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Muthiah Bhagavathar
முத்தையா பாகவதர்
The composer and singer of the Harikatha — the pride of Thanjavur
Years
1877 – 1945
Known as
Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar — the musician and composer
Birthplace
Harikesanallur, Tamil Nadu
Field
Artists & Performers
“The song must carry the story — and the story must carry the soul to God.”
— The spirit of Muthiah Bhagavathar
The Story
Born in 1877 in Harikesanallur, Muthiah Bhagavathar was trained in music and Sanskrit from childhood and became a master of both. He served as the court musician of the Maharaja of Travancore and later of Mysore, and his Harikatha performances — the musical telling of the epics and the puranas — were famous across the South.
He composed more than four hundred kritis, in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu, and his compositions — set in the classical ragas — are sung in concerts to this day. He also created new ragas and enriched the theory of the music of the South.
He died in 1945, honoured as the Gayaka Sikhamani, the crest-jewel of singers. His compositions remain the treasure of the Carnatic tradition, and his name is remembered as one of the greatest musician-composers of the South.
Core Ideas
The Composer
More than four hundred kritis in the classical ragas.
The Harikatha
His musical narrations were famous across the South.
The Gayaka Sikhamani
'The crest-jewel of singers' — his title of honour.
The New Ragas
He enriched the theory of Carnatic music.
The Court Musician
He served the courts of Travancore and Mysore.
Why it matters today
Muthiah Bhagavathar is honoured as one of the greatest musicians and composers of the Carnatic tradition — the Gayaka Sikhamani whose kritis are sung in every concert of the South. His compositions remain the treasure of the tradition, and his name is remembered as the pride of Thanjavur and of Carnatic music.