Govinda Dikshita (Dikshitar) was the minister of three successive

Nayaks of Thanjavur The Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks of the Balija social group, were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Empire, Vijayanagar ...

, who ruled the region of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

between the 16th and 17th centuries CE.

About the scholar

Govinda Dikshita was a scholar, philosopher, statesman and musicologist. He was a

Kannadiga The Kannada people or Kannadigaru IAST">nowiki/>IAST:_Kannadadavaru_or_Kannadigas_(English_term).html" ;"title="IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowiki/>IAST: Kannadadavaru or Kannadigas (English term)">IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowik ...

(native Kannada language speaker) belonging to the

Hoysala Karnataka Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins are a community of Smarta Brahmins originating in the Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th an ...

Brahmin community, although he served as a minister in the region of Thanjavur under Achuthappa Nayak and

Raghunatha Nayak Raghunatha Nayak was the most powerful king of the Thanjavur Nayak Dynasty. He was the third ruler of Thanjavur, southern India, from the Nayak dynasty. He ruled from 1600 to 1634 and is noted for the attainments of Thanjavur in literature, art, ...

. He lived in a palatial house in

Patteeswaram Patteeswaram is a village, eight kilometres from Kumbakonam in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The village was named after Patti (also called Nandini), the calf of Kamadhenu, the divine cow in Hindu mythology. It is the suburban region of ...

, the remnants of which are believed to exist. This versatile genius and erudite scholar composed Arivamsa Saracharitram and Sangitha Sudhanidhi(a treatise on music). He is credited with the construction and repair of the Amman shrine of Thenupuriswarar Temple at

. The sculpture of Dikshita and his wife, holding their hands in adoration, are found in the ''

mandap A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

'' in front of the Amman shrine. Legend associates him with Tirunageswaram, a village located 6 km from Kumbakonam in the Kumbakonam - Karaikal road and also with Patteswaram, 6 km south east of Kumbakonam. The name of his wife is ascertained as Nagamba. But the presence of the idol of Dikshita in the premises of Patteswaram temple and presence of ruins of his house in the village outskirts confirm his private location to be Patteeswaram. His location is also believed to be Tirupalathurai, near

Papanasam Papanasam is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It is the suburban region ...

.N.K. 1933, pp. 1-2 Life like images of Govinda Dikshithar is now worshipped at Patteswaram, with the presiding deity of Linga also called "Govinda Dikshita lingam". Dikshita spent his early years in Vijayanagara kingdom where he attained his education. Dikshita is a Karnataka Brahmin of Asvalayana sutra of Rig veda.

Carnatic Music

Dikshita is spoken of as 'One of the Trio of Theoreticians' of modern period; the others being Ramamatya and Somanatha. The Nayaks brought with them the glorious tradition of their country to the fertile regions of river

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

. The Nayaks donated an entire village to 500

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

families for fostering art and learning. Other fertile villages were encouraged to become seats of music and learning as Nayaks gave them to

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

families. Muvanallur, Tepperumanallur, Sulamangalam, Uthukadu and Saliyamangalam can be cited as examples. Govinda Dikshita was the father of another musicologist, Venkatamakhin, who is noted for his

Chaturdandiprakashika The ''Chaturdandiprakashika'' (; "The Illuminator of the Four Pillars of Music") is a Sanskrit treatise written by the musicologist Venkatamakhin in the mid-17th century. It introduced a theoretical melakarta system to classify and organise ragas ...

, a treatise which formed the basis of the

melakarta Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales (ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be generated. A ''melaka ...

system of classification used in Carnatic music today.

Construction

Dikshita is believed to have constructed the

Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam Ramaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu located in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the prominent temples in the town and also one of the most prominent temples dedicated to Rama in India. This t ...

. In 1620, when Govinda Dikshita, divan-administrator for the Nayaks, constructed the

, he added a commercial corridor between the new temple and the older

Chakrapani Temple, Kumbakonam Chakrapani Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to God Vishnu located in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. This temple is located 2 km, away towards North West from the Kumbakonam Railway Station. Vishnu appears in the form of a discus or ''Cha ...

. In 1542, Dikshita is founded Raja Veda Kavya Patashala in Kumbakonam, which is even today a centre for learning Vedic education.http://rajavedapatasala.org/

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dikshita, Govinda Year of birth missing Year of death missing 16th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians People from Thanjavur district 16th-century Indian people 17th-century Indian people