Muthuswami Dikshitar

Muthuswami Dikshitar (24 March 1776–21 October 1835; IAST: muttusvāmi dīkṣitar; also known as Mudduswamy Dikshitar and, mononymously, as Dikshitar, and sometimes Guruguha), was a South Indian Hindu poet, singer, veena player, and prolific composer of Indian classical music. He was the youngest member of the Trinity of Carnatic music, alongside Tyagaraja (1767–1847), and Syama Sastri (1762–1827). Dikshitar is credited with around 500 compositions, widely recognised for their elaborate poetic descriptions of Hindu deities and detailed architectural depictions of temples. Continuing to be widely performed in Carnatic music concerts, his music is notable for capturing the essence of ragas in the vainika (veena) style, which highlights the use of gamakas. His works are usually composed in a slower tempo (chowka kala), often incorporating middle tempo stanzas (madhyama kala sahitya). Unlike the predominantly Telugu compositions of his Carnatic contemporaries Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri, Dikshitar's works are mostly in Sanskrit. He also composed a few kritis in Manipravalam, a literary style combining Sanskrit and Tamil.