The great and inimitable Muthuswamy Dikshithar was born in 1776 to the peerless composer Ramaswamy Dikshithar in the city of Thiruvarur (Kamalalayaksetra) ,he had two other brothers of whom Baluswamy Dikshithar is supposed to have introduced the violin to Carnatic music.

Ramaswamy Dikshithar himself was a native of Vrinchipuram in the erstwhile North Arcot district. the origins of his family are unclear though it is generally believed that his family had migrated to Vrinchipuram from further up north.

Subbarama Dikshitar notes in his Sangitha Sampradaya Pradarshini that Ramaswamy Dikshitar, at the age of seven along with his aged parents moved from Vrinchipuram to Thiruvidaimarudur(Madhyarjunam) to escape from the onslaught of the Turushkas into this region.

Apart from undergoing Vedaadhyayanam,Ramaswamy also trained under the Vainika, Venkata Vaidyanatha Dikshitar, who belonged to the lineage of Govinda Dikshitar and Venkatamakhin. His Knowledge of Venkatamakhin's chaturdandi Prakasika is apparent in his Chauka Varnam's.

Ramaswamy Dikshitar composed chauka varnams in Hindolam, Hindola Vasantham, Sriranjani and Poornachandrika. There is also a tana varnam in the raga Sankarabharanam in Ata tala, and a very unique composition, Sariganidhani in Todi raga, called swarasthana varnam

In the course of time Ramaswamy Dikshithar moved to Thiruvarur where Muthuswamy Dikshithar was born. It is said that he was named after Lord Selva Muthukumaraswamy of Vaitheeshwaran Koil. He was blessed with two other sons and a daughter Balamba.

Ramaswamy Dikshithar was also adept at rendering Jayadeva's gitagovindam which he would sing in full during every Ekadasi. He was also the creator of the raga Hamsadvani. A wealthy dubash of the EIC, named Manali MuthuKrishna Mudali comes to know of him and invites him to Madras.

During their stay at George Town in Madras a sage called Chidambaranatha Yogi also happens to visit the family of the dubash. Muthuswamy is assigned the task of taking care of him and when the Yogi prepares to leave for Varanasi he insists that Muthuswamy accompany him

By this time Muthuswamy is already married and has two wives,nevertheless he prepares to go to Kashi along with Chidambaranatha Yogi his two wives. Going to Kashi wasn't as easy as it seems today. The Maharajah of Tanjore who went on a pilgrimage to Kashi took 3 months to do so

Subbarama Dikshithar's account says that Muthuswamy Dikshithar stayed in Kashi for 5 years and is initiated into the Sri Vidya system of worship by his guru. Tradition says that he acquired his famed Veena (with the vyali facing upwards) while bathing in the Ganga.

The Hindustani influence on Dikshithar is quite clear and it is probably at Kashi that he acquired his mastery over ragas which are also found in the Dhrupad style. After 5 years he returns and stops at Thiruttani on the way back to Madras

At Thiruttani he decides to pay a visit to the shrine of Lord Subrahmanya. He ascends the steps to the sanctum with the Shodashakshari mantra on his lips, when Lord Subrahmanya Swamy himself appears before him and asks him to open his mouth and puts sugar candy in it.

Dikshithar immediately bursts into song and this would go on to become his first composition. The song is Sri Nathadi Gurugoho Jayathi in the raga Mayamalawagaula. In the very first song Dikshithar's deep knowledge of Sanskrit prosody,alliteration and Advaita become apparent.

This song is followed by six other Krithis which are collectively called the Guruguha Vibhakti Krithis. Scholars opine that the songs are definitely not just about the deity of Thiruttani but also reflect a much deeper enigmatic philosophy