Tyagaraja was the most well known Carnatic music composer of South India. He was born on May 4 in 1767 AD in a Telugu family, which belonged to the smartha Mulakanadu sect of Brahmins in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. They lived at Tiruvarur, the temple town close to the Thanjavur area. It is said that his family migrated from Vijayanagara Empire and came to the present day Andhra Pradesh and got settled in Thiruvaiyaru.
Early Life of Tyagaraja
Tyagaraja`s father Kakarla Rama Brahmam was a Sanskrit scholar and his mother was Seethamma. The name of his mother was found from his song `Seetamma mayamma` (raga Vasantha/Lalitha, tala Rupakam). But few also take it as `Shantamma`. He got his name after the name of Lord Tyagaraja, the presiding deity of the temple at Thiruvarur. Telugu was the mother language of the family of Tyagaraja.
The king of Thanjavur Tulaja II gifted a land to Tyagaraja`s father, when Tyagaraja was very young. This place was a famous pilgrimage centre of five rivers. Tyagaraja went to the Maharajah`s school in Tiruvaiyaru to learn Sanskrit. The worship of Rama, which was taught to him by his father, became a lifelong passion for him. He took his musical training under the great singer Sonti Venkataramanayya. As he attained good knowledge in music, Tyagaraja started composing songs on his favourite deity Lord Rama.
Life in Music for Tyagaraja
There is a doubt regarding which was his first song. But, the `Ela ni daya` (raga Athana, tala Adi) and `Namo namo ragbavava` (raga Desika Todi, tala Tisra laghu Adi) are the two songs, which are often cites as being the first one. Tyagaraja also considered the mythical sage Narada as his mentor in music. He has composed many songs indicating the fact. He was a bhakta of Lord Rama and he composed hundreds of devotional songs in the praise of him. Even today, many of his compositions are very popular. The five of his compositions, known as the `five gems` (Pancharatna Kirthis), are sung during many festivals to honour Tyagaraja.
It is believed that at a very young age, Tyagaraja got married twice, first to Parvati and after her death to her sister Kamalamba. He got a daughter named Seethalakshmi from his second wife. He became the poet-composer in the court of the king of Thanjavur. He wrote poem, which was a joke on himself and Lord Ganesha. His father passed away when Tyagaraja was only 20 years old. After that, their paternal property got divided between Tyagaraja and his brother Japyesa. The ancestral house on Tirumanjana Veedi in Tiruvaiyaru was also partitioned and divided between the two. But his brother made his life miserable, as he was unhappy with few of his songs, which were written on brotherly desolation. This can be seen in his composition `Anyayamu scyaktira`.
Composition in Music for Tyagaraja
However, Tyagaraja and his wife were very contented and he continued with his composition on Lord Rama. Tyagaraja never liked to take favour from the royal kings and he was not willing to take patronage of them. This is evident from his well-known composition `Nidhi chala sukhama` {raga Kalyani, tala Chapu). His major contribution in the field of Carnatic music is the 600 popular songs he composed and which are popular even today. Most of his songs were written in Telugu and few were in Sanskrit, which were rich in emotional content.
The songs of Tyagaraja are composed mainly in the pallavi, anupallavi and a single or several charanams format. These songs can also be incorporated in the concert platform. Apart from writing the standard songs, Tyagaraja also composed songs, which were collectively called the `Utsava Sampradaya Kriti`. These were are for day to day worship of Rama and the `Divya Nama kritis` were for chanting the Lord`s name in the form of Bhajans. Three operas known as the `Scctba Ratna Vijayam` the `Nauka Cbaritramu` and the Prahlada Bbakta Vijayam were also composed by Tyagaraja. Among these, the first one is now lost.
Tyagaraja became very famous for his talent in composing the `Dasarathi` (raga Todi, tala Adi) type of Carnatic music. Numerous disciples of him propagated his work all over in South India. Once a delegation was sent by the King Swati Tirunal of Travancore to invite him in his capital but Tyagaraja turned down the offer very politely. His wife died in 1839 AD and then he started pilgrimage to the places like Chennai, Tiruvottiyur, Kovvur, Kanchipuram, Sholingur and Tirupati. He also started composing songs on the presiding deities of several shrines in these locations. He also ventured to Tiruchirapalli, Lalgudi, Sirkazhi and Naga-pattinam and composed songs on the deities there. He has also composed songs on the presiding deities of his native place Tiruvaiyaru.
Tyagaraja died in 1847 AD. He dreamt that Lord Rama would provide him salvation after 10 days of his death. This fact can be confirmed from his declaration in two of his songs named `Giripai` and `Paritapamu`. Hence, Tyagaraja prepared himself for this by giving up the worldly life and taking up `Sanyasa`. He went to the banks of the river Kaveri and started meditating on Lord Rama there and lots of people gathered there to watch him. It is said that, when he left this world, a great light was seen to radiate from his head amidst the chanting of Vedas and singing of his songs by his disciples. At the same place he was buried and a memorial was erected. Now, thousands of people gather here every year to attend the annual festival in his memory. This festival is known as the `Tyagaraja Aaradhana`, a commemorative festival, which is held at Thiruvaiyaru from January to February. In this weeklong music festival, many Carnatic musicians from all over the world gather at Tyagaraja`s Samadhi. Thousands of people come to watch the musicians to perform here. These musicians sing the five Pancharatna Kritis in unison, with the accompaniment of a large orchestra of violins, flutes (Bansuri), nagaswarams, mridangams and ghatam.