Muthuswami Dikshitar (Sanskrit:मुत्थुस्वामी दीक्षितर, Tamil:முத்துஸ்வாமி தீக்ஷிதர)

Muthuswami Dikshitar (Sanskrit:मुत्थुस्वामी दीक्षितर, Tamil:முத்துஸ்வாமி தீக்ஷிதர)  (also known by his signature name Guruguha)  was born on March 24, 1775 (March 24, 1775– October 21, 1835) in Tiruvarur, near Tirichy, India as a fruit of long prayers by his father ramaswamy. Dikshitar, a famous singer himself.

He is considered to be part of the trinity of carnatic cotemporaneous composers, along with Thyagaraja (1767–1847), and Syama Shastri (1762–1827). His compositions were predominantly in Sanskrit unlike the Telugu compositions of the others.

Muthuswami Dikshitar composed around  500 krithis mostly in Sanskrit , spanning wide range of  temples and deities that he visited. Each of his compositions is unique and brilliantly crafted. The compositions are known for the depth and soulfulness of the melody – his visions of some of the ragas are still the final word on their structure. His Sanskrit lyrics are in praise of the temple deity, but Muthuswami introduces the Advaita thought seamlessly into his songs, resolving the inherent relationship between Advaita philosophy and polytheistic worship. His songs also contain much information about the history of the temple, and its background, thus preserving many customs followed in these old shrines.

Muttuswami Dikshitar also undertook the project of composing in all the 72 Melakartha ragas, (in his Asampurna Mela scheme) thereby providing a musical example for many rare and lost ragas. Dikshitar was a master of tala and is the only composer to have kritis in all the seven basic talas of the Carnatic scheme. Dikshitar shows his skill in Sanskrit by composing in all the eight declensions. For richness of raga bhava, sublimity of their philosophic contents and for the grandeur of the sahitya, the songs of Dikshitar stand unsurpassed. Read More…

Birth of the Nottuswara Sahityas:  Dikshitar lived during the rule of the British East India Company. Along with the British, various forms of music from the European music repertoire arrived in India.  Amongst these were the British National Anthem and other marches, waltzes, Celtic jigs and reels, polkas and more.  When Muthusvami Dikshitar lived in Manali near Chennai, he came in contact with the bands of the British East India company and the music played by them.

Dikshitar wrote lyrics in Sanskrit to many of the Western melodies that he came in contact with. Thus was born a new genre of music, known as nottuswara sahitya.  This new genre of music is both Indian and western and at the same time it is neither completely Indian nor completely western. It is unique and special. This genre of music represents a unique dimension of creativity and is also a pointer to the relatively unknown aspect of the cultural interaction between the East and the West in the 1800s.

The nottuswara sahityas are thus a body of compositions based on western original melodies (largely of Irish/Scottish origin) and Sanskrit text. These compositions are totally Indian from the standpoint of the stotra literature-based lyrics that constitute their body although the melody is devoid of characteristic Indian ornamentation..

The beauty of this largely ’Indo Celtic’ genre of music lies in the fact that the introduction of Sanskrit lyrics into Western melodic themes has not resulted in anything jarring or incongruous. Read more about Nottuswara sahityas

Muthuswami Dikshitar composed many kritis in groups. The following lists describe those groups and compositions that belong to each group.

1. Maha Ganapati Krithis
2. Guruguha krithis
1. Guruguha Vibhakti krithis
2. Other krithis on Guruguha
3. Kamalamba Navavarna Kritis
4. Navagraha Krithis
5. Nilotpalamba vibhakti Krithis
6. Pancha bhoota sthala linga kritis
7. Tiruvarur – Panchalinga kritis
8. Tiruvarur – Thyagaraja vibhakti Krithis
9. Mayuram – Mayuranatha swami krithis
10. Mayuram – Abhayamba navavarana Krithis
11. Kanchi – Ekamranatheswra krithis
12. Kanchi – Kamakshi Devi Krithis
13. Madhura – Madhuramba vibhakti Krithis
14. Madhura – Meenakshi Devi Krithis
15. Kumbhakonam – Mangalamba Krithis
16. Tanjavur – Brihadeeswara Krithis
17. Tanjavur – Brihadeeswari Devi Krithis
18. Chidambaram – Nataraja Kritis
19. Chidambaram – Siva Kameswari Kritis
20. Chidambaram – Govinda Rajeswara Kritis
21. Kasi – Visweswara / Kala Bhairava Kritis
22. Kasi – Visalakshi / Annapurna Devi Kritis
23. Sri Vaidyanatha / Balambika Krithis
24. Sri Rama Chandra Krithis
1. Sri Rama Chandra Vibhakti Krithis
2. Other Krithis on Sri Rama
25. Anjaneya Krithis
26. Sri Venkateswara Krithis
27. Sri Rangam – Ranganatha Swami Krithis
28. Narasimha Swami Krithis
29. Sri Krishna Krithis
30. Sri Lakshmi Krithis
31. Saraswati Devi krithis
32. English Notes
33. Ungrouped Krithis
34. Other literature