The Dharma Dispatch

When Ramaswami Sivan Stoked a Needless Controversy Over Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan ---   MAHA SHIVAN’S GREAT CONTEMPORARY and neighbour Patnam sent his best students to Maha Shivan to complete their training, especially to learn the latter’s method of Kalpana-swaras.   Patnam would visit Maha Shivan at his house and seek his blessings. The first time it happened, Maha Shivan, who was barely a year older than Patnam, was deeply embarrassed. “Such a great artist as you should not come to me for blessings,” he protested. “By saluting you, I am only seeking Lord Shiva’s blessings.”   His brother’s untimely death (not yet 49) was a great blow to Ramaswami Shivan.  It is understandable that he should have done everything to perpetuate the memory of his great brother.  But he went beyond the need, going to the extent of bending the truth.  He published a biographical work he called Vijaya Sangraha (‘Compilation of Victories’) that was supposed to chronicle Maha Shivan’s triumphant career as a musician.  In it he sought to elevate his brother’s stature by denigrating the art and the character of some of his contemporaries, notably Patnam, whom he portrayed as a jealous rival who was afraid to face Maha Shivan.  -- Read the whole piece! 🛕🙏🕉 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/when-ramaswami-sivan-stoked-a-needless-controversy-over-maha-vaidyanatha-sivan

[ANNOUNCEMENT] On the sacred month of Kartika, I'm delighted to announce my new book titled "Stories from Inscriptions." It a lovely bouquet of 15 inspiring & ennobling real-life tales from Hindu inscriptions. Do read the kind of profound lives our ancestors led!🛕🕉️🙏 -- Buy on Amazon Kindle! https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0BLVQK7Y5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GQ7KPEJQW17T&keywords=STORIES+FROM+INSCRIPTIONS&qid=1667997327&s=books&sprefix=stories+from+inscriptions+final.pdf%2Cstripbooks%2C706&sr=1-1

There were times when we went without food for more than two days. Learning swimming was inevitable for us. Just jump into the water and swim to the school. There were palm leaves to write upon, but in my school, we preferred banana leaves - RC Majumdar. 🛕🕉🙏 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/remembering-acharya-ramesh-chandra-majumdar-a-century-of-spotless-scholarship-and-inspiration/

Maha Vaidyanatha Shivan and Pattanam Subramania Iyer: Nuggets from a Musical Friendship   MAHA SHIVAN BEGAN STUDYING MUSIC under the guidance of his father and other musicians in the village, but was soon sent to Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbiah. He was the foremost teacher of the age, who had studied under the great Tyagaraja himself. The other great pupil of Venkatasubbiah was, notably the great contemporary Patnam Subramanya Iyer.   Patnam once highlighted the difference between the two to his student Vasudevacharya of Mysore: “You see Vasu, one must evolve a style that suits one’s voice.  Can I sing using the rapid tempo of Maha Shivan?  No!  Can he sing compositions emphasizing moderate tempo and variation the way I do?  Again, no!  Why?  Because our voices are totally different.  A good musician always sings in a style that is natural for the voice.”   The two artists, total opposites in style and temperament, were the foremost singers of the second half of the nineteenth century.  --- Read the full thrilling piece! 📝✍️🎻🎵🛕 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/maha-vaidyanatha-shivan-and-pattanam-subramania-iyer-nuggets-from-a-musical-friendship

Blockbuster piece on the Lasting Injury that Nehru Inflicted on the Ancient Sanatana Ethos -- This is the other glaring theme of Nehru’s character and political career both before and after independence: he never resigned from any position of power and influence. Nehru kissed the ground that “Marshal” Stalin walked on. -- Read the whole explosive piece!📝✍️🙏🗞 https://thedharmadispatch.substack.com/p/photoessay-the-lasting-injury-that

Blockbuster piece on the Lasting Injury that Nehru Inflicted on the Ancient Sanatana Ethos -- This is the other glaring theme of Nehru’s character and political career both before and after independence: he never resigned from any position of power and influence. Nehru kissed the ground that “Marshal” Stalin walked on. -- Read the whole explosive piece!📝✍️🙏🗞

The Musical Milieu of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan   DURING A VISIT TO MYSORE, the Maharaja is said to have recorded Maha Shivan singing a passage from Dikshitar’s composition Chintayama (in Bhairavi raga) on an Edison cylinder. Unfortunately, there is no trace of the Edison cylinder.    Another feature of his voice was that it never needed any practice. The voice was always ready as long as the mood was not disturbed. His family members regarded his voice as a family treasure, and carefully protected it.   As Maha Shivan’s voice needed no training, he had ample time on his hands to study music theory and composition and also Tamil and Sanskrit literature. 11 He was also deeply religious and was a devotee of Lord Shiva. He seems to have spent more time studying philosophic works than music. His admirers believed that he was blessed by Lord Shiva himself.  He was always addressed as ‘Shivanal’ or Maha Shivan, and never by his given name of Vaidyanatha. 🎻🛕🕉 -- Read this fantastic piece in full! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/the-musical-milieu-of-maha-vaidyanatha-sivan

Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan: The Voice that Swam in all Octaves -- Maha Sivan's voice extended from the anu-mandara pancama to ati-tara shadja. It is difficult to believe that any human voice – let alone a male voice – could have such a stupendous range. https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/maha-vaidyanatha-sivan-the-voice-that-swam-in-all-octaves

When Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan Composed the Mela Ragamalika in Just a Week -- What a phenomenal musical stalwart! What all have we lost 🙏🙏🕉️🎶🎵 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/when-maha-vaidyanatha-sivan-composed-the-mela-ragamalika-in-just-a-week

Childhood and Early Influences of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan   Maha Vaidyanatha Shivan was born in the village of Vaiyyacheri (Tamil Nadu) on 26 May 1844 into an orthodox Smartha Brahmin family of Kaundinya gotra.   His father was Pancha Nada Iyer, known also as Doriaswamy Iyer; his mother was Arundhati Tayi.  He always maintained an open house and visitors to the village were offered hospitality. Contemporary accounts tell us that his mother fed at least ten poor children every day.  As devout Brahmins, their needs were simple.   Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan's younger brother, Ramaswami was an eka-sanda-grahi – i.e., he could remember anything after one hearing.  Maha Shivan was dvi-sanda-grahi – or one who could remember after having heard something twice. Maha Sivan had unequaled capacity for improvisation and almost instantaneous grasp.  He could master the most complicated compositions in minutes.   -- Read the whole piece! 🎵🎻🛕📝🎻 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/childhood-and-early-influences-of-maha-vaidyanatha-sivan

Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan: Music of the Spirit   The first episode of a series authored by the late Dr. N.S. Rajaram, beautifully profiling the art of Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan, one of the greatest musical geniuses the world has ever known.   Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer – better known as Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan – was unusual in an important respect.  Those who heard him wrote: “There is no record of anyone before him who could compare with him.”  So, his reputation was not based on nostalgia.   He appeared on the musical scene in what is widely regarded as the most golden of the Golden Ages of Karnataka (South Indian) music, sharing the limelight with a galaxy of brilliant musicians never equaled in history. And yet, both fans and colleagues acknowledged his supremacy without reserve.    There are at least forty biographies, the first written by his elder brother Ramaswamy Sivan (1842-1898).   -- Read the whole brilliant piece! 🪔🙏🕉🎵🎻   https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/maha-vaidyanatha-sivan-music-of-the-spirit

On the sacred festival of #Deepavali, please consider making a donation of your choice to The Dharma Dispatch to help us combat the Abrahamic forces of darkness by shining the light of Sanatana Dharma and enable us to offer even more superlative content to the Sanatana community. #HappyDiwali2022 🛕🪔🛕🙏🕉🪔 -- Link to donate: https://pages.razorpay.com/DonatetoDD

The Decree of Madhusudana and the Lessons for our Supreme Court Milords ---   The dispute between the Bhillamāladeva and Devi Bhagavati Temple was resolved by a profound appeal to the divinity of their respective devotees. The solution was called a Vyavasthā: meaning, a legal decision based on a Sthiti or decree.   In Sanatana jurisprudence, a Stithi is an order imbued with a permanent character, i.e., once it is ratified by both parties, it becomes irrevocable. But what made this Vyavasthā unique and special is the fact that it emanated directly from Bhillamāladeva himself and he delivered it to the Vārikas who in turn offered it to the Maṭhikā.   In other words, this was a legal decision that emanated from the deity, Madhusudana, and not from any administrative or judicial authority.    This is a great model of how such cases can be resolved even today.   And today, we have Supreme Court judges who lose no chance to indulge in novel-length, toxic pontifications about a sublime and profound spiritual heritage of their own land, the ignorance of which does not deter their confidence bestowed by a black British robe. But to offer an honourable whisper of wisdom to Their Honours: not every temple dispute is a “court case.”    The inscriptional evidence presented in essays like this is just a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of an inexhaustible wealth of lived jurisprudence of Sanatana Dharma which is not only just but also ennobling. It is justice which brings joy and not merely satisfaction.  -- Read the whole piece and share it widely. 🛕✍️📝🕉🛕   https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/the-decree-of-madhusudana-and-the-lessons-for-our-supreme-court-milords

No Marxist "historian" has EVER carried out any study on the subject of Hindu temple destructions. Yet for about a century, they have arrogantly claimed that Hindu kings also destroyed temples! -- Read this brutal takedown!🛕✍️📝 https://thedharmadispatch.substack.com/p/did-hindu-kings-destroy-hindu-temples-67d

Conflict Resolution and Legal Decisions in Temple Management: An Evocative Portrait from the Rashtrakuta Era Two inscriptions from the 10th Century Rashtrakuta Era reveal an extraordinary world comprising temple management, business, religious harmony, and the state of the Hindu society. -- Today, Sanjan is a small coastal town tucked away in the Valsad district, Gujarat. It derives its significance from the fabled Parsi folklore as the place where  persecuted Zoroastrians from Khorasan first landed in India and were given shelter by the Hindu ruler there.   But did you know that Sanjan once boasted of a great Madhusudana Temple built by a community of Hindu merchants originally hailing from Bhillamāla, which is today known as Bhinmal in Jalore district, Rajasthan?   The temple was also known as Bhillamāladeva temple in honour of their hometown.   We observe the same phenomenon at work to this day. Almost every major urban centre in India — Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, etc — boasts of several temples built by the migrant Hindu and Jain businessmen from Marwar and other places. Most if not all of them are named after their respective Kula-devatas. To state it explicitly, this phenomenon too, is among the infinite clues that help us understand the fundamental and edifying unity of the Sanatana-Samaja.  -- Do read the whole piece! 🛕🕉🙏📝🛕   https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/conflict-resolution-and-legal-decisions-in-temple-management-an-evocative-portrait-from-the-rashtrakuta-era

Just received news that my "Invaders and Infidels: Book 1" is still holding a top slot in the "I$lam" category. Oh! and there's a good discount on offer on both paperback and hardcover. If you haven't bought it already, this is a good opportunity. 🛕🙏✍️ https://www.amazon.in/Invaders-Infidels-Book-500-Year-Invasions/dp/9390077206

How Thrissur is Connected with Arasikere via Kunjanambi Setti -- The concluding episode of this series shows how Kunjanambi Setti from Padiyur, near Thrissur, became a profound connection with Arasikere, Karnataka.   Kunjanambi Setti’s timely and virtuous intervention averted a potential battle between Hoysalas and Sevunas and prevented needless Hindu bloodshed.   Kunjanambi Setti's grandson, Kunja became a Jangama (wandering Shaiva ascetic), and gave up his body to the lotus feet of Somanatha. To celebrate it, a grand Shiva temple was built at Muttana-hosavūru. Today it is known as Hiriyuru 12 kms from Arasikere.   The temple is known as the Kunjeshwara Temple.   This is how Bharatavarsha was woven. Via cultural indivisibility. Kerala was connected to Karnataka via noble souls like Kunjanambi Setti. Padiyur was meshed with Arasikere via the Kunjesvara Temple built in the Hoysala style architecture by the descendants of a Malayala businessman.    This is the real idea of India, which no seminar or conference will tell you because it can't be taught. 🛕🕉🛕🛕🕉🙏 Ōṁ śrī kun̄jēśvarāya Namaḥ -- https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/how-thrissur-is-connected-with-arasikere-via-kunjanambi-setti