Mutthuswamy Dikshithar (Krithis)

klimkaaran · Post by **klimkaaran** » 22 Jul 2007, 17:38

thts been my childhood dream as well. I have always felt dikshithar kritis require writing of a proper Bhashyam. I shall certainly contribute my little bit.

Klim.

drshrikaanth · Post by **drshrikaanth** » 22 Jul 2007, 18:22

I have merged the two topics to keep the discussions in one place. Please continue here.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 23 Jul 2007, 23:12

I may intimate viewers that, from today onwards, MD kRtis are being posted as blogs in the following websites. The blogs contain kRti versions in Roman, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The meanings of the kRtis may be viewed from http://sky.prohosting.com/guruguha/kritis/akhil.html - necessary link is provided along with the kRti.

http://guru-guha.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... aksha.html
http://thyagaraja.sulekha.com/blog/post ... bhavam.htm

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 24 Jul 2007, 00:48

gsriram,

You are absolutely correct. We cannot compare samskrita compositions and telugu kritis. Again, I have developed these thoughts only after being a part of discussion groups. IMHO, the purity in muttusvAmi dikSitar's compositions arises due to chaste sanskrit. You also correct that RD, BD, CD and others have composed in other language. Please forgive me if I have blabbered something out of ignorance.

Sangeet Rasik · Post by **Sangeet Rasik** » 26 Jul 2007, 21:06

I couldn't find any discussion on this topic in the Forum search, so I started one.

I have been curious whether Muthuswami Dikshitar visited Kerala, and if so, what temples ?

For example, there are two well-known krtis by him on Keralan deities:

1) "pannagaSayana padmanAbha" in madhyamAvatI which is taken as describing the deity of the Padmanabhaswami temple in Trivandrum. Is there any doubt regarding this composition ?

2) "hariharaputram SAstAram" in vasanta. This is in the praise of Ayyappan (SAstA).

Has anyone analyzed the sahitya of this composition in detail ? What temple is it referring to ? Dikshitar's descriptions of the deities are usually faithful to their installation in the temple sanctum.

Furthermore, in the anupallavi there is the line "muraharAdimOhita SaurigirivihAram". What is the "Saurigiri" being referred to ? Has anyone analyzed this before ? In particular, could Dikshitar be describing the SAstA of Sabarimala, and hence it may have originally been "SabarigirivihAram" ?

Is the rest of the description consistent with the representation of the SAstA in the Sabarimala temple ? I went there at the age of 10, so I don't remember.

Finally, is there any record/description of Dikshitar reaching the court of Swati Tirunal in Trivandrum? His four disciples certainly did.

Best Wishes,
SR

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 26 Jul 2007, 22:08

According to website dedicated to MD Kritis, http://sky.prohosting.com/guruguha/ only kALahasti (Andhra) is listed as kShetra visited outside present Tamil Nadu.

For meaning of 'hariharaputram' - please refer to http://sky.prohosting.com/guruguha/kritis/harihara.html

Regarding 'pannaga Sayana' - it is simply mentioned as 'pANDya kEraLa nivAsa' and 'paruSurAma kShEtra prabhAkara'.

The complete kRtis in English and Sanskrit (PDF) may be downloaded from the said site.

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 26 Jul 2007, 23:04

VGV didn't he visit tirumalA-tirupati?

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 26 Jul 2007, 23:15

ks,
As per the quoted website, no.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Jul 2007, 01:21

The only maNiprvALa kriti of MD (if authentic) indicated that he visited north Kerala.
Also the 'mystical' vINa (presented to him at kASI is currently in the posession of a family in Trivandrum.

gsriram · Post by **gsriram** » 27 Jul 2007, 01:26

Hi,

In addition to the two aforementioned kRti-s, shrI kRShNam (tODi) most certainly describes the deity at Guruvayur, from the phrases "gurupavanapurAdhIsham" and "shaHNkacakra gadA padma vanamAlam".

rakta gaNapatim (mOhana) has the phrase "parashurAma kSEtra prabhAvam" and a reference to pAyasAnna, which may refer to some temple in Kerala.

Of course, although the phrases in shrI kRShNam seem compelling, this does not necessarily mean that Dikshitar visited these temples.

Ganesh

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 27 Jul 2007, 01:44

cmlover wrote:The only maNiprvALa kriti of MD (if authentic) indicated that he visited north Kerala.

"only" maNipravALa kriti?

I thought there are three.
1. SrI abhayAmbha--SrI rAgam (Mayuram temple)
2. venkaTAcalapatE --karnATaka kApi (on pulivalam temple)
3. SrI mahArANi--karnAtaka kApi

As for authenticity, I shall defer to the experts.

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 27 Jul 2007, 02:23

gsriram wrote:rakta gaNapatim (mOhana) has the phrase "parashurAma kSEtra prabhAvam" and a reference to pAyasAnna, which may refer to some temple in Kerala.

rakta ganapati temple is in Trivandrum.

Sangeet Rasik · Post by **Sangeet Rasik** » 27 Jul 2007, 06:31

While the previous questions are being considered, a more general one now. We hear often that "Dikshitar was a well-traveled man". What is the main source of this information ?

1. Are there biographies of him dating from the 1800s ?

2. Or, are the stories (both fact and fiction) about his life handed down through the shishya parampara ?

3. Or, were his travels mainly inferred from his compositions ? And over time, this became widely accepted to the extent that it is now *assumed* that he traveled a lot and that his travels are *therefore* reflected in his compositions (when the situation might originally have been vice versa).

SR

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 27 Jul 2007, 06:51

In the now-extinct sangeetham.com Ravi-Sridhar covered MD extensively (some 20 articles or so). If the sangeetham.com archives can be extracted you will find a wealth of info there. You can also google Ravi-Sridhar to see if you can get their articles.

I did google but came out empty (although there was some reference to them which might lead to a dead end).

bhaktha · Post by **bhaktha** » 27 Jul 2007, 07:22

Where was "kalavathi kamalasana yuvati" in the ragam yagapriya composed? was it not composed at the saraswathee kovil in kashmir?
-bhaktha

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 27 Jul 2007, 07:56

The following article describes the various places visited by Dikshitar. I cannot post the entire article but have posted a map of the places he has visited (taken from the article).

Chandra S. Balachandran; Surinder M. Bhardwaj, "Geography as Melody in Muttusvami Dikshita's Indian Musical Works," Geographical Review, Vol. 91, No. 4. (Oct., 2001), pp. 690-701.

clueless · Post by **clueless** » 27 Jul 2007, 07:56

An interesting article on Dikshitar can be found at
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.musi ... e695b98a10

Muttusvaami Deekshitar: An Exemplar of Indian Integration and an
Agent of Change through Music

By:

Chandra S. Balachandran
Surinder M. Bhardwaj

Department of Geography
Kent State University
Kent OH 44242

Presented at:

19th Annual Conference on South Asia
University of Wisconsin
Madison WI
[1 - 3 November 1990]

There is a section on Dikshitar's pilgrimages in this article, which seems to indicate that he did go on one to Kerala also.

Clueless

maniomani · Post by **maniomani** » 27 Jul 2007, 09:44

Ravi Sridhar, it appears are in Tiruvannamalai. They are associated with Sri Ramanashram. Contacting the ashram would be of help.

Sangeet Rasik · Post by **Sangeet Rasik** » 27 Jul 2007, 11:19

clueless wrote:An interesting article on Dikshitar

Dear Mr./Ms. "Clueless", your posting name does not reflect your knowledge !

An excellent find, thanks for sharing. Let me consider this and the views of the members posting in this thread and get back with further thoughts.

SR

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 27 Jul 2007, 22:54

shadjam:
The map with the names of places visited by MD is incomplete. It is missing places like: Mayuram (where there is an inscription to attest to his visit--rajeshnat can attest to that), kuzhikkarai (a famous sthalam made famous by MD's visit and his singing on the deity there--Venkatesa), and a few others.

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 28 Jul 2007, 02:06

mahakavi sir,

Kuzhikarai is in the Tiruvarur district and Mayuram was in Thanjavur district (and now as a part of Nagapattinam). I think the authors have covered both Thanjavur and Tiruvarur but they haven't been specific about the sthalams he visited in each of the two places. Even in Tiruchirapalli he has visited both Rockfort temple and Thiruvanai kovil but they haven't been specifically mentioned in that map either. They have just mentioned Tiruchirapalli.

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 28 Jul 2007, 02:45

shadjam:
OK. I realize there is no space in the map to mention all the sthalams visited by MD. There should be a list available for that purpose. When I saw the towns swamimalai, kumbakonam, thanjavur etc, the absence of kuzhikkarai, and mayuram, among others seemed conspicuous.

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 28 Jul 2007, 02:54

sadjam,

Does tirucirApaLLi cover SrIrangam too? Remember ranganAyakam bhAvayE and SrIbhArgavi bhadram mE! What about nAgapaTTiNam, tiruvindalUr and tirukkaDigai. We have soundararAjamASrayE (brindAvana sAranga), parimaLa ranganAtam (hamvIru) and narasimhA Agaccha (mOhanam).

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 28 Jul 2007, 02:55

Mahakavi Sir,

Here is a passage from the article that clarifies it a bit. However, I am not sure what made the authors specifically mention some of the sthalams.

He stayed at Tiruvarur for many years, composing devotional songs in salutation to the several deities in the temples of the town and at nearby shrines. For a time he lived in Kumbhakonam, because it was-and still is-a city with untold numbers of temples, which he visited. Then he moved to Tanjavur, where he continued his pilgrimage to many local and nearby shrines for several years.

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 28 Jul 2007, 03:14

krismech,

My bad

I missed Srirangam. The only two that came to my mind immediately were that two I mentioned. Nagapattinam and TiruvindalUr (near Mayuram) were part of Thanjavur. The two references that authors mentioned in the article for this map were written in 1968 and 1975. I assume that Nagapattinam and Mayuram were all part of Thanjavur during that time.

There is no mention of tirukkaDigai in the article (which I believe is Sholinghur) in Vellore district.

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 28 Jul 2007, 03:33

Yes tirukaDigai is SOLingur or chOzhasimhapuri near arakkONam. IMHO, he definitely visited it. In the song narasimhA Agaccha, he mentions ghaTikAchalESvara and hEmakOTISvara (the name of the vimana). He also mentions that hanumA is in service there (pavanaja Subhakara). IMHO, we ever he has given the detail of vimAna, tIrta, vRkSa, etc, he has visited the shrine.

The nATa kriti, pavanAtmajAgaccha is very similar to this mOhana kriti. MD could have dedicated it the chaturbhuja AnjanEyasvAmi at the chinna malai in SOLingur but no evidence exists for it.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 28 Jul 2007, 06:43

gsriram wrote:Hi,

In addition to the two aforementioned kRti-s, shrI kRShNam (tODi) most certainly describes the deity at Guruvayur, from the phrases "gurupavanapurAdhIsham" and "shaHNkacakra gadA padma vanamAlam".

Ganesh

"Sri Krishnam Bhaja" is considered to be spuriously attributed to Sri Deekshithar. One of the reasons advanced is that there is no record of him having visited Guruvayoor.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 28 Jul 2007, 06:46

bhaktha wrote:Where was "kalavathi kamalasana yuvati" in the ragam yagapriya composed? was it not composed at the saraswathee kovil in kashmir?
-bhaktha

There is a temple dedicated to Saraswathi at Koothanur which is between Mayavaram and Tiruvarur. It is more likely that this is the temple that inspired the kriti.

bhaktha · Post by **bhaktha** » 28 Jul 2007, 08:25

@ harimau,
Pl. refer the caranam of the kriti "kalavathi"... Diskshitar very clearly states: "sashivadanA kAshmIra vihArA" (which translates to : "her face resembles the moon; she lives in kashmira). Clear indication of the kriti being composed in praise of the Goddess at Kashmir.
-bhaktha

ramanathan · Post by **ramanathan** » 28 Jul 2007, 16:46

shadjam wrote:rakta ganapati temple is in Trivandrum.

Really? Where in Trivandrum? As a native of that city, I'm quite curious!

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 28 Jul 2007, 18:25

bhaktha wrote:@ harimau,
Pl. refer the caranam of the kriti "kalavathi"... Diskshitar very clearly states: "sashivadanA kAshmIra vihArA" (which translates to : "her face resembles the moon; she lives in kashmira). Clear indication of the kriti being composed in praise of the Goddess at Kashmir.
-bhaktha

Earlier, you had asked [Where was "kalavathi kamalasana yuvati" in the ragam yagapriya composed? was it not composed at the saraswathee kovil in kashmir?]

My response was the Saraswathi Temple at Koothanur is the likely candidate. Sri Deekshithar is supposed to have stayed in Varanasi but there is no mention of him having visited Kashmir. However, as a resident of Tiruvarur and as one who travelled to several nearby temples, he would have had occasion to visit Koothanur.

The phrase "kAshmIra vihArA" is to be taken as a descriptive one. It does not conclusively prove that the kriti was composed in praise of or at the Saraswathi Temple in Kashmir.

The kriti "Kailasa Nathena" in Kambhodi contains the phrase "Kailasa giri viharena". Are we to presume that Sri Deekshithar visited Mt. Kailas in Tibet and composed the song there?

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 30 Jul 2007, 17:27

ramanathan wrote:Really? Where in Trivandrum? As a native of that city, I'm quite curious!

Too bad =( I think its time for you to go on a pilgrimage to all the temples in Trivandrum

BTW, I haven't visited the temple personally but reported what has been given in Dikshitar books.

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 01 Aug 2007, 17:03

Didnt MD visit places in Karnataka like Gokarna,Horanadu Annapoorneswari,Sringeri Sharada,Melukote?i am wondering that he went to Kerala (Shabarimalai) from Tamil nadu without visiting Karnataka?

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 01 Aug 2007, 22:39

mElkOTE? Interesting!

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 01 Aug 2007, 22:43

kartik wrote:Didnt MD visit places in Karnataka like Gokarna,Horanadu Annapoorneswari,Sringeri Sharada,Melukote?i am wondering that he went to Kerala (Shabarimalai) from Tamil nadu without visiting Karnataka?

If he went Sabarimalai (you may be inferring hariharaputram shAstAram in vasanta) - from Tanjavoor area why does he have to go through karnATaka?

sharAvatI taTa vAsini does not seem to be on any shArada shrine in Karnataka on the banks of sharavati - And it can not be sringeri either, since the river sharavati does not flow in Sringeri

-Ramakriya

shadjam · Post by **shadjam** » 02 Aug 2007, 00:46

Can someone please explain the reason behind Dikshitar not singing in praise of Lord Muruga at Thiruparanguntram? Thanks

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 02 Aug 2007, 06:19

why is melkote alone interesting? why not sringeri and others?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 Aug 2007, 08:27

I remember the discussion on Subha pantuvarALi and I wondered then if 'paSupatISwaram' was about the diety in Nepal near khatmandu (kASmIram appears in that song too). Obviously not.
marakatavalli had a lot to offer by way of enlightenment

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 02 Aug 2007, 09:13

Ramakriya,I was only asking that since he went to Kerala from TN,he may visited places of interest in Karnataka too.(I didnt know if he did,or any compositions exist to indiacte that he did visit any religious place in Karnataka and hence was curious).

On another track,is it possible that he did visit temples and didnt compose the presiding deities there?

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 Aug 2007, 09:17

Yes, I would think it is possible. It is also possible that he sang of deities in temples he had heard of, from his own home.

kartik · Post by **kartik** » 02 Aug 2007, 09:28

I am interested to know if there are compositions on Sarangapani,Chakrapani,Ramaswamy kovil in Kumbakonam?More so,because he composed Kumbeswaraya on the nearby Kumbeswaran kovil in Kalyani.

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 02 Aug 2007, 12:33

if dikshitar did not compose songs on mortals, vedanta desikan might not qualify as a subject for a composition.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 03 Aug 2007, 00:13

In the kRti 'abhayAmbikAyAH anyam na jAnE' rAga kEdAra gauLa, MD states 'mUlAdi dvAdaSAntaH prakASinyAH'.
To know more about 'dvAdaSAnta' please visit - http://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/kundalini_power.htm
(mUla - refers to mUlAdhAra)

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 03 Aug 2007, 01:36

Karthik - Wrong thread to ask. But there are compositions on both.

Ignoramus - Just picked up one nothing specific. Also, He did not even compose on Adi SankarabhagavadpAdar, why would he come near svAmi vEdAnta dESikan?

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 03 Aug 2007, 08:48

hi ksrimech - i thought the question of kartik was meant for diskhitar compositions. not general. that way sankara also should not qualify as you said. coming near vedanta desikan is another thing altogether. if he can compose on all deities regardless of associated philosophical systems/followers.

dont want to take this further

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 03 Aug 2007, 12:24

ignoramus - my intentions were not to to degrade any one mentioned in my post nor pick up a fight on advaita or viSiSTadvaita or shaivam or vaiSNavam. All three, IMHO, are not mortal souls. They have surely attained (one or the other form of) mOkSA. My apologises if I have used the wrong words.

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 03 Aug 2007, 14:03

ksr - no problems. point taken.
but am a bit confused, who are the three whom you mention? i thought sankara and desikan came up in the thread. did i miss someone totally?

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 03 Aug 2007, 21:43

In the kRti 'abhayAmbikAyai' - Raga yadukula kAmbhOji, the following line occurs -

gamapadAdi nuta padAyai

In the http://sky.prohosting.com/guruguha/kritis/abh5.html this has been translated as 'feet worshipped by words of Agamas'.

Does 'gama' also means 'Agama'?
Can someone please explain the words 'nigama' and 'Agama' with reference to 'gama'?

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 04 Aug 2007, 00:48

The "Hero" of this thread SrI muttusvAmi dIkSitar.

ignoramus · Post by **ignoramus** » 04 Aug 2007, 07:39

ok..gotcha.