________________________________________ Two documents that were in the possession of Mr. V. Narayanaswami Iyer, Advocate, Tañjāvūr, throw valuable light on the ancestry of Saint Tyāgarāja. They are in Modi script and in Marathi language with a few verses in Sanskrit in Nagari characters. The documents are dated in the Saka year 1657, and in the cyclic year Rākṣasa, month Puṣya, Trayodasi-Makara Śaṅkrānti day corresponding to December 30, 1735. The documents were issued as dāna-patras (gift deeds) by the queen of the Mahratta ruler Ekoji II. The queen states in the deed, “I have created an Agrahāram and Ekamahār ājapuram near the village Mahimālaiya VīraCōḻa Peṭṭai on the road to Dipāmbāpuram. Eighty-seven vēlis and 31/2 mā of land were gifted by me for this purpose in the hands of Peṣva to build a Śiva temple, a Viṣṇu temple, a pāṭaṣāla, maṭha for Jñānis, houses for Brāhmins and a grazing ground for cows. Out of this, 3/4 vēli of wetland is assigned as sarvamānya (total gift) to the performer of Bhāgavatameḷā, Girirāja Kaviśvara, the son of Ahobala Śāstri and grandson of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa”. Unfortunately, the document is badly mutilated. Luckily, a careful copy of the document made in 1943 is available. The other document, well preserved (illustrated here) is identical with the first except for the name of the donee, who is mentioned as Venkatēśa Kavi, son of Venkatagiri Kavi and grandson of Ahobala Śastri. According to the grant, Venkatēśa Kavi belonged to the Lohita gotra, Darbha Kula and Āpastamba sūtra. The deed also bears the royal seal of the Mahrātta court. Apparently, a number of Brāhmin families were given shares in the villages as śrotriyam and would have received similar documents. That Girirāja Kavīśvara (the receiver of the first grant) was the maternal grandfather of Saint Tygārāja is known. The other recipient was a son of Girirāja's brother Vēṅkatagiri who was also an eminent poet. In his Telugu version of the "Abhinayadarpaṇa", he says that he belonged to the Lohita gotra, Darbhakula and Āpastambai sūtra. He makes a specific reference to his elder brother Girirāja Kavīśvara (Girirāja Kavīśvara anuja). That each of the brother’s family got a share in the “EkIojirāja Agrahāram” is borne out by these documents. Girirāja Kavi was an illustrious composer of music and dance drama and served in the court of four Mahraṭṭa rulers Shaji II and Ekoji I, Tukkoji and Ekoji II (1736-1739). He composed a number of Yakṣagānas (Bhāgavata-melas) like the “Rāja-mohini-Kuravañci” and “Lilāvati-Kalyāṇam” in which the Marāṭṭa rulers Shaji II and Saraboji I figured as the heroes. He has composed several excellent musical compositions; over 200 of “Śṛṅgārapadas” are preserved in the Sarasvati Mahal library, Tañjāvūr. Girirāja Kavi was considered a leading luminary in the 18th century. Girirāja Kavi's daughter Seethalakshmi was married to Rāma-brahmam of Tiruvārūr who expounded the Rāmāyaṇa in the Maratta Court of Tañjāvūr. Tyāgabrahman, born to them, remembers his mother in the famous lines of his song “Girirāja sutātanaya”. The present documents show that Girirāja Kavi was not merely a composer of music and dance but also conducted and acted in Bhāgavata-melas (Girirāja Kavīśvara Bhāgavata mela yamsa). It is not known whether these Bhāgavata-melas (more than five are known) were enacted in Tañjāvūr or at Ekojirājapuram which is near modern Sāliyamaṅgalam where the Bhagavatamela tradition has continued to this day. As Girirāja Kavi tops the list of great composers in the court of Shāji and that he continued to receive patronage in the courts of four Maratta Kings till 1736, it is not unlikely that he was enacting Bhāgavata-melas in Tañjāvūr. It is against the background of this Bhāgavata-mela tradition, both in his own family and also in villages near Tiruvaiyāru like Melattūr (where the composition of Saint Nārāyaṇa Tīrtha were enacted), the two Bhagavata-mela compositions of Saint Tyāgarāja, the “Nauka Charita" and “Prahlāda Bhakti Vijaya" should be viewed. The dance drama “Nauka Charita”, purely Tyagaraja's creation is full of Sṛṅgāra emotions. Probably it was composed during his early years. It is not unlikely, that following his maternal grandfather, Tyāgarāja participated in the Bhāgavata-melas in his youth. His compositions indicate his interest in Nāṭya and his command over Nāṭya science. For example, in his song “Vidulamrokkeda Sangeetako” set to rāga Māyāmālava-gauḷa he pays obeisance to Bharata, Someśvara, Sāraṅgadeva and Nandideva besides others who were great masters of dance. V. Narayanaswami Iyer, who was 89 years of age when he showed the document and in whose possession these documents were preseerved is a descendant of Kavi Venkatagiri. As Girirāja Kavi had only one daughter (the mother of Tyagarāja), his share of 3/4 Veli at Ekojirājapuram also came to Venkatagiri's family. Nārāyaṇaswāmi Iyer's paternal grandfather Vīraswāmi was an astrologer in the court of the last Mahratta ruler Sivaji II (1833-1855). A portrait painting of this court Josya is preserved in Nārāyaṇaswāmi Iyer's house. But far more important is a painting of Rāma, Sīta, Lakṣmaṇa and others done in the tradition of the Tañjāvūr school in silver sheet with paintings, preserved in the house, portraying Samartha Rāmadās on one side and Kabīrdas on the other. Below the panel is shown in miniature, Saint Tyāgarāja in his traditional costumes. The painting would have been made in 1860s by Vīraswāmi, within 15 or 20 years of the demise of the Saint (in 1847). This could be one of the authentic portraits of Saint Tyāgarāja that has survived to this day. Also under worship in this house is a group of metal images, small in size of Rāma, Sītā, Hanuman, Bharata and Śatrugṇa affectionately adored as Rāma Pañcāyatana. These images assignable to the 18th century are said to have been originally worshipped by Kavi Vēṅkatagiri, the brother of Girirāja Kavi. It is virtually a pilgrimage to a histsoric family to see the documents, images and paintings worshipped by generations of a family that has enriched the country by its contribution to art and culture.
