LIFE SKETCH

source

https://historyunderyourfeet.wordpress.com/2014/08/03/poets-and-literature-in-the-

vijayanagara-period-annamacharya/

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source

http://www.sangeetasudha.org/annamacharya/index.html

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tallapaka Annamacharya (1424-1503)

Padakavita pitamaha Annamacharya was born in 1424 in the village of Tallapaka in Andhra Pradesh. As the legend goes, Annamayya, at the age of 16, had a vision of Lord Venkateswara which prompted him to write about 32,000 kirtanas and padams in praise of Lord Venkateswara and his consort Alamelu Manga. He composed devotional padams, keertanas, folk songs, etc. in pure Telugu and Sanskrit.

Many of his songs are not available now. A good number of songs lived from generations on the tongues of devotees. Due to the untiring efforts of researchers like Sri Veturi Prabhakara Sastri, Sri Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sarma, and other scholars, a good number of songs were deciphered from the copper plates under the auspices of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. Many lyricists are now setting notation to the compositions because the copper plates only mentioned the ragas of songs. The immense popularity of these immortal songs is due to their spiritual strength.

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Annamacharya Keertanas

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Annamacharya is to be reckoned as the

first among the hymnographers in Telugu,

not only from the view point of

chronology but also for his superb

artistry and range of feeling and

thought. He was a pioneer in the field

who could handle both amorous and

devotional strains with equal felicity.

The synthesis of Vishnu of the Rigveda

with the cosmic god Narayana of the

Brahmana’s and then with the popular

deity Vasudeva Krishna in due course

resulted in the emergence of Vaishnavism.

The religion holds Vishnu to be the

supreme god and devotion to him the main

objective of human existence. According

to Vaishnava theology descent or

incarnation is only one of the five forms

through which Vishnu manifests himself.

In the ‘para’ transcendent form he is

Vasudeva, the supreme being, beyond the

reach of human experience.

The ‘vyuha’emanative form is his functional

manifestation as a creator, sustainer and

destroyer of the Universe.

The ‘vibhava’ incarnate aspect is related to his descent into the world in physical form.

In the ‘antaryamin’, immanent form he

dwells in the hearts of all beings

regulating their feelings. And finally in

the ‘archa’, iconic form he becomes

easily accessible to his devotees and

receives ritualistic worship from them in

temples and homes.

Among the five the ‘archa’ is the most

sought after form by devotees as it

enables them to enjoy the beauty and

splendour of the Lord here and now. That

is why several saint poets have expressed

their wish to be born again and again in

the mortal world if only to experience

the bliss of beholding Vishnu in their

favourite iconic form. The medium

favoured by all these sainT poets to

worship their favourite deity was song or

‘samkeertana’, as it is the most

effective medium to reach god in

Kaliyuga. It also appeals to the

imagination and interest of the common

man, amongst whom these saint poets

wished to propagate their path of Bhakti

or devotion.

Annammayya pioneered singing of pada or

sankeertana in Telugu language. Annamayya seems to have started composing lyrics at the age sixteen, when he was fascinated by his devotion to Lord Venkateshwara. This devotion is called Madhura Bhakti because it is ‘godlove’ in which the devotee is the beloved or ‘preyasi’ or jeevatma and the ‘Lord God’ is the

supreme hero or Paramaatma. Alamelmanga and Venkateshwara represent Radha and Krishna in Vaishnava parlance and they stand for ‘prakriti and purusha’ in Sankhya terminology. The same divine pair represent ‘sakti and siva’ in Saiva parlance.

Annamacharya was greatly influenced by

foremost exponent of the Vishishtadvaita

school of Vaishnivism, Ramanuja, rightly

thought that “the real proof of the being

of God is the being in God” and accepted

the utterances of the Alwars as

authoritative as the word of God in the

Vedas.

As a convert to the Vishishtadvaita sect,

Annamacharya had devoted many years to

the study of its theology. Therefore he

shared the emotional mysticism of the

Alwars as well as their intense love for

the God of the seven hills.

Popular accounts of the lives of saints

freely blend fiction with fact and invest

ordinary natural events with the shades

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A poetical work

in Telugu titled ‘Annamacharya Charitram’

written by his grandson, Chinna

Tiruvengalanadha, popularly known as

Chinnanna. It has however much value as

history for two reasons. Chinnanna

gathered information about the main

events in his Grandfather’s life from the

members of his family, and he composed

the poem when people who were acquainted with the saint were still alive and it received their approval.

Annamacharya’s period has almost unanimously been specified to be between 1408-1507 A.D.(6) Annamacharya was born of Nadavaraka Brahmiin parents in Tallapaka, a somnolent hamlet situated not far from Tirupati, in early fifteenth century,

most probably on 22nd May 1408. His fore

fathers obviously acquired the name

‘Tallapaka’ from their association with

the village for long. Though annamacharya’s parents Narayana Suri and Lakkamamba belonged to the smartha seet whose adherents hold Shiva and Vishnu in equal veneration. It is said that desiring a male child the parents of Annamayya went on pilgrimage to the shrine of Venkateshwara on top of the hill Venkatadri and met with an unusual experience. Within the precincts of the temple they saw in a vision, the ‘nandaka’ sword, and in due course were blessed with a son in answer to their prayers.

The boy Annamayya appears to have been

quite bright in his studies and his songs

bear sufficient testimony to the fact

that he had received sound instruction in

classical learning at an early age. It

appears that he grew weary of the ways of

the world when he was only a boy of 8

years. During his childhood he was given

several chores by his parents and

relatives which he detested. There is a

Sankeertana indicating this:

At the age of 16 Annamayya saw a vision

of Lord Venkateshwara and these lyrics

burst forth in his ecstasy

One day when he was sent to cut grass he

observed a happy band of pilgrims on

their way to Tirupati, they were singing

songs of the Lord, and the temptation to

follow them was irresistible to

Annamayya. He left his village ad family

and followed the pilgrims all the way to

Tirupati.

It is said that before entering Tirupati

one had to pay obeisance to a grama

devata ‘Tallapaka Gangamma’. Chinnanna

feels this name must have stuck after

Annamayya visited her.

From Tirupati he started early morning

and visited Narasimha Swami,

Talayerugundu, Peddayekkudu,

Kapurapungalu and reached Mokkallaparvata by evening.

After crossing a tamarind tree in

Talayerugundu he came across the

‘shripadas’.Peddayekkudu was very difficult to climb, a culvert called Karpurapungalavu comes before reaching the mokaallaparvata, the water there was said to be very fragrant.As a custom, the mokaalla parvata should be climbed with the knees. Legend goes that without realizing it Annamayya

climbed the mountain with his slippers and was unable to go any further due to

exhaustion, when Alamelumanga appeared

before him in the guise of an old woman

and advised him to give up the slippers. She gave him divyaprasadam and

disappeared at which point he recited

spontaneously a shatakam on Alamelumanga:

Annamacharya then reached Tirupati

safely. He visited the Swamy Pushkarini

and recited several songs. On entering

the temple he is said to have recited

this song.

On finally having darshanam of his Lord,

he recited a song expressing his joy at

finally being able to see in person the

peerless form of his beloved

Venkateshwara:

“Podaganti mayya mimmu purushottama mammu

nedayaka vayya konetiraayada”.

He composed several lyrics on the

greatness of the Lord, and his ‘abhaya

hastam’.

In Annamayya’s songs he makes several

references to ‘Guru’, but it is obscure

as to who he exactly may have been. One

feels due to the songs and legends, that

it was Lord Venkateshwara himself in the

guise of a learned man who advised

Annamayya to go back home and have a

family. A particular song expresses this

idea that it was only Lord Venkateshwara

who was Annamacharya’s true Guru.

“Sarvapaayamula jagati naakitande

marvidharundu purushottamunditande”

his village and became a ‘grihastha’, man

with a family by marrying two girls,

Tirumalamma and Akkalamma, in deference to the wishes of his parents. Tirumalamma also known as Timmakka was herself a poet, who wrote the narrative poem ‘Subhadra Kalyanamu’, and acquired the distinction of being the first noteworthy

woman poet in Telugu.

Annamayya visited many holy places and

composed innumerable Shringara

sankeertanas on God during his youth.

Ahobala Nrsimha Swamy himself is said to

have bestowed on Annamayya ‘Tridandam’

and several mantras.

A strong urge to master the Visishtadvaita theology led Annamacharya

sometime after his marriage to seek the

guidance of a reputed Vaishnava preceptor

of the age Adivan Shathakopa yati, the

founder of a matha in Ahobalam.

He appears to have lived with his family

there, spending several years studying

the scriptures of his sect especially the

collection of the hymns of the Alwars

called ‘Divyaprabandham’ and the Ramayana of Valmiki which is regarded by the Srivaishnavas as ‘Saranagati – Sastra’,

treatise on self-surrender or ‘Prapatti’.

Annamayya also learnt Vedanta from

Shathakopamuni. He is said to be the same

Shathakopamuni whom Sri Krishnadevaraya

prays to in Aamuktamalyada. Annamayya

served him with the following lyrics.

“chudu dindaraku sulabhundu hari

todu needayagu deramuni yitandu”

At a very young age Annamayya composed

the Ramayana in Sankeertana form. The

loftiness of his sentiments and felicity

of his language, the intensity of his

devotion soon began to attract the

attention of people at large.

When Saluva Narsinga Raya, who was then

the cieftain of Tanguturu, a town near

Tallapaka, came to know about the

saintliness of Annamacharya, he

approached the poet with great reverence

and humbly begged him to visit his place

and stay there as his honoured guest.

Annamaya acceded to his request and

stayed with him for some time.

Narasinga Raya began to thrive and

prosper and soon rose to be the ruler of

the fort of Penugonda in the Vijaynagara

Empire. At his invitation Annamacharya

went to Penugonda and stayed there for a

while.”

In his last days Annamayya spent most of

his time in Tirupati organizing utsavas

and pujas for the Lord. There he wrote a

short narrative poem entitiled Sringara –

Manjari, describing the passionate

longing of a young girl for Sri

Venkateshwara and the fulfillment of her

wish. He also composed numerous songs

that vividly describe the pomp and

spectacle, rituals and festivals

associated with the shrine.

Annamacharya appears to have spent the

last years of his life in relative

tranquility. Spending his time mostly at

Tallapaka and Tirupati by turns and

participating in the annual Brahmotsava

festival of Sri Venkateshwara without

fail. He received several grants of land,

besides other gifts unasked, from his

admirers and spent the income from those

sources quite lavishly in the service of

the Lord by instituting new festivities

and food offerings.

From specific references in two poetical

works ‘Sripadarenumahatyamu’ and

‘Sakuntala-parinayamu’ by one of his

grandsons, Revanuri Venkatacharya. It is

learnt that Annamacharya performed the

Kalyanotsava of the godess Alamelmanga

with Lord Venkateshwara, assuming the

position of the bride’s father. In the

past Periyalwar had the honour of being

hailed by the Vaishnavas as the Lord’s

father-in-law as he had performed the

marriage of his foster-daughter, Andal

with Sri Ranganadha and Annamacharya

appears to have enjoyed the same

distinction among his contemporaries with

regard to Sri Venkateshwara.

In consequence of his unceasing devotion

to the Lord, he acquired certain

miraculous powers. Chinnanna mentions a

particlar incident when

Narsimhadandanadha who attacked

Vijayanagar was said to have given sour

mangoes to the Lord as naivedya.

Annamayya’s one touch changed them to

sweet mangoes. There are some songs

mentioned where common people are said to

have worshipped him as God.

“Paramatma ninun golchi bratikemu”, in

which he prays to the omnipresent God.

Songs composed in praise of Annamacharya

by his successors are also mentioned. One

of the songs of Peda Tirumalaacharya is:

“Eetande muktidova eetande maayaacharyun

deetandu galugabatti yindaru badikiri”

and another;

“Hariyavatara nitadu annamayya araya

maagurunditandannamayya”(31) are some

such.

Annamayya is said to have composed over

32,000 lyrics. Besides the sankeertanas,

he also composed a Ramayana in Dwipada

metre, Venkatachala Mahatyam in Sanskrit,

Twelve Shatakams, several prabandhas,

Sringara Manjari and Sankeertana Lakshana

in Sanskrit, which is now not available.

Annamacharya lived to a ripe old age, and

could look back with satisfaction on his

extensive service as the cief hymnist of

Sri Venkateshwara himself. It is known

that he performed the Brahmopadesa of one

of his gransdons China Tirumalacharya,

and according to reliable inscriptional

evidence, he entristed the sacred task of

offering a fresh hymn to the Lord every

day to his song Peda Tirumalacharya, and

passed away on 23rd February in 1503.

Annamayya left behind him worthy

successors who were great scholars and

poets in their own right. Peda

Tirumalacharya was the son of Akkalamma.

His son was Chinna Tirumalacharya.

Tirumalamma’s son, Narsimhacharya, was also said to have been a great poet. Peda

Tirumalacharya ably assisted by Saluva

Narasinga Raya was the one who started

the process of storing Annamayya’s songs

on copper plates. He had many poetical

works to his credit.(33) The contribution

of the Tallapaka poets was recognized by

many poets of future generations

Annamacharya had always regarded life as

a theatrical show, full of pretences and

vain pursuits, as he says in one of his

songs, ‘life is no more than play-acting,

and heaven, the fruit of ceaseless

striving’ (Naanati bratuku naatakamu).

Never for a moment did he waver in his

faith that attainment of the realm of

Vishnu should be the prime objective of

human life. It is certain that

Annamacharya played his role in the

theatrical show with consummate skill,

and when the appointed hour arrived, he

made his final exit from the stage with a

profound sense of fulfillment.

(from

http://sriannamacharya.org/Life_&_works.h

tml)