The Saptaratnas of Ootthukkadu Venkata Kavi

Ootthukkadu Venkata Kavi was easily one of the most remarkable composers to have
adorned Indian music. His works reveal that he was not only a saint and philosopher but
also a great scholar in music, dance, mythology, epics and literature (both Sanskrit and
Tamil). Today, more of his works are coming to light and it will need several people to
study him for years from various angles before he can be understood reasonably well. He
is said to have lived between the period of Purandara Dasa-Annamacharya and the
Trinity and his date is placed roughly between 1700-1765.

Some of his krtis like Taye yashoda, Alaippayude, Brindavana Nilaye, Adadu ashangadu
etc have been very well known for a long time but they are only the tip of the iceberg.
Venkata Kavi has composed hundreds of songs in both Tamil and Sanskrit, that have
only been recently published and are gaining popularity. He has used a variety of
musical forms such as the kriti, javali, tillana and kavadichindu. He composed several
types of krtisi apart from the ones seen often (pallavi, anupallavi and charanam with the
tune of the last few lines coinciding with that of the anupallavi). Venkata Kavi composed
many songs with madhyama kala passages, some with more than one charana but with
the same tune, others with multiple charanas in different tunes, some with just a samashti
charana, some with gati bhedam and so on. He used talas and themes that few other
Carnatic composers have used before or since. This article will focus on a set of 7
compositions that are known as Saptaratnas.

The Saptaratnas of Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi (literally 7 gems) are certainly among the
best group krtis in Carnatic music. Structurally, they are comparable to swarajatis or
Tyagaraja’s pancharatnas. The krtis consist of pallavi, anupallavi and a set of
madhyamakala charanas that can be rendered as swaras and lyrics. But it is not known
whether swarajatis in this form existed before Venkata Kavi's times.

Anyways, the Saptaratans are much more sophisticated than swarajatis both musically
and lyrically. Five of these songs (the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th) have an anchor
charanam (similar to what one sees in Samayaniki in Sadhinchane) but Venkata Kavi has
done this with much variety. Sometimes, it is not the first line of the charanam but the
3rd line that is the anchor and Venkata Kavi has set the landing points in several complex
ways, which again offer proof of his rhythmic skills. In a few pieces, there are
madhyamakala endings to the anchor charanams. Besides, there are several areas where
the composer’s awesome ability to provide interesting melo-rhythmic finishes with
appropriate lyrics comes to the fore. All in all, the Saptaratna pieces bring out Venkata
Kavi’s natural felicity, elegance and originality in expression, awesome and irrepressible
imagination, attention to detail and most of all, his wonderful attitude.

1. Bhajanamrta – Nattai: This is a superb theme exactly like Tyagaraja’s Endaro

Mahanubhavulu. The Kavi mentions several great people right from Anjaneya, Prahlada,
Azhwars, Nayanmars and so on. Interestingly, Purandaradasa and Tulasidasa are also
mentioned. The reference to Tulasidasa is of special significance in several ways as it
shows that saint's fame transcending regional borders even then and Venkata Kavi's
awareness and regard for scholars of other regions. (He has composed whole songs on
Valmiki and Jayadeva.) This piece also shows that Venkata Kavi lived after Tulasidasa.

2. Aganitamahima – Gowla: A beautiful piece on Lord Vishnu, this composition has 8

charanams in all, including an anchor charanam beginning with the words ‘Namo
namaste’ with small variations in not only melody but also lyrics in each of its sangatis.
The final madhyamakala charanam has 6 cycles. It brings to fore Venkata Kavi’s deep
knowledge of several rare personalities from epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata
through his mention of comparatively rare personalities such as Nahusha, Bhoorishena,
Pippilada, Rantideva etc.

3. Madhava hrdi khelini – Kalyani: Venkata Kavi was one of the few (probably the
only) Carnatic composer to compose exclusive pieces on Radha. He has composed
several pieces on Radha including a group of songs describing Radha’s wedding with
Krishna. In this piece, full of lilting words, he uses a lovely expression such as ‘sarasa
rasa rasane’. The piece is scholarly yet charming.

4. Balasarasa murali – Keeravani: A lovely work about Krshna's music. Venkata Kavi
exclaims: balasarasa murali sudharasa bhava madhura lahari vihara (Oh, one who resides
in the lovely waves of ambrosia that the music from the flute is…). In this piece, the
composer’s knowledge of musical subtleties comes to the fore in the 5th charanam where
he has mentioned about graces and ornamentation like ahatam and pratyagatam.

5. Jatadhara Shankara - Todi: This piece is on Lord Shiva and has 7 charanams
including an anchor charanam. (Most publications by Needamangalam Krishnamurthy
Bhagavatars’ family only have the anchor plus 4 charanams but 2 more in the notations in
the Bhagavatar’s handwritten notebook were found recently.) Venkata Kavi reveals his
mastery over epics and mentions Shiva’s casual play with Arjuna when he appeared as a
hunter before bestowing him the Pashupatastra. Another lovely facet of the composer is
his usage of familiar words in very rare but beautiful contexts. In this piece, there is a
classic example ‘chandra panchamukha’. We know that Shiva has the moon on his head
but does he have it on all 5 faces? Is it a wrong usage by the great man? It appears so
but actually this is not the case. A deeper study shows that Venkata Kavi has intended
the word ‘chandra’ to mean ‘lovely’ and not ‘moon’ in this context. There are several
songs where Venkata Kavi teases the scholarship of those aiming to understand and
assess him!

6. Alavadennalo – Paras: This is a remarkable piece for many reasons. It is again on

Shiva but composed in lovely Tamil, making it the only Tamil song in the Saptaratna set.
It mentions all of 63 Nayanmars in the madhyamakala charanams! These are set around
the main charanam line - "innavaril oruvaraippole". The theme is - let me be free of
births but IF I am born, may it be like one of these 63... The pallavi is another illustration
of his humility where he wonders when he can be at least Shiva’s slaves’ slaves’ slave
(adiyark-adiyark-adiyanai)! The finishes in the anupallavi and 5th charanam bring out
the composer’s intelligence in wedding rhythm and lyrics.
7. Sundara Nandakumara – Madhyamavati: A superb theme where each of the 8
madhyamakala charanas offers the 8 main articles of worship like Arghyam, Deepam,
Tamboolam etc. It is quite possible that this krti was part of his daily prayers. The
madhyamakala charanams have been set around the 3rd line of the main charanam but the
remarkable thing is that this starts a few units before the tala. Thus, the other charanams
start on the beat but end before the beat, a clear demonstration of Venkata Kavi’s
rhythmic command.

While the music, lyrics and scholarship of Venkata Kavi are of indisputably high
standards, his attitude is even more amazing. He was himself a true mahaanubhava and
well above Vishnu - Shiva distinctions and lived in a consistently high state of bliss –
which no ordinary person can achieve. His works scarcely contain any autobiographical
sob stories and show that he had reached tremendous spiritual and philosophical heights.

There is little doubt that Venkata Kavi's Saptaratnas, gaining in popularity now, will be
revered as towering creations as long as Carnatic Music lives.