Arunachala Kavi (?1711 - ?1788) was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He was born in Tillaiyadi in Tanjavur district in Tamil Nadu. The three Tamil composers Arunachala Kavi, Muthu Thandavar and Marimutthu Pillai are considered the Tamil Trinity, who contributed to the evolution of Carnatic music]]. Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages of the Dravidian language family. ... Carnatic music (known as कर्णाटक सङ्गीत in Sanskrit, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸಂಗೀತ in Kannada, കര്‍‌ണാടക സംഗീതം in Malayalam, கருநாடக இசை in Tamil, కర్నాటక సంగీతం in Telugu) is the form of Indian classical music that had its origins in South India. ... Thanjavur, formerly known as Tanjore, is a city in Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...

Compositions

Arunachala Kavi was fluent with Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit. He wrote Rama Natakam, a musical drama based on the Ramayana. The music for this musical was composed by two of Arunachala Kavi's disciples, Kothandarama Iyer and Venkatarama Iyer. The songs contain many Tamil proverbs and sayings. Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages of the Dravidian language family. ... Telugu (తెలుగు) (also Telegu) belongs to the Dravidian language family but with ample influence from the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ... The (Devanagari: ) is a Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and is an important part of the Hindu canon (smṛti). ...

This musical drama was first performed at the Srirangam temple and within a short time, it became very popular. Kavirayar was honoured by Maharaja Tulaja, the King of Tanjavur, and by several other patrons of that time. He has also composed Seergazhi Sthala Puranam, Seergazhi Kovai, Hanumar Pillai Tamil, Ajomukhi Natakam and a few Keertanas. Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam Srirangam, also known as Thiruvarangam, is a small island town adjoining Tiruchirapalli in South India. ...

Some of his famous compositions still popular today are Yaro ivar yaro (Saveri or Bhairavi), Kanden Kanden Sitayai (Vasanta), Ramanai Kannara Kandane (Mohanam). Bhairavi is a fierce and terrifying aspect of the Goddess virtually indistinguishable from Kali, except for her particular identification as the consort of the Wrathful Shiva. ...

References

• M. V. Ramana, Pre-trinity composers of Tamilnadu - Carnatica.net
• Lena Tamilvanan (Ed), (in Tamil) Thamizh Mummanikalin kiirththanaikal, Manimekalai Publications, Chennai 600 017, 1987 (லேனா தமிழ்வானன் (பதிபாசிரியர்), தமிழ் மும்மணிகளின் கீர்த்தனைகள், மணிமேகலைப் பிரசுரம், சென்னை 600 017, முதற்பதிப்பு 1987).