% Text title            : Mela Ragamalika by Maha Vaidyanatha Shiva Iyer
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\engtitle{.. Mela Ragamalika by Maha Vaidyanatha Shiva Iyer ..}##
\itxtitle{.. shrImahAvaidyanAthashivavirachitA meLarAgamAlikA ..}##\endtitles ##
##
MahA VaidyanAtha Iyer (1844-1892 A.D.), popularly known as "shivan", 
was born in the village of VaiyacEri, near Ta~njAvUr. His father,  
Pa~ncanada Iyer, who gave him initial training is music, was a music scholar and devotee of Lord shiva. Of the four sons, shivan was the third, and his elder brother, RAmasvAmi shivan was also a proficient musician and composer.
Later, the shivan brothers learnt the subtle aspects of music from Anayya, and from MaNambucAvadi Ve~NkaTasubba Iyer, a direct disciple of Saint TyAgarAja.  Even as a boy of ten, VaidyanAtha shivan  could sing in all the three SthAyi-s with remarkable skill and accuracy.  He used to sing in the  GAndhAra shruti-- the third kaTTai of Harmonium, and move between six kAla-s with great speed. At the age of 12, he gave his first public performance in KalliDaikuricci, in the distinguished presence of SubrahmaNya DEshikar and AmbalavANa DEshikar, the Adhipati-s (chiefs) of TiruvADutturai Matham. Among the audience were two reputed musicians of that time, Periya VaidyanAtha Iyer, and Cinna VaidyanAtha Iyer. Impressed with his performance and the depth of his musical knowledge, SubrahmaNya DEshikar   as well as the Sadas (assembly) conferred upon him the title "MahA".  His favourite musical form was Manodharma sa~NgItaM (extempore rendition), and at a very young age, he became proficient  in rendering AlApana, tAnaM, pallavi, neravaland kalpanA svara.  He was also gifted with a magnificent voice. Once, during  a pallavicompetition, he thrilled the audience with an amazing  exposition of nArAyaNagauLa rAgaM,  and defeated one famous Pallavi VidvAn, VeNu, and won several laurels.  Fiddle Ve~Nkoba Iyer accompanied him on the violin. On another occasion, he stunned the Sabha with his famous pallavi in  kalyANi rAgaM, set to Simhanandana tALaM, (the longest of the 108 tAla-s) consisting of 128 akShrarkAla-s, The sahityam of this lengthy and  intricate  pallavi reads: ##
	gaurInAyaka kanakasabhA nAyaka
	hAlAhaladhara ga~NgAdharahara |
	smaraharapurahara shivakAmeshvara
	chidaMbareshvara naTarAja mAmava || ##
Later, he recast this pallavi into a tillAnA, "ThIM tara tiranA" in KalyANi, in the same Simhanandana tALaM. This tillAnA is also sung in rAga kAnaDa. VaiyanAtha Iyer was also a gifted performer of HarikathA kAlakShEpaM. Throughout his life, shivan enjoyed the healthy patronage of the rulers of RAmanAthapuraM.

The kAmbhoji pada varNaM, "Pa~NkajAkShi pai", and the nAgasvrAvali kRRiti "shri sha~Nkara GuruvaraM" are his well-known compositions, among various other kRRiti-s in Tamil and Sanskrit. In addition, many of the compositions which are attributed to his elder brother RAmasvAmi, undoubtedly enjoy co-authorship with VaidyanAtha shivan, and contain the rAgamudra "guha dAsa".  Here is a partial list of such compositions by shivan brothers: ##
	pAhimAm shrI rAjarAjeshvari (janara~njani)
	manavini varu (kanakA~Ngi)
	pa~NkajAkShi pai (kAmbhoji varNaM)
	kaDaikkaN (begaDa)
	ekkAlattiluM (nATTakura\~nji)
	muttukkumArayyane (sha~NkarAbharaNaM)
	unatu pAdaM tuNaye (chakravAkaM)
	naTanaM sheyyuM (kedAragauLa)
	shri sha~Nkara guruvaraM (nAgasvarAvali)
	mAl maruganai (bilahari) ##

In any case, MahA VaidyanAtha Iyer's greatest contribution to CarNAtic music is of course, his famous 72 MELa rAgamAlikA.  But this was not the first, single composition covering all the 72 mELa rAga-s. One LAvaNi VE~NkaTa Rao, a court poet in the Tanjore kingdom, a scholar in Marathi, Tamil and Telugu, and a brilliant exponent of  of LAvani (a type of Marathi folk style) singing, composed a version of the 72 mELa rAgamAlikA, called ``BAhattara MELakartA'' in Marathi. This composition begins with the phrases "shrImAn Jokari RAjya ViShNu sama", and incorporates the RAga mudrain each line of the charaNaM. The theme is erotic, and is in praise of SakhArAm SAhEb, the son-in-law of the ruler. MahA VaidyanAtha Iyer was entrusted with the task of setting this composition to music.  He accomplished this with great ease in a short period of seven days, and was awarded 2000 rupees, besides many gifts.  It is said that LAvaNi Ve~NkaTa Rao played the mRRida~NgaM to the singing of MahA VaidyanAtha Iyer. However, MahA VaidyanAtha Iyer did not relish the erotic nature of the theme and the nara stuti(praising a human) in this composition, so, he wrote a suitable alternate  sAhityamin praise of Lord PraNatArtihara (shiva) of the mammoth temple at TiruvaiyAru. This is the version that is currently in vogue as the MELarAgamAlikA. The entire rAgamAlikAis set to  Adi tALaM. The pallaviis sung in  shrI rAgaM, followed by some beautiful jatiphrases  in the tillAnA  style; there is no anupallavi, and the charaNaM has 72 lines, one for each mELakartA, with the rAga mudra (signature) skillfully woven in each line. At the end of each mELa rAgaM, there is a  chiTTa svaraM, and further, to enhance the beauty of the composition, his brother RAmasvAmi shivan added additional  chiTTasvara-s at the end of each line, whose  pUvA~NgaM  (the first half) is in the same mELaM, but the  uttarA~NgaM (the second half) is in the next mELaM. At the end of each chakraM, the pallavi is repeated in shri rAgaM, and after line 36, at the commencement of the Prati madhyama series, the jati phrases are also sung. 

This is not a composition that we hear in a concert platforms. Occasionally, in the past, one or two  chakram-s of this lengthy composition has been rendered by singers like Musiri SubrahmaNya Iyer, and Smt. M. S. SubbalakShmi.  In June 1989, the Gramaphone Company of India (HMV) released an  album (LP No. ECSD 40553), and simultaneously, a 60 minute cassette (No. HTCS 03B 3346) under the title: "mELa rAgamAlikA cakra", where Smt. M. S. SubbalakShmi melodiously sings the complete rAgamAlikA with all the above-mentioned features and ciTTa svara-s. Another audio-cassette is excerpts from a live recording of a Music Academy concert by Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer, that features selected chakram-s from the mELarAgamAlikA. 
                                    
The theme of this rAgamAlikAis advaitic, and highly philosophical, and is packed with several well-know (and not so well-known) anecdotes from ancient mythology. A full-fledged commentary in Tamil, known as  "shivapriya", written by V.S.V GurusvAmi shAstrigal of VaragUr is available in a 1989 Music Academy publication, "The MELarAgamAlikA of Maha Vaidyanathan Sivan". This tamil book, edited by T.S.Parthasarathy, also includes the  notations of the rAgamAlikA, as sung by M. S. Subbalakshmi.  The text of the original Marathi language rAgamAlikA, "BAhattara MELakartA" of LAvaNi VE~NkaTa Rao is also given in this book.
This text (with notations in English) appeared earlier in the scholarly work, "The SaMgraha CUDAmaNi" of GovindAchArya (Edited by Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri, and published by The Adyar Library, 1938).

Another valuable book, "MELarAgamAlikA of MahA VaidyanAtha shivan", edited by Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri, published by the Adyar Library and Research Center, Madras (1937), later revised by Smt S. Sarada (1979) (in Sanskrit and English) provides Notations in both English and Sanskrit. 
##

| tALaM \- Adi  |

| pallavi \- shrIrAgam |
praNatArtiharaprabho purAre praNavarUpa sampade pade  |
praNamAmi shrI prakR^itipreraka pramathagaNapate pade pade ||

| jati |
tAM tAM takaNaka dhIM dhIM dhimitari kiTataka tarikuDu
tadhIM dhI~Nku takadhimi takatari kiTataka jhaM
nAdiru dirudhoM dirudiru dittillAnA dirinA tAnA dontiri
takaNaka takajaNu takadhimi dhru{k}Datat taLA~NgutoM takatika tadhi~NgiNatoM

| anupallavi \- charaNam   (72 meLa) |

          (shuddhamadhyamameLa  1 \- 36)

kanakA~NgyA ramayA pUjita sanakAdipriya kR^ipAlaya || 1||
ratnA~NgyA dharmasaMvardhanyA ramaNa mAM paripAlaya || 2||
gAnamUrtiriti ghanashAstramAnamUrdhanyairgadito.asi || 3||
shrIvanaspatidalasamarchanena pAvanabhaktairvidito.asi || 4||
mAnavatIbhiH smR^itibhiruktakarmakR^i{nmAnavapApaM vArayasi || 5||
tAnarUpiNaM tvAM bhajanti ye tAramupadishaMstArayasi || 6||
devasenApatijanaka nIlagrIva sevakajanapoShaNa || 7||
hanumato DiNDimabhavaM stuvataH sutanumato.adadA bhUtibhUShaNa || 8||
bhAnukoTisa~NkAsha mahesha dhenukAsuramArakavAhana || 9||
AnandanATakapriyAmaravara shrInandanATavIhavyavAhana || 10||
kokilapriyAmrakisalayA~Nga gokulapAlanapaTubhayabha~njana || 11||
bahurUpAvatIha bhavAn mAM muhurmuhurUrjitabhaktajanara~njana || 12||
dhIrabhadrAkhyagAyakapriya vIrabhadrAdipAlitasharaNa || 13||
devakulAbharaNoddhAraka shrIvasudevakulAbharaNanatacharaNa || 14||
jitamAyA mALavagauLAntargatamAheshAH tvAM vindanti || 15||
chakravAkakuchArdhA~Nga tvatkR^ipayA shakravAkpatisurAH nandanti || 16||
tejasA jitasUryakAntyA gauryA ojasA.atulapratApa || 17||
shubhakara hATakAmbarisharAbjanibhakara hatabhaktaparitApa || 18||
jha~NkAradhvaniyutamAlAdhara Ta~NkAradhvaniyutachApa || 19||
mahAnaTa bhairavImArutibhAratIsahAyadevairnatakopa || 20||
shiva natkIravANIvashaga bhavana iva vasa me manasi || 21||
kharaharapriyamAlokya parAtpara hara dayayA pAlitavAnasi || 22||
gaurImano haridambara satataM gauriva vatse ramate bhavati || 23||
yo.asau aruNapriyAdityaH taM tvA sA shrutirAnatA bhavati || 24||
mArara~njanIvarada niraha~NkArajanA muktyai tvAM stuvanti || 25||
chAru ke shivali~NgamanArchya merudhanvan sukhamApnuvanti || 26||
sarasAM gItiM kIrtiM disha me tarasA a~NgIkR^itahatamadana || 27||
harikAmbhodhisambhavAmaraduritanivAraka smitavadana || 28||
dhIra sha~NkarAbharaNasamaM tvAM ghorasha~NkayA no jAne || 29||
j~nAnagAnaM kR^itavatAM varada shrInagAnandinIjAne || 30||
yAgapriyAmaratyAgapriyaM vidhiM drAgapriyeNa shikShitavAnasi || 31||
sadAnande tvayi rAgavardhanIM mudA punitavatIM rakShitavAnasi || 32||
shritagajavadana gA~Ngeya bhUShaNIkR^itabhuja~Nga natasurakadamba || 33||
vAgadhIshvarIshriyau yada~Ngasambhave bhogamokShadA jagadambA || 34||
shUlinI tayA dharmavardhanyA khelasi dayayA suravariShTha || 35||
kailAsAchalanATanakR^idbhujashailadaNDakacharaNA~NguShTha || 36||
(praNatArtihara prabho purAre)

          (pratimadhyamameLa 37\-72)

pratibimbarasAlagaphalasamA viShayA iti bimbAdharAH santyajanti || 37||
ye bhavajalArNavaM santarituM te bhavada~NghrinaukAM bhajanti || 38||
jhalaM jhalavarALigItamAlAdhara jalandharAsuramAraka || 39||
suradAnavanItAmR^itavimukha varadAnanirata tAraka || 40||
bhoH pAvanIpiShTAsvAdana rasikabhUpa ava nIpavanasundara || 41||
raghupriyArchitarAjIvacharaNa maghapraNAshana bhujamandara || 42||
gavAmbhodhiH tIrNa iva mayA bhavAmbhodhiH tava dayayA || 43||
iha prasanno bhava priyatamayA saha pramathapa drAgumayA || 44||
sarvashubhApaM tu varALikAkShaM kurvanugrahaM tvAM vande.aham || 45||
sadaya ShaDvidhamArgiNi manuje hR^idayaga na kurve sandeham || 46||
suvarNAM gItiM samupadisha prathamavarNA~NgIkR^itavaikuNTha || 47||
divyamaNibandhe baddhanAgaka~NkaNa bhavyamaNilasitashrIkaNTha || 48||
subalArimukhAmaraprapUjita dhavaLAmbarIpaterdurdarsha || 49||
surUpanAmanArAyaNIsahachara svarUpabhAsakAdarsha || 50||
dharmakAmavardhanIvilasita nirmalA~Nga shubhadAyaka || 51||
nitarAM apriyavAdini vimukha natarAma agnisAyaka || 52||
chidambaragamanashramApaharaNaM kadambaramaNa mama dIyatAm || 53||
vishvaM bharitaM tvayAShTamUrtyA shashvaddhanamAdhIyatAm || 54||
{shyA}maLA~NgIkR^itavAmabhAga komaLA~Ngajasharabha~Nga || 55||
{Sha}NmukhapriyA~Ngupriyajanaka hiraNmayA~Nganata sharabhA~Nga || 56||
hara siMhendramadhyamArdhA~Nga narasiMha ajinAmbara || 57||
purahara haimavatImanohara hara rakShitasuranikara || 58||
viditadharmau atikAyajidrAmau muditamanAH tvaM rakShitavAn || 59||
nItimatIha jane.atipriyo.asi prItimatirahitAn shikShitavAn || 60||
shriyo.adhikAM tAM aNimAdidAM payodhikAntAmaNisevitAm || 61||
dharmavardhanIM surarShabhapriyAM nirmalabhaktairbhAvitAm || 62||
mananashIlatAM gIrvANapateH jananavarjitAmuktavatIm || 63||
bhUmiShu vAchaspatisambandhasvAmine j~nAnaM dattavatIm || 64||
mechakalyANIM vAchaM dishatIM mochakadAyinIM ramase || 65||
vichitrAmbarIShavaradabhAga sachitraguptayamAgaH kShamase || 66||
sucharitramukhabhaktasa~NgIta sucharitramukharitavAdya || 67||
jyotiHsvarUpiNi tvayi prasanne bhAti svarUpaM kiM nAdya || 68||
dhAtuvardhanIM tavAbhidhAsudhAM pAtukAminI mama rasanA || 69||
sukhena AsikAbhUShaNaM hi satAM mukhe nAsikeva vivasana || 70||
kosalapaH tvA.a.apUjyAghaM hitvA sabhApate mumude hi || 71||
bhaktApadAnarasikapriya tyaktApadAnandaM mama dehi || 72||
(praNatArtihara prabho purAre)

|| iti shrImahAvaidyanAthashivavirachitA meLarAgamAlikA samAptA  ||

##

Encoded with commentary and proofread by
Pallasena Narayanaswami ppnswami at gmail.com

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