kA~ncIpuraM

Next we take a pilgrimage of South India to see what dIkSitar has composed at each place for the God or Goddess in those shrines. On the way from maNali to tiruvArUr, dIkSitar spent four years at kA~ncIpuram (the ancient city of temples, located 40 miles south of Madras – often identified as a city of more than 108 temples, both shaivite, and vaiSNavite), under the tutelage of saint upaniSad brahmam. There are several dIkSitar k.rtis on shrines in and around kAn~cIpuram. The pa~ncali.nga k.rti  "cintaya mAkanta"   (bhairavI, rUpakam), and the songs “EkAmranAtham”  (gamakakriya, Adi), “EkamranAthAya” (vIravasantam, rUpakam), “EkAmranAthEshvarENa” (catura.ngiNi, Adi) are on Lord EkAmranAtha, and “ka~njadaLAyatAkSi”  (kamalAmanOhari, Adi), “nIrAjAkSi kAmAkSi” (hindOLam, rUpakaM), “sarasvatI manoharI” (sarasvatimanOhari, Adi) and  "EkAmreshanAyikE" (kaRNATaka shuddhasAvEri, Adi) on Goddess kAmAkSi of kA~ncIpuram are famous.  The song  “varadarAjam upAsmahE”   (sAra.nga, rUpakam) refers to the varadarAjasvAmi temple here. The k.rti  “kailAsa nAtham” in rAgam vEgavAhini, and  “kailAsanAthENa” in  rAgam kAmbhOji  are on the not-so-famous  kailAsanAtha temple. 

• Recordings

  • "cintayamAkanta" by S. Sowmya

  • "EkAmrEshanAyikE" by Sri. D. K. Jayaraman

  • "nIrajAkSi kAmAkSi" by Musiri Sri. Subramania Iyer

  • "ka~njadaLAyatAkSi" by Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi

mAyUram, cidambaram, kumbhakONam

We have already mentioned the  abhayAmbA vibhakti k.rtis dedicated to the mAyUram temple. The  two k.rtis  both commencing with “abhayAmbA nAyaka”  (Ananda Bhairavi, kEdAragauLa, Adi), and the k.rti “mAyUranAtham” (dhanyAshi, mishra cApu)  are dedicated to Lord  shiva (mAyUranAtha) in this temple.  The DuNDi gaNesha on the banks of river kAvEri in mAyUram has been sung in the k.rti “karikaLabhamukham” (sAvEri, rUpakam).

• A recording of "kari kaLabha mukham" by Sri. G. N. Balasubramanian

In vaLLalAr koil, near mAyUram, dIkSitar sang   “vadAnyeshvaram”   (dEvagAndhAri, Adi). In vazhuvUr,  he dedicated the k.rti “mArakoTi kOTi lAvaNya”  (Arabhi, jhampa) for Lord  k.rttivAsa, and for  shrI ra.nganAtha in tErezhundUr, he sang  two k.rtis, both in hamIrkalyANi, rUpakam, beginning with the words  “parimaLa ra.nganAtham”. In tirukkaDayUr, dIkSitar composed the  k.rti “sha.nkaram abhirAmImanoharam” (manOhari, rUpakam)  on am.rtaghaTEshvara (shiva), and on Goddess  abhirAmi, he dedicated the song  “abhirAmIm”  (bhUSAvati, rUpakam). 

• A recording of "vadAnyEshvaram" by Sri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

The songs  “shrI vaidyanAtham”  (aThAnA,  Adi) and  “bhajarE rE citta bAlAmbikAm” (kalyANi, mishra cApu) refer to vaidIshvaran koil nearby, a place closely connected with his birth. There are four vibhakti style songs on Goddess bAlAmbika, namely, “balAmbikE” (manOra~njani, maTyam), “bAlambikayA” (shrIra~njani, caturashra Ekam), “balAbmikAyai” (nATTakura~nji, rUpakam), and “bAlAmbikAyAH” (kAnaDa, Adi).

In cidambAram, north of mAyUram is situated the famous shiva Temple with the imposing idol of tillai naTarAja (shiva in the cosmic dance pose).  The pa~nca li.nga k.rti  “Ananda naTanaprakAsham”  (kEdAram, mishra cApu) mentioned earlier, as well as the  k.rtis  “shivakamIpatim”  (nATTakura~nji, Adi), “shivakAmeshvarIm cintayAmyaham”  (Arabhi, Adi) a “kanakasabhApatim”  (mALavashrI, Adi) glorify Lord  naTarAja in this temple.  The song “shivakAmeshvarIM cintayeham”  (kaLyAni ,Adi) is in praise of  Goddess  shivakAmi, the consort of  shiva here. The compositions  “gOvindarAjam upAsmahE”  (mukhAri, mishra cApu), and   “gOvindarAjENa” (mEcabauLi , rUpakam) are sung in praise of  Lord viSNu in cidambaram temple.

• Recordings

  • "Ananda naTana prakAsham" by Sri. M. D. Ramanathan

  • "shivakAmEshvarIm" by Sri. G. N. Balasubramanian

Lord kumbhEshvara and Goddess  ma.ngaLAmbikA are the presiding deities at the temple town of kumbhakONam, where there are a host of nice temples.  We have the following dikSitar compositions:  “kumbhEshvarENa” (kalyANi, Adi),  “kumbhEshvarAya” (kalyANi, mishra cApu) and “shrI ma.ngaLAmbikAm”   (ghaNTA, jhampa).

Lord mahAli.ngEshvara and Goddess b.rhatkucAmbA of tiruviDaimarudUr (madhyArjuna) near kumbhakONam have been glorified in the  k.rtis  “cintayE mahAli.ngamUrtim” (paraju, Adi),  “mahAli.ngEshvarAya“ (aThANA,  Adi),  “mahAli.ngEshvaram” (paraju, Adi) and  “paradEvatA”  (dhanyAsi,  Adi).  On the  shiva temple nearby at shrIvA~nciyam, we have the  k.rtis:  “shrI vA~ncanAtham”  (suraTi, Adi),  “ma.ngalAmbikAyai  ( mALavashrI,  Jhampa), and  “shrI ma.ngaLAmbikE”  (kalyANi, aTa). 

tiruvArUr and vicinity

The temple town of tiruvArUr was the converging point of many musicians of his times, so it is no wonder that dIkSitar was also attracted to this locality. The centre of his activities was the famous tyAgarAja temple of tiruvArUr and its surroundings.  This accounts for the large number of  k.rtis he composed in these places. There is hardly any shrine, big or small, in and around  tiruvArUr which did not find a place in the repertoire of dIkSitar. The  tyAgarAja vibhakti k.rti series, the kamalAmbA navAvaraNam, the eight  nIlOtpalAmbA songs were all composed here. The  navagraha k.rtis are also for the nine planets in the inner courtyard of  tiruvArUr temple.  The different forms of gaNapati enshrined in this holy temple have been praised in a group of  k.rtis mentioned earlier. The commencing piece in almost any music concert, the famous  k.rti  “vAtApi gaNapatim bhajEham” in the  rAga hamsadhvani is in praise of Lord  ganEsha in this shrine. The  k.rti  “dakSiNAmUrtE”  (sha.nkarAbharaNam, jhampa) refers to the preceptor God  dakSiNAmUrti in the outer courtyard of the tyAgarAja temple, and the k.rti  “shrI duM durgE”  (shrIra~njani,  rUpakam)  is dedicated to Goddess  durgA outside the southern  gopuram (temple tower). The telugu  varNam  “rUpamu jUci”   (tODi, Adi) is on tyAgarAja, The Telugu daru  “nI sATi“ (shrIra~njani,  rUpakam) is on God  valmIkEshvara at the  adjacent shrine, forming a  kSEtra li.nga of tiruvArUr. 

In the village kuzhikkarai near tiruvArUr, is situated the temple for God  vishvanAtha and Goddess  annapUrNA.  The   k.rtis   “annapUrNE” (sAma, Adi) and the famous  caturdasha rAgamAlikA (a k.rti in the form of a garland of fourteen different  rAgams) “shrI vishvanAtham bhajEham” were both composed here. Set to Adi tALam, the sequence of fourteen   rAgams that appear in this  k.rti are:  shrI, Arabhi, gauri, nATa, gauLa, mohanam  followed by   vilOma svaras (rendering of  svaras in reverse order of  rAgams); then sAma,  lalita, bhairavam, sAra.nga, sha.nkarAbharaNam, kAmbhOji, dEvakriya, bhUpALam, followed again by vilOma svaras, finally ending in the commencing  rAga shrI.  In this composition, we find a passing reference to the village patron, vaidyali.nga mudaliyAr, (in the phrase "vaidyali.ngabhUpAla pAlanam''). It is to be pointed out that unlike his father, he was not fond of composing lengthy  rAgamAlikA compositions.  While his father, rAmasvAmi dIkSitar, dedicated all his compositions to his wealthy patron ve.nkaTak.rSNa of maNali, dIkSitar avoided nara stuti (human praise) altogether in his work. In this rAgamAlika k.rti the reference is to Lord  vishvanAtha, the protector of King vaidyali.nga.

• A recording of "annapURnE vishAlAkSi' by Sri. K. V. Narayanaswamy

dIkSitar has composed three more rAgamAlikas - a short  rAgamAlikA piece on Goddess  kamalAmbA, “pUrNacandra bimba vadanE”  in six  rAgams  pUrNacandrikA, nArAyaNi, sarasvatimanOhari, shuddhavasanta, hamsadhvani, and  nAgadhvani, in rUpaka tALam,  a dashAvatara ragamalika   “mAdhavO mAM patu”  (on the ten incarnations of Lord viSNu, perhaps composed in tirupati) set to rUpaka tALam in ten  rAgams:  nATa, gauLa, shrI, Arabhi, varALi, kEdAraM,  vasanta, suraTi, saurASTram, and  madhyamAvati; and finally, a ma.ngaLa rAgamAlika,  on  dEvI pArvati,  “simhAsanasthitE”  in four auspicious  rAgams:  saurASTram, vasanta, suraTi, and  madhyamAvati, in the  tALam rUpakam. The  k.rti  “rENukA dEvi” ( kanna.da ba.ngaLa, jhampa) is on Goddess  rENukA dEvi in vijayapuram, a small village located on the northern boundary of tiruvArUr. 

The piece  “ve.nkatAcalapatE” (karNATaka kApi, Adi) is another maNipravAla k.rti (a single composition that employs many languages) and refers to the temple of  ve.nkaTAcalasvAmi in pulivanam, often called the local  tirupati.  West of tiruvArUr lies tirukkaNNama.ngai and the viSNu deity there is called  bhaktavatsala svAmi.  The song  "vamshavati"  in the rare rAgam vamshavati (Adi) in praise of this temple is a musical gem,  packed with delicate and beautiful details of temple architecture.

• A recording of "bhakta vatsalam" by Sri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

East of tiruvArUr

When we travel east of tiruvArUr, we come across kivalUr (kIzh vElUr). Here, in the shiva temple, dIkSitar sang   “akShAyali.nga vibhO”  (sha.nkarAbharaNam, mishra cApu) when it is believed that the door of the shrine miraculously opened for him.  In the neighbouring town of sikkil, the song  “sh.r.ngAra shaktyAyudha”   (ramAmanohari,  jhampa) was composed in praise of Lord  kumAra of sh.r.ngAra vadivEl temple.  Next we reach the coastal town of nAgapaTTaNam and visit the shiva-viShNu shrine here, and, we have the songs of dIkSitar for this locality:   “amba nIlAyatAkSi”  (nIAmbAri, Adi) on the Goddess,   “saundararAjam AshrayE”  (b.rndAvanasAra.nga, rUpakam) on viSNu, “kAyArohaNEsham” (karNATaka dEvagAndhAri, rUpakam)  and  “shivakAyarOhaNeshaya” (rudrapriya, rUpakam) on the principal God shiva.

• A recording of "kAyArOhaNEsham" by Maharajapuram Sri. V. Santanam

mannArguDi is a place often referred to as the Southern dvAraka (the real  dvAraka in Northern India, close to Delhi, is the place where Lord  k.rSNa was born), and is the location of the temple of  rAjagopAla. The songs  "shrI rAjagOpAla”  (sAvEri,  Adi),  “bAlagOpAla”  (bhairavi,  Adi),  “shrIvidyA rAjagOpAlam” in the rare rAgam jaganmOhanam (tishra Ekam) (different from  jaganmOhini of 15th  mELa) were all dedicated here.  The k.rti  “santAna rAmasvAminam” (hindOLavasantam, Adi) is for Lord  shrI rAma in nIDAma.ngalam.  In the coastal town of vEdAraNyam, near tiruvArUr, the song “shrI pArvatIparameshvarau vandE”  (bauLi,  Adi) was composed. It refers to the location where the marriage of shiva and  pArvati was celebrated by Saint agastya.

• A recording of "santAna rAmasvAminam" by Sri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

Aru paDai vIDu

Lord  subrahmaNya, the illustrious son of Lord  shiva and Goddess  pArvati, is regarded as a God of Tamil literature, and is affectionately called  muruga by the Tamils. There are six abodes of Lord  muruga, referred to in the Tamil language as the  Aru paDai vIDu  .  Without exception, all these shrines are on hill tops, and probably represent the six faces of subrahmaNya. svAmimalai is one of them (and of course, in tiruttaNi, which is another one, dIkSitar received his blessings from guruguha and composed the famous  guruguha series of songs).  The other four places of Lord  muruga are tiruccendUr, pazhamuthir colai, pazhani and tirupparamkunram. The song “shRI bAlasubrahmaNyAya” (bilahari, mishra cApu), “shrI svAminAthAya” (khamAs, khaNDa rUpakam), and the frequently heard "svAminAtha” (calanATa, Adi) all refer to Muruga in the shrine of svAmimalai. The song "daNDAyudhapaNIm"  (Anandabhairavi, rUpakam) refers to the hill temple at pazhani near the town of diNdugal, and elsewhere we mention the composition “shrI subrahmaNyO mAm rakSatu” (tODi,  Adi) in praise of Muruga in the shore temple at tiruccendUr.  We do not find dIkSitar k.rtis on the remaining two abodes of subrahmaNya. There are a few other  k.rtis on Muruga on various minor hill temples in South India, but we are unable to identify the exact location for want of geographical information.

• A recording of "shrI svAminAthAya" by Sri. B. V. Raman & Sri. B. V. Lakshmanan

tiruccirappaLLi region

dIkSitar's daughter was staying in tiruccirapaLLi, so, naturally,  he made frequent  visits to this city. In and around tiruccirapaLLi (Trichy), we have several important temples, and dIkSitar did not fail to sing in praise of the deities in these places. On Lord  mAt.rbhUta (also known in Tamil as  tAyumAnavar) inside the mammoth Rock Fort in the heart of the city of Trichy, he sang  “shrI mAt.rbhUtam”   (kannaDa, mishra cApu).   “shrI mataH shiva vAmA.nga”  (bEgaDa,  Adi) refers to Goddess  sugandhikuntaLAmbA here.  The  pa~nca li.nga k.rti  “jambUpatE” (yamunAkalyANi, rUpakam) is on the suburban temple at jambukEshvaram (also known as tiruvAnaikkA), and the  k.rti   “akhilANDEshvari”  (jujAvanti, Adi) is on the Goddess of tiruvAnaikkA. The  k.rtis  “ra.nganAyakam” (nAyaki,  Adi), “ra.ngapura vihArA” (b.rndAvanasAra.ngA, rUpakam) and  “shrI bhArgavI”  (ma.ngaLa kaishiki, mishra cApu) are all dedicated to the deities at the shrIra.ngam Temple nearby.

On the banks of river kAvEri further ahead of Trichy, near the village kuzhittalai, lie three holy shrines.  Lord  kadambEshvara, Lord  ratnAcalEshvara and Lord  vighnanAtha are worshipped in the early morning, noon and  at dusk, respectively.  The dIkSitar songs on Lord  kadambEshvara and the Goddess  bAlakucAmbika are  “nIlakaNTham bhajEham”  (kEdAragauLa,  rUpakam)  “bAlakucAmbikE”   (suraTi, rUpakam).  The  k.rti  “pAhi mAm ratnAcala nAyaka”  (mukhAri,  Adi) is on  Lord  ratnAcalEshvara. The k.rti “ardhanArIshvaram” in the rare rAgam kumudakriya was composed on the half-male, half-female form of shiva in the temple of tirucengoDu, located midway between Salem and Erode in ko.ngunADu.

Madurai

Madurai (madhurApuri), once ruled by the  pAnDya dynasty, is the second largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu.  The huge and majestic temple complex of the fish-eyed Goddess  mInAkSi and her spouse Lord  sundarEshvara (shiva) is situated here, and occupies a sizable area.  Earlier, we mentioned the vibhakti series of  songs on Goddess of madurai. The song  “mInakSi mE mudam dEhi”   (gamakakriya,  Adi) and   “mAmava minakSi”   (varALi, mishra cApu) are again on Goddess  mInakSi. The former piece contains the phrases “mInalOcanI pAshamocinI'', the fish-eyed one who is the liberator of the threads of worldly bondages.  It is believed that this was the last  k.rti which dikSitar made his disciples recite, during his last day in this physical world. Some evil omen occurred, and he knew for sure, that he was going to shed his mortal body, to be liberated from this world once in for all.

There are several other  k.rtis on Lord  sundarEshvara of madurai temple, the popular ones being  “sundarEsvAraya”  ( sha.nkarAbharaNam. rUpakam)  “somasundarEshvarENa”  (shuddha vasantam, Adi), and   “pAlayamAm pArvatIsha”   (kannaDa, rUpakam).  Lord  sundararAja, also known as  Azhagar (the beautiful one) in Tamil, in the nearby temple at azhagar koil has been sung in the  k.rti  “shrI sundararAjam” (kAshIrAmakriya, Adi), and  “sarasa sauvIra” (sauvIram,  Adi) refers to the nearby temple at puShpavanam. The popular gaNesha k.rti, “Ekadantam bhajeham” (bilahari, mishra cApu) was composed in the banks of river vEgavati (vaigai) in madurai.

ta~njAvUr and the mELakartA project

Ta~njAvUr (tAnjore) has always played an important role in the cultural and spiritual history of South India. It is a city of temples, and is the home of the majestic b.rhadIsvara Temple build by King rajarAja coLa, of the coLa dynasty. This temple complex is undoubtedly a great archaeological treasure house. DIkSitar must have spent a great deal of time in this locality. It is here that he came into contact with the dance masters of the ta~njAvUr court, ponnayyA, cinnayyA, shivAnandam and vaDivElu, who readily adopted him as their  guru and revered him as an incarnation of  guruguha himself.  In the  k.rti  “rAjarAjEndra”   (guNDakriya, tripuTa), dIkSitar mentions about the coLa rulers and their connections with the contemporary ruler King serafoji.  Again, it is believed that he came into contact with the other two musical trinity, tyAgarAja and shyAma sAstri during his stay in ta~njAvUr, but no proof is available to substantiate such a claim. 

dIkSitar adopted the 72  mELakartA  rAgA.nga rAga (parent scales) and the corresponding  janya rAga scheme (derivations) proposed by  ve.nkaTamakhin (the great grammarian of  karNATik system of music), with the  kaTapayAdi (alpha-numerical) prefixes for the names of the parent  rAgas  (a list of 72 parent scales, commencing with kanakAmbAri (1), phEnadyuti (2), … , ending in rasama~njari 72).  There are various deities in ta~njAvUr and in nearby temples, on whom dIkSitar composed excellent k.rtis in this  mELa rAgams to illustrate the immense possibilities of the ve.nkaTamakhin system of 72  mELas. He has composed in all these 72  asampUrNa mELas.  The 40  vivadi mELa rAgas (which are viewed with a frown by many musicologists) he handled, are a class in themselves.  Obviously, he was very active on this project while he was in the city of ta~njAvUr at the so-called Big Temple. The  k.rtis given below are all in the  mELa rAgas and are dedicated to the temples in and around ta~njAvUr, namely, b.rhadIsvara temple, tyAgarAja in the Big temple, ko.nkaNEsvara, kAmAkSi, ve.nkatEshvara, rAma, the Temple at karutta.nguDi (aLaka) on vadavAr river in veNNAr bank and the temple at tiruvaiyAru dedicated to Lord praNatArttihara and Goddess  dharmasamvardhani. In the list below, the names of each temple deity, and the asampUrNa mELa number are both affixed.  (The remaining few  mELa compositions are in places remote from these regions.)

kanakAmbArI - kanakAmbAri 1 tishra Ekam ( kAmAkSi)

shrI dakSinAmUrtimIsham - phEnadyuti 2 Adi (dakSinAmurti)

b.rhadIshvaro rakSatu - gAnasamavarALi 3 Adi (b.rhadIshvara)

b.rhadambA madambA - bhAnumati 4 Adi (b.rhannAyaki)

j~nAnAmbikE - sEnAgraNi 7 Tishra EkaM (ko.nkaNeshvara temple)

vishvanAtham -  naTAbharaNam 10 Adi ( vishvanAtha)

kodaNDarAmam -  kOkilAravam 11 Adi ( kodaNDarAma)

shrI k.rSNam -  rUpavati 12 tishra Ekam (k.RsNa)

prasannave.nkaTEsham - vATIvasantabhairavi 14 TripuTa

chAyAvatIm - chAyAvati 17 Adi (Anandavalli)

pa~ncabhUtakiraNAvali  - kiraNAvali 21 KhaNDa EkaM (b.rhadIshvara)

kaumarI gauri -  gaurivElAvali 23 Adi (kAmAkSi)

nAgAbharaNam -  nAgAbharaNam 30 Adi (b.rhadIshvara)

shvEtagaNapatim  - rAgacUdAmaNi 32 tripuTa (shvEta gaNapati)

varadarAja avAva - ga.ngAtara.ngini 33 tishra Ekam ( varadarAja)

bhogacchAyAnATaka - bhogacchAyAnATa 34 Adi ( b.rhannAyaki)

kAmakoTipITha -  saugandhini 37 Adi (kAmAkSi)

nabhOmaNicandra -  nabhOmaNi 40 tripuTa (b.rhadIshvara)

saccidAnanda  - kumbhiNi 41 Adi ( b.rhannAyaki)

himagirikumAri - ravikriya  42 Adi (b.rhannAyaki)

stavarAjAdi - stavarAjam 46 tripuTa (b.rhadIshvara)

b.rhadIshakatAkSENa - jIvantikA 48 tishra Ekam (b.rhadIshvara)

sh.r.ngArAdi - dhavaLA.ngam 49 khaNDa Ekam (b.rhadIshvara)

narmadA kAvErI - nAmadEsi 50 tripuTa (dharmasamvarDhani)

mAta.ngI - ramAmanohari 52 rUpakam (b.rhannAyaki)

pAmarajanapalini -  sumadyuti 57 tishra Ekam ( b.rhannAyaki)

parandhAmavati - dhAmavati 59 tishra Ekam ( b.rhannAyaki)

mAraratIpriyam -  ratipriya 62 Adi ( gOvindarAja)

bhUSAvatim -  bhUSAvati 64 tishra Ekam (b.rhannAyaki)

santAnama~njari - santAnama~njari 67 Adi (b.rhannAyaki)

sh.r.ngArarasa - rasama~njari 72 tishra Ekam (kAmAkSi)

The following  janya rAga ( rAgas derived from a parent scale)  k.rtis are also on  these temples here. The last one in this list refers to  Goddess  lakSmi in varadarAja temple.

avyAjakaruNAkatAkSi - sAla.nganATa 15 tripuTa (kAmAkSi)

rAjarAjEndra -  guNDakriyA 15 tripuTa (b.rhadIshvara)

shrI sarasvatihitE - mA~nji 28 Adi ( kAmAkSi)

b.rhannAyaki -  AndhALi 29 Adi ( b.rhannAyaki)

ma.ngaLadEvatayA -  dhanyAshi 20 rUpakam (lakSmi)

Lord agastIshvara (shiva) of ta~njAvUr has been sung in the k.rti “agastIshvaram” (lalita, mishra cApu). The songs   “praNatArttihara”  (nAyaki, Adi) and   “dharmasaMvardhani “ (madhyamAvati, rUpakam) refer to the temple at tiruvaiyAru (the land of five rivers) about seven miles from ta~njAvUr. Also  the pieces   “narmadA kAvErI” (nAmadEshim,  mishra cApu)) and   “shrI vaTukanAtha”  (dEvakriya, mishra cApu) were sung here. It is worth observing that Saint tyAgarAja lived here during the same period, and it is conjectured that dikSitar might have met him and exchanged musical views.

South of madurai (ramEshvaram, tirunelvEli region)

At the southern tip of India,  in rAmEshvaram, dikSitar  “rAmanAtham bhajEham” (kAshirAmakriya, rUpakam) and “parvatavardhani” in sAma; at the nearby village of darbhashayanam, he sang  “shrI rAmam ravikulAbdhi somam”  (nArAyaNagauLa, Adi).  The kOkilarava rAga k.rti “kOdaNDa rAmam” was composed in navapASANam, near ramanAthapuram. The songs  “AnandAm.rtakarSaNIi” and “himagiri kumAri (both  in the  rAga am.rtavarSin,i Adi) refer to the shrine at sAttUr.  The song   “subrahmaNyEna rakSitoham”   (shuddhadhanyAshi, Adi) is on the  muruga at ka.nkashaila (kazhugumalai).  At the shore temple in tiruccendUr, he sang   “shrI subrahmaNyo mAm rakSatu”   (tODi, Adi).  This  k.rti is filled with all the ten  gamakas (graceful movements in ka.rNATik music).

• Recordings

  • "rAmanAtham bhajEham" by Ariyakudi Sri. Ramanuja Iyengar

  • "shRI rAmam" by S. Sowmya

 At tirunelvEli, the song “shrI kAntimatIm” (dEshisimhAravam,  Adi) refers to the Goddess at the  nellayappar ( shiva) temple, and “sAlivAtIshvaram”   (dEvagAndhAri,  Adi) refers to Lord  shiva here.  The  gaNesha in this temple has been praised in the  k.rti  “lambodarAya” (varALi, khaNDa cApu). On the nearby dEvI temple, we have the song   “parvatarAja kumari”  (shrIra~njani,  Adi), which embodies several names of dEvI as in lalitA sahasranAmam (thousand names of Goddess  lalita).  “shrI lakSmI varAham”  ( AbhOgi, Adi) is on the temple at kalliDaikkuricci and the  k.rti   “sha.nkaranArAyaNam”  (nArAyaNa dEshAkSi, Adi) refers to the  shiva - viSNu twin deity in the temple known  as sha.nkaranArAyaNan koil, where the main idol is  half shiva and half  viSNu.

• A recording of "shRI kAntimatIm" by Sri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

madrAs and surroundings

Madras city is the home of two famous temples.  The song  “shrI pArthasArathinA”  (shuddhadhanyAshi, rUpakam)   refers to the temple of pArthasArathi  at tiruvallikENi (Triplicane) suburb of the city. We could not find any song on Lord  kapalIshvara and Goddess  karpakAmbAl situated in the  temple tank complex,  located at the Mylapore suburb of the city. The compositions  “tiruvaTIshvaram” (gamakakriya, rUpakam), and “AdiprIshvaram” (Arabhi, Adi) are on Lord AdipurIshvara in the suburban town of tiruvoTTiyUr. On viri~ncapuram temple, we have the songs   “mArgasahAyEshvaram”   (rAmakriya, mishra cApu) and  “marakatha vallIm”   (kAmbhOji,  Adi).  The  k.rti  “vEdapurIsham”    (dhanyAshi,  Adi) is on the hill shrine at tirukazhukunram. The song  “narasimha Agaccha “  ( mOhanam, mishra cApu) is on  ghaTakAcalam (Soli.ngUr) near river ghaTilaM. The songs  “shvEtAraNyEshvaram”    Arabhi, 2Adi),   “rudra kopa”   (rudrapriya, rUpakam)  and  “brahma vidyAmbikE”  (kalyANi,  Adi), all refer to tiruve.nkADu (shvEtAraNyaM).

• A recording of "narasimha Agaccha" by Sri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

kEraLa

In the state of Kerala on the west coast of South India, the three famous shrines at shabarimalai, guruvAyUr and padmanAbhasvAmi temple (Trivandrum) have been pictured in the songs “hariharaputram “   (vasanta, khaNDa Ekam),  “shrI k.rSNam bhaja”  (tODi,  Adi) and   “pannaga shayana padmanAbha”  ( madhyamAvati,  Adi).  The song “rakta gaNapatiM  (mOhanam,  Adi) refers to some place in kErala,  which we are unable to locate.

• A recording of "pannaga shayana padmanAbha" by Sri. S. Kalyanaraman

AndhRa pradEsh

In kALahasti, in Andhra Pradesh region, dIkSitar sang  “j~nAnaprasUnAmbikE” (kalyANi , rUpakam)  and “shrI kALahastIsha” ( husEni, jhampa). We have already listed the numerous songs in praise of his spiritual  guru  Lord subrahmaNya (guruguha) of tiruttaNi.  Nearby this region is the famous ve.nkaTEshvara Temple at tirupati.  The songs “shESAcalanAyakam” (varALi, rUpakam) and  "shrI ve.nkaTagirIsham” (suraTi, Adi), were composed here.  Some authors believe that the  maNipravALa k.rti  “venkaTAcalapatE” (karNATaka kApi,  Adi) was composed on this temple, but some others believe that the place is pulivanam, known as local tirupati.  The dashAvatAra rAgamAlika, “mAdhavO mAM pAtu” might have been composed here, since dIkSitar glorifies Lord ve.nkaTeshvara as the tenth incarnation.

• Recordings

  • "shRI kALahastIsha" by Sri. D. K. Jayaraman

  • "shESacala nAyakam" by Sri. K. V. Narayanaswamy

We are inclined to believe that dIkSitar never visited the fourth southern province of karNATaka (Mysore state), as there is no  k.rti available on any of the numerous temples scattered throughout this province.

Northern India

The Goddess  vishAlAkSi   of  kAshi, on the banks of the holy river Ganges, in Northern India, has been sung in the  k.rtis  “kAshI vishAlAkSIm” (gamakakriya, rUpakam) and  “vishAlAkSIm vishvEshIm” (kAshIrAmakriya, tripuTa).  The  k.rti “ga.ngE mAM pAhi” (junjhUThi) is exclusively devoted to the sacred river Ganga.  The kalAvati rAga composition “kalAvatI kamalasanayuvatII” is believed to be composed on the sharada pITham in kASmIr. The famous k.rti “shrI satyanArAyaNam” in shivapantuvarALi refers to badrinAth temple. The song  “pashupatIshvaram” (shivapantuvarALi, Adi) is on Lord pashupaTishvara in kathmandu (uttara kAshmIra desham) now in Nepal at the far northern end of India. We have no conclusive evidence to show that dIkSitar was in northern India a second time to sing on these temples.  

• A recording of "gangE mAM pAhi" by Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi

k.rtis on Rare Themes

Unlike many composers of his time, dIkSitar was fond of choosing rare themes or deities for his Compositions.  dIkSitar has composed  k.rtis devoted to rare deities of Hindu mythology.  The holy river  ga.ngA (Ganges) in northern India has been praised in the  k.rti  “ga.ngE mAm pAhi”   (ju~njhuThi,  khaNDa Ekam).  A rare dIkSitar  k.rti on Lord  brahma,  the Lord responsible for creations is “bhUSApatim”  in the rare  rAgam bhUSAvati (rUpakam). The piece  “jagadIsha”    (sha.nkarAbharaNam,  caturashra Ekam) is a remarkable piece praising the abstract form of Lord, and the  k.rti  “sAdhujana citta”  (pUrNapa~ncamam, tripuTa) is on the abstract  advaitic impersonal Supreme Being. Among the 63 Saint  nAyanArs  who worshipped and sang in praise of  Lord  shiva,  sundaramurti nAyanAr was prominent, and dikSitar dedicated the  k.rti  “sundaramUrtim”  (takka,  rUpakam) in tiruvArUr temple in his praise.  The song   “sandhyA dEvIm”   (dEvakriya,  Adi) is on the sandhyA dEvi (Goddess of dusk).  No other composer, during or before his time, has sung on any of these rare deities.

K.rtis associated with some anecdotes

am.rtavarSiNi (literally meaning “pouring ambrosia'') is a rAga that is believed to bring torrents of rain.  While on a sojourn in the village of eTTayapuram, there was a heavy drought, and the  village people came to dIkSitar for help. He immediately responded with the composition of the  k.rti  “AnandAmrtakaraini” in this  rAgam, and legend says that there was a huge downpour of rain, to the joy of the people there. The  rAga am.rtavarSiNi is believed to be  an invention of dIkSitar. When dIkSitar reached the town of  kiIvalUr, the main doors of the sanctum sanctorum of the shiva temple there was closed for worship.  The temple priests would not listen to his request to open the door, so in great emotion, he composed and sang the  k.rti  “akSaya li.nga vibhO” in   sha.nkarAbharanam. It is said, that when he finished the last line, the door opened spontaneously for dIkSitar to see the God.

The piece  “mAmava paTTAbhirAma” in  rAgam  maNira.ngu makes one believe that dIkSitar had the opportunity to meet Saint tyAgarAja at tiruvaiyAru.  The occasion might have been the festival marking the coronation (paTTAbhiSekam) of Lord  rAma.

• A recording of "mAmava paTTAbhirAma' by Smt. D. K. Pattammal

dIkSitar shunned material wealth and this is made very clear in the  k.rti  “hiraNmayIm lakSmIm sadA bhajAmi hIna mAnavAshrayam tyajAmi” (lalita, rUpakam) sung in the village of mannArguDi. In another k.rti in rAgam dhanyAsi at mAyUram, he shuns the rulers of earth, through the phrase “mAyAmaya dharaNIsham tyajAmi”.   In yet another  k.rti  “ma.ngaLa dEvatA” in  rAga dhanyAsi (devoted to ma.ngaLAmba), he says that Goddess lakSmi has bestowed upon him all honors and he seeks  no other honor. In the  caturdasha rAgamAlika   “shrI vishvanAtham bhajEham”,  he makes a passing reference  to the patron vaidyali.nga without any flattering words.  In the  k.rti  “nabhOmaNI candra”, in  rAgam  nabhOmaNi, he refers to King Serafoji as a devotee of Lord b.rhadIshvara, without praising him directly.

There is an instance, when dIkSitar was in a dilemma. While at sAttur, he heard that the King of eTTayapuram has arranged for the marriage of bAlusvAmi, the brother of dIkSitar.  The King also received him with respect and honour due to him. DIkSitar felt really moved by this gesture of the King, and was obliged to sing in praise of the King.  He cleverly composed, and sang the  k.rti  “ve.nkTeshvara (eddappa) yAdava bhUpatim Ashrayeham” in the rare  rAgam  meghara~njani.  The text of the song is couched in double meaning, and can easily be taken to refer to Lord ve.nkateshvara, in his incarnation as  k.rSNa in the yAdava line, at the same time pleasing the King (belonging to the eddappa dynasty), who bestowed upon him gift of lands.

Once, dIkSitar was in financial difficulties, and his wife tried to borrow, and pawn some ornaments from the temple dancer kamalam.  When dIkSitar came to know about this, he was deeply immersed in sorrow.  He felt that the golden bangles of kamalam  can perhaps feed him for a few days, but a permanent solution was not possible. He immediately composed and sang “tyAgarAjam bhaja re re citta" in  rAgam yadukulakAmbhOji.  Perhaps, God listened to his grievances.  An administrator, who was to pay a visit to the town, had to cancel his visit, due to unavoidable reasons.  The grocery, and other preparations meant for his visit, was to be wasted, but the authorities, instead decided to give them to the scholarly dIkSitar and his family.

There is a  cauka varNam,  “sAmi ninne kori”, in  rAgam shrIranjani, composed by rAmasvAmi dIkSitar. Some  svara passages were missing in the caraNam of this composition. shyAma SAstri, provided a correction to the second line.  DIkSitar requested his two brothers, cinnasvAmi, and bAlusvAmi to proved the remaining two lines, to complete the entire composition.  The stories associated with the compositions, “shrI nAthAdi guruguho”, and “mInAkSi mE mudam dEhi” have already been mentioned.

Conclusion

We have only attempted a glimpse of the temples associated with the  k.rtis of dIkSitar. There are several well-known compositions of dikSitar for which one is not able to locate the correct temple identity  Conversely, there are some well-known temples (such as shucIndram, kanyAkumAri, nAgerkoil, shrIvilliputhUr, shrIvaikuNtTham, pApanAsham, and so on) on which we have no dIkSitar songs. Certainly dIkSitar could not have forgotten these temples, since there are numerous songs that he composed in nearby temples.  One possibility is that the songs are lost to the present generation.  Perhaps some of these might be still in possession of the descendents of dIkSitar family. Also, there are several  k.rtis with the  mudra (signature)  guruguha that were not composed by him, but by his grandson ambi dIkSitar

Appendix

Temples and deities featured in dIkSitar’s compositions

azhagar koil :               sundararAja     

badrinAth  :                  satyanArAyaNa     

cidambaram  :             naTarAja,  shivakAmi, gOvindarAja     

darbhashayanam :     rAma     

dEvipaTTaNam :       raghurAma, mahiSAsura marddani

eTTayApuram:          bhavAni (am.rtavarSiNi)

ghaTikAcalam :          narasimha     

guruvAyUr :                k.rSNa      

kALahasti  :                  kALahastIsha, j~nAnaprasUnAmba

kA~ncIpuram :           kAmAkSi, EkAmranAtha, EkAmrEshanAyika, varadarAja, kailAsanAtha,

kAshi :                            vishvanAtha, vishAlAkSi, annapUrNa, ga.nga,  kAlabhairava

kAshmIr:                      pashupatIshvara (pashcima kAsmIrA), sarasvati (shAradA pITham),

kalliDaikkuricci :       lakSmIvarAha     

kazhugumalai :            subrahmaNya     

kivalur :                         akSayali.nga     

kuzhikkarai :                vishvanAtha, annapUrNa

kuzhittalai :                  marakatali.ngam, kadambEshvara, bAlakucAmbika, ratnAcalEshvara      

kumbhakonam :         kumbhEshvara,  ma.ngalAmbikA

mannArguDi  :             rAjagOpala     

mAyUram:                    mAyUranAtha, abhayAmbA, duNDi gaNEsha      

madurai  :                      sundarEshvara,  mInAkSi,  Ekadanta (gaNEsha)     

navapASANam :         kOdanDarArama     

nAgapaTTaNam:        kAyArohaNEsha, nIlAyatAkSi,  saundararAja     

nIDAma.ngalam :       santAna rAmasvAmi     

nIlAcalam :                  nIlAcalanAtha     

pazhani :                        danDAyudhapANi     

puLivanam:                  ve.nkatAcalasvAmi     

puShpavanam:             sauvIra     

rAmEshvaram :           rAmanAtha, parvatavardhani

sAttUr :                         gokarNEshvara,  himagirikUmAri,  ve.nkaTEshvara     

sIrkAzhi :                      vaikuNthanAta     

sa.nkarankoil:          sa.nkaranArAyaNa      

shabarimalai :              sAstA     

shArAvati river:          sarasvati

shikkil :                            singAravElavar     

shvEtAraNyam :          shvEtAraNyEshvara,  brahmavidAmbika

svAmimalai :                  svAminAtha     

shrira.ngam :                  ra.nganAtha , bhArghavi

shrI vA~nciyam :         vA~ncinAtha,  ma.ngaLAmbika

tErezhundUr:                parimaLa ra.nganAtha      

ta~njAvUr:                     b.rhadIshvara, b.rhannAyki, gOvindarAja, dakSinAmUrti, prasanna ve.nkaTEshvara, kAmAkSi, mahAli.ngamUrti, k.rSNa, Anandavalli, vishvanAtha, ko.nkaNEshvara , j~nAnA mbika, agastIshvara

tiruccendUr:                 subrahmaNya     

tiruccirappaLLi :           mAt.rbUtEshvara, sugantikuntalAmba , gaNEshvara

tirukazhukundram:    vEdapurIsha     

tirukkaNNama.ngai:   bhaktavatsala, vamshavati

tirukkaDayUr:               am.rtaghaTEshvara (sha.nkara), abhirAmi

tirunelvEli :                    shAlivATIshvara, kAntimati , lambOdara

tirupati :                          ve.nkaTEshvara              

tirupputtaNi:                rAma     

tiruttaNi :                        guruguha  (subrahmaNya)   

tiruvAnaikkA:               jambUpati , akhilANdEshvari    

tiruvArUr:                      tyAgarAja, kamalAmba, nIlOtpalAmba , gaNapati (SoDasha), navagraha, subrahmaNya, durgA , acalEshvara, hATakEshvara, siddhIshvara,               valmIkEshvara, dakSinAmUrti, AnandEshvara, tripurasundari, candrashEkhara, sarasvati, ma.ngaLA dEvi (lakSmi), sundaramUrti

tiruvaNNAmala:          aruNAcalanAtha     

tiruvadaimarudUr :    mahAli.ngEshvara,  ma.ngaLAmbika,  b.rhatkucAmbA

tiruvaiyAru :                  pranatArthihara,  dharmasamvardhani,  vaTukanAtha     

tiruvala~ncuzhi  :         shvEtagaNapati     

tiruvallikENi :                pArthasArathi     

tiruvanantapuram:     padmanAbha     

tiruveNkAdu :                shvAetAraNyEshvara,  bra.hmavidyAmbika, vIrabhadra

tiruvidaimarudUr :      mahAli.ngEshvara     

tiruvoTTiyUr                 tiruvaTIshvara, tripurasundari, AdipurIshvara     

tirupparamkunram:    subra.hmaNya (gajAdIsha)     

tirucce.ngODu                arddhanArIshvara     

vEdAraNyam :                vEdAraNyEshvara, pArvati

vaLLalAr koil :                vadAnyEshvara     

vaidyEshvaran koil       vaidyanAtha, bAlAmbika, kumArasvAmi, gaNEsha     

vazhuvUr :                       k.rttivAsa      

veNNAr Bank:               Anandavalli

vijayapuram:                  rENukAdEvi

viri~ncapuram:              mArgasahAyEshvara,  marakatavalli,  subrahmaNya