Tyagaraja started his musical training under Sri Sonti Venkataramanayya at an early age. Tyagaraja regarded music as a way to experience the love of God. His objective while performing music was to repeat the name of God and contemplate on His pastimes, thereby reducing the vices of the mind, not to display his mastery over Raga and Tala. He had to struggle quite a bit to compose music in which Bhava, that is, emotion, was crowned. (He always felt that Bhava was not to be compromised for Raga and Tala.) But then, as the legend goes, he was supposedly blessed by the divinesageNarada with great musical knowledge. With these blessings, Tyagaraja gained mastery of music. He is said to have sung Sadhinchane, the third of Pancharatna Kritis, on this occasion.
Venkataramanayya, intensely pleased with Tyagaraja's song, told the king about the genius of Tyagaraja. The king sent an invitation to his court along with much wealth and gifts. Tyagaraja cleared his dilemma by composing and singing Nidhi Chala Sukhama and rejected the offer.
Angered at his rejection of the royal offer, Tyagaraja's brother took revenge by throwing his idols of Rama Pattabhisheka in the adjacent River Cauvery. Tyagaraja, unable to bear the separation with his Lord, made a pilgrimage to all the major temples in South India and composed many more songs in praise of those temple deities. He is said to have finally found the idols with the help of Rama himself. Tyagaraja attained Moksha on a Vaikunta Ekadasi.
To this day, a commemorative music festival called the Tyagaraja Aaradhana is held at Thiruvaiyaru in the months of January to February every year. In the US, there is a Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana held in Cleveland, Ohio every April. Usually, doyens of Carnatic music preside and perform in the festival.
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