Maharaja Swati Tirunal(The greatest composer world has ever seen)

Submitted by UMAMAHESWARI on Sun, 2006-12-03 20:40. Other

Maharaja Swati Tirunal Rama Varma is one of the most illustrious personalities, the world has ever seen. Although 159 years has been elapsed since his demise, the glory of his name is acquiring a new halo. Today Swati Tirunal is not just a name to remember, but also a vital element in the sphere of musical lore. Richly endowed with ripe culture, his versatile genius made him the cynosure of all eyes.

In the absence of a male heir and in according to the tradition, a woman could succeed to the Travancore throne and such was the case when Maharani Lekshmi Bayi, mother of Swati Tirunal ascended the throne. He became the monarch before he was born, and hence the name Garbhasreeman. Swati Tirunal was only two when his mother died. The Prince was proclaimed the Maharaja, when he was only four months old. His father and Aunt Rani Parvathi Bayi brought him up.
Born to Rani Lakshmi Bayi and Changanasseri Kochu Koil Thampuran in 1813, he ruled Travancore for 18 years. This enlightened ruler introduced many progressive measures, and had an enviable record of a good reign. However, posterity remembers him as a great composer. He was an ardent student and linguist and became the Maharaja at the age of 16. The governance was hampered constantly by the Imperial powers. Irked, he was pushed to a state of distress and it affected his health adversely. Music and literature became his only solaces.
18 century, was a period of glory in the history of carnatic music. While wars of conquest and consolidation were fought, while petty political intrigues and conflicts were hatched, and while the entire social fabric, was crumbling, creative composers like Saint Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Deekshitar and Syama Sastri, and Swati Tirunal were raising the edifice of carnatic music, to the highest pinnacles of glory.
Travancore guarded by the Western Ghats and Oceans, is the primary reason for its unique culture and heritage. Hence, it took decades for the outside world, to fully comprehend with the range of his genius and achievements.
Though known mainly as a composer, Swati Tirunal was an erudite scholar. The available woks of the Royal Composer are-
Sree Padmanabha Satakam,
Syanandurapura Varnana Prabhandam,Ajamilopakhayanam,Kuchelopakhyanam,
Uthsava Varnana Prabhandam,Muhanprasa Antya prasa vyvastha,and Bhakti Manjari.
His other compositions include,Navarathri Keerthanam, Ganaraga Keerthanam, Navaratnamalika,
Compositions on Padmanabha, Narasimha, Sree rama, Sree Krishna, Siva and Goddess Saraswati. He has composed these works in six languages namely, Sanskrit, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindusthani, Canerese and Tamil. The credit of the Maharaja was that he overshadowed all his predecessors and his contemporaries by his great artistic ideals and effected a transformation in the possibilities of Sopana Sanggetham.
Sangita Kalanidi T V Subba Rao remarked thus about the works of Swati Tirunal: “The Kirtanas combine the many excellences of Deekshithar, and Tyagaraja, In the employment of Sanskrit in the abundances of Sahitya, in the beauties of the Swarakshra ans swar sthana varna, where swara and syllable coincide he bears great affinity to Deekshithar. In the structure of Kirtana, his compositions resemble those of Tyagaraja. The songs have sparkling liveliness of spirit and movement.”

His life span was very short. He passed away at the age of 34. It is astonishing that he was able to compose a large number of memorable pieces. He was able to fulfill the duties of the royalty but also to compose descriptive and dramatic poems of conspicuous merit. Swati Tirunal was responsible for introducing Harikatha in South India.

18TH century was a period of glory in the history of carnatic music. While wars of conquest and consolidation were fought, petty political intrigues and conflicts were hatched, and while the entire social fabric was crumbling, creative composers like Saint tyagaraja, Muthuswami Deekshithar, Syama Sastri, and Swati Tirunal were raising the edifice of carnatic music to the highest pinnacles of glory.

Travancore guarded by the Western Ghats and the vast ocean is the primary reason for its unique culture and heritage. Hence it took decades for the outside world to fully comprehend the range of his genius and achievements of this Monarch-musician.

The government of Travancore established Swati Tirunal Music Academy an institution for teaching carnatic music. As per the directions of Amma Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi and the Maharaja Sree Chithira Tirunal, Gayakasikhamani Dr. Harikesanalloor Muthiah Bhagavathar and Dr. Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer began the systematic collection and editing of the works of the Maharaja. Yet the popularity remained within Travancore.

For other composers, composing songs and rendering them were their only preoccupations. But as far as Swati Tirunal is concerned, he was primarily a ruler whose efficiency is still remembered. All the government departments of today owe their origin to the period of Swati Tirunal.

Amidst his busy schedule, he learnt music seriously, practiced assiduously, and composed melodiously. Musicians from Punjab, Oudh, Bengal, Benares, Maharashtra, Tanjore, Pune, adorned his court, in spite of the primitive transport facilities. Irayimmen Thampi, Vidwan koil Thampuran, Kokila Kanda Meruswami, Palakkad Parameswara Bhagavathar, Tanjore Quartettes, Shadkala Govinda Marar, Balu Swami Deekshithar, Mullamudu Bhagavathar were a few gems who were present in the court of Swati Tirunal.

He lived a simple life. He was gentle and courteous. Music was to him a means of worship, centered round Lord Padmanabha-his real preceptor.

Maharaja Swati Tirunal effected several innovations in the Padmanabhaswami Temple, the significant one being the standardization of the temple music-which is followed even today.
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