PILGRIMAGE WITH DIKSHITAR TO CHIDAMBARAM AND NEARBY SHRINES

The divine music composer Nadajyoti  Muthuswami Dikshitar  has visited many holy places all over the country, and it has been our endeavour at Veenavaadhini to follow his footsteps to the same places and  sing the Kritis he has composed at each shrine.  Towards this end, we made a recent trip
to Chidambaram and some places around it.

The first town we went to was Tiruvenkadu.  A  vast and beautiful temple, venerated as Adi
Chidambaram, and adored by  many saints, this temple has become of great pilgrim interest in recent
times, due to its place as the Budhan (Mercury) shrine among the Navagraha temples around
Kumbhakonam.  Budhan has an exclusive sanctum and looks extremely charming (is he not “Roopena Apratimam” – unparalleled in beauty according to Vyasa?) in his green garment etc. But we are going ahead of the order. The lord of the Kshetra is Shiva, Shvetaranyeshwara, who seems  happy to leave the crowds and fuss to Budhan, and is enshrined  in blissful quiet , in the company of  goddess Brahmavidyambika, she of the unique  name, giver of divine wisdom.  Another remarkable feature in this temple is the shrine of Aghora murthy, a valorous form taken by Shiva, identified with Veerabhadra created by him, to destroy Daksha and his sacrifice. His striking pose, standing with a Trishulam across two of his many hands, is awe-inspiring.  In these four shrines , we sang the following Kritis composed by Diskhitar here :
1. Shwetaranyeshwaram – Arabhi – Adi
2. Brahmavidyambike – Kalyani – Adi
3. Rudrakopa-jata-virabhadram – Rudrapriya – Rupakam
4. Budham Ashrayami – Natakurinji – Mishra Jhampa

Chidambaram is one of the most revered and beloved temples of Shiva in the country. Its importance in the Saiva tradition is immeasurable. It is the foremost among the Pancha Bhuta Kshetras, being the
subtlest of elements – ether. This is the “Hridaya” (heart) sthanam of the universe, and the great dance that the gods and sages watched awestruck, is the heartbeat of the universe.  Little wonder that his form as the cosmic dancer enthralls people all over the world.

The large temple precincts, with the Sivaganga tank, a separate temple for goddess Shivakamasundari, and many  Sabhas, need  several hours to  see fully. The gold-thatched Sabha, where the lord provides us a glimpse of his wondrous dance, is right next to the sanctum of Govindaraja,  blissfully reclining on Adisesha,  enjoying the dance. The feeling of seeing the two great gods in cordial association is indescribable. That is of course, only for us mere mortals. Dikshitar captures is beautifully , when he describes Govindaraja as “Deva-kanaka-sabhesha-hitaya”. That phrase sums up the essence of  Surati, as well as of Chidambaram, which is one of the  Thevara Sthalams, as well as the 108 Divyadesams. We sang the following compositions here:
1. Shivakameshwarim – Kalyani – Adi
2. Chidambara Natarajam – Kedaram – Adi
3. Chintayeham  Sada Chitsabhanayakam – Nottuswaram
4. Govindarajaya Namaste – Surati –Rupakam
5. Santatam Govindarajam – Nottuswaram

The following day, we visited Vaideeswaran Koil. This temple is intimately connected with the
birth of our beloved Dikshitar, for it was here that his parents, who were yearning for progeny,
were blessed by a vision of the goddess, Balambika,  in their dreams, and were promised a
divine child. The lord is  worshipped as the master physician (Vaidya-natha) and the sacred tank 
here , Siddhamrita Teertham, is  believed to have special healing properties. Subrahmanya,
affectionately known as Muthayya or Selva-muthu-kumara-swamy ( after whom his parents
named Muthuswami Dikshitar ) is the object of many Kritis, padams, javalis and literary works of
several poets and saints. Balambika is lovingly called Thaiyalnayaki, Thaiyal being theTamil word
for a lovely young girl – Bala. Thus every sanctum here is unique.

As the lord is the great physician, the refuge of all those seeking  good health,  it was natural
that we had to wait patiently for our appointment with him. We sang these Kritis here :
1. Sri Vaidyanatham –  Athana - Adi
2. Bhajare Re Chittha  Balambikam – Kalyani – Mishra Chapu
3. Kumara Swaminam  - Asaveri – Adi
4. Angarakam Ashrayami – Surati - Rupakam

On our way back to Chennai , we visited the sprawling and serene temple at Sirkazhi, talking about the life of the Saint Gnanasambandar , who was born here and seeing the temple tank on whose banks he was fed the milk of wisdom  by Parvati and Shiva. We climbed up to visit the unique shrines of Uma Maheswara and Sattanathaswami, wondering if Muthuswami Dikshitar had not visited this lovely and important Kshetra, and if those Kritis were lost to us.

We came back, with  memories of charming temples and melodious Kritis, grateful for our good fortune.

REPORT BY RAJANI ARJUN SHANKAR

VEENAVAADHINI DIKSHITAR JAYANTHI VEENOTSAVAM

 

 
Veenavaadhini Sampradaya Sangit Trust held a Muthuswami Dikshitar Jayanti Veenotsavam at
Arkay Convention Centre on 26 and 27 April, to celebrate the great Carnatic composer’s 439th
anniversary which fell earlier that month. The festival featured three veena concerts over the two
evenings. The veena being a divine instrument and Dikshitar himself being a ‘vainika gayaka’ (veena
player and singer), there could not have been a more apt choice of instrument to pay tribute to the
legend who is one-third of the famous Carnatic Music Trinity.



The festival was inaugurated by veteran veena vidwan Smt. Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, who later
praised Veenavaadhini’s efforts and the day’s artistes in a speech. The first concert was a recital by a
Veenavaadhini student, Kum. Veena Venkatramani. Her setlist consisted of many Dikshitar gems such as ‘Swaminathena’ in Brindavanasaranga and ‘Matangi Sri Rajarajeswari’ in Ramamanohari, rendered in their pristine form as handed down along the Dikshitar sishya parampara. The main piece of the concert was ‘Brihadeeswaraya’ in Sankarabharanam, again a Dikshitar masterpiece. It was preceded by a crisp ragam and tanam. The youngster truly lived up to her name by treating the rasikas assembled at the hall that evening to some quality music. She was skilfully supported on the mridangam by Sri R Ramkumar.


This was followed by a concert of accomplished veena vidwan P Vasanthkumar. He, too, filled his
concert with marvelous Dikshitar compositions, such as ‘Panchashat Peetharoopini’ in Devagandharam and ‘Paradevata’ in Dhanyasi. His choice of main piece was the famous ‘Sri Subrahmanyaya Namaste’ in Kambhoji. He concluded with Dikshitar’s Chaturdasa Ragamalika, a composition in 14 ragas, ‘Sri Viswanatham’. It is very beautiful but requires much skill to play or sing due to the rapid raga changes, and is hence seldom heard in concerts. The vidwan’s experience shone through in the whole concert and was established in the final number. The concert was enhanced by Sri K R Ganesh’s melodious mridangam.

The second day’s agenda had Veena duo Smt Jaysri Jeyaraaj Krishnan and Sri JT Jeyaraaj Krishnan
present their much-awaited annual thematic concert. This year, the theme was ‘Sri Krishna Charitram
through Dikshitar Kritis’. Earlier themes have included The Ramayana through Dikshitar Kritis and
Unique Names from the Lalita Sahasranamam found in Dikshitar Kritis, among others. The full house at Arkay Convention Centre was thrilled by nine rare Dikshitar Kritis on Lord Krishna. Ragas covered ranged from well-known Mohanam (Gopika Manoharam) and Kambhoji (Gopalakrishnaya Namaste) to rarely-heard Gopikavasantam (Balakrishnam Bhavayami) and Isamanohari (Ananta Balakrishna). The narration was by Smt Rajani Shankar, who introduced the Kritis and their meanings, explaining how they covered the whole story of Krishna from his birth and his pranks as a child, to his famed Rasalila with the Gopikas, to his becoming the king of Dwaraka and his expounding the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. The narration threw light on many stories referred to and on the choice of words and clever raga mudras used by the composer. It must be noted that the concert structure was not different from the concert format – the songs chosen just had a particular theme. The concert was a pleasing experience. Smt Jaysri sang the words along with the veena at specific points to demonstrate their flow, reinforcing Dikshitar’s credentials as a peerless Vaggeyakara (composer of both melody and lyric). In no way did the importance given to lyric mean compromise on the manodharma aspect of the concert – the alapanas were of a high calibre, including those of less-known ragas like Nasamani (followed by Sri Krishno Maam Rakshatu). The ragam and thanam in Kambhoji was one to remember and swarams in Mohanam flowed like the Yamuna with the Lord playing on its banks. The chief guest, Sri NV Subramaniam, had nothing but praise for the artistes. In all, the festival was an enjoyable one, proving that the veena’s popularity is in no danger and exposing listeners to a vast number of Dikshitar Kritis. One hopes for a similarly successful event next year.

REPORT BY APARNA SHANKAR.

PILGRIMAGE WITH DIKSHTAR TO TIRUTTANI

In continuation of efforts already taken to visit sacred temples noted for songs composed by Nadajyothi Muthuswamy Dikshitar during his pilgrimage, Smt Jaysri and Sri Jeyaraaj Krishnan on 29^th July 2012 collected 24 passengers to visit Tiruttani, the holy shrine where Muthuswamy Dikshitar had the unique privilege of encountering Lord Subramanya in the form of an elderly devotee on the way to the temple situated in the hilltop. The old man placed sugar candy in Dikshitar’s tongue and on Sri Dikshitar’s realization of the presence of Lord Muruga instantaneously poured forth the unmatched song Sri Nathadi Guruguho Jayathi Jayathi and later on Manasa Guruguha Roopam Bhajare, the two masterpieces of Dikshitar. The intention of the party was to sing at least these two songs before the presiding deity in the temple.

The journey started on the early morning of 29^th July 2012 at 5 a.m. engaging big cabs and proceeded to Thiruttani nonstop and arrived at the foothill at 8 am, and the main temple at 9 a.m.  after some of us had breakfast.  It was a crowded day at this place, being a Sunday and also an auspicious day. We were led to the sanctum sanctorum thanks to a priest in the temple. The senior students of Veenavaadhini under the leadership of Smt Jaysri Jeyaraaj Krishnan and Sri Jeyaraaj reproduced these two songs mentioned above with devotion, clarity and feelings using a Tanpura for sruti support. It gave immense satisfaction to all assembled there particularly the teacher and the taught. They were asked to sing one more song and the group happily rendered Sri Guruguha in the raga Devakriya. We then waited for the Prasad and came around the temple. On reaching the car park, we were exposed to freshly plucked amrit fruit and other articles like peacock feathers etc which would give pleasure to the owner and would be worthy of being exhibited.  A panoramic view from all corners of the hilltop was exciting.

The next stoppage was at a Vishnu temple in Nemili, some few kilometers away from Thiruttani. Legend has it that the lord assumed a sitting posture here to block with his back the river which threatened to submerge the village. A lovely serene atmosphere.  All the more, the learned priest made all the difference by enriching our knowledge with his facts and figures.

We had heard of a Veera Anjaneya temple in Nallatur on the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and on the bank of the river Palar, and this temple was on the “to be seen” list. Quite a long journey from the Vishnu temple, but an imposing figure of Hanuman in a meditative pose, which in itself was 10 feet in height and was placed on another 10 feet high platform, was visible from a distance of ½ kilometer. At the entrance was this statue and leading to the main temple was a pathway prepared using marble stone and covered by a dome like construction. We prayed at the moorthy worshipped there. A few of us helped ourselves with some with some water and cool drinks to quench our thirst.

From the Hanuman temple we were on the road to the temple of Mahishasura Mardhini in Maddur not far away from the national highway.  This idol is reported to have been dug up recently (about 50 years back) when railway construction was going on in this area. We came to the other side of the railway crossing and located the temple. It was crowded and only a few minutes were left for closing the gate for the morning session. We were fortunate to have a fine Darshan of the goddess. There was a neat passage these with prepared lanes to guide the devotees. We were told that the neem tree situated in the temple premises had leaves which did not have the bitter taste. We sampled the leaves and they were sweet!

Thus in one stroke, Jaysri and Jeyaraaj Krishnan treated us to a fine showing of four temples. “A wonderful trip!” was everyone’s verdict. The clock read 2:30 pm when we reached Mylapore tank. We dispersed after a delicious lunch at a nearby Hotel.  Our memorable pilgrimage with Dikshitar to Tiruttani came to a close.

This article was written by my father-in-law Late Sri J Thyagarajan. -Jaysri JeyaraajKrishnan