Fresh light on Tyagaraja's ancestry
R. Nagaswamy
Two documents in the possession of Mr. V. Narayanaswami Iyer, Advocate, Thanjavur, throw valuable light on the ancestry of Saint Tyagaraja. They are in Modi script and in the Marathi language with a few verses in Sanskrit in Nagari characters.
The documents are dated in the Saka year 1657, and in the cyclic year Rakshasa, month Pushya, Trayodasi––Makara Sankranti day corresponding to December 30, 1735. The documents were issued as danapatras (gift deeds) by the queen of the Mahratta ruler Ekoji II. The queen states in the deed, "I have created an agrahara and Ekamaha-rajapuram near the village Mahimalaiya Virachola Pettai on the road to Dipambapuram. Eighty-seven velis and 3 1/2ma of land wer gfited by me for this purpose in the hands of Peshva to build a Siva temple, a Vishnu temple, a patasala, matha for Jnanis, houses for Brahmins and a grazing ground for cows. Out of this, 3/4 veli of wet land is assigned as sarvamanya (total gift) to the performer of Bhagavatamela Giriraja Kavisvara, the son of Ahobala Sastri and grandson of Gopala Bhatta."
Unfortunately the document is badly mutilated: luckily, a careful copy of the document made in 1943 is available.
The other document, well preserved (illustrated here) is identical with the first except for the name of the donee, who is mentioned as Venkatesa Kavi, son of Venkatagiri Kavi and grandson of Ahobala Sastri. According to the grant, Venkatesa Kavi belonged to the Lohita gotra, Darbha Kula and Apasthamba sutra. The deed also bears the royal seal of the Mahratta court. Obviusly a number of Brahmin families were given shares in the villages as srotriyam and would have received similar documents. That Giriraj a Kavisvara (the receiver of the first grant) was the maternal grandfather of Saint Tygaraja is known. The other recipient was a son of Giriraja's brother Venkatagiri who was also an eminent poet. In his Telugu version of the "Abhinayadarpana", he says that he belonged to the Lohitagotra, Darbhakula and Apasthamba sutra. He makes a specific reference to his elder brother Giriraja Kavisvara (Giriraja Kavisvaraanuja). That each of the brother's family got a share in the Ekojiraja Agrahara is borne out by these documents.
Giriraja Kavi was an illustrious composer of music and dance drama and served in the court of four Mahratta rulers Shaji II and I, Tukkoji and Ekoji II (1736-1739). He composed a number of Yakshaganas (Bhagavata-melas) like the Rajamohini Kuravanci and Lilavati Kalyanam in which the Mahratta rulers Shaji II and Saraboji I figured as the heroes. He has composed several excellent musical compositions; over 200 of Sringara padas are preserved in the Sarasvati Mahal library, Thanjavur. Giriraja Kavi is considered a leading luminary of the 18th century.
Giriraja Kavi's daughter Seethalakshmi was married to Ramabrahman of Thiruvarur who exposed the Ramayana in the Mahratta Court of Thanjavur. Tyagabhraman, born to them, remembers his mother in the famous lines of his song "Girirajasuta tanaya". The present documents show that Giriraja Kavi was not merely a composer of music and dance but also conducted and acted in Bhagavata melas (Giriraja Kavisvara Bhagavata mela yamsa). It is not known whether these Bhagavatamelas (more than five are known) were enacted in Thanjavur or at Ekojirajapuram. Ekojirajapuram is near Saliyamangalam where the Bhagavatamela tradition has continued to this day. As Giriraja Kavi tops the list of great composers in the court of Shaji and that he continued to receive patronage in the courts of four Mahratta Kings till 1736, it is not unlikely that he was enacting Bhagavatamelas in Thanjavur.
It is against the background of this Bhagavatamela tradition both in his own family and also in villages near Thiruvaiyaru like Melatur (where the composition of Saint Narayana Tirtha were enacted) the two Bhagavatamela compositions of Saint Tyagaraja, the "Nauka Charita" and "Prahlada Bhakti Vijaya" should be viewed. The dance drama "Nauka Charita", purely Tyagaraja's own creation is full of Sringara emotions. Probably it was composed during his early years. It is not unlikely, that following his material grandfather, Tyagaraja participated in the Bhagavatamelas in his youth. His compositions indicate his interest in Natya and his command over Natya science. For example, in his song "Vidulamrokkeda Sangeetako' set to raga Mayamalavagaula he pays obeisance to Bharata, Somesvara, Sarngadeva and Nandideva besides others who were great masters of dance.
V. Narayanaswami Iyer, who is now 89 and in whose possession these documents are preseerved is a descendant of Kavi Venkatagiri. As Giriraja Kavi had only one daughter (the mother of Tyagaraja) his share of 3/4 Veli at Ekojirajapuram also came to Venkatagiri's family. Narayanaswami Iyer's paternal grandfather Veeraswami was an astrologer in the court of the last Mahratta ruler Sivaji II (1833-1855). A portrait painting of this court Josya is preserved in Narayanaswami Iyer's house. But far more important is a painting of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and others done in the tradition of the Thanjavur school in silver sheet with paintings, preserved in the house, portraying Samartha Ramadas on one side and Kabirdas on the other. Below the panel is shown in miniature, Saint Tyagaraja in his traditional costumes. The painting would have prepared in 1860s by Veeraswami, within 15 or 20 years of the demise of the Saint Tyagaraja (in 1847). This could be one of the authentic portraits of Saint Tyagaraja that has survived to this day. Also under worship in this house is a group of metal images, small in size of Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Bharata and Shatrugna affectionately adored as Rama Pancayatana. These images assignable to the 18th century are said to have been originally worshipped by Kavi Venkatagiri, the brother of Giriraja Kavi. It is virtually a pilgrimage to a histsoric family to see the documents, images and paintings worshipped by generations of a family that has enriched the country by its contribution to art and culture.
(Published in the Hindu)