The first of its kind, this one-day in-person workshop by Chaitanyam invites music students in Chennai and other cities to explore the concept of "Shanmatam" in Carnatic music. Kalaimamani Dr. Gayathri Girish will be mentoring the session. 

• Date: Sun, 13th November 2022
• Time: 9 AM to 6 PM
• Venue: Lakshmi Giri Convention Hall, Mylapore, Chennai
• This is a completely offline workshop, and NO live streaming will be done. Students who would be in and around Chennai at that time are welcome
• Printed notations & recordings provided
• Special certificates for participants
• Lunch served for participants

What is Shanmatam?

During the time of Jagadguru Adi Sankaracharya, there were several sub-faiths and sects in Sanatana Dharma with unnecessary disagreements erupting between them. To resolve these conflicts, Adi Sankara established and popularized the concept of “Shanmatam”, wherein he consolidated several faiths into six forms of worship. He expounded that these were just different approaches to worshipping the Supreme entity. He also created several literary works to support his teachings.

The six approaches that he established are:

• Ganapatyam (worship of Ganapati)
• Shauram (worship of Surya)
• Kaumaram (worship of Subramanya)
• Shaktam (worship of Devi)
• Vaishnavam (worship of Vishnu)
• Shaivam (worship of Siva)

In Carnatic music, several compositions exist on these deities to facilitate their worship.

In this workshop, we will cover 6 compositions of 6 different composers, covering each of the six approaches.

List of compositions:

1. Sri Ganapathiye - Devamanohari - Adi - Papanasam Sivan
2. Adityam - Mayamalavagaula - Adi - Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar
3. Nityananda Kartikeya - Asaveri - Adi - Maharaja Kumara Ettendra
4. Amba Sri Rajarajeshvari - Bhogavasanta - Adi - Maharaja Jaya chamarajendra Wodeyar
5. Deena Rakshaka - Ahiri - Rupakam - Ponniah Pillai
6. Marakoti Koti Lavanya - Arabhi - Misra Jhampa - Muthusvami Dikshitar