Saint Thyagaraja took to Sanyasa when he felt the premonition of the approaching end to his mortal life. He attained Siddhi on 6th January 1847 on Pushya Bahula Panchami. His mortal remains were interred at a spot on the left bank of the Cavery at Thiruvaiyaru, with the honour and religious rites due to a Sanyasi. A Brindavan consisting of the conventional brick structure with the Tulasi plant was put up over the scared spot. The obsequies were performed by the Saint’s grandson through his daughter, named Thyagaraja who continued to perform the annual aradhana to the end of his life. After his time, the aradhana and connected ceremonies were taken over and performed by the disciples of the Saint at the house of one of them, named Subbarama Bhagavatar. Prominent among them were senior disciples Thillaisthanam Rama Iyengar and Umayalpuram brothers, Krishna Bhagavatar and Sundra Bhagavatar. After the death of Rama Iyengar, the brothers shifted to their own village where they resumed the performance of the customary aradhana and the Anniversary sraddha etc.

The annual aradhana Kainkarayam at the samadhi at Thiruvaiyaru was continued by the two disciples of Rama Iyengar, Narasimha Bhagavatar and Panchu Bhagavatar who also arranged for the daily worship at the samadhi. In 1903 the brickwork of the Brindavan was replaced by a stone structure. The regimen of the anniversary consisted of worship at the samadhi and the sraddha or customary ceremony, performed at the residence of the brothers along with the ceremonial feeding. There were no music concerts at the site of the samadhi till 1907 when the brothers introduced music concerts and HariKatha Kalashepams by leading artists. Soon after, difference arose between the brothers over matters connected with the festival resulting in a split between them and their followers. Two Katchies (Parties) or factions came into being, one known as Peria Katchi headed by the elder brother and other known as Chinna Katchi led by the younger brother. After some time the elder brother passed away and his place as the leader of the group was taken the elder brother passed away and his place as the leader of the group was taken by the great violonist Malaikkottai Govindaswami Pillai.

In 1914, Panchu Bhagavatar, the leader of the Chinna Katchi entrusted the conduct of the annual celebration to a committee called the Thyagabrahma vaibhava Prakasa Sabha, retaining to himself the right to perform the worship at the samadhi including the aradhana, sraddha and the connected rituals on the Bahula Panchami day. Suitable arrangements were also made for the continuance of the daily worship at the samadhi.

The period of Govindaswami Pillai’s stewardship of the Periya Katchi was noteworthy for the dedication with which the festival schedule was organized and carried through. The two katchies were conducting their respective programmes simultaneously for five days. This practice posed certain problems like clash of concert programmes and the public participation in the worship and the aradhana programmes. To overcome the difficulty and to avoid inconvenience and the embarrassment to votaries, vidvans and the public, Govindaswami Pillai arranged for the programmes of the two katchies being put through one after others so as to stretch the celebrations over a period of ten days. This opened up the scope for wider participation and greater opportunities for the vidvans and others to take part in the concerts besides making the amenity of free food being available continuously for 10 days. Music performances were given by leading vidvans at the Kalyan Mahal. A regrettable feature was that woman artists of even the highest standing like Veena Dhanammal were not allowed the privilege. Mr. Pillai would tactfully arrange for such performances at the shrine itself. After the passing away of Govindaswami Pillai in 1930, his place was taken by the Nadaswara vidvan Tiruvizhimazhalai Subrahmanyam Pillai.

An important landmark in the history of the Saint’s Samadhi and aradhana celebrations was the construction of a shrine in stone over the Samadhi. This was the contribution of the celebrated vidushi and ardent devotee of Thyagaraja, Bangalore Nagarathnammal who accomplished the great task with her own resources and the cooperation of the leading lights of the day. The work was started in 1921, and the Kumabishekam was performed in the year 1925. She made arrangements for daily pujas by apportioning land for the same. The stone image of the Saint was installed in front of the Brindavan with the images of Vinayaka and Hanuman adoring the entrance to the shrine. The marble slabs donated by vidwans are installed on the walls of the prakaram and they contain important keerthanas of the saint. 'Valmeeki Mandapam' in the entrance of the samadhi was constructed in 1938, and modified in 1962. The status in the mandapam depict the scenes of Sri Ramayana. In 1987 the samadhi was renovated and Kumbabaishekam done by Smt. Nagaratnammal trust.

She also redressed longstanding anomaly of the prohibition of women artists from giving concerts, by starting a separate group known as the Nagarathnammal Katchi which was predominantly a Ladies group. Thus there were three katchies or factions engaged in the conduct of the aradhana festival which naturally enough gave rise factions and inconvenience to the public. The proper solution to the vexed problem seemed to rest on a fusion of the three factions into an united endeavour in the continuation of the aradhana kaikaryam.

A happy consummation of the idea was the birth of the Sri Thyagabrahma Mahotsava Sabha in 1940 brought about by the concerted effort of the late S. Y. Krishnaswami, I.C.S., Musiri Subrahmanya Aiyar and the great violinist Rajamanikkam Pillai. The terms of the amalgamation contered on the celebration of a common exclusive right of performing the sishya parampara puja at the Samadhi on the Pushya Bahula Panchami day every year.

The sabha was founded and registered on 8th January, 1941, under the XII Act of 1860. The association has many laudable aims in view. Homage is paid to the saint every year during the Aradhana Festival. There are many constructive plans to enlarge the scope and activities in connection with the festival, which is conducted every year. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar was the first president. The first secretary was Musiri Sri Subrahmanya Aiyar who held the post for 17 years in two spells. The vidvan rendered commendable service to the sabha during the period of his incumbency.

Reference:
1. The Birth of Thyagabrahma Mahotsava Sabha by G. Srinivasan
2. A short History of Saint Thyagabrahma & his samadhi at Thiruvaiyaru by T.R. Jayanthi