Shri Annamacharya (1408-1503) was a forerunner of
the great composers of Carnatic Music including Purandara Dasa and Tyagaraja
Swamigal. Also known as Annamayya or Annamacharyulu he is a saint composer who
composed soulful lyrics in chaste Telugu in praise of Lord Venkateswara and his
divine consort Alamelumanga.He has also
composed a few songs in Sanskrit.
Shri
Annamacharya’s biography was written by his son Chinna Tirumalacharya. Born to Narayana Suri alias Kumaranarayana and
Lakshmamba of Tallapaka in Cuddapah
district, Andhra Pradesh, this child prodigy was said to have had a vision from
Alamelumanga, the consort of Lord Shrinivasa. At the tender age of eight, he
left for Tirumala on a command from Lord Venkataramana in a dream. He had a
vision of Alamelumanga (the damsel standing on a flower), the divine consort of
Shrinivasa. Young Annamayya poured forth 100 compositions immediately at
Mokallamudupu. As he ascended the seven hills, scaling spiritual heights, he reached
the Abode of Bliss, to this day an unparalleled inspiration to all. He was then
initiated into the Vaishnava fold by Ghana Vishnu with traditional
Panchasamskaram rituals.
He stayed at
Tirumala until the age of 16. Then, he had a manifestation of Lord
Venkataramana and a command to compose no less than one song a day, which he
did till he passed away at the ripe old age of 95. After receiving his command,
he returned to Tallapaka and married Timmakka and Akkalamma. He continued to
tour the whole of South India worshipping Vaishnavite shrines. Adivan Satakopa
Yati of Ahobilam enlightened his life and mission. Inspired by this guru, he
sang the essence of Vishishtaadwaita philosophy. At the same time, he took to
composing on the Lord of the Hill and His consort Alamelumanga. Over the
years, while his compositions on the divine couple formed the largest part of
his literary output, he also composed songs on a few other deities.
Annamacharya’s
music attracted the attention of the ruling king Saluva Narasimha of Penukonda.
The mutual affection soon turned sour when the ruler desired that Annamacharya
compose an erotic song on him. The composer refused and remained steadfast in
his resolution of singing only the praise of Vishnu. The infuriated king imprisoned
him for some time but soon he saw the error of his ways and once again became
devoted to the composer.
Annamacharya is
credited with introducing the ceremonial bathing of Venkateswara every Friday,
a practice that continues till date. While he enjoyed popularity in his days,
his compositions remained forgotten for over three centuries. Only in 1922 they
were found engraved on copper plates, hidden for centuries inside the Shri
Venkateswara temple at Tirumala concealed in a very small room. Copper plates
on which they were inscribed are now with Shree Venkateshwara Oriental Research
Institute, Tirupati. They were published in a 26-volume set. Many of his songs
originally were set in ragas that are no longer in vogue. Modern tunesmiths
have substituted popular ragas for many of his songs. Due to the efforts of
Tirupati Devasthanam and musicians like Balamuralikrishna, Neduneri
Krishnamoorthi and M.S.Subbulakshmi these songs with improvised ragas came back
to the public domain and are now part of the repertoire of most Carnatic
musicians.
He is believed to
have composed in all 32,000 songs out of which 14,000 are available to us. The
larger part of around 12000 songs comprises erotic themes depicting the love
making of the divine couple Venkateswara and Alamelumanga. These are referred
to as Shringara Sankirtanas. The remaining, classified as Adhyatmika
Sankirtanas deal with devotion and higher philosophy.
In addition to the
kritis, Annamacharya composed twelve shatakas (sets of 100 verses) in praise of
deities. He also created prabandhas, wrote the Venkatachala Mahatmiya and
composed the Ramayana in Telugu in dwipada metre. He also authored the Sangita
Lakshanam, a treatise on music in Sanskrit.
Some famous Annamacharya
Kirtanas are set out below:
·
Sharanu Sharanu
·
Rama Dayapara Seema
·
Narayana Te Namo Namo
·
Bhavayami Gopalabalaṁ
·
Muddugare yasoda
·
Shriman Narayana
·
Jo achyutananda jo jo
·
Bhavamulona Bahyamunandunu
·
Brahmam Okate
·
Nanati Batuku Natakamu
