Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Navagraha Krithis
(1775-1835 AD)
18th Century was the era of Carnatic music. It saw the birth of the Carnatic music trinities, Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Shyama Shastri, Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar.
Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar, was born in a small town, Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu. His parents were Sri. Ramaswamy Dikshitar and Subbamma. Sri Ramaswamy Dikshitar was an eminent musician, and was the inventor of the raaga 'Hamsadhwani'. Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar, was a prodigy, and demonstrated his proficiency in music from a tender age of 8. He, being a 'Devi Upasaka'(Devotee of Devi), has composed krithis on Sri Chakra, known as Navavarna Krithis. Out of his innumerable compositions, only around 500 have been musically documented.
Navagraha Krithis, are a set of 9 krithis, composed by Sr i Dikshitar, which elaborates on our planetary system.
History says, Thambiyappan, a disciple of Sri DIkshitar, was suffering from a stomach ailment, and found no cure for it. When Sri. Dikshitar, visited him, and studied Thambiyappan's horoscope, he found that the position of Guru graha was not very favourable. This prompted Sri Dikshitar to compose 'Brihaspathe Tarapathe' krithi, in the raaga ATaaNa set to triputa taala. Tambiyappan was advised to sing this krithi, for a week, and yes, his ailment was cured!
The rest of the 8 krithis, were composed by Sri Dikshitar, having in mind, it's therapeutic effects.
Navagraha Krithis and their scientific significance
Navagrahas is ancient and worshipped in the Indian tradition. They are believed to affect the lives on earth in many different ways. Generally there is a misnomer about equating the Navagrahas with the nine planets of our solar system. The term ‘Graha’ doesnot mean planet. ‘Grihanthi ithi Graha’ is the Sanskrit word, which means Grahas are celestial bodies whose energies can influence our mental, verbal and physical perceptions. In a broader sense, this word includes all the celestial bodies like planets, sun, moon, stars, comets and many more, without contradiction. Constellations for instance, are nothing but a group of stars, which is embodied with its own deity, direction, colour, group and so on. Our ancestors, have personified these Navagrahas, by giving them a stature, colour, consort, vehicle, food, clothing, embellishment, gods, demi-gods and much more. This personification has led to the rise of interesting literature, compositions, emotions and devotion towards the Navagrahas.
Navagrahas have been adored in the Navagraha Krithis composed by Muthuswamy Dikshitar. Apart from the traditional form of worship, history says these krithis are equally potential to influence the Grahas. The amount of astrophysical details these krithis contain is beyond belief. The astronomical interpretations, and the science that lies hidden in these krithis would be presented in our blog series. All the raagas of these compositions are so penetrating, that they have a therapeutic effect on the mind,body and soul.
What areas of science do these krithis cover?
-Botany
- Astro-physics
- Human Physiology
-Astronomy
-Optics
-Mathematics
-Phenology
Illustrations made in these krithis are observed in modern day science, mostly during the post-Industrial revolution era. Some of the descriptions of Grahas in the krithi, are still a mystery to modern-day science. Science, Vedanta, Music merge in these krithis.
The Astronomical view of the Navagrahas
-Our solar system has 9 planets revolving around the sun
-All living /non living beings are present only on the earth.No significant evidence of life exists on other planets. Hence, earth appears to remain stationary and all the other planets,sun,moon appear to relatively move around the earth in the background of the stars/constellations. All these celestial objects occupy different positions at different intervals of time.
We can summarise the Navagraha krithis in this approach. The entire Solar spectrum can be equated to each Navagraha Krithi. The description of each Graha in these krithis, are a clear illustration of personification of each band in the solar spectrum, their effects on our human body,mind and soul being linked with the 7 chakras. I have attempted to provide a lateral scientific thinking to these krithis, by deciphering the scientific analogy behind the Saahityam ONLY.
I dedicate this piece of work, which is the brainchild of my guru Vid. R.K.Padmanabha ,who has been my guide, mentor and above all a pillar of strength for all the efforts that has gone into the making of this research.
References made to bring out this blog:
Navagraha KrithigaLu, Vid.R.K.Padmanabha, Sharada Kala Kendra
Ganakalasiri, Rallapalli AnanthaKrishna Sharma
BhoogoLa Varnane, Sri Vadiraja Swamy
conceptionalastrology.blogspot.in ,Santosh Chakraborthi
www.medieval.org
www.sanatansociety.org>Vedic Astrology and Numerology
www.huffingtonpost.com
www.hnsuresh.com
www.astrology-and-science.com
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