Muthusvami
Dikshitar was born in the temple town of
Tiruvarur. Tiruvarur is home to the
colossal Shiva temple enshrining Shiva as
Tyagaraja and as Vanmikanatha. The Tiruvarur
temple also enshrines the mother Goddess in
the form of Kamalamba.
The vast temple
complex is a classic illustration of the plurality
inherent in Indian spiritual thought. Tradition
holds that Tyagaraja enshrined here, was held
in worship by Maha Vishnu. Several
manifestations of
Ganapati, the navagrahas, Shiva in his varied
manifestations such as Chandrasekhara,
Dakshinamurthy etc. are all enshrined here.
Several
compositions of Dikshitar are in praise of the
devatas enshrined here. There is a group of
eight kritis in praise of Tyagaraja. There is
another group of eight kritis in praise of
Nilotpalamba.
The vaara
kritis of Dikshitar address the navagrahas or the
celestial bodies Surya, Chandra etc.
The Kamalamba
navavarana kritis are eleven in number.
This is a group of compositions which can be termed
as the magnum opus of Dikshitar. They are addressed
to the feminine aspect of divinity in the form
of Shakti. The Sri Chakra is a geometric figure with
triangles and squares and layers of petals. It is
considered to be a representation of Shakti, and it
has nine sheaths that represent the very phenomenon
of existence. The nine layers are known as the
nava-avaranas. The Kamalambanavavarana kritis
address the Devi residing in each of the Avaranas.
With a meditative and a mangala kriti, the group
totals eleven.
Tiruvarur is
rich in tradition, festivities, history and
architectural splendor.
Two of the
nottusvara sahityas are addressed specifically to
Tiruvarur. One is the composition muchukunda
varada Tyagaraja and the other is kamalasana vandita
in praise of Kamalamba. .
Here
is a video performance from 'Colonial Interlude'
featuring the glory of Tiruvarur.
