Being staunch devotees of Sathguru Sri Santhananda Swamigal, we have heard from him stories of Sri Mayandi Siddhar. At the instance of our guru, we visited Mayandi Siddhar’s Adhishtanam in Tiruparankundram. The place is also famous for the rock-cut temple for Lord Murugan.
Colourful and beautiful drawings adorn the inside walls of the temple. The panel displays images of the dance of Lord Siva, Goddess Parvati, Lord Nandikeswarar and a huge drum, which is most likely the Kudamuzha, an ancient percussion instrument of Tamil Nadu. Kudamuzha is a pot-shaped instrument with a piece of hide stretched over its mouth. Held taut by an iron ring the hide is attached to the pot by a cord, and ropes are tied around the pot. It is said that the Kudamuzha is a precursor to the Panchamukha Vadyam.
Many ancient literary sources talk about this rare instrument. Karaikal Ammaiyar mentions about 14 instruments that were performed by the Devas during the celestial dance of the Lord of which kudamuzha is one. In Kandapuranam, there is a mention of Kudamuzha, believed to have been played during the Siva-Parvati wedding.
Thevaram and Thiruppugazh also have references about the instrument.
Kudumuzha is also depicted as a sculpture at various places to indicate that it has been one of the oldest percussion instruments. In various sculptures of Lord Nataraja, Kudamuzha is seen played by Nandi or one of the Bhutaganas.
According to historian Kudavayil Balasubramaniam, who has done extensive research on this topic, Kudamuzha is seen in the sculptures of Vagadars, Keezhaikangar, Rashtrakudar and during the Chalukyan period. He says that Kudamuzha became Panchamukha vadyam during the 11-12 century. At the Jagadambikai sametha Sri Bhoolokanathar temple in Tiruchi, Lord Nandikeswarar is seen playing the Kudamuzha. In Avudaiyarkoil there is a sculpture depicting this ancient instrument.
There is an interesting legend associated with the instrument and the temple of Sri Tirupurasundari sameda Veeratteswarar in Tiruvathigai.
It is said that Lord Siva destroyed three demons — Tarukakshan, Kamalakshan and Vidyunmali (some versions mention the names as Tarakakshan, Vidyunmali and Viryavanan).
Legend has it that the three demons performed penance propitiating Lord Brahma for fulfilling their wish to remain immortal.
As Brahma refused to grant the boon the demons wished for three forts instead — made of gold, silver and iron — and named them Tripura. After getting their wish fulfilled, the demons felt they can never be defeated by anyone as long as the forts remained safe. With this boon guarding them, they started committing atrocities and in due course got defeated by Lord Siva, who eventually turned two of them as Dwarapalakas and the third one as a player of Kudamuzha.
In an article by Chitra Madhavan titled ‘Nataraja’s musicians,’ she talks about one Nataraja figure, (typical of Chola era) from Melaperumpallam, that dates back to approximately 10th century AD. The Nataraja figure shows one of the two Sivaganas, playing the Kudamuzha.
References about this ancient instrument are found in the article ‘The ornamental door frames at Sri Ranganatha Swami temple, Srirangam – remnants of early Chola architecture’ by Dr. Gokul Seshadri, Dr. S. Sumitha and S. Seetharaman, who mention that at the Ranganathaswami Temple, Srirangam, one of the door frames in front of the Ranga vimana, has the image of a person playing a pot like instrument, which might be Kudamuzha. There are references about the instrument being played by Vaanasuran while he offered prayers to Lord Siva. But for the literary references, we have not seen the instrument being actually played in temples. We hope to do so if it is still performed.
The writers are well-known Carnatic musicians
