Thyagaraja (Krithis)

[nAdopAsaka]

So what ?

hanumAna is rAmaCandras messenger and instrument of rAmas diplomacy = sAma dAna bhEda danda.

The rAga name is “kApi nArAyani”, where the ape aspect derives from the kApi who is the nArAyana avatAras = rAma’s representative.

No less an authority than the Dikshitar describes AnjanEya Exactly as “sAma dAna bhEda danda Catura” in

“rAmacandrabhaktam bhaja mAnasa”
gEya hEjjajji

P: rAmacandrabhaktam bhaja mAnasa rAkSasAntakam hanumantam SrI
C: AmiSIkRta divAkaram gEya hEjjajji rAga prItikaram sAmadAna bhEda daNDa caturam sadguruguha sammOditam varam

gEya hejjaji is vivAdi mEla.

All that meaningless, contextless list making of vivAdi rAgas and no clue of what the kritis are saying.

rAmaCandrabhaktam bhaja – rAga gEya-hEjjaji

sikkil G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i3p0IZmpzI
 

[sam]

Still, the kaapi Naaraayani kruthi is only about Raama

[nAdopAsaka]

dUta is AMBASSADOR – of diplomacy

You can take a 4 legged creature to the water but you cannot make it drink.

The rAga is kApi nArAyani…(.it is NOT just “nArAyani” or “rAmapriya” or “rAmakali” etc etc)

And it is kApi nArAyani because AnjanEya is rAma-dUta, the AMBASSADOR of rAma.

sAma dAna bhEda danda are about rAmas DIPLOMACY and it is the AMBASSADOR who delivers the message.

[sam]

No.

[nAdopAsaka]

pAhi rAma dUta - Why is rAga vasanta-varAli chosen by the tyAgarAja for this kriti to rAma dUta = AnjanEya

Generations of ignorant so-called “rasikas”, handicapped by their inability to understand words and ideas have tried to foster the ridiculous notion that the rAga choices in the kritis are “random”.

And from this cess-pool of a sewer have come those monumental turds who attempt to deny the vAggeyakAras their Words, their choices, their puja, their kSEtras and their mudras..and distort the pujA whether in the name of this-or-that sectarian garbage or in the name of some adulation seeking performer who is a swara frequency manipulation or air-pressure disturbance technician.

But all that has been exposed…

Hundreds of kritis of the supreme vAggeyakAras have been shown on these very threads to have a clear relationship between the rAga choice and the very words that bring forth the music.

rAga is only a part of the offering, and it is the vehicle for the words that express the offering, of the few, supreme vAggeyakaras. Notice it is vAk-geya-kAra, those that imbue word with song.

The musical legacy of the vAggeyakAra is being rescued from the Charlatans.

The rAma dUta is the latest in the victory of truth over untruth.

How ?

As already seen, rAma dUta as rAmas Ambassador represents the 4 attributes of rAma’s diplomacy.

And hanumAns important role merits the choice of rAga “kApi nArAyani” for the kriti “sarasa sAma dAna bhEda danda”
Only a colossal fool can try to deny this.

Which brings us to pAhi rAma dUta in rAga vasanta-varAli

It is the only kriti by the tyAgarAja in this rAga, so the rAga choice is bound to be deliberate and the meaning/reason for the choice is expected to appear in the kriti.

That is exactly the case.

Indeed, the tyAgarAja gives BOTH the rAga mudra and the REASON for picking vasanta-varAli as the rAga for this aspect of AnjanEya in one key phrase

He says
kali-malAbhra gandha vAha

Indicating hanumAna as the “scented” spring time breeze that blows away the foul sins of the kali yuga.

The scented breeze that blows away the foul (sins) = "gandha vAha" is easily seen (of course not by the brain-dead) as “vasanta” (the wind of the spring season) which in turn is the cleansing by hanumAna, himself the son of wind.

But what is the significance of the “varAli” in the rAga name vasanta-varAli…? varAli typically means the moon.

At this point a fool (or THE fool) might ask …why not just vasanta rAga or why not just varAli rAga ?

Why vasanta-varAli rAga in particular ?

And it is with this choice that the tyAgarAja illuminates the rAma dUta arriving in lanka and ultimately completing his task of delivering the “danda” phase of rAmas diplomacy.

Why ?

Read on to get a clue.

No less an authority than the vAlmiki rAmAyana gives in the sundara kAnda sarga 5.... the description of lanka as seen by hanumAna.

lanka is bathed in moonlight !

sundara kAnda sarga 5 verse 1

tatah sa madhyaṃ gatam amSuumantaṃ
jyotsnA vitAnam mahadudvamantam
dadarSa dhimAn divi bhAnumantam
goSṭhED vrSam mattamiva bhrAmantam

Thereafter that thoughtful hanumAna saw the moon in the sky shining with rays, obtaining the middle portion of sky. Spreading a great quantity of moon shine, moon looked like a bull in heat among cows.

extracted From the website sanskritdocuments.org/valmikirAmAyana

But it is this same lanka that hanumAna later in the sundara kAnda will subject to his CLEANSING, PURIFYING force, using his fiery tale to reduce the demons to ashes !

kali-mal-Abhra gandha vAha

kali-mala-Abhra is "lanka bathed in moonlight" = varAli
gandha vAha is the fragrant spring wind , represented by the cleansing action of rAma dUta, the son of wind that cleans out lanka.

kali-malAbhra gandha vAha is synonymous with vasanta-varAli.


Summary

Mudras (signals/signatures of rAga/kSEtra etc) appear in the kritis of the vAggeyakAras because

[1] the rAga or kSEtra word names are intrinsic to the pujA and therefore inseparable from the musical worship being conducted.

And also because

[2] they protect the vAggeyakAra from all corrupt Charlatans who would try to change the words, change the rAgas , abridge or truncate the composiite sets of kritis (like the Dikshitars navAvaranas) or mis-attribute them with incomplete information (like SSP) or otherwise try to ruin the pujAs, as seen with ignorant and nefarious characters/monographers and the like.

No amount of “swara-gyAna” absolves these wrong-doers of these crimes.

Of course one can do whatever they like, choose whatever they like....but for the first time in 200 years there is a new alternative to the tired, old, corrupt narrative.

One that puts the vAggeyakAras words and choices first and which is rooted in their own words.

pAhi rAma dUta – rAga vasanta varAli

Hyd. Bros.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT3DmuPMKaU

MDR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8CErPxegJs

ranjani S
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbticv930wM

[sam]

To reiterate, kapi is not kaapi.
Sarasa saama kruthi is about Raama and not Hanuman.

[sam]

pAhi rAma dUta –
rAga vasanta varAli?
..
"Kritis are also being rendered in two different ragas as documented in books of Tygaraja's kritis. This could be due to variation in pathantharams practiced by disciples belonging to different schools. Following are some examples:"

Pahi Rama duta - Vasanthavarali (Shadvidha margini)
https://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles/prakshipta.html
.
The Prakshipta Krithis of Saint Thyagaraja

Ashok Madhav

[nAdopAsaka]

the kritis can be sung in any rAga…as I understand one can now even win awards for this !

But the vAggeyakAras have IDENTIFIED their pujA with unambiguous mudras (signatures)…mudras for icons and ideas, mudras for the texts they have read and absorbed.

Just like “sarasa sAma dAna” can be sung in nArAyani or rAma-priyA or even “bhairavi” or “thumri” etc.

But it is in ONLY rAga kApi nArAyani ONLY because the kriti refers to rAmas diplomacy delivered by his dUta AMBASSADOR…

[nAdopAsaka]

Why the rAga swarAvali for “prArabdham ittundaga” – the row of swaras and the row of planted seeds of karma

Background
dantAvali = sequence/row of teeth
nakhAvali = sequence/row of nails (see dorakuna -the bilahari)
nAgaswarAvali = sequence/row of elephant trumpetings

(see post dated Aug 7 2023
nAga-swarAvali – the trumpeting of elephants and the tyAgarAjas “Sripate ni pada”)
https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopi ... 27#p379927

Why the rAga swarAvali for prArabdham ittundaga

prArabdha – sequence/row of planted acts = seeds sowed in a sequence from the beginning = karma/destiny

swarAvali – the sequence of swaras

But wait …there is more..

Even in the description in the kriti the lord takes seven aspects ! which mark the lords evolution in a sequence

1 bAla
2 guna SIla
3 jana pAla
4 varada
5 krpAlavAla
6 kAlAtIta
7 SulAdhAra vinuta

Therefore it can be concluded (BEYOND a shred of doubt) that the vAggeyakAra has formulated the kriti with the meaning of the rAga name in mind..…as in Hundreds of other kritis already shown

swara Avali is the lord manifested through nAda – see also “sapta swara nAdACala dipa” in sAmaja vara gamana.

swarAvali is the rAga offered by “prArabdha mittundaga” in the nAda-upAsana of the tyAgarAja.

prArabdha mittundaga – rAga swarAvali

v hari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrcrsekxAfk
mallAdi bros.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSUmrf5nNrY

[sam]

As pointed out many a time in these blog posts before, Tyagaraja never revealed the names of the nouveau ragas that he came to compose in, during his lifetime. The names of the ragas which we today know as Nalinakanthi, Ravichandrika, Bahudari, Nagasvaravali et al including Malavi came to be assigned to these melodies much later, either by the sisya parampara of Tyagaraja or by publishers of his compositions, much after the death of the composer. This fact has been attested to by several musicologists and musicians in the past. In the instant case as well, the raga name Malavi for the melody using the notes of Harikambhoji mElA (28th) is a later day assignment. We know for sure that in the first half of the 18th Century even before the birth of the Trinity, a raga by name Malavi existed. Tulaja II the musicologist King of Tanjore in his ‘Saramruta’ catalogues, circa 1732 AD, a raga by name Malavi under the modern day 15th Mela, Malavagaula, which shares no melodic affinity to the modern Malavi of the 28th mElA.

https://guruguha.org/raga-malavi-a-misnomer/.
.
"M S Subbulakshmi -
Nenarunchinaanu -
Maalavi - Tyagaraja Swami"
.
https://youtu.be/WtElqTEGscA?si=Whmd3rInPyz-hAqm
.
This is from a concert in 1964.
Rapid chittaiswarams .
Translation available in comments
.
Ashok Madhav a contemporary composer writes,
https://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles ... swaram.htm
.i
.
Compositions of the Trinity do not have chittaswarams at all. However, we listen to some of their compositions with chittaswarams, which have been added on by later composers or the disciples of the Trinity. Tyagaraja compositions are bhakti oriented with lyrical beauty in them. Some of his compositions have attractive chittaswarams. Tiruvaiyaru Sivaramakrishna Iyer, a grand disciple of Tyagaraja through his father, Subbarama Bhagavatar is credited to have added chittaswarams for many Tyagaraja kritis.

Tirukkodikkaval Krishnayyar is responsible for adding an attractive chittaswaram to “Nenarunchi nanu” in Malavi

.


.

[nAdopAsaka]

As pointed out many a time in these blog posts before, Tyagaraja never revealed the names of the nouveau ragas that he came to compose in, during his lifetime. The names of the ragas which we today know as Nalinakanthi, Ravichandrika, Bahudari, Nagasvaravali et al including Malavi came to be assigned to these melodies much later, either by the sisya parampara of Tyagaraja or by publishers of his compositions, much after the death of the composer. This fact has been attested to by several musicologists and musicians in the past.
.

The quoted musicians and musicologists are attempting to deny the musical worship of the vAggeyakAra.

They have NO CLUE what the words of the kritis are saying !

There is no difference between what is being attempted and the "blowing up of the buddhAs of bamiyan"

The focus and interest of these "performers" and technicians has been the “sounds” and “swara annotation” of frequency-variation and air-pressure disturbances.

The ignorance of Words and Ideas has led to Corruption, seen now as Corruption in the very essence of what the vAggeyakAras music is about…..and in the conduct and evolution of the so-called kutChEri industry.

There are hundreds of the tyAgarAja kritis where the rAga word meaning is well embedded in and intrinsic to the kriti words...…AND where the rAgas/names themselves are ANCIENT.

There is NO reason for the tyAgarAja to suddenly become Random in his choices when the rest of his output is clearly linked to the rAga name and he is delivering his pujA through these words.

The few puny examples cited ..bahudari , nalinakanthi ...etc. etc will be DISMANTLED in following posts.

No ! ...these bloggers etc. and their ancestors and their modern parrots intend to corrupt the vAggeyakAras legacy. They have been EXPOSED.

The rAga offering of the tyAgarAja is made with the rAga name VERY MUCH in mind.

The following are just a few already explained..in several posts on this thread

the paths of the “riti”-gaulAs,
the sun of the tOdis,
the sO-ham rAma nAma of the hamsa-dhwanis
the lion-rider of the kEsari
the anurAga of the anuStubha dEvi = saraswati,
the flowers of the vakulAbharana,
the essence/sAra of the sAramati
the rAma-nAma sAram of the rAma-kriyA sAramEgAni ,
the tree-of-paradise of the mandAri
the cleansing wind of lanka-in-moonlight as vasanta-varAli to AnjanEya
the Charm of kanaka-mrga vs kanaka-vasana for mOhana
the prArabdha (karma) of the swarAvali
the sitammA mAyammA which is properly ONLY in lalitA (not vasanta as sung by the mis-guided..see a previous post)
etc. etc. etc.
etc. etc. etc.

As I have said, a kriti can be sung in ANY rAga..but the intent of the vAggeyakAra as his musical offering is a single rAga which is specified via his words and their meanings.

The quoted musicians and musicologists (and their recent parrots) are attempting to deny the musical worship of the vAggeyakAra.

It has not succeeded, it cannot succeed.

Truth always triumphs.

[sam]

We come to know about the raagams of the krutis, by the musicians of various schools of Thyagaraja's disciples and their padantharams. And by various authors and publishers, and from the writings of musicologists.
Even today, there is no final list of Thyagaraja krutis.
We can allow for different opinions.
We need not accept every opinion.
..so far as padantharam is concerned, the generations of the saint's disciples and the initial oral tradition,.should be the guide and also the works of dedicated musicologists who were staunch devotees of the saint, his music and spiritual values.
Where is the need for any conspiracy?
Some of the writers are even spiritual path seekers in real life.

[nAdopAsaka]

We come to know about the raagams of the krutis, by the musicians of various schools of Thyagaraja's disciples and their padantharams. And by various authors and publishers, and from the writings of musicologists.
Even today, there is no final list of Thyagaraja krutis.
We can allow for different opinions.
We need not accept every opinion.
..so far as padantharam is concerned, the generations of the saint's disciples and the initial oral tradition,.should be the guide and also the works of dedicated musicologists who were staunch devotees of the saint, his music and spiritual values.
Where is the need for any conspiracy?
Some of the writers are even spiritual path seekers in real life.

This word “devotee” is not applicable to the illiterate who would tamper with the kritis and their rAgas/choices/words.

If they were such staunch devotees, they would have recognized

[1] the panCa bhUta in the ghana panCa ratna..(desecrated yearly with the so-called ArAdhana lip-dis-service)
[2] the panCa bhUta in the Srirangam panCa ratna
[3] the panCa bhUta in the 5 panCanadiSwara kritis to pranatArtihara
[4] the corresponding 10 dEvi kritis to dharmasamvardhani ( 2 for each pranatArtihara , for each bank of the kAvEri)
[5] the panCa bhUta in the kOvur sundarESa panCa ratna
[6] the panCa bhUta in the Sritapastirtha (lAlgudi) panCa ratna
[7] The inseparability of rAga name from kriti idea & icon as an integral part of the vAggeyakAras pujA

All the above examples are well documented in posts here.

No, Charlatans and impostors (including all musicologists) have attempted to bury the kritis and the words and ideas in swaras, notations and “mere” sounds.

They also only sing portions of kritis (other than the yearly ArAdhana TRAVESTY).

Certainly everyone can make up their own minds and choices. But they should NOT be illiterate (or try to remain illiterate) where the Words of the kritis are concerned.

The unmistakeable stamp of the mudras of the vAggeyakAras cannot be tampered with.

Indeed, it is the vAggeyakAras own words and ideas that are exposing this monstrous conspiracy…..camouflaged with MEANING-LESS terms such as “guru-SiSya” or “saint-disciple”.

The playback singers are only that , technicians and stage performers making their livelihood by reproducing the “sounds” heard once before.

The Hindu vAggeyakAras are sanyAsis and mendicants. Their worship has nothing to do with stage artistes and various narcissistic performers.

The next few posts will dismantle the pitiful examples advanced about a few kritis bahudari, nalinakanthi etc..…pitiful because the vast majority of kritis show the real devotion of the vAggeyakAra..

The very denial of this aspect of the vAggeyakAra (after the copious examples already shown..and listed above) is a sign of the corruption and dishonesty and conspiracy that has set in over the centuries.

One has to ask..Why is this revelation of the essence of the vAggeyakAras occurring now and on these threads ?

The answer is simple..

Truth always reaches a crescendo when untruth rears its ugly head…as has been going on for last decades.

If it was not this rasikas forum, it would be another.

If it was not this nAda-upAsaka, it would be another.

How long did one think the karma of the vAggeyakAra could be denied ?

satyam Eva jayatE

[sam]

I am very much interested in Jaanaki Ramana kriti. It is the only kriti by Thyagaraja in Suddha Seemandhini raagam. Will be useful to link the lyrics of that kriti with the raagam name

[nAdopAsaka]

This is not intended to be an education of any 2-legged or 4-legged creatures that resist being dragged to the brink of water or enlightenment.

all this could have been easily figured out by a “devotee”....it is being shown for the clueless..

simantini is woman
Suddha simantini is sitA = jAnaki as purest of women.

This is why the kriti starts with the word jAnaki.

But the kriti refers to jAnaki rAmana

Because the word “sima-antam” conceals also the FINAL boundary, the ULTIMATE limit.

Who of course for sitA is = rAma = jAnaki ramana.

Indeed, rAma ALSO becomes the “pArijAta” the ULTIMATE wish for the whole universe.

jAnaki ramana bhakta pArijAta pAhi sakala lOka Sarana

It is ONLY the vAggeyakAra who sees rAma as Suddha simanta for sitA and the sakala lOka.

No corrupt student-line, musicologist, musician, guru-SiSya, or so-called “staunch devotee” has the right or the imagination to try to steal the vAggeyakAras ideas, choices or Words.

jAnaki ramana – rAga Suddha simantini

TVS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR8PGcPThp0

Aditya p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz0tp9kTP3Q

[sam]

.
Here are some quotes.

The most famous song in this ragam is also a very popular one for many of us- Janaki Ramana of Thyagaraja Swamigal. The credit for popularising this ragam in the concert platform goes to Nagaswara Chakravarthi TN Rajaratnam Pillai. After his time, this ragam and the song became a favourite of Nadaswara Vidwans. I am presenting his rendition of this song.

http://mio.to/list_albums/i/11-Classica ... eemantini/
.
Janaki Ramana-
Raga Suddha Seemanthini"
.
Madurai MaNi Iyer

https://youtu.be/4VrSZ9d3-vw?si=3J3CDFauRatTJDJs
.
"Jaanaki Ramana -
DK Pattammal & DK Jayaraman"

https://youtu.be/qWUe4SdQ390?si=K3LBf_VkFXwpJ2WC
....


जानकी रमण
भक्त पारिजात
पाहि
सकल लोक शरण

गान लोल
घन तमाल नील
करु(णा)लवाल
सुगुण शील (जा)

रक्त नळिन दळ नयन
नृपालरमणी(या)नन मुकुर कपोल

भक्ति हीन जन

मद गज जाल
पञ्च वदन

त्यागराज पाल (जा)
.
In devanagari script.

Meaning:
pallavi:
Lord of Janaki!
You are tha divine kalpaka tree of your devotees as you readily grant everyone of their wishes.
You are the refuge of all beings in the cosmos.

anupallavi:
You are delighted by music.
You are the matchless beauty with the green hue of tender leaves.
You are the reservoir of compassion and of spotless conduct.

caraNam:
You are the possessor of eyes like the petals of a red lotus.
O King! O Beautiful faced!
Mirrorlike cheeked!

To men who have no spark of devotion in them and who wander about intoxicated with power and arrogance like an elephant running amok, you are the terror.
...
Except the beginning term जानकी,
All the other terms refer to Lord Raama.
Even the first term is jaanaki ramaNa.
Seemandhini simply means a 'woman.
Even if we take it as suddha seemanthini,,a chaste woman, as the lady is not the theme of the kruthi, the choice of raagam is not all that self explanatory on the basis of raaga name but it definitely is a superb raagam on the basis of bhakthi bhaavam.
...

http://www.shivkumar.org/music/janakiramana.htm
.

[nAdopAsaka]

.

Even if we take it as suddha seemanthini,,a chaste woman, as the lady is not the theme of the kruthi, the choice of raagam is not all that self explanatory on the basis of raaga name

jAnaki ramana bhakta pAri-jAta pAhi sakala lOka

A monkey cannot know the taste of ginger.

There is a reason the tyAgarAja uses the word pAri-jAta specifically in the opening line of this kriti.

pAri-jAta = One who is beyond (pAra) ALL that lives = (jAta) (sakala lOka)

simantam – the final boundary, already explained in a previous post but simply not comprehended by the dim-witted.

A monkey cannot know the taste of ginger.

The quoted musicians and musicologists (and their recent parrots) are attempting to deny the musical worship of the vAggeyakAra.

It has not succeeded, it cannot succeed.

Truth always triumphs.

[sam]

भक्त पारिजात
It is a tree in heaven, which grants the wishes of devotees.
Here it refers to Lord Raamachandra

[nAdopAsaka]

The etymology of the word "pAri-jAta" shows that it is that which is beyond = pAra of that which is known or exists = jAta.

It is applied to the kalpa-taru..but the etymology cannot be ignored or denied.

A certain amount of intelligence and imagination is required....to understand the kritis and mudras.

Why else would the tyAgarAja pick a word with a relation to limit = boundary.

No !.. ignorance cannot be the way to degrade and create misattributions of kritis or rAga choices..

[sam]

Every translator accepts that meaning only.
Which book are you following?

[nAdopAsaka]

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Pārijāta (पारिजात).—m.

(-taḥ) 1. Name of one of the five trees of paradise supposed to have been produced at the churning of the ocean. 2. The coral tree, (Erythrina fulgens.) E. pāri said to mean, above, and jāta produced

E. Is for the etymology (maybe you will need to understand what word means, too ? )

For those who have difficulty understanding narESa vs bhUpAla, this kind of stuff will be hard to follow.

Just stick with sounds....don't bother with kritis or words.

The repeated attempts to deny the vAggeyakAras mudras (and their iconography) is pitiful and thoroughly exposed.

This is why it is a "conspiracy of fools"....for those who have no understanding of words or their roots etc.

[nAdopAsaka]

kaikA-vaSi – kaikEyi’s “wish” and “vACAm-agOCaramE = the indescribable greatness of lord rAma

Post of Jul 17 2022 repeated here

Only the tyAgarAja recognizes kaikEyi’s spell on daSaratha , (the kaikEyi-vaSa !) as a key element of the rAmAyana and therefore of the lords exploits.

And the lords exploits are so wondrous, that they leave the tyAgarAja speechless , as he himself says “vACAm- agOCaramE” = unreachable by words..

Can there be any doubt that rAga kaikAvaSi is EXACTLY & DELIBERATELY CHOSEN by the tyAgarAja to depict this aspect of the lord ?

For it is kaikA-vaSi , the “wish of kaikEyi” that leads to daSaratha being forced to keep his oaths and abdicate his throne and to the banishment of lord rAma to the jungle !

And in the “jungle” the lords arrow severs mutiple asurA’s and is also recalled in mid-flight , as the kriti says.

Although the tyAgarAja says he is at a loss for words, his music does all the “talking”..

vACAm-agOCaramE - rAga kaikA-vaSi

vid. prasanna V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Ggmp3Gy08
 

[sam]

Paarijaatham

In the Harivansh Puraan, the tree is referred to as a “KALP-VRAKSH”, or wish bearing tree which apart from this one can only be found in heaven.
.
Paarijaatha rhymes with jaanaki ramaNa.
Also with gaana.
Kalpa vruksham would not.

[nAdopAsaka]

panCa bhUta pujA of the tyAgarAja

If one thinks the panCa-bhUta pujA of the vAggeyakAras is something to be casually dismissed, think again..

It is the essence of many of the Dikshitars kritis including in the CaturdaSa rAgamAlikA…the so-called magnum-opus....a term used often by the clue-less with no understanding of why exactly it is such a massive and important kriti.

see multiple posts on CaturdasA rAgAmAlikA on the Mutthuswamy Dikshitar thread

e.g. panCi-karana and the Dikshitars vilOma in the CaturdaSa ragamAlikA
https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopi ... 16#p382216

And the tyAgarAja is well versed in this particular worship..

Here are the copious examples.

panCa bhUta pujA of the tyAgarAja – for all the so-called “staunch devotees”

[1] the panCa bhUta in the ghana panCa ratna..(desecrated yearly with the so-called ArAdhana lip-dis-service)
[2] the panCa bhUta in the Srirangam panCa ratna
[3] the panCa bhUta in the 5 panCanadiSwara kritis to pranatArtihara
[4] the corresponding 10 dEvi kritis to dharmasamvardhani ( 2 for each pranatArtihara , for each bank of the kAvEri)
[5] the panCa bhUta in the kOvur sundarESa panCa ratna
[6] the panCa bhUta in the Sritapastirtha (lAlgudi) panCa ratna

All the mudras and other details (PLACED by the vAggeykAra) of these many sets of kritis have been explained in previous posts.

Of course the inseparability of rAga name from kriti idea & icon is an integral part of the vAggeyakAras pujA. That is visible in hundreds of examples already….many more to follow.

panCa ratna kritis

sitAmani et al
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89-wIKdwwAE

veena jayalaksmi et al
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nejSypwrlOU

[sam]

Thyagaraja spent almost his entire life as a composer at Thiruvaiyaaru.
He stirred out only after his 75 th year to honour the invitation from his spiritual guru and saint 'upanishad brammendra', at Kanchipuram, from whom he had imbibed his devotion to Lord Ramachandra., in his boyhood years. Upanishad Brammendra was then living at Tanjore and was a close friend of Thyaagaraja's father.
.
Only during that trip with his disciples, he visited Lalgudi, Srirangam,
Kanchipuram, walajapet, thiruvotriyoor, kovoor, Triplicane, in that order ..perhaps kumbakonam/Mayavaram , Nagapatnam and fhen returned back to Thiruvaiyaaru.

Those were six months after his age 72. He passed away in his 80th year.
So, we can say, he was the poet composer of Thiruvaiyaaru.
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Though Tanjore, Thiruvaiyaaru and Thiruvaroor are barely a few miless from each, other, ,(.thiruvaiyaru about
7 miles north of Tanjore, Thiruvarror about 30 miles east of Tanjore) Thyaagaraja does not seem to have visited Tanjore or revsiited his birth place Thiruvaarur.
..
Shyaama Saastry, a few years senior to Thyagaraja, though born at Thiruvarur, moved out to Tanjore when the king built a temple for Bangaru Kaamaakshi and he spent his entire adult life at Tanjore.as the temple priest
at the Bangaru Kaamaakshi temple, though he made very brief pilgrimage visits to Trichy, Puthukkortai and, Madurai .

So ,SS can be thought of as the composer from Tanjore.
.
MD was a pilgrim but he spent a lot of years at Thiruvaarur, where his father was attached to temple duties. He left Thiruvarur. only after the temple grant got uncertain .

So he is the composer very closely tied to Thiruvarur.

That would explain the large number of his group kritis on the deities of that temple town. Kritis on Thyagesan, Nilothpalamba, Kamalamba, Shodasa Ganapathy, navagraham, thiruvaarur panccha lingams, and even on maariamman 'Renukadevi 'at the outskirts there.

Only after a long sojourn at his home town Thiruvarur, he spent a few years at Tanjore, at the invitatoin of the father of Tanjore Quartet,again composing a large set of kritis on BigTemple deities,
and nearby temples. It was at Tanjore, that he composed kruthis in 20 of the 40 vivadi meLas. The other 20 vivadi meLa krutis were composed by him in other kshetras.
....
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The remarkable thing about Thyagaraja is that he gave us nearly 600 kritis on Raama, Naadopaasana, Naarada ,kaaveri and such and hardly about other deities
except the Siva and Dharmasamvardhni of Thiruvaiyaru.
.
All these 600 kruthis while strongly rooted at Thiruvaiyaru, for decades of composing, pooja at hime and teaching., free.
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It would be educative to list his krutis excluding the sets as Lalgudi, Srirangam Kanchipuram, Walajapet, Tiruvotriyur, kovoor, Triplicane, Nagapatnam., to understand the core of his faith.

In this aspect, he is like SS and different from MD.

Such a study of his krutis at Thiruvaiyaru,, nearly 600 kritis, with almost zero reference to the Krishna theme, would or should make us wary of accepting the aarabhi pancharathnam and the boat opera
as his compositions, entirely. More likely that the aarabhi panccharathnam has interpolations, which deal with Krishna.
And the Boat opera also has very uncharacteristic interpolations ...

but the other opera Prahlada Bhakti jayam is definitely of the Bard.


Is not the theme in aarabhi pancharatnam ( 50 %), out of character of Raama but suits krishna only?..a person known as paradigm of one word, one arrow and one wife?
There was no need for the Bard to have mixes up krshna lore there. It is very likely that the 50% of that kruthi dealing with Krishna is interpolation by a disciple.

Is not the tenor of saadinchane out of tune with the other four in the ghanaraaga set?

Who grouped those five kritis as a sef?
Not Thyaagaraja.
Any inputs?
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Who was Tachur singarachary?

who is said to have given names to many rare raagams of the Bard?..nearly 120 such single kruthi raagams.
.
There is still scope for deep study of the Bard both in lyrics and music classification.


..
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[sam]

A very nice article by T.S.Parthsarathy.
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Tyagaraja Ramayana -

TS Parthasarathy

Part-1

http://carnatica.net/special/tsp-ramayana-i.htm.

Part-2

http://carnatica.net/special/tsp-ramayana-ii.htm

[sam]

Image of Lord Ramachandra and Sita devi on right side of Raama.

[sam]

Excerpts from the article in preceding post.
..
”In ‘Srirama Jayarama’ (yadhukulakambhoji) he sings that he is jealous of Kousalya who ‘could imprint a kiss on the shining cheeks of Rama as a child’ and of Dasaratha’ who could call him affectionately as Rama, my son’. But the luckiest of them all was Viswamitra who had the unique privilege of gloating (uppongu) over the fact that the Lord himself walked behind him!..

"Pantula Rama -

Sri Rama Jaya Rama -

Yadukulakambhoji"

https://youtu.be/WZ8oe2J90WY?si=zd-Hj-NWCA-fTr52
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