The life and works of the legendary Shyama Shastri

An adaptation from kritimaNimAlai authored by sangIta kalA SikAmaNi

R.Rangaramanuja Iyengar and vInA vidushI Padma aradan
!ranslated by Sai Prasad is"anathan
!his is a humble attempt to en#apsulate some of the signifi#ant moments and
#ompositions of Shri Shyama Shastri$ "ho$ along "ith tyAgarAja s"ami and nAdajy%ti
&uthus"Ami dIkshita$ is #onsidered to form the 'arnati# musi# trinity. !his arti#le is
dedi#ated to the noble soul Shri Shyama Shastri to "hom the 'arnati# musi# "orld "ill
al"ays be indebted.
His Ancestral Lineage:
Alas( !he tanjore bangAru kAmAkshi amman temple got its ri#h due of fame. All
#arnati# musi#ians and devotees of this divine art "ill definitely visit this temple and
de#orate the )oddess here "ith a beautiful garland #onsisting of pearls of musi#. !he
ambA statue here is made of gold and d*vi here has a very pleasing fa#e. +olklore
suggests that ,ord -rahma himself built this statue$ installed it at the temple to"n of
kAn#hIpuram and "orshipped it. !he great -hagavadpAda$ Shri Adi Shankara himself
appointed a saint "ell.versed in the v*das and religious rites in order to #ondu#t the daily
pooja for this amba. !ill this date$ the des#endants of this same family #ondu#t all the
religious a#tivities asso#iated "ith this temple. +or this reason$ the members of this
family #onsider the )oddess kAmAkshi herself as their an#estral treasure and "ealth.
In /010$ after the ijayanagara dynasty fell$ the land passed in to the hands of &uslim
rule. !he Islami# army atta#ked this region and plundered the "ealth. !he divine land of
kAn#hI "as about to be#ome a "ar 2one. 3orried that the divine statues of kAn#hI "ill
be destroyed in this "ar$ the pundits of this region got together and de#ided to take their
upAsana d*vas and d*vis and va#ate the to"n. In the year /011$ the family "ho "ere in
#harge of the bangAru kAmAkshi temple took all of the temple4s reserves$ je"els and
gems and buried it "ithin the temple #omple5. !he family then took the kAmAkshi idol
and the #haturbuja utsava idol and left the #ity for safer grounds. !his family #rossed
mountains and forests and after being in e5ile for 67 years finally de#ided it is safe and
rea#hed the #ity of Senji. !he #ity4s king at that time$ Santhana maharaja "as a devout
bhaktha and he "el#omed the d*vi upAsakas "ith open arms. +or /0 years$ he provided
the family "ith all the #omforts and everything that they needed to do the daily poojas. In
/167$ the 3odeyarpAlayam 8amindar invited the family and he supported the family for
9: years. !oday$ at this lo#ation$ "e #an still find the kAmAkshi amman mandapam.
!he family of these upAsakas gre" into a large number. !he eldest son of the family got
the preferen#e to do the pooja and the others got e;ual rights and respe#t among ea#h
other. <o"ever the 2amindar had preferen#es for a fe" in the family and he did not treat
the others "ell. !his #reated a rift in the family and these lesser respe#ted members of
the family moved to Anakudi$ "here the mirAsudAr S"aminatha Pillai "el#omed them
and supported them. S"aminatha Pillai "as a very #lose friend of the marAtha kings
ruling !anjore at that time. <e "as very opulent$ #haritable$ devout bhakta and "as very
passionate about musi#. !he other part of the family "hi#h had stayed ba#k at
3odeyarpalayam "as also invited by S"aminatha Pillai and they #arried the kAmakshi
idol a#ross the river and #ame to Anakudi.
Birth:
S"aminatha Pillai #ontinued to support the upAsakas family for /0 years. After
S"aminatha Pillai4s death$ the family moved to different pla#es like ijayapuram$
Nagoor$ Sikkil and finally settled do"n in the holy temple to"n of tiruvAr=r. At this
time$ the eldest son and hen#e the upAsakar performing the pooja in the family "as
enkatAdri Iyer. is"anatha Iyer su##eeded him in the follo"ing years and he "as an
e5pert in edanta and astrology. -oth he and his "ife "ere devout d*vi upAsakas. %ne
day$ there "as a huge #elebration for ,ord enkata#halapathy on his road. 3hile
is"anatha Iyer and his "ife "ere "at#hing this pro#ession$ one elderly man in the
pro#ession shouted out to is"anathan Iyer4s "ife and told her Next year, in the month
of chithira, on krithika nakshatra Saturday, son will be born to you. >ust as the elderly
man had said$ the follo"ing year ?/91@A$ on the e5a#t same day as predi#ted$ a beautiful
son "as born in )authama g%thra to this #ouple. Sin#e the #hild "as born by ,ord
enkatesha4s gra#e and sin#e he "as born on krithika nakshatra ?similar to ,ord
SubrahmanyaA$ the parents de#ided to name the #hild Venkata Subrahmanyan but
#alled him by the ni#kname of Shyama rishna! !his #hild gre" up to be#ome our
beloved Shyama Shastri$ one of the most highly regarded #omposers of #arnati# musi#.
Ironi#ally$ his a#tual name disappeared into oblivion but his ni#kname be#ame his
#omposer mudra and "ill resonate till the e5isten#e of mankind.
S"iritual and #usical $ducation:
Shri Shyama Shastri learnt Sanskrit and !elugu from his father. <e "as e5posed to
#arnati# musi# by his un#le. >ust as things "ere settling do"n$ <yder Ali atta#ked the
region and "anted to take over the regime. All the temple upAsakas "ere afraid that he
"ill destroy the temples and all the idols. <en#e they took all the idols and moved to the
nearest big #ity$ !anjore. !he !anjore Rajagopalas"amy temple and other temples in this
area be#ame the safe houses of all these idols that "ere moved from tiruvAr=r. Shyama
Shastri4s family too #arried kAmAkshi4s idol and moved to !anjore. Initially the
kAmAkshi amba idol "as pla#ed in various different temples but finally a temple "as
#onstru#ted for this idol and the king of !anjore$ "ho "as an e5tremely devout d*vi
bhakta started allo#ating large sums of money for the maintenan#e and betterment of this
temple. Sponsored and supported by the king of !anjore$ Shyama Shastri4s family
flourished and lived a #omfortable life.
#usical Training:
Shri Shyama Shastri "as a born musi#ian. *ven as a #hild$ he is kno"n to have had deep
passion for musi#. <o"ever none of his family members "ere musi#ally in#lined. *ven
the un#le "ho taught him the basi#s suggested that he should #on#entrate on other
profitable matters and not spend his entire time on musi#. %ne day$ Shyama Brishna
performed the pooja for )oddess kAmAkshi. Curing the pooja$ in his melodious voi#e$
Shyama Brishna #hanted the mantras in many different rAgas and garlanded the d*vi.
!he affluent people at the temple "ho heard his musi# during this pooja be#ame
e5tremely pleased and presented him "ith a sha"l and "ished him all the best. 3hen
Shyama Brishna "ent ba#k home and sho"ed the sha"l to his un#le ?and his guruA$ he
be#ame e5tremely angry that Shyama "as not listening to his advi#e. <is un#le then
pro#eeded to tear Shyama4s musi# book into pie#es and told Shyama that he "ill not
tea#h him musi# anymore.
Sangeetha Swami:
!his in#ident did not demorali2e Shyama. <e #ontinued on his musi#al journey. Shyama
"as an e5tremely ardent devotee of )oddess kAmAkshi. 3hen She herself "as pushing
him from "ithin to sing$ "ho or "hat #an stop him from pursuing his musi#D Shyama
managed to go to nearby temples and listen to other musi#ians perform. -y listening to
these musi#ians and by reading s#riptures on musi#$ Shyama "as se#retly pra#ti#ing and
tuning his mind. <e "ill then go and sing in front of )oddess kAmAkshi everyday. !here
"ere days "hen Shyama used to dro"n himself in shrI vidyA upAsana and meditation
and someho" get through all the doors and spend time in the main sannidhi$ singing the
praise of )oddess kAmAkshi. Seeing the talent of this genius$ )oddess kAmAkshi sent a
saint to tanjore.
In kASi$ there "as a musi#al saint. <e "as of telugu des#ent and used to sing in the
sannidhi of ,ord is"es"ara. <e passed through !anjore on a pilgrimage to
Rames"aram. Shyama Shastri4s father served the yogi and provided him "ith food. %n
one day$ on seeing Shyama$ the yogi ordered Shyama4s father !his #hild is a musi#al
genius. Eou must arrange good training for him. Shyama then informed his father of
ho" his un#le had torn his musi# book and stopped tea#hing him. Shyama4s father also
advi#ed him that musi# "as not their traditional portfolio and that Shyama should learn
and be#ome profi#ient in edanta and s#riptures. <o"ever$ on repeated instru#tions from
the yogi$ Shyama4s father gave in and en#ouraged Shyama to learn musi# formally. Sin#e
Shyama4s family "as very affluent at this time$ he did not have to "orry about "orking
and earning money. Shyama hen#e started learning musi# formally from the musi#al saint
from kASi. !he saint "as a musi#al genius himself. <e had understood all the nuan#es of
musi# and he passed on all the information to Shyama and trained him. !he saint taught a
fe" of his o"n #ompositions to Shyama. !he saint4s kno"ledge rubbed off on Shyama
very fast and be#ause of diligent pra#ti#e and being a genius himself$ Shyama "as able to
learn very fast. In just 7 months$ Shyama had learnt all the tri#ks of the trade from the
saint. It "as time for the saint to #ontinue on his pilgrimage to kASi. 3ith affe#tion$ he
gave Shyama all of his #ompositions and advised him to #ontinue delving deeper into
musi#al bliss. <e also advised him to attend the #on#erts of the samastAna4s vid"An$
Adia""ayyar. !he saint blessed him and told Shyama that he had the best "ishes and
blessings of )oddess kAmAkshi and that he "ill shine forth as one of the brightest
musi#al gems.
%achchimiriyam Adia""ayya:
Adiappayya "as a prolifi# #omposer and used to #ompose krithis "ith the mudra shrI
v*nka!aramaNa. <e is the #omposer of Viriboni$ the famous -hairavi a!a tA,a
varNam. <e "as an e5pert in singing rAga Alapanas$ a master of tA,a prakaraNam and a
s#holar "ho had analy2ed #ompli#ated gamaka patterns. Some of his famous dis#iples
"ere Pallavi g%pAlayyar and Sanjeevayyar. <e "as the astAna vid"an of the tanjore
#ourt. <is son$ vInai krishnayyar "as a famous #omposer too. vInai Brishnayyar "as a
very #lose friend of Shyama Brishna and the t"o of them used to spend a lot of time
together singing and analy2ing musi#. ,istening to the t"o sing together$ krishnayyar4s
father$ Adiappayya asked Shyama to #ome home often. %n further intera#tion "ith
Shyama$ Adiappayya reali2ed that the /6.year old Shyama "as a musi#al genius and told
him that he "as an in#arnation of )oddess kAmAkshi herself and started addressing
Shyama as kAmAkshi. <e treated Shyama as his o"n son and the t"o dis#ussed musi#
for hours together. Shyama used to #he" a lot of beetle leaves. %ne day$ "hile Shyama
and Adiappayya "ere dis#ussing as usual$ a pie#e of beetel he "as #he"ing fle" out of
his mouth and stained Adiappayya4s silk dhoti. Shyama apologi2ed profusely and rushed
to #lean the dhoti "ith "ater. <o"ever Adiappayya stopped him and told him that it is
kAmAkshi4s prasAdam. Su#h "as the bhakti and love that the vid"an had developed for
Shyama. As years rolled by$ Shyama started #omposing songs in praise of )oddess
kAmAkshi.
%hysical A""earance:
Shyama Shastri "as an e5#eptionally handsome person. <e "as around 1 foot tall and
"as "ell.built. <e had ambAl kumkum on his forehead$ sparkling kadukkans on his ears$
rudrAksha around his ne#k and rings on his fingers and #arried a #ane "ith a silver
handle. <e al"ays "ore a "hite silk dhoti and a majesti# sha"l to #over his #hest. <is
very presen#e #ommanded respe#t. <is mind "as dren#hed in bhakti for )oddess
kAmAkshi and he lived a very simple life.
<e did not even sear#h for students and as a result$ he had taught very fe" students in his
life. Singing the d*vi4s praise in the form of his @:: #ompositions "as everything that he
yearned for in his lifetime. <e "as not interested in earning money by performing
#on#erts or by asso#iating himself "ith the raja4s #ourt. <e did not travel mu#h and spent
most of his time at home "ith )oddess kAmAkshi. <o"ever$ he used to travel fre;uently
to tiruvayyaru and spend time "ith sadguru tyAgarAja s"ami$ the other musi#al genius
"ho forms a big part of the 'arnati# musi# trinity. !he t"o of them used to dis#uss about
musi# for hours together and share ea#h other4s kno"ledge through their #ompositions.
Some of his pilgrimages in#lude a trip to Pudukkottai "here he #omposed in praise of
brhadambA and his trip to &adurai "here he #omposed the set of nine krithis in praise of
&adurai mInAkshi ambA.
&haracteristics of his &om"ositions:
Shyama Shastri4s #ompositions have a lot of poeti# essen#e asso#iated "ith them. <is
#ompositions in telugu$ Sanskrit and tamil #an be sung properly only by a person "ho has
undergone rigorous training and has learnt these krithis from a guru. !here is a famous
story a##ording to "hi#h some of tyAgarAja s"Ami4s dis#iples$ having heard a fe" of
Shyama Shastri4s krithis$ sung a fe" #ompositions for the sadguru. After listening
patiently for fe" minutes$ tyAgarAja s"ami is kno"n to have asked his dis#iples to stop
singing and ordered them not to murder these gems of Shyama Shastri by singing the
krithis "ithout any rAga bhAva or kAla pramANa.
Shyama Shastri has #omposed masterpie#es in rAgas like Anandhabhairavi and sAv*ri. It
seems that these t"o rAgas "ere his favourite. <e had #omposed many krithis in rare
rAgas but did not pass on these treasures through dis#iples and be#ause of this$ many of
his krithis got lost over time and many other #ompositions did not be#ome as famous as
tyAgarAja4s #ompositions. Sin#e Shyama Shastri #omposed these krithis in high state of
devotion and #ons#iousness #ombined "ith pristine rAga lakshaNa and tA,a$ only a
person "ho is advan#ed in musi# #an bring out the beauty ens#on#ed in his krithis. !he
more one sings his krithis$ the more bliss one #an e5perien#e. <is various #ompositions
like mariv*re gati$ himA#ala tanaya$ % jagadambA in AnandabhairaviF shankari
shankuru and durusuga kr.pa in sAv*ri$ ninne nammi naanu ?t%CiA$ br%va samayamu
?punnAgavarA,iA$ nannu br%va ?lalitAA$ pAlin#hu kAmAkshi ?madyamAvatiA$ sar%ja
dha,a n*tri ?shankarAbharaNamA$ d*vi br%va samayamid* ?#intAmaNiA$ talli ninnu
?kalyANIAF his s"arajathis in t%Ci$ bhairavi and yadukula kAmb%ji and his book
named tALa "rastAram are the treasures he has left behind for generations to #ome.
Astrological %owers:
Cue to his intense d*vi upAsana$ Shyama Shastri follo"ed the path of divine guidan#e
and had the po"er to make all his "ishes and "ords #ome true. <e "as an e5pert in
astrology and hen#e "as e5tremely a##urate in his predi#tions. !here are a fe" famous
stories #orroborating this fa#t. %n#e$ a friend rushed into Shyama Shastri4s house and
reported that an astrologer had predi#ted that he "ill die in /: days. Shyama Shastri
immediately looked at his horos#ope and his fa#e and told him that he "ill live for /:
more years and it happened e5a#tly the "ay he said. %n another o##asion$ on seeing a
friend4s fa#e$ Shyama Shastri told him that he has only G more days to live and that on#e
again #ame true. %n#e "hile "alking through a trade fair along "ith Adiappayyar$ a shop
o"ner made fun of Shyama Shastri and angered him. <e #ursed the shop o"ner that he
"ill burn to ashes. As soon as he uttered those "ords$ the shop #aught fire and everything
in#luding the shop o"ner burnt do"n in a matter of minutes. Su#h "as the po"er of his
thoughts and "ords.
%o""ili k$sa'ayyA:
!he 'arnati# musi# trinity lived during the years "hen fine arts "ere flourishing. !he
kings and emperors "ere huge patrons of art forms like 'arnati# musi# and
-harathnatyam. S"athi tirunA, "as also a #ontemporary #omposer of the trinity4s era.
<e "as a king "ho "as an ardent devotee of ,ord Padmanabha and #omposed many
krithis of e5;uisite #ontent. <e respe#ted and patroni2ed all the artists in his kingdom.
Seeing this$ Bing Sarabh%ji$ the ruler of tanjore at that time also "anted to follo" the
same tradition. -eing a rasika of art forms$ he patroni2ed and provided money and other
fa#ilities for the artists of his #ourt. <o"ever$ the 'arnati# trinity of tyAgayya$
&uthus"Ami dIkshita and Shyama Shastri never on#e stepped inside the raja4s #ourt.
!hey "ere steeped in bhakti and these material #omforts provided by the king did not
appeal to them.
In the same era$ a musi#ian by name %o""ili k$sa'ayya emerged as a leading artist
re#ogni2ed by many of his peers as one of the most talented musi#ians of that time.
<o"ever$ k*savayya4s fame got to his head and he "as very arrogant. <e used to openly
#hallenge fello" musi#ians and #omposers and threaten them to be#ome his slave if they
lost in a musi# #ontest. <e travelled to different kingdoms and defeated many
musi#ians in these #ontests and gained more popularity and got more arrogant. <e arrived
in the tanjore distri#t and headed straight to tiruvayyAru. !here he met saint tyAgarAja
and #hallenged him to a #ontest. tyAgaraja s"ami a##epted the #hallenge and defeated
k*savayya "ithout mu#h trouble. =nable to bear this$ he felt ashamed and left
tiruvayyAru and #ame to tanjore #ity. <e de#ided that if he defeated the musi#ians of
tanjore$ the me##a of 'arnati# musi#$ it "as e;uivalent to have defeated all the musi#ians
in the "orld. 3ith this ne" found vigor$ k*savayya "ent to king sarabh%ji4s #ourt and
openly #hallenged all the musi#ians of his #ourt. <e defeated all the musi#ians in the
king4s #ourt and #laimed himself to be the best musi#ian in the "orld. Bing Sarabh%ji
"as very "orried that this "ill be#ome a bla#k mark in his rule of the great #ity of
tanjore. <en#e$ he sent a messenger to Shyama Shastri4s house and re;uested him to
represent the #ity and sing and defeat k*savayya. Sin#e the #ity4s tradition and name "as
at stake$ Shyama Shastri a##eded to the king4s re;uest and a##epted the #hallenge from
k*savayya.
%n the day of the #ompetition$ Shyama Shastri prayed to )oddess kAmAkshi and
meditated upon <er. After meditating for a long time$ he #omposed d*vi br%va
samayamid* in #intAmaNi and sang it "ith #omplete bhakti. After #ompleting his
pooja$ Shyama Shastri "ent to the king4s #ourt ?for the first timeA. A large #ro"d had
gathered to "at#h this spe#ta#le. k*savayya started singing and displayed his tremendous
talent and kno"ledge by singing fast sangathis and s"araprasthAras. <e "eaved magi#
through his man%dharma and skilful e5hibition of gamakAs and brighAs. After finishing$
he taunted Shyama Shastri and asked him if <e even "anted to attempt singing after this
display. Shyama Shastri just prayed to the )oddess and uttered <er name as he
strummed his tanpura. <e sang at an absolutely different level and the ;uality of his
musi# "as over"helming. Shyama Shastri unleashed his kalpana and "ith his
s"arasan#hArAs easily defeated k*savayya. k*savayya bo"ed in #omplete a"e and left
the #ourt. !he king thanked Shyama Shastri for standing up for the #ity of tanjore and
praised him as a mahAvid"An. Bing sarabh%ji then sho"ered Shyama Shastri "ith
gifts$ money and valuables. Shyama Shastri gave all the "ealth to the kAmAkshi temple
and #ontinued in his humble$ simple "ay of life.
A""u kutti:
Around /G/0$ there "as a jathi vid"An in nAgapattinam. >ust like k*savayya$ he "as
another talented but arrogant musi#ian. <e used to #hallenge all the musi#ians in the
distri#t and defeat them and humiliate them. 3hen Shyama Shastri "ent to nAgapattinam
for personal reasons$ the musi#ians there re;uested him to take #are of appu kutti4s
mena#e. A##eding to their re;uest$ Shyama Shastri #hallenged Appukutti to a #ontest.
Appukutti a##epted the #hallenge and added a fe" stipulations to the #ontest. If
Appukutti "as to lose$ he "ould leave the land and not return. If Shyama Shastri lost$ he
must a##ept sanyAsa. Shyama Shastri agreed to the #onditions and the #ontest began. In
just 0 minutes$ Shyama Shastri sang one sangathi beyond #omprehension and appukutti
a##epted defeat. Appukutti "ent to mysore and be#ame the AsthAna vid"an there.
After losing to Shyama Shastri$ Appukutti #hanged a lot and lost all his arrogan#e in the
pro#ess. <e be#ame an ardent lover of Shyama Shastri4s musi# and started populari2ing
his krithis in &ysore. ,istening to Appukutti sing these krithis$ the &aharaja of &ysore
fell in love "ith the devotion and the beauty in Shyama Shastri krithis. <e re;uested
Appukutti to visit tanjore and invite Shyama Shastri to &ysore so that the &aharaja #an
see this genius and pay his respe#ts. So$ in /G61$ Appukutti visited Shyama Shastri4s
house and e5plained ho" the &ysore &aharaja "anted to #elebrate his genius. Shyama
Shastri politely refused the invitation be#ause he did not "ant to travel as he felt that his
last fe" days on this earth "ere here.
(eath:

Shyama Shastri4s personal life is pretty "ell do#umented be#ause of his great grandson
"ho died at the age of H7 as late as /H0:. Shyama Shastri4s "ife "as an e5tremely #aring
and devoted lady. She "as a d*vi upAsaka just like her husband and religiously observed
the same rules and prin#iples follo"ed by Shyama Shastri. !he #ouple had t"o sons.
Panju Shastri and SubbarAya Shastri.

In /H69$ Shyama Shastri$ by his astrologi#al skills had determined that he "ill not live for
long. 3hen she #ame to kno" about this$ Shyama Shastri4s "ife immediately prayed to
)oddess kAmAkshi and re;uested her life to be taken a"ay before her husband4s death.
%n +ebruary /
st
$ /G69$ Shyama Shastri4s "ife passed a"ay. All their relatives #ame home
and paid ri#h tributes to the noble soul. At that time$ Shyama Shastri is kno"n to have
said sAga anjinA,$ seththu ArinA, and all the people interpreted this to mean She
"as afraid to die but she died and rea#hed sola#e. <o"ever$ Shyama Shastri in his
typi#al "itty "ay had hinted at his death. >ust si5 days after his "ife4s death$ on +ebruary
9
th
$ /G69$ Shyama Shastri meditated upon )oddess kAmAkshi for one last time and left
his mortal #oils. All the people then reali2ed that "hat he had said "as sAga anjunA,$
seththu ArunA, meaning 0 days to go ?for meA to die$ si5 days "ould have passed
?sin#e her deathA. All the musi#ians and #omposer in and around tanjore visited Shyama
Shastri4s house and paid their last respe#ts for one of the most prolifi# #omposers of
'arnati# musi#. All the musi#ians sang his krithis in his remembran#e and reminded
themselves that a great musi#al genius had lived amongst them.

Shyama Shastri4s family tree gre" thre" his elder son$ Panju Shastri. <e be#ame the
eldest son of the family and performed the daily duties and pooja for )oddess
kAmAkshi. At present$ Panju shastri4s great grandson$ nat*Sa Shastri is the person
performing pooja at the bangAru kAmAkshi temple in tanjore. Shyama Shastri4s se#ond
son$ Subbaraya Shastri "as yet another musi#al genius. ,ike his father$ he has #omposed
some ama2ing krithis. Subbaraya Shastri is kno"n to have been the only person to have
learnt musi# from tyAgarAja s"ami$ nAdajy%ti &uthus"ami dIkshithar and his o"n
father$ Shyama Shastri. 3hat great puNyam must he have done in his previous life to
have learnt musi# from the #arnati# musi# trinity((

!hus$ through his #ompositions$ Shyama Shastri4s #ontribution to 'arnati# musi# is
beyond des#ription. <e has left an indelible mark in the field of this divine art. As a result
his #ompositions trans#end time and "ill be passed on from generation to generation. <is
name "ill resonate as long as the universe e5ists. shrI gurubhy% namahI