Tyagaraja was born in 1767 at Tiruvarur in the Kaveri delta, into a Telugu-speaking brahmin family, and grew up in Tiruvaiyaru, near Thanjavur. His father was a scholar of the Ramayana, and from childhood Tyagaraja was devoted to Rama. He learned music from Sonti Venkataramanayya, a court musician of Thanjavur.
“Is wealth the source of happiness, or is it the nearness of Rama? Tell me truly, O mind.”From the kriti "Nidhi chala sukhama"
With Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri — all three born in Tiruvarur within a few years of one another — he is one of the Trinity of Carnatic music.
Music as worship
Tyagaraja composed in Telugu, mostly kritis — songs with a refrain and verses — addressed to Rama as friend, master and lord. He saw music itself as a path to God, nada-upasana, and his songs reveal the many moods of devotion: joy, longing, complaint, surrender. About seven hundred of his compositions survive, and he gave life to many ragas that had been little used.
The king's invitation
When King Serfoji of Thanjavur invited him to court with promises of wealth, Tyagaraja is said to have refused with the song Nidhi chala sukhama — "Is wealth happiness, or is Rama's presence?" He lived simply on alms (unchavritti), teaching disciples who spread his songs across South India.
The Pancharatnas
His five great songs, the Pancharatna kritis, in the ragas Nata, Gaula, Arabhi, Varali and Sri, are the crown of his work; the best known, Endaro mahanubhavulu, salutes all the great souls of the world. He also wrote musical plays, Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam and Nauka Charitram. Shortly before his death he took sannyasa.
How they are remembered
Every January, at his samadhi on the Kaveri at Tiruvaiyaru, hundreds of musicians sing the Pancharatnas together at the Tyagaraja Aradhana, broadcast across India. His kritis are the core of every Carnatic concert.
Ekatmata Stotra · Stanza 19
Named in Stanza 19 of the Ekatmata Stotra — from Kālidāsa to Tyāgarāja.
भरतो मुनिरीशानः कालिदासो महाकविः।
भोजो जक्कणसूरदासस्त्यागराजो रसखानकः॥
Sources: Wikipedia: Tyagaraja · Wikipedia: Pancharatna Kriti. Written afresh for The Hindu Book; corrections welcome at [email protected].
