A comprehensive website on the life and music of Swathi Thirunal

Composers and Musicians

Thygaraja (1767-1847)

Tyagaraja Alphabetical List

Tyagaraja Raga list

Thyagaraja was born in 1767 at Thiruvaroor in the Thanjavoor district of Tamil Nadu. He was the son of Rama Brahmam and Seethamma. Both his parents were learned people and devout Hindus. Seethamma was a good singer. His parents understood Thyagaraja’s interest music and send him to Sonthi Veena Venkita Ramana Das to study music. The young boy was a quick learner and soon became an expert veena player.Thygaraja spend all his time to the study and practice of music.

He soon became a composer and a singer of repute. Thyagaraja was a great devotee of Lord Rama and most of his compositions bear the stamp of bhakti ortotal devotion to Rama. Thygaraja has composed more than twenty four thousand songs and some musical dramas. He has composed songs in 211 ragas , including 47 melakartha ragas. His language is simple but it has depth of meaning and above all they are musical gems. He has created immortal kritis in different ragas.He perfected the Kriti form of a song. He is known for the Panchratna Keertanas , but his Divyanama Keertanas, Utsava Sambradaya keertanas, Prhlada Bhakti Vijyanam , Nowka Charitam and Samkshepa Ramayana Kirtanams are also equally important.Thygaraja was a great vocalist. He not only sang his own compositions but those of his predecessors and contemporaries. He was a frequent visitior to Shyama Sastri . He had many deciples . They include Tajavoor rama rao, Veena Kuppaiyar, Vekita Subba Iyer etc.He had undergone many difficulties in life, in later years of life he used to travel with his students singing on the streets. The food they ate was given as bhiksha or charity by the residents who used to line up to listen to the music. Towards the end of his life he became a sanyasin or monk and people used to call him Thyagarajaswamy. In 1847 he died at Thiruvayyar.Thyagraja is considered as the greatest composer of Carnatic music tradition. His compositions are loved and sung all over the world even today. He created magic through music and his compositions are one of the rarest components of India’s cultural heritage.At his samadhi place every year the musical offering Thyagaraja aaradhana takes place where every carnatic musician goes and sings as a religious practice.