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Sridhar Santhanam
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Director, Publications & Outreach
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COMMITTEES
Resources & Development
Publications & Outreach
Uma Prabhakar
Vidyasankar Sundaresan
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C. Nataraj
Raman Visweswaran
610-687-4565
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Ramaa Nathan
Rungun Nathan
610-668-3691
610-668-3691
Usha Balasubramanian
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Venkat Kilambi
610-631-2291

Tyagaraja Aradhana
2007

SRUTI
The India Music & Dance Society
Philadelphia, PA







About the Artistes of the Evening

CONTENTS
Editors Note

Program

Acknowledgements

A Sloka on Tyagaraja
Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar 4
Utsava Sampradaya Kriti Group Picture

A Song in Gratitude
Prabhakar Chitrapu, Uma Prabhakar and Rasikan 6
Lyrics and Music in Tyagarajas Compositions
Vidyasankar Sundaresan 11
Pancharatna Kriti Group Picture

16

Forms of Bhakti practiced by Sri Tyagaraja

T. Parasaran 17




Jayalakshmi Sekhar learnt music from her father, C. S.

Krishnaswamy, and formally trained on the Veena under
Pudukkottai Jayarama Iyer. Since 1994, to enhance her vocal
(Gayaki) style of Veena playing, she has been receiving advanced training from Sangita Kalanidhi Sripada Pinakapani.
She is also proficient on the violin and flute and over the last
ten years, has performed at major venues in India, USA, Estonia, Germany, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore. She received the 1998 Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar Award from
the Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai in 1998 and the 2000
prize for Veena at the Sri Tyagaraja Festival in Tirupati.
Suresh Ramachandran (Mridangam) is a disciple of Tiruvaiyaru V. Gurumurty, a student of the Mridangam maestro
Palani Anna. As a graded artist of the All India Radio, he has
been featured in many radio and television programs in India. He has had the privilege of performing with many leading musicians including T. N. Seshagopalan, Ravi Kiran, T.
R. Subramaniam and Tanjore Kalyanaraman. Ramachandran
holds a Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences and is currently
working for the R&D division of a pharmaceutical company.
Sriram Balasubramanian (Ghatam) started learning Mridangam at the age of 5 under T. V. L. Narayanan, a disciple
of Palani Subramania Pillai and subsequently began training
on the Ghatam and Tabla as well. He also learned to play the
flute, from Sikkil Mythili Chandrasekhar. He has accompanied several well-known artists in the Flint Tyagaraja Utsavam concerts and other concerts in the Metro Detroit area.
He has played extensively for Madras Regional Television
and All India Radio. He holds a Ph.D. in Biomechanics and
is working at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.




Conclusion
Tyagaraja combined Bhakthi in many ways in his
music and served up a delectable mixture of this combination
of poetry and Bhava, which inculcate devotion to God. He
was believed to have rivaled Valmiki with 24000 Kirtanas,
out of which only about 800 have come down to posterity.
He composed in nearly 50 Ragas out of the 72 Melakathrthas
and in numerous Janya Ragas. Often, Tyagarajas composition defines the form of the Raga, in cases like Vanaspati,
Manavati, Dhenuka, Rupavati, Gangeya Bhushani, Navaneetam etc. Many of us of the Indian Diaspora who have attended classical music concerts have been transported to a
blissful state on hearing a well rounded performance. In particular, artistes who have been able to capture at least some
portion of the Bhava of composers like Sri Tyagaraja have
been successful in making us forget our mundane lifestyle at
least for the duration of the concert. On those occasions we
express silently, Endaro Mahanubhavulu. Andariki Vandanamu. One may ask what is the relevance of all this to
the modern person? When Yoga, Karma, Dharma, Guru and
Meditation are seeping into the mainstream world consciousness, we would do well to imbibe the inner meaning of Tyagarajas Bhakti and benefit from it.
References
1. The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja. C. Ramanujachari.
1966. Sri Ramakrishna Math. Chennai.
2. Sri Tyagarajaswamy Kirtanaigal. T. S. Parthasarathy.
1976. Higginbothams Chennai.
3. Satguru Sri Tyagarajaswami Kirtanaigal. T. S. Vasudevan.
2003. A. K. Gopalan. Chennai.
4. Tyagaraja Ganamritam. S. K. Seetha Devi. 1967. Ganamritam Publishers, Chennai.
5. Tyagaraja. Prof Sambamurthi. 1967. National Book Trust.
Chennai.

Editors Note
Welcome to SRUTIs 2007 Tyagaraja Aradhana.
The charm of Tyagarajas music continues to hold sway over
the minds of Carnatic music lovers for more than two centuries. This souvenir brings you a select collection of material
on the saint composer.
In this issue, in addition to articles as featured in
previous SRUTI publications, we have featured a Sloka on
Tyagaraja, composed by one of his most important direct
disciples, Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar. We hope
this issue will remain a treasured publication in your private
library for years to come.
The Publications and Outreach Committee has been
newly reconstituted, following the elections to the Board of
SRUTI in December 2006. Raman Visweswaran, the outgoing Director of the committee, continues to take care of the
website (www.sruti.org) administration. We welcome your
suggestions and active participation in improving the website
to better cater to your needs as members of SRUTI. We
would also like to take this opportunity to request articles
and reviews from you for upcoming issues of Sruti Notes and
Sruti Ranjani.
Thanks,
Vidyasankar Sundaresan
Raman Visweswaran
Rungun Nathan

215 310 1783

610-647-7822
610-668-3691

Parasaran is a retired chemist and a life member of SRUTI

since its inception. He is a great lover of all classical music,
South and North Indian and Western, and contributes articles to SRUTIs publications frequently.
20

PROGRAM
08:00 AM Puja
08:15 AM Group Utsava Sampradaya Kriti rendition
09:00 AM Group Pancharatna Kriti rendition
10:00 AM Individual Singing (lunch break 1 - 2 PM)
05:00 PM
Concert of the Day Due to unforeseen circumstances, the previously announced vocal concert by Kalpana Venkat had to be cancelled. Instead, we are featuring a
Veena concert by Smt. Jayalakshmi Sekhar. (Details on inside back cover.)

Jayalakshmi Sekhar Veena

Suresh Ramachandran Mridangam
Sriram Balasubramanian Ghatam

many exploits of Rama. Rara ma intidaka, in Asaveri implores Rama to come to his house so that Tyagaraja can
stand by His side and worship Him everyday.
8. Sakhyam (Friendship) Sita Nayaka Sritajana, in Ritigowla, written with liberty taken as a friend, expresses praise
for the many exploits of Rama, and Krishna in their incarnations playfully. Another such light hearted kirtana, Etavuna
nerchitivo in Yadukula Kambodhi asks Rama about the
drama which He enacted with Sita, Lakshmana and Anjaneya. Did your wife ask for diamond ornaments? Did your
brothers and parents want food? Have your devotees been
beseeching you for long with invitations?
9. Atma Nivedanam (Absolute Surrender) This happens to
suit Tyagarajas Bhakti more than all the other types, as he
expresses himself most eloquently in this form. So there are
numerous examples among this compositions of this Bhava.
The ever so beautiful Kirtana, Makelara Vicharamu in
Ravichandrika says, Sri Ramachandra, why should I have
any concern when you hold all the strings for the drama
which you manipulate with great precision, according to the
course of everyones Karma and the delight of the entire
world? Eti Janma midi in Varali wails at the uselessness
of life of anyone who is not blessed with a sight of Him.
Then there is the majestic Kirtana, Ramabhirama in Darbar which likens Tyagarajas heart to a maid who has no
fulfillment because of His attempts to find the shortcomings
and excesses of the seeker. He further pleads Rama to feel
compassion for Tyagaraja on His own accord. Nannu Vidichi Kadalakura in Ritigowla implores Rama to accept him
since he belongs only to Rama.
10. Vatsalyam (Parental Love) Rama Rama Rama in Sahana treats God as a young child and says that, His hiding
Himself maybe due to concern about the devotees. The hiding of His playmates could be due to their difficulty in facing
the brilliance and splendor of Rama. His playmates ask Him
to come as witness and ask him whether He is really God.

19

3. Smaranam (Contemplation) In the Kirtana, Sripate Nee

Pada in Nagaswaravali, Tyagaraja says that meditation of
His holy feet is the very life and sustenance to him. In
Smarana Sukhamu, in Janaranjani, he claims the chanting
of the holy Rama Nama in the way that Tyagaraja does is
itself happiness. Does not the constant hearing of Rama
Nama transform the name itself into a glorious form which
fills the heart with love divine?
4. Sevanam (Serving) In Raghunayaka in Hamsadwani,
Tyagaraja says that he can never give up His blessed lotus
feet. Unable to cross the ocean of Samsara he has taken shelter under Rama. Sri Rama Padama in Amritavani begs
Ramas blessed feet to make Tyagarajas mind their abode
and thus bless him just as Ahalya was redeemed long back.
5. Archanam (Worship) The Mayamalavagowla Kirtana,
Tulasidala mulache, describes how Tyagaraja has been
cheerfully worshipping Ramas holy feet with Tulasi leaves.
Challare Ramachandruni pai, in Ahiri, from the ever popular Sompaina details how showering flowers whole heartedly on Rama will eliminate the countless births and deaths
of anyone. In Ennaga manasuku rani, in Neelambari, Tyagaraja asks, what would be the use of hands that are not
used for worshipping the Lord with various sweet scented
flowers? What would be the use of a tongue which is not
employed in singing devoutly the praise of Sri Ramamurti?
6. Dasyam (Totally dedicated service) The famous Tava
Dasoham, in Punnagavarali, pleads to Rama as follows. I
am your servant, I have been seeking you and taken refuge in
only you. I pray, protect me and listen to my appeals. The
Hamsanada kriti, Bantu Riti, describes Tyagarajas prayer
to Sri Rama to serve him as a true servant with the following
insignia; Horripilated hair as his armor, the appellation Rama
Bhaktha as his metal badge and Ramas name as his sword.



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1. The Bharatiya Temple, Montgomeryville, PA, for providing the venue for the Aradhana
2. Sri Vaidianatha Sastrigal, for priestly services in the
morning Puja
3.

Annadtryas sukhiny bhavantu* The providers of

lunch and snacks during the 2007 Tyagaraja Aradhana
Revathi Sivakumar
Leela Pothukuchi
Santi Kanumalla
Bhanu Kanumalla
Girija Rangavajjula
Gayatri Rao
Vijaya Reddy
Saroja Sagaram
Jeya Sankaran
Meena Pennathur
Kalyani Prabhakar

4.

The Utsava Sampradaya group and the Pancharatna

group

5.

The individual participants Our thanks for signing up

in large numbers and making this day a success

6.

The artistes of the evening concert Smt. Jayalakshmi

Sekhar, Sri Suresh Ramachandran and Sri Sriram
Balasubramanian

* Plural, feminine gender rendition of the well-known

7. Vandanam (Salutation) In Vandanamu, in Sahana,
Thyagaraja pleads with Rama to come to him and bless him
with boons, and to speak to him. He further describes the
18



3

A Sloka on Tyagaraja

Forms of Bhakti practiced by Sri Tyagaraja

Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar

vyso naigama carcay mdugir valmka janm muni
vairgye uka eva bhaktiviaye prahlda eva svayam |
brahm nrada eva cpratimayos shitya sa!gtayo
yo rmmta pna nirjita ivas ta" tygarjam bhaje ||

A Vyasa in Vedic learning, a Valmiki in his poetic language,

Suka in his detachment, a Prahlada in his devotion,
a Brahma and a Narada in his lyrics and his music,
he rivals Siva in drinking in the nectar of Ramas name;
I salute that Tyagaraja.
Translation by Vidyasankar Sundaresan
About the Author:
Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar was one of
the premier direct disciples of Tyagaraja and himself an accomplished scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit. He inherited
Tyagarajas personal Puja items and Tambura. He has composed many Slokas and a Kriti on Tyagaraja. The verse
above is part of a set of eight verses (Sri Guru Ashtakam)
and gives an indication of the depth of his guru-bhakti. His
son, Walajapet Krishnaswamy Bhagavatar was also a direct
disciple of Tyagaraja. Most of the currently available original manuscripts of Tyagarajas compositions were written by
them and are being maintained by their disciples and descendants.
Incidentally, Bangalore Nagaratnamma, the guiding
spirit behind the construction of the Tyagaraja Samadhi and
the annual Tyagaraja Aradhana in Tiruvaiyaru, came from
this disciple lineage.

T. Parasaran
(With editing and proofing help from T. Sarada)
Introduction
Long after the Pandavas left the scene, Janamejaya
requested Suka Maharishi for words of wisdom. The Maharishi pointed out that with the advent of Kaliyuga, characterized by gambling, drinking of intoxicating liquids and uncontrolled desire, mankind had just one path to Salvation.
That was Bhakti Marga. Many great souls who came afterwards reiterated the same concept. Bhagavan, Bhakta and
Bhagavatam are different manifestations of the Divinity and
Bhakti is the only way to salvation. This was a way of life
for Sri Tyagaraja and he amply demonstrated this in his compositions. He was a true Bhakta of Sri Rama and most of his
Kritis are outpourings of his Bhakti. He followed many
forms of Bhakti and composed Kritis in all of them. Some of
them are described below in a few selected examples. The
list is not complete nor is the Bhava used by Sri Tyagaraja
complete in the selection.
Expressions of Thyagarajas Bhakthi
1. Sravanam (Listening) Sudha Madhurya in Sindhuramakriya describes Rama as the supreme one with delicious speech and how Tyagarajas hunger has been appeased
by the nectar of His Divine story. In Rama Katha Sudha in
Madhyamavati he describes how Sri Ramas revered life can
rule an empire.
2. Kirtanam (Reciting) In the song Inta Saukhyamani in
Kapi, Tyagaraja says that it is not possible to describe the joy
one derives from the chanting of Rama Nama. In
Elavataramethu kontivi in Mukhari, he asks Rama, for
what purpose did you incarnate as Rama? Was it to make
war or to rule over Ayodhya, O Raghava? Was it to grant
boons to Tyagaraja who makes a garland of gems of Kirtanas
in various Ragas?
17

The Utsava Sampradaya Kriti Group

The Pancharatna Kriti Group

A Song in Gratitude
Prabhakar Chitrapu, Uma Prabhakar & Rasikan
He was old now. Every now and then, he involuntarily tended to stop and look back at the path that brought
him there. A long path only one color illumined it and the
surroundings. It was music. It was like an anchor and an obsession, that aided and uncontrollably drove him on the path.
He distinctly remembered the first song he wrote, Namo
Namo Raghavaya. It was big for him then not so sophisticated now. Since then he has composed many more, that
people say are gems and giants in music. But the honey that
these beads and gems were soaked in was always the same.
And the force that made them happen was the same. The
nectar was Bhakti and the force was Sri Rama. If music was
the path, bhakti bhaavam was the energy to walk and Sri
Rama was the distant star that provided direction and inspiration. Under that bright still sparkling Star suspended in the
dark silent skies, all men and women and all life were equal.
To Him, we were all children, sometimes quarreling, sometimes playing, now in love and now in distrust. That Star
makes the paths that people walk on, some narrow and difficult, others broad and guided. He led me on an envious path.
He gave me joy of creativity and peace of meditative harmony with Him. He made me famous, far and wide. People
come from near and far, to learn from me, to hear me, to simply see me. There was this gentleman from Kasi, who recently came. He claimed that he had had a dream, in which
Sri Rama told him to go and visit me. Where is Kasi and
where is Tiruvaiyar? I felt so overwhelmed. Sri Rama, I am
so grateful. I feel so blessed. How can I ever repay your
debt? You chose me to be the flute and you played the music. Thank you for making me deserving.
The path. Yes, the path. The trajectories in the
space of music. Curves of beauty and spontaneous sophistication. Some scholars say that this path did not exist before
our times. That I created it. That I created a multitude of
6

we have second syllable alliteration using the ga sound in the

Pallavi and Anupallavi (Jagadananda Gaganadhipa
Suguna ) mixed in with first syllable alliteration in
the Pallavi (Jagadananda Jaya Janaki ). Among
the Charanams, no such strict pattern is found in the first,
fifth, sixth, seventh and tenth Charanams, while the others
have alliterations in the first or second syllables or both.
When it comes to compositions that are more in the
nature of bhajana-s, Tyagaraja applies more stringent rules
and alternates first syllable and second syllable alliterative
schemes within the lines of each stanza. This is reminiscent
of the patterns we see in older composers like Purandaradasa,
Bhadrachalam Ramdas etc. For example,
Pavanaja stuti patra
Pavana charitra
Ravisoma-vara netra
Ramaniya gatra
In the third line, the first syllable changes from pa to ra, but
the second syllable alliteration on the va sound is retained.
However, the fourth line retains the changed first syllable
(ra) and breaks the second syllable pattern. An interleaved
pattern of alliteration is seen in every stanza in this composition.
There is often a debate in many peoples minds,
regarding the relative importance of the Raga versus the
words in Carnatic music. Tyagaraja shows us that this debate
is largely meaningless in his horizon. The two dimensions of
lyrics and musical structure are so closely woven together in
his compositions that it is impossible to downplay the role of
one and elevate the other. In his compositions, a stylistic
poetic device is taken out of the realm of poetic meters and
applied to the Tala structure of the Kriti. He applies it judiciously to various types of compositions, to give us a wide
vista of compositional styles truly the mark of a creative
genius. He transcends the dichotomy that we see and merges
them in the service of his larger purpose.
Vidyasankar Sundaresan currently heads SRUTIs publications and outreach committee. His interests include Carnatic
music, musicology, Indian philosophy and Sanskrit studies.
15

Surati; Rupakam
Pallavi
Bhajana parula kela ...
Anupallavi
Aja-rudra-suresha ...
In each Kriti, Tyagaraja begins the Anupallavi with the word
Aja, followed by Rudra! This satisfies both the structural role
of the second syllable alliteration and the meanings that he
wishes to convey in these Kritis.
In the Charanam(s) of Tyagarajas Kritis, the pattern followed in the Pallavi and Anupallavi is broken and a
new alliterative second syllable appears. Again, this syllable
falls in the second position in terms of the musical line and is
not necessarily second within the grammatical word.
Vasanta; Rupakam
Charanam
Paramesa Vasishtha Parashara Narada Saunaka Shuka
Surapati Gautama lambodara guha sanakadulu
Kharaharapriya; Adi
Charanam
Kantiki sundara taramagu rupame mukkanti nota chelage namame tyagarajintane nelakonna Adidaivame ituvanti sri saketa ramuni sadbhaktiyane
Sankarabharanam; Adi
Charanam
Tarana dorakani
nu Rama jesite
tura ippudu ee
lara Bhakta Tya-

Kriti: dAsharathI nI rNamu dIrpa nA taramA

rAgA: tODi. tALA: Adi
P: dAsharathI nI rNamu dIrpa nA taramA parama pAvana
nAma
A: AshadIra dUra dEshamulanu prakAshimpa jEsina rasika
shirOmaNi

paraku nayeda
surasurulu metharamitana megaraja nuta na

In Kritis that have multiple Charanams, each one tends to

have its own second syllable alliterative pattern. At the same
time, Tyagarajas creativity is not a slave to the rule of second syllable alliteration. In many Kritis, he chooses not to
use it at all. Thus, for example, in the Pancharatna Kritis, the
Pallavi and Anupallavi follow this scheme, but not all the
Charanams follow the rule. In the Nattai Kriti, for example,
14

them. But, it is not about scholarship. It is not about musical

structures, it is not about poetry. It is about Bhakti. These
scholars do not know it. It is so simple. So simple, that their
intellect misses it. They are looking for more complex
things. It is about total surrender. The scholars know the concept of surrendering, and they speak dismissively of it, as it
belittles human grandeur. But it is the notion of totality of
surrender that they do not comprehend. The totality equals
the complete ending of the individual ego. It connotes consummation of the wave with the water. It is the simultaneous
vision of the one and many. Yes, words do not reach that
state. So, when words are used, they mislead. Music transcends words and I tried to employ that tool. I tried to make
compositions that will give people careers in this life and a
hope of moksha beyond. I wove in musical sophistication, so
that even scholars are drawn towards them and do not miss
the opportunity. I hope Sri Rama makes people use them.
Thank you, God, for making me the one to distribute the
mail.

C: bhaktilEni kavijAla varEnyulu bhAva meruga lErani

kalilOna jani
bhukti mukti galgunani kIrtanamula bOdhincina tyAgarAja
karArcita
Word-by-Word Meaning: (an attempt has been made to be
as precise as possible)
P: dAsharathI, nI [your] rNamu [debt] dIrpa [to repay] nA
[for me] taramA [am I capable?], parama pAvana nAma [one
with a name that is divinely purifying]!
7

A: AshadIra [satisfying the desire] dUra [far off] dEshamulanu [places] prakAshimpa jEsina [one who made (my name)
shine] rasika shirOmaNi [The crown jewel of all connoisseurs]!
C: bhaktilEni [not having devotion] kavijAla varEnyulu
[poets of repute] bhAva [emotion, aesthetic aspect] meruga
lErani [that they cannot know] kalilOna jani [in these times
of kali], bhukti [material sustenance] mukti [liberation] galgunani [that they may occur] kIrtanamula [simple songs]
bOdhincina [one who taught them], tyAgarAja karArcita
[One worshipped by the hands of Thyagaraja].
Free Translation: (liberties taken in translation to get the
perceived sense of the kriti across)
P: Oh Daasarathi! Can I ever repay your debt? Oh, The
Name that is Divinely Purifying!
A: Oh, The Supreme Connoisseur who has made my name
spread to and shine in even distant lands!
C: In these days of Kali,
Thinking that the poets and scholars of repute, devoid of
devotion, cannot comprehend the emotion and the aesthetic
aspect
That it will provide them with a career in this life and scope
for liberation beyond, I have composed these simple songs
Oh The One lovingly worshipped by these small hands of
Tyagaraja!

Sankarabharanam; Adi
Anupallavi Nuduti Vratagani Na taramu telisi
How do these fit into the musical structure of the composition? If we compare against the Tala cycles (Avartanas), we
see that the recurring syllable tends to appear at more or less
the same count in successive Avartanas. This is the case
when the Kritis are not too wordy. In Kritis where a lot of
words are packed into each Avartana, the same second syllable reappears often within the same Tala cycle. For example,
in Elani dayaradu, in Raga Atana, we have a repetition of the
la sound throughout the Anupallavi.
Bala kanakamaya
pala srirama
jala shubhada karunila navya vana-

cela sujana parilola vidhruta sharanalavala ghanamalikabharana

Interestingly, Tyagaraja repeats the second syllable not

within the grammatical word, but according to where it falls
in the Tala structure. Thus, the words paripala, sharajala,
karunalavala, ghananila and vanamalika are arranged within
the musical structure in such a way that the la sound is always in second position with respect to the Tala units. Note
also how the regular first syllable alliteration is applied to the
initial words of the first two lines (Bala and pala). In this
context, it is interesting to look at the four Tyagaraja Kritis
that begin with the word Bhajana.
Atana; Rupakam
Pallavi
Bhajana seya rada rama
Anupallavi
Ajarudradulaku satatamu
Kalyani; Rupakam
Pallavi
Bhajana seyave manasa
Anupallavi
Ajarudradulaku bhusuradulaku

Can I ever repay your debt?

Alternative Interpretations: Although it is a minute difference in the lyrics, there is a single small phrase in this song,
that makes the interpretation widely different. It is the last
phrase in the first line of the charanam (kalilOna jani). I have
8

Narayani: Adi
Pallavi
Anupallavi

Bhajana seyu margamunu jupave

Ajudu Rudrudakhandala
13

Although both the above examples are from Tamil poetry,

the feature of alliteration on the second syllable is found in
Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam too, and to some extent, in
Sanskrit. When it appears in Sanskrit poetry, it is thought to
be the result of the influence of south Indian poetics. To my
knowledge, alliteration on the second syllable is not found in
the classical poetry of any non-Indian language. Let us see
how Tyagaraja weaves this poetic stylistic device into his
compositions, with the help of a few examples.
Tyagarajas Kritis are typically structured according
to a Pallavi Anupallavi Charanam(s) design. In this
type of composition, we see that Tyagaraja links the Pallavi
and Anupallavi together using the second syllable alliteration
scheme. Often, the regular kind of alliteration, using the first
syllable, is also found together with that on the second, while
in some instances we find it extended into even the third syllable, to increase the effect. For example,
Vasanta; Rupakam
Pallavi
Sitamma Mayamma
Anupallavi
Vatatmaja Saumitri
Kharaharapriya; Adi
Pallavi
Chakkani Rajamargamu
Anupallavi
Chikkani Palu
Sankarabharanam; Adi
Pallavi
Eduta nilachite nidu sommulu
Anupallavi
Nuduti Vrada gani
Within the Anupallavi itself, consecutive lines use
the regular alliteration on the first syllable.
Vasanta; Rupakam
Anupallavi Vatatmaja Saumitri Vainateya
Kharaharapriya; Adi
Anupallavi Chikkani Palu Chiyanu Gangasagara
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tried to give a meaning that is consistent with this phrase.

The meaning is generally similar to the ones given in TK
Govinda Raos book Compositions of Thyagaraja as well
as C Ramajujacharis book Spiritual Heritage of Thyagaraja.
In the Telugu books of Kalluri Veerabhadra Sastry
Thyagaraja Kirthanalu Visesha Vivaranam, and
Sangitha Sadguru Sri Thyagaraja Kirthanalu Vol 2 by Bhavaraju Narasimharao & TS Parthasarathy, I found an alternate phrase kalalO jani. It refers to a dream as opposed
to kali in the previous version. Veerabhadra Sastry gives
the meaning of the kriti as referring to the Hindusthani musician from Kasi (Ganesa Bhava). Note that Bhavaraju Narasimharao and TS Parthasarathy refer to a renowned Hindusthani musician who visited Thyagaraja, but give his name as
Gopinatha Bhattacharya. All these three authors claim that
this visit is historically attested.
The complete meaning of the charanam now
changes to: Oh Sri Rama, one who has come to the dream of
Ganesa Bhava, since it is difficult to understand bhakti
through scholarship alone, Sri Rama, one who taught me
kirthanas so that I may have a career and be offered liberation, Oh Thyagaraja Karaarchitha!
The Music: It is interesting that Tyagaraja composed this
kriti in Todi, a quintessential Carnatic music raga, in which
he has composed twenty eight songs (among the 709 known
songs attributed to Tyagaraja). Many of his kritis in Todi
start in the mandhra sthayi (middle octave) and go up. In this
kriti, Tyagaraja starts from the shadja (sa) and actually lingers a while in the anu mandara (lower octave) nishadam (ni)
almost touching the daivatham (da) and jumps to the gandhara (ga) staying there langrously with some oscillations as if
to welcome his ishta devatha and convey his thanks. The
gandhara (ga) of Todi, as is well known, is very special for
the raga and the way one approaches this note has great significance in the build up of the raga. Tyagaraja makes good
use of it in the pallavi.
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Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Sri

Vasant Kumar Nagulapalli for a useful discussion regarding
the meaning and interpretations of this song. The lyrics
were taken from the website of Sri Murthy
(www.sangeethapriya.org/~murthy/02% 20% 20Karnatak %
20Music%20Files/), which contains word documents of kritis of Thyagaraja, Dikshitar, Shyama Sastry, Annamacharya,
Purandara Dasa, Jaya Chamaraja Wodayar and Papanasam
Sivan.
Uma and Prabhakar Chitrapu have a long history with
SRUTI. Prabhakar is a former President of SRUTI and is a
frequent contributor to its publications. He carries an ardent
passion for Tyagaraja Kritis. Uma is the current head of
SRUTIs Resources and Development Committee.
Rasikan is a longstanding life member of SRUTI and is an
ardent admirer and lover of Carnatic music. He is also one
of the regular and frequent contributors to SRUTI Notes and
other publications.

Lyrics and Music in Tyagarajas Compositions

Vidyasankar Sundaresan
Tyagaraja is celebrated as a Vggeyakra, i.e. he is
the author of both the lyrics (vk) and the musical setting
(geya) of his compositions. This article explores some of the
characteristic relationships between the lyrics and their musical setting in Tyagarajas compositions.
One can describe this relationship according to
many different dimensions. From an emotional perspective,
one can talk of the consonance between the mood created by
the musical structure and the mood imparted by the words of
the song, e.g. the sophistication (sogasu) referred to in
Sogasu chooda tarama (Kannadagowla) vis-a-vis the sophisticated way in which the Kriti begins. One can explore how
the various facets of the same Raga are handled differently in
different compositions, e.g. each Kriti begins at a different
starting note and the Raga structure is built up through the
end of the Kriti. What I would like to focus on in this article
is a structural dimension how the words of Tyagaraja Kritis and their musical structures are intertwined. Most of us
Carnatic music lovers do not necessarily understand the Telugu language. Nevertheless, just as we can experience and
appreciate the music, we can also appreciate the creative
ways in which Tyagaraja has composed his lyrics and music.
South Indian poetry makes highly effective use of
alliteration, i.e. the use of the same syllable at the beginning
of consecutive poetic lines. In the south Indian languages,
there is a unique variation on alliteration, as it is applied not
only to the first syllable in each line, but also to the second
syllable. Thus, in Arunagirinatars famous Tiruppugazh in
Tamil, we have,
muttai taru patti tirunakai attukkirai satti sharavana
Similarly, Andal sings in her Tiruppavai,
mayanai mannu tuya peruneer ayar kulattinil
tayaik kutal

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