Among these 5 only the 1st one Jagadanandakaraka is in Sanskrit. All other 4 are composed in Sadguru’s mother tongue Telugu only. This krithi conveys in all philosophic depth that Sree Ramachandra is the cause of supreme bliss. It deals with this theme with all its depth of thought and expression. The use of Nata raga is not in an ordinary way in this. The peculiarity is that Sadguru seldom uses Dhaivatham in Jagadanandakaraka. It is to be studied in all the details how he manages to do this meticulously without losing the Ragaswaroopam (Identity of the Raga)
The second one Duduku Gala has lots of peculiarities of its own. It deals with the serious subject of man’s follies. When Sadguru lists the follies normally committed by a man, he touchs his own life in a retrospective manner and lists out the mistakes he himself has committed. This supreme realisation that results to self-evaluation makes him great beyond description. Petty things and mundane considerations made him feel good earlier. That includes even a full meal, unnecessarily wasting time by giving sermons to people who cannot comprehend such things, considering himself as above all of them etc.
Saadhimchane is the third Krithee and very sweet in nature as the Raga used is Aarabhi. In this Krithi Saint Thyagaraja describing Lord Rama& Lord Krishna in a different angle with happiness and enthusiasm. He says that though you gave this mind to all of us to satiate the worldly desires but later you got us arrested with your wish to control us in both mind & body. But sometimes you also did the same thing. You couldn’t even give Gopees, satisfaction to their love laden heart and sometimes even ridiculed them but later only you divulged the true swaroopam. He them tells about Lord Rama and says he is eternal and untouched or untainted by anything. How can you go in such a way ignoring our earthly prayers? But this Thyagaraja understands your plays of all kind and keep you all confined in his heart. These are all thoughts & worships that go in different & unique ways as only the sublime spiritual experience& enlightenment of that kind leads Sadguru. Saadhimchane really attracts the attention of all singers due to its sweetness while rendering.
Kanakana Ruchira is perhaps the most rare and less used one among these 5 Krithees. One is due to the peculiarity of Varali Ragam in which it is composed and the associated obscurity. This song deals with the story of Dhruva and it leads to analogies from the Ramayana, the favourite subject of Saint Thyagaraja. There is widespread belief associated to this 5th Pancharatna. It is believed among musicians that if it is taught, it will eventually create a rift between teacher & student. Due to all these factors, this has become the less used among the Pancharatnas.
The fifth and the final one of Pancharatna is the most famous, most often sung composition “Ëntharo Mahanubhavulu”. This composition defines the great names in the context of music. It includes Saints Narada ,Saunaka etc. Saint Thyagaraja is bowing before the great souls of music. This is believed to have been composed and sung at the young age of Sadguru before his own Guru. Later a widespread belief came that this was composed in honour of Shadkala Govinda Marar, one of eminent history makers of Carnatic music in Kerala. It is believed that when Marar sung an Ashtapadi in 7 kalas(speeds) with absolute & meticulous precision, Saint Thyagaraja out of his sheer joy, composed this song to honour Marar. But those who study Sadguru Thyagaraja has a difference of opinion about this since Sadguru never praises a human being. This is beautifully expressed in the Kalayani Raga composition of him “Nidhi chsala sugama, Ramuni sannidhi chsala sugama”. In this kruthi he says clearly “Narastuthi Sugama”, that means does the praise of a human being gives me happiness? He always want to praise only Lord Rama. So here also it is extremely remote that he composed this to honour Marar. But it is believed that on getting pleased with the extraordinary musical skill of Shadkala Govinda Marar, Sadguru asked his senior students to sing this composition which was taught to them earlier to honour Marar.
The songs deals with the various ways devotees worship their God. Anecdote of Dhruva also comes in this. Sadguru talks about the devotion of Hanuman, Narada, Suka etc in this context and think about the uniqueness of their Bhakthi.
Now even after centuries, Carnatic musicians from all parts of the World join in Thiruvayyaru to jointly sing all these 5 compositions and thus perform Thyagaraja Aradhana.Later it got wide publicity & acceptance and Thyagaraja Aradhana is now being performed all over the world to mark the respect to the all time great Saint composer of Carnatic music Sadguru Thyagaraja. It is also to be noted that normally the Aaradhana starts with the famous compostion from Thyagaraja himself in praise of Lord Ganapathy, the eliminator of all obstacles in the Raga Saurashtram ie: “Sree Ganapathini Sevimparare”
Dudukugala Nanne (Raaga Goula)
In this second pancharatna kriti, Tyagaraja lists all the errors he has committed in his life and asks who but Rama would redeem such a sinner. Among the sins described include: just wandering around as though being satisfied with a full meal, giving sermons to people who are really not interested in listening or who are too incompetent to understand, self-styling oneself as a great person, and mistaking the dross for the real thing. Interestingly he lists four categories of people before whom he has tried to pass off as a great man; the ignorant, the riff-raff, the shudras or low caste folk and women. In a play on words, he bemoans those who crave for wives and progeny.Saadhinchane (Raaga Arabhi)
This pancharathna kriti has been to Arabhi. This kriti has been carved out in a language full of liberty, teasing tone, metaphor and simile without having a surfeit of adjectives - all the while arresting the attention of the singers. In this krithi, Thyagaraja appeared to be telling the greatness of the lord in a lucid manner most enthusiastically. The style adopted in this kriti is very sweet in comparison to the other four.
Kanakanaruchira (Raaga Varaali)
This is the least sung or played of the five pancharatna kritis, but it is considered by some to be the most haunting and beautiful. It consists of the story of Dhriva and draws analogies to the Ramayana. This composition is rarely taught, and even rarely heard in concerts, owing to a widespread superstition that it leads to a rift between the student and the teacher.
Endaro Mahanubhavulu (Raaga Sri)
Endaro Mahaanubhaavulu is a song written by Tyagaraja and is said to have been composed by Tyagaraja after watching the great Shadkala Govinda Marar perform. But this may as well be a legend without much historical accuracy. There are some inconsistencies in this version as Tyagaraja is said to have written and composed Endaro Mahanubhavalu at a comparatively young age and this kriti was recited by him before his Guru. When Tyagaraja met Govinda Marar, Tyagaraja was in his advanced age whereas Govinda Marar was much younger. Tyagaraja was 70 years whereas Marar was 39. Later, Marar predeceased Tyagaraja. Endaro Mahanubhavalu is believed to be one of the early kritis of Tyagaraja. Hence chances are that upon hearing the excellent rendition by Marar of Jayadeva Kriti in 6 kalams or degrees of speed, which is a very rare human feat, Tyagaraja had asked his disciples to sing in Marar\'s honour an earlier composition of his that is \'Endaro Mahanubhavalu\'. The song is a dedication to all the great maestros and performers. There is nothing in the Song pointing to Marar and on the other hand Tyagaraja enumerates clearly as who he deems as \'Mahanubhavalu\' in the kriti itself which list includes saints narada, saunaka etc. In this poem, Tyagaraja describes the greatness of devotees through the ages.The belief in Kerala is that Tyagaraja composed the kriti extempore in his spontaneous joy on hearing the spiritual and musically fantastic singing of Marar. But the version of the Walajapet disciples would have it that the kriti was already composed, and the disciples had learnt it before the arrival of Marar. This according to Mr. P.T.Narendra Menon was the legendary meeting between two great musicians. Since the kriti \'Endharo mahanubhavalu\' is said to have been composed by Tyagaraja at a young age, it is possible that after hearing Marar sing and in appreciation of the greatness of Marar, Tyagaraja could have asked his disciples to sing the kriti, written by him earlier.