sri tyagaraja swamy

Tyagaraja, also known as Saint Tyagaraja, was a prominent Indian composer, musician, and one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music, a classical music tradition of South India.

Sri Tyagaraja was born on May 4, 1767 in Thiruvarur, a small town in Tanjavuru District, Tamilnadu, India. While he was still a very young boy, his family moved into a house on the Tirumanjana Street, at Thiruvaiyaru that was gifted by the King of Tanjavuru. Sri Tyagaraja lived the rest of his life in that house. Thiruvaiyaru is just about 13 KMs from Tanjavuru. He moved about, all his life, in the Thiruvaiyaru-Tanjavuru region. He did not travel outside of that limited area until he was about seventy-two years of age.

According to the travel plans drawn up , finalized and arranged by the Manager Tanjavuru Rama Rao, Sri Tyagaraja and party were to first visit Sri Rangam; then on to Kanchipuram to call on the sage Sri Upanishad Brahmendra honouring his invitation ; and from there to Tirupthi-Tirumala to have the darshan of Lord Venkateshwara . The return journey would take the route of: Madras, Tiruvattiyur and Lalgudi. Each of those places is a celebrated centre of pilgrimage.


tyagaraja's compositions are known for their devotional content, often praising Lord Rama, whom he deeply revered. His kritis (musical compositions) are still widely performed and revered in the Carnatic music community. Some of his most famous compositions include "Pancharatna Kritis," a set of five kritis, and "Endaro Mahanubhavulu," which is a popular composition often sung during concerts.


We have in Sri Tyagaraja an extraordinary collection of verities of musical forms and compositions, ranging from Divya-nama-sankeerthanam and Utsava-sampradaya songs suited for group singing; musical dance-dramas such as Nauka-Charitam and Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam; Kirtanas beseeching the Lord for help , kindness and love; and above all liberation; songs bursting out in sheer joy and ecstasy ; songs in playful mood , mocking Rama in jest and half-anger; and , there are , of course , the Grand Compositions grouped as Pancharatna-kritis representing the highest form of art music performed in formal classical concerts.




He explains the seven notes (sapta-svara) that are the foundations of music as having emanated from the Pranava Nada (Aum). Here, he visualizes Nada the subtle and sacred vibration as the manifestation of Para Brahman, the Supreme Reality. He narrates his experience of deep absorption in the joy (Ananda) of Nada. He declares: ‘the joy of music (Nada ) is itself the bliss of Brahman (Brahmananda) that the Vedanta speaks of’; and says ‘he who delights in Nada attains the bliss of Brahman’. He, thus, upholds the highest spiritual ideal of music that is permeated with Bhakthi.


essentially Sri Tyagaraja was a Rama-bhaktha who was also a gifted poet and musician. He might have drawn comparisons from ordinary life, collective memory and common wisdom, perhaps to be accessible to the people of the world. But, inwardly he was a mystic yearning for liberation. Sri Tyagaraja sang not merely for himself but for the liberation of all his fellow beings.

He did suffer from poverty; frustrations; sense of insecurity; pain caused by cruel jibes mocking at his indifference towards things that matter in life; his Uncha-Vritti seeking alms while singing along the streets, which normally would dent ones’ self-esteem. He was utterly helplessness against envy and hatred of neighbors and relatives.

But, at the same time; he also did enjoy moments of bliss, joy and fulfillment, derived through his Rama-bhakthi in which he was firmly rooted.

He gave vent to his sorrows, disappointments, frustrations, agony, disgust or mock-anger, hurt and pain, and above all his joy in adoring Sri Rama, by sublimating those emotions into soulful songs that gushed forth spontaneously.


On 5 Jan 1847, Sri Tyagaraja, at the age of eighty, renounced the world and entered into Sanyasa assuming the name Nadabrahmananda. On the next day, that is on 6 Jan 1847, – Pushya Bahula Panchami of Prabhava-nama-samvatsara, after offering his daily worship to his Ishta-devata Sri Rama installed in his house , he called on his disciples attending him to chant Rama-nama. Then, it is said, he burst into his last song Paritapamu ganiyadina (in Manohari Raga). Thereafter, Saint Sri Thyagaraja entered into Samadhi merging with the Para Brahman.

Sri Tyagaraja was a many-splendored genius. He was a musician, poet, philosopher and Saint combined in one. In him music, poetry and spirituality reside in sublime harmony; and, find spontaneous expression in every note of his music (Samgita) and every phrase of his poetry (Sahitya).

His dedication to Lord Rama and his music has left a lasting legacy in the world of Indian classical music, and his compositions continue to be celebrated and performed by musicians and music enthusiasts around the world.