It is a timiri-type nagaswaram with six holes. It demands enormous energy on the part of the player, says Swaminathan, former nagaswaram artiste of the temple.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The kumbabishekam (consecration) of the Adikumbeshwarar Temple in Kumbakonam, scheduled for December 1 this year, will also draw attention to the unique stone nagaswaram preserved in the temple. The instrument was last played years ago during the Ayudha Puja. It will be played again on November 28 as part of the rituals leading up to the kumbabishekam.
“It is a timiri-type nagaswaram with six holes, and we use the ‘seevali’ made for a timiri nagaswaram. The instrument has its limitations, and it is difficult to play suddha maddhyma ragas on it. A nagaswaram player, however, can handle pratimadhyma ragas. It also demands enormous energy on the part of the player,” said Swaminathan, former nagaswaram artiste of the Adikumbeshwarar Temple.
The pipe of the instrument, known as the ‘uzhau’, is made of stone. The front portion, called the ‘anusu’, acts as a volume enhancer, and the end portion is where the reed is fitted. These parts are made of brass. Mr. Swaminathan will play the instrument on November 28, along with his nephew Tamilarasan, the current nagaswaram player of the temple.
Although there are no records on when the instrument was made, the Kumbakonam-based writer, Ki. Ra. Gopalan, has written a short story, Kal Naayanam, an imaginative narrative about its creation. The story forms part of the collection Kumbakonathu Kathaigal, compiled by Rani Thilak. Gopalan, one of the many great writers of Kumbakonam, wrote under the pseudonyms Kaatur Kannan, Konal, and Thuthikaiyar.
The story begins with the Navaratri celebrations in the temple. Among the dolls adorning the Golu is a stone nagaswaram discovered in a room that had remained locked for many years. “If there was a sculptor capable of making a nagaswaram, there would certainly be a nagaswaram player who could handle it,” says Natarajan, a character in the story.
As they admire the instrument, another character, Vaidhi, begins to narrate the tale: Once, there lived in Kumbakonam a sculptor named Nagesan and his close friend Muthukumaran, an accomplished nagaswaram player. Nagesan’s sister Anjana was in love with Muthukumaran. When Muthukumaran wondered whether Nagesan could chisel a nagaswaram out of stone, the sculptor said he could, if someone was ready to play it. “Are you ready to give up your vocation if I manage to play it? If I fail, I will never touch the nagaswaram again,” said Muthukumaran.
Nagesan instead declared that if Muthukumaran could not play the stone nagaswaram, he would not give his sister in marriage. This shocked Anjana, who even secretly attempted to break the instrument but failed.
After the nagaswaram was completed, a date was fixed for its playing. Muthukumaran picked up the instrument effortlessly and played it as though he had been doing it for years.
As everyone looked on in amazement, Muthukumaran explained that he had begun practising by holding an iron pipe heavier than the stone nagaswaram and “playing” it in his mind, imagining it as the real instrument. “It was difficult for the first two or three days, but it became normal thereafter,” he told the audience.
Published – November 16, 2025 07:20 pm IST
