Tyagaraja Aradhana by TN Devotees

The second contingent of 700 devotees, Balvikas children, parents and gurus from the districts of Chennai Metro ( South ), Coimbatore, Vellore and Tiruppur districts of Tamil Nadu arrived at Prasanthi Nilayam this morning. The Pancharatna Kritis (five of the most outstanding compositions) of Saint Tyagaraja were performed by eminent Vidwans and Vidhushis led by Sri. Trichur Ramachandran (Padma Bhushan Awardee).

They started the concert by paying obeisance to Lord Ganesha with the kriti, ‘Sri Ganapatini’ in Saurashtram ragam and Adi Talam. As per tradition they next paid respects to the Guru with the composition ‘Guruleka’ in raga Gaurimanohari and tala Khanda Chapu.

With this they began the rendition of the first of the pancharatnas namely, ‘Jagadananda Karaka’ (raga: Nata, tala: Adi) in praise of Lord Ramachandra. In the second pancharatna kirti ‘Dudukugala Nanne’ (raga: Gaula, tala: Adi), Tyagaraja lists all the errors he has committed in his life including wandering without purpose, giving sermons to people uninterested or incompetent, self styling oneself as a great person and mistaking the dross for the real thing.

“Saadhinchene” (raga: Arabhi, tala: Adi), a kriti considered sweetest among the Pancharatnas finds Tyagaraja extolling the greatness of the Lord in a lucid manner most enthusiastically. “Kanakana Ruchira” (raga: Varali, tala: Adi), describes the great pleasure experienced by beholding the beautiful form of Lord Rama.

The musicians concluded with the one of Bhagawan’s favourite compositions, “Endaro Mahanubhavulu” (raga: Sri, tala: Adi), where the blessed saint salutes the countless great personages who have attained immense heights in their spiritual experience and have continued to live in all ages and then goes on to describe those whom he considers great.

The artistes expressed their gratitude for the privilege and honour of rendering the Pancharatna Kritis of Tyagaraja at the Divine Sannidhi of Bhagawan. Trustees of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust and Ashram Elders honoured them with shawls and sarees. Prasadam was distributed to the gathering.