Shyama Shastri (; 26 April 1762 – 1827) or Syama Sastri was a musician and composer of

Carnatic music 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 ...

. He was the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two.

Early life and career

Shyama Shastri, whose birth name was Venkata Subrahmanya, was born on 26 April 1762 in a

Telugu Brahmin Telugu Brahmins are Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. History Origin theories According to the ''Aitareya Brahmana'' of the Rigveda, the Andhras left north India from the banks of the River Yamuna ...

family. He was also known as one of the trinity of carnatic music. To later generations, he is better known by his adopted name Shyama Shastri or by his musical mudra (signature) Shyama Krishna. He was born in Tiruvarur, in what is now the state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. He received his instruction in the vedas, astrology, and other traditional subjects early on and learned music from his maternal uncle. He was later trained in music by Adiappayya, a noted durbar musician 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 Gr ...

. Although Śyāma Śastri did not compose as many '' kritis'' as his two prolific contemporaries, his compositions are still well known due to the literary, melodic and rhythmic proficiency observed in them. It is said that he composed about three hundred pieces in all. He did not have many disciples to propagate his compositions, nor was the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

widely accessible during his time. More importantly, the scholarly nature of his compositions made them more appealing to the learned than to the lay. Additionally, they feature a more formal form of Telugu which borrows heavily from Sanskrit. In contrast, Tyagaraja composes in generally more colloquial dialect of Telugu. There are also a number of krithis in Tamil attributed to him. Most of his compositions propitiate the Goddess Kamakshi. He composed ''kritis'', ''varṇa(s)'' and ''svarajati(s)'' with the ''ankita'' or '' mudra'' (signature) Śyāma Krishna. He was probably the first to compose in a new form of the ''svarajati'' musical genre, where the compositions could be rendered solely in a singing or instrumental manner. Prior to this, the ''svarajati'' was primarily a dance form, and was close in structure to the dance ''Varṇaṃ'' (''padavarṇaṃ''). His set of three famous ''svarajati(s)'' are intended to be sung in concert rather than danced, and are sometimes referred to as "''Ratnatrayam''" (Three jewels). They are ''Kāmākṣhī Anudinamu'', ''Kāmākṣhī Padayugamē'', and ''Rāvē himagiri kumāri'', composed in the ''ragas'' ''

Bhairavi Bhairavi ( sa, भैरवी) is a Hindu goddess, described as one of the Mahāvidyas, the ten avatars of the mother goddess. She is the consort of Bhairava. Etymology The name ''Bhairavi'' means "terror" or "awe-inspiring". She is th ...

'', '' Yadukula kambhoji'' and ''

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

'' respectively. The former two are set to ''Miśra Cāpu Tāḷa'', while the third is set to ''Ādi Tāḷa''. He is known for his ability to compose in the most complex of tāḷas.

Death and legacy

Shastri had a number of disciples who excelled at the art. Alasur Krishna Iyer became a musician at the royal durbar in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

. Porambur Krishna Iyer popularised many of his guru's works. Another disciple, Talagambadi Panchanada Iyer also made his mark as a composer. Another disciple named Dasari gained fame as a noted nāgaswaram player.

Compositions

The below sections mention some of his compositions.

Svara Jati

Kriti

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

Compositions of Shyama Shastri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shastri, Shyama Carnatic composers Telugu people Performers of Hindu music 1827 deaths 1762 births People from Tiruvarur district