Tyagaraja

Also: Thyagaraja

● Confidence: high Last verified: 12 Oct 2026

Period

1767 to 1847

Language(s)

Telugu

Biography

Born at Tiruvarur, he is one of the Trinity of Carnatic music, with Syama Sastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar. He composed mostly in Telugu, the language of the people, and his teacher is said to have been Sonti Venkataramanayya.

Notable contributions

Devotional songs, above all in praise of Rama. Tradition credits him with thousands of songs, but estimates of how many survive differ between sources (roughly 700 to 800), and claims of tens of thousands are doubted for lack of evidence. He also wrote two musical plays, Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam and Nauka Charitam.

Notable works (titles only)

• Jagadanandakaraka (Pancharatna kriti, raga Nata)
• Duduku Gala (Pancharatna kriti, raga Gowla)
• Sadhinchene (Pancharatna kriti, raga Arabhi)
• Kana Kana Ruchira (Pancharatna kriti, raga Varali)
• Endaro Mahanubhavulu (Pancharatna kriti, raga Sri)