About Us
A sacred digital space dedicated to Lord Muruga and the living tradition of Thiruppugazh.
About Us
Arunagirichelvar is a digital Thirukovil — a sacred online space dedicated to Lord Muruga and the living tradition of Thiruppugazh. Founded by Thiru Magantharen Balakisten, our mission is to make the 1,300+ devotional songs of Saint Arunagirinathar accessible to seekers of all backgrounds, with bilingual lyrics, contextual meanings, and guided singing sessions.
We believe Thiruppugazh is not merely music — it is a complete spiritual practice. Each song is a doorway into devotion, its unique metre and melody carrying the seeker from recitation to feeling, and feeling to union with the Divine. Our platform brings together lessons, articles, events, and a growing global community of devotees united by the chant of Summa Iru Sol Ara.
Based in Perth, Australia, Arunagirichelvar hosts weekly online singing sessions, publishes devotional content in Tamil and English, and collaborates with Thiruppugazh sabhas and Murugan temple communities across South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, and beyond. All are welcome — beginner or advanced, Tamil-speaking or not — on this path of Mukthi.
Arunagirichelvar
Magantharen Balakisten
Whether in a grand mandapam or an intimate satsang in the simplest of shrines, his voice carries the power to still the mind, awaken the heart, and endear the devotees of Lord Muruga. Thiru Magantharen Balakisten stands as a rare beacon of spiritual artistry in our time, a musician par excellence whose performances transcend being concerts and create a bridge between the devotees and the Divine, each one becoming a unique spiritual experience, opening portals through which Divine Grace flows.
Born in the quiet town of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Magantharen's journey has been nothing short of divine orchestration. Raised amidst the cadence of Thevaram, the discipline of Tamil schooling, his musical foundation is not only traditionally classical but deeply spiritual. From the age of 4 when he gave his first performance, he was nurtured by teachers grounded in the rich traditions of Indian Carnatic music and Saivite philosophy, guiding him into a lifelong offering of song as seva.
His seminal work, Thevaram, released in 2007, broke new ground, garnering a South African Traditional Music Award (SATMA) nomination and reaching devotional ears across the Tamil diaspora worldwide. Since then, he has recorded several timeless masterpieces from the religious canon of scripture such as Avinaasi Pathu, Kantha Sashti Kavasam, Subramaniya Thiruvirutham, Mayil Virutham, Kandhar Anubhuti and Sathru Samhara Vel Pathigam and Thiruppugazh. He also established Shadaksharam in South Africa, a non-profit organisation which has published and distributed Arunagirinathar Swamigal's Thiruppugazh, Vel, Mayil and Seval Virutham books with English translation and Kanthar Puranam illustrated books for children in addition to hosting and performing at Thiruppugazh and devotional concerts over the past four decades.
A devout student in the work of Saint Arunagirinathar Swamigal's Thiruppugazh, Magantharen's renditions are imbued with reverential fervour. He has offered Thiruppugazh around the world and his music is regularly featured on various TV channels in India. He was bestowed with the sacred honorific of "Arunagirichelvar" by Siravai Aadheenam, Kaumaram Madhaalayam Pontiff Thavathiru Kumara Gurubara Swamigal through the Arunagirinathar Mandram in Ipoh, Malaysia as well as "Kandhar Pugazh Sudaroli" by Maavai Adheenam, Maaviddapuram Kanthaswamy Kovil in Sri Lanka. He has written various papers on Thiruppugazh that have been published for major events like the Muthamizh Murugan International Conference 2025, The Murugabhakthi International Conference 2016 and the Arulalar Arunagirinathar Mani Mandapam Inauguration Brochure in 2023.
Currently based in Perth, Australia, Magantharen uses multiple channels to share the Divine spark of his music, teaching students online in global Sangeetham classes via Zoom, in person classes, and regular livestream on YouTube where videos like Avinaasi Pathu have touched in excess of a million viewers. Between teaching and working full time as an engineer, he has also composed several devotional songs under Divine inspiration, soaked in his love for the Lord.
His is a voice that is not merely heard but felt within the heart's deepest sanctum where he recognises the Lord permanently and calls out to Him. It is in this calling out in song that his sacred lineage and living devotion meet.
