Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavathar (also spelt ''Bagavathar'') (1912–2004) was a

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

ian,

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

Harikatha ''Harikatha'' (Kannada: ಹರಿಕಥೆ : ''Harikathe''; Telugu: హరికథ : ''Harikatha;'' Marathi: हरीपाठ '': Haripatha'', ), also known as ''Harikatha Kaalakshepam'' in Telugu and Tamil (), is a form of Hindu tradition ...

exponent and composer. He served

for over seven decades. He was a disciple of

Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer ( ta, மகாராஜபுரம் விசுவநாதையர்; 1896–1970) was one of the great Indian Carnatic vocalists. He won several awards including Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeetha Bhupathy. ...

in music and Madurai Narayana Bhagavatar and Smt Saraswathy Bai in Harikatha. He performed more than 1000 music concerts and 7000 Harikatha performances all over India. He started composing from his teens and has composed more than 3000 songs in many languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit. He composed different musical forms such as

Geetham Geetam, (Sanskrit: गीतम्; gītaṃ) the simplest music form in Carnatic music, was created by Purandara Dasa in order to introduce ''tala (music), talas'' with ''Sahityam, sāhityaṃ'' (lyrics). Gītaṃ literally means "song" in Sa ...

Varnam Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system consisting of short metric pieces which encapsulate the main features (patterns of notes) of a ''raga''. Varnams capture the ''raga bhavam'', ''ranjaka prayogas'' ''visesha sancha ...

Krithi ''Kriti'' (Sanskrit: कृति, ''kṛti'') is a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music. ''Kritis'' form the mental backbone of any typical Carnatic music concert and is the longer format of Carnatic song. "Kriti" also means C ...

Javali Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...

Padam Padam may refer to: *''Padam... Padam...'', a song by Édith Piaf *Padam, Ladakh, India *Padam people, of India *Padam (musical composition), in Carnatic music *Southern Command (Israel) (''Pikud Darom'') {{disambiguation ...

Thillana A Tillana or thillana is a rhythmic piece in Carnatic music that is generally performed at the end of a concert and widely used in classical indian dance performances. It was popularised by Dr. M Balamuralikrishna and some other musicians A Til ...

Ragamalika Ragamalika, literally a garland of ragas, is a popular form of composition in Carnatic music where different segments of the composition are set to different ragas. It is also known as ''Raga Kadambakam,'' and forms parallel to the composition form ...

and Harikatha. The first edition of his compositions are published in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

in the book 'Sangeetha Ratna Mala'. Sambasiva Bhagavatar's musical discourse of

Muthuswami Dikshitar Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...

charitram,

Ramana Maharshi Ramana Maharshi (; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage and ''jivanmukta'' (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was born in Tiruchuli, Ta ...

Charitram,

Purandara Dasa Purandara Dasa (IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-prop ...

charitram and Seetha Kalyanam are brought out in CD's. His compositions (

Sahityam Sahitya literally means literature in Sanskrit. It is also used to refer to the lyrics of a Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including t ...

s) are released in cassettes and CD's. His composition "Neerajadalanayana" in raga "Maand" was popularised by his guru Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer.

Early years

Sambasiva Bhagavatar was born in

Mannargudi Mannargudi () is a town in Thiruvarur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Mannargudi taluk. The town is located at a distance of from the district headquarters Thiruvarur, 36 km from Kumbakonam, 40 km fro ...

in the old Tanjavur district in Tamil Nadu, India in the year 1912 to Rajam Iyer and Meenakshi Ammal. He spent his early years in Mannargudi and later moved to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(now

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

).He studied in Sri

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

in Mylapore. He then had his carnatic music training through the traditional Gurukulam from Sri Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. He imbibed the spirit of musical style of his Guru Viswanatha Iyer. He was then known as Sambasiva Iyer. He switched over from Carnatic Vocal music to

Kalakshepam and became known as Sambasiva Bhagavatar.

Family

Sambasiva Bhagavatar had three sons Rajaraman, Balasubramanian and Madhavan and two daughters Balasaraswathi and Chandra.

Awards and Titles

Bhagavatar was a recipient of the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

's "

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

" award. He received many other awards and tiles such as "Harikatha Kalakshepa Jyothi", "Katharathnakara", "Sangeetha Sahithya Jyothi", "Sangeetha Ratnam", "Harikatha Sironmani", "Sangeetha Kala Sikhamani", "Nadakkanal", "Harikatha Ratna", "Kalaseva Nirata", "Sangeetha Harikatha Bhusanam", "Sangeetha Harikatha Kala Praveena", and the

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

's "Vaggeyakara Award" in the year 2001 and the special honour in the category of Musician and Musicologist "T.T.K. Award" in the year 1999. He served as a lecturer in Kathakalakshepam at Tamil Nadu Government College of Music,

and as an inspector of Music and Dance schools for the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, the cultural wing of the Government of Tamil Nadu. He trained many students in the art of Music and Harikatha Kalakshepam. His prominent disciples included the violinist

M. Chandrasekaran Mohanan Chandrasekaran is a Carnatic classical violinist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Calcutta, on 1937 December 11 as the younger of the two sons of T.N. Mohanan and Charubala Mohanan, a violinist herself. He was awarded th ...

, K. V. Krishnan, Lalitha Alladi Ramakrishnan, Jaya Krishnan and others. In Harikatha his disciples include Susheela Achudaraman, Gowri Rajagopal, Shyamala Ramachandran and others.

Compositions

A few of his

s or compositions are listed below

Service to Thiagaraja sangeetha Vidwath Samajam

Bhagavatar dedicated a major portion of his life to the growth and development of Sri Thiagaraja Sangeetha Vidwath Samajam in

Mylapore Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...

, Chennai. He was the Treasurer, Secretary, President and finally chairman and executive trustee of the Samajam. He served the institution for over six decades. As per the advice of Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swamigal, he installed a

Panchaloga ''Panchaloha'' ( sa, पञ्चलोह), also called ''Pañcadhātu'' ( sa, पञ्चधातु, lit=five metals), is a term for traditional five-metal alloys of sacred significance, used for making Hindu temple ''murti'' and jewelry. ...

Vigraham of Saint Thiagaraja at the Vidhwath Samajam Premises.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagavatar, Mannargudi Sambasiva 1912 births 2004 deaths Carnatic musicians People from Tiruvarur district 20th-century Indian musicians Harikatha exponents