Kakarla Tyagabrahmam (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847) or Saint Tyagaraja, also known as Thyagayya in Telugu, was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. He was a prolific composer and highly influential in the development of the classical music tradition. Tyagaraja and his contemporaries Syama Sastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar were regarded as the Trinity of modern Carnatic music. Tyagaraja composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in Telugu and in praise of Lord Rama, many of which remain popular today. Of special mention are five of his compositions called the Pancharatna Kritis (English: "five gems"), which are often sung in programs in his honour.

Saint Tyāgarāja was born in 1767 in Tiruvarur, Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu to Kakarla Ramabrahmam and Sitamma in a Telugu Brahmin family. His family belonged to the smarta tradition and Bharadvaja gotra. Tyagaraja was the third son of his parents, and Panchanada Brahmam and Panchapakesha Brahmam are his older brothers. He was named Tyagabrahmam / Tyagaraja after Tyagaraja, the presiding deity of the temple at ThiruvArUr, the place of his birth. Tyagaraja's paternal grandfather was Giriraja Kavi. Giriraja Kavi was a poet and musician. Giriraja was born in Kakarla village, Cumbum taluk in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh. He is believed to belong to the Mulakanadu sect. Tyagaraja's maternal grand father was Kalahastayya/Veena kalahastayya. He was a Veena player. Tyagaraja learned playing Veena in his childhood from Kalahastayya. After Kalahastayya's death Tyagaraja found "Naradeeyam", a book related to music. Tyagaraja hero-worshipped the celestial sage Narada; a reference to this is Tyagaraja's krithi Vara Nārada (rāga Vijayaśrī, Ādi tāḷam). Legend has it that a hermit taught him a mantra invoking Narada, and Tyagaraja, meditating on this mantra, received a vision of Narada and was blessed with the book Svarārnavam by the sage. During his last days, Tyagaraja took vows of Sannyasa.