A
PROJECT ON
SRI. SHYAMA SASTRI

BY
SNEHA SYMON
(Student of Eswaralaya, centre for music excellence)

SRI SHYAMA SASTRI
26/04/1762 - 06/02/1827

CONTENTS

1. BIOGRAPHY
2.  COMPOSITIONS OF SHYAMA  
      SASTRI
3.  THE NAVARATNAMALIKA
4.  LYRICS OF "JANANI NATAJANA'

BIOGRAPHY
Shyama Sastri was born to Vishwanatha Iyer and Vengalakshmi on April 26, 1762. He was a tamil speaking Brahmin known as auttara Vadama. Vishwanatha Iyer and his forefathers were archakas in the temple of Goddess Bangaru Kamakshi.
Shyama Sastri's actual name was Venkata Subrahmanya. But he was affectionately called Shyama sastri.  At the age of seven, his upanayanam was performed. He was taught devotional songs, given sound education in Sanskrit and Telugu.  He used to accompany his father to the temple.  Gradually his faith in the Goddess grew.  Finding his aptitude for music , his mother requested her cousins to teach him the fundamentals of music.  Within a short period of time the boy became proficient in it.

When Shyama Sastri was eighteen, his father settled down in Tanjavur.  A sanyasi, Sangitha swami, an Andhra Brahmin came to their house from banarus.  He was pleased with the talent of Shyama sastri and offered to be his Guru.  After teaching him the mysteries underlying the raga and tala prastharas, he directed Shyama sastri to go to paccimiriyam adiyappayya.  As per Swamiji's advice Shyama Sastri approached Adiyappayya and the influence of Adiyappayya is reflected in his swarajati-'Kamakshi' in  Bhairavi raga.

Shyama Sastri was the oldest of the trinity of Carnatic music. The other two are Thyagaraja and Muthuswami dikshitar.  Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Sastri were very good friends.  They often met and spent hours together singing. Shyama Sastri had deep regard for Thyagaraja.

Once Shyama Sastri was singing Brihadamba in pudukottai, an elderly saint was pleased and directed him to goto Madurai and sing in praise of Meenakshi Amman and receive her blessings.  Shyama sastri decided to do so and composed "Navaratnamalika"(nine kritis). 
Once at nagapatnam, Shyama sastri defeated in a contest, Appukutty nattuvanar who was proficient in music.  Consequently Appukutty forfeited his Tambura and tala for ever.
Shyama Sastri had two sons, Panju sastri and Subbaraya Sastri.  The former became a priest and the latter was a versatile musician(and a disciple of tyagaraja).  Through panju Sastri, family grew and produced quite a few scholars.  Shyama sastri's great grandson lived till the age of 94 and passed away only in 1950AD.  Through him many incidents of Shyama sastri's life are known.  He was reportedly a tall and a rather stout person with a fondness for petal leaves! Shyama Sastri, like tyagaraja and Dikshitar, was wellversed in astrology. Like his great contemporaries, he too corectly predicted the time of his passing. He passed away on February 6, 1827, six days after his devoted wife passed away.

COMPOSITIONS OF SHYAMA SASTRI
Shyama Sastri(1762-1827) was the eldest among the trinity.  Unlike Tyagaraja and Dikshitar, he did not compose great many songs and didnot employ numerous ragams.  But what he composed was solid, substantial and well-crafted.  It is believed that he composed around 300 songs, but only 71 of his compositions are available in print.  Among these, 51 are in Telugu, 15 in Sanskrit and the remaining 5 in Tamil.  The musical style of these compositions include kriti(59), gitam(5), swarajati(3), and varnam(4).  His three monumental swarajatis are sparkling gems in the field of Carnatic music, and are often referred to as "ratna trayam".  He has composed only 5 mela ragams todi(4), sankarabharanam(2), Nata(1), Varali(2) and kalyani(8).  Overall he used 28 janya ragas.  But  theses janyams include some very rare ragams like chintamani, kalagada, manji and karnataka kapi.  The other two of the trinity, have not composed in chintamani or kalagada.  Though Anandabhairavi was his favourite(7 songs), the maximum number of songs he composed are in Klyani ragam(8 songs).  He has four songs each in todi paraju and saveri.  He did nt use elaborate sangatis in his songs, a feature that is so common in tyagaraja kritis.
He was a master of rhythms and he used a variety of talams.  The phrases "ta dhim ki na tom, ta ka ta dhim ki na tom" and the corresponding phrases,  anudinamu, maravakane,manavinivinuma etc are abundant in his compositions.  The breakdown of talams in his compositions is Adi(30), misra chapu(10), triputa(10), rupakam(5), Ata(3), jumpa(3), mathyam(3)

Unlike Dikshitar, he was not a zealous pilgrim.  He visited only a handful of Shrines: Kanchi, Tanjavur, madhurai, Tiruvanaikka, Nagapatnam, Tiruvaiyaru and Vaideshwaram koil.  He has 35 compositions on Goddess Kamakshi.

Shyama Sastri's compositions mostly in Telugu have simple theme and are very easy to comprehend.  They do not contain any puranic anecdotes, advaitha/tantrik philosophy.Nor do they follow any bhakti-vibhakti pattern, a feature normally found in Dikshitar kritis.

Shyama Sastri's songs are just his pleadings, as a humble devotee of the Goddess, in simple phrases, to apprear before him and bless him immediately.  He bursts out and cries why there is so much delay on the part of the Goddess to bless him.  The same ideas ( and even some phrases) are repeated over again in many of the songs.
THE NAVARATNAMALIKA 
When Shyama Sastri became the a famous Vaggeyakaraka, one night, Sangita Swami appeared in his dream and instructed him to go to Madhurai and compose songs in praise of Goddess Minakshi, and seek her blessings.  Shyama Sastri fulfilled this desire of his Guru, and this is the origin of the so-called "navaratnamalika" song on Goddess Madhurai Minakshi.
Another version of the same episode runs as follows.  At pudukottai, while Shyama Sastri was singing in praise of Goddess brihannayaki , an old man in the temple went in to a devotional rapture and asked him to goto Madhurai and compose nine songs in praise of goddess Meenakshi.  After composing seven songs on Minakshi, Shyama Sastri reverted back to singing in praise of his family goddess Bangaru Kamakshi.  That night the same person appeared in his dreams and reminded him to fulfil his commitment , he is supposed to compose two more songs on Meenakshi.  Shyama sastri realised his lapsed and completed the group of nine songs.
Only eight songs out of nine are available.
They are:
1.  Minalochana Brova-dhanyasi-  Misra chapu
2.  Sarojadalanetri--Shankarabharanam--Adi
3.  Devi Mina netri--Shankarabharanam-Adi
4.  Marivere--Anandabhairavi-Misra Chapu
5.  Devi nidu padasarasamu –Kamboji-Adi

6.  Mayamma-Ahiri-Adi
7.  Nanubrova lalita-Misra chapu
8.  Rave parvatharajakumari-Kalyani-Adi

LYRICS OF  "JANANI NATAJANA PALINI"
janani natajana.                        Raga: Saveri.        Tala: Adi 

Pallavi
 janani natajana paripalini ...
pahimam bhavani bhavani triloka
Anupallavi
danuja vairinutae sakalajana
paritapa papa harini jaya shalini (janani..)
Charanam 1
satata vinuta suta ganapati 
senani rajarajeshvari vishalaksa
taruni akhila jana pavani (shri rajarajeshvari) 
sati shubha charite sada
madhura bhasa vigaladamruta 
rasadhvani suranuta padayuga
darishita iha mama gatramati 
matramajani sujani  (janani..)
Charanam 2
kuvalaya lochana yugale kalyani nila
veni vikacagokanada rajac-charane 
ati ramani (ghana nIlaveni)
bhuvi divi raksini dhrtamara gane
bhagyavati shakti sampurne 
kavana nipunamatimayi disha iha
tava kantimupayAtu girisha ramani (janani.)
Charanam 3
charana nipata damara samudaye
kali sarasamukhi su-shobitoru yugala 
vara kadali (nava sarasamukhi) suruchira murali mrudanga svara 
samshobhini rasakrta mahitaie
sarasija karayugale katikalita 
mani kanchibhrte kanchipura vasini (janani..)

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