What Dikshitar wrote on Ganesha
The Hindu
The confusion over how many songs the composer penned on the deity does not take away from their lyrical beauty
On Vinayaka Chaturthi, one always automatically turns to the kriti ‘Siddhi Vinayakam’ (Chamaram/Rupakam). Owing to the reference to worship on the fourth day of the month of Bhadrapada, this song has come to define the festival. In his biography of Muthuswami Dikshitar (National Book Trust, 1968), T.L. Venkatarama Aiyar cites it as an instance of the composer creating pieces ‘in praise of deities for special occasions’. A beautiful song, it surprisingly does not feature in the compilation of Dikshitar kritis provided by his grandnephew Subbarama Dikshitar in his magnum opus, Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini (Vidya Vilasini Press, 1904). Does this then become a spurious Dikshitar kriti? We cannot say for sure, for given that Dikshitar travelled far and wide in his lifetime, several of his compositions may have remained with certain disciples and not have come to the notice of his descendant when the task of compiling began. Certainly, there are some magnificent Dikshitar songs that are outside the Pradarsini. Nevertheless, it remains a puzzle as to why they were never included in the composer’s complete corpus of songs. The Pradarsini is also not very clear about Dikshitar’s songs on Ganesha. In his profile on Dikshitar in the Vaggeyakara Charitramu section of the Pradarsini, Subbarama Dikshitar specifically mentions that the former composed songs on the ‘shodasa (16) Ganapatis presiding at the kshetra’ of Tiruvarur. That would mean 16 compositions on Ganesha in and around the Tiruvarur temple. But the book has only 13 compositions. Of these, ‘Sveta Ganapatim’ (raga Chudamani/Triputa) is not on any temple in Tiruvarur but on Vellai Vinayakar at the entrance of the Thanjavur Fort. But the idol here is not white. According to local lore, the masons who constructed the palace first propitiated a Ganesha idol made of jaggery (vellam) before starting the work. This was the Vella Ganapati, which over time became Vellai Ganapati. As is to be expected of a Ganesha shrine built before the fort, it is near the eastern gate, which was the first entrance to Thanjavur. Thus, the Ganesha was also known as Ellai (frontier) Pillaiyar, which became Vellai Pillaiyar. The deity here is in the company of his consort, Vallabha. Dikshitar clearly mentions this iconographic detail in the song.More Related News
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