Muthuswamy Dikshitar

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Muthuswamy Dikshitar Muthuswamy Dikshitar

Topic started by Narayanan on Thu Jan 13 07:51:54 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

He is indeed one of the Greatest Composers in Music History. I am in a process of collecting and learning his works (trying to !!!). This page is for posting information about references to audio clips of Dikshitar krithis so that it will be of much use to Dikshitar "fans" like myself.

Responses:

Old responses
From: Ramaorasad (@ 204.154.176.49) on: Wed Jan 31 16:14:29

Narayanan,

Can you pl feature uchhishTa ganapatou
(Kashiramakriya) in the kriti of the week series ?

TIA

Ramaprasad K V
From: narayanan (@ port1br1-ce-3.pt.uk.ibm.net) on: Wed Jan 31 18:50:31

Ramprasad:
I shall upload the krithi in the coming weeks...
Thanks.
From: Nadopasaka (@ nas-133-74.nyc-t.navipath.net) on: Wed Jan 31 20:46:06

re: Earliest occuring melam

In a circular or chakra system, this sequencing may lose meaning, although MD is at pains to remind us he finished 72 of the melas in the 'last' one.

The reversal involved in the Katapayadi naming scheme for the first two syllables also indicates ( to me ) possible reduced importance of the numerical order. corrections welcome
From: pANini (@ socks1b.rochester.ibm.com) on: Thu Feb 1 02:41:56

PPN>Pl note that in the guruguhasvAmini bhanumati)kriti there is a reference to vijayavallIdevasenAsahite - though the initial vibhakti kritis contain no such clear reference.Even the mahesvarasya mahArtopadesha can be intepreted in a nirguna aspect.
As for the word guruguha - it is such a wonderful and exquisite coinage.One interpretation goes thus : guru - heavy. guha - hidden similar to laghu As the upanishad says "aNor aNIyAN mahato mahIyAN" it is the parabrahman which is both.
Another is the shiva-shakti principle the epicentre of shrividya.
From: pANini (@ socks1b.rochester.ibm.com) on: Thu Feb 1 02:47:26

Does Abhogi figure in the later-kanakambari [the so-called venkatamakhin] scheme? If not any reasons?
From: Ramaprasad (@ 204.154.176.49) on: Thu Feb 1 14:25:06

Panini,

Abhogi is not a janaka rAga under the earlier
or the later Kanakambari scheme .. So it can not
figure out there. But if you meant the rAgalakshana anubandha to CP, it does not appear
there. Quite surprising since MD has a kriti in
Abhogi and he has followed the CP (and its
anubandha for rAga names)

Ramaprasad K V
From: pANini (@ socks1b.rochester.ibm.com) on: Thu Feb 1 22:38:37

Thanks ramaprasad > I meant the anubandham.
I asked this bcos the abhogi kriti lakshmIvarAHam
is a disputed one and I wanted to check if it is because of this that it is disputed...
From: Ramaprasad (@ 204.154.176.49) on: Fri Feb 2 12:23:28

Panini,

SrilakshmIvarAham being a disputed kriti is
news to me. However I'm sure it is one of the
rarely heard Kritis.

Ramaprasad
From: kartik (@ 202.9.148.110) on: Fri Feb 2 22:05:09

Can anyone tell me as to whether the MD kritis in Brindavana Sarang were originally composed in the thyagaraja style (i.e. SGRMPNS/SNPMRGS)like how Balamurali sings 'Kamalaptakula'?The Brindavana Sarang , according to my book by RRI gives two notations the new and the old notations.Was the new notation evolved after MD? ( the north indian style employing both variations of nishaad)? which is the authentic one?Something very interesting which I observed was during Nityasree's rendering of Ranga Pura Vihaara wherin she has stuck to the new notation but in the charanam there are traces of the Gandhaaram as well!DKP was the first to popularise BRindavana Sarang in its new Avataar!
From: Karnataka Kala Sri Dr.M.Surya Prasad (@ 202.9.150.243) on: Sat Feb 3 04:38:40

I was fascinated to browse through dikshitar site. It is wonderful.
Is not interesting to note as to why dikshitar resorted to compose technically difficult krithis?
Any answer please?
From: Karnataka Kala Sri Dr.M.Surya Prasad (@ 202.86.174.162) on: Sat Feb 3 06:11:37

Dear Narayanan, Namasthe.
I am publishing and editing an international journal on music and dance called
"GUNAGRAHI" from Bangalore.
May I use the materials published under Muthuswamy Dikshitar with due
acknowledgement in my journal.
I would be too glad to send you my journal if you could get me your postal address and
other details.
Thanks,
Yours,
Karnataka Kala Sri Dr.M.Surya Prasad.
P.S.Please visit my site:
http://sites.netscape.net/drmsuryaprasad/homepage
and lend me your feedback.
From: Nadopasaka (@ nas-132-200.rochester.navipath.net) on: Sat Feb 3 08:42:58

I think this question is best directed also to the Thread master, Rajaraman ?

It may be better if you post your opinions and editorial on this thread.

I believe this thread can be accessed as widely as any international journal.

re: Technically difficult krities. I think sometimes the structure makes it easier, but the variations may have been intended to be fewer.
From: Lakshmi (@ ppp-176-104.bng.vsnl.net.in) on: Sun Feb 4 04:28:49

Mr SuryaPrasad, please refer to the specific queries and their responses. Do you feel your query "Is not interesting to note as to why dikshitar resorted to compose technically difficult krithis? Any answer please?" is a sufficiently pointed one ?
From: pANini (@ socks1b.rochester.ibm.com) on: Mon Feb 5 00:02:28

The spurious kritis of Dikshitar and why they are so called ? Has this been discussed ? If not lets follow it up with an analysis.
Some strong contenders for this list are :
Kumbeshvarena-kalyani,ShrIlakshmivaraham-abhogi,
akhilandeshvari-jujavanthi,the mantra kriti and the rahu&Ketu kritis.Any additions to this list?
From: S (@ wwwgate281.motorola.com) on: Mon Feb 5 00:22:47

Why are the credentials of the mantra kriti in doubt ?
From: narayanan (@ inktomi2-lut.server.ntl.com) on: Mon Feb 5 03:40:35

Panini:
Some other krithis considered "spurious" are
Gopika Manoharam - Mohanam, Gananayakam - Rudhrapriya (poornashadjam) the eduppu is questionable, Gajamba - Junjuti, Sriranganatham - Poornachandrika, Annapoorne - Sama
From: S (@ 203.200.49.170) on: Mon Feb 5 04:13:54

Rgd gananayakam : the popular version of gananayakam is in poornashadjam ( which excludes the dhaivatam ), and is modelled after srimaaninimanohara of tyagaraja, including the 'one and a half' or post 6 akshara take-off ( eduppu ). A few sing the kriti in rudrapriya ( with the da ), but in the same laya setting ( 'desadi' ). I believe the original version is in rudrapriya and in chaturasra ekam, with eduppu at the samam.
From: pANini (@ socks1b.rochester.ibm.com) on: Mon Feb 5 04:45:51

S>> It is not for the verb in the anupallavi [which I had assumed earlier and pointed out by u in the ehi annpUrne kriti ]

1.The KSI book gives this kriti clubbed with the navavarana kriti after the shriragam.the choice of ragam ie madhyamavathi puzzles me.IMHO it makes sense only for a performer on stage say like a harikatha performer.

2.The concept of embedding mantras openly without hiding is unlike dikshitar.Even in anandamrutakarshini the paramacharya of Kanchi used to say that the amruteshvari beeja mantra is hidden.It is only in later composers like HMB we find gam ganapate and such obvious references.

3.There is no reason for a mantra kriti.The reason for embedding a mantra in a kriti is to benefit the uninitiate so the fundamental question.

The same reason applies to the rahu kriti
As for the ketu kriti some references like kulutAdi bakshanam are totally undikshitar like.

Has anyone heard the mantra kriti.If so please pass it on to narayanan so that we all get a chance to listen to it ?..
From: PPN (@ padma.math.mun.ca) on: Mon Feb 5 06:34:27

What about the Manipravala Krithi in Sriranjani: Ni Sati Daivamenduledani? It is available in the Red Book of Vina SUndaram Iyer, but the Guruguha mudra is absent. Is it a genuine Dikshitar Krithi? The other three Manipravala krithis of M
From: pANini (@ socks1b.rochester.ibm.com) on: Mon Feb 5 23:01:28

PPN>>Isnt nI sati in telegu ?
shrImaharajni in the "new kritis" list in ksi is the manipravala kriti along with venkatacalapate and shri abhayamaba
From: narayanan (@ 194.193.249.33) on: Tue Feb 6 05:18:59

Krithi of the week at http://dikshitar.homepage.com is Gajamba - Janjuti by Smt D K Pattammal
From: S (@ 203.200.49.170) on: Tue Feb 6 06:51:14

Panini,

Thanks for ur comments on the mantra kriti-s. I shall see if I get some more data on the same.

Rgd the rahu and ketu kritis, I am more convinced ( than in case of the mantra kriti ) of the possibility of a misattribution. However, regarding the term 'kulutthAdibhakshaNam', pls let me know why u feel the term is undikshitar-like. I know that some scholars have opined that ketu is not a donkey to like kuluttha ( horse grain ) - but I also have read that the favourite 'grain' of ketu is kuluttha - just as for surya, it is wheat grain, moon- rice etc... saturn - black till/sesame. Dikshitar has used the sesame reference in the kriti on saturn ( an authentic one ) as tilatailamis'ritAnna. This not withstanding, I am inclined to believe that the rahu and the ketu may be misattributions.
From: PPN (@ padma.math.mun.ca) on: Tue Feb 6 08:07:41

In this context, I would like to point out M.V.Ramana's article in Keerthana (CMC Melbourne)
on Misattributed Krithis of the Trinity, that is available at
http://www.labyrinth.net/~mohank/Article/Kerertana/misattribs.html
From: Nadopasaka (@ nas-132-34.rochester.navipath.net) on: Tue Feb 6 18:00:56

We had conducted quite a long analysis of Navagraha vs. Vaara krities. Briefly it needs to be mentioned that another MD Ramaamanohari 'ShringaraShaktya.." ( like the Rahu kriti ) refers to the 'Angarakadi Navagrahodaye' etc. Is this kriti also doubted ?

It is possible that as Vaara krities they were composed first then the other two added also by MD later.

The rupaka taala for the possibly malefic action of both is in keeping with Angaraka or Mangalam taala. That might take care of the restrictive Suladi seven.

The way in which 'guruguha' mudra appears is also to be looked at. 'Being fanned' or 'relieved by the cooling breeze' , is comparable to other Navagrahas where the guruguha is 'pleased' etc. also 'santosakaranam', guruguha -mudam, -mudakritim, - modakritim etc. Likewise the Mangalavastram is cross reference to Mars in keeping with consistencies of MD.

Are there musical reasons to doubt the Rahu-ketu krities ?
From: Nadopasaka (@ nas-132-34.rochester.navipath.net) on: Tue Feb 6 18:14:37

re: The concept of embedding mantras openly without hiding is unlike dikshitar

I think this is interesting. It is true this family seems more focused on their pursuits. However the Dikshitar reveals his great understanding of melody that satisfies the centuries well past his time. I think this can come from awareness, sensitivity and understanding human nature, not from a 'secretive' dialogue with a stone faced idol. I feel the connection between the dancers in the temples, especially this Kamalam woman and MD should be examined. He is said to have had two wives and so had some variety there as well.

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