as in the navagraha) or in carefully marshalling words from the different texts (lalitA sahasranAma, Soundaryalahiri etc) .

I believe this “organization” is the Dikshitars way of preparing himself, a sort of crooking of his own finger in anticipation of touching the “finger of God”.

It can be argued all the Hindu vAggeyakAras, use similar type of preparation, understanding of mElakarta schemes, rAgas, tAlas, the science of the music, the meaning of words, the use of rhythm and meter and prAsa. All of this “knowledge”, this is the required human-side preparation.

If (and only if) it is sincere and with humility, then (and only then) is it blessed unstintingly by the deities. And then these Sabari-like offerings are always rewarded with the torrent of nAda. This is the nAda-upAsakas belief.

Whereas the tyAgarAja tosses about like a matchstick in the received torrent, the Dikshitar does his best to slow and “control” the flood, forcing himself to use rAga mudras, temple lore, grammatical nuances, tempo changes etc. etc. almost as anchors in the tempest of his own doing.

So.. what is the “organization” behind the rAmaCandra kritis of the Dikshitar ?

Is it just "vibhakti" the oft-quoted mundane grammatical declension sequence that apathetic and uncaring historians have associated with him.

No !

The following items will be taken up in later posts.

1. A more careful examination of his rAmaCandra kritis reveals a structure reflecting a transition thru different stages of the rAmAyana ! The same deliberate approach has been echoed by the mahArAja in the kAnda-mAlikA rAga-mAlikA bhAvayAmi raghurAmam (see post # 189 of swAti tirunAl thread).

2. The rAgas chosen for the rAmaCandra kritis are once again based merely on their relevant word meaning/context (hardly on their specific swara patterns). We have already seen how the 3 hanumAn deity rAga choices were made (post # 589)

I give a few examples (not all) of the basis for these rAga choices of the rAmaCandra set.

For example Sri-ranjani is natural for a descriptor of rAma where Sri is herself the dEvi’s name. Similarly the jyOti. The Dharmavati is the epitome of Sabari as seen in my past post # 522. Similarly the choice of rAga vasanta coincides with the spring time rAma-navami etc. etc.

3. There is a nava-vidha bhakti set of 9 kritis embedded in the rAma kritis of the Dikshitar..i.e. each carrying a mudra for each of the 9 nava-vidha bhaktis. Note that one of these nine is of course the maNi-rangu. An example of this mudra is nAmakirtana tArakam in the electrifying vasanta “rAmaCandram bhAvayAmi”. I will elaborate these in later posts.

The timely and rare Sahana “rAmakrSnEna samrakSitoham rAmayana bhAgavatapriyEna” is good to listen to

rendered well by M. Deepak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ixMZZAIZxA

The Lost Melodies
Posts: 78
Joined: 28 Jan 2021, 21:40

Re: Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

Post by The Lost Melodies »

Expertise in Musicology, Linguistic scholarship, and compositional ability are not enough. A study of the life of Sri.MD very clearly brings out that extra' something. A question of values in life. and the main purpose of Carnatic Music. Sri.MD was a Yogi.
How do we know Sri Ramasvamy Diksitar was not a yogi? How can we discuss or make judgements about the spiritual status of a person who lived around 250 years ago? He attained Sivaloka prApti on a day of Maha Sivaratri. Is this possible for mortals like us?
Only a yogi can understand the mindset and actions of another yogi - says Sivan sir. Unless we know about the life of an individual through authentic sources, it is better not to comment. The same argument applies to Sri Subbarama Diksitar. If the details that I have gathered is authentic, he has attained Vaikunta prApti on a Mokshada Ekadasi. Certainly, this is not possible for everyone.

Praising a human does not preclude an individual to become a yogi. If that is the yardstick, we cannot include Sri Muthusvamy Diksitar as a yogi. There is a kriti in the raga Megaranjani wherein he praises Ettappa Maharaja. In the Nabhomani raga kriti, he refers to Serfoji. We do have evidence from the manuscripts preserved in TMSSML that MD has composed a poem on Serfoji during his tenure as a court-musician in the latter's court.
Whereas we are blessed to have compositions wherein MD himself proclaims his spiritual journey, the complete work of RD is not available. I feel a thorough analysis of the works of these great composers on all the spheres is to be done before drawing a conclusion.

Father is placed before God in our Dharma. He is to be respected more than a God. This was much followed by Diksitar and Tyagaraja Svamigal. Diksitar's first music teacher/preceptor was his father and there is nothing wrong to get musical thoughts/inspirations from one's own teacher. Are we not seeing disciples emulating their guru today?

We all accept Sri Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer as a great soul. What served as an inspiration for him to compose the melaragamalika? An erotic poem! Does that belittle the spiritual status of Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer. Certainly not.
I would request both TLM and Nadopasaka, to eschew harsh terms.
I would request you to refer to my posts from the beginning in this thread and decide whether or not to give this piece of advice to me. I argue/differ with a point; not with the author. This maturity is not seen with many. I have given a few soft pointers only to make the offender realize that I am indeed taking note of his comments.

Basically, I am not interested in the comments/ the posts made by the so-called 'nadhopasaka', the only realized soul incarnated in the last 200 years. I am drenched in the music of great composers like Diksita-s and Svamigal. I do not want to listen to any interpolations of the story-tellers when I am guided by genuine 'nadhopasaka-s'. The words of Svamigal 'cIkkani pAlu mIgada uNdaga chIyanu gangAsAgaramElE' comes to my mind.

I very well know I cannot give eyes to a blind. I took pain to make this post only to clear the misconceptions about Ramasvamy and Subbarama Diksita-s. I pray Svamigal, Diksita-s, and other mahAnubhAva-s to show a good path to the needy.

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