THE GREAT IYERS

[Guest guest]

bharatavarsha.com

>THE GREAT IYERS

>

>http://www.bharatavarsha.com/iyer/iyergreats.html

>

>THE GREAT IYERS

>

>There have been many great people;

>my salutations to all of them!

>- Shri Tyagaraja Swami (1759-1847)

>The Iyers have, for centuries, been outstanding thinkers,

>scholars,philosophers, musicians and scientists. The two classical

>languages of India, Sanskrit and Tamil thrive in Iyer households, vibrant

>and strong as ever.

>

>The Iyers are Smarta by belief and practice. Some of the greatest Iyers are

>listed here, classified according to their field of expertise:

>

>

> a.. SCIENCE

> a.. Gadhadhara, 17th cent., pre-daltonian expositor on the Atomic

>Doctrine (Vaisesika Sutra) of Kanada (c. 500 B.C., India)

> b.. Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman (1888-1970), was awarded the Nobel

>Prize in Physics in 1930 for his discovery of the Raman Effect.

> c.. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, (b. 1925) was the father of the

>Green Revolution in Indian agriculture in the 1960s. As a result of his

>efforts, India became a net exporter of food by the mid 1970s. He has been

>Director General, International Rice Research Institute (Manila), and has

>received the Magsaysay Award (1971).

> d.. Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar (1910-1995), was awarded the Nobel

>Prize for Physics in 1983 for "his theoretical studies of the physical

>processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars". He

>was the first to suggest the existence of white dwarfs and black holes.

>

> a.. PHILOSOPHY

> a.. Dharmaraja Adhvarin (16th century) of Kandramanikkam (Thanjavur

>district) was a philosopher affiliated to the Advaita (non-dualist) school.

>He used the techniques of Nyaya (logic) to expound on advaita vedanta

>[Vedanta literally means "the end of the vedas". However it is taken to

>represent the philosophies embodied in the Upanishads, which are the final

>sections of the Vedas] . His most important work is the "Vedanta

>Paribhasha" (the Language of Vedanta). He authored many more works on

>Nyaya. From his name (Adhvarin), it appears that he was a Yajurvedin of the

>Taittriya school.

> b.. Appayya Dikshitar (16th century) was a Samavedin and a scholar of

>advaita vedanta. He also wrote many treatises on other philosophies like

>nyaya-vaisesika and purva-mimamsa. He was patronized by the Nayak

>chieftains of Vellore. Some of his important works were the "Chitramimamsa"

>and "Lakshanavali" on literary criticism; the "Kuvalayananda" which was a

>vehicle for an exposition on figures of speech; and the "Vrittivarttika" on

>the significance of words in poetics. He also commented upon the

>"Yadavabhyudaya" of the 13th century Vaishnavite preceptor, Vedanta Desika.

> a.. LITERATURE & POETICS

> a.. Dandin (7th century AD) was associated with the court of

>Narasimhavarman I (630-668 AD) of the Pallava dynasty at Kanchipuram. He

>authored some of the classics of Sanskrit prose such as "Dasakumara

>charita" and "Avantisundari katha". He also wrote the "Kavyadarsa" on

>Sanskrit rhetoric, which was a landmark in the history of literary

>criticism.

> b.. Uddanda Shastri (15th century) was born in Tamil Nadu, but

>migrated to Kerala after attaining a mastery of Sanskrit grammar and

>literature. Once in Kerala, he wrote some great poetic masterpieces like

>the "Kokilasandesha" and the "Mallikamaruta" .

> c.. "Ratnakheta" Srinivasa Dikshitar (16th century) of Satyamangalam

>is said to have authored eighteen plays and sixty poetical pieces in

>Sanskrit. Most of these works have been lost. We do, however, know of the

>"Bhaimi parinaya" (a play) and the "Sahitya sanjivini" (a work on

>rhetorics).

> d.. Rajachudamani Dikshitar (16th-17th centuries) was a son of

>Srinivasa Dikshitar (see above) and a Sanskrit scholar. In 1636, he

>authored a commentary on Jaimini's "Mimamsa sutra" called the

>"Tantrashikhamani" . He also wrote a biography of Sankara titled the

>"Sankarabhyudaya". He also wrote the "Rukmini Kalyanam", "Vrittaratnavali"

>and "Chitramanjari", all poems of high calibre. A technical masterpiece by

>him is the "Raghava-yadava-pandaviya", a poem consisting of triple puns.

>This work relates the stories of Rama, Krishna and the Pandavas

>respectively, in the same work!

> e.. Nilakantha Dikshitar (early 17th century) was a student of

>Venkateshvara makhin (see Music section). A Sanskrit litterateur, his best

>works include "Nilakanthavijaya champu", "Sivalilavarna",

>"Nalacharitanataka" and "Halasyabhyudaya". The "Nilakanthavijaya" is a work

>in 5 chapters and is characterized by a pacy style. The "Sivalilavarna" is

>a grand poetic work in 22 cantos describing the acts of Sundaresvara of

>Madurai.

> f.. Ramabhadra Dikshitar (late17th century) lived in a village near

>Kumbhakonam. He studied under Nilakantha Dikshitar (see above). He wrote a

>poetic biography of Patanjali in 8 cantos entitled "Patanjali charita

>kavyam". His other works are "Janaki parinaya natakam" and

>"Saddarsanisiddhanta samgraha". All his works were in Sanskrit.

> g.. Rashipuram Krishnaswami Laxman (b. 1927) is the foremost

>cartoonist in India today. His cartoons appear under the title "You Said

>It" each day in the Times of India.

> h.. Rashipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami Ayyar, popularly known as R.

>K. Narayan [and older brother of R. K. Laxman (see above)], is one of

>India's best known authors in English. He was born in Madras in 1906. Over

>the years, he has produced such classics as "The Guide" (1958), "The

>Man-Eater of Malgudi" (1961) and "Swami and friends" (1935).

> i.. Mahamahopadhyaya U. V. Swamintha Iyer (1855-1942) was a scholar of

>Tamil. He collected, categorized and published a large number of Tamil palm

>leaf manuscripts. This effort was vital to the preservation for posterity

>of the Tamil literary heritage. For his efforts, he was awarded the title

>"Mahamahopadhyaya" [Great, Great Scholar]. People referred to him

>affectionately as "Tamil Thathaa" [Tamil Grandpa].

> j.. Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer (1877-1949) was a Malayalam

>poet, who composed numerous literary works in Malayalam (even though his

>mother tongue was Tamil!). He won the coveted title of "Maha Kavi" [Great

>Poet] for his work. He compiled a monumental history of the literature of

>Kerala called the "Kerala Sahitya Charitam". His other noted works are "Uma

>Keralam", "Pingala", "Mangala Manjari" and "Karnabhushanam".

> k.. "Kalki" B. Krishnamurthy (1899-1954) established the Tamil semi

>historic novel genre with works like "Sivakamiyin Sapatham" and "Parthiban

>Kanavu". As a journalist, he left his unmistakable mark on the periodicals

>"Ananda Vikatan" and "Kalki". He was also a music critic and short story

>writer.

> l.. B. R. Rajam Iyer (1872-1898) edited "Prabuddha Bhaarat". His

>contributions to Tamil literature began at the age of 19. His work

>"Kamalambal Charithiram" is considered a significant work. He passed away

>at the age of 26.

> a.. MUSIC

> a.. Venkateshvara makhin was a son of the legendary Govinda Dikshitar

>(see below). He invented a classification for the the ragas of karnatic

>music called the "Melakarta system" described in his "Chaturdandi

>prakasika. He was also a scholar of Mimamsa, and wrote the

>"Vaarttika-bharanam" on this subject.

> b.. Tyagaraja (1759-1847), was a Telugu speaking Smarta brahmin from

>Tiruvarur, in Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu. He is commonly referred to

>as "Tyagayya", and thus deserves recognition in this list of Iyers. He is

>arguably one of the greatest composers India has ever produced. Along with

>Muthusvami Dikshitar and Shyaama Krishna Shastri (see below), he formed the

>Great Trinity of Karnatic Classical Music.

> c.. Muthusvami Dikshitar (1765-1835)was one of the great Iyers - his

>contribution to the Karnatic tradition of Indian Classical Music has been

>truly phenomenal. More information on Karnatic Music may be found here.

> d.. Shyaama Shastri (1762-1826), also an Iyer, was another legendary

>composer.

> e.. Parameshvara Bhagavatar lived in Travancore (Kerala) in the late

>18th-early 19th centuries. He was associated with the composer-king Svaathi

>Thirunal's court.

> f.. Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar,(1896-1974), was one of the

>greatest exponents of Karnatic classical music of this century. Some of the

>tales surrounding his life have grown to become near-legends, especially in

>his native Kerala.

> g.. MORE IYER MUSIC GREATS

> a.. DANCE

> a.. Bharatanatyam

> a.. Rukmini Devi Arundale was one of the greatest exponents of

>Bharatanatyam in the 20th century. She was born in Madurai in 1904. In

>1936, she established the now prestigious "Kalakshetra Art Centre" in

>Madras, an institution that has become the leading producer of quality

>artistes in recent times. She choreographed some remarkable works such as

>the dance-dramas "Kumarasambhavam", "Gita-Govinda" and the "Ramayana".

> b.. Padma Subrahmanyam is known for her fearless innovation in the

>interpretation of Bharatanatyam. Her renditions entitled "Krishnaya tubhyam

>namah", "Ramaya tubhyam namah" and "Silappadikaram" have been outstanding

>successes. Her literary contributions include the "Bharata's Art - Then and

>Now".

> c.. Chitra Visveswaran

> a.. Mohiniaattam

> a.. Kalamandalam Saraswathy

>

> b.. OTHER ART FORMS

> a.. T. S. Balakrishna Shastrigal is one of the foremost exponents of

>the "Harikathakalakshepam", an artform that involves the narration of

>stories from the puranas and other traditional texts, with musical

>accompaniment.

> a.. ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

> a.. Gemini Ganeshan dominated the Tamil film industry for over 3

>decades from the 1950s to the 1980s.

> b.. Rekha Ganeshan (daughter of Gemini Ganeshan) was the undisputed

>diva of the Hindi film industry in the 1970s and the early 80s. Some of her

>most memorable performances were in "Umrao Jaan", "Silsila" and "Utsav".

> c.. Hariharan (b. 1955) has become one of the leading playback singers

>in the tamil and hindi film industries. He first made his mark in ghazal

>singing, an art form prevalent in northern India involving the musical

>expression of Urdu poetry. Check out his unofficial biography. There is

>also a Hariharan Fan Club on the web!

> d.. S. S. Vasan

>

> a.. POLITICS

> a.. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975), became the first

>post-independence Vice-President of India (1952-1962), the second President

>of India (1962-1967) and the first Indian to hold a Philosophy Chair at

>Oxford. He was also Chairman, UNESCO, and was the recepient of the Bharat

>Ratna (1954) and the Templeton Prize (1975).

> b.. Subrahmanya Bharati (1881-1921) was a poet and a freedom fighter.

>His patriotic poems galvanized the anti-British sentiment in southern

>India. He eloquently expressed sentiments like the desire for personal

>freedom, national liberty and the equality of all people. Some of his best

>known works include "Kuyilpaattu" [song of the cuckoo], "Kannanpaattu"

>[songs about Krishna] and "Paanchaali Shapatham" [Paanchaali's Oath].

> c.. T. N. Seshan [Tirunellai Narayaniyer Seshan] (b. 1932), former

>Chief Election Commissioner of India. In 1996, he was responsible for

>conducting the general election - the largest and most elaborate democratic

>event in the history of humankind! He won the Magsaysay Award in 1996.

> d.. Ramaswamy Venkataraman (b. 1910), was the Vice-President of India

>from 1984 to 1987 and the 8th President of India from 1987 to 1992.

> a.. VEDIC LEARNING / SHRAUTA RITUAL

> a.. Venkata Madhava (10th century AD) lived in a village on the banks

>of the Kaveri during the reign of the Chola Parantaka I. He wrote the

>"Rigarthadipika", a significant work elucidating the Rig Veda.

> b.. Govinda Dikshitar lived in Tanjore in the 16th century, and was

>responsible for the continued health of the Srauta tradition in Tamil Nadu.

>As the adviser to the Nayak ruler of Tanjore, he encouraged vedic learning

>and sacrifices. In fact the Raja Veda Pathashala at Kumbhakonam was

>established by him in 1542, and is still in existence! Venkata Makhin

>(listed above) was one of his 6 sons. Govind Dikshitar was a Rig vedin of

>the Asvalayana school. In his life time, he performed most of the Srauta

>sacrifices, including the Agnistoma, Agnichayana and the Vajapeya. He was

>also a great musician, and wrote the "Sangitasudhanidhi".

> c.. "Upanyasachakravarti" Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikshitar has been

>the foremost performer of Srauta ritual in the 20th century.

> a.. THEOLOGY & RELIGION (BHAKTI)

> a.. Over the centuries, hundreds of Iyers have been theologians, and

>have contributed to the spread of bhakti [devotional hindu religion]

>throughout south India. Since there are too many individuals, we are

>compiling a concise list containing only some of the most significant

>players in this movement. Watch this space!

> a.. SPORTS

> a.. Vishwanathan Anand (b. December 11, 1969) is a Chess Grandmaster

>and is ranked World No. 2.