Sandhya Anand

One day, in the 1700’s town of Thiruvarur, a baby arrived, the little boy was named “Kakarla Thyagabhramam,” nicknamed as Thyagaraja, after Thiruvarur’ s main deity. He learned to worship Rama every day. He always strived to love God, even past the age of eighty. Every day, he would worship and love, his prayers always thrived. Even at thirteen, his words complimenting Rama were weighty. His first song was born of compassion; his love never archived. Five years later, he married Parvati, who sadly passed away 5 years after. Later he married Kamalamba, sister to Parvati and this time a daughter arrived, and named her Sitamahalakshmi, and eventually she had a son. Through her, Thyagaraja had a grandson, whose life he was sadly deprived. Thus ended the direct descent to the Saint, whose death we will only know of to a small degree.

Yet Thyagaraja continued to love Rama, regardless of the obstacles that always seemed contrived. He would sometimes struggle to compose Bhavam, yet his words were often full of glee. His praise for Rama never-ending, full of love, it always survived Music and Bhakti were all that mattered to him, and of course Rama, which made three and so Thyagaraja wrote and wrote, dedicating his life to music, he prized His connection to Rama, God, and music, he sometimes spoke of “me.” He asked for protection, criticized, and chastised. Though he would find flaws in himself, he continued to love His praise for Rama never-ending, full of love, it always survived.

Thyagaraja revered the greatest Bhaktas, and loved He composed, sang, and wrote, his love always survived. He never stopped, never gave up, always overcame, underprived.

Of his love, even till his dying breath, of which we do not know, for he is a Saint, a lover of Rama, music, and God.