Akhilandeshwari rakshamam ~ Nadaswaram rendition

 

"Akhilandeshwari rakshamam " is a popular Carnatic composition usually set to the Raga Dwijavanthi and Adi Thalam  Nadaswaram 

Here is a beautiful rendition in Nadaswaram played by MKSN Manikandan and Chittoor Devarajulu on day 9 Pathi Ula of Sri Parthasarathi Perumal before kannadi pallakku purappadu on 9.5.2026.    : https://youtu.be/dAc_04YP1D4

 

Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776 – 1835), was a poet, singer, Veena player and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, one of the musical trinity of Carnatic music. Muthuswami Dikshitar was born in Tiruvarur near Thanjavur,   to a family that is traditionally traced back to Virinichipuram in the northern boundaries of the state.  His compositions, of which around 500 are commonly known, are noted for their elaborate and poetic descriptions of Gods  and temples and for capturing the essence of the raga forms through the vainika (veena) style that emphasises gamakas.  

Muthuswami moved to the town of Manali, near Madras at the behest of Venkatakrishna Mudaliar, a local zamindar. The Dikshitar brothers accompanied the zamindar to Fort St. George nearby where they were introduced to Western orchestral music and the violin. An ascetic named Chidambaranatha Yogi then took Muthuswami under his wing and away to the city of  Benares.  Deekshithar was blessed by Tiruttani Murugar who  placed a piece of sugar candy in his mouth and commanded him to sing. This marked the beginning of his career in music and also led to him adopting the mudra, Guruguha, one of the many names of Murugan. His first composition was Śrināthādi guruguho jayati jayati in the raga Maya Malavagaula.   Muthuswami Dikshitar's brothers Chinnaswami  and Balaswami Dikshitar were also noted musicians.    

 

அகி2லாண்டே3ஸ்1வரி ரக்ஷ மாம்

ஆக3ம ஸம்ப்ரதா3ய நிபுணே ஸ்ரீ 

 

akhilANDESvari raksha mAM

Agama sampradAya nipuNE SrI

 

anupallavi

nikhila lOka nityAtmikE vimalE

nirmalE SyAmaLE sakala kalE 

 

Thanks to my friend Mr S Lakshmi Narasimhan (Essel) for identifying and providing me music based inputs to the writer, who has zero knowledge of Carnatic music !!    

The popular  "Rangapura Vihara"  composed in Sanskrit and dedicated to Sri Ranganathaswamy of Srirangam is a masterpiece of   Muthuswami Dikshitar.  The title of the song means one who roams (vihara) in Srirangam (Rangapura). It details the exploits of the Lord Rama, whose family deity is Ranganatha of Srirangam. The song was rendered by M.S.Subbulakshmi, live at the United Nations.   

 
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar