The Raja-Rishi (1813-1846)
When King Balarama Varma, the ruler of the State of Travancore, passed away in 1813, leaving a pregnant wife and no male heir, the British government wanted to annex the princely state. In case there was no male heir to succeed, the State would lapse to the British Government as per the Doctrine of Succession.
Sir Thomas Munro, the Resident of the court, was in favour of the pricely rule. Though a Britisher, he was a great devotee of Lord Padmanabha Swamy, the state deity of Travancore. He prayed to the Lord that the queen should be gifted with a male child. With a view to meeting the deadline set by the Governor General, he sent a message saying that the queen had delivered a male child, even though the queen had not delivered till then. He took a great risk in taking such a bold step. A few hours after sending the message, Munro got the good news that the queen did deliver a male child on 16 April 1813. The child was named Swati Thirunal who subsequently became the most famous ruler of Travancore and whose name in course of time, became popular as one of the greatest musicians and composers in Carnatic classical music.
Swati Tirunal, besides being a popular king, was a poet, a statesman, a musician, a composer and a scholar of repute. He lived for 33 years out of which he ruled the state for 18 years. He was a master of 13 languages and composed songs in five of them, namely Sanskrit, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Telugu. His personality and erudition attracted several musicians to his court. Apart from musical compositions, he has written a book on The Theory of Music in his own handwriting. The book is preserved even today in the Department of Oriental Studies, Trivandrum.
Another of his well-known compositions is the Padmanabha Shatakam which is a devotional treatise on Lord Padmanabha, summarising the story of Bhagavatam. Swati Tirunal was also responsible for popularising the dance form Mohiniattam. He composed 50 padas suitable for dancing. With the unique contribution that Swati Tirunal made to the music lore of India, the period covering the end of 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century could be considered
the Golden Age of Carnatic Music. It was during this period that the great Saint Tyagaraja, Shyama Shastry and Muthuswamy Dikshiar (popularly known as The Musical Trinity) lived and flourished with their masterly and exquisite music. It is true that the compositions of Swati Tirunal did not become as popular as those of the trinity. There are several reasons for this. Most of his compositions being in Sanskrit could not probably catch the ears and imagination of the people as easily as Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. Further, it is well known that compositions of great musicians gain currency mostly through their disciples. Naturally in the case of Swati Tirunal, there could be no Guru-Shishya Sampradaya, he being a royal composer.
An ardent devotee of Lord Padmanabha, Swati Tirunal was verily a Padmanabha dasa (servant of the Lord). He discharged his duties as a servant of the Lord. Though he was a king, he was in his heart of hearts a true Rishi, a real vairagi. It is therefore very appropriate to call him a Raja-Rishi since he was both a king and an ascetic.
Swati Tirunal as a king had many firsts to his credit. He initiated the drafting of comprehensive laws for proper administration of the state geared to people’s welfare and evolved an efficient judicial set-up. With assistance from Englishman Caldecott, he established the Observatory in Trivandrum for astronomical studies. The first English school in the capital also was started by him. When allopathy gained popularity, he had a hospital established in Trivandrum to help poor and middle class people get its benefits.
Swati Thirunal’s last days were troubled with storms and floods whipping the southern parts of the state with relentless fury. The state treasury had, in the meantime, shown signs of depletion. His relations with his own ministers and officials, as also representatives of the British paramount power, deteriorated fast and soured beyond redemption, and at the young age of 33, he breathed his last, a broken man and victim of an unexplained illness, exemplifying the truth that an artist’s soul is ever in torment.
He could easily be described as A king among musicians and A musician among kings.