Tyagaraja was the most well known Carnatic musiccomposer of South India. He was born on May 4 in 1767 AD in a Telugu family, which belonged to the smartha Mulakanadu sect of Brahmins in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. They lived at Tiruvarur, the temple town close to the Thanjavur area. It is said that his family migrated from Vijayanagara Empire and came to the present day Andhra Pradesh and got settled in Thiruvaiyaru.Early Life of Tyagaraja
Tyagaraja's father Kakarla Rama Brahmam was a Sanskrit scholar and his mother was Seethamma. The name of his mother was found from his song 'Seetamma mayamma' (raga Vasantha/Lalitha, tala Rupakam). But few also take it as 'Shantamma'. He got his name after the name of Lord Tyagaraja, the presiding deity of the temple at Thiruvarur. Telugu was the mother language of the family of Tyagaraja.
The king of Thanjavur Tulaja II gifted a land to Tyagaraja's father, when Tyagaraja was very young. This place was a famous pilgrimage centre of five rivers. Tyagaraja went to the Maharajah's school in Tiruvaiyaru to learn Sanskrit. The worship of Rama, which was taught to him by his father, became a lifelong passion for him. He took his musical training under the great singer Sonti Venkataramanayya. As he attained good knowledge in music, Tyagaraja started composing songs on his favourite deity Lord Rama.
Life in Music for Tyagaraja
There is a doubt regarding which was his first song. But, the 'Ela ni daya' (raga Athana, tala Adi) and 'Namo namo ragbavava' (raga Desika Todi, tala Tisra laghu Adi) are the two songs, which are often cites as being the first one. Tyagaraja also considered the mythical sage Narada as his mentor in music. He has composed many songs indicating the fact. He was a bhakta of Lord Rama and he composed hundreds of devotional songs in the praise of him. Even today, many of his compositions are very popular. The five of his compositions, known as the 'five gems' (Pancharatna Kirthis), are sung during many festivals to honour Tyagaraja.
It is believed that at a very young age, Tyagaraja got married twice, first to Parvati and after her death to her sister Kamalamba. He got a daughter named Seethalakshmi from his second wife. He became the poet-composer in the court of the king of Thanjavur. He wrote poem, which was a joke on himself and Lord Ganesha. His father passed away when Tyagaraja was only 20 years old. After that, their paternal property got divided between Tyagaraja and his brother Japyesa. The ancestral house on Tirumanjana Veedi in Tiruvaiyaru was also partitioned and divided between the two. But his brother made his life miserable, as he was unhappy with few of his songs, which were written on brotherly desolation. This can be seen in his composition 'Anyayamu scyaktira'.
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