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Venkatamakhin

2020-12-14T14:28:51Z

223.235.135.203: /* Biography */

{{more citations needed|date=June 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Venkatamakhi
|image =
|caption =
|image_size =
|birth_name =
|birth_date =
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_place =
|other_names = Venkateswara
|occupation = {{hlist|Minister|Scholar}}
|years_active = {{flourished|{{circa|1630}}}}
|notable_works = [[Chaturdandiprakashika]]
|father = [[Govinda Dikshita]]
}}

'''Venkatamakhin''' ({{IAST3|Veṅkaṭamakhin}}; {{flourished|{{circa|1630}}}}{{sfn|GroveMusicOnline}}) or '''Venkatamakhi''', was an Indian poet, musician, and musicologist of [[Carnatic music]].{{sfn|GroveMusicOnline}} He is renowned for his ''[[Chaturdandiprakashika]]'' in which he explicates the [[Melakarta (asampurna scheme)|melakarta]] system of classifying [[raga]]s.{{sfn|Subramaniam|1999|p=135}} Venkatamakhin composed [[geethams]] and [[prabandha]]s, as well as 24 [[ashtapadi]]s in praise of Lord Thyagaraja of [[Tiruvarur]].

==Biography==
Venkatamakhin or Venkateswara Dikshita was the son of the musician, scholar, and priest, [[Govinda Dikshita]], a [[Kannada language|Kannada]] [[Brahmin]] from Honnali near Shivamogga, who was also a minister of [[Raghunatha Nayak]] of [[Thanjavur]].{{sfn|Ries|1969|p=24}} He was instructed in the [[veena]] by his father and his brother, Yagnanarayan. He was later schooled in the scholarly aspects of classical music by [[Tanappacharya]]. Venkatamakhin was also versed in [[Sanskrit]] and equipped with knowledge in varied subjects such as astrology, logic, philosophy, and [[alankara]].{{sfn|OxfordReference}}

Like his father, Venkatamakhin served as a minister to Raghunatha Nayak's successor, [[Vijayaraghava Nayak]] ({{reign|1633|1673}}). Seeing as to how there was no authoritative treatise on the classification of [[raga]]s in Carnatic music, the king commissioned Venkatamakhin to compile the [[Chaturdandiprakashika]], his most renowned work.{{sfn|GroveMusicOnline}} He was devotee of Tyagesha, the presiding deity of [[Tiruvarur]], and composed 24 [[ashtapadi]]s in his honour.{{sfn|OxfordReference}}

Venkatamakhin composed the Gita ‘Gandharva Janata’ (Arabhi) in praise of Tanappacharya.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

Venkatamakhin's [[Chaturdandi Prakasika]] was a landmark in the annals of Carnatic music. It had been in circulation only in manuscript form until it was taken up for print early in the 20th century. It gives a systematic and scientific classification of [[Melakarta|Mela]] ragas based on [[swara]]s. The name itself means ‘Exposition or illumination of the four channels through which a raga manifests itself’. Out of the ten chapters, the last and part of the ninth are said to be missing. Twelve hundred and odd couplets available are in simple, elegant Sanskrit. His grandson, Muddu Venkatamakhi, added a supplement to the work.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

It is said that Venkatamakhin freed himself from thieves by singing ‘Hare Nipidakantaka Dushpradesa’ (Lalita). He cared for his people too and freed them from the order of the ruler to get the symbols of conch and wheel tattooed by singing ‘Sankha Chakranganatyachara re’ (Ritigowla). He has also composed Lakshya Gitas and Prabandhas in Bandira Bhasha.{{cn|date=September 2018}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite journal |last1=Katz |first1=Jonathan |title=Veṅkaṭamakhin |journal=[[Grove Music Online]] |volume=1 | publisher=Oxford University Press | doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.48134 | ref={{harvid|GroveMusicOnline}} |language=en|year=2001 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Subramaniam |first = L. |title = The reinvention of a tradition: Nationalism, Carnatic music and the Madras Music Academy, 1900-1947 | journal = Indian Economic & Social History Review | volume = 36 | issue = 2 | pages = 131–163 |year = 1999 | doi = 10.1177/001946469903600201 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ries |first1=Raymond E. |title=The Cultural Setting of South Indian Music |journal=Asian Music |date=1969 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=22–31 |doi=10.2307/833909 |ref=harv|jstor=833909 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=Venkaṭamakhi |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Music of India |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195650983.001.0001/acref-9780195650983-e-5173 |access-date=7 September 2018 |ref={{harvid|OxfordReference}} |language=en |url-access=subscription |year=2011 |isbn=9780195650983 |last1=Mahabharati |first1=Sangit }}

==Further reading==
* V. Raghavan: ‘Later Saṅgīta Literature’, ''Journal of the Music Academy'', Madras, 4 (1933), 62–4
* V. Raghavan: ‘Venkatamakhin and the 72 Melas’, ''Journal of the Music Academy'', Madras, 12 (1941), 67–79
* S. Seetha: ''Tanjore as a Seat of Music'' (Madras, 1981)
* N. Ramanathan: ‘Influence of Śāstra on Prayoga: the Svara System in the Post-Saṅgītaratnākara Period with Special Reference to South Indian Music’, ''The Traditional Indian Theory and Practice of Music and Dance'', ed. J.B. Katz (Leiden, 1992), 75–105

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Carnatic composers]]

Vatapi Ganapatim

2020-12-14T14:22:48Z

223.235.135.203: /* Music */

{{short description|Sanskrit hymn to Hindu god Ganesha by Muthuswami Dikshitar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}

[[File:Muthuswami Dikshitar 1976 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|The composer of the hymn, Muthuswami Dikshitar.]]
'''"Vatapi Ganapatim"''', also known as '''"Vatapi ganapatim bhajeham"''' or '''"Vatapi ganapatim bhaje"''', is a [[Sanskrit]] ''[[kriti]]'' song by the [[South India]]n poet-composer [[Muthuswami Dikshitar]] (1775–1835), one of the "[[Trinity of Carnatic music]]". The panegyrical hymn praises [[Uthrapathiswaraswamy Temple|Vatapi Ganapati]], [[Ganesha]] (Ganapati) worshipped in a shrine in [[Tiruchenkattankudi]] in the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. The hymn is composed in [[Hamsadhvani]] [[raga]] (musical mode); however, in tradition of kritis, individual performers add their own variations in the tune as a part of improvisation. ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' is considered the best-known piece of Muthuswami Dikshitar and is one of the most popular compositions of [[Carnatic music]] (South Indian classical music school). The hymn is traditionally sung at the beginning of many Carnatic music concerts.

== Background: Vatapi Ganapati ==
[[File:Thajavur Ganesha.jpg|thumb|''Vatapi Ganapatim'' praises the god Ganesha]]

"Vatapi Ganapatim" is a part of the series of hymns called ''Shodasa Ganapati kritis'', a collection of songs dedicated to sixteen Ganesha icons located in shrines around Dikshitar's birthplace [[Thiruvarur]].<ref name="catlin142">Catlin p. 142</ref> ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' is dedicated to the image of Vatapi Ganapati of Tiruchenkattankudi in [[Thiruvarur district]], in the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]].

As per oral tradition, the icon of Vatapi Ganapati was brought booty from the [[Chalukya]]n capital of Vatapi (presently known as [[Badami]] in northern [[Karnataka]]) by [[Paranjothi]], the commander-in-chief of the [[Pallava]] king [[Narasimhavarman I]] (reign: 630–668 CE), following [[Battle of Vatapi|the conquest of Pallavas over the Chalukyas]] (642 CE). The icon was placed in Paranjothi's birthplace Tiruchenkattankudi. Later, Paranjothi renounced his violent ways and became a [[Shaiva]] monk known as Siruthondar, is venerated as a [[Nayanars|Nayanar]] saint today.<ref name="vatapi">Catlin pp. 146, 150</ref><ref name="templenet" /> However, no written records substantiate the oral tradition; the Ganesha icon is missing from list of war booty brought by the Pallava general.<ref name="vatapi" />

The icon of Vatapi Ganapati is currently enshrined in a secondary shrine in the temple complex of [[Uthrapathiswaraswamy Temple]], Tiruchenkattankudi, dedicated to the god [[Shiva]], Ganesha's father. Besides Vatapi Ganapati, the temple complex also has a shrine to Ganesha, who is depicted with a human head, instead of the elephant head he is usually depicted with. The Shiva temple was known as Siruthonda Ganapatishvara, named after Siruthondar. The name "Ganapatishvara", which also gives the town its alternate name "Ganapatishvaram", denotes Shiva as "Lord of Ganesha" and alludes to the legend that Ganesha killed a demon and then worshipped his father Shiva here.<ref name="vatapi" /><ref name="templenet">{{cite web | url=http://templenet.com/Tamilnadu/vatapi.html | title=Vatapi Ganapati | publisher=TempleNet | accessdate=1 January 2015}}</ref>

== Lyrics ==
The ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' hymn is composed in [[Sanskrit]] by Muthuswami Dikshitar. Dikshitar praises Vatapi Ganapati, as the elephant-headed god, who grants boons. The universe and the [[mahabhuta|elements]] are said to be created by Ganesha. Ganesha is described as the remover of obstacles. He is worshipped by the sage [[Agastya]] and the God [[Vishnu]]. He resides in the [[Muladhara]] [[chakra]] and exists in four kinds of speech – [[Pashyanti|Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari]]. The sacred [[Om]] is said to be his body. Ganesha's iconography is described. He has an elephant-head and curved trunk. The crescent moon adores his forehead. He holds a [[sugarcane]] in his left hand. He also carries a ''[[pasha (Hinduism)|pāśa]]'' (noose), a [[pomegranate]] fruit, a [[guava]] fruit and other things. He has a large body. This form pleases his father Shiva and brother [[Kartikeya]]. The last line notes that Ganesha is pleased with the [[Hamsadhvani]] [[raga]], indicating the raga in which the composition should be sung.<ref name="Subramaniyan1998">{{cite book|author=V.K. Subramaniyan|title=Sacred Songs Of India|date=1998|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-366-3|pages=216–7}}</ref><ref name="lyrics">Catlin pp. 143–9</ref>

===Lyrics in ===

{|style="width: 90%;"
|- style="text-align: left;"
!style="width: 40%;" | Devanagari lyrics
!style="width: 40%;" | Transliteration of the lyrics
|-
|'''[[Pallavi]]'''
|-
|वातापि गणपतिम् भजेऽहम्। (or) वातापि गणपतिम् भजे अहम् । 
वारणस्यम् वरप्रदम् श्री ।
|''vātāpi gaṇapatiṃ bhajē'ham (or) vātāpi gaṇapatiṃ bhajē aham'' 
''vāraṇāsyaṃ varapradaṃ śrī ''
|-
|'''[[Anupallavi]]'''
|-
|
भूतादि संसेवित चरणम्। 
भूतभौतिक प्रपञ्च भरणम्। 
वीत रागिणम् विनुत योगिनम्। 
विश्वकारणम् विघ्नवारणम्।
|
''bhūtādi-saṃsēvita-charaṇam '' 
''bhūta-bhautika-prapañcha-bharaṇam'' 
''vītarāgiṇaṃ vinata-yōginam (or) vītarāgiṇaṃ vinuta-yōginam'' 
''viśwakāraṇaṃ vighnavāraṇam''
|-
|'''[[Charanam]]'''
|-
|
पुराकुम्भ सम्भव मुनिवर। 
प्रपूजितम् त्रिकोणमध्यगतम्। 
मुरारि प्रमुखाद्युपासितम्। 
मूलाधार क्षेत्रस्थितम् ।

परादि चत्वारि वागात्मकम्। 
प्रणवस्वरूप वक्रतुण्डम्। 
निरन्तरम् निखिल चन्द्र खण्डम्। 
निज वामकर विधृतेक्षुदण्डम्।

कराम्बुजपाश बीजपूरम्। 
कलुषविदूरम् भूताकारम्। 
हरादिगुरुगुह तोषित बिम्बम्। 
हंसध्वनि भूषित हेरम्बम्। 
|
''purā kumbha-sambhava-munivara'' 
''prapūjitaṃ trikōṇa-madhyagatam'' 
''murāri-pramukhādyupāsitam'' 
''mūlādhāra-kṣētrasthitam''

''parādi catvāri vāgātmakam'' 
''praṇava-swarūpa vakratuṇḍam'' 
''nirantaraṃ nidila chandrakhaṇḍam'' 
''nija vāmakara vidhṛtēkṣhadandam''

''karāmbuja-pāśa-bījā-pūram'' 
''kaluṣa-vidūraṃ bhūtākāram'' 
''harādi-guruguha-tōṣita-bimbam'' 
''haṃsadhwani bhūṣita hērambam'' 
|}

== Music ==
[[File:Hamsadhwani scale.svg|thumb|right|300px|''Hamsadhvani'' scale with ''shadja'' at C.]]
Dikshitar composed ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' in ''Hamsadhvani'' raga (musical mode) of Carnatic music, which was created by his father Ramaswami Dikshitar (1735–1817) in 1790.<ref name="Music,2013" /><ref name="Catlin151">Catlin p. 151</ref> The hymn is the only piece of Muthuswami Dikshitar in this raga; Muthuswami generally preferred "more traditional – and usually more complex -" Carnatic ragas. Ramaswami's other two sons, who were also composers, did not compose in this raga. However, the raga is still popular and has found takers in the [[Hindustani classical music]] school of North India. The ''kriti'' genre derives from devotional song forms like [[kirtan]] and [[bhajan]].<ref name="catlin141" />

According to the [[Tantra|Tantric]] school to which Muthuswami belonged, the ''[[Swara]]''s (musical notes) have symbolic associations. The note ''Shadja'' (''Sa'') originates from the [[Muladhara]] [[chakra]], whose presiding deity is Ganesha. It is also associated with the notes ''gandharva'' (''ga'') and ''Nishada'' (''ni''), the latter is often compared with an elephant's sound – thus suitable for the elephant-headed god. The consonants of these notes, ''ga'' and ''na'' also appear as the first consonants in the name of the god (''Ga-na''-pati). Thus, Muthuswami Dikshitar may have digressed from his usual ragas and composed in ''Hamsadhvani'', due to the Tantric associations with Ganesha. Amy Catlin suggests that the composition is composed to conjure the image of a dancing Ganesha.<ref name="catlin152">Catlin p. 152</ref>

The musical compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar were passed on orally through his descendants and 11 disciples. Subbarama (1839–1906) received the knowledge of the songs from Balaswami, his grandfather and guardian by adoption, who was Muthuswami's younger brother. Subbarama, initially reluctant, agreed to publish the songs with notes on persuasion by his patron, Venkateswara Ettappa III – the ruler of [[Ettayapuram estate|Ettayapuram]] and Chinnaswamy Mudaliar, the noted publisher of Carnatic music compositions. Even though Dikshitar's musical family was [[Kannada people|Kannada]] and the language of his compositions primarily Sanskrit, Muthuswami's compositions were printed in [[Telugu language]], as the patrons were [[Telugu people]] and the court language of the polygars, his patrons, was [[Telugu]]. The ''Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini'' (1904) included the works of many composers, included 229 kritis of Muthuswami Dikshitar. Subbarama provided the lyrics of the songs as well as the musical notes for the publication. The ''Vatapi Ganapatim'', titled simply as ''Vatapi'', included a "Western staff transnotation" as well as "Roman transliteration of the text to show underlay of the melody".<ref name="catlin153ff">Catlin pp. 152–7</ref>

With support of the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], the [[Madras Music Academy]] republished the ''Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini'' in [[Tamil language]] in 1961 to cater to the demand of Carnatic musicians and composers of Chennai (then known as Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu), who were predominantly Tamil speakers. The ''Vatapi Ganapatim'', as it is known in the work, was published in volume 4 of five-volume series. This work is the main source of the hymn today.<ref name="catlin153ff" />

While the publication by Subbarama was the first complete publication of the hymn, the first two sections, ''[[Pallavi]]'' and ''[[Anupallavi]]'', of the ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' were published in 1896 by Chinnaswamy Mudaliar as an issue of his serial "Oriental music in European notation". The extract of the ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' is presented in a play in the work. In a dialogue on the ''Hamsadhvani'', ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' is quoted as an example of the raga. The musical notations were probably written by Mudaliar by listening to a performer of the piece. The musical notations in this work significantly differ from the standard musical notation in the ''Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini''.<ref name="catlin153ff" />

Although the piece is set in a well-defined raga, "every performance of "Vātāpi Gaṇapatim" is different, due to the importance of improvisation" in Carnatic music.<ref name="catlin141" /> The most famous of the improvised versions of the tune comes from [[Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer]] (1844–1893). Iyer repeated the lines and introduced his own variations called ''sangati''s, a characteristic of all kriti performers. As a renowned vocalist, his version also became popular and is passed on till this day. The "most widely circulated recent notation" of the hymn was published by P. Sambamoorthy in Tamil. He notes that the hymn is sung at the beginning of most concerts.<ref name="catlin153ff" />

== Importance ==
{{ external media
| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58jfLwIFLMU Nadaswaram and Thavil (instrumental version)]
}}
''Vatapi Ganapatim'' is described not only as the "best-known piece" of Dikshitar,<ref name="Music,2013">{{cite book|author=Garland Encyclopedia of World Music|title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-09602-0|page=991}}</ref> but also one of the most famous compositions in Carnatic music.<ref name="catlin141">Catlin p. 141</ref> In 1991, Amy Catlin noted that the hymn is traditionally sung first in many Carnatic music concerts in Chennai. Processions with the [[Nadaswaram]] and the [[Thavil]] musical instruments often play this hymn. ''Vatapi Ganapatim'' is one of the first musical compositions students of Carnatic music are taught.<ref name="catlin141" /> The composition has also travelled to [[North India]]. The performance of the hymn at beginning of musical concerts relates to Ganesha's role as the Lord of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped at the start of ventures by Hindus.<ref name="catlin141" /> Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin art performances with a prayer to Ganesha. According to Amy Catlin, the fame of the hymn streams from its patron deity, Ganesha, who is a popular Hindu god as well as the melodious and simple music, which was composed in a newly created raga.<ref name="catlin141" />

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
*{{cite book | title=Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God | publisher=SUNY Press | author=Catlin, Amy | year=1991 | isbn=978-0-7914-0656-4 | editor=Brown, Robert | chapter="Vātāpi Gaṇapatim": Sculptural, Poetic, and Musical Texts in the a Hymn to Gaṇeśa}}

[[Category:Ganesha]]
[[Category:Carnatic compositions]]
[[Category:Hindu prayer and meditation]]
[[Category:Sanskrit poetry]]

Kingdom of Alwar

2020-12-13T16:43:43Z

223.235.135.203: /* Maharaja Tej Singh (1937-1947) */

Kingdom of Alwar

2020-12-13T16:42:44Z

223.235.135.203: /* Maharaja Tej Singh (1937-1947) */