Interview for the Times of India

Nandini's journey with Jugalbandi 

Link to the Interview for the Times of India.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/nandiniamp39s-journey-with-jugalbandiampnbsp/articleshow/11130331.cms

LN Sisters Carnatic Violin Duet Concert at the World Music Festival in Bratislava, Slovakia

Presenting a Carnatic Violin Duet Concert at the World Music Festival in Bratislava, Slovakia.

LN Sisters Carnatic Violin Duet Concert at the Spirituality Festival in Torino, Italy

Presenting a Violin Duet Concert at the Spirituality Festival in Torino, Italy 

Concert at Focal Point Gallery - UK

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nandini-muthuswamy-live-performance-and-transcendental-meditation-tickets-57981177262?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing

Music and Meditation Concert in London - March 2019

Violin Concert in London

Article in the Hindu on the rare musical instrument: Gethuvadyam

Our column in #TheHindu today features our (#LNSisters) article on the rare musical instrument: Gethuvadyam. Follow this link for the article.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/When-strings-produce-rhythmic-beats/article17156727.ece#comments

VIOLIN CONCERT @ TIRUVĀRŪR

Śri Kāñci Kāmakōṭi Karnāṭaka Saṅgīta Sēvā Trust has been organising the Saṇgīta Mūmūrtigaḷ Jayanti Isai Vizha for the past 26 years. I felt honoured to perform in this festival on April 18th 2010 not only because it was organised by the KKKSS Trust but also because this festival was conducted in the very house in which Śri Syāmā Śāstri was born. Besides my concert, my visit to Tiruvārūr was a musical pilgrimage, since I had the good fortune of having a darśan of the houses of the Trinity – Saint Tyāgarāja, Śri Muṭṭusvāmi Dīkśitar and Śri Śyāmā Śāstri.



House of Saint Tyāgarāja



House of Śri Muṭṭusvāmi Dīkśitar



House of Śri Śyāmā Śāstri



Śri Śyāmā Śāstri's handwriting


My accompanists for the concert were
Śri. Krishnamachari - Mridaṅgam
Śri. Ravikrishnan – Ghaṭam
Śri. Vadapathimangalam M. Venkataramani - Ganjīra



Songlist

Mūlādhāramūrti – Hamsadhvani – Ādi – Pāpanāsam Śivan
Kañcadaḷāyadākśi – Kamalāmanōhari – Ādi – Muṭṭusvāmi Dīkśitar
Īntakannānandamēmi – Bilahari – Rūpakam – Tyāgarāja Svāmi
Māyamma – Āhiri – Ādi – Śyāmā Śāstri
Ninnuvina – Navarasakannada – Rūpakam – Tyāgarāja Svāmi
Śri Kāntimatim – Dēśi Simhāravam – Ādi – Muṭṭusvāmi Dīkśitar
Annapūrnē – Śāma – Ādi – Muṭṭusvāmi Dīkśitar
Kurai Ondrum Illai – Ragamālika – Ādi – C. Rājagōpālachari
Madhubanu – Madhuvanti – Eka – Sūrdās

INTERVIEW FOR CHENNAI LIVE NEWS.COM - PART 2

This is a video link to my interview (Part II) for Chennai Live News.com. I was interviewed by Mr. R. Rangaraj, Editor - Newsreel Media Services just before my Jugalbandi Concert with Ustad Shahid Pervez Khan (Sitar) for Chennaiyil Tiruvaiyaru.

http://tinyurl.com/y8pd9gf

INTERVIEW FOR CHENNAI LIVE NEWS.COM - PART 1

Here is a video link to my interview for Chennai Live News.com. I was interviewed by Mr. R. Rangaraj, Editor - Newsreel Media Services just before my Jugalbandi Concert with Ustad Shahid Pervez Khan (Sitar) for Chennaiyil Tiruvaiyaru.

http://www.chennailivenews.com/music-season/videos/25-chennayil-thiruvaiyaru05.asp

Our Interview for the Chennai Times

WEDDED TO MUSIC

Chennai Times talks to violin virtuosos M Lalitha and M Nandini

SINDHU VIJAYAKUMAR 

Described as the queens of Indian music, M Lalitha and M Nandini may probably be the only violin duo sisters to perform Indian classical, western classical, world music and fusion. 

MUSICAL LEGACY 

Lalitha: We belong to the fourth generation of a family of musicians. Our grandfather V Lakshminaryana, a great musician, was our first guru. Our mother Subbalakshmi Muthuswamy is also a great vocalist and violinist. Our uncles — L Vaidyanathan, L Subramaniam and L Shanker — are world famous violinists. However, we are the first female violin performers from our family. 

VOCAL VS VIOLIN 

Lalitha: As children, we used to attend a lot of concerts along with our mother. We also had the opportunity to learn a lot of kritis from Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. We started off with a very small (quarter size) violin when we were three. We learnt vocal simultaneously. Nandini: Learning vocals helps to bring out the appropriate expressions — bhava and laya — of every composition. 

VIOLIN, THE KING OF INSTRUMENTS 

Lalitha: In India, the violin is considered as a pakkavadyam (accompaniment) but our guru wanted to elevate it to solo status. In the western classical arena, the violin is known as the King of instruments and occupies a pride of place. Violin has a close tonal quality as that of human voice. We both perform only as solo or duo artists and we don’t accompany anyone. We want the violin to get a celebrated status all over the world. 

EXPANDING HORIZONS 

Nandini: We are the first Indian women conductors from south India to have conducted the Boschbela string orchestra in South Africa. Recently, I presented a jugalbandi with sitarist Shahid Parvez Khan. For fusion concerts, we compose our own compositions. Lalitha plays African drums and has done shows. We also play the Chinese instrument Erhu. 

TWO TO TANGO 

Lalitha: We play pure Carnatic compositions when we present concert in sabhas. Our padantharam is very wide and we are known for the soulful playing of Deekshithar’s krithis. We also play a lot of rare compositions. While performing together, we create space for each other and explore the different facets of music. Nandini: The presence of my sister on stage is truly inspiring. As we live in different continents, we miss each other quite a lot and concerts are a chance to catch up with each other. 

TRACK RECORD 

Nandini: We are the pioneers to introduce and perform Carnatic Music in the University of London. Lalitha has received the coveted International Fellowships of Fulbright from USA and I got the Charles Wallace Fellowships from United Kingdom in performing arts. 

CHILLING OUT 

Lalitha:Every form of art inspires us. I do a lot of Tanjore paintings and write poetry. I am proficient in French and German. Besides this, reiki, yoga, photography and blogging are our favourite pastimes. 

(This is our interview for the Chennai Times. For the original article click here.)

Concert Review - Dina Malar

தேனாய் இனித்த நந்தினி வயலினிசை

நந்தி பைன் ஆர்ட்சின் ஆதரவில் நடைபெற்ற வயலின் சகோதரிகளில் நந்தினியின் வயலினிசை கச்சேரி நடந்தது. பக்கபலமாக மிருதங்கத்தில் ஸ்ரீதரன், தவிலில் திருவல்லிக்கேணி சாந்தகுமார் அடங்கிய அருமையான கூட்டணியில் தேனாய் தித்தித்தது. "வாரணமுகவா' கோடீஸ்வரய்யரின் ஹம்ஸத்வனி ராக கீர்த்தனையில் சிறிய ஆலாபனையில் தொடங்கி, நல்ல நேர்த்தியாக கொடுத்தார். அடுத்து, பண்டு ரீதிகோலு தியாகய்யரின் கீர்த்தனை ஹம்ஸநாத ராகத்தில் அழகு கொஞ்சும் பழமை மாறாமல் கொடுத்தார். அடுத்து, வாசஸ்பதி ராக ஆலாபனை மிகவும் வாத்ஸல்யமாக இருந்தது.

சிவனின் பாடலான பராத் பராவை கொடுத்தது, கற்பனை ஸ்வரம் நல்ல வளம். பாடிக்கொண்டிருக்கும் போது இப்பாட்டை பிரபலப் படுத்திய டி.கே.பட்டம் மாள் நினைவில் வந்து போனார். அடுத்து, திவிஜாவந்தி ராக ஆலாபனை கொடுத்து, தீட்சிதரின் அகிலாண் டேஸ்வரி கிருதியை பக்தி ரசம் ததும்ப கொடுத்தார். கண்மூடி கேட்டால், அகிலாண்டேஸ்வரி திவ்ய தரிசனம் கிடைத்துவிடும். அடுத்து, மிக விறுவிறுப்பாக "நின்னுவினா' நவரச கன்னடா ராகத்தில் சிட்டை ஸ்வரத்தில் அமர்க்களமாக வாசித்தார். தவிலும் மிருதங்கமும் இணைந்து நல்ல விதமாய் கொடுத்தார்.

இம்மாதிரி, கீர்த்தனைகள் வாசிக்கும் பொழுது சிறியவர்களை விட பெரியவர்கள் தான் சின்னக் குழந்தை போல் ரசித்து கேட்கின்றனர். அடுத்து, பிரதான ராகமாக, மோகனம் எடுத்துக் கொண்டு, ராக ஆலாபனை நல்ல விஸ்தாரமாக அமைந் தது. தவிலில் சாந்தகுமாரும் மிருதங்க ஸ்ரீதரனும் மிக அழகாக தங்கள் சுற்றுக்களை கொடுத்தனர். குன்னக் குடிக்கு பிறகு வயலினிக்கு தவில் பக்கவாத்தியமாக அதிகம், இச்சகோதரிகள் வைத்துக் கொள்கின்றனர் என்பது சிறப்பான விஷயம்.

அடுத்து "குறை ஒன்றும் இல்லை' ராஜாஜியின் வைர வரிகள் பாடலை கொடுத்து, என்றுமே எதற்கும் குறைவில்லை என்று சொல்லும்படி இருந்தது லிங்காஷ்டகத்துடன் நிகழ்ச்சியை நிறைவு செய்தது. ரசிகர்களின் பலத்த கரகோஷத்தில் சந்நிதியில் சங்கீதம் சௌக்யமாக இருந்தது.

(This is a review of my concert at Nandi Fine Arts on 20.12.2009, Chennai that appeared in the Dinamalar - reviewed by Rasigapriya. Click here for the original review.

INTERVIEW: YOUTUBE

This is my exclusive interview for istream youtube which was shot just after my concert.

Concert Review - The Hindu, Nov. 6th 2009

Enthralling: Violinist Nandini Muthusamy and (right) sitarist Purbayan Chatterji.

Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Impressive display of prowess

JYOTI NAIR BELLIAPPA

Of Nandini Muthusamy’s violin and and Purbayan Chatterji’s sitar. Kartik Fine Arts and Nandi Fine Arts recently organised a jugalbandi concert by violinist, Nandini Muthusamy, and Hindustani sitarist, Purbayan Chatterji. Their performance exemplified mastery within the two selected genres that in unison only elevated the music to a higher plane. The first segment of the event began with individual performances by Nandini, followed by Purbayan, before the jugalbandi, which concluded the programme. In keeping with tradition, Nandini began with Purandaradasa’s composition in Hamsadhwani invoking Lord Ganesa followed by the presentation of Tyagaraja’s ‘Banturiti’ and ‘Ramakatha,’ sung in Hamsanadam and in Madhyamavathi, respectively, and Rajaji’s ‘Kurai Ondrum Illai, in Ragamalika, which was played with aplomb. Nandini concluded with a complex korvai. Beauty and ecstacy Purbayan Chatterji’s performance on the sitar showcased the best of Maiher Gharana and Raga Maru Bihag, exhibited perfection, harmony, beauty, and ecstasy. His innovations on the sitar were elastic, fluid, and profound. He even accompanied singing a bandish and concluded with a sidha jhala. For the jugalbandi, Nandini and Purbayan chose Charukesi. Pathos emerged as the predominant emotion through the impressive display of prowess over their respective instruments. It was a voyage through the intricacies of the raga. With smooth and light strokes, swaying to the resonating notes, komal dha and ni, Nandini’s rendition was hypnotic; yet when Purbayan joined with his rendition, he had woven a splendid veil. After Purbayan’s Alap and bandish, the musical dialogue and repartee took many forms, each with its own melodic possibilitiesand progressions of phrasing, tone, and colour. The initial playing of the ghat was in vilambit, and then in madhya laya. The two artists alternated and then played together, progressively with more and more complexity. They systematically increased the laya and exhibited cross-rhythmic patterns, using tihais and todas, which then led into a dhrut at an electrifying speed. Bangalore Praveen, performing on the mridangam, and Yogesh Samsi on the tabla, continued a dramatic exchange until the climactic moment was reached.

(This is a review of my Jugalbandi Concert with Purbayan Chatterjee on 26th October 2009 @ Chennai. For the original review, please click here.)

Remembering Semmangudi Mama – My Guru and God: Part 3

Saṅgīta Pitāmahā Padma Vibhūshan Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer

I will pen my experiences as the Siśya of  Semmangudi Mama in this post. At the outset, I thank God for blessing me with the great fortune of having such a Legend as my Guru. I am also forever thankful to my Guru – Semmangudi Mama for accepting Lalitha and myself as his Siśya-s and to have enlightened us on the glory and greatness of Karṇāṭaka Saṅgītam.

We greatly cherish the days that we spent learning from Mama. Semmangudi Mama was a very warm and affectionate Guru. His music was so very inspiring and has borne a great influence on us and our musical thinking. He was a legend – a towering personality yet so very approachable. He would teach us anything that we asked for. Once, my uncle Dr. L. Subramaniam remarked that he had heard Semmangudi Mama sing the Varnam – Sami Ninne in Ānandabhairavi beautifully. This inspired us to ask mama to teach us this varnam. He readily agreed to teach us this varnam – a composition of veenai Kuppier. Learning this varnam from Semmangudi Mama was a beautiful experience by itself.  He was a perfectionist and was specific about every svaram, anusvaram, its gamaka et al. He was also very specific that at every instance the beauty of the raga and sahitya surfaced in the rendition.

We learnt several beautiful compositions from mama including O Rangaśāyi, Śri Subramanyāya Namaste, Dwaitamu Sukhama, Janani, Narasimha Māmava, Paṅkaja Lōcana, Śri Rāmam, Śānthamu Lēkha, Tanayuni Brōva, Śri Kṛṣṇam, Kadanuvāriki, Padavini, Mākelarā ……….. et al.

Every musical phrase sung by him would seem very simple, but had a greater depth and meaning embedded in it. Only by actually singing can we realise the amount of effort that has to be put in to achieve the desired result. It was definitely not easy. Mama was a perfectionist who saw to it that we reproduced even an anusvaram in the right manner. This actually speaks volumes of his dedication to music. He actually lived – breathed music. If we sang well, he would treat us with palā cuḷai- jackfruit from his own garden !

Mama was a strict diciplinarian. He wanted us to memorise the sāhitya before he began teaching us the composition. If he was going to commence a new composition, he would give us the sāhitya the previous day and ask us to memorise it before class the next day. This greatly helped us to concentrate on the  bhāvam and musical aspects while actually learning the composition. After we had learnt the composition thoroughly he would give us the notation – never before ! His notations were all handwritten and precise. (It looked like print – there were very neat J ). He had several notebooks containing handwritten notations of several thousands of compositions. They were shelved in an orderly fashion  and I always wondered how Mama exactly remembered the particular shelf and book which contained the notation of a specific song ! He had such a fantastic memory.

I recall an incident, which happened when Mama was ill and was hospitalised. Lalitha and I had gone to visit Mama in the hospital. He was surrounded by family, friends and well-wishers. The moment he saw us his eyes lit up and he asked us “Enna pādam solli irukkēn ? Pādam acchā ?” (What lesson have I taught you ? Have you practised it ?) He also said that we could resume lessons soon. Such was his love for Saṅgītam.

(A cherished moment - when Laitha and I were receiving the Mohanam Award for the Outstanding Performing Artistes of 1991 from Semmangudi Mama. Aslo in the picture is Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam, yet another stalwart of Carnatic Music.)

One day after our lessons Lalitha and I requested Mama to sing for us an Ālapanai of Nārāyaṇagauḷa. Mama immediately obliged. Oh what an amazing experience ! It was an experience of a lifetime. There were just the three of us Mama, Lalitha and myself. Lalitha and I completely lost ourselves in the charm of Narayanagaula …. sung by the Sangita Pitamaha. The way that he brought the Raga svarūpa was simply matchless. His singing only made us yearn for more ! There were many such days that we spent listening to the glorious music of Mama.

He also used to share with us annecdotes of great musicians of yesteryears. We loved to hear stories of the past from Mama – in his inimitable witty style.  He never missed the evening news of All India Radio, and we would resume singing at the end of the broadcast. There were times when the lessons continued well into the late evenings and Mama would make it a point to tell us to telephone to him as soon as we got back home—just to ensure that we had reached home safely. Such was his affection. He was a very concerned and considerate Guru.

He was the perfect Guru that one could wish for. To my sister Lalitha and myself he is not only our Guru but also  remains a grand-fatherly figure. I truly miss him a lot. My humble namaskārams to him and I seek his blessings for ever. 

On a Temple Trail – Tiruvānaikā

On my recent visit to India, I was fortunate to visit some of the ancient temples in Tamil Nadu. Even before I started my travel, I was very excited at the prospect of visiting temple towns rich in cultural legacy. To me, it brought back childhood memories of visiting the Kabālīśvarar Temple in Mylapore along with my father, who would keep chanting “Nāgēndra Hārāya” as we went around the temple in the morning. As a performing musician I had plenty of opportunities to visit different cities in India. My sight seeing always consisted of a visit to the local temples. Whether it is Bangalore or Pune or Calcutta or you name the city, I always enjoy visiting temples.

Though my visit to Madras (ugh… Chennai) was quite short I still managed to visit some beautiful temples down south. It is also a beautiful experience since I always associate the temple with a Kriti composed by the great Vāggeyakkāra-s of Karnāṭaka Sangītam. As I was going round the Jambukēsvarar – Akilānḍēśvari Temple at Tiruvānaikāval, Trichy I was singing to myself Dikśitar’s Akilānḍēśvari in Jujāvanti. It is one of the masterpieces of Dikśitar and every time that I hear this kriti, I am transported to a different world ☺. Before I write about the composition, let me give a few details about this Kśētram.

Tiruvānaikkāval also known as Gajāraṇyam, Jambukēśvaram, Jñānēndram and Amudēśvaram, is one of the Panca Bhūta Sthalam-s and is referred to as Appusthalam since Lord Śiva as Jambukēśvara is regarded as an embodiment of the element water. In fact in the shrine of Jambukēśvarar, one can see that the liṅgam is perpetually surrounded by water known as the Srimath Tīrtham. The priest told me that when the river Kāveri is flooded, the entire prakāram would also be flooded.

The Lord in this Kśētram is known as Jambukēśvarar and Sambhunāyagar. The Goddess is known as Akilāṇḍēśvari and Akilāṇḍānāyagi. This is a Pāḍal Petra Sthalam and pathikam-s have been sung by Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar.

Legend – 1

There are many legends associated with this temple. According to one such legend, this Kśētra was once upon a time a forest of Jambu trees. Two devotees of Lord Śiva, were born as an elephant and spider on account of a curse. Everyday the elephant would worship Lord Śiva by bringing water, flowers and fruit in its trunk from the forest. In the nearby Nāval tree, there lived a spider, which served the Lord by spinning a web above the Liṅgam to shelter Him from dust and dry leaves. The elephant on seeing the web, would destroy it, since it considered the web to be impure. One day the elephant came to offer worship even as the spider was spinning its web. Enraged, the elephant destroyed the web. This angered the spider, which entered the trunk of the elephant and caused its death by injecting its venom. The spider also died, since it could not find its way out of the elephant’s trunk. But on account of the good merit that they had accrued by worshipping Lord Śiva, the elephant went to Śivalōka where it became the leader of the Gaṇā-s. Meanwhile the spider was born as Cōḷā King Ko Chenkōt Cōḷā. On account of this legend, this Kśētram came to be known as Nāvarkā Ānaikā, Gajāraṇyam in Sanskrit and Tiruvānaika in Tamizh.

Legend – 2

Once there lived a sage called Jambu Mādhavan, who did penance in a forest. One day a white Nāval fruit fell on his lap. He took this fruit to Mount Kailāśa and offered it to Lord Śiva. Moved by the affection of his devotee, the Lord ate the fruit and spit out the seed. The sage regarded the seed as the prasādam of the Lord and ate it. This took root in the stomach of the sage and grew as a huge Nāval Tree. The Lord blessed the sage and asked him to go to a Nāval forest near the river Ponni, where the Lord promised to manifest as a Liṅgam beneath this tree. As promised Lord Śiva appeared beneath this tree, which is the Sthala Vṛikśam in this temple. Hence this Kśētra came to be known as Jambukēśvaram.

Legend – 3

Initially Goddess Akilāṇḍēśvari was an ugra dēvata. The credit for transforming her into a Śanthasvarūpini goes to Ādi Śaṅkarā. He adorned her with ear – rings known as tāḍaṅgam bearing the symbol of the Śri Chakram. He transferred her fierce power into the tāḍaṅgam-s. He also installed Prasanna Vināyagar, facing Goddess Akilāṇḍēśvari, which is instrumental in transforming her into a benevolent deity. Maha Periva, Sri Chandrasēkara Sarasvati, the Pontiff of Kañci Kāmakōṭi Pīṭham, renewed that tāḍaṅgam-s in 1980s.

Legend – 4

Once Goddess Pārvati mocked at Lord Śiva’s penance for betterment of the world. Enraged by her act, Lord Śiva directed her to go to the earth and perform penance there. The Goddess found a ‘Jambu’ forest at Tiruvānaika or Tiruvānaikoil to commence her penance. She made a Liṅgam from the waters of the River Kāveri also known as Ponni. She performed her penance under the ‘Venn Nāval’ tree (the tree from the sage Jambu). So, the Liṅgam is known as ‘Appu Liṅgam’ (Appu-Water).

Lord Śiva appeared before Goddess Akilāṇḍēśvari and bestowed on her Śiva Gñanam. The Goddess took ‘Upadēśa’ (lessons) facing east while the Lord faced west. Hence the deities in the temple are also installed in the same direction. Such places are known as ‘Upadēśa Sthalam-s’. Since the Lord was the Guru and the Goddess was his Siśya, the ‘Tiru Kalyaṇam’ (marriage) is not conducted in this temple.

Since Goddess Akilāṇḍēśvari worshipped Lord Śiva in this temple, at noon the ‘Archakar’ (priest) dresses like a female and performs pūja to Lord Śiva and ‘Gō Mātha’ (Cow) every day.

Such a legendary Kśētram has been immortalized in the kṛiti-s of Śri Muthusvāmi Dīkśitar. Dīkśitar has sung Jambupatē in rāgā Yamunākalyāni – tiśra ēkam in praise of Lord Jambukēśvarar (it is one of the Pañca Bhūta Kśētra Kriti-s) and Akilāṇḍēśvari in rāga Jujāvanti – ādi tāḷam in praise of Goddess Akilānḍēśvari. It is notable that he has used hindustāni rāgā-s for both compositions.

Akhilānḍēśvari rakśa mām

Rāgam: Jujāvanti                                                                              

Tāḷam: Ādi


Vāgeyyakkāra: Śri Muttusvāmi Dikśitar

 

Pallavi

Akhilānḍēśvari rakśa mām
Āgama sampradāya nipuṇē śri

O Akhilānḍēśvari protect me!
One who is an expert in the tradition of the Āgamā-s.

Anupallavi

Nikila lōka nityātmikē vimalē
Nirmalē śyāmaḷē sakala kalē

The one who is the eternal life-force of the worlds. The one who is immaculate.
The one who is a dark. The one who encompasses all the arts.

Caraṇam

Lambōdara guru guha pūjitē
Lambālakōdbhāsitē hasitē
Vāgdēvatārāditē varadē
Vara śaila rāja nutē śāradē

Madhyamakāla Sāhityam

Jambhāri sambhāvitē janārdana nutē jujāvanti rāga nutē
Jhalli maddaḷa jarjhara vādya nāda muditē jñāna pradē

The one who is worshipped by Gaṇēśā and Śanmukhā.
The one who has long locks of hair on her forehead. The one with a smiling face.
The one who is worshipped by the Vākdēvatā-s and is a bestower of boons.
The one who is worshipped by the king of mountains, O Śāradā.
The one respected by Indrā, who is the enemy of the demon Jambhā. The one worshipped by Viṣṇu. The one praised by the Rāgā Jujāvanti.
The one who is pleased by the sound of the musical instruments such as Jalli, Maddaḷa and Jarjhara. The one who bestows Knowledge.

A soulful rendition of Akilāṇḍēśvari rakśa mām by MS Amma.

Jambu patē mām pāhi

 

Rāgam: Yamunākalyāni                                                                       

Tāḷam: TiśraĒkam


Vāgeyyakkāra: Śri Muttusvāmi Dikśitar

Pallavi

Jambu patē mām pāhi nijānandāmṛtabōdham dēhi

Oh Jambupati, protect me and bestow me with the nectar of the knowledge of true bliss.

Anupallavi

Ambujāsanādi sakala dēva namana tumburunuta hṛdaya tāpōpaśamana
Ambudi gaṅgā kāveri yamunā kambukaṇṭhyakilāṇḍēśvari ramaṇa

He is honored by Brahma and other celestial beings. He mitigates the affliction of the heart of Tumburu. He is the form of water and the great ocean and rivers such as Gaṅga, Kāveri, Yamunā. He is the beloved consort of Goddess Akilāṇḍēśvari, whose neck is as beautiful as a conch.

Caraṇam

Parvatajā prārtitabliṅga vibhō pañcabhūtamaya prapañcaprabhō
Sarvajīva dayākara śambhō sāmajāṭavīnilaya svayambhō
Sarva karuṇā sudha sindhō śaraṇāgata vatsalārta bandhō
Anirvacanīya nādabindō nityamauli vidhṛta gaṅgendo

Madhyamakāla Sāhityam

Nirvikalpaka samādhiniṣṭa śiva kalpakatarō
Nirvi śeśa chaitanya nirañjana guruguha gurō

In answer to the prayers of Goddess Pārvati, the Lord manifested as a Liṅga representing water. He is the Lord of the universe, which is composed of five elements. He is Śambhu, who is compassionate towards all living beings. He manifested on his own in a forest inhabited by elephants. He is the nectar-like ocean of mercy, and is the saviour to those who seek refuge in Him. He is the indescribable Nādabindu. He always wears the Gaṅga and the crescent moon on His head. He is the Kalpaka tree, and is engaged in the state of Samadhi or supreme consciousness. He is the father of the pure, faultless knowledge in the form of Guruguha.