1. ssp_vaggeya

Sańgīta Sampradāya Pradarśini

Brahmaśrī

SUBBARĀMA DĪKSITA

(1905)

VOLUME V

VĀGGĒYAKĀRA CARITRAM

ENGLISH EDITION JANUARY 2008

SAŃGĪTA SAMPRADĀYA PRADARŚINI

SUBBARĀMA DĪKȘITA

ENGLISH (WEB) VERSION

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g1 guhã śrī

namah

Subbarāma Dīksita (1839 A.D - 1906 A.D)

A. M. Cinnasvāmi Mudaliyār

CONTENTS

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 3 1 Śrī Śarngadēva . 3 Ahōbala 3 Rāmāmatya . 3 3

4 4 Kallinatha - the author of the commentary on Sangītaratnakara 5 Govinda Dīkșita . 4 Venkatamakhin 6 6 88 7 Gōvindāmātya 8 Purandaravițhaladāsa 9 Rāmadāsa . . 8 10 Talapāka Cinnayya 8 11 Kșētrajña . 9 12 Śrīnivāsa. .. 9 13 Jayadēva 10 14 Ghanam Sīnayya 10 15 Mārgadarśi Šēşayyangār 11 16 Girirāja Kavi . 11 17 Sāhāji Mahāraja 11 18 Laksmīkānta Mahārāja 11 19 Vīrabhadrayya 12 20 Kavi Mātibhūtayya . 12 21 Adippaiyya 12 22 Vēnkațarāmayya 13 23 Sonți Vēnkațasubbayya 13 24 Rāmasvāmi Dīkșita 13 25 Śyāmā Sāstri 14 26 Gurumūrti Sāstri 15 27 Vīņa Perumaļayya 15 28 Tyāgarājayya 16 29 Tyāgarāja's Disciples 18 30 Govindasāmayya 18 31 Kūvanasāmayya . 19 32 Vaikuņțha Šāstri 19 33 Vijayagōpāla 19

1

2

34 Kuppusvāmi Ayya 19 35 Pallavi Gopālayya 19 36 Muddusvāmi Dīkșita 19 37 Muddusvāmi Dīksita's disciples 21 38 Cinnasvāmi Dīksita 21 39 Bālasvāmi Dīkșita 21 40 Caukam Sīnuvayya 22 41 Dorasāmayya 22 42 Madhyārujanam Pratāpasimha Mahārājā 22 43 Kulaśekhara Perumāļ . 22 44 Vengu Bhagavata . . 23 45 Śesacala Bhāgavata . 23 6 Rāmānanda yatīndra 23 47 Nārāyaņatīrtha 23 48 Sadāśiva Brahmam 23 49 Akkil Svāmi 23 50 Svayamprakaāśa Yatīndra 24 51 Śivarāmāśrama 24 52 Yuvaranga's padas 24 53 Parimalaranga 24 54 Sārangapāņi . 24 55 Merațțūru Vēnkațarāma Sāstri . 24 56 Poetic composers of telugu padams based on śrngara rasam 25 57 Todi Sītārāmayya . 25 58 Taccūr Śingarācārya 25 59 Aruņācala Kavirāya 25 60 Muttuttāņdavar . 26 61 Pāpavināśa Mudaliyār 26 62 Ghanam Krşnayya . 26 63 Śankarābharaņam Narasayya 26 64 Ānatāndavapuram Bālakișņa Bhārati 26 65 Vaidīśvarankoil Subbarāmayya 26 66 Vēnkațēśvara Ețțappa Mahārājā 26 67 Jagadvīra Rāmakumāra Ețțappa Mahārājā 27 68 Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkațēśvara Ețțappa Mahārājā 28 69 Muddusvāmi Etțappa Mahārājā . 28 70 Rājā Jagadvīra Rāma Kumāra Ețțappa Mahārajā .. 28 71 Rājā Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkațēśvara Ețțappa Mahārājā 29 72 Subbarāma Dīkșita 30 73 Sadasiva Rao 31 74 Pattanam Subrahmaņya Ayya 31 75 Vēnkațēśvara Śāstri 31 76 Garbhapurivāru, Dharmapurivāru 31 77 Rao Bahudur C. Nagoji Rao, B.A., F.M.U. 31

VĀGGĒYAKĀRA CARITAM - BIOGRAPHY OF COMPOSERS

1 Śrī Śārngadēva

Śārngadēva was from the country of Kāśmir, and was the grandson of Bhāskara, born in the varsa gana rși gōtra. He was the son of Soddaladeva. He belonged to the clan of yadavas. He lived during the period of Simhaņarāju who reigned Dēvagirinagaram, also known as Daulatābād, from the saka year of 1132 (1210 A.D.) to saka year of 1169 (1247A.D.). With his great scholarship in music and Sanskrit, Śārngadēva had authored a vēdānta treatise titled Adyātma vivēka. In the text, Sangīta Ratnākara authored by him, he mentioned that he was addressed by the title of 'niśsanka'*, and that he proved the theories of Bharata, Matanga, Kīrtidhara, Kōhala, Kambaļa, Aśvatara, Āñjanēya, Abhinavagupta, and Sōmēśvara. The Sangīta Ratnākara has seven chapters :- (1) Svaragatādhyāya, (2) Rāgavivēkādhyāya, (3) Prakīrņakādhyāya, (4) Prabandhādhyāya, (5) Tāļādhyāya, (6) Vādyādhyāya, (7) Nrtyādhyāya. The Sangīta Ratnākara has seven commentaries, four in Sanskrit - written by Simhala, Śārngadēva, Kumbhakarņanarēndra, Kallinātha, one in Hindustani by Gangārāma, and two in Telugu, one of which seems to be authored by Hamsabhūpāla. Out of these, the commentary written by Kallinātha is well- known in many countries. It was stated by Rāmāmātya and Vēnkatamakhin that some parts of Sangīta Ratnākara were not in accordance to the laksya and laksana of their times. The traditionalists too agreed that this was the case in practice.

2 Ahōbala

Ahōbala, a vēdic brahmin scholar was the author of Sangīta Parijata which was written along the lines of the theory of Sangīta Ratnakara and the theory of Anjaneya. Some of the laksya and laksana in this book are in line with current practice. It was believed that this brahmin scholar from Ahobalam lived in the Ahōbalam region, approximately four hundred years beforet.

3 Rāmāmātya

Rāmāmātya, the son of Timmāmātya, was a niyōgi brāhmin born in the todaramalla clan. Krsnadēva- rāya, who was known by the epithet 'Andhra Bhoja', conquered many kings and ruled the country of

*ED :- doubt-free +ED :- before Sangīta Sampradāya Pradarśini (telugu)

3

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 4

Vidyānagara, also known as Vijayanagara. Rāmadēvarāya married Krsņadēvarāya's daughter, and ruled the country of Vijayanagara, as successor to Krsnadēvarāya after his time. He, along with his brother Vēnkatādriraju, listened to the sonorous renditions of the compositions written by Rāmāmātya, such as Ēla, Rāgakadamba, Gadyaprabandha, Pañcatāļēsvara, Svarānka, Śrīrangavilāsa, in his court. During that time, inspired by Rāmāmātya who bore the title of 'Abhinava Bharatācārya', Vēnkatādrirāya recited the following ślōka:

sańgīta śāstrē bahudā virōdhā samtyēva laksyēsu ca laksaņēsu sarvam samīkrtya sarāma mantrī tanōtu śāstram vacapātavēti|

सङ्गीतशास्त्रे बहुदा विरोधा सन्त्येव लक्ष्येषु च लक्षणेषु । सर्वं समीकृत्य सराममन्त्री तनोतु शास्त्रं वचपाटवेति।।

Since there were many discrepancies in laksya and laksana, he requested Rāmāmātya to resolve those and write a book on the science of music. As this was being said, Ramadevaraya seconded the proposal and honored Rāmāmātya with many gifts including the karpūra tāmbūla. Subsequently, Rāmāmātya wrote the Svaramēļakalānidhi in seven chapters, dedicated it to Rāmadēvarāya and recited it to him. Ślōka:

śākē nētra dharādharābdi dharaņī ganyetha sādhāraņē varșē śrāvaņamāsi nirmalatarē paksē daśamyām tithau | *Rāmāmātya vinirmitassvaratatērnirmadhyaratnākaram sō'yam mēļakalānidhirmatimatāmākalpamākalpatām ||

शाके नेत्रधराधराब्दि धरणी गण्येथ साधारणे वर्षे श्रावणमासि निर्मलतरे पक्षे दशम्यां तिथौ। रामामात्य विनिर्मितस्स्वरततेर्निर्मध्यरत्नाकरं सोडयम् मेळकलानिधिर्मतिमतामाकल्पमाकल्पताम् ।।

From the above śloka, it is evident that the Svaramēlakalānidhi was written in the saka year 1472 (1550 A.D.). None of his works mentioned above are to be found now.

4 Kallinatha - the author of the commentary on Sangītaratnākara

Kallinātha was the son of Laksmanācarya, who was born in the todaramalla clan. He was catura kallinātha, who earned the title of abhinava bharatācārya. He was the court laureate of Emmadidēvarāya, who ruled Vidyānagaram. In the śālivāhana year of 1475 (1553 A.D.), he wrote a commentary on Sangīta Ratnākara, named Kalānidhi. This commentary is popular in all regions.

5 Gōvinda Dīksita

The kings of the Nayaka clan obtained their kingdom with the help of the Rāya clan - who ruled Vi- jayanagara also known as Vidyānagara, and ruled Tañjāvūr Samsthāna (land of Tañjāvūr) with distinction from śaka year of 1452 (1530 A.D.) to śaka year of 1592 (1670 A.D.). Cevappa Nāyaka, the first emperor of the Nāyaka clan, ruled the Colamandala region within the tenets of law, from śaka year 1452 (1530 A.D.) to śaka year 1494 (1572 A.D.). This information is inscribed on a stone pillar installed in the Sampappiru

+ED :- The following is the version found in [Rāmāmātya, (1910)] :- Rāmāmātya vinirmitē svaratatē sangītaratnākarāt sōyam mēļakalānidhirmatimatāmākalpamākalpatām |

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 5

Mosque, in close proximity to the Tañjavūr railway station. The inscription is part of a donation notice inscription, which states that a land of seven acres was donated to the mosque. Cevappa Nāyaka's son emperor Acyutappa Nāyaka ruled the Colamandalam from śaka year 1499 (1577 A.D.) to śaka year 1536, (1614 A.D.) with Govinda Dīkşita as his minister. Gōvinda Dīkșita was a great personality who belonged to a karņātaka smārta brāhmin caste, āsvalāyana sūtra, and vāsista gōtra, and obtained the grace of Sāvitri Devi by dedicated chanting of the gāyatri mantra. As was indicated in the scriptures, Gōvinda Dīksita advised emperor Acyuta Nāyaka to donate many vēlīs of lands that lay on the two banks of Kāvēri to pious brāhmins who observed the rituals, to help the brähmin educational insti- tutions with cash and donations in kind and to build steps on the banks of Kāveri from Pañcanada Kșētra to Māyavaram with sandhya mantapas.With his wise counsel, he helped the king rule the land between Vrddācalam and Rāmasētu (Rāmēśvaram). The fact that, with the consent of Acyuta Nāyaka, Gōvinda Dīksita translated into the dravidian language (Tamil), the sthala purāņa, "Pañcanadaksētra Māhātmyam" in śaka year of 1527, (1605 A.D.) is known from the work of a poet in "Tiruvayyeti Drāvida Purāņam"s A cātusślōka, written at the time when Acyuta Nāyaka and Gōvinda Dīksita were the king and minister, is seen here. Ślōka:

trināmādyantanāmānau mahīkșidhikșitāvubhau | śastre śāstrē ca kuśalā vāhaveșu haveșu ca ||

त्रिनामाद्यन्तनामानौ महीक्षिधिक्षितावुभौ । शस्त्रे शास्त्रे च कुशला वाहवेषु हवेषु च ।।

The meaning of the śloka is: Out of the three names (of Nārāyana), Acyuta - Ananta - Gōvinda, the two people who bore the first and last names, namely, Acyuta Nāyaka and Govinda Dīksita, the king and the minister, were very able in sastra (weaponry), śāstras (scriptures), war and in performing the yajñas respectively. It is understood through the biography of Appayya Diksita that Govinda Diksita and the great person- ality Appayya Dīksita were contemporaries. It appears that Appayya Dīksita lived between śaka year 1476 (1554 A.D.) to śaka year 1548 (1626 A.D.) Nāgamāmba was Gōvinda Dīkșita's wife. The oldest of his sons was Yajña Nārāyana Dīksita and the youngest was Venkatamakhin. The third king in the clan of Nayakas was Raghunatha Nayaka. He achieved great fame. He was a great scholar and as was the custom of the times, he was coronated in a traditional manner in the śaka year 1536, (1614 A.D.) and with the help of Govinda Diksita ruled the kingdom. From the following śloka1:

tallakșaņantu sangītasudhānidhipradŕśyatē | cevvayāccyuta bhūpāla raghunātha nṙpāṅkitē | asmattātakrtē granthē proktān ślokān likhāmi tān

तल्लक्षणन्तु सङ्गीतसुधानिधिप्रदृश्यते ॥१५३ ॥

malipunal cūzh coņātu tañcayiR kāttitu maracar matiyamaicca nolimaRaitēr gōvińta tīksita rāyan Riruvākkutaimaiyālē kaliyukattuc cakanāņtu mūvaijnjñūRRirupatinmēR kāņumēzhāyip polivarutattai yāRRuppurāņa vatamozhi tamizhāR pukala luRRēn

"ED :- The Music Academy Publication, "The Caturdandī prakāśikā" [ Vēnkațamakhin (1934, 1986)] has a slightly altered text, as given below: tallaksaņam tu samgītasudhānidhiriti śrutē || 153|| cevvayācyutabhūpālaraghunāthanṙpāṅkitē asmattātakrtē granthē pōktañ ślōkāñ likhāmi tāñ ||154|| तल्लक्षणं तु संगीतसुधानिधिरिति श्रुते ।१५३ ॥।

अस्मत्तातकृते ग्रन्थे प्रोओक्तं श्रोकान् लिखामि ताम् ॥१५४ ॥

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 6

चेव्ृयाच्च्युत भूपाल रघुनाथ नृपाङ्किते। अस्मत्तातकृते ग्रन्थे प्रोक्तान् श्रोकान् लिखामि तान् ॥१५४ ॥

which was from the chapter on 'vīna' in the Caturdandī prakāśikā, written by Vēnkatamakhin. It is evident that Govinda Dīksita, who was an expert in music, wrote a book on music grammar Sangīta Sudhanidhi and dedicated it to the king, Raghunātha Bhūpala. This book is not to be found anywhere now. King Raghunātha Nāyaka patronized many celebrated scholars such as:

· Appayya Dīkşita

· Rājacūdāmaņi Dīksita, the son of Ratnakēta Dīkșita

· Yajñanārāyana Dīksita, who was the son of Govinda Dīksita, and was the author of (i) Sāhitya Ratnākara, (ii) Raghunātha Bhūpa Vijaya (campu kāvya) (iii) the drama Raghunātha Vilāsa Nātaka

· Kumāra Tātācārya, the author of Pārijatāpaharana Nātaka

· Bhāskara Dīkșita, the author of Atmaparīksa, Tapta Mudrā Vidrāvaņa

· Cemakūra Laksmaņāmātya, who authored Sārangadhara Caritramu and Vijayavilāsam in telugu, and dedicated them to the king.

Govinda Dīksita with the help of this emperor, renovated the Kumbakonam mahamakham temple water tank with 64 lingas, renovated many other temples, and advised him to help the brāhmin pandits by donating the lands entirely free of rent.

6 Vēṅkatamakhin

He was the second son of Govinda Dīksita, and was named Vēnkatēśvara Dīksita. He was also known as Vēnkatamakhin. He was the disciple of his older brother Yajñanārāyana Dīksita. He wrote Vartikābharaņam, a narration of tuppika (This is known as Mīmāmsa Sāstra). With his father's permission he acquired proficiency in laksya and laksana under the able guidance of Śrī Tānappācārya, who was the greatest among all vāggēyakāras who came from the northern part of the country.He wrote a gīta on his teacher Tānappācārya ** , gandharva janatākarva durvāra garvabhañjanurē, in three sections for the first time, in the raga arabhi and sang it in the presence of his father, brother and guru. Today this gīta is being sung popularly. Nīlakantha Dīksita, the grandson of Accha Dīksita who was the brother of Appayya Dīksita, mentioned in his book of poetry Gangāvataraņa that he was the disciple of Vēnkatēśvara Dīksita (Vēnkatamakhin). Ślōka:

śrīkaņthacaraņāsakta śrīmānappayya dīkșitah vidhitrayī yadāksiptā nānyatra labhatē gatim | tatsamāna prabhāvasya tadanantara janmanah āsidācchā dīksitasya putrō nārayaņādhvarī jayanti tanayāstasya pañca saubrātra śālinah ||

tēșāmaham dvitīyōsmi bhūmidēvitanūbhuvām nīlakaņtha iti khyātim nītāśśambhoh prasādatah vārtikābharaņagrantha nirmāņavyakta naipuņah śrī vēṅktēśvaramakhī śiṣyē mayyanu kampatē kurvatī śravaņē vāņī kōmaļām yasya sāhitīm

|[Vēṅkațamakhin (1934)]

Vēnkațamantri. ** This Tanappācārya was Honnayya's son. In the third section of this gīta, it is mentioned that he was also known by the name

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 7

karņapūra śirīsēpi kāthinyamiva paśyati | bhānti śisyāh purō yasya pāņivinyastapustakāh | tatsūkti jāhnavīpūra trāsēnēva dhrutaplavah ||

श्रीकण्ठचरणासक्त श्रीमानप्पय्य दीक्षितः । विधिथ्रयी यदाक्षिपा नान्यत्र लभते गतिम् । तत्समान प्रभावस्य तदनन्तर जन्मनः । आसिदाच्छा दीक्षितस्य पुत्रो नारयणाध्वरी । जयन्ति तनयास्तस्य पञ्च सौब्रात्र शालिनः

तेषामहं द्वितीयोस्मि भूमिदेवितनूभुवां । नीलकण्ठ इति ख्याति नीताश्शंभो: प्रसादतः । वार्तिकाभरणग्रन्थ निर्माणव्यक्त नैपुणः । श्री वेङ्कटेश्वरमखी शिष्ये मय्यनु कम्पते । कुर्वती श्रवणे वाणी कोमळां यस्य साहितीं। कर्णपूर शिरीषेऽपि काठिन्यमिव पश्यति । भान्ति शिष्याः पुरो यस्य पाणिविन्यस्तपुस्तकाः । तत्सूक्ति जाह्नवीपूर त्रासेनेव ध्रुतल्प्रवः ।

The period during which Nīlakantha Dīksita wrote the Nīlakantha vijayam was śaka year 1560 (1638 A.D). King Raghunātha was succeeded by his son King Vijayaräghava, an eminent scholar. With the en- couragement of King Vijayarāghava, Vēnkatamakhin wrote a treatise on laksya and laksaņa , Caturdandī prakāśikā, with ten chapters - vīņa, śruti, svara, mēļa, rāga, ālāpana, thāya, gīta, prabandha, and tāļa. It was Vēnkatamakhin who expounded the laksaņas of rāgānga, upānga, bhāșānga rāgas in form of ślōkas and laksya in the form of gītas. By carefully observing the notations of the rāgānga, upānga - bhāsānga rāga gītas in this book one can get to know the skillfulness of the notation, signs that indicate the suddha and vikrta svaras, the signs that indicate the cakra and melas and also the intricacies embedded in the sahitya of the gītas composed in the rāgāṅga, upāṅga and bhāșānga rāgas. From the records/inscriptions, it is evident that Nagapattanam was handed over to Dutch by King Vijayarāghava in 1660 A.D. King Vijayarāghava and Vēnkatamakhin were contemporaries. He too had composed gītas and prabandhas. It is understood that this Venkatamakhin also wrote twenty four astapadis on Śrī Tyāgarāja, similar to the Gītagōvindam of Śrī Jayadēva. When Vēnkatamakhin undertook a pilgrimage to Rāmēśvaram (sētu yātra) and was attacked by thieves, it is believed that he sang the gīta, 'are nibidakantaka duspradēśa' in the raga lalita and at once Rama and Laksmana appeared with their bows and arrows and protected him. This gīta is found in the māyāmālavagaula upānga rāga section. At one time Vijayarāghava Mahārājā ordered that all the people in his kingdom sport the śankha - cakra mudra. Then, Vēnkatamakhin prayed to Mahālińgamūrti in Madhyārjuna ksētra, by singing the gīta, 'śankha cakrānkana tyāca rērē' in the rāga rītigaula. Immediately the king suffered from stomach pain. When he prayed to Venkatamakhin and also ordered that his country people could continue to pray according to their religion, he was relieved from the pain and recovered. Thus, there were many miracles in the life of Venkatamakhin that proclaimed his greatness. In some gītas one could find mudras such as Muddu Vēnkatamakhin and Vēnkata Vaidyanāthā. It appears that they also hailed from the immediate family of Venkatamakhin. The information regarding the time periods of Tañjāvūr, Āndhra, and Mahārāstra Mahārājās were ob- tained from Tañjāvūr government normal school tamil paņdit Brahmaśrī Kuppusvāmi Śāstri.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 8

7 Gōvindāmātya

He was an āruvēla niyōgi brāhmin belonging to the āpastambha sūtra, and kaundinya gōtra. He was the son of Obayāmatya. He wrote a padya kāvya on the Sangīta Sastra in telugu and dedicated it to Śrī Rāmacandra by using the Lord's name as mudra. Some sections of this book were written in accordance with Sangīta Ratnākara and the sections on mēla and rāga were written in accordance with Rāmāmātya's Svaramēlakalānidhi. It appears that he belonged to the period after the time of Rāmāmātya, but before the time of Vēnkatamakhin.

8 Purandaravithaladāsa

He was a madhva brāhmin hailing from Karnātaka. He was an expert in karņātaka bhāșa (Kannada) and was the foremost among bhaktas. He, at first, was a very wealthy merchant in Poona and then, by the intensity of his devotion to Lord Pandurangavithala, renounced the worldly possessions and became a great devotee. With expert knowledge in the fields of music and literature, he composed songs on many occasions and thus obtained the grace of Pandurangavithala. It is impossible for anyone to recount all his miraculous stories. The sarali varuśas, alankāras and pillāri gītas, which are in practice until today, were said to be composed by him. It could be seen even today that, as vaisnava brähmins sing the divya prabandhas such as tiruvāymozhi, composed by the Ālvārs the pontiffs of madhva mathas made arrangements to sing the songs of Purandaradāsa in their respective sanctums. There are a number of sūlādis composed by him. His songs dwell in philosophical ideas. It is impossible to put a number on the count of his songs. Purandaravithaladāsa may have belonged to the time before Ahobala. His musical, literary and epical style would be clear from the śūlādis given in this book.

9 Rāmadāsa

He was a niyōgi brāhmin hailing from kamcarlla kula. He was the son of Gopanāmātya. He was an expert in sangīta and sāhitya. He was the head of Bhadrācalam municipality and, with the government's money he not only renovated the Rama temple of Bhadracalam but also fed all the brahmins who praised the Lord every day. He wrote a number of songs on Lord Śri Rama and engrossed himself in the devotion of the Lord. It was said that when the Navab came to know of this, he imprisoned him for twelve years. At that time, he composed several songs on Rama and worshipped him by singing. The ever-compassionate Rāma, along with Laksmana, appeared before the Navab at night while he was asleep, as a pair of servants and paid the debts that were due and disappeared. There are a number of his songs in telugu.

10 Taļapāka Cinnayya

He was a telugu brāhmin and a devotee of Venkatācalapati. He lived in Tirupati. His was the great soul that composed many kirtanas on Lord Venkataramana and formalized the tradition of festivity. Those include tōdayam (morning rituals), mangalam (concluding rituals), śaranu (surrender), heccarika (intima- tion), kīrtanamulu (praise), dhūpadīpālankāranaivēdyadūpācāramula kīrtanamulu (songs that described serving the lord with incense, light, decoration, offerings and other rituals), pavvalimpu (songs for lord's resting), divyanāma kīrtanamulu (songs with synonyms of lord's name), vasantōtsavamula kīrtanamulu (songs for the spring time celebrations), svāmini mēlukoluputakai kīrtanamulu (song for waking up the lord) and others. Apart from these, there were other songs too. It was believed by the elders that, because of his extreme devotion, Venkataramana frequently appeared in front of him and conversed with him. He was the initiator of the bhajana tradition. It is believed that he belonged to the time before Rāmāmātya.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 9

11 Ksētrajña

He was a trilinga brähmin. He hailed from Muvvapuri. He had great scholarship in telugu. He was a great scholar with knowledge in music and literature. In his childhood he was initiated with the gopāla mūla mantram by a great saint. While Ksētrajña lived in the gopāla temple of Muvvapuri and spent a long time reciting the mantra, Gopala, who was the lord of passion (srngara) and other rasas, blessed him by appearing before him.At once he started praying the lord by singing the padam composed extempore

"śrīpatisutu bāriki nē nōpalēka ninu vēditi kōpālā, muvva gōpālā"

("As I am unable to escape the pangs of manmatha, I sought your protection muvva gōpāla"). It could be said with certainty that neither before him nor after him that one had composed padams in the kaisiki form augmented with amorous colour, delicate wordings, by observing the hero - heroine characteristics, sensible meaning, ragas appropriate to the colour of the situation and (dhātus). Only those padams which are sung in vilamba kāla (slow tempo) by understanding the meaning of the words would be delectable. When dhätus are written down, they look as if they are repetitive. This is an essential trait of pada sāhityam. Non-repetitive dhātu is the essential trait of kīrtanam. This Ksētrajña, in order to reveal that he presented many, many padams in the royal courts of Madhura, Tañjāvūr, and Golkonda, com- posed a padam in the rāga dēśīya dēvagāndhāri, "vēdukatō naducukonna vitarāyadē". Apart from this, at the request of the Tañjāvūr King Vijayarāghava Nāyaka, he composed five padams known as "ksētrayya pañcaratnamu" and dedicated them to him. Many of his padams would have the mudra of muvvagopāla. A few other padams, even though they have the mudra "kañci varadudu" or "cēvvandilingadu", would not be without the mudra of "muvvagopala" also Vijayarāghava bhūpāla, a person with impeccable taste, waited upon him with valuable presents and other gifts. The other court laureates who were experts in writing the epics, with jealousy questioned the king by saying "idēmī? ērā, rārā, pōrā ani ceppeddi ksētrayamīda inta mōhamā? ītaniki inta bahumānyādyupacāra gauravamā?" ("what is this? For this Ksētrayya, one who writes 'you, come, go' you have this kind of at- traction? And for him you give this kind of your attentive respect with valuable presents and other gifts?"). After hearing these words those were communicated to Ksētrayya, as soon as he arrived. Ksētrayya agreed that what they said was right. After that, he composed a song in the kāmbhōji rāga, "vadaraka pōvē" with pallavi, anupallavi and two caranams. In the third caranam, he just wrote "bhāmarō, sakunamuladigiti muvvagōpāludu vaccunani, kāmiñci nāthulakalayu cēlulajūci karagi cintanonditi" and told that king that the last part of this caranam should be completed by the court laureates and told the king that he would go on pilgrimage to sētu (Rāmēśvaram) and come back, and left. As soon as the laureates came to the court, the king gave them the padam and told them to complete the last part of the third caranam. In spite of thinking about it until Ksetrayya's return, all those court laureates were worried as even together they could not come up with appropriate wording/ meaning to the last part. As soon as Ksētrayya arrived, it is said that all those laureates went to him and supplicated Ksētrayya. After hearing Ksetrayya finish the part of the padam with "rāma rāma, īmēnitō vānimōmu jūdavalenā, modatipondecālu", all those laureates praised him as the manifestation of gopala and went to the king and praised him again and informed him of the event. In the old book that we possess, there are 700 padams including the above "pañcaratnam". In the printed books of today, the lyrics are changed for many words. Apart from that, the new generation of singers, who do not know the meaning and the colour of the situation, are changing the ragas. He belonged to the period of Vijayarāghava bhūpāla.

12 Śrīnivāsa

He was a drāvida brāhmin. He was a scholar in Andhra (telugu), drāvida (tamil) languages and in music. He was a servant (priest) of Madhura Mīnāksi temple. He was said to have performed rituals faultlessly and with utmost devotion. At the time he was in that temple, at the Mīnāksi dvaja mantapam a sage was meditating on rāja mātangi dēvi mūla mantra, for a long period of time. It is said that, one day, when the ardhajāma pūja were done, Mīnāksi dēvi came to the sage as was decorated for the early morning prayers and with betel leaves in her mouth full, looking like a concubine and told him to open his mouth which he

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 10

declined by calling her 'bhraste' (fallen from virtue). Then she went to Śrīnivāsa, who was sleeping nearby and said to him "He Srīnivasa, open your mouth" and he immediately opened his mouth and she spit the betel pulp into his mouth. Because of the divine mother's blessings, it is said that he started composing kīrtanas and obtained scholarship in music and literature. There are a number of his kīrtanas. They were rich in meaning, diction and content and grammar. There are a variety of padams and kīrtanas composed in drāvida language (tamil) with the signature vijayagōpāla. It is believed that he belonged to the period of Cokkanātha bhūpāla, the king who reigned the Madhura and Tiruccināpalli.

13 Jayadēva

He was a brähmin hailing from North India. He was the disciple of Govardhanācārya. He was an ardent devotee with his heart and soul focused on the lotus feet of Sri Krsna. He was a poet who had inimitable scholarship in sanskrit with powerful diction. He is an eminent writer who wrote the drama "prasanna rāghava" and many other classical works. He was the great personality that had written a famous classic "gīta govindam" (astapadi) on Śrī krsna, with śrngara rasam and containing twelve cantos. Just as in the case of rāgas mentioned in the rāgādhyāya chapter of sangītaratnākara, the rāgas set by Jayadēva for the astapadis somehow went out of usage. The ragas, the talas and the recommendation to observe for those ragas and talas, which were set by the music scholars for twenty four astapadis about three hundred years ago, are in usage now. Jayadēva, while writing the nineteenth astapadi, as soon as the thought occurred as

'smaragaraļa khaņdanam mama śirasi mandanam dēhi pada pallava mudāram', स्मरगरळ खण्डनं मम शिरसि मण्डनं देहि पद पल्लवमुदारम्

without writing it down immediately, he handed the tālapatra (palm leaf manuscript) to Padmāvati, oiled his head and went to the river to take his bath. Soon after, Śrī Krsna came to Padmāvati, disguised as Jayadeva with oiled head, got the manuscript and the pen and wrote the same lines as occurred to Jayadēva and left. After sometime, Jayadeva came and asked for the manuscript. When he was told that he just came and took the manuscript and wrote, he pulled the manuscript out and saw what was written. He was not only got immersed in the ocean of joy and told her "Oh! Padmavati, the Lord has appeared before you; how can I praise your good fortune?"; but also, in the eighth line of that astapadi and also in the twenty-first astapadi, he mentioned her name before his own, by writing,

"jayatu padmāvatī ramaņa jayadēvakavibhāratī phaņitamitigītam." पद्मावतीरमण जयदेवकविभारती फणितमितिगीतम्

This served as the evidence to the lords' appearance before her. It appears that he belonged to Śārngadēva's time.

14 Ghanam Śīnayya

He was a pure soul and a vaisnavite who belonged to ātrēya gōtra and āpastambha sūtra. He was born in vangala tradition. He was blessed by Vādhūla dēśika. He was the son of Śēsayajva. He was an expert in music and Sanskrit and Andhra (Telugu) languages. He had the good fortune of being the favourite of the king Śrī vijayaranga chokkanātha. He was the chief-minister. He attained fame through the prabandha śaśānka vijayam filled with śrñgāra rasa dedicated to him. The following poem from śaśānka vijayam describes his musical scholarship .. Ślōka:

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 11

hāhā hūhūlu gāna garvamunahā hāhūhu vanchun svarā rōha prakriyakā turangatanulai rūpambu lānanvrdhā sāhamkārula martya gāyakulu jōdā nīku pāņdyēśvara snēhālmkrita vangalānvaya maņī sīnā kavi grāmaņī || The information that Sinayya had composed many kīrtanas and padams with the signature of "mannāru ranga" could be derived from the following poem in śaśānka vijayam śhrī mannaru raṅgādhipa nāmāmkita gēyakalpanātatamatikiñ rāmānuja vijayamkaga vīmadhurasa mōdamāna vēkatapatikin It appears that Śīnayya was a contemporary of Ksētrayya.

15 Mārgadarśi Sēsayyaṅgār

He was a vaisnava brähmin. He was an expert in Music and Sanskrit and was a devotee of Lord Ranganātha. He is said to have moved from Ayodhya to Srīrangam and lived there, worshipping Lord Ranganātha and singing Sanskrit poetic songs in praise of him. Since he came there after living in Ayodhya, he used the mudra of kōsala in his songs. He compiled all the songs written by him into a book and gave it to the arcakas of the Ranganātha temple to be offered to the feet of Ranganātha during the ardhajāma prayers. The next morning he went to the temple of Ranganatha and opened the book and saw it. The book was said have contained only sixty songs. All the other songs lost their identity having been eaten by termites. The sixty songs which were accepted by the Lord became well-known. The learned of those times noticed his musical creations in Sanskrit and extolled him as Mārgadarsi (trend setter) Śēsayyangār. He is said to be the predecessor of (Ghanam) Sīnayya.

16 Girirāja Kavi

He was a trilinga brāhmin. Tiruvārūr - the place that was praised by the people as "jananāt kamalālayē" was the residence of Giriraja Kavi. He was an expert in Sanskrit and Telugu. He possessed the wealth of musical education. He composed many devotional and philosophical songs in Telugu and was famous. He received many gifts and laurels from Sāhāji mahārājā, who was the second mahārāstra king that ruled Tañjāvūr. He was the grandfather of Tyagaraja, who by the grace of Lord Rama composed songs full of devotion in telugu and obtained unparallel fame. It appears that he lived approximately 170 years ago.

17 Sāhāji Mahāraja

He was the second king among the kings of Mahārāstra Rājā clan who ruled Tañjāvūr. He was the son of Mahārāja Ekōji. He was of bōsala caste. He was well-versed in Sanskrit, Mahārāstra, Āndhra (telugu), hindustani and in music and literature. He was a just king. He ruled the cola mandalam from the śaka year of 1605 (1684 A.D.) to śaka year of 1632 (1711 A.D.). Sāhā Mahārāja composed many songs on religious themes in the languages mentioned above. He also created a musical drama, pallaki sēvā prabandham on the ruling deity of Tiruvārur, Srī Vīthī vitanka Tyāgarāja Svāmi. He made arrangements for this musical drama to be sung and enacted every Friday when the Lord was taken to the night resting place in a palan- quin. This is being continued till this day. In order for this to be observed continuously, Sāhā Mahārājā donated ten thousand velis of land.

18 Laksmīkānta Mahārāja

He was a ksatriya. He possessed extraordinary knowledge in sanskrit and music. His kīrtanas and varnas are replete with musical, lyrical sanskrit and clever contents. There is no evidence that points to the place this king ruled or the particular particular period he belonged to. It could be surmised that he belonged to either telugu country or northern country and may have lived after Ahobala's time.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 12

19 Vīrabhadrayya

He was a trilingya brahmin. He was talented in telugu and lived in the northern region. He was a great musical and lyrical composer. Mahārājā Pratāpasimha ruled Tañjāvūr from śaka year 1662 (1741 A.D) to śaka year 1686 (1765 A.D). Amongst the emperors of Mahārastra, he was an intelligent king, a connoisseur of arts, a generous soul, and a ruler of cōla mandala who followed the path of justice and was one who do- nated numerous cash and kind without reservations to the temples of Brähmins. During the early years of his reign, having heard about his generous character, a composer musician named Vīrabhadrayya travelled to Venneti gatta from the northern country and waited for a long time to get an interview with the king. Having heard about his deserving greatness from a number of people, it is said, that one day the king him- self came to Vīrabhadrayya's room, listened to his music, gave him gifts and took him to Tañjāvūr, and gave him a place to live and felicitated him with generosity. From that time on, (Virabhadrayya) adopted the pratāparāma mudra - the name of the presiding deity of Tañjāvūr and the tutelary deity of kings of bōsala clan. He composed a number of songs in many rakti rāgas and poetry in dēśīya rāgas that are worthy of being cherished. He also composed darus, padams and tillānās on emperor Pratāpasimha abounding in poetry and was famous. It can be said that this great soul is the reason for the glory of the south Indian music tradition that continues today.

20 Kavi Mātibhūtayya

He was a trilinga brahmin and a scholar in music and telugu. He lived in Triiragiri (Tiruchināpalli). He was a devotee of Sugandhi Kuntalamba. With Her grace he composed many kīrtanas full of devotion and values. He not only composed a lot of padams with passion as the central theme but also wrote a drama pārijātāpaharanam in gandharva form. All his kīrtanas and padams have triśiragiri as the stamp signature. His padams were highly meaningful. Matrbhūtayya suffered from poverty and appealed with a number of krtis to Sugandhi Kuntalāmba. When he sang the song kāśikappanamīvalenamma, the goddess appeared in his dream and told him that he should seek her devotee Pratāpasimha in Tañjavur and that the king would get rid of his poverty. On the same day, Sugandhi Kuntalamba also appeared in the dream of Pratapasimha and told him that she was sending her bhakta to him and that he should alleviate his poverty. The king woke up and waited for the arrival of Matrbhūtayya. Having come to know about his arrival he felicitated him and gave him ten thousand rupees and sent him to trisiragiri. He lived there comfortably praising Sugandhi Kuntalāmba with his krtis.

21 Ādippaiyya

He was a karnātaka brāhmin and belonged to mādhva clan. He was a great scholar in telugu and music. Ādippaiyya belonged to the time of Pratāpasimha Mahārājā and Tuļaja Mahārājā. Many krtis which were ornate with exquisite and various gamaka prayogas, and with "śrīvēnkataramana" as the stamp signature were composed by him. He followed the path of Vīrabhadrayya. It has been said that the rāgālāpana, madhyama kāla and pallavi singing were standardized by him. Even though there were many varnas before, it is extremely difficult to come across a varna that is as suitable to sing or to play on the vīna as the tāna varna viriboni composed by him. Ādippaiyya's son was Vīna Krsnayya. He was a vīna expert. He composed three prabandhas of the type saptatālēśvaram (set only in the dhruva tāla the famous one among the seven talas and yet conforming to the remaining six talas; and when the prabandha is sung and the commencing part is taken up again , the first beat of all the the talas coincide) on the heads of the principalities of Mysore, Vijayanagaram, and Kottakōtta (Pudukkoțtai). In the mātu (lyrical) part of the prabandhas he used each letter occurring in the names of the kings as the commencing letter of each successive (tāla) cycle (āvarta) in a meaningful way If there are thirty avartas of dhruva tala, at the commencement of the prabandha all the remaining six tālas also commence on the first syllable. Vīņa Krsnayya's son was Vīņa Subbukutti Ayya. It is impossible for anyone else to play rāgālāpana, madhyama kāla, pallavi and svara kalpana with gamakas adorned with atīta and anāgata grahas on the

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 13

vīņa like him. It is very difficult for players of vīņa (vaiņikas) to have the tāļajñāna (laya). The tāļajñāna that he possessed cannot be achieved by any others. He lived for seventy years. It is approximately thirty four years since his demise.

22 Vēṅkatarāmayya

He was a brähmin and was well versed in telugu. He was knowledgeable in music too. Since it was very difficult to sing Vēnkatarāmayya's krtis with an understanding of its characteristics the great musicians of the time gave him the sobriquet of "inupasanigelu vēnkatarāmayya" (Iron chickpeas Vēnkatarāmayya). He composed krtis like satamani in the rāga tōdi on Bodhēndra Svāmi, some krtis on the first Madhurānallūri Svāmi and compositions on deities with the stamp signature of "gopālakrsna". It appears that he belonged to the last part of Ādippaiyya's time.

23 Sonti Vēnkatasubbayya

This trilinga brähmin was an expert in telugu and music. He had an in-depth knowledge of grammar of ragas such as ragangas as defined by Venkatamakhin. Even though Venkatasubbayya and Ādippaiyya were contemporaries, Vēnkatasubbayya was younger in age. He composed a varņa on Tulāja Mahārājā in the räga bilahari rich in imagination. He was patronized in the courts of Manali Cinnaya Mudaliyār, who was a famous connoisseur of arts and known for his generosity. There are many compositions which were written with amazing creativity. His son was Venkataramanayya. He was said to be a greater achiever than his father in the line of music, literature as well as in singing. He is said to have lived during Sarabhōji Mahārājā's time. Sonti was their family name.

24 Rāmasvāmi Dīksita

He was a drāvida brāhmin who was born in the śaka year 1657 (1735 A.D.) belonged to auttara, kāśyapa gōtra and āpastambha sūtra. His father was Vēnkatēśvara Dīkșita, and mother was Bhāgīrathiyamma. When he was seven years old, due to the political uncertainty caused by the horsemen clan, along with his aged parents he moved from Kāñcīpuram to Govindapuram which was close to Madhyārjuna Kșētra, and lived there performing rituals meticulously. After that, with six months difference in time, both his mother and father were deceased. He attained proficience in sanskrit and learnt telugu language too. Since he naturally possessed a good voice, he learnt to sing melodiously by just listening. Due to his attraction to music, he went to Tañjavūr and stayed with Vīrabhadrayya for two years and learnt the krtis composed by him in rakti rāgas and dēśīya rāgas. He also learnt to sing with knowledge of svaras, ālāpana, pallavi and svarakalpana and went to Mayūram. At that time he was pre-occupied with the desire of learning the grammar of music. One day, an elderly man came and blessed him saying "go to Madhyārjuna Ksētra, all your worries will be resolved and you will become a learned grammarian". He immediately went to Madhyārjuna Ksētra and there he met with Vēnkata Vaidyanātha Dīksita, who was a nityāgnihōtri and the maternal grandson of the minister Venkatamakhin. There, due to his blessings he learnt vīna within one year and later he thoroughly studied caturdandī prakāśika with its rāga, upānga, bhāșānga rāga gītas, all the rāga, tāla laksanas. Then, by the orders of his guru, he travelled to Tañjāvūr and was praised, respected, gifted and felicitated at the king's court there. He then went back to Māyūram and then to Tiruvārūr in con- nection with the celebration of Śrī Tyāgarāja's festival, had the darsanam of Śrī Kamalāmbā and Tyāgarāja and stayed there worshipping them. Amarasimha Mahāraja who came there to visit the temple heard the rāgamālika composed by Rāmasvāmi Dīksita on him and honored him with gifts. Due to the devoted na- ture of Rāmasvāmi Dīksita, Śrī vīthī vitanka Tyāgarājasvāmi appeared in his dreams and instructed him regarding the sequence and order to be followed when the deity is taken through the streets, beginning with the dvaja mantapa and returning back there, and on where, how and where the nāgasvara vidvāns should play. The same instructions are being followed even today through the generations. Since he did not have children till the age of forty, he, along with his wife , went to the temple of Śrī Vaidyanātha and

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 14

stayed praying in the sanctum of Śrī Muddukumārasvāmi. Within a few days, his wife Subbamma became pregnant and they went back to Tiruvarur and in an auspicious time she delivered a boy. They named that child, Muddusvāmi. They named the second son, Cinnasvāmi Dīksita who was born after a few years, as Vēnkatavaidyanātha Sarma after his guru. The baby girl who was born along with this Cinnasvāmi Dīksita was named Bālāmba, and the youngest son, Bālasvāmi. Among his sons, Muddusvāmi Dīksita progressively learnt music after learning works such as kāvya (epics), nātakālankāra (poetics, poesy), and kaumudi, which dealt with grammar. His brothers were also educated appropriate to their age. At that time, a wealthy man Manali Muddukrsnayya Mudaliyār came to Tiruvārūr to visit the temple and noticed the scholarship of Ramasvami Dīksita. He not only gave him gifts but also took him, along with his family, to Manali and kept them there, with all due respects and comforts, for a few years. After that, his son Cinnayya Mudaliyār, called Vēnkatakrsna, who was well versed in the arts and a multi-faceted scholar, was a connoisseur and patron of arts and who was also kind hearted, listened to the hundred and eight 'rāgatāļamālika', in 108 rāgas and 108 tāļas) composed by Rāmasvāmi Dīksita, and felicitated him with a shower of gold. He also appreciated and took care of Cinnasvāmi and Bāluswāmi Dīksita, who sang that song for him, and bestowed them with many gifts. During that time, Mudaliyar also appreciated and took care of Govinda Dīksita, who came there saying that he was the great-grandson of Venkatamakhin, and expressed his desire to see Caturdandī prakāśikā, and other texts. Gōvinda Dīksita answered that he would give him the books only if he could figure-out the name of the räga from the mūrcchana that he gives him. Rāmasvāmi Dīksita took the mūrcchana given by him and composed a padam, "nannu parīksiñcanēla" (why do you have to test me?), as if written by Mudaliyär himself and in the end he in- cluded the mūrcchana given by Gōvinda Dīksita and made both Cinnasvāmi and Bālasvāmi Dīksita sing it. After hearing that song, Gövinda Diksita praised them saying that "this is the same mūrcchana as I have given; he (Mudaliyār) too is our Vēnkatamakhin's disciple". Since his second son Cinnasvāmayya could not see (owing to blindness), he was worried and along with his family he travelled to Tirupati. There, he spent forty-five days in the prayer of Vēnkatācalapati by composing a rāgamālika in forty-eight rāgas, "manasā vēritaruladalacaka" (Oh mind, do not think of any one else), and a kīrtana in the rāga vēgavāhini "inka dayarākunnanu" ( have not got your mercy yet). Cinnasvamayya got his sight and lived happily till the end of his time. Rāmasvāmi Dīksita, on every ēkādaśi day would observe the day by reciting the twelve cantos of "gitagōvinda" (astapadi) with devotion and reverence. He composed a rāgamālika of forty-four rāgas on Śri Mīnāksi, cauka varņas in rāgas rītigauļa, hindōļa, manōhari, and pūrņacandrika, tāna varņa in the rāga śankarābharana, and many other krtis with the stamp signature of "vēnkatakrsna". He coined a rāga named "hamsadhvani", and authored a prabandha in that raga and was famous. Realizing that his time on earth has come to an end, this Rāmasvāmi Dīksita11, along with his family travelled to Tiruvārūr and with fame as his body, in the śaka year 1739 (1817 A.D.), in the dhātu year, māgha māsa during the auspicious time of śivarātri obtained the heavenly abode.

25 Śyāmā Śāstri

Due to the disturbances caused by some muslim invaders, the icon of Śrī Bangāru Kāmāksī Dēvi, the utsava idol of Śrī Kāñci Kāmāksi Dēvi, travelled along with native drāvida brāhmins who hailed from Northern regions, to the pious land of Tiruvārūr, also known as Srīpuram, and stayed there for approximately thirty five years accepting the prayers and other rituals facilitated by the kings of Tañjāvūr. Syāmā Sāstri's par- ents, worshipped Śrī Kāmāksi with utmost devotion, but since they did not have a son, they performed the ritual of feeding the brähmins, as a devotional offering to Venkatācalapati, during the last Saturday of every month. In one of those brāhmin-feeding feasts, an aged brāhmin was possessed by Vēnkatācalapati and spoke through him, saying: "Oh couple, within one year you will get a son who would be famous.". As was predicted by the brāhmin, Śyāma Sāstri's mother became pregnant, and after she completed ten months, in the śaka year 1685 (1763 A.D.) in the year citrabhānu and in the asterism of krttikā and on a mēśa ravi day Śyāmā Śāstri was born in Tiruvārūr, known as Śrīpuram. Even at a tender age,he became an expert in sanskrit and telugu. Soon, along with the icon.idol of Bangāru Kāmāksi, he travelled to Tañjāvūr, learnt music from a relative, starting from sarali svaras, and attained proficiency in svara jñāna. At that

tt Alasūru Kişnayya, a great singer, was the disciple of Rāmasvāmi Dīkșita

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 15

time, he obtained the divine blessing of being initiated into śrīvidya. It was his fortune that a saint, Sangīta Svāmi, an expert in musical education, came from the northern region, took him as his disciple for three years, and taught him all the intricacies of laksya and laks ana. Sangīta Svāmi, having realized Śyāmā Sastri's musical talents, blessed him, saying that he would become very famous. He further told him to go and listen to the music of Ādippaiyya for sometime, and proceeded to Kāi. After some years, by the grace of Śrī Kāmāksi Dēvi, with "śyāmakrsna" as his stamp signature, he composed many kŕtis, svarajatis and tana varnas, which were imbued with magical lyrical beauty, poetic felicity, and tāla intricacies. He propagated them through many of his disciples. In the śaka year 1749 (1827 A.D.) in the year of vyaya, on makararavi śukla daśami day he reached Śrīpuram (heavenly abode). I will write his amazing story in detail, when I get his more than one hundred krtis of his printed as a book. Since his compositions are like "nālikērapāka" (as tough as breaking a coconut) with rich poesy, con- taining atīta, anāgata grahas, with beautiful words, some lazy musicians, who could neither comprehend nor had the mettle to sing them in the manner that pleased the audience, called them tough. This statement is proven by the meaning of the following poem contained in the first chapter of "śrngāranaisadha kāvya", which was translated into telugu by the poet Śrīnātha. Ślōka:

panivadi nārīikēļaphalapākamunum javiyaina battahā rsuni kavitānugumbhamulu sōmaripōtulu kondarayyalaū | nanikoni yādanēra rajayattida lējavarālu cekkugī țina sava nalpa bālakudu dendamunum galuganga nērcunē | Śyāmā Śāstri had two sons. Of them, the second son Subbarāya Sāstri was born in the śaka year 1725 (1803 A.D.), in the year of dundubhi, simharavi and in krittikā asterism. He was an expert in sanskrit, telugu and in music. Many krtis and svarajatis composed by him, which are characterized by the clever use of telugu and musical and poetic expressions, and are being sung very popularly. He attained śrīpuram in the śaka year 1784 (1862 A.D.) during the year of durmati, cāparavi and on krsna daśami day. Annāsvāmi Śāstri, the son of the brother of this Subbarāya Śāstri, was a music composer and well-versed in the intricacies of kāvyas, dramaturgy, grammar, music and telugu. He not only composed many krtis, darus and tāna varnas but also was an expert in playing the fiddle (violin). He was born in the saka year 1749 (1827 A.D) in the year of vyaya, in the mīna ravi in āślēsa asterism and attained Śrīpuram at the age of seventy-three, in the śaka year 1822 (1900 A.D) in the year of vikāri in kumbharavi and on the krsna trtīya day.

26 Gurumūrti Śāstri

He was a trilinga brāhmin of muriki nādu sect. The village of Kayattāru belonging to the county of Tirunalvēli was his birth place. He was well-versed in the four śāstras. He was very proficient in mu- sic. Even at an early age, he attained fame by travelling to Cennapattanam and was grandly felicitated by Maņali Cinnayyā Mudaliyār. He was an exceptional writer of gitas, prabandhas and kīrtanas. He was an intelligent man with expertise in many rāgas. He was a younger contemporary of Rāmasvāmi Dīksita.

27 Vīna Perumaļayya

Perumalayya was a great soul who obtained unattainable expertise in vīna playing. He belonged to vīņa Kāļahasti Ayya's family. He was an āndhra brāhmin. He was a vīna player, an inheritor of an art that was passed on as family tradition. He was the court musician of Tañjāvūr. He received many land donations with full powers. He was an expert in playing the ghanarāga tāna. He could play rakti rāgas like bhairavi each night until the early hours, without repetition. It is said that he would play this for ten days and only then finish. He played in the courts of northern region, and obtained many honors such as chatra (umbrella), cāmara (hand held fan), pallakī (palanquin) and ratnakhacita vīna (vīna decorated with gem stones). He then went to Kottakotta to Raghunātha (Toņdaman) Mahārājā, played one rāga for twenty days continuously, and was felicitated with a purse of ten thousand rupees. Each day he would play the

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 16

krtis and other compositions of elders, in a chosen rāga and entertain people. He composed ata tāļa tāna varņas in saurāstram and sāvēri. Not many can aspire to obtain his composing abilities. He was an expert in playing the vina without deviating from the (tāla). He lived until Muddusvāmi Dīksita was thirty years old. His brother vīna Nārāyaņasāmayya was qualified just like him. His brother Kondayya composed a svarajati in sāvēri.

28 Tyāgarājayya

Approximately 250 years ago, there was a great brāhmin Girirāja Kavi in Tiruvārūr. He had five sons. The youngest son was named Ramabrahmam. He was an expert in the science of vedas. He had three sons, Pañcāpakēśa, Rāmanātha, and Tyāgarāja. Rāmabrahmam was in poverty, and along with his wife and children, he left Tiruvārūr and went to the Pañcanada ksētram (land of five rivers) or Tiruvaiyāru. He spent time there cashing in on his good nature and character. His two older sons took to material jobs. The third son followed the path of the father, and studied vēdādhyayana (studies of vēdas) and sanskrit. When he was fourteen years old, his father passed away.Within a year, his mother too passed away. Meanwhile, he progressively learnt performing rituals, and the art of writing kāvyas, and nātakālamkāras. After that, desirous of learning music, he started learning music from Sonti Venkataramanayya, a musician of the city, who lived in the same street as himself. Being an "eka santāgrāhi" (one who could grasp by just listening once), within one year, he learnt the grammar of music, the art of singing rāga elaborations, pallavi singing, and talas, and he obtained the fame and earned the name ,"no one else is equal to him in the field of music". At that time, he was initiated into rāmanāma mantra by a brāhmin scholar who came to Pañcanadam from Kāñcīpuram. The brāhmin scholar told him that a person who chants ninety-six crores of (rāma) nāmam would obtain eternal bliss while still alive, and said that if he did that, he too would attain bliss, and blessed him. Accordingly, he (Tyāgarāja) chanted 125,000 rāma nāmam per day and completed 96,000,0000 by his twenty-first year. After that, Lord Sri Rama appeared before him thrice, and blessed him to write lyrics. One day as he sat in front of Lord Śrī Rama and was chanting his name, he heard a noise at the front door. When he looked with intensity, he had a vision of Śri Räghava with Laksmana in the garb of protecting the yāga accompanied by Sage Viśvāmitra, Immediately, he started praising Śrī Rama composing the song, "bāla kanakamaya cēla sujana parivāra jaladhi gambhīra", extempore. That was his first composition. After hearing this song in athana, which was composed with intricate and exquisitely descriptive words, the musical luminaries and the sanskrit scholars like Rāma Śēsa Śāstri and Bhāshyam Krsna Śāstri, who were used to hearing composite words loaded with meaning, praised him wondering if he was indeed a gandharva or Nārada. He then composed "rāmā ninnē namminānu" in the rāga husāni and many other krtis in telugu. One day, early in the morning, Sage Nārada came to Tyāgarāja's house in the form of a sage and said: "I believe there is a vidvān named Tyāgarāja, I have come with the desire of listening to his music". Immediately, Tyāgarāja, who had prepared himself to take an oil bath, prostrated before him, took care of his needs and told him that he was the same Tyagaraja. He then sang in front of the sage so well that for a second, one could believe that it was sung by a gandharva. The saint supreme was very pleased, and told him that there was no other person in this earth that could sing as delectably as him. He gave him a book, and told him that he would complete his rituals and came back for alms, and disappeared. He could not find that saint anywhere after searching all over, he (Tyāgarāja) was worried, and spent the day without food until sunset, performed the night worship, and went to bed. While in sleep, the great person who appeared that morning before him as a saint, appeared in his dream, and said "Oh respected man, I am Nārada. I was very pleased with your musical expertise , your devotion and your ritualistic life, and hence I appeared before you this morning. The book that I gave you is a musical treatise , "svarārnava". Until now, no one on this earth knows about it. Other than you, no one else deserves to look at this book. I gave the"svararnava" to you so that music should attain prominence on this earth that through you. Now all your worries should rest". Saying thus, he disappeared. He (Tyāgaraja) got up in the morning, and saw the book to be the same as it appeared in his dream, he was extremely happy and composed the krtis - "nārada guru svāmi" in the rāga darbār, "śrī nārada nāda sarasīruha" in kānada, and "nārada gāna lōla" in athāna. As he proceeded to read the "svarārnavam" again and again, the exceptional secrets of the rāgas became evident. He thus could compose many thousands of krtis in many apūrva and mēļakartā rāgas without deviating from the grammar of music. This paved a path to bhakti, and he attained extraordinary

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 17

happiness and bliss. These (writings) are unattainable to others. The following is the information about Sadkala Govindadasa. He belonged to golla clan. He belonged to Kērala.He was an expert in music and was a great devotee. When he was living in Kērala, rī Rāghava ap- peared in his dream and ordered him, saying:, "In the pious land of Pañcanada, my greatest devotee called Tyagaraja is living, shining as a great musician. You should go to him and exhibit your musical expertise, and your true devotion". As per the order, he (Satkāla Govindasāmi) went in search of Tyāgarājas. He went to Tiruvaiyāru, listened to Tyāgarāja's singing and made him listen to his singing, and was extremely happy. With such joy, he declared that he (Tyāgarāja) was nothing but īśvarāmśa mūrti(embodiment of īśvara), who took birth to propagate the knowledge of devotion, and the intricacies of the science of music and to bless sincere devotees. Thus he praised him, and narrated him his dream, so that all the people were aware of it, and he worshipped the feet of Tyāgarāja, prostrated before him, took his blessings, and travelled to Pandrāpuri (Pandarīpuram). Similarly, from the banks of river ganga, a superior devotee had a dream, and also travelled to Tiru- vaiyāru, visited the respected soul (Tyagaraja) and sought his blessings. As he narrated his story to him, Tyāgarāja was inspired to compose the tōdi krti "dāsarathī". Thus, as the divine incidents due to which Tyāgarāja's fame spread to the whole land, the rulers of Mysōre and Tañjāvūr, with a desire to meet him, sent invitations. But he refused them saying that he did not desire shelter (protection) from anyone else other than Śrī Rāghava. Once when Sarabhōji Mahārāja came to Tiruvaiyāru, wanted to see Tyāgarāja, and sent ambassadors to him, Tyāgarāja did not accept it and, not only wrote the krti "nidhi cāla sukhamā, rāmuni sannidhi cāla sukhamā", but also wrote a krti with the meaning: "Rāma, could you not spare me from this sort of abuse from others?", and completed it. In this manner, he composed many varieties of krtis, some suitable to the circumstances, and others with themes of his being blessed. To elaborate those would make this (narrative) long. When he visited Śrīrangam, he composed a krti, "ō rangaśāyī", and also another krti, "rāju vedale jūtāmu rārē", and when he visited Tirupati, he composed the krti, "teratīyaga rādā". One day, his elder brothers were angry at him saying, "he (Tyāgarāja) is refusing even the invita- tions from the kings, what is the use of having such scholarship? He is running around with the idol of pattabhiseka, without any interest in riches. All these are because of this idol", and without his knowl- edge, they threw it into the well. Having come to know about it, he (Tyāgarāja) composed a kti, "ē pāpamu jēsitinō" (What ghastly sins have I done?). He appealed (to Lord) saying that such brothers were born with him, who harass him, by not letting him practice his devotion. In another krti, "etlā dorikitivo", he won- ders how he could get rama (devotion to Rama) when all around him are people who do not understand the path of devotion. He praised the Lord by singing in many different ways such as "enta rani tana kenta bōni, cinta viduva jāla, śrīrāma". Thus, he composed a krti, "koluvamarega(da)". which depicts his daily routine of doing good deeds, performing rituals and devotional singing through all his lifetime. He com- posed many krtis in the mode of a friend, and with questions and answers, which reflect his feeling that Śrī Raghunātha was like a close friend to Tyāgarāja. Śrī Raghunātha appeared thrice before him. Ten months before his demise, Śri Rama is said to have appeared in his dream, and insisted that he should live on this earth for ten more months. The next morning he composed a krti "giripai nelakonna rāmuni", which elaborates the dialogue that happened between himself and Śrī Räma in his dream the previous night. Af- ter ten months, one day Śrī Raghunätha appeared in his dream and told him that he has one more birth to take but he (Tyagaraja) refused it, saying after worshipping him all this long he would not like to be re-born. Śrī Raghunātha, with sympathy told him to take renunciation (become a saint) the following day , and promised that he would make him become one with himself (attain moksa) the very next day. As per the advice of the Lord, the very next day, he informed all, and in the presence of the learned, devotees, and saints, he took to paramahamsāśrama. The next day during the morning hours, he composed a song "syāma sundarānga" and informed everyone including his disciples, learned musicians, devotees, citizens and brahmins that he would attain niryana (final journey) at 12 noon that day, and that was how God had arranged for him. Having heard about that, innumerable number of people from all around places near to Tiruvaiyāru, such as Tañjāvūr, came to celebrate this grandeur. As the time mentioned by Tyāgarāja approached, many sang krtis, brahmins chanted the vēdas and the devotees chanted the nāmāvali (God's §While travelling to Tiruvaiyāru,. En route to Ettayāpuram, by the introduction of Bālasvāmi Dīksita, he was felicitated by the Maharaja. Pleased by their devotion, he stayed there for some months, spending the time in singing the devotional songs.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 18

name). As the place reverberated with all the divine sounds, Sri Tyagaraja informed the people to light the lamp saying that the time assigned by the Lord for him had arrived. They lit the lamp for Pattābhirāma. Immediately, he uttered the Lord's name as "jānakī kānta smarane", and as all the people chanted "jaya jaya rāma". With folded hands, he prostrated before the God, and when all the people went closer to see him, he appeared lifeless. Soon after, with a lot of festivity, the blissful body of Tyāgaraja was laid to rest at the platform of the Tiruvaiyāru Śrī Bāvāsvāmi steps. He left his mortal body at age of seventy-seven. He did not have a male child. When he was thirty-five years old, his first wife had passed away. His second wife, whom he married later, too passed away well before him, after leaving a female child behind. His daughter had a boy baby. He was named Tyāgaraja. He also passed away at the age of thirty-five. There is no other descendant in his immediate line. The grammar and the raga, as that are mentioned in the rāgādhyāya of Sangītaratnakara, are not in use for the past seven-hundred years. Mahārāja Rājaśrī S. Rādhākrsnayya, who was the principal of Kottakōtta Mahārājā College, who was determined to popularize them with their laksya and laksana, researched texts such as ratnākara, and wrote about them. It was through him that Tyāgaraja's story in tamil prose form was given to me. The ultimate source of sangītasāra, the one who was the initiator of tāraka mantra, and the incarnation of Sadāśiva, Śrī Tyāgarājasvāmi himself, with the intention of facilitating eternal bliss to learned and the ignorant, took birth, in his own abode of Kamalālayam, as the above mentioned Tyāgarāja, and spread the nectar of the intricacies of music and devotional path to Śrī Rāma.

29 Tyagaraja's Disciples

1. The great Tiruvattūr Vīna Kuppayya was an eminent singer, a vīna player, and writer of many telugu lyrics replete with beautiful word play, tāna varnas, and kīrtanas. He named his son as Tyāgayya, after his guru. This Tyagayya became an expert in telugu and music, and he composed a few tāna varnas and kīrtanas. He also wrote a book, Pallavi Svarakalpavalli, and published it, and made it available. He is still living.

2. Another learned musician was Bālājipētta (Vālājapētta) Vēnkatarāma Bhāgavatar. Because of him, many people from Saurāstra became proficient in music and learnt many Tyāgarāja krtis and attained fame.

3. Ayyā Bhāgavatar

4. Subbarāma Bhāgavatar

5. Tillasthānam Rāmayyangār

6. Umayāpuram Krsņa Bhāgavatar

7. Sundara Bhagavatar1.

30 Gōvindasāmayya

He was a trilinga brähmin, and possessed great scholarship in trailinga (telugu), and in music. His tel- ugu padam creations were full of embellishments and mainly on amorous themes. Of these, one varna composed on the king of Kārvētinagaram in mōhana rāga, and two other varnas in navarōj of a similar kind on Gods and kēdāragaula rāgas were very popular. It is said that Govindasāmayya lived earlier than Ādippaiyya and belonged to Kārvētinagaram.

TThe last two persons are still living.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 19

31 Kūvanasāmayya

He was a master of music, and telugu lyric. The tāna varna composed by him in the rāga nātakurañji was well-known. He is said to be the brother of the aforementioned Gōvindasāmayya.

32 Vaikuntha Sāstri

Vaikuņtha Śāstri was a drāvida brāhmin. He had great scholarship in the fields of epics, dramaturgy, in the grammar and music. He was said to have been the pinnacle among sanskrit composer musicians. He composed many kŕtis in sanskrit in rakti and dēśīya rāga. It has been said that he was from the cōļa dēśa, and from the same period as Rāmasvāmi Dīksita. The stamp signature of "vaikuntha" could be seen in his krtis.

33 Vijayagōpāla

Vijayagōpāla was a great devotee. He was very learned in sanskrit, telugu and music. Many krtis replete with devotion, with the stamp signature of "vijayagopāla", are seen which are written in sanskrit and telugu lyrics. It is said that he lived around time of two hundred years ago.

34 Kuppusvāmi Ayya

He was a drāvida brāhmin. He was an expert in telugu. He was believed to have lived during the reign of Amarasimha Mahārājā and at the beginning of the reign of Sarabhoji Mahārāja. His krtis are based on the theme of devotion. He also composed some padams with śrngāra rasa. His lyrical creations were magical with delicate words, and he used "varada venkata" as his stamp signature.

35 Pallavi Gopālayya

He was a drāvida brāhmin from the north. Tañjāvūr was his place of stay. He was an expert in music and telugu. Since there was no other expert in the musicians who could sing the pallavi with as much command as him, he earned the epithet, pallavi Gōpālayya. When one studies his creative genius in musical creations and the ata tāla varņa, vanajāksi in the rāga kalyāni, his talent in the usage of gamakas such as orika and the beauty of his creation of the svarakalpanas would become very clear. Apart from these, he was known for his ata tāļa tāna varņas in kāmbhōji and tōdi rāgas, and some kīrtanas in rakti rāgas with the stamp signature of "venkata". He lived for long time both during the time of king Amarasimha and during the time of Sarabhōji Mahārājā.

36 Muddusvāmi Dīksita

He was born in Tiruvārūr, during the manmatha year and in the śaka year 1692 (1775 A.D), as the son of Rāmasvāmi Dīksita. His mother was Subbamma. Before he was sixteen years old, he progressively learnt the vēdas, intricacies of kāvyas and nātakas, kaumudi, other commentaries on various texts, music, and also became an expert in the sciences of astrology, medicine, and mantra, and became very famous. When he was married and was staying with Manali Cinayyā Mudaliyār, due to his good deeds in his previous births, a siddha Cidambaranātha Yogi, came to Manali and stayed there for sometime. Impressed by his (Muddusvāmi Dīkșita's) devotion, he initiated him into śrīvidyā mahā mantra, and took him to the shores of ganges with him. There, for five years, he gradually helped him attain maturity with the help of mantra, and helped him attain the asta maha siddhis. Realizing that he was a great soul, he also taught him the science of philosophy. After that, Muddusvāmi Dīksita took permission from the pious man, went back to Manali, and in order to please the gods and goddesses, he gradually performed internal and external

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 20

purification rituals. He then went to Tiruttani, and while he was reciting the subrahmanya pañca daśākșarī mantra in the sanctum, one day Cengalvaraya came there in the guise of a great soul, and asked him to open his mouth, put some sugar candy in his mouth, and disappeared. Immediately, Dīksita started composing a kīrtana in sanskrit and in the rāga māļavagaula, śrīnāthādi guruguhō jayati, set in the prathamā vibhakti. Subsequently, he composed seven more kīrtanas on guruguha, starting with sambōdhana prathama vib- hakti. Then he went to Kancīpuram, and stayed with his brothers for four years. In the presence of Kāmāksi, he practiced the śrīvidyā upasana and composed many kīrtanas, such as kañjadaļāyatāksi, ēkāmranātham bhajēham, etc., adorned with poetic words, and popularized them through his younger brothers. He con- ducted philosophical dialogues with upanisad brahmam (upanisad brahmēndra) who lived there, and set the rama astapadis written by him, to music including the tala and notation. Later when he returned to Tiruvārūr with his family, he composed many kīrtanas on Śrī Tyāgarājasvāmi, with "guruguha" as his stamp signature. He also composed kīrtanas on ānandēśvara, siddhēśvara, acalēśvara, hātakēśvara, valmīkēśvara, on sōdaśa Ganapatis who reside in that pious land, on the Siva and Visnu deities of various holy lands that belonged to cōla empire, on the deities of earth and other pañca bhūta temples. He also composed on Azhagar Koil and other pilgrimage centres that belonged to Pāndya empire, and also on Kāśi. He composed the kīrtanas in sanskrit language with a commanding over words, without deviating from the advaita philosophy, without deviating from Venkatamakhin's rāga tradition, using gamakas, embed- ded with rāga's jīva svaras, and also including the name of the rāga. He also composed navagraha kīrtanas composed in śūlādi sapta tāļas, and nine kīrtanas known as navāvarana kīrtanas, that are composed in the order of the ritualistic navāvaraņa pūja krama of Kamalāmba and, through his disciples he popularized them and made them shine like celestial objects.When his younger brothers, Cinnasvāmi and Bālasvāmi, who were learning music from him, were invited by the patron kings, they went to Madhurai and stayed for some years. During that time Cinnasvāmi Dīksita passed away. Bālasvāmi Dīksita was dejected and was affected by the death of his brother. So, along with a disciple called Hari, he went to Sētu (Rāmēśvaram) and from there went to Ettayapuram, where he was taken care by the Maharaja there. Dīksita thought of his brother's demise to be a natural occurrence but, as he considered his younger brother (Bālasvāmi Dīkita) as his own child, he was worried about his whereabouts and his dejection. Hence, he, along with his two wives and a disciple called Subrahmanyayya went to Sāttūr, via Madhurai. There, at a mantapa that was in front of the entrance to the temple of Sättūr deity, while he was performing his prayers, he heard a few sixteen year old vaisnava brähmins talking about the marriage that was to be celebrated the next day by the Mahārājā of Ettayāpuram, for a musician called Bālasvāmi, of Tiruvārūr with a girl from Rāmēśvaram, and said "come on! Let us all go". As soon as he heard this conversation, Diksita was overwhelmed and in the presence of the Lord, he composed a krti, "vēnkatēśvara ettappa bhūpatimāśrayēham", in the rāga mēgharañji, and taught it to Subrahmanyayya. Then he asked the vaisnava brähmins there to take them along with them to Ettayapuram. As he was proceeding to Ettayapuram, on the way he noticed the crop that was drying due to draught. He felt pity for that and prayed to Amrtēśvari with devotion and com- posed a kīrtana, "ānandāmrtākarsiņi amrtavarsiņi", in the rāga amrtavarsini. It was said that, even while he was teaching the song to his disciple, there appeared a black cloud in the sky (which was until then clear) and it progressively developed into a massive one and rain started pouring down heavily. As the ground was wet, the cart got stuck in the mud and stopped. The accompanying vaisnava brahmins pushed it with difficulty, and slowly he reached Ettayäpuram by the evening. There, he saw his brother and felt very happy. Having come to know about the arrival of Dīksita, the Mahāraja came to the residence that was built by him and given for them to reside, felicitated him, made him sing the kīrtana composed by him in the rāga mēgharañji, felt extremely happy, came back the next day and had the marriage performed. As soon as the marriage was performed, Diksita left his older wife as support to his brother's wife, took leave of the Mahārājā, and went back to Tiruvārūr and lived there. After sometime, he got the invitation from the king asking him to attend the impending wedding of the eldest son of the Mahārājā of Ettayāpuram. Since he was nearing the end of his life, he took leave of his friends and disciples saying that he would not be returning back, and went to Ettayäpuram along with his family. The third month after the wedding of the prince, śaka year 1757 (1835 A.D), manmatha year, on the day of tulākrsna caturdaśi, he left his mortal body and reached skanda giri. Muddusvāmi Dīksita was the author's uncle (father's elder brother).

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 21

37 Muddusvāmi Dīksita's disciples

1. Tirukkadayūr Bhārati, was an expert in tamil and music.

2. Āvudayārgudi (koil) vīņa Vēnkatarāmayya.

3. Tēvūr Subrahmanyayya.

4. Tiruvārūr śuddha mrdangam Tambiyappa, who was well versed in music, mrdangam, laksya and lakșaņa. 5. Tañjapuri Ponnayya, exponent of bharata (nātya).

5. Vadivēlu.

6. Koranādu Rāmasvāmi, an exponent of laksya and laksaņa of bharata.

7. Tiruvaļandūr Bilvavanam, who was an expert nāgasvaram player.

8. Tiruvārūr Ayyāsvami, who had composed many tāna varņas.

9. Tiruvārūr Kamalam, who was very famous in the arts of music and dance.

10. Vallalārgudi (koil) Ammani, who was well versed in music.

38 Cinnasvāmi Dīksita

He was Muddusvāmi Dīksita's brother. He was well educated in sanskrit and telugu. He was an expert in music. He was a great vīna player. He was a great soul who possessed expertise in vocal as well as in instrumental music. He was felicitated in the courts of Manali Cinnayā Mudaliyär, and in the court of other kings. While he was living in Tiruvärūr along with his family, one night in a gathering of patrons, kings and other experts, when he played a rāga nāgavarali, a huge snake dropped from the roof in front of him, and started dancing with its hood opened and lifted high. When all the people started getting scared, Dīksita, who was there told them not to be afraid and told (Cinnasvami) not to stop the vina and continue to play. As he continued his playing, the snake with a yard long hood highly lifted, danced, got tired and slowly stopped and put the hood down to earth. After witnessing that, Dīksita instructed Cinnasvāmi and those assembled to prostrate to the snake', and they all obliged. Immediately the snake crawled away. This story was narrated by Subrahmanyayya and other disciples of Dīksita, who were eye-witnesses to this incident. He composed two krtis, namely, a krti on Nārada, gānalōla karuņālavāla, in the rāga tōdi, and another, nārāyaņānanta, in kalyāni rāga. He went to Madhurai along with his younger brother, and passed away in his forty-fifth year.

39 Bālasvāmi Dīksita

He was born as the third son of Rāmasvāmi Dīksita in the śaka year 1708 (1786 A.D) in the year of parābhava, in mithuna ravi, aśvinī naksatram and in kanyā lagnam. He was the younger brother of Mud- dusvāmi Dīksita. He was named Bālakrsna Sarma. He was an expert in telugu and very well versed in mu- sic. He was an expert in playing the instruments such as vīna, svarabat, fiddle, citār (sitar) and mrdangam. He knew the intricacies of musical laksya and laksana. Even when he was very young, Cinnayā Mudaliyār at first arranged for him to learn violin from an English man. He learnt western music as well as Hindu music for three years and played very well in front of Manali Mudaliyär and other music-lovers. During his childhood, one day in a gathering of Mudaliyār, Sonti Vēnkatasubbayya played the gīta, and tāna in the raga takka, looked at the Mudaliyar and told him that that raga is known only in their family. Immediately, the young Bālasvāmi Dīksita looked at the Mudaliyar and told him that he was going to sing that takkā rāga gīta and to listen. As he sang it as, aramajju aparādha, he was felicitated with a pearl necklace and a pair of earrings. Afterwards, he along with his intelligent brothers, lived in Kāñci and other holy places

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 22

and went to Tiruvärūr and lived there for sometime. Then, with a disciple called Hari, who was with him since his childhood, and with his second older brother he went to Madurai and lived there for sometime. When his brother passed away, he went to Setu with Hari and from there reached Ettayapuram and visited the Maharaja. There, when he played fiddle, the instrument that was new for those times, the Mahāraja was very pleased and felicitated him greatly. He also recognized his talents in laksya and laksana, and his delicate playing on the vīna. The Mahārāja also built a house for him, made him the court musician and got him married a second time. The oldest son of the then Mahārājā, Kumāra Ettappa Mahārājā (who was later coronated), learnt laksana and laksya of music from him. For the krtis he had composed in sanskrit, in many rāgas following the patterns of varnas, he (Bālasvāmi) composed muktāyī svaras with intricate in- novations, which pleased the Mahāraja. Apart from that, he composed kīrtanas in telugu on Śrī Grdhrācala Kārtikēya in the rāgas sāranga, darbār, kannada and rudrapriya. With the permission of Kumāra Ettappa Mahārājā, who was well versed in astrology, he took me under his wings as his grandson, and initiated me to brahmōpadēśa, taught me vīna and educated me in musical laksya and lakanas. He composed an ata tāļa varna in the rāga nāta, and made every svara in that tāna varna shine magically and in the last four ävarta svaras he embedded the four jatīs one in each of the avarta. After hearing this tana varna, the Mahārājā felicitated him with a pair of todas (bangles) , which were valued at one thousand gold coins and which were adorned with rubies and the face of lion. He also presented him with a pair valuable (shawls) cloths. He also rewarded the disciples who sang the varna. After that Mahāraja, his brother was crowned and he too learnt music from him. He composed darus on Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā, who was the embodiment of music, in the rāgas rudrapriya, darbāru, and vasanta, with muktāyi svaras with pātava. Af- ter listening to them, the Maharaja felicitated him by presenting him with two shawls and thousand gold coins for each daru. He used to sing gītagovinda (astapadi) and chant the name of God on every ēkādaśi day without fail. As the days passed thus, in the śaka year 1931 (1859 A.D) in pingala year and on kumbha ravi śukla trtīya day, he attained the heavenly abode.

40 Caukam Sīnuvayya

He was a drāvida brhmin. He was well versed in music. Since no other singer could sing in the cauka kāla (vilambam) as he could, the kings and the learned of those times praised him as ' caukam' Sīnuvayya. He lived after the time of Sarabhōji Mahārājā and of the time of Śivāji Mahārājā.

41 Dorasāmayya

He was a drāvida brahmin from northern country. He was an expert in telugu and music. His krtis were in simple language and very pleasing and carried the stamp signature of "subrahmanya". He lived in Pañcanada ksētra, after the time of Sarabhōji Mahārājā and at the beginning of the time of Śivāji Mahārājā.

42 Madhyārujanam Pratāpasimha Mahārājā

He was the son of Amarasimha Mahārājā who ruled Tañjāvūr. He knew sanskrit and mahārāstra. He was very well-versed in music. He was an expert in mrdangam playing. He composed navaratnamālikā, a rāgatāļamālika in mahārāstra language with intricate svara patterns and with beautiful language. He passed away some time before the period of Sivāji Mahārājā.

43 Kulaśēkhara Perumāl

He was the crowned king who ruled the samsthanam of Tiruvananthapuram. This capable king of Kērala country learnt many languages including sanskrit, āndhra hūņa, kērala , and hindusthāni. He possessed expert ability in music. He composed, in rakti rāgas and dēśīya rāgas, innumerable cauka varnas, and a vast number of kīrtanas in sanskrit language which were replete with poetic beauty, and which bear the stamp signature of "padmanabha". He is said to have authored many kavyas such as campu. He composed

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 23

cauka varna padams in telugu. He also composed many krtis in kēraļa language. It is almost seventy years since this devotee of Padmanabha reached the lotus feet of Padmanābha.

44 Vengu Bhāgavata

He was a drāvida brāhmin from northern country. He belonged to Tirunelvēli. He was an expert in telugu and music. He mastered innumerable number of kīrtanas of the older times. He would sing rāgālāpana, pallavi, and svaras very well. Apart from this, he also composed daru, krti and tāna varnas. This great devotee lived for seventy years and passed away during the past ānanda year.

45 Śēsācala Bhāgavata

He was the court musician of the state of Kottakotta. He was the disciple of Śyāmā Śastri. He was an expert in music. He composed krtis in poetic form. His brother Ramadasa was an expert in music and literature. There are telugu kīrtanas composed by him that are adorned in the poetic form and with the stamp signature of "rāma". His son was Mātrbhūtayya who was also well-versed in music. His son was Gōpālasāmayya. He was a great musician who knew the laksya and laksana of music. He is still serving as the court musician of Kottakotta state. It can be said that, in the present day musicians, there is no one who could sing krtis or pallavi trends of olden times like him, with the shape and effect of those ragas, and with varieties of gamaka prayōgas.

46 Rāmananda yatīndra

Rāmānanda yati had the ability to compose in sanskrit. His expertise is evident when one studies the gauri rāga prabandha, authored by him. He appears to belong to the time after Ahobala Pandita.

47 Nārāyanatīrtha

He was a great devotee-saint was an expert in sanskrit,music and literature. This is evident from the tarangams, which were composed by him. He is said to have lived three hundred years ago and belonged to the North.

48 Sadasiva Brahmam

Approximately one hundred and sixty three years ago, there lived a wise soul Sadāśiva Brahmam, who wandered across the holy lands of Karuvūr on the banks of Amarāvati, Nerūr Kodumudi, on the banks of Kāvēri, naked and immersed in ecstatic happiness. During that time he composed many sanskrit kīrtanas in poetic genre. They are very popular now. There are many enchanting stories about him. In the year 1890 A.D. on the 20th day of October, Sadāsiva Brahmam's life story was printed as prose in tamil at the Brahadambā Vilās printing office of Kottakotta. His greatness would be evident when one reads that book. Due to the blessings of this great soul, the principality of Kottakotta progressively became very famous. With the contribution and support of the kings of this principality, even today, there are annual and daily prayers being performed at the samādhi of this great soul in Nerūr. According to his orders, the ritual of giving cooking ingredients to unmarried girls every Friday and the ritual of feeding the public every year on the navarätri day celebration, with substantial expenses, are being carried on even today.

49 Akkil Svāmi

He was a great saint who is said to have have lived about sixty years ago. He was a devotee of Lord Krsna. For a long period he lived in an agrahāra in Kolladam on the banks of river Kāvēri and in close proximity

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 24

to Cidambaram. Due to wrong deeds in his prior births, he suffered from a severe disease of his body. One morning, he looked at his disciples and told them to lift him up and carry him to the banks of the Kolladam river, and leave him there on the sands, and to come back in the evening and see him. The disciples did accordingly. This great saint then prayed to Śrī Krsna in his heart, and composed a kīrtana, tāvaka kara kamalē, in kalyāni rāga. As he praised the Lord singing that song, by the grace of God, as the heat came down, his ailment also came down, and he became free of the disease. The disciples then came, saw him, paid their respects to him took his back to his town. After that, Akkil Svämi spent a lot of time praising the Lord with his kīrtanas written in sanskrit, and attained heavenly abode.

50 Svayamprakāśa Yatīndra

He was an expert in sanskrit and telugu. He was also well- versed in music. His expertise as a composer, and musician is evident from the sanskrit kīrtanas he composed. It is believed that he lived in Mayūra Kșētram about fifty years ago.

51 Śivarāmāśrama

This saint supreme was born in a trilinga brāhmin family in Laksmīpuram, a town that belonged to Rāma- nāthapuram. He became a disciple of the saint of Marudānallūr, and studied kīrtanas of the divine path bhāgavata sampradāya kīrtanas of the festival celebrations, astapadis, drāvida Rāmāyana kīrtanas, and sanskrit epics. By the time he was twenty, he became a saint. He visited all the holy lands and reached Tiruvārūr. With his unlimited devotion towards Tyāgēśvara, he lived on the Yagnēśvara Ghat and com- posed many krtis in sanskrit and telugu. Apart from those, he also wrote a book nija bhajana sukha pad- dhati in the poetic form, and got it printed in Cennapuri and made it famous. In the year 1897 A.D., he attained heavenly abode in Tiruvārūr itself. Śivarāmāsrama lived for seventy years.

52 Yuvaranga's padas

During the time of Tulajā Mahārājā, Yuvarangēndra lived as the samasthānādhipati of Udayārpā ļayam. He was a connoisseur of music, and was very intelligent. The poetic creations that were written in telugu by many composer musicians as padams are known as "yuvaranga" padams.

53 Parimalaraṅga

He was a great expert who created many padams in telugu with beautiful words, prosodical beauty and yamaka and with the stamp signature of "parimalaranga". It is believed that he belonged to the outskirts of Cennapattanam and lived within the past two hundred years.

54 Sāraṅgapāņi

There are many of this padams with śrngāra rasam and hāsya rasam. These padams, with hāsya rasam as the main theme, have many folk sayings, and have "venugopala" as the stamp signature. He was a telugu brahmin from the northern country and belonged to the time within the last two hundred years.

55 Merattūru Vēnkatarāma Śāstri

He was a trilinga brāhmin. He was the resident of Merattūr, a village that was close to Tañjāvūr. He lived during Sarabhoji Mahārājā's time, and for some years during Śivāji Mahārājā's time. He possessed

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 25

unattainable scholarship in telugu language. His padams would be in the form of kaiśiki, adorned with exemplary words which contain śrngāra rasam.

56 Poetic composers of telugu padams based on śingāra rasam

Name mudra

1. Ghatapalli kailāsapati 2. Bollapuram bollavaramu 3. Jatapalli jatapaļli gōpāla 4. Śōbhanagiri śōbhanagiri 5. Inukōņda inukōņda vijayarāma 6. Śivarāmapuram śivarāmapuram, rāmapuram 7. Vēņamgi vēņamgi 8. Mallikārjuna mallikārjuna

These are trilinga brähmins from the andhra country. They are said to have belonged to the period of the last two hundred years.

57 Todi Sītārāmayya

The raga todi was said to be his treasure. It is said that he would pawn todi raga, borrow money for interest, and spend it. The kings and the heads of state, who were eager to listen to his music, would repay the debt with the interest that had been pawned for, release the todi raga, ask him to sing it and felicitate him. It is said that there are some poetic compositions of his. He seems to have lived during the beginning Sarabhōji Mahārājā's time.

58 Taccūr Śingarācārya

He was an andhra vaisnava brāhmin. He was the disciple of Subbarāya Sastri, who was the son of Śyāmā Śastri. He was an expert in music, telugu and sanskrit. There are some sanskrit compositions created by him, which were adorned with poetic and creative embellishments. He was adept in playing the fiddle. He, as well as his younger brother Taccūr Cinna Śingarācārya, who was also an expert in playing the fiddle, were helpful to the people. They were made to write and publish five books, with details of laksya and laksana of music, some gītas, varnas, kīrtanas, and padams of older composers. These were: (1) svaramañjari, (2) gāyaka pārijātam, (3) sangītakalānidhi, (4) gāyakalōcanam, and (5) gāyaka siddhāñjanam. Cinna Śingarācārya is now alive.

DRĀVIŅA VĀGGĒYAKĀRA

59 Aruņācala Kavirāya

He belonged to Siyyali. He was a clever man who knew all the five laksanas in tamil. He was an expert in giving meaningful discourses on Kamba Rāmāyana. He lived during Tuļajā Mahārājā's time. In the Śrīmad Rāmāyana, without deviating from the story line, he composed varna mettu to six khandas and composed six tamil kīrtanas using appropriate ragas based on the mood of the story. He rendered those in the court of Muddukrsna Mudaliyār, in the presence of my grandfather Rāmasvāmi Dīksita, and other musical stalwarts, and was felicitated with a shower of gold. He was an expert musician.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 26

60 Muttuttandavar

He was an expert in tamil and music. He was a great devotee of Śiva. He composed many padams and kīrtanas on the heads of the court of Cidambaram, based on the śrngara and bhakti themes. He is said to have belonged to the time before Arunācala Kavi.

61 Pāpavināśa Mudaliyār

He had expertise in music and tamil. With the stamp signature of "pāpavināśa", he composed many padams in nindā stuti. He lived during the time of Tolajā Mahārājā.

62 Ghanam Kṙsnayya

He was a brāhmin. He had knowledge in music and drāvida (Tamil). He was an expert in singing pallavi. His padams were in śrngāra rasam, with intricate varna krama and set in beautiful form. His land was Udayārpālayam. There are his padams on the king of that region. He lived during Tyāgarāja's time.

63 Śankarābharaņam Narasayya

The rāga Śankarābharaņam was this brāhmin's treasure. There are some padams of his in drāvida (Tamil), with beautiful words. He belonged to the time of Sarabhoji Mahārājā.

64 Ānatāndavapuram Bālakrsna Bhārati

He brahmin was a devotee of Siva. He was an expert in dravid a (Tamil) and music. He composed many kīrtanas, not only in rakti and dēśīya rāgas, but also in some apūrva rāgas replete with beautiful poetic words, and with "gopālakrsna" as the stamp signature. He composed a devotional work Nandan and māmī nataka in the poetic form with hasya rasa and led his life with a vow of celibacy upto 70 years and attained the abode of Kailāsa sixteen years ago.

65 Vaidīśvarankoil Subbarāmayya

He was a brahmin and was well-versed in drāvida (Tamil) and music. He composed many padams in the śrngāra rasa and With the stamp signature of "muddukomāruni". He lived forty years ago.

66 Vēṅkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā

He ruled Ettayapuram from śaka year 1738 (1816 AD) to śaka year 1761 (1869 AD). He was the son of Jagadvīra rāmakumāra Ettappa Mahārāja who helped the Government during the war and obtained the land of pāncālankurichi and rewards and royalty. Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā had great knowledge in sanskrit, āndhra ,drāvida (Tamil) and music. He was a great vīna player. It was due to him that the stone steps were built for the north Theppagunta in Ettayapuram, at an expense of 30,000 rupees. Apart from that, in the saka year 1755 (1833 A.D.), during the time of astabandhana celebration for Sālivātīsvara svāmi and Kantimatī Dēvi of Tirunelvēli, with the expense of 50,000 rupees, he fed the brāhmins. In Kazhugumalai, for the Kārtikēya Svāmi, he got a palanquin made with Karnātaka ivory and gold, silver chariots, and golden lamps at an expense of 20,000 rupees. Apart from these, he made a lot of donations. Jagadvīrarāma Vēnkatēśvara Ettēndra composed a tamil kīrtanam śivagurunāthanai in the rāga mukhāri, and many other tamil viruttams.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 27

67 Jagadvīra Rāmakumāra Ettappa Mahārājā

He was the first son of Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā, who was a righteous man, endowed with education in sanskrit, telugu, tamil and music. He was a great expert in kāvya, nātaka, alankāra, and other branches of knowledge. He was a great soul, who knew the aspects of the six śāstras. He was a great vīņa player, who also knew the laksya and laksana of music. He was very knowledgeable in tamil and telugu. With "śrī kārtikēya" as his stamp signature, he composed numerous cūr nikas, ślōkas, and kīrtanas, on Ganapati and other deities, in rakti rāgas and dēśīya rāgas, adorned with poetic imagination. In his court, he had many stalwarts such as :

· Vidvān Śrirangam Kuppaņayyangār - a scholar in the four śāstras

· Tiruvālamkādu Viśvēpuri Dīksita - a scholar in the four śāstras and who was from the clan of Ap- payya Dīkșita

· Tirukkodikāval Kōdaņdarāma Śāstri - who was knowledgeable in mīmāmsa and other sciences

· grammarian Śrīvilliputtūr Vīrarāghava Tātācāriar

· Tārkīka Śirōmaņi Vițlāpuram Mannārayyangār.

He also had in his court:

· Kazhugumalai Ahōbala Sāstri - an expert in telugu, sanskrit and in kāmika and the other eighteen agamas and other sanskrit scholars

· telugu expert grammarian Villāttikuļam Krsņayāmātya

· a great poet in tamil and telugu, Avalnattam Rāmalingayya

· telugu scholars, Bālayya and Gōpālayya

· telugu poets like Kēśavarāju, and other Bhattrājus

· Kadikai Pulavar

· Mūkku Pulavar

· Astāvadhāni Muddukumāra Pulavar

· Paramaśiva Pulavar

· Namaśśivāya Pulavar

· Pāndya Pulavar, and

· other tamil literary giants.

He also had great composer musicians in his court:

· the great vaiņika, Bālasvāmi Dīkșita

· the greatest of the vainika clan, Subbukutti Ayya

· Vīņa Mīnāksi Sundaram Ayya, who was a court musician through the family tree and a disciple of Bālasvāmi Dīksita, a great vainika, and also a court musician of this king's court

· vīņa Subbayya Aņnāvi

· great singers such as Tirunelvēli Vēngu Bhāgavatar, Madhura Rāmayya

· Tēvūru Subrahmaņya Ayya, the great singer disciple of Muddusvāmi Dīkșita.

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 28

As his court was adorned with all these scholars, everyday, according their abilities in education and de- liberation, he would felicitate them and take care of them with compassion, not only by arranging salaries according their qualifications, but also according to the status of their family situation, and helped them with necessities. Apart from this, he conducted the jīrņoddhāraņa for the temple of Grdhrādri Kārtikēya, and renovated the top portion of the pagoda adorned with golden pots, silver lamps that are used for the sixteen rituals, many chariots and the gem studded crown and ear ornaments worth one lakh gold coins, ornaments adorned with the nine gems, pearl necklaces and other ornaments. Apart from the villages donated for the maintenance of the temples that were there before, he arranged for many more villages for performing special worship, offerings and other rituals. The extra endowments that he arranged, which were much more than what were there before, for the renovations and jīrnoddhārana of the golden vimānas for the Siva and Visnu temples in this Ettayapuri, is continuously being used even today. This Mahārājā spent his own money up to 25,000 rupees and built bridges on the rivers of Gangakondan Citra and Kay- attāru Pāśā, for the benefit of citizens. In this Ettayapuri, he got the roads with strong rocks to cover the marsh, got trees planted, got stone steps built to the water tanks, and acted as the savior of the people in need. It can be said with certainty that there never was another one in this king's clan, who was as pious as him. After this Mahārājā, his first brother Jagadvīra Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā was coronated.

68 Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā

He was also coronated as a King. He was an expert in tamil. He knew many other languages too. He was learned in music. He could play on vīna, svarabat, sitār, jalatarangam, mrdangam, and ghatam with intri- cate innovative ability. He could be called second 'Narada' for his singing, as he could sing the rāgālāpana, madhyamakāla, and pallavi, replete with extraordinary innovative phrases and in such a melodious voice as if precious pearls were thrown dazzling around. He not only enjoyed the divine music all the time, but also intellectually shone, spending the time in philosophical dialogues and concentrated meditation of Brahman. In the śaka year 1778 (1856 A.D.), during the visākha month of ananda year, by spending 7,000 rupees, he got sōmayāga performed for Sāmi Dīksita, who was a priest, a scholar of vyākarana, and was a decorated expert in the four types of poetic creations, who authored a campū prabandha, Vallīparinayam, and who was known as kavikēsari (lion in poetry). Just like his older brother, he obtained enormous fame by taking care of many experts of all arts, by ruling with justice, and by having his upper arm as a branch of the kalpa tree to the people in need (being generous to the needy). Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā composed the kŕti, murugā unai nambinēnayyā, in tamil, in the rāga rudrapriya, and some svarajatis. Finally he attained nirvikalpa samādhi, and got united with 'paramjyoti'. After that, his brother Muddusvāmi Ettappa Mahārājā ruled.

69 Muddusvāmi Ettappa Mahārājā

Muddukumāra Ettappa Mahārājā was coronated, was involved in musical education, became an expert in the areas of emotion and expression, took care of the scholars who were there through generations, and became a 'cintamani' to the scholars who came there from other countries in such high proportion that citizens thought of him as the mighty Iravati that came down to the earth from the heaven in his form. To Grdhrādri Śrī Kārtikēya Svāmi, at the expense of about 10,000 rupees, he got a silver elephant vāhana made, and by spending another 10,000 rupees, he got a large chariot made, and obtained enormous fame by offering them. This king had two sons. Out of them, the older was Rājā Jagadvīra Rāmakumāra Ettappa Mahārājā.

70 Rājā Jagadvīra Rāma Kumāra Ettappa Mahārājā

He was coronated and was an expert in hūna, telugu, and tamil. He was an intelligent man who knew the science of law and justice. In his court, he took care of all the scholars who were there through generations. He was devoted to Śrī Mahābhārata. The Mahābhārata that was composed in telugu by the kavitraya (ED :-

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 29

Nannayya, Tikkana, and Ellapragada) with the permission of this Mahārāja was written in tamil prose by me, and got published. When Kāñci Kāmakoți Pīthādhipati, Jagadguru Śrī Śankarācārya Svāmi travelled through south Indian on a pilgrimage, due to this king's excessive reverence, visited him and at that time, he performed pādapūja to this Jagadguru, and gave him to the tune of 10,000 rupees. After a few years, the son of this king Rāja Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā took over.

71 Rājā Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā

This Mahārājā was coronated in the śaka year 1821 (1899 A.D.), in the year vikāri, mārgaśira month and during the asterism of jyēsta. He was adept in hūna, tamil and telugu. He was a great vīna player and a devotee at the feet of Kārtikēya. He was the caretaker of learned citizens and was adorned with the quality of patience. While he was ruling the kingdom without deviating from the tenets set by manu, he got a golden armor made for the utsava idol of grdrādhri Kārtikēya, at an expense of 12,000 rupees and at an expense of 10,000 rupees got a silver kailāsa vāhana made and dedicated them to the Lord. He composed two kīrtanas, "murugā tarugilayā", in the rāga khamās, and "vā vā vā nī vallī maņāļā" in rāga bhairavi . Even though from the year 1885 A.D. musicologists considered Hindu music as a language, in order to make people sing with understanding, Cinnasāmi Mudaliyār, M.A. not only transcribed with notation, the 800 kīrtanas of Śrī Tyāgarāja, which were with Bālājipēttta Krsna Bhāgavatar, but also got about 40 krtis printed in staff notation. Apart from that, he also included some miscellaneous krtis mentioned by others with their respective rules of grammar, spent a lot of money and got them printed .Then he called me (ED :- Subbarāma Dīksita) and told me to write the staff notation to the rāgānga, upānga, bhāsānga gītams, that followed Venkatamakhin's method, along with the krtis of Dīksita, and get them printed. Realizing that one could not sing without knowing the structure of gamaka, he mastered the structures of gamakas along with laksya and laksana for four years, with my help, and defined the symbols for gamakas. With this, he got the appreciation of this king and was soon afflicted with blindness. Once, I came to Ettayāpuram, within a few days, Cinnasāmi Mudaliyār came there, met the king and requested him that the work he started should be finished in at least the telugu language. Not only that, he also met with the uncle of the king (younger brother of his father) and the younger Mahārājā Vēnkatēśvara Ettappāndya who was an expert in the five grammar rules of tamil, who was well versed in the five mahākāvyas, who was the admirer and promoter of music and literature, and acted as the treasure trove for the poor and desolate, expressed his desire and also requested him. As soon as he requested the younger Mahāraja, he got the telugu typesets brought and ordered that this "Sangīta Sampradāya Pradarsini" should get printed. It was estimated that from the time of that order to the completion of the printing of this book would cost about 10,000 rupees. The musical, literary and poetic creations of the composer-musicians belonging to the period from 250 A.D. to the present time were thus protected from being destroyed, making them shine through to the heavens, and would become an example for the future composer-musicians to establish their musical, literary and poetic creation just as in this book where interested persons could know about them by just having a look at it. And, those people would praise this blessed king who was responsible (for the publication) and all the scholars who visited this "Sangīta Sampradāya Pradarsini", and bless them with the prosperity of sons, grandsons, many years of life, and health. While he was planning to improve the school that belonged to this kingdom, Rājā Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkațēśvara Mahārājā, got an invitation to proceed to Delhi darbār, for the celebration of the coronation of the viceroy of India, Edward VII. Immediately, as the Mahāraja proceeded to Delhi to participate in the celebration of the coronation of the viceroy to be held on the first of January 1903, here in Ettayāpuram, the relatives of the Mahāraja, with his permission, praised the coronation day and in order to make that day permanently memorable and to complete the school curriculum, they added the matriculation and thus improved the school. In the front porch of the building, they constructed a court called "Victoria Memorial Athenaeum", to commemorate the Late Queen Victoria. And, in memory of the day of travel to the coronation of the viceroy, the school's largest hall was named as "Coronation Hall". The photographs of the viceroy and the others were hung to decorate that hall. In the same hall, a library was created for the benefit of the students. It was named Edward Hall (Edward VII Alexandra Library). When the instruments that were necessary to teach science were purchased, with the permission of the king, the application for recognition (of the school) was submitted to the government. The government was pleased and the very

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 30

first-time itself they included it in the permanent section and recognized it. The very same year, 10 children appeared for matriculation and 15 children appeared for lower secondary school exams. Apart from that, at the choultry near by, he arranged for charity meals and other amenities for the poor students who were getting educated at the above mentioned school. With the intention of improving many other ways, in order to introduce cricket, tennis, football and other English sports, he included the land in the north of the school that lead to Kovilpatti into school land. In the same land, he built hostel accommodations for the convenience of the students who come there to study, from other lands, . Due to the above reasons, as the time passed, the Maharaja was famous. With the plan of implementing in this manner, right upfront, he with good qualities of determination, bravery, truth and patience, wrote to the famous gentleman of that district Rev. C. A. Margoschis, and requested for honorable S. Rāmakrsnayya, B.A, L.T, who for 20 years worked with the schools and colleges, to help with their improvement. Immediately he, who was the favorite of the reverend, was sent. He, with necessary steps, prepares for the improvements. The Mahārājā also established the Vēda Pathaśāla (vēdic schools).

72 Subbarāma Dīksita

With the name Balasubrahmanya Sarma, I am the son of Bālasvāmi Dīksita, the youngest brother of Mud- dusvāmi Dīkşita. Bālasvāmi Dīksita's youngest daughter's name was Annapūrni amma. Her husband was Śivarāmayya, who belonged to bhāradvāja gōtra, and drāhyāyana sūtra. Rāmaswāmi Ayya, who was his first son was very talented in music and vīna was felicitated by kings and attained heavenly abode at the age of 45. I was born as the second son in Tiruvārūr in the saka year 1761 (1839 A.D.) during the year of viļambi, tulā ravi, and hasta star. When I was five years old, Bālasvāmi Dīkșita took me to Ettayāpuram, and got me tutored in sanskrit, telugu, and music. At that time, Jagadvīra Rāma Kumāra Ettappa Mahārājā, who was very well versed in astrology, summoned the great astrologers, and studied my horoscope. He looked at Bālasvāmi Dīksita, and told him, "The bearer of this horoscope is the son to all the three of you. So, adopt him. He will be famous like Dīksita.". Just as his command, my maternal grandfather, Bālasvāmi Dīksita adopted me during plavanga year, makara ravi, and initiated me into brahmōpadēśa and śrīvidyōpadēśa. I learnt the sciences of epics and drama, great epics like manu caritra and vasu car- itram, grammar, and poetic meters from Vilāttikolam Krsnayāmātya, who was a great sanskrit and telugu scholar. I not only learnt vīna from my father, but also learnt in detail the secrets (intricacies) of laksya and laksaņa of music. In my seventeenth year, I composed an ata tāla varņa in the rāga darbār on Śrī Kārtikēya, and sang in the presence of Jagadvīra Rāma Vēnkatēśvara Ettappa Mahārājā, who was well versed in mu- sic. Some people in that court commented that my father himself might have composed that, in order to obtain fame for me. After that, one day the Mahārāja called me and gave me the order, "I am going for a ride. I will be back in an hour. Stay here and compose a jatīsvara in the rāga yamuna, where the pallavi and anupallavi should be composed with svarams, then there should be another svara whose euppu com- mences on the dhaivata, the svara should have a sequence the order of first, second, third and then the third, second, first speeds, and finally the muktāyi svara", and went for the ride. With the blessings of the elders, a gadiya before the Mahārājā's conveyance came back, I finished the jatīsvara, and as soon as the Mahārājā came, I made him listen to it in his court. He was pleased, and took me to my house, looked at my father and told him, "Sir, you should listen to a jatīsvara in the rāga yamuna", and looked at me and or- dered me to sing. As he listened to my singing of the jatīsvara, realizing it to be my composition, my father said that it was due the greatness of the court of Mahārājā. The Mahārāja felicitated me with two shawls and ten sovereigns of gold. After a few years, I have composed, sang and obtained many felicitations as per the order of Muddusvāmi Jagadvīra Rāma Ettappa Mahārājā to compose, in his name, compositions that are suitable for dance, cauka varnas in the rāgas ānandabhairavi, surati, and a rāgamālika, compris- ing of nine rāgas. I composed a tāna varņa in the rāga rāmakriya, and a kīrtana, "śankarācāryam" in the rāga śankarābharana, and visited Kumbhakōnam Jagadguru. There, in that court, in the presence of Vīna Subbukutti Ayya, Tirumala Rājan, Pattnam Rāmudu Bhāgavatar, Tirukkadayūr Bhārati, and other musi- cians, and also scholars of the four sästras, I sang there as they all listened. Later, here in this book, one could find many cauka varņas, tāna varņas, kīrtanas, rāgamālika, and rāga sañcāras, that were composed

Vēṅkațarāma. I Rāmasvāmi Ayya had two sons, Vīna Cinnasvāmi and the third principal of the Maharaja's high school and musical connoisseur

Vāggēyakāra Caritram 31

by me before. With the intention of making music as language, A. M. Cinnasāmi Mudaliyār, M.A. started writing a book called 'prācīna gāna", in English notation, in the year 1895, and was trying to publish it. At that time, he came to know about me, brought me to him, stopped his projects and for three years, learnt the intricacies of gamakas and the traditions of Venkatamakhin from me. Later he came to Ettayāpuram, visited the Mahārājā, and requested him that he should order Subbarāma Dīksita to complete this "Sangīta Sampradāya Pradarśini" in telugu, which would prevent the loss of Vēnkatamakhin's rules of laksya and laksaņa, and also include the symbols for the gamaka, tāļa kāla pramānas (time scale), and have it printed in the music printing press "Vidya Vilasini", belonging to the court. As per the command of the Mahārājā to me, I started on the 21st December 1901, and not only completed the "pūrva vāggēyakāra caritramu", but also the information that is contained in this book, "Sangīta laksana sangraha", that supports the sym- bols of gamakas and talas, which was started on 17th December, 1903, and is being continued. I have a son Muddusvāmi, who is learned in music.

73 Sadasiva Rao

He was a mahārāstra brāhmin. He belonged to the principality of Mahisūr. He was a scholar in music, sanskrit and telugu. There are many kīrtanas, varņas, and tillānās composed by him that are popular. He lived twenty years ago.

74 Pattanam Subrahmanya Ayya

He was a tamil brähmin whose homeland was Pañcanadam. He was well versed in music and telugu. There are quite a few kīrtanas composed by him in telugu. He passed away five years ago.

75 Vēnkatēśvara Śāstri

He was a scholar in music, sanskrit and telugu. He was a vainika. In 1892 A.D., he got printed and released a book Sangīta Svayam Bodhini. There are a few sanskrit kīrtanas composed by him. He passed away 7 years back.

76 Garbhapurivaru, Dharmapurivāru

They composed many javalis in telugu, with the stamp signatures of "garbhapuri", and "dharmapuri", which contained śrngāra as the main rasa. It has been a little time since they passed away.

77 Rao Bahudūr C. Nāgoji Rao, B.A., F.M.U.

He was a mahārāstra brāhmin, and English educated man. He was also well-versed in many other lan- guages and music. He was the Inspector of Schools, Southern Circle. In 1900 A.D. he wrote a music book with notation in tamil, got it printed and released. Paļamānahari Svāminātha Ayya was learned in music was the disciple of Mahā Vaidyanātha Ayya - who attained fame by knowing the musical laksya, laksanas, and being a great musician, he, with the encouragement of Nāgoji Rao, wrote a book in Tamil "Raga Vibōdhini", and got it printed by Rao in the year 1901 and released it.