Shyama Shastri was born on 26 April 1762 in a Brahmin family in Tiruvarur in what is now the state of Tamil Nadu. He received his instruction in the vedas, astrology, and other traditional subjects early on and learned music from his maternal uncle. He was later trained in music by Adiappayya, a noted durbar musician of Thanjavur. Although Śyāma Śastri did not compose as so many kritis as his two prolific contemporaries, his compositions are still well known due to the literary, melodic and rhythmic proficiency observed in them. It is said that he composed about three hundred pieces in all. He did not have many disciples to propagate his compositions, nor was the printing press widely accessible during his time. More importantly, the scholarly nature of his compositions made them more appealing to the learned than to the lay. His compositions are far fewer in number than Tyagaraja or Dikshita. Additionally, they feature a more formal form of Telugu which borrows heavily from Sanskrit. In contrast, Tyagaraja composes in this form of Telugu but also resorts to a more colloquial dialect to which Shyama Shastri does not. There are also a number of krithis in Tamil attributed to him. Most of his compositions propitiate the goddessKamakshi. He composed kritis, varṇa and svarajati with the ankita or mudraŚyāma Krishna. He was probably the first to compose in a new form of the svarajatimusical genre, where the compositions could be rendered solely in a singing or instrumental manner. Prior to this, the svarajati was primarily a dance form, and was close in structure to the danceVarṇaṃ. His set of three famous svarajati are intended to be sung in concert rather than danced, and are sometimes referred to as "Ratnatrayam". They are Kāmākṣhī Anudinamu, Kāmākṣhī Padayugamē, and Rāvē himagiri kumāri, composed in the ragasBhairavi, Yadukula kambhoji and Todi respectively. The former two are set to Miśra Cāpu Tāḷa, while the third is set to Ādi Tāḷa. He was known for his ability to compose in the most complex of tāḷas. He was also widely revered for his voice and singing ability during his time.
Death and legacy
Shyama Shastri died in Thanjavur in 1827. He had two sons, Panju Shastri and Subbaraya Shastri. Panju was a devoted worshipper of the deity, Bangaru Kamakshi. Subbaraya was trained in music by his father and became a gifted composer as well as a noted player of the veena. At his father's behest, he was also trained by Tyagaraja, Shyama Shastri's renowned contemporary. Shyama Shastri's adopted grandson, Annasvami Shastri, was also a fine composer. Shastri had a number of disciples who excelled at the art. Alasur Krishna Iyer became a musician at the royal durbar in Mysore. Porambur Krishna Iyer popularised many of his guru's works. Another disciple, Talagambadi Panchanada Iyer also made his mark as a composer. Another disciple named Dasari gained fame as a noted nāgaswaram player.
Compositions
The below sections mention some of his compositions.
