26 Facts About Tyagaraja

Tyagaraja, known as Thyagayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music.

Tyagaraja composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in Telugu and in praise of Rama, many of which remain popular today, the most popular being "Nagumomu".

Tyagaraja is a famous musician and his family name 'Kakarla' indicates that they were originally migrants from the village of the same name in the Cumbum taluk of Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh.

Tyagaraja's family belonged to the Smarta tradition and Bharadvaja gotra.

Tyagaraja was the third son of his parents, and Panchanada Brahmam and Panchapakesha Brahmam are his elder brothers.

Tyagaraja is believed to have belonged to the Mulakanadu sect.

Tyagaraja's maternal grandfather was named Kalahastayya, but was frequently addressed as Veena Kalahastayya as he was a noted veena player.

Tyagaraja learned to play the veena in his childhood from Kalahastayya.

Tyagaraja hero-worshipped the celestial sage Narada; a reference to this is Tyagaraja's krithi Vara Narada.

Legend has it that a hermit taught him a mantra invoking Narada, and Tyagaraja, meditating on this mantra, received a vision of Narada and was blessed with the book Svararnavam by the sage.

Tyagaraja died on a Pushya Bahula Panchami day, 6 January 1847, at the age of 79.

Tyagaraja was cremated on the banks of the Kaveri river at Thiruvaiyaru.

Tyagaraja began his musical training at an early age under Sonti Venkata Ramanayya, a music scholar, after the latter heard his singing and was impressed by the child prodigy.

Tyagaraja regarded music as a way to experience God's love.

Tyagaraja's compositions focused on expression, rather than on the technicalities of classical music.

Tyagaraja showed a flair for composing music and, in his teens, composed his first song, "Namo Namo Raghavayya", in the Desika Todi ragam and inscribed it on the walls of the house.

Tyagaraja's compositions are mainly of a devotional or philosophical nature.

Tyagaraja has composed krithis in praise of Krishna, Shiva, Shakti, Ganesha, Muruga, Saraswati, and Hanuman.

The king sent an invitation, along with many rich gifts, inviting Tyagaraja to attend the royal court.

Tyagaraja was not inclined towards a career at the court, and rejected the invitation outright.

Tyagaraja spent most of his time in Tiruvaiyaru, though there are records of his pilgrimages to Tirumala and Kanchipuram.

Tyagaraja, who was immersed in his devotion to Rama and led a spartan way of life, did not take any steps to systematically codify his vast musical output.

Usually, Tyagaraja used to sing his compositions sitting before deity manifestations of Lord Rama, and his disciples noted down the details of his compositions on palm leaves.

The latter is the most popular of Tyagaraja's operas, and is a creation of the composer's own imagination and has no basis in the Bhagavata Purana.

Tyagaraja composed a number of simple devotional pieces appropriate for choral singing.

All the compositions of Tyagaraja show the way for the systematic development of the respective ragas.