A Companion to Tyagaraja: Lyric to Liberation

It has been evident that there is a need for as many of Tyagaraja's lyrics as possible to be explained and annotated for the musical community of the world, both performers and their audiences. The lyrics are an important part of the spiritual function of the compositions that the saint propagated. The saint musicians that preceded Tyagaraja had indeed laid the framework for such an approach to liberation, but it remained the exclusive privilege of Tyagaraja to take it to the apogee of devotion in daily life. This Companion to the original volume Tyagaraja: Lyric to Liberation, hopefully, will go further along those lines.

Tyagaraja simultaneously lived a life of music and spirituality.His work was no mere social campaign; it was a fundamental spiritual awakening. These additional songs, together with their annotations, are intended to augment that basic premise.

SUDHA EMANY, with a Master's in English from English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, a Diploma in violin from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, and a Diploma in Sanskrit from the Vivekananda Institute of Languages, Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad, is uniquely qualified to write on the sahitya (lyrics) of the composer-singer-saint Tyagaraja. She teaches Sanskrit at the Vivekananda Institute.

Presuming on the fact that my original volume Tyagaraja: Lyric to Liberation serves the instructional function of helping teachers, students, and performers of music by providing interpretation and explanation of the lyrics of the saint musician Tyagaraja, I have decided to translate an additional 168 compositions, bringing the total number discussed to somewhat less than one half of Tyagaraja's available kṛtis.