Muthuswami Dikshitar

Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar) (IAST: muttusvāmi dīkṣitar, 24 March, 1776 – 21 October, 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer, veena player, and a prolific composer of Indian classical music. He was the youngest member of what is referred to as the Trinity of Carnatic music. Muthuswami Dikshitar was born on 24 March, 1776 in Tiruvarur near Thanjavur, now known as Tamil Nadu, India. He was born to a family that is traditionally traced back to Virinichipuram in the northern boundaries of the state.

Dikshitar is credited for approximately 500 compositions which are noted for their elaborate, poetic descriptions of Hindu gods, architectural descriptions of temples, and for capturing the essence of the raga forms through the vainika (veena) style that emphasizes gamakas. They are composed in a slower tempo (chowka kala). He is also known by his signature name of Guruguha which is also his mudra which appears in each of his compositions. His compositions are widely sung and played in classical concerts of Carnatic music.

The musical trinity consists of Dikshitar, Tyagaraja (1767–1847), and Syama Sastri (1762–1827). However, unlike the Telugu compositions of Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri, his compositions are predominantly in Sanskrit. He also composed some of his Kritis in Manipravalam (a combination of the Sanskrit and Tamil languages).

There are two schools of thought regarding the pronunciation of his name. The name is pronounced as 'Muthuswamy Dikshitar'. Muthuswami is a common Tamil name (Muthu translates to pearl in Tamil, cognate to Mutya in Sanskrit) and is derived from Selvamuthukumaraswamy, a deity of the renowned Vaideeswaran temple in Myladuthurai. However, T. K. Govinda Rao explains in Compositions of Mudduswamy Dikshitar that "the word Muddayya is an epithet of Kumaraswami or Guha. Further, in the original Telugu publication of Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini (1904) Sri Subbarama Dikshitar mentions his name as Mudduswamy. Also, in the known composition of Dikshitar, "Bhajare re Chitha" in raga Kalyani, the "mudra" or signature of the composer appears in the text as "Guruguha Roopa Muddu Kumara Jananeem".