Gopala Nattuvanar
Gopala Nattuvanar✓
Mahadeva Nattuvanar
Thanjavur, India
3 students ↓
Thanjavur Kandappa Pillai
Madras (Chennai), India
6 students ↓
K. Ponniah Pillai (Sangita Kalanidhi)
Thanjavur, India
3 students ↓
Jatti Tayamma
Mysore, India
7 students ↓
Noorcni Parameswara Bhagavatar
Thiruvananthapuram, India
1 student ↓
Mahadeva Bhagavatar
India
Srinivas Hirimagalur
Bristol, United Kingdom
Pandanallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai
Pandanallur, India
26 students ↓
Tanjore Gnyana
Tanjore, India
1 student ↓
Chennai Nelliappa Nattuvanar
India
Kalanidhi Narayanan
Chennai, India
14 students ↓
T. Balasaraswati
Chennai, India
39 students ↓
Ganeshan Pillai
Chennai, India
1 student ↓
Kancheepuram Ellappa Pillai
Chennai, India
1 student ↓
Amala Shankar
Kolkata, India
Rukmini Devi Arundale
Chennai, India
21 students ↓
K.J. Govindarajan
Delhi, India
28 students ↓
Thiruvallaputhur Swaminatha Pillai (T.K. Swaminatha Pillai)
Chennai, India
3 students ↓
Ram Gopal
Bangalore, India
5 students ↓
Baroda Guru Kubernath Tanjorkar
Vadodara, India
13 students ↓
Pandanallur Chokkalingam Pillai
Chennai, India
5 students ↓
Mahavidwan Konetirajapuram Sri Vaidyanath Iyer
Konerirajapuram, India
2 students ↓
Karaikkal Dandayudhapani Pillai
Chennai, India
5 students ↓
Adyar K Lakshman
Chennai, India
18 students ↓
C.V. Chandrasekhar
Chennai, India
9 students ↓
Leela Samson
Chennai, India
15 students ↓
Sarada Hoffman
Chennai, India
7 students ↓
Ambu Panikkar
India
1 student ↓
Anjali Mehr
Vadodara, India
2 students ↓
Chandu Panikkar
Chennai, India
3 students ↓
Khagendranath Barman
Kolkata, India
9 students ↓
Ramli Ibrahim
Kulalumpur, Malaysia
16 students ↓
Dr Chandrabhanu
Melbourne, Australia
13 students ↓
Mavin Khoo
London, United Kingdom
13 students ↓
Roja Kannan
Chennai, India
7 students ↓
C.P. Shanta
Chennai, India
3 students ↓
Ambika N.
Chennai, India
5 students ↓
Jayanthi Subramaniam
Chennai, India
2 students ↓
M.S. Ramadevi
Secunderabad, India
2 students ↓
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Lineage Stats
Lineage Overview
- ✦This lineage spreads across 29 countries.
- ✦Bharatanatyam is the primary style.
- ✦Avg. 867.0 students per direct shishya.
- ✦This lineage is 12 generations deep.
🪔 About
Gopala Nattuvanar is recognized as an early pioneer of the hereditary nattuvanar family associated with the Thanjavur (Tanjore) Bani of Bharatanatyam. He served as a chief musician at the Rajagopalaswamy Temple in Mannargudi and also held the position of chief musician in the court of the Nayaka king Vijayaraghava Nayaka during the seventeenth century (who reigned from 1634 to 1673). The role of a nattuvanar was integral to dance performances, encompassing proficiency in music, choreography, and rhythm, often involving vocal accompaniment and playing cymbals. Gopala Nattuvanar's family established a significant guru-shishya tradition that profoundly influenced later ensembles, most notably the renowned Tanjore Quartet. This family, with its strong musical heritage, originated with Gopala Nattuvanar. Over time, his family relocated, moving first to Madurai and subsequently to Tirunelveli. Later, during the rule of King Tulaja II, three brothers from this lineage—Mahadevan, Gangaimuttu, and Ramalingam—returned to Tanjore. Gangaimuttu's son, Subbarayan, became the father of the Thanjavur Brothers, also known as the Tanjore Quartet (Chinnaya, Ponnaiya, Sivanandam, and Vadivelu), who further codified the Bharatanatyam repertoire.
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