PART-10...THIRUVAARUR..THYAGARAJA VIBAKKTHI KRUTHIS

10

Tiruvarur,.... 

Lord Thyagaraja and Thyagaraja Vibhakti kritis
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Tiruvarur has several names. Chief among them are, srIpuram, kamalApuram, mUlAdhAra kShetra, hATaka kShetra, chamatkArapuram, etc.

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 It is said that the Thyagaraja temple is built as Vishnu swarUpA and that in the centre of it is situated the main shrine of Thyagaraja.

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 Siva as Lord Thyagaraja is supposed to dance in the heart-lotus of Vishnu. The mahAnArAyaNa upaniShad itself mentions this.

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The Thyagaraja temple is a massive complex and is reputed to exist for more than 1500 years, though, until the 9th century, the temple was supposed to be an ordinary brick and mud structure with the various shrines as separate units.

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It was after the 9th century that the Cholas started building the mammoth stone edifice and created the intricate and imposing architecture and sculptures that we see now. Later additions were made by the Vijayanagara kings, the Nayaks and the Marattas.

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 Each deity enshrined in the temple has its own significance, its own mode of worship, festivals etc.

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 The Tiruvarur temple was supposed to have employed the largest number of musicians and dancers (hundreds, literally) in its days of yore, according to an inscription in the Big temple of Tanjavur. The Tiruvarur temple also houses the largest hall dedicated to the art of painting. It has besides, very rare musical instruments that are still being played during festivals. Being a storehouse of the arts it is no wonder that this was Dikshitar's favourite shrine. It is also not surprising that Dikshitar dedicated the largest number of songs to this temple.

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The presiding deity is Lord Thyagaraja. The purANA says that the icon was worshipped by Vishnu Himself. He then gave it to Indra who in turn gave it to King Muchukunda who installed it at Tiruvarur. This is one of the two Siva temples where He is depicted with form in the main shrine itself, the other being Chidambaram. The linga representation is the valmIkalingam, the linga of the anthill. The valmIkalingam is one of the five lingAs enshrined in the Thyagaraja temple complex representing the five elements. The other four are sadAchalEshwara, hATakEshwara, AnandEshwara and sIddhIshwara. On the main valmIkalingam, Since Tiruvarur kShEtra is dedicated to the concept of birth or manifestation (jananAt kamalAlayE), the five primordial elements without which no life is possible on earth, are supposed to have their origins here, hence separate shrines for them at this temple. 

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Dikshitar wrote srI valmIkalingam in khAmbOji. 

He dedicated four other songs, one for each of the other elemental lingAs. These are, 

sadAchalEshwaram in bhUpALam,

 hATakEshwaram in bilahari,

 AnandEshwarEna in Ananda bhairavi and 

sIddhIshwarAya in nIlAmbari.

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Lord Thyagaraja is said to symbolise the highest truth that the Vedas speak of. His name itself suggests that He is the Lord of Renunciation. The name of the Lord, the significance of His dance and the mystical significance of Tiruvarur are closely interlinked. It is enough to be born in Tiruvarur to be assured of Liberation. For those born at Tiruvarur, that birth is supposed to be the last one, which means that their vAsanAs (latent tendencies), are in the last stages of existence. Much of their ego has already been destroyed, sacrificed at the altar of puNyA (good deeds) performed in their previous births. The Lord's name symbolises this sacrifice of which He Himself is the King. 

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The renunciation of the ego, of ignorance, results in the shining of the Pure Atman that He is. The Lord's dance at Tiruvarur is known as ajapA naTanam or hamsa naTanam, the wordless dance or the dance devoid of syllable, the dance of the true Self, of the Great Soul in Perfect Silence, without the trappings of the ego. In other words, ajapA symbolises the All-Pervading, Pure, Undiluted Nature of Brahman. Thus are the name of the Lord, the import of His dance and the esoteric significance of the place interrelated.

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The purANA says that Siva dances in the heart of Vishnu who is in yOga nidrA on Adisesha. The esoteric significance is that the already highly evolved soul (represented by Vishnu) is ready to merge into the Eternal Soul (represented by Siva). 

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Muthuswami Dikshitar refers to this esoteric truth in his compositions on Lord Thyagaraja. In the nIlAmbari composition, tyAgarAjam bhajEham, Dikshitar refers to Vishnu as yOgi and adds that other yOgIs too worship Thyagaraja (yOgi nArAyaNa Adi upAsitam). The icon of Thyagaraja is of sOmAskanda, i.e., of Siva, Parvati

and Subramanya together. Only the face of the Lord is visible. 

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From the face downwards the body of the Lord is covered by alankArAs, garlands and jewellery and further down is sealed by a box like structure. His dance is not revealed, it cannot be witnessed by the outer eye. That it is the most secretive dance, the dance of the Self, which has to be cognised in one's inner being, is symbolically shown by concealing the Lord's form from the shoulder downwards.

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As mentioned earlier, one of the names of Tiruvarur is mUlAdhAra kShEtra. This too has deep esoteric significance. It is in the mUlAdhArA that the kunDalini shakti is said to be coiled in sleep. The kunDalini is represented outwardly by Adi Sesha or Ananta, the seat of Lord Vishnu and symbolises the latent, unmanifest tendencies of man. All in all, the metaphysical concept of Tiruvarur reveals the primordial, natural state of man, that of birth, the true Birth of the Soul. All these mystical symbolisms are appropriately brought out by Dikshitar in his numerous compositions on Thyagaraja, the five songs on the panchalingAs and other kritis composed in the Tiruvarur temple.

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Eight of the songs on Thyagaraja he chose to compose in the eight declensions of the Sanskrit language. Thus the Thyagaraja vibhakti kritis comprise: 

1) tyAgarAjO virAjatE …...….aTANA 

2) tyAgarAjam bhajarE ……..yadukulakhAmbOji

3) tyAgarAjaEna samrakShitOham ........sALaka bhairavi

4) tyAgarAjAya namastE ......bEgaDA 

5) tyAgarAjAd anyam najAnE…………. darbAr

6) tyAgarAjasya bhaktO bhavAmi .........rudrapriyA 

7) tyAgarAjE krityAkrityam arpayAmi .....sArangA 

8) vIravasanta tyAgarAja vIravasantA

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The compositions on Lord Tyagaraja are masterpieces in the respective rAgAs. Each of these songs contains deep vEdAntic import.

 Besides the above, he composed

 a song in shrI, tyAgarAja mahAdvajArOha, detailing the various festivals of the temple. 

tyAgarAja yOga vaibhavam in Ananda bhairavi is an epic composition, though short, in terms of music, sAhitya, poetry and philosophy. Dikshitar employs the gOpuchha and srOtOvaha yati patterns. Besides being a poetic marvel, the yati phrases reveal deeply significant philosophy.

 tyAgarAjam bhajEham in nIlAmbari is a delightful composition which, like the above song in Ananda bhairavi consists of only the samaShTTi charaNam. 

Another composition with only the samaShTTi charaNam is tyAgarAja pAlayAshumAm wherein Dikshitar refers to the ajapA naTanam as being understood and worshipped by yOgIs.

Though a short composition, the gauLA rAgA in this song is exhaustively treated. The three rare rAgAs in this series are vIra vasanta, sALaka bhairavi and rudrapriyA. 

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