Every composition of Mahatma Sri Kamakshi Dasar began in devotion. The first songs came after his vision of Goddess Kamakshi in 1926 — hymns of praise, songs of gratitude, poems of personal experience, and finally a complete philosophy.
A note on access. The complete texts are not published on this website. They live in the singing: learn them in the Foundation’s classes and Global Choir, or at the annual Jayanthi. For copies of his works, please contact us.
Mahatma Sri Kamakshi Dasar has bestowed upon us divine compositions in many forms.
“Sacred praise”. A Tamil devotional hymn form of intricate rhythm, set to varied metres and talas, long associated with Lord Murugan. He brought the form to Goddess Kamakshi and to many other deities.
A Carnatic devotional song with a refrain (pallavi) and verses (anupallavi, charanam), set to a raga and a tala.
A hymn of five verses.
A hymn of eight verses, often a concentrated prayer or salutation.
A hymn of fifteen verses.
A protective hymn — literally “armour” — recited for the Divine’s protection.
A set of ten verses in praise of one deity.
A “garland of letters”: verses arranged in the order of the alphabet.
A hymn describing one’s personal experience of the Divine.
A poem of 100 verses (shatakam) in which a parrot (kili) is sent as a messenger (thoothu). His is addressed to Goddess Kamakshi.
A dawn hymn that gently awakens the Divine at the start of the day.
A devotional hymn in the pavai tradition, like the Thiruppavai and the Thiruvempavai. His Ambal Thiruvarutpavai is addressed to the Divine Mother.
A classical Tamil verse metre, used for narrative and devotional poetry.
Salutations, benedictions and hymns of auspicious blessing.
A lullaby, expressing tender love and devotion through a song of soothing praise.
A metrical Sanskrit verse, commonly used for prayer, praise and the expression of spiritual teachings.
A traditional Tamil poetic form, often used to convey devotional or philosophical ideas in a rhythmic, song-like manner.
A linked verse form in which the final word or phrase of one verse becomes the opening of the next.
A structured devotional composition arranged in sections, bringing together verses of praise.
An extended poetic form characterised by long, flowing lines and a sustained cadence, suited to elaborate praise.
A litany of divine names, recited or sung as an expression of remembrance, praise and devotion.
The Thiruppugazh is the form he returned to most often. Sri Kamakshi Thiruppugazh is the collection with the greatest number of songs, and he also sang Thiruppugazhs to many other deities and shrines, each a work in its own right:
His largest collection, with the most songs.
In praise of Lord Vinayagar.
On Lord Murugan at Vadapazhani.
On Lord Murugan at Utthar Swamimalai, New Delhi.
In praise of Lord Siva.
In praise of Lord Guruvayoorappan.
In praise of the Lord of Tirupati.
In praise of the Jagadguru Sri Adi Sankarar.
In praise of Lord Ayyappa.
In praise of Goddess Saraswathi and Goddess Lakshmi.
After a vision of Lord Krishna ordaining him to the task, he rendered the Bhagavad Gita as Song Divine — in rhymed English verse, and separately in Tamil verse. One scripture, carried into two languages for two audiences, and meant to be sung or read aloud, not only studied.
Thy doings all, thy feastings all;
Thy Off’rings all, thy givings all
And penance all thou dost perform;
Give up to Me and then perform.
Writings that set out Satya Advaita, and commentaries on two of the ten major Upanishads.
His exposition of Satya Advaita, “the true Vedanta philosophy”, drawn from the ten major Upanishads and written in English for all of humanity.
Read about Satya Advaita →A philosophical work alongside The One and the Many.
A detailed English commentary, bringing the ancient text into plain, reasoned language.
A commentary on the Upanishad of the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep.
Valli Manavenba tells the divine marriage of Valli and Murugan in the classical Tamil venba metre — at once a devotional narrative and an example of the formal Tamil verse tradition.
Bharatha Vetri Pangal (1962) is a melodic piece invoking divine mercy for India’s victory during the Sino-Indian war: devotion in the service of his country.
He gave six years of lectures on Saiva Sidhantha at Vivekananda College in Chennai, and rendered bhajans and divine lectures across India, including at the Theosophical Society, the Y.M.C.A and the Y.M.I.A. His message was constant: lead a life of morality, chant the divine names and sing the glory of the Divine.
The best way to meet the compositions is to learn them. The Foundation offers a weekly online class, the Global Choir and a children’s Shloka class.