Kshetragna

Kshetragna (c.1600 - 1680 CE) ( _te. క్షేత్రయ్య)was a composer of Carnatic music. He lived in the area of Andhra Pradesh in South India. He composed a number of "padams" and "keertanas", the prevalent formats of his time. He is credited with more than 4000 compositions, although only a handful have survived. He composed his songs on his favourite deity Krishna (Gopala) in Telugu.

Not much is known about the personal life of Kshetragna. He was born in a village called Muvva in Andhra Pradesh. His parents named his Varadayya. Because of his habit of travelling from one place to another singing his songs at various temples, he came to be called "Kshetragna" or "Kshetrayya" (one who travels). Kshetragna perfected the "padam" format that is still being used today. His "padams" are sung in dance (Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi) and music recitals. A unique feature of his padams is the practice of singing the "anupallavi" first then the"pallavi". Most of the pandams are of the theme of longing for the coming of the lord Krishna. His songs had the "mudra" "Muvva Gopala".

References

* [http://www.musicalnirvana.com/composers/kshetragna.html Musicalnirvana.com]
* [http://www.carnatica.net Carnatica.net]

The life of Kshetragna is depicted in the novel "Bliss Of Life" by Prof M. V Rama Sarma, Professor of English & former Vice chancellor, S.V University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.This novel is available over internet.('Novels' link in the website with url "http://www.profmvramasarma.in/"). It is also translated into Telugu with the title "Kshetrayya" .Available in 'Others' link in the website with url "http://www.profmvramasarma.in/".