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PRE-TRINITY COMPOSERS
MANIKKAVACHAKAR (14th century)
Musical Background: His original name was Vadavurar but he became famous as Manikkavachakar, which means, "One whose words are like gems". That certainly speaks volumes about the quality of his works. A learned man, he served as a minister for the King Pandyan. He had no formal training in music.

Region: He was born in Vadavur in Tanjavur district, Tamilnadu.

Contribution: He was the composer of the famous Tiruvachakam, which includes three of his works namely Tiruvembavai, Kuyirpattu and Tirupalliyezhuchi. This contains 700 songs. Besides, he was the most important composer of Tevaram in Panns that were passed orally from one generation to the other. Tiruvachakam was sung in raga Mohanam (a pentatonic scale).

Theme: His themes included both philosophical and devotional, mainly in praise of Lord Siva.

Language used: Tamil.

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