•   Thyagaraja (1767 –1847) was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music.

•   Tyagaraja and his contemporaries, Shyama Shastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar, are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music.

•   Thyagaraja composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in Telugu and in praise of Lord Rama.

•   Few of his important compositions are called the Pancharatna Kritis (‘five gems’), which are often sung in programs in his honour, and Utsava Sampradaya Krithis (‘Festive ritual compositions’), which are often sung to accompany temple rituals.

•   Tyagaraja lived through the reigns of kings of the Maratha dynasty.

•   Purandara Dasa (1484 – 1565) was a follower of Madhwacharya’s Dwaitha philosophy saint from present-day Karnataka as well as a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-proponents of Carnatic music (Karnataka classical music).

•   In honor of his significant contributions to Carnatic music, he is widely referred to as the Pitamaha (‘father’ or ‘grandfather’) of Carnatic music.

•   According to a legend, he is considered as an incarnation of Saint Narada.

•   He was a devotional singer of Lord Hari or Lord Krishna, who made the difficult Sanskrit tenets of Bhagavata Purana available to everyone in simple and melodious songs.

•   He was one of the most important music scholars of medieval India.

•   He formulated the basic lessons of teaching Carnatic music by structuring graded exercises known as Svaravalis and Alankaras.

•   He introduced the raga Mayamalavagowla as the first scale to be learnt by beginners in the field, a practice that is still followed today.

•   He also composed Gitas (simple songs) for novice students.

•   Purandara Dasa's Carnatic music compositions are mostly in Kannada, though some are in Sanskrit.

•   He was a 13th-century Marathi saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath Shaiva and Varkari tradition.

•   He authored Dnyaneshwari (a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita) and Amrutanubhav.

•   These are the oldest surviving literary works in the Marathi language, and considered to be milestones in Marathi literature.

•   Sant Dnyaneshwar's ideas reflect the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta philosophy and an emphasis on Yoga and bhakti towards Vithoba, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

•   His legacy inspired saint-poets such as Eknath and Tukaram.

•   He is one of the founders of the Varkari (Vithoba-Krishna) Bhakti movement tradition of Hinduism in Maharashtra.

•   He was a 15th–16th century saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist and social-religious reformer of Assam.

•   He is widely credited for his contribution in several fields:

o  Devising new forms of music called Borgeet,

o  Theatrical performance called Ankia Naat & Bhaona,

o  Dance called Sattriya which is a classical dance of India,

o  Literary language called Brajavali.

o  Scriptures called Bhagavat of Sankardev,

o  Poetry and theological works written in Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajavali.

•   He started Ekasarana Dharma, the Bhagavatic religious movement also called Neo-Vaishnavite movement.

•   He influenced two medieval kingdoms – Koch and the Ahom kingdoms.

•   He established the assembly of devotees as monastic centers called Sattras, which continue to be important socio-religious institutions in Assam and in North Bengal.

•   Sankardev inspired the Bhakti movement in Assam.