The making of the Tyagaraja Aradhana

In News

• Owing to the spread of the Omicron variant, the Tyagaraja Aradhana in Thiruvaiyaru has been reduced to just one day this year, instead of the usual five days.

About Tyagaraja and Tyagaraja Aradhana

• Birth and Death: He was born on May 4, 1767 in Madras Presidency and died on January 6, 1847, Madras Presidency.
• Indian composer of Carnatic songs: of the genre kirtana, or kriti (devotional songs), and of ragas.
  • He is the most prominent person in the history of southern Indian classical music, and he is venerated by contemporary Carnatic musicians.
  • Tyagaraja is said to have composed the music and words of thousands of kriti.
• Telugu texts: He spent much of his life at the court of Tanjore (now Thanjavur), where the official language was Telugu; thus, most of his songs have Telugu texts.
• Trinity of Carnatic music: He is considered the head of a group of three major composers who flourished at Tanjore in the early 19th century, the others being Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.
• Most of Tyagaraja’s songs: were in praise of Rama, who, like Krishna, is believed to be an incarnation of the god Vishnu.
  • Tyagaraja became a devotee of Vaishnava at an early age and is regarded as an exponent of gana-marga—i.e. salvation through devotional music.
• Tyagaraja Aradhana is an annual aradhana
  • The aradhana is held every year on the anniversary of the demise of the saint.
  • The music festival is observed in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, primarily in Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu, the place where Tyagaraja attained Samadhi.
  • The aradhana is observed on Pushya Bahula Panchami day when the saint attains samadhi, where the musicians will render the saint’s Pancharatna Kritis.

Source: TH