Tradition · Carnatic composer tradition · India
Tyāgarāja tradition, Thiruvaiyaru
Also known as Thiruvaiyaru — Tyagaraja
The Thyagaraja tradition at Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu — the compositional and performance lineage of Sri Thyagaraja (1767-1847), the greatest of the Carnatic music Trinity. Thyagaraja was born at Thiruvarur to a Telugu Brahmin family and spent most of his life at Thiruvaiyaru on the Kaveri, composing over 24,000 kritis in Telugu on Rama-devotional themes. His five Pancharatna Kriti ('five jewels' set) in the ragas Nata, Gaula, Arabhi, Varali and Shri Raga are the central concert repertoire of modern Carnatic music. Thyagaraja refused royal court patronage from the Thanjavur Maratha king Serfoji II and the Mysore Wodeyar court, choosing to compose only on Rama. His samadhi at Thiruvaiyaru is the annual Thyagaraja Aradhana festival each January-February, when Carnatic musicians from across India converge to sing the Pancharatna Kritis in unison on the Pushya Bahula Panchami day.
- Date
- 1767–1847
- Function
- Arts & performance
- Condition
- living practice
- River basin
- Kaveri
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 10.880, 79.100
Connections (1)
- Samadhi atTyāgarāja
Tyāgarāja lived his whole life at Thiruvaiyāru on the Kāveri and is buried there, and the Ārādhana held at the samādhi each January gathers several thousand musicians to sing the five Pancharatna kritis in unison. It is the largest recurring event in Carnatic music and one of very few occasions where the whole profession performs the same pieces together, which is a considerable afterlife for a man who refused a court appointment and lived on alms.
On these journeys
Sources
Sangeet Natak Akademi / histories of Carnatic music; Tyagaraja kriti traditions.
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