Dikshitar- A journey

The youngest among the music Trinity, Muttuswamy Dikshitar’s compositions are full of evocative appeal and sublime emotions, coupled with a high degree of knowledge in the Sanskrit language, the Mantra shastras and mythology.


Ancestors of Muttuswamy Dikshitar were reportedly from Virinchipuram in North Arcot. His father Ramaswamy Dikshitar was well versed in Sanskrit and music. He also composed a number of krtis on Shri Tyagaraja, the presiding deity of Tiruvarur where he had settled down. Muttuswamy was born on March 25^th 1775. Eldest of four, he followed his father’s footsteps to become proficient in Vina and Vocal music.

Muttuswamy was under the tutelage of a Chidambaranatha Yogi who had been the one to initiate Ramaswamy Dikshitar into the Srividya cult. In this five years he spent in Varanashi, he was influenced by the Hindusthani style. This is evident in some of his compositions, where he has used Hindusthani ragas like Dvijayavanti (Chetah shri), Yamunakalyani (Jambhoopate), Hameerkalyani (Purahara nandana), etc.

After the demise of Chidambaranatha Yogi, Dikshitar left for Tiruttani, which is said to be a significant milestone in his life. It is believed that during his stay there Lord Muruga had himself come in the disguise of an elderly man and put sugar candy in his mouth and disappeared. Thereafter, the nae ‘Guruguha’ became his mudra. Of all the group compositions he has composed, The Guru Vibhakti krtis are said to be the first.

His exposure to Western Music was through an invitation from Chinayya Mudaliyar of Manali. He composed Sanskrit lyrics for Western tunes (most of them are in the ‘Major scale’, corresponding to Shankarabharanam of Carnatic). Thus he has composed around 35 ‘Nottuswaras’, written on various deities.

Dikshitar’s meeting with another musical genius of that time, Shyama Shastri was when he had come to Tanjavur to teach music to The Quartret. The Shriranjani varnam left incomplete by the composer, his father Ramaswamy Dikshitar was given a full form with Dikshitar, Shyama shastri and his younger brother Chinnaswami Dikshitar composing a charanam each, thereby giving proof of the acquaintance between Syama Sastri and Dikshitar.

Dikshitar was a wide traveler. From visiting the abode of Lord Pasupatishvaram in the Northern country of Nepal to Rameshwaram in the South, the deity being Lord Ramanatha, Dikshitar has measured the expanse of our huge country.

Moreover Dikshitar’s compositions were an Encyclopedia by themselves. Almost all of his compositions include the Kshetra (place), deity and spouse, sacred tree and the tank, favorite delicacies and color, local customs and  even the architectural beauty of the temple. In compositions like the ones on Goddess Kamalamba, the songs are full of Tantric details, referring to the Chakra, the Yogini, etc.

He has also composed a complete series of songs in the Asampurna 72 Melakarta System. The talams he has used are many. Of the complex ones, he has composed in Mishra Jhampa (Dakshinamurte), In fact each of his Navagraha compositions dedicated to each of the nine celestial planets are composed in the Sapta talas.

Couple of songs are also composed in Manipravalam (Shri abhayamba – Shri). There are also compositions in Ragamalika (Shri Vishwanatham, Simhasanasthithe, Purnachandrabimba), a feature that was rare to find among the contemporaries. The former  holds a stature of special mention since it is set in 14 ragams, hence known as the Chaturdasha Ragamalika Krti. Rarer of the lot yet again a masterpiece, the Dashavatara ragamalika, Madhavo mampatu is an example of his boundless creativity.

There are compositions that are brimming with information from the Lalitopakhyanam. They are all devoted to Goddess Lalita, the presiding deity of the Shrividya chakram.

On the whole, Dikshitar was a true Vaggeyakara, a devout devotee and a multifaceted human being, whose contributions to this world are immeasurable and priceless.

“Shri naathaadi guruguho jayati jayati”