Which composer is nicknamed Veyi Gitala Guru Murthy for writing thousands of gitas?

• A. Purandara Dasa
• B. Tyagaraja
• C. Pydala Guru Murthy Sastri
• D. Dikshitar

Answer: (C)

Veyi Gitala Guru Murthy means “the guru who wrote ten thousand geethas.” This nickname is given to Pydala Guru Murthy Sastri because he is credited with producing a vast number of geethas, the simple teaching songs used to train students in Carnatic music. Geethas are approachable pieces used for learning basic melodies and raga technique, so a composer known for thousands of them earned this title. The other names are renowned for different kinds of contributions—one for founding pedagogy and many teaching songs, another for a large body of kritis, and another for his multi-language kritis—but the epithet about thousands of geethas points to Pydala Guru Murthy Sastri.