A thousand eyes to witness the delightful dance…..
| Composition: |
ADikkoNDAr anda vEDikkai |
| Composer: |
muttut tANDavar |
| mudrA: |
none |
| (signature): |
|
| rAgam: |
mAyAmALava gauLai (15th mELam) or mOhanam ( janyam of harikAmbhOji, 28th mELam) |
|
tALam:
|
Adi, Eka |
| ArOhaNam: |
SR1G3M1PD1N3S
(SR2G3PD2 S for
mOhanam) |
| AvarOhaNam: |
SN3D1PM1G3R1S
(SD2PG3R2S for
mOhanam) |
| Pallavi: |
ADikkoNDAr anda vEDikkaik kANak kaN Ayiram vENDAmO
|
| Anupallavi: |
nADit tudippavar pangil uRaibavar nambar
tiruccempon ambalavANar
|
(ADikkoNDAr)
|
| CaraNam1: |
pangaya silambaindADap pAdac cadangaigaL kiNkiNNenRADa
pongamuDanE urittu uDutta pulittOl asaindADa
sengaiyil Endiya mAn mazhuvADa
sempoRkkazhaRk kaN muyalaganADa
gangai iLam piRai senjcaDaiyADak kanaka sabhai tanilE
|
(ADikkoNDAr)
|
| CaraNam2: |
Ara navamaNi mAlaigaLADa ADum aravam paDam piDittADa
sIraNik konRai malart toDaiyADac cidambarattEr ADa
pEraNi vEdiyar tillai mUvAyiram pergaLum pUjittuk koNDu ninRADa
kAraNi kALi etirttu ninRAdak kanaka sabhai tanilE
|
(ADikkoNDAr)
|
| CaraNam3: |
nritta gaNapati vElar ninRAda ninRayan mAluDan indran ADa
muppattu mukkOTi dEvaruDanE munivarum ninRADa
meippatti mEvum patanjali ADa vyAgra pAdarum nandiyumADa
oppaRRa sivakAmiammaiyum kUDavE ninRADa
|
(ADikkoNDAr)
|
 Lyrics:
The lyrics have been assembled from reference #2 and Amutham
CD (booklet) WS006. We tried to rectify some transcriptional errors in the lyrics. In the absence of authentic text available to us, this version may still contain some errors. The assistance of Rajani Shankar of Malaysia in clarifying certain terms is appreciated.
Meaning:
Pallavi: He is dancing delightfully. It is fun to watch. Don’t we need a thousand eyes to witness such an event?
Anupallavi: He supports those who worship Him. He is the Lord of the sacred golden hall (in
Cidambaram).
Caranam1 : The five anklets are shaking and the string of bells (cadangai) makes a tinkling sound. The tiger hide stripped and worn around His waist is dancing! The deer and the axe borne in the hands are dancing! The demon (muyalagan) is also dancing at His golden feet! The maiden Ganga and the crescent
moon on the locks of hair are also dancing when the Lord dances at the golden hall.
Caranam2 : The plentiful nine-stone (navaratnam) necklaces are dancing! The snake around His neck is spreading its hood and dancing! The resplendent flower (konRai) garland hanging down at the thighs is also dancing! The temple chariot is dancing!
kALi is also dancing! The three thousand priests of
Cidambaram pray and dance! Thus the Lord dances at the golden hall!
Caranam3 : Ganapati and
Murugan are dancing!
Brahma (ayan),
Vishnu (mAl), and
Indran (chief of staff in the celestial world) dance! With innumerable celestials, the sages also dance! The truly devoted Patanjali dances! The sage vyAgrapAdA and the sacred bull (nandi) also dance! The incomparable
Devi Sivakami dances together with
Lord
Siva.
General comments:
 This song delves deep into the details of the cosmic dance of Lord Siva in its entire splendour. The composer goes into raptures at the sight of the cosmic dance. To him everything around
Nataraja dances in unison with Him. The composer imagines that even the inanimate objects such as the anklets, the tiger hide, the axe, the necklaces and the flower garland, in addition to the snake, the priests, the celestials and the Lord’s consort dance as though they are inseparable.
For a person who did not have any training in music, to write such compositions (which are tuned to beautiful ragam and rhythm) is truly amazing. It is common knowledge that the cosmic dance of
Nataraja at Cidambaram has grabbed the attention of several composers, both ancient and modern. The mythological references to Patanjali and Vyaagrapaadaa indicate that it is truly a one-of-a-kind event in religious folklore.
Once again, the song has references to various episodes of gallantry of
Lord Siva and the celestial activities. It is a theme handled by
Marimutta Pillai too.
Composer’s bio:
 Muththuth Thandavar (1560-1640??) was born in
Seerkhazhi, near Cidambaram, in a family of instrumental musicians who served the temples. They were known as isai vELALr - those who cultivate music. The child was named tANDavan after the deity at
Cidambaram.
As a youngster, tANDavan suffered an incurable wasting disease which caused havoc on his health and appearance. He was not able to follow the family profession on account of this debilitating condition. He was also shunned by everybody. He used to visit a temple maid
(dEvadAsi?), SivabhAgyam, to hear her sing and dance. This aggravated his already pitiful condition and he was left to fend for himself.
It appears that he got inspiration by listening to the devotional songs sung by
SivabhAgyam. His foray into composing began as an accident. One day he was locked up in the Seerkhazhi temple room containing the vehicles used to carry the gods on festive days. He cried but to no avail. After a while the daughter of the temple priest appeared before him with a bowl of food. She told him to go to Cidambaram and sing a song every day in praise of the Lord. While tANDavan protested that he knew nothing about singing or composing, the little girl asked him to use the words of the devotees who enter the temple. It was all the doing of the
Devi. The next morning the “ugly” tANDavan looked radiant, thereby earning the nickname
'muttut tANDavan'.
There was no looking back for him ever. He went to
Cidambaram. On the first day he heard some words 'bhoolOka kailAya giri…'. He used those words and sang right off at the sanctum. His illness was cured. He continued the daily ritual of singing in the temple grabbing the stray words of the devotees. After a while he didn’t need the lead words. He kept on composing and singing. His life was one of miracle on a personal level and a gift to humanity in the form of devotional songs. He was a pioneer in composing
padams. teruvil vArAnO is a classic and a delight for dancers and audience alike.
Muththuth Thandavar (MT), Arunacala Kavi and
Marimutta Pillai are celebrated as members of the Thamizh trinity
(Thamizh mUvar) in recognition of their contributions to Thamizh music.
Very few of MT’s compositions have survived the test of time. Tiruppaamburam Swaminatha Pillai collected sixty of them and tuned them to different ragams under the sponsorship of Annamalai University. Twenty five padams of MT are also available. Some of his compositions that are sung in music concerts are: arumarundonRu tani marundidu
(mOhanam or kAmbhOji), pEsAdE nenjamE (tODi), kANAmal vINilE (dhanyAsi or
kAmbhOji, or nIlAmbari), teruvil vArAnO (khamAs), unai nambinEn ayyA (kIravANi), IsanE kOTi sUrya prakAsanE
(naLinakAnti), darisittaLavil (latAngi), sEvikka vENDumayyA (AndOLikA), innum oru taram
(simmEndra madyamam), and ambara cidambaram, & innum oru stalam (suraTTi).
References:
1. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/co1099.html
2. http://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/c2440.html
3. http://carnatica.net/composer/muthutandavar.htm
4. http://www.sangeetham.com/others/archives/muttu.php3
Sethuraman
Subramanian
subramaniansethu@hotmail.com
|
Muththuth Thaandavar
