Venkataramana Bhagavathar

Venkataramana Bhagavathar
Born(1781-02-18)18 February 1781
Ayyampettai, Thanjavur district[1]
Died15 December 1874(1874-12-15) (aged 93)
Wallajapet, Ranipet district[1]
Other namesWallajapet Venkataramana Bhagavathar
OccupationCarnatic composer

Venkataramana Bhagavathar (1781–1874) was a direct disciple of Saint Thyagaraja[2] and a composer of Carnatic music.[3][4] Bhagavathar composed his songs in Telugu, Sanskrit and Manipravala[5] and has left behind a number of kritis.[6][7]

Early life

Bhagavathar was born in 1781 to a Saurashtra Brahmin[3] family in Ayyampettai in present-day Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.[8] He was born to Nannusamy as a fifth child making him the grandson of Kuppaiyer who was a priest, belonging to Dadheecha gotra from Ariyalur in present-day Tiruchirappalli district.[9] Bhagavathar was a scholar, composed more than 150 keerthanas and is well versed in Sanskrit, Telugu, and Saurashtra. He was one of the prime disciples of Saint Tyagaraja. His son, Krishnaswamy Bhagavathar, was also a disciple of Tyagaraja. It was the father-son duo who preserved many of the keerthanas of Tyagaraja and passed them on to posterity.[8] He is popularly known as Walajahpet Venkataramana Bhagavatar after he settled in Wallajapet, a small town in Vellore district.[4][3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Web Site for Sri Venkata Raman Bhagavadar". venkataramanabhagavadar.org. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. ^ Kasturi, Geeta; N.V, Kasturi (6 February 2013). Understanding The Elemental Hindu Works. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781291312966.
  3. ^ a b c "Entertainment Chennai / Personality : Illustrious disciple of saint-poet". The Hindu. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 6 July 2019.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b V, Sriram (7 June 2018). "Meeting Tyagaraja's disciple". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. ^ Srinivasan, Krithika (5 November 2017). "Srimad Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar - Riyaz". Riyaz - Practice & learn to sing. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  6. ^ Sriram, V. (3 May 2018). "The saint-composer's 'possessions'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  7. ^ "12-hour non-stop akhandam stuns Hyderabad's music lovers". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b Kolappan, B. (7 January 2016). "20 more keerthanas of Tyagaraja's disciple discovered". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Life and Contribution Of Venkataramana Bhagavatar" (PDF). Retrieved 6 January 2024.


Stub icon

This article related to Carnatic music is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.