Trimurthy of Carnatic Music - Musikclass

The Trimurthy of Carnatic Music is a title that actually refers to the trio of composer musicians of Carnatic Music whose names are Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Shastri. This trio is also referred to as  The Three Jewels of Carnatic Music and they belonged to the 18th century. They were responsible for creating a new era in Carnatic Music because they made a change in the existing tradition of Carnatic Music.  The compositions of this trio are distinct in style and they were also original when it came to handling the ragas. Muthuswami Dikshitar mainly composed music in Tamil and Sanskrit languages. Tyagaraja and Syama Shastri on the other hand mainly made compositions in Telugu.

TYAGARAJA

Tyagaraja was born on 4th May 1767 at Thanjavur. He is also called Tyagayya. Tyagaraja was a famous composer of Carnatic Music. He composed many devotional compositions which were directed towards the praise of Lord Rama. Most of his compositions were in the Telugu language. His family name was Karkala and this indicates the fact that they were migrants from Andhra Pradesh. He had a maternal grandfather whose name was Kalahastayya. This maternal grandfather of his was also addressed as Veena Kalahastayya because he was a good veena player. In his childhood, Tyagaraja learnt to play the veena from Kalahastayya. The actual musical training of Tyagaraja began under Sonti Venkata Ramanayya. Tyagaraja believed that through music one could experience God's love. This is the reason as to why his compositions were focused more on expression rather than the technicalities of classical music. The first song that was composed by him was Namo Namo Raghavaya which was in the desika todi raga. Most of his songs actually feature him in an appeal to his deity who he worships in musings,in narratives and it would also give a message to the public. Since most of his songs were in Telugu they became quite famous because they were very easy to understand. Tyagaraja has also composed two musical plays in the Telugu language which are the Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam and the Nauka Charitam. He also composed the Pancharatna Kritis in which he has explained how one can scientifically and systematically develop a raga.

MUTHUSWAMI DIKSHITAR

Muthuswami Dikshitar was a South Indian poet, a singer, a veena player and also a music composer. He was born on 24th March 1775 in Thiruvarur which was near Thanjavur. His father Ramaswami Dikshitar was a music composer who instructed in many subjects like the vedas, poetry, music and also astrology. Muthuswami Dikshitar's compositions are well known for their detailed and also poetic descriptions of Hindu Gods as well as Temples. His compositions also capture the essence of the raga forms through the veena style and these emphasize on the gamaka. These are mostly at a slow speed. Muthuswami Dikshitar is also known by his signature name of Gurugraha. Gurugraha also happens to be his mudra and these can be found in his songs as well. The number of compositions that he has made is approximately 450 - 500. Most of these compositions are also sung in Carnatic Music concerts even today. His compositions are mostly in the Sanskrit language. The compositions are also in the Kriti form which is nothing but poetry set to music. Since Muthuswami Dikshitar travelled a lot to many holy shines throughout his life, the kritis that he composed were mainly based on the deities and temples that he visited. His compositions are well known for the depth and soulfulness of the melody. The visions that he had with regards to ragas still happen to be the final word on their structure. In his lyrics one can also the rhyming of lines which is another feature of his composition. Muthuswami Dikshitar also took up the project of composing in all the 72 Melakarta Ragas. He was also the pioneer in composing samashti charanam kritis.  He was also a master of tala and is the only composer who has kritis in all the seven basic talas of Carnatic Music. Some of the names of his compositions are Eka Dantam Bhajeham, Ganapate Mahamate, Ganesha Kumara Pahimam, etc.

SYAMA SHASTRI

Syama Shastri was a musician and also a composer of Carnatic Music. He was the eldest member among the Trimurthy of Carnatic Music. He was born on 26th April 1762 at Thiruvarur near Thanjavur. His family was a Telugu Brahmin one. Adiappayya who was a noted durbar musician was the person who trained Syama Shastri in music. It is believed that he approximately composed 300 pieces. His compositions are well known because of their literary, melodic and rhythmic proficiency. He composed his compositions in a very formal form of the Telugu language. A number of his compositions are dedicated to Goddess Kamakshi.  Syama Shastri was the first composer who composed in a new form of the swarajathi music genre. It was because of this that the compositions could be rendered only in a singing or instrumental manner. His famous three swarajathis are called Ratnatrayam. He was also very well known for his singing. He is also known for composing in complex Talas.Some of the names of his compositions are Kamakshi anudinamu maruvakane, Rave himagiri kumari, etc.

IMPORTANCE OF THE TRINITY OF CARNATIC MUSIC 

This Trinity of Carnatic Music is important not only because they contributed a lot to Carnatic Music but also because of the way they established a complete relationship between tunes, words and also devotion. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Carnatic Music had started to become more commercial but because of this Trimurthy who with their immense devotion to God, in depth musical knowledge and a strong hold over poetry and language bought back the original Carnatic Music. This rebirth of Carnatic Music led to the growth of this music and the growth of music composers. The Trinity of Music composed new Ragas and talas and such was their ability that they could even introduce innovations within the same raga as well. The innovations introduced by this trinity are carried on even till today.

Thus, truly Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Shastri are the Trimurthy of Carnatic Music.