PART-24---THIRUNELVELI AND LAST DAYS
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Back to Ettayapuram, shrines at Kazhugamalai, Sankarankovil,Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli. Deepavali of 1835 when he merged in the Eternal Soul.
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During the late 1820s, Muthuswami Dikshitar's two wives left this world one after another. He now had no other commitments. He could spend all of his time for the rest of his life in spiritual contemplation. There was also no one to look after him and his needs. Of course, the disciples did their best but none could be expected to live full time with the master and serve him, for, they also had their commitments to their respective families. Dikshitar therefore left for Ettayapuram after taking leave of his disciples and blessing them. The decision to permanently leave the presence of Lord Tyagaraja and Goddess Kamalamba would not have been an easy one to make, nevertheless, the Divine Couple were enshrined in his heart. It would be safe to conclude that Dikshitar did not at th
practising advaitin, he knew that he had to someday give up the attachment even towards the gods.
Dikshitar was received with great enthusiasm at Ettayapuram. The joy of the Rajah, Venkateswara Ettappa and his court was greater this time, as they knew that the composer had come to Ettayapuram for good. Some of Dikshitar's disciples like Tevur Subramania Iyer, Tirukkadayur Bharati and Sattanur Panchanada Iyer accompanied him and they too were received enthusiastically by the gentry of Ettayapuram. The Rajah gave Dikshitar a house to live in. This was very near the palace and it was next to this house that more than 50 years later, the revolutionary Tamil poet Subramanya Bharati was to be born.
Dikshitar made use of his sojourn at Ettayapuram to visit nearby places of pilgrimage. Kankashaila or Kazhugamalai (the hill of the vulture) is on the road from Kovilpatti to Sankarankoil. The topography of the whole area is typical Tirunelveli, with rocky outcrops dotting the region. Kazhugumalai is a huge rock about 300 feet high. The temple is a rock cut one, a cave temple, veTTuvAn kOvil, as they call it locally. It has beautiful sculptures adorning its inner walls and its dome. Lord Subramanya at Kazhugumalai is the tutelary deity of the Ettayapuram zamindars and the temple belongs to them. It was on this Lord that Dikshitar wrote the shuddha dhanyAsi composition 'subramaNyEna rakShitOham'.
During the late 1820s, Muthuswami Dikshitar's two wives left this world one after another. He now had no other commitments. He could spend all of his time for the rest of his life in spiritual contemplation. There was also no one to look after him and his needs. Of course, the disciples did their best but none could be expected to live full time with the master and serve him, for, they also had their commitments to their respective families. Dikshitar therefore left for Ettayapuram after taking leave of his disciples and blessing them. The decision to permanently leave the presence of Lord Tyagaraja and Goddess Kamalamba would not have been an easy one to make, nevertheless, the Divine Couple were enshrined in his heart. It would be safe to conclude that Dikshitar did not at th
practising advaitin, he knew that he had to someday give up the attachment even towards the gods.
Dikshitar was received with great enthusiasm at Ettayapuram. The joy of the Rajah, Venkateswara Ettappa and his court was greater this time, as they knew that the composer had come to Ettayapuram for good. Some of Dikshitar's disciples like Tevur Subramania Iyer, Tirukkadayur Bharati and Sattanur Panchanada Iyer accompanied him and they too were received enthusiastically by the gentry of Ettayapuram. The Rajah gave Dikshitar a house to live in. This was very near the palace and it was next to this house that more than 50 years later, the revolutionary Tamil poet Subramanya Bharati was to be born.
Dikshitar made use of his sojourn at Ettayapuram to visit nearby places of pilgrimage. Kankashaila or Kazhugamalai (the hill of the vulture) is on the road from Kovilpatti to Sankarankoil. The topography of the whole area is typical Tirunelveli, with rocky outcrops dotting the region. Kazhugumalai is a huge rock about 300 feet high. The temple is a rock cut one, a cave temple, veTTuvAn kOvil, as they call it locally. It has beautiful sculptures adorning its inner walls and its dome. Lord Subramanya at Kazhugumalai is the tutelary deity of the Ettayapuram zamindars and the temple belongs to them. It was on this Lord that Dikshitar wrote the shuddha dhanyAsi composition 'subramaNyEna rakShitOham'.
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Dikshitar then visited Sankarankovil where both Siva and Vishnu give darshan as Sankaranarayana. Here Dikshitar wrote shankaranArAyaNam in the rare rAga nArAyaNa dEsAkShi.
Dikshitar then visited Sankarankovil where both Siva and Vishnu give darshan as Sankaranarayana. Here Dikshitar wrote shankaranArAyaNam in the rare rAga nArAyaNa dEsAkShi.
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The shore temple of Tiruchendur is the biggest for Lord Subramanya and it is one of the six main temples (paDai vIDu) for the Divine Son of Siva and Parvati. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast. The sUrasamhAram festival is very famous here. It was here that Adi Sankara, the preceptor of Advaita, composed his subramaNya bhujangam. Dikshitar paid tribute to this deity in the tODi song 'srI subramaNyO'. Herein he refers to the temple practice of giving vibhUti prasAdam on dry leaves to devotees. Adi Sankara too mentions this practice in his poem.
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Dikshitar then visited Tirunelveli where there is a big temple for Lord Siva as Nellaiyappar. On Nellaiyappar he wrote 'shAlivATIshvaram' in dEvagAndhAri. On the Goddess here, he wrote the dEshi simhAravam piece shrI kAntimatim.
Dikshitar then visited Tirunelveli where there is a big temple for Lord Siva as Nellaiyappar. On Nellaiyappar he wrote 'shAlivATIshvaram' in dEvagAndhAri. On the Goddess here, he wrote the dEshi simhAravam piece shrI kAntimatim.
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Dikshitar is also supposed to have visited the nearby village of Kallidaikurichi and composed the AbhOgi song 'shrI lakshmi varAham' in praise of Lord Vishnu who gives darshan here as varAhA, the boar.
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Accounts of Dikshitar's life say that he also visited Sabarimalai and Trivandrum and composed the songs 'hariharaputram' in vasantA on Sashta at the former shrine and 'pannagashayana' in madhyamAvati at the latter.
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Dikshitar returned to Ettayapuram. A son was born to Venkateswara Ettappa at this time and as a tribute to Dikshitar, the Rajah named him Muttuswami. Early in 1835, the marriage of the eldest son of the Rajah was celebrated. A grand festival of music and dance was held. Muttuswami Dikshitar blessed the festivities. Later that year, Navaratri was also celebrated at the Ettayapuram palace with great devotion and grandeur. The festivities were marked by music and dance performances. Taking advantage of the resurgence in art due to the presence of Dikshitar, many composers and Natyacharyas presented new compositions and works at this festival. The renaissance of music and dance in the Tirunelveli region and the later invaluable contributions of artists and composers of the Ettayapuram court to art can be most certainly attributed to Dikshitar's stay at Ettayapuram and his blessings.
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Amidst all this Dikshitar knew that his end was nearing. He was 60 years old. He was fully satisfied with the accomplishment of his life's mission. He had bequeathed to the world his immortal music, eternal works of bhakti and vEdAnta. The time had come for him to leave.
21st October 1835. It was dIpAvali, naraka chaturdashi day. A day of lights, when the darkness of ignorance is dispelled and the lamp of True Knowledge shines. Dikshitar got up very early in the
morning and as per tradition had his ritual bath, the gangA snAnam.
21st October 1835. It was dIpAvali, naraka chaturdashi day. A day of lights, when the darkness of ignorance is dispelled and the lamp of True Knowledge shines. Dikshitar got up very early in the
morning and as per tradition had his ritual bath, the gangA snAnam.
He then sat down for pUja. Just then the Rajah of Ettayapuram came running to Dikshitar's house. He was deeply perturbed. The royal elephant named Kangeyan had broken its chains and running amuck through the town had gone to the crematorium on the outskirts where it lay, not allowing anyone, even the mahout, to come near it. According to traditional belief, such a happening was inauspicious and it indicated trouble and suffering for the Rajah and his fiefdom. Venkateswara Ettappa asked Dikshitar whether the incident of the elephant lying at the crematorium portended any danger to him or his kingdom. Dikshitar replied that neither he, the Rajah, nor his kingdom, would come to grief. So saying, Dikshitar blessed Venkateswara Ettappa. Greatly relieved at this blessing from Dikshitar whom he considered as his guru, the Rajah returned to his palace.
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Dikshitar performed navAvaraNa pUja elaborately. After the pUja was over he asked for his vINa to be brought and played a few of his own compositions for some time. He then asked his disciples, including his brother Baluswami, who had gathered around him, to sing and specifically asked for his gamakakriyA masterpiece 'mInAkshi mEmudam dEhi'. While the disciples were singing the anupallavi lines 'mInalOcani pAshamOcani', he asked them to repeat it again. When the disciples were singing the said lines again, Dikshitar breathed his last. His soul was free of its moorings. Muttuswami Dikshitar's pilgrimage on earth was over. The Eternal Pilgrim had merged with Eternity. The brother and the disciples who did not expect Dikshitar to leave them so soon were dumbstruck.
The Rajah rushed to Dikshitar's house on hearing of the sad news. He lamented that he had not understood the true import of the prophetic words of the master. What greater tragedy could befall him and his kingdom than the passing away of his guru whom he revered as God Himself? Arrangements were made for the last journey of Muttuswami Dikshitar. His mortal remains were cremated and the ashes were buried on a piece of land next to the palace. A samAdhi structure was put up over the urn containing the ashes.
Not everyone is blessed with such a manner of death. It is only the truly blessed, the true children of God, the staunch unremitting devotee and the true follower of the highest spiritual practices that are fortunate enough to leave this world in a manner that is as sublime as it is a striking message for everyone present on the occasion and for those who listen to it. With the Lord's name in his mind, with a song on his lips and with profound peace within his heart, the great composer, in the manner of his death, left none in doubt that he had merged in the Eternal Soul.
In the pUrvi rAga kriti 'shrI guruguhasya dAsOham', a song belonging to the guru guha vibhakti series, Dikshitar says that he is a dAsa or servant of the guru, but immediately, in the next line says that he, i.e., Dikshitar is guru guha Himself. The real Guru is the Eternal Soul enshrined in the cave of the heart. This what is meant by the term 'guru guha'. For the musically inclined, whether an artist or rasika, Muttuswami Dikshitar is the Eternal Guru ever enshrined in our hearts, as are his two equally great
In the pUrvi rAga kriti 'shrI guruguhasya dAsOham', a song belonging to the guru guha vibhakti series, Dikshitar says that he is a dAsa or servant of the guru, but immediately, in the next line says that he, i.e., Dikshitar is guru guha Himself. The real Guru is the Eternal Soul enshrined in the cave of the heart. This what is meant by the term 'guru guha'. For the musically inclined, whether an artist or rasika, Muttuswami Dikshitar is the Eternal Guru ever enshrined in our hearts, as are his two equally great and illustrious contemporaries Shyama Sastry and Thyagaraja
Not everyone is blessed with such a manner of death. It is only the truly blessed, the true children of God, the staunch unremitting devotee and the true follower of the highest spiritual practices that are fortunate enough to leave this world in a manner that is as sublime as it is a striking message for everyone present on the occasion and for those who listen to it. With the Lord's name in his mind, with a song on his lips and with profound peace within his heart, the great composer, in the manner of his death, left none in doubt that he had merged in the Eternal Soul.
In the pUrvi rAga kriti 'shrI guruguhasya dAsOham', a song belonging to the guru guha vibhakti series, Dikshitar says that he is a dAsa or servant of the guru, but immediately, in the next line says that he, i.e., Dikshitar is guru guha Himself. The real Guru is the Eternal Soul enshrined in the cave of the heart. This what is meant by the term 'guru guha'. For the musically inclined, whether an artist or rasika, Muttuswami Dikshitar is the Eternal Guru ever enshrined in our hearts, as are his two equally great
In the pUrvi rAga kriti 'shrI guruguhasya dAsOham', a song belonging to the guru guha vibhakti series, Dikshitar says that he is a dAsa or servant of the guru, but immediately, in the next line says that he, i.e., Dikshitar is guru guha Himself. The real Guru is the Eternal Soul enshrined in the cave of the heart. This what is meant by the term 'guru guha'. For the musically inclined, whether an artist or rasika, Muttuswami Dikshitar is the Eternal Guru ever enshrined in our hearts, as are his two equally great and illustrious contemporaries Shyama Sastry and Thyagaraja
