If Day 11 featured three lectures, Day 12 had just one. Dr. Meenakshi (Sumathi) Krishnan presented a lecture titled “The Guruguha Vibhakti Kritis of Muthuswami Dikshitar”. She was accompanied by a team of students from the Advanced School of Carnatic Music: Ms. Snigdha Desiraju, Ms. Ragasudha, Ms. Nandhika, Sri Bharat Narayan, and Sri Sivaramakrishnan.
Dr. Meenakshi began with a brief overview of the key events in the life of Muthuswami Dikshitar. To introduce the topic of the day, she spoke about Dikshitar’s visit to Tiruttani and why it was considered an ideal place for contemplation. Dikshitar is said to have meditated there for a mandala, forty eight days, after which the Lord himself appeared before him and placed a sugar candy in his mouth, marking the beginning of his musical journey. Dr. Meenakshi drew parallels between this episode and similar stories associated with Kalamegha Pulavar, Muka Kavi, and Kalidasa, whose journeys are also said to have begun in comparable ways. I would have added Thirugnanasambandar to this list, as his poetic journey began with Goddess Parvati herself feeding him milk. Dr. Meenakshi then explained the significance of Dikshitar’s mudra, Guruguha, defining it as the unison of the teacher and the Godhead.
What is Vibhakti? In grammar, there is a concept known as declension. It refers to the variation of a noun, pronoun, or adjective to indicate grammatical case, number, and gender. I am more familiar with Tamil grammar, so I digress briefly before returning to the lecture.
விபக்தி என்பதைத் தமிழில் வேற்றுமை எனச் சொல்வார்கள். இந்த வேற்றுமையை உணர்த்தும் சேர்க்கைகளின் பெயர் வேற்றுமை உருபுகள். வடமொழியில் எட்டு வேற்றுமை உருபுகள் இருப்பதாகப் புரிந்து கொள்கிறேன். தமிழிலும் எட்டு வேற்றுமைகள் உண்டு. முதல் வேற்றுமைக்கும் கடைசி வேற்றுமைக்கும் உருபுகள் கிடையாது. மற்ற ஆறு வேற்றுமை உருபுகள் ஐ, ஆல், கு, இன், அது, கண் ஆகியவை. உதாரணமாக கந்தன் என்ற பெயரை எடுத்துக் கொண்டோமானால்,
கந்தன் வந்தான் (பெயர் வேற்றுமை)
கந்தனைக் கண்டேன் (ஐ)
கந்தனால் பிழைத்தேன் (ஆல்)
கந்தனுக்கு அரோகரா (கு)
கந்தனின் வேல் (இன்)
கந்தனது அருள் (அது)
கந்தன்கண் மனம் சென்றது (கண்)
கந்தா வா வா (விளி வேற்றுமை)
இந்த எட்டு வேற்றுமைகளோடு ஒருவன், ஒருத்தி, பலர், ஒன்று, பல என்ற ஐம்பால்களைச் சேர்த்தோமானால் நாற்பது வேற்றுமைகள் வரும். இப்படி வேற்றுமை உருபுகளைக் கொண்டு வடமொழியில் பாடல்களைப் புனைவதை விபக்தி க்ருதிகள் என்கிறார்கள்.
Dr. Meenakshi then spoke about the possible influences that may have inspired Dikshitar to compose the Vibhakti kritis. In addition to his mudra Guruguha and the use of raga mudras, these compositions include references to his spiritual guru and repeated allusions to light in its many forms, symbolising knowledge. That these compositions form a clearly defined group is explicitly stated in the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini. Dr. Meenakshi also drew upon other sources in preparing this lecture.
She then moved on to the first Vibhakti kriti, Sri Nathadi Guruguho, set in Mayamalavagowlai, and shared several interesting details about it. One point she highlighted was that the word Jayati traditionally appears in pairs. Jayati Jayati Bharata Mata was cited as an example. This immediately reminded me of the Indian national anthem, which does one better and ends with Jaya He Jaya He Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya He.
After elaborating on the first Vibhakti kriti, Dr. Meenakshi proceeded to the second, Manasa Guruguha Rupam, set in Ananda Bhairavi. It is said that there are three paths in Sri Vidya Upasana: Dakshinamurti, Hayagriva, and Ananda Bhairava. Dikshitar is believed to have followed the last of these, making the choice of Ananda Bhairavi particularly apt. The third Vibhakti kriti is Sri Guruna Palitosmi, set in the raga Padi. Since Padi is a janya of Mayamalavagowlai, which was used earlier in the set, the care taken to differentiate the two ragas was explained clearly, along with the significance of the terms used in the lyrics.
The fourth Vibhakti kriti, Guruguhaya Bhaktanugrahaya, is set in Sama. An interesting feature of this composition is that the opening line of the pallavi and anupallavi are identical. Dr. Meenakshi offered her interpretation of why this might be so and highlighted several lyrical nuances. The fifth composition in the series is Guruguhadanyam, set in the rare raga Balahamsa. The lyrics are rich with mystical references encompassing agama, yoga, and tattvas, in keeping with the rarity of the raga itself.
The sixth Vibhakti kriti, Sri Guruguhasya Dasoham, is set in Purvi. This raga is classified as a bhashanga, desiya, and rakti raga. Dikshitar begins by describing himself as a servant of Guruguha but later speaks of himself as the embodiment of consciousness, possibly reflecting his own spiritual evolution.
The seventh composition, Guruguhaswamini, is set in another rare raga, Bhanumati, and is the only vivadi raga used in this group. There is an indirect reference to Tiruttani through the mention of Vijayavalli and Devasena as the consorts. The final composition in the set is Sri Guruguhamurte, set in the raga Udayaravichandrika. The first point discussed here was the distinction between Udayaravichandrika and Suddha Dhanyasi. This topic has been debated earlier at the Music Academy, where it was concluded that the two are distinct ragas. The Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini also clearly maintains this distinction. This composition focuses on the role of the guru in relation to the sishya.
The observation that Dikshitar began the series with Jayati Jayati and concluded it with Jaya Jaya was a graceful way to close the lecture. Special mention must be made of the students on stage, who performed these demanding compositions admirably. Shriram, as always, added several insightful points in his summing up, enriching the discussion further.
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