And finally after a break of 3 years, I am here to post something again!! I guess there is always something special in the air around Navaratri time that makes me come back here and reinvigorate my passion for music and divinity. When I blogged the last time in September 2019, I definitely did not think it would take me 3 years to come back. I actually still cannot believe it has taken me that long but well, here I am trying to muse and amuse.
A lot has happened in these 3 years, including a pandemic that changed all of our lives and retirement of some true sporting legends such as MS Dhoni, Serena Williams and Roger Federer. During this time, I moved from Luxembourg to Berlin and changed 2 jobs. Personally, I have also grown a bit more wiser (or so I think) and definitely have a few more white hairs on my head. While I might not have published anything in this forum, I believe I have only gone more deeper in my pursuit of music. So much so that I do feel music is always there within me, an extension of myself and a lifelong companion, accompanying me through happiness and sorrow alike.
Without blabbering on any further, I will jump into today's composition. When I left off 3 years ago, I had said my next post would be one on Goddess Kamakshi again and so here I am writing about this hauntingly beautiful, short and pretty rare composition of dIkshitar called SRngAra rasa manjarIM in the 72nd rAgAnga rAga, rasamanjari (Venkatamakhin school's equivalent of rasikapriya). This was composed by dIkshitar in praise of Goddess "Bangaru Kamakshi" at the temple in Tanjavur, the same Goddess who was propitiated extensively by Sri Shyama Sastri, the other member of the trinity. The name of the temple itself indicates that the idol of Kamakshi is made of pure gold though it appears black due to the fact that it is covered with punugu, a black fragrant substance. The idol of Kamakshi here is in standing posture holding a parrot in her right hand. Though this temple is small with one prakaram, it is venerated as one of the fifty-one shakti peetams. Going a bit into history, actually this idol was in the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram. But when there was invasion by Moghul kings, this precious golden idol was secretly brought to this place by the chief temple priest, father of Shyama Sastri in 1786. Later a temple was constructed here thanks to the Maratha kings of Tanjavur and Sri Shyama Sastri being the son of this temple priest, himself became the main archakar and sang many beautiful hymns in praise of the Goddess.
Destiny brought dIkshitar close to Shyama Sastri and Goddess kAmakshi as he was invited to Tanjavur to teach music to the Tanjavur Quartet and he chose to live on West Main Street and became a neighbour and close friend of Syama Sastri. The two, along with dIkshitar’s younger brother Chinnaswami collaborated in the creation of three caraNams for an incomplete shri ranjani varnam of Ramaswami Dikshitar. It is also well documented that Subbaraya Sastri, the son of Syama Sastri was a disciple of dIkshitar which shows in the quality of his compositions. Goddess Bangaru Kamakshi being a famed deity of Tanjavur, besides being the object of his good friend Syama Sastri’s worship, dIkshitar composed quite a few compositions on this deity during his stay at tanjAvur.
It is also very interesting to note that dIkshitar's composition on the 1st rAgAnga rAga (kanakAmbari kArunyAmrita lahari in the rAga kanakAmbari) and the 72nd and last rAgAnga rAga (the composition I am writing about today) were both composed in praise of Goddess bangAru kAmAkshi in tanjAvur. In this composition, apart from using the rAga mudra to describe the devi, dIkshitar also brings in the number 72 and states that the Goddess delights in the 72 rAgAnga rAgas. This small samshTi caraNam composition is fully composed in the dvitIya vibhakti with many other beautiful aspects that I will try to delve into below.
Pallavi
SRngAra rasa manjarIM
SrI kAmAkshIM gaurIM
Srita jana kalpa vallarIM cintayE(a)ham
Meaning
dIkshitar sings "I contemplate upon ("cintayE(a)ham") Goddess kAmAkshi, the fair-complexioned one ("gaurIM")". He continues to describe Her as "the one who is a divine wish-yielding creeper ("kalpa vallarIM") for the ones who have surrendered themselves to Her ("Srita jana")". And dIkshitar shows his brilliance by directly using the rAga mudra in the very first line of the pallavi, describing the Goddess as "the one who is a bouquet of blossoms ("manjarIM") filled with the emotion of love ("SRngAra rasa")".
It is very interesting to note dIkshitar's choice of words here. He uses the words manjari and vallari in the pallavi, both words being almost synonyms to each other, describing the Goddess in biological terms. The floral attributions also complement well, the faunal attributes of the Goddess here who is famous for holding the parrot in her hand. Poetically, the meter sits beautifully with the rUpaka tALa as the words flow with the 7-beat cycle almost interwoven like a delicate saree draped around the Goddess. Grammatically, the composition is again majestic as it uses the "rIM" prAsam through the pallavi, setting the rhythm.
And finally, musically, dIkshitar uses the svarAkshara for rI, throughout the composition, beautifully highlighting the shatshruthi rishabam that is prominent for this rAga. He also embeds more svarAkshara in the pallavi with phrases such as "sMpR" for ra"samanjarIM and then delivers the magical phrase of "rgsn dnpSsR" at "Sritajana kalpavallarIM". This one phrase, in my opinion is musically the highlight of this composition as it brings out the essence of the rAga and in a way kind of makes you feel that this rAga was just created for this particular composition. Overall, the pallavi is a connoisseur's delight, creating a haunting magic and a yearning for more beauty, which the small caraNam and chittaswara more than amply deliver on.
samashTi caraNam
angArakAdi graha dOsha nivAraNa-karIM
ananga kusumAdi Sakti priya-karIM dvi-saptati -
rAgAnga rAga mOdinIM
matanga bharata vEdinIM mangaLa dAyinIM
rasika pungava guruguha jananIm
Meaning
dIkshitar continues to the describe the Goddess as "the one who cures ("nivAraNa-karIM") the ill-effects ("dOsha") of planets ("graha") such as Mars and others ("angArakAdi")". He further praises Her, bringing in Shakta philosophy and describing Her as "the one who is the pleasing one ("priya-karIM") to ananga kusamA and other Shaktis". dIkshitar being a Shakti upAsaka himself, brings in the esoteric references from Shaktism to describe the Goddess here, where ananga kusuma refers to one of the eight Kaula consorts of Kāmākhya (eastern face of Lord Bhairava).
dIkshitar then quickly moves into the madhyamakala sAhityam, describing the Goddess as "the one who delights Herself ("modinIM") in all of the 72 rAgAnga rAgas ("dvi-saptati-rAgAnga rAga"), the one who was probed and understood by sages Bharata and Matanga and the one who gives ("dAyinIM") welfare and auspiciousness ("mangaLa")". And finally, dIkshitar seems to end the composition with a cheeky reference to himself by describing the Goddess as "the mother ("jananIm") of Guruguha, who is the foremost among rasikas who savour the art forms ("rasika pungava")".
The small caraNam is yet another proof of why dIkshitar is a composer beyond any comparison. The succinctness and the minimalistic brilliance with which he describes the Goddess in very, very few words while bringing in esoteric and purAnic references, alluding to the rAga being the 72nd rAgAnga raga and at the end striking pure gold by bringing in the composer mudra while also referring to himself is just audacious brilliance. The caraNam is an epitome of minimalism with each word and syllable seemingly chiseled by a master sculptor at work.
As if the words and the grammar are not enough to mesmerise you, dIkshitar takes you to 7th heaven through the musicality and phrasings he uses in the composition. He starts the pallavi with "srgsPM" at "angArakAdi", a typical rasamanjari phrase and then shows the complementary beauty of the rAga by employing "gmpSnDnSR" at "grahadOSha nivAranakaRIM" while using a beautiful svarAksharam at dO"Sha ni". Other beautiful phrases to note are "mrgs" at "ananga" and "RgsR" at "dvi-saptatI" which then leads into the cascading phrases used for the madhyamakAla sahityam. dIkhitar then majestically winds down the composition with a chittaswaram that probes the rAga to its fullest. I would highly recommend you to listen to the version of this composition sung by Amritha Murali, available here to fully enjoy the beauty of this composition as well as the brilliance of the chittaswaram which I cannot really explain in words.
In the true spirit of the composition, I would also stop here, minimising my words and just leaving you in that realm of aesthetic brilliance that dIkshitar brought to you through such a small but powerful and haunting composition. Truly one composition whose impact lingers on and makes you keep humming the song for days on end.
I will stop here and sign off for today. In the spirit of navarAtri, I will next publish a post on Goddess Saraswathi on the day of Saraswathi puja, a majestic composition, an all time favourite of mine and also as requested by one of my close friends, who is a great nAdopAsaka herself. Wishing you all a great navarAtri and a divine second half of this beautiful festive period. See you all soon!!
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