Thyagaraja (Krithis)

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 01 Apr 2008, 05:26

And here are couple of links for a bunch of Tyagaraja kritis on You tube

http://www.nme.com/video/search/thyagaraja

http://www.nme.com/video/search/tyagaraja

-Ramakriya

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 01 Apr 2008, 06:37

Thanks Ramakriya. Nice youtube search site. With just the thyagaraja and MD results you posted, one can spend a lot of time exploring the various performances.

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 01 Apr 2008, 10:51

Kalpakam mami plays a chittai for brovabArama.. i dont know if they are the same though

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 30 Apr 2008, 00:40

Does anyone know / have the list of songs of the opera Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam? Thanks.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 30 Apr 2008, 14:25

Part I
(1) Invocation - kRti SrI gaNapatini - rAga saurAShtraM
(2) visit of dvAra pAla to the assembly - kRti - vAsudEvayani - rAga kalyANi
(3) The dvAra pAla questions the sUtradhAri (of drama); the sUtra dhAri explains about the purpose of drama.
(4) On questioning by sUtradhAri, dvArapAla tells that varuNa (Lord of Oceans) has ordered the town to be beautified for greeting prahlAda who has been saved by samudra rAja.
(5) visit of samudra rAja - kRti - sAgaruNDu veDalenu - rAga yamunA kalyANi
(6) samudra rAja calls on garuDa to release prahlAda from nAga pASa - kRti - vinatA suta rArA - husEni.
(7) Arrival of garuDa - kRti - vishNu vAhanuNDu - rAga SankarAbharaNam
(8) After being released from nAga pASa, prahlAda pays obeisance to samudra rAja. prahlAda requests samudra rAja to tell him the path by adopting which Lord hari would manifest Himself. - kRti - vAridhi nIku - rAga tODi.
(9) samudra rAja assures prahlAda that Lord hari would come if he prays to Him with total dedication - kRti vaccunu hari - rAga kalyANi.

Part II
(10) prahlAda prays to Lord hari - kRti - vandanamu raghunandana - rAga sahAna.
(11) As Lord does not manifest, prahlAda becomes sad - kRti - indukAyI tanuvunu - rAga punnAga varALi.
(12) Further prahlAda laments - kRti - eTla kanugondunO - rAga ghaNTA
(13) prahlAda hears the music of the vINa of sage nArada - prahlAda asks him to come before him - kRti - nijamaitE mundara - rAga bhairavi.
(14) Arrival of sage nArada - kRti - nArada muni veDalina - rAga kAmavardhini.
(15) After paying obeisance to sage nArada, prahlAda tells his anguish. The sage tells him about the conversation he heard at vaikuNTha and that the Lord is aware of his (prahlAda's) bhakti.
(16) Hearing the sweet words, prahlAda feels happy - kRti - ipuDaina nannu - rAga Arabhi.
(17) prahlAda wants to know the details of conversation between Lord hari and Mother lakshhmI. As the Lord explains the call of prahlAda, mother feels sad that the Lord leaves her frequently and she feels sad that the Lord might remain at bhUlOka and not come back. Thus sage nArada explains that the Lord is very eager to come to Earth.

Part III
(18) Hearing the nectarine words, prahlAda extols Lord - kRti - ennaga manasuku - rAga nIlAmbari.
(19) As the Lord does not manifest, prahlAda laments - kRti - ETi janmamidi - rAga varALi.
(20) Hearing the lamentation of prahlAda, Lord proceeds to Earth - kRti - entanucu varNintu - rAga saurAShTram - (sung by the commentator)
(21) Lord hari comes to Earth and embraces prahlAda - kRti - E nATi nOmu - rAga bhairavi. (prahlAda sings)

Part IV
(22) Lord hari asks prahlAda to ask for boons. - kRti - aDugu varamulu - rAga Arabhi (Lord sings).
(23) Hearing these words, prahlAda feels sad that the Lord is trying to cheat him by granting boons. He tells the Lord that he desires no such boons - kRti - vArija nayana - rAga kEdara gauLa.
(24) prahlAda explains what he wants - He want to be merged with the Lord for ever - kRti - tana lOnE - rAga dEva gAndhAri.
(25) As the Lord further tests prahlAda, prahlAda says that he is not ready to accept any such deceipts - kRti - O rAma rAma sarvOnnata - rAga nAga gAndhAri.
(26) As the Lord wants to leave, prahlAda pleads to Him - kRti - SrI rAma jaya rAma - rAga madhyamAvati.
(27) prahlAda sees Atma jyOti and extols Lord - kRti - sarasIruha nayana - rAga bilahari.
(28) prahlAda asks Lord to remain with him always; prahlAda explains how he will keep the Lord happy - kRti - vaddayuNDunadE - rAga varALi.
(29) The Lord seats prahlAda in his lap and asks what he wants and prahlAda explains further - kRti - tIrUnA nA lOni - rAga sAvEri.
(30) Lord further tests him - He says that he will grant him other boons which will make him famous. But prahlAda would have none of it. He wants only bhakti. kRti - rAmAbhirAma - rAga sAvEri.
(31) prahlAda prays to Lord further - kRti - daya rAni - rAga mOhanam.
(32) Lord wants to know from prahlAda what exactly he wants - kRti daya sEyavayya - rAga yadukula kAmbhOji (prahlAda sings).
(33) Lord bestows on prahlAda what he desired and also ciranjIvatva etc. prahlAda becomes happy - kRti - AnandamAnanda - rAga bhairavi.
(34) prahlAda extols Lord hari - kRti jaya mangaLam - rAga ghaNTA.

Part V
(35) Lord wants to take leave of prahlAda, but he would not leave Him - kRti - nannu viDaci - rAga rIti gauLa.
(36) Lord says that he will go to vaikuNTha, meet lakshmI and then come back. prahlAda suspects again some trick. He seeks promise from Lord that He would come back - kRti anduNDaganE - rAga kAmavardhini.
(37) As the Lord departs, prahlAda becomes worried - kRti - Emani vEgintunE - rAga husEni.
(38) Further lamentation of prahlAda - kRti - enta pApinaiti - rAga gauLipantu.
(39) prahlAda searches where the Lord could be. As he recollects the wording of the Lord 'madbhaktA: yatra gAyanti tatra tiShThAmi nArada'. Realising that the Lord is resident in the hearts of bhAgavatAs, he prays to Lord - kRti - O jagannAtha - rAga kEdAra gauLa.
(40) As the Lord did not turn up, he looks at each and every one whom he sees and asks them to convey to the Lord his anguish - kRti - celimi jalajAkshu - rAga yadukula kAmbhOji.
(41) Lord hari comes along with mother lakshmI - prahlAda extols the Lord - kRti - pAhi kalyANa rAma - rAga kApi.
(42) As the Lord embraces prahlAda, he calls the Lord to his house - kRti - rArA mAyiNTidAka - rAga asAvEri.
(43) In order to behold Lord talking to prahlAda, brahmA comes to Earth - kRti - kamala bhavuDu - rAga kalyANi. (sung by commentator)
(44) Indra follows brahmA - kRti dorakunAyani rAga tODi. (sung by commentator)
(45) prahlAda offered the sixteen-fold upacAra to the Lord - kRti callarE ramAcandruni paini - rAga Ahiri.
(46) As the drama concludes, the Sun rises - as if to watch the spectacle of Lord hari being worshipped by prahlAda - kRti - varamaina - rAga paraju.
(47) mangaLam - kRti - jaya mangaLam - rAga mOhanam.
(48) Conclusion - kRti - nI nAma rUpamulaku - rAga saurAShTram.

The dialogue of dance-drama has not yet been digitised. As soon as it is done, I shall let know all.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 30 Apr 2008, 15:57

Thank you so much vgvindan for providing details as well. I am grateful.

arunk · Post by **arunk** » 30 Apr 2008, 19:52

thanks vgv. I have a question. Did tyAgarAja used bhakthi to Rama as a way to describe prahlada's bhakthi to Vishnu (of course both are the same but I hope you get my point)?

For example: "Lord wants to take leave of prahlAda, but he would not leave Him - kRti - nannu viDaci - rAga rIti gauLa" . The krithi refers explicitly to Rama (in many ways). Timeline wise Rama avatara was much later (?)

Interestingly, I have also heard that this krithi was sung by Thyagaraja after he got back the idol which was lost - so sort of "never leave me (again)". In fact I did not know it was part of prahlada bhakthi vijayam. In any case, how should prahlada bhakthi vijayam be interpreted to account for this?

Thanks
Arun

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 30 Apr 2008, 21:42

arun,
You are very right - there is no difference between prahlAda and tyAgarAja as also there is no difference between rAma and hari. In some kRtis of the dance-drama, it is tyAgarAja in the mould of prahlAda and in some, it is prahlAda in the mould of tyAgarAja.

[quote]It was in the course of his practice of Islam that the 19th Century contemplative Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) had one of his remarkable visions: â€œI was meditating under the banyan tree when I was shown a Mussalman (a Muslim). He came to me with rice in an earthen plate. The Mother (Kali) showed me that there exists only One and not two. It is Satchidananda (Truth - Knowledge - Bliss - Absolute, Brahman) alone that has taken various forms; He alone has become the world and its living beings.â€

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 24 Jul 2008, 12:46

kalalanErchina- Thyagaraja song in Raga Deepakam- In this song,there is a mention of SINGALI muni and a story associated with him. Can rasikas plese narrate this story please ? If required, SPIRITUAL HERITAGE Of Thyagaraja can be referred which gives english meaning of this song and has a reference to my question. Thanks in advance..

ragam-talam · Post by **ragam-talam** » 05 May 2010, 15:32

I couldn't find a thread on Tyagaraja here! It's possible it got stuck in the old version of the forum...

Anyway... it seems the saint's birthday falls on May 4th, rather than the popularly believed January date. See here:
http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit05132002/musicarts1.asp
"Though the annual Tyagaraja aradhana at Tiruvayyaru takes place typically in late January, scholars generally agree that he was born on 4 May 1767."

Belated birthday greetings to the great bard, the pride of Carnatic music. Vandanamu.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 05 May 2010, 16:01

RT,
There is already one ,it is here in this thread http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php? ... &start=175 The title is Thyagaraja (Krithis).You can put your text there and we can lock or kill this thread.

keerthi · Post by **keerthi** » 05 May 2010, 18:22

rather than the popularly believed January date

It was never believed so.. Pushya bahula pancami in january is the day of his death.

thenpaanan · Post by **thenpaanan** » 06 May 2010, 01:31

keerthi wrote:Pushya bahula pancami in january is the day of his death.

And Tyagaraja having died a sanyAsi (renunciate) -- he took 'Apath sanyAsam" just before he died -- tradition dictates that a sanyAsi is remembered on the day of death (or "samAdhi") rather than the day of birth.

-Then Paanan

smala · Post by **smala** » 06 May 2010, 01:38

Samadhi Aradhana festival commemorates the Saint-Poet's attaining samadhi in early January...following a long tradition on the Thyagaraja Aradhana festival day, hundreds of Carnatic musicians seated in rows, pay homage to the Saint by rendering his â€˜pancharathna kritisâ€™ in chorus at his samadhi at Thiruvaiyaru.

Another highlight on the day is the Unchavruthi Bhajan.

Here is a 2010 Jan 5th 40 min video worth watching, a sniff of the local flavor....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=envQMCNJiPg

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 06 May 2010, 10:23

Mods can we merge this thread with the other thread. We dont need two thyagaraja threads.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 06 May 2010, 10:43

ragam-talam · Post by **ragam-talam** » 07 May 2010, 01:47

Thanks for the correction.

A very interesting article: 'Fascinating work on Tyagaraja' -
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/09/25/stor ... 250600.htm

jayachAmarAja · Post by **jayachAmarAja** » 12 May 2010, 12:46

ragam-talam wrote:Thanks for the correction.

A very interesting article: 'Fascinating work on Tyagaraja' -
http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/09/25/stor ... 250600.htm

>> Who Ramananda Yogigal? Itâ€™s quite a mystery. Was this a pen name? <snip> We do not know. <<

William Jackson's book says this was written by Tiruvottriyur S.A. Ramaswamy Iyer under a pseudonym. This is also mentioned in the article below:

http://www.hindu.com/ms/2006/12/01/stor ... 280500.htm

>> Treading the noble path of his guru, Tiruvotriyur S.A. Ramaswami Iyer, principle disciple of Krishnaswamy Bhagavatar, published in 1910, the first ever book of Tyagaraja's songs under the pseudonym Ramananda Yogi. <<

uscasdrs · Post by **uscasdrs** » 25 Jul 2010, 05:15

Sri. S.A.Ramaswamy Iyer is my great grandfather (father's mother's father).

My father posted a query about S.A.Ramaswamy Iyer in another thread in Rasikas.org (http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... sr#p158755), but so far there has been no follow-up.

I thank you for providing the two links to The Hindu articles.

keerthi · Post by **keerthi** » 25 Jul 2010, 09:42

prof. Sambamoorthy acknowledges the information he got from Ramananda Yogi's notebooks; in his introduction to the Tirupati edition of the nauka caritram.

karthikbala · Post by **karthikbala** » 20 Sep 2010, 10:26

A list of MP3 clips of Thyagaraja kritis:
http://charulathamani.com/music/carnati ... _music.php

A playlist of YouTube clips of Thyagaraja kritis with lyrics & meaning:
http://www.youtube.com/isaipayanam#p/c/0EC9B03AC0E44F6F

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 31 Oct 2010, 23:50

Smt. P. Bhanumathi's rendition of Nagumomu Ganaleni in the 1964 movie Vivaha Bandham:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhwl_GlTo6E

prashanth12 · Post by **prashanth12** » 01 Nov 2010, 02:49

Thanks for that...very beautiful...

vgovindan · Post by **vgovindan** » 14 Dec 2010, 10:21

I was just revising the kRti 'graha balamEmi' of tyAgarAja. I had quoted therein the kRti of purandara dAsa 'sakala graha bala nInE' -
http://bhakthigeetha.blogspot.com/2009/ ... neene.html

Similar is 'kOLaru padigaM' of tiru-jnAna sambandar - one of the tamil four-some saints. http://www.visvacomplex.com/Clarificati ... hikam.html - and we circumambulate nava-grahas reciting kOLaRu padigaM - funny!

(btw in Tamil 'kuRaLai' also means 'kOL' - slander. This is what ANDAL sings 'tIk-kuRaLai-cendrOdOM', which has been given a wrong meaning by those who look for mischief. http://www.viruba.com/tamilwritings/00002.aspx - Tamil website)

In every sankalpa, we reiterate 'tithir-vishNuH, tathA vAraH, nakshatraM vishNur-Eva-ca, yOgas-ca, karaNam caiva, sarvaM vishNu mayaM jagat'. And then proceed to watch for rAhu kAla, yama gaNDa, etc etc even for our daily chores.

It is also significant that the famous depiction of MD shows nava graha in the background whereas he was a great SrI-vidyA upAsaka - I am not blaming the artist, but our appreciation of people what they are worth.

vgovindan · Post by **vgovindan** » 12 Feb 2011, 19:04

lakshmanji,
A viewer of my blog has commented - "Recently I heard this song "Navaneetha chora" in raga Navaroj said to be of Tyagaraja Swami. However, I could not see this krithi in your collection. Can you please look into this."
Is there any such kRti of tyAgarAja?

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 13 Feb 2011, 17:17

navanIta cOra. rAgA: cenjuruTi. tisragati Adi tALA. Tyagaraja.

P: navanIta cOra dEvaki vasudEva nandanA vasudEva nandana yashOdana candana
A: brndArakAddi vandita kEshava bhakta candana indIvarAyata lOcana Ananda candana
C1: bAluragUDi nAma smaraNa jEsukondamA bhaktula pAdadhULi manapai jhallukondamA
2: rAja rAja rAja mahA rAjashEkara rAja rAja shUra tyAgarAja shEkhara

vgovindan · Post by **vgovindan** » 13 Feb 2011, 17:25

lakshmanji,
Thanks for response.
I feel that this kRti is written by someone in praise of tyAgarAja.
Any further inputs from others pse?

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 14 Feb 2011, 20:35

VGVji - This could be from the "new" series which Nedunuri Garu popularized.

vgovindan · Post by **vgovindan** » 14 Feb 2011, 21:07

ksri,
This is surely not a Tyagaraja kRti for the following reasons -
(1) Pallavi and anupallavi are in praise of Krishna.
(2) Charanam 1 says 'nAma smaraNa jEsukondAmA' - shall we sing praises of the Lord?
and 'bhaktula pAda dhULi manapai callukondAmA' - shall we sprinkle the dust of devotees' feet on us?
(3) Charanam 2 says 'tyAgarAja Sekhara'. This is not the typical mudra of tyAgarAja.

This is a confused kRti. It is neither praise of Lord, not exhortation to other devotees.
Therefore, this cannot be a Tyagaraja Kriti.

keerthi · Post by **keerthi** » 14 Feb 2011, 21:32

Another answer is that no other musician of any pAThAntara has sung this one, this sui generis has first (probably)been sung by Nedanuri, and was probably first notated by MancAla JagannAtha RAo.

2. yashOdana/ yAshOdhana candana doesn't make sense.

3. There is no prAsa conformity in the CaraNa-s or between pallavi and anupallavi.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 15 Feb 2011, 23:20

'E'-SWARA-001-Shri Neduneri Krishnamurthy-Navaneetha chora.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWTiHK3TrpY

shri Neduneri's rendering is at variance with the lyrics?

venkatakailasam

vgovindan · Post by **vgovindan** » 16 Feb 2011, 00:19

navanIta cOra namO namO nava mahi mAnava namO namO
hari nArAyaNa kESavAcyuta kRshNa nara siMha vAmana namO namO
mura hara padma nAbha mukunda gOvinda nara nArAyaNa namO namO
vaikuNTha rukmiNi vallabha cakra dhara nAgESa vallida namO namO
SrIkara sukha nidhi SrI ranga kEsara nAgajana nuta namO namO

This is what I hear. Doubtful portions are highlighted.

srikanthj · Post by **srikanthj** » 21 Feb 2011, 20:27

This 'Navanite corais a Annamacharya kriti. Lyrics below. Neduneri-garu has not sung the second charanam.

P: navanIta cOra namO namO navamahimArNava namO namO
C1: hari nArAyaNa kEsavAchyuta SrikrishNa narasimha vAmana namO namO
murahara padmanAbha mukunda gOvinda naranArAyaNarupa namO namO
C2: nigama gOchara vishNu neerajAksha vAsudEva nagadhara nandagOpa namO namO
triguNAteeta dEva trivikrama dwArakAnagarAdhinAyaka namO namO
C3: VaikunTha rukmiNivallabha cakradhara nAkESavandita namO namO
Sreekara guNanidhi Sri VenkaTESwara nAkaJananamata namO namO

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 17 Feb 2012, 19:00

During my research at the Music Academy I came across a small booklet of apoorva sahityas of Tyagaraja. The only song that I did not have in my database is posted below. Maybe this is another disputed song.

panca nadIsha pAhimAm. rAgA: gaurimanOhari. Adi tALA.

P: panca nadIsha pAhimAm hara pAhi mAm parama bhakta manOhara
A: enci jUcuTa E vELanu manci amayamuna mAnamu kApADumu
C: pancabhUtamulella bAguga jErci pancAkSara mantra praNava OmkAra nAda
pancama shruti bhAvamu parugumani balikina kunjara shrI tyAgarAjuku Ananda

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 25 Jun 2012, 05:38

Can rasikas provide URLs to Thyagaraja songs on Lord Rama decsribing the lord as a child ans his playing during childhood etc....parallel to Bala Kaanda & Ayodhya Kaanda of Valimiki Ramyanam.

There is supposed to be "Thyagaraja Ramayanam ", likes to know the list of songs in Thyagaraja Ramayanam also.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 29 Jul 2012, 17:42

Some group krities of Thyagaraja...

Thyagaraja's Kovoor Pancharatna Krithis
1-bhO-mahAdEva--panthuvarALi--rUpaka--MSS
2-I-vasudha--sahanA--Adi--Nedunuri
3-kOrisEvimpa-rArE--Kharahapriya--Adi--TR Subramaniam
4-nammivacchina--kalyANi--rUpaka--TR Subramaniam
5-sundarEshwaruni--ShankarABharaNa--Adi--Oleti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW3Qqzgo1dU

Srirangam Pancharatnam-Thyagaraja..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M1tYeAzBk0

Lalgudi Tapastirthapuram pancharatna krities-Thyagaraja.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h-ikjNztlQ

Tiruvotriyur Pancharatnam..

(Rendered by..Dr. BMK- Smt. NCV- Dr.MLV- Smt. Vijayamurthy- Mysore Doraiswamy Iyengar)

Listen at...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfFnp75eL8U

nutikrishnachandra · Post by **nutikrishnachandra** » 19 Jan 2013, 10:07

can some one post the recording of AnandamAnandamAyenu - bhairavi by thyagaraja swami ??
thanks in advance!

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 27 Jan 2013, 11:41

Roots of sadguru near kakrala, near khammam in AP.
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/retr ... 339327.ece

Mods
rename this thread as just Thyagaraja

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 31 Jan 2013, 04:56

Today (31 Jan) is Bahula Panchami. The Thyagaraja Aradhana is being conducted all around world. Is any one attending the aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru today?

sivakami · Post by **sivakami** » 17 Mar 2013, 22:37

nutikrishnachandra

can some one post the recording of AnandamAnandamAyenu - bhairavi by thyagaraja swami ??
thanks in advance!

pl. check your email...

RaviSri · Post by **RaviSri** » 14 Sep 2013, 10:39

MKR had asked about the possible periods of Thyagaraja’s compositions and rajeshnat had asked to write about these in this thread. There is very little evidence in his songs. But some songs do give some clues. Let us look at the kShEtra kritis first since they may be easy to place.

Upanishad Brahmam, a friend of Thyagaraja’s father Rama Brahmam (he was a friend of Dikshitar’s father Ramaswami Dikshitar too), sent a srImukham inviting Thyagaraja to Kanchipuram (This srImukham is still preserved at the Saurashtra Sabha, Madurai along with the Wallapet manuscripts). This was in the year 1835. On the way Thyagaraja visited Lalgudi first and then proceeded to Srirangam and stayed there for a period of time. It was the vaikuNta EkAdasi festival in December 1835-January 1836.

Of the five Srirangam songs, 'O rangasAyI' alone was composed on the periya perumAL, the shayana tirukOlam. He clearly mentions that he has come to have darshan of the muthangi sEvA (mutyAla sarula yuramunu gAna vachiti). muthangi is a cloth which has gold and diamonds and is worn by the Lord only during the vaikuNTA EkAdasi festival in mArgazhi (December-January).

‘rAju veDala’(dEshya tODi) and 'vinarAda' (dEvagAndhAri) are descriptions of the horse vAhanam at Srirangam. But 'rAju veDala' pertains to the horse vAhanam during daytime and 'vinarAda' pertains to the horse vAhanam at night time, though on the same day. 'rAju veDala' describes the Lord as wearing precious ornaments of navaratna, 'vinarAda' describes just the horse vAhana without the Lord wearing navaratnAs, because, azhagiya maNavALan wears navaratnas only during the daytime procession not during the night time procession. So 'rAju veDAla' was sung during daytime and 'vinarAda' during night though on the same day, the day of the kudirai vAhanam during the vaikuNTa EkAdasi.

We do not know on which day of the festival the Arabhi song 'jUtA murArE' was composed, except that it is a song on the processional deity. That is obvious from the sAhitya.

The sArangA song 'karuNa jUDavayyA' is interesting as it describes the Lord giving darshan along with the 2 nAchiyArs (srI dEvi and bhU dEvi) and the 12 Alwars. On no other day during the year does He come out with the nAchiyArs or the Alwars. But this is not a procession. On Sankaranti day, i.e., on Pongal (usually January 14th) the Lord comes to the Sankaranti manTapam which is near the tAyAR (Sri Ranganayaki) sannidhi along with the nAchiyArs and the Alwars and partakes of all the neivEdyams offered there. Thyagaraja describes this in the sArangA song.

Consulting an astrological programme I discovered that in the year 1836, Pongal fell on January 14th. So, Thyagaraja composed the Saranga song 'karuNa jUDavayyA' on 14th January 1836. At least for this one song, we now have an exact date.

Thyagaraja then proceeded to Kanchipuram where he must have stayed for a few months at Upanishad Bramhendra mutt, considering that he witnessed the garuDa sEvA festival which is usually celebrated in May-June 1836. Thyagaraja mentions in his song on Lord Varadaraja, varadarAja ninnu kOri (swarabhUShaNi), that he has come to see the Lord’s garuDa sEvA. It was from here that he went to Wallajapet, about 30 km from Kanchipuram, at the invitation of his disciple Venkataramana Bhagavatar. Mysore Sadashiva Rao was also present at that time. He must have stayed at Wallajapet for some time. From Wallajapet it is easier to go to Tirupati via Arakkonam, Tiruttani etc. Therefore he must have visited Tirupati perhaps in July-August 1836 and composed his two songs on Venkatachalapati there. From Tirupati he went to Madras and composed his songs at Tiruvotriyur and Kovur.

So, for these kShEtra kritis we have the years (1835, 1836) and possible months. Thyagaraja must have returned to Tiruvaiyyaru by late 1836 or early 1837.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 14 Sep 2013, 10:45

very insightful, RaviSri. Please continue.

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 14 Sep 2013, 13:56

RaviSri,
Fascinating. Thanks.

Given that Thyagaraja lived quite long, given that he had so many disciples who carried on and handed own the body of his compositions, are there any other references and dates in their memoirs!? Also since we would be having some government records the period, can we come up with similar analyses like yours on other compositions!? For example each of the pancharatna kritis. I just read somewhere that the song Jagadanandakaraka has a hundred names of Vishnu from Sahasranama. When would Thyagaraja have composed it? What was the trigger? Etc.

From my questions, you can see I am a novice, but am very keen on learning from people like you.

Thanks again!

RaviSri · Post by **RaviSri** » 14 Sep 2013, 18:14

Rsachi wrote:

I just read somewhere that the song Jagadanandakaraka has a hundred names of Vishnu from Sahasranama.

Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana gave 5 lecdems in successive years at the Music Academy in the 1980s on the Pancharatnams. He also published these in book form. He listed out 108 nAmAs of Rama (Vishnu) from jagadanandakArakA. Will find out and try to post.

I don't know whether some of these are taken from the Visnhu Sahasranama. I think not. For e.g., 'jaya jAnaki prANa nAyaka' refers to Rama and is not there in the Vishnu Sahasranama. There is no evidence as to when the nAta Pancharatnam was composed. Nothing in the kriti itself. One can find out probable dates in certain kritis. i am listing them and will post when finalised.

There is one reference in a biography of Wallajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar (since ceased publication). When he started learning from Thyagaraja, the bard is supposed to have composed 'jnAnamosagarAdA', meaning will not jnAnA dawn upon this disciple. I am not convinced about this. The song talks about the highest jnAnam, that of the Self.

RaviSri · Post by **RaviSri** » 14 Sep 2013, 18:38

After the tsunami of 2004, I had written an article for the Astrological Magazine, published from Bangalore. This article was published in the issue of March 2005. I am giving excerpts from the article,eschewing some of the astrological details. Some people did not accept my logical references, saying they were far fetched and were a product of my 'fertile imagination'. Nevertheless I believe in this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsunami and Carnatic Music
By M. Ravindra Narayanan

The title must surely have raised eyebrows and perhaps even resulted in a mild shock for some. What is the connection between a gross human tragedy and one of the most sublime of art forms?

Such a colossal tragedy has not perhaps occurred in recent human memory. With over 2 lakh people killed, innumerable others untraceable and millions left homeless, man, at least now, should understand his limitations and bow to nature whose mysterious ways he is still not able to comprehend properly.

The tsunami of December 26th 2004 must teach us many lessons, not the least among which should be the effort to adapt to nature’s ways and to utilize our ancient disciplines to understand the various phenomena that cause such tragedies and try to minimize, if not obliterate losses in the form of life, property etc.

Modern savants have been crying hoarse over the need to utilize the services of astrology in order to understand natural disasters, their causes and ways to predict the timing of these disasters but to no avail. In the name of modern science we have been foolish enough to dismiss off our traditional disciplines as superstition.

The Indian Ocean tsunami that occurred on 26th December 2004 is not the first nor will it be the last to strike our country. The issue of 27th December of ‘The Hindu’ carried the news of the tragedy as also an editorial, which apart from other things, mentioned that there were previous tsunamis that had occurred in 1941 and in 1881 in India. Subsequently we came to know that the tsunami of 1941 occurred on 26th June with its epicenter in Andaman Islands and that of 1881 occurred on December 31st with its epicenter in Indonesia. Highly interesting from the point of view of astrology, for, it reveals that the tsunami occurs once every sixty years or thereabouts in India. The sixty year cycle is the common denominator for the movements of both Jupiter and Saturn, the two most important planets of the solar system at least as far as astrology is concerned.

Now on to the strange, nevertheless fascinating connection between tsunami and Carnatic music.

Considering the sixty year circle of the tsunami, and knowing that it occurred in 1881, we can safely infer that there was a tsunami sixty years before that, in the 1820s, say between 1820 and 1825. The Trinity of Carnatic music (Shyama Sastri, Thyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar) were alive then. The most affected state of India in the recent tsunami was Tamilnadu. We now know that in the 1881 and 1941 tsunamis too, Tamilnadu was the worst affected. In 2004, in Tamilnadu, the Nagapattinam region which is part of the Cauvery delta region as also a coastal area was the worst affected. It devastated the region and at least seven thousand people were killed in Nagapattinam alone.

Take the two compositions written in praise of the Nagapattinam deities by Thyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar, two of the Carnatic music trinity. Dikshitar in his Soundararajam Ashraye in the raga Brindavana Saranga written in praise of Lord Soundararaja Perumal says in a line, ‘ambudhi garva nigraham’ which means He (the Lord) quelled the pride of the sea. In his Saveri raga song on Goddess Neelayatakshi in the Siva Kayarohanesa temple, Thyagaraja says, ‘vaaridhi madhi gavinchi ee, vasudaku taaraanenchi ninnu, saareku ganitala vanchi yundu, dheeratanamugalugu ninnu podagaanchi’ which means, ‘when the sea with pride, threatened to overrun the earth, you assumed a heroic form, on seeing which, the sea became submissive and desisted from destroying the earth. The whole of the second charanam of the song is dedicated to this.

Sanskrit scholar and a past secretary of the Music Academy, Madras, Dr. V. Raghavan has written in his thesis on Thyagaraja compositions, ‘The Spiritual Heritage of Thyagaraja’ that he, Dr. Raghavan, tried to verify whether there was any mention of the pride of the sea being quelled by the divinities in the sthala puranas (stories about the origin of the temple and details of the Gods and Goddesses and their exploits) of these two temples but did not succeed. The tsunami obviously did not find a place in the sthala puranas.

The logical inference is that Thyagaraja and Dikshitar must have heard about this tragedy and visited Nagapattinam. For Dikshitar, Nagapattinam is very near Tiruvarur where he lived. News of such a colossal tragedy must have moved both Thyagaraja and Dikshitar who travelled to Nagapattinam. They must have been briefed by the local people about the tragedy. They also would have seen that unlike Dwaraka which was swallowed by the sea, Nagapattinam was, despite being devastated, not destroyed completely and that many people were alive. They must also have seen that people were given refuge and food in the two big temples. This happened even after the 2004 tsunami. Thousands were accommodated and fed for three or four days.Very surprising, given the pathetic, self-centered nature of our times.

I have logically inferred that Thyagaraja and Dikshitar were referring to the tsunami in their songs. Shyama Sastri’s visit to Nagapattinam must have predated the tsunami for we don’t find a mention of any such incident in his song ‘Neelayatakshi’.

The two great composers could not prevent the tragedy, but at least they empathised with the people who suffered and each dedicated a song to the worst affected region and its people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people may not agree with my inference. If someone who has access to the Madras Archives can use their influence we can details of the previous tsunami and fix a month and year when these two songs were composed. The British were meticulous in recording events of importance and a lot of material is available in the Madras Archives, the oldest in India, about the Madras Presidency of those times.

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 14 Sep 2013, 20:02

RaviSri,
I found this note on the Internet about a tsunami in 1762..
QUOTE
I am searching for any first-hand accounts of a tsunami which may have been
observed following a very large earthquake on the 2nd April 1762 which
occurred in the Bengal - Burma border region. The epicentre is believed to
have been about 40 km southeast of Chittagong, or 61 km north of Cox's
Bazaar, or 257 km southeast of Dacca. There was severe damage in Chittagong.
As a result, more than 160 km of the Arakan coast was elevated, while other
areas sank. The water in the Hooghli River at Calcutta rose two metres, and
at Dacca boats were capsized and many people were drowned. While it is
likely a large tsunami was generated by this event, the accounts so far
available are few and far between. In particular, are there any accounts of
casualties along the Arakan coast, the Sunderbans, and further along the
western side of the Bay of Bengal, perhaps as far as Madras and beyond.
UNQUOTE

I also found a reference to a big tsunami around 1830 that hit Mahabalipuram and exposed many ancient stone structures.

your title of the article seemed to connect astrology and Carnatic music.. But surely a tsunami will be a big enough disaster, as you quoted, to stir the feelings of great souls. Astrology's ability to predict a tsunami is a different matter altogether.

Thanks!

RaviSri · Post by **RaviSri** » 15 Sep 2013, 10:42

Rsachi wrote:

your title of the article seemed to connect astrology and Carnatic music.. But surely a tsunami will be a big enough disaster, as you quoted, to stir the feelings of great souls. Astrology's ability to predict a tsunami is a different matter altogether.

Since it was the Astrological Magazine, I had to connect Astrology with tsunami. The magazine had predicted that there would occur a massive earthquake in South East Asia and that it would trigger the ocean to rise several feet. This was in the January 2004 issue itself and it happened in December 2004. But here, Astrology is not our concern. As you have quoted from an Internet article which says there was a tsunami in 1762, my stand that a tsunami occurs once every 60 years gets vindicated. The next tsunami must have been in 1822. It might also be possible that the tsunami occurred in 1830 (there may be mistake in the year) as the article says. Even in 1830 Thyagaraja and Dikshitar were alive. That is my point.

Even if 'ambudhi garva nigraham' in soundararAjam were to mean the pride of the sea being quelled by Rama before his journey to Lanka, then what about the Thyagaraja song in which he devotes an entire charanam to the rising of the sea?

I am just trying to bring some historic perspective wherever possible in Thyagaraja/Dikshitar kritis.

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 15 Sep 2013, 10:52

RaviSri,
I am sure there is some further investigation required to establish how astrology can predict tsunamis! You have a point there. At least the powers that be can have better disaster preparedness.
Kindly look into how astrology might have predicted the terrible disaster in Fukushima. I would be very curious. Also the frequent hurricanes and typhoons in the American continent.

Ambudhi-garva-nigraham seems to point more to the fury unleashed by a terrible sea than about the sea not readily obliging and giving way to Rama. In fact in Valmiki Ramayana, the Samudra-raja offers good counsel to Rama.

RaviSri · Post by **RaviSri** » 16 Sep 2013, 09:49

Ambudhi-garva-nigraham seems to point more to the fury unleashed by a terrible sea than about the sea not readily obliging and giving way to Rama. In fact in Valmiki Ramayana, the Samudra-raja offers good counsel to Rama.

Yes, that's what I also think. That's why I thought Dikshitar must have referred to the tsunami.

isramesh · Post by **isramesh** » 17 Sep 2013, 16:05

Recently I was reading this book "T.S.Sundaresa Sarma's Tyagaraja Charitam - Translated by Aarthi Sankaran", which was available in Sangeethapriya. There is a reference to this krithi "rinaat katham tu bhavatastarishyaami" which Sri Tyagaraja was purported to have sung in response to an incident. I searched for this krithi but could not find it in any other source. The book itself is not a genuine biography but more on the lines of a mythological hence one may not rely upon the incidents mentioned but I feel the krithis mentioned must be genuine. But how come it is not mentioned anywhere else, I am not sure. Had anyone looked into this to find the veracity of this krithi - I am curious to know. Thanks.