58-JOJO-MUKUNDHA-ANNAMAIYA

jo achyutAnanda jo jo mukunda

rave paramAnanda rama govinda

nandunintanu cheri nayamu meeranga

chandravadanalu neeku seva cheyanga

andamuga vari indla aaduchundanga

mandalaku donga maa muddu ranga

angajuni ganna maayanna itu raara

bangaru ginnelo palu posera

donga neevani sathulu bonduchunnara

mungita naadara mohanakara

anguga tallapAkannayya chala

Srungararachanaga cheppe nee jola

sangathigA sakala sampadala neevELa

mangaLamu tirupaTla madana gOpAla

jo achyutAnanda jo jo mukunda

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http://karnatiklyrics.blogspot.in/2011/02/jo-achyutananda.html

Your play at Nandas house is mesmerizing,

the ladies of the house with full moon faces were at your service

looking after your comforts.

You played in their houses with exuberance,

your lovely depictive acts made some call you a thief, our lovely effulgent krishna!

Come here O father of Manmadha,

(Angajudu meaning Manmadha is reincarnated in the womb of Krishna's wife Rukmini as Pradyumna. )

I’ll pour you milk in a golden cup

Are the women lying that you are a thief,

come play in my front yard, you the one of charming form

Tallapaka Annamayya is writing this lullaby

with lot of love to the bestower of all the treasures (health, wealth, progeny, prosperity etc.)

to the madana gopala that resides in Tirupati

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very nice blog post on many songs of Annamacharya rendered by

Smt.M.S.Subbulakshmi here.

http://voicedivine.blogspot.com/

SriManNarayana, a song usually rendered in the raga bowli, has the ability to sanctify the day when listened to as rendered by M.S.Amma. Listening to this song can be a means for performing abhigamana for those who live far away from temples which house SriManNarayana. Prolonged exposure to the divine verses in this song can make one attain the state which is difficult even for yogins, and bring oneself and Narayana very close.

Nanati Baduku, a philosophical song which is acclaimed by scholars is rendered by M.S.Amma with a seriousness which brings upon the listener a desire to cultivate Vairagya. The solemn nature of this song is made sweet by her voice and its meanings strike home with clarity.

The beautiful lullaby, Jo Achyutananda, usually rendered in Navaroj, is sung by M.S.Amma in the raga Kapi. Words cannot describe the consummate beauty of this song and her rendition which complements it. The author of this post has always found that the song evokes strong emotions culminating in tears that warm.

Can anyone remain unmoved by the zestful and peppy (kindly pardon the incongruous adjectives) Dolaayaam is raga Khamas? This song can bring one out a disturbed disposition and grant him/her the feeling of movement which comes naturally when one witnesses the Dolotsavam of SriVaari’s Utsava Vigraha.

Every time I listen to M.S.Amma’s voice call out to lord KRISHNA in the song Ra Ra Chinnanna, I cannot help glancing around in the hope that Lord Balakrishna will make an entry , if not for my sake definitely for the voice of his devotee who has called out to him through Annamayya’s song.

Krishna is accessibility (saulabhyam) personified but Rama, despite his sweet nature was undeniably the personification of majesty which made people respect him greatly. This is captured in the song Namo Namo Raghukula Naayaka which is rendered by M.S.Amma in the raga Nattai clearly conveying the majestic nature of Lord Ramachandra and the respect he evokes without exerting any effort. The entire Ramayana appears in a beautifully condensed form in this strongly rendered song.

Sri Annamacharya composed several songs in which he combined the 12 names of Vishnu (Keshava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudhana, Trivikrama, Vamana, Sridhara, Hrishikesha, Padmanabha and Damodhara), the vyuha concept of the paancharaatra system (Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradhyumna, Aniruddha) and some specific names of the lord like Adokshaja, Purushottma, Achyuta , thereby transforming music into a potent spiritual saadhana.

One such song is Nee Naamame... in the raga Madyamavathi. Listening to M.S.Amma’s rendition of this song brings us the dual benefits of the effects of this raga (which apparently imparts a sense of poise to the listener) and the practice of Sravanam (a limb of Bhakti as emphasized by the Bhagavatha purana).

Realising the efficacy of Harinama in exterminating the Karmas of Jivathmas in the cycle of birth and death, Annamayya emphasized this in every other song he wrote. However in the song Itiye Saadhanamu … in the most soothing Ritigowlai, M.S.Amma brings out the full import of the song with matchless confidence and the listener is left immersed in the nectarine ocean called Sri Hari.

Annamayya’s liberal worldview comes to the fore in Entamatramu a song which is dear to several Bhaktas. I have been fortunate enough to see and listen to M.S.Amma perform, albeit only through a televised recording. In one such concert Entamatramu was one of the Annamayya songs rendered by her. The obvious joy and devotion with which she rendered the song and the humility and Bhakti she displayed when she sang “SriVenkatagiri...” (Annamayya’s mudra was Venkata with logical variants) with hands folded in reverential supplication to the lord of the seven hills, nay the lord of the cosmos remain etched in my memory and will be certainly indelible. Probably she was able to visualise Him as she sang, or maybe he had granted a subtle Darshan to the empress of Carnatic music. Who am I to know of such things?

Cheri Yashodakau, a song in the delectable raga Mohanam has interesting lyrics. Annamayya marvels at SriKrishna who happens to be the infant in Yashoda’s arms as well as the father of Lord Brahma (the first born according to Sanathana Dharma).

Ksheeraabdhi Kanyakaku is a song which offers mangala Neeraajanam to the Queen of the Lord of the Seven Hills (Goddess Alarmel Mangai).

Parama Purusha, in the raga Shanmukhapriya is a scintillating song which extols the greatness of Lord Venkateshwara with words chosen with care.

Brahma Kadigina is a Kirtana which speaks of the feet of Lord Venkateshwara, alluding to several accounts like the Ahalya Episode, the Trivikrama Avatar and so on. The song unequivocally declares that feet of Lord Venkateshwara are verily the spiritual summum bonum that is sought by aspirants. In fact it is the Parama Padham (referred to in the Vishnu Sooktham thus “tat Vishnor paramam padham sadaa pashyanthi sooraya”

M.S. Amma’s rendition makes one equally desirous of attaining this state as are the yogi’s alluded to in the concluding stanza.

One need not despair, for the entire universe was sportingly measured by Lord Trivikrama and it belongs to him. There is not a substance in the universe which has not touched his feet and all Jivas who listen to this song can rest assured that he will claim what is rightfully his (the Jivatma) in due course of time.

As a grand finale Marali Marali Jayamangalamu is rendered by M.S.Amma with uncompromising zest. This song forms the fitting conclusion to our post as well as it follows the tradition of invoking auspiciousness in the end.

The songs composed by Annamayya are far too numerous to be described at length in one post (let alone one hundred). The remarkable service done by Smt. M.S.Subbulakshmi to Nanda Nandhana (Lord Venkateshwara) and His Nandaka (Sri Thalapakkam Annamacharya) can never be articulated effectively by one of limited knowledge of carnatic music such as the author of this post.