A Kodandarama temple that may have inspired Muthuswami Dikshitar’s raganga composition

Sometime in the early 19th century, Muthuswami Dikshitar arrived in Thanjavur for an extended stay. Legend suggest he may have visited even earlier going by his composition ‘Nabhomani chandragni nayanam’ (Nabhomani raga, …tala), which is believed to have been created on the occasion of Brhadiswara temple’s consecration during the reign of Serfoji II. The ‘Sarabhendra samsevita charanam’ seems to indicate this. As per the Thanjavur Saraswathi Mahal Library records, the consecration took place in 1801, evidencing Dikshitar’s presence in the region.

The composer’s more prolonged stay was to teach music to the Thanjavur Quartet. According to Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini, only two of the four brothers, Ponniah and Vadivelu, were disciples of Muthuswami Dikshitar. Today, however, scholars accept that all four trained under him. Since Vadivelu was born in 1810 and would have been around five when he began learning from Dikshitar, we can assume that the composer came to Thanjavur around 1815.

During his stay, Dikshitar embarked on what may be described as raganga raga project. As is well known, he followed the asampurna mela/raganga raga scheme, where in a raga can be considered a parent scale if it has all seven notes, not necessarily in linear order or in both ascent and descent. It was scholar V. Raghavan who identified most of the compositions in this set, and the temples in and around Thanjavur mentioned in the lyrics. Of the 72 raaganga ragas, 69 have songs, all of them based on Thanjavur temples. Many of them are on the Big Temple and the Bangaru Kamakshi shrine.

The entrance to the Vaduvur Kodandarama temple.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

One of the compositions is on Lord Rama — ‘Kothandaramam’ in raga Kokilaravam (the 11th raganga raga). In keeping with most of the raganga compositions, this too is set in the pallavi/anupallavi format, and therefore has no charanam. In recent times, this song has been attributed to the Rama temple at Vaduvur, renowned for its beautiful utsava deity. But V. Raghavan clearly states that it was composed on the Kothandarama temple on the banks of the Vennar in Thanjavur.

There is logic in what he says, because the farthest temple to have a composition in the raganga raga scheme is the Dharmasamvardhini shrine in Tiruvarur. All the temples featured in the set come under the administration of the Thanjavur Palace Devasthanam. However, the Vaduvur shrine has never been a part of it, making its association with the song unlikely. Having accepted V. Raghavan’s premise, the task then is to identify the temple he meant.

Muthuswami Dikshitar.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu

The shrine in question is an extremely picturesque one, not far from the famed Punnainallur Mariamman Temple. The Vennar flows close by, but the larger waterbody in the vicinity is the Samuthiram lake. Given Thanjavur’s flat terrain, the temple’s gopuram and that of the Mariamman shrine can be seen from quite a distance. The Kothandarama temple can be reached by a road that runs past the now-ruined Rani Mandapam, once a pleasure pavilion for the Maratha queens.

The Vaduvur temple was built by Pratapasimha (1740-1763). Interestingly, his queen Yamunamba endowed another Rama temple at Needamangalam, whose presiding deity, Santaramaswami, has been praised by Dikshitar in the kriti ‘Santana ramaswaminam’ in raga Hindola Vasantam. In this compositions, Dikshitar refers to the kshetra as Yamunambapuri, indicating the queen’s patronage.

A flight of steps takes you to the entrance arch of the Kodandarama temple. The temple’s rectangular structure of the temple comprising the sanctum, a mukhamandapam and a spacious circumambulatory corridor. The colonnaded verandah with a raised platform that runs all along the periphery, allowing devotees to sit and witness temple festivals. It also serves as a vahana mandapam.

Legend has it that the utsava idols of the temple — Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Anjaneya — were discovered in a field, leading to the construction of the shrine. The moolavar is a magnificent standing Kodandarama, with Lakshmana, Sita and, most unusually, Sugriva. Hanuman, in veera posture, has a south-facing sanctum. There is another Hanuman idol outside this sanctum. A Garuda faces the main Rama. The priests here say that the moola Rama is made of Salagrama stone brought from Nepal, though it is more likely that it is fashioned in stucco, with Salagramas forming the core.

The tranquil ambience of the temple makes you imagine Dikshitar seated here and composing kritis. That said, the composition does not give any kshetra details, and so the argument that it cannot be on Vaduvur applies equally to this temple. But then, none of the raganga raga compositions provides any local details. Irrespective of whether the song was composed here, the temple with its exquisite carvings and ornate garbagriha is worth a visit.

Published – March 25, 2026 05:03 pm IST