Srimat tvadiya charitamrita mannayarya
Pitvapi naiva suhita manuja bhaveyuh
Tvam Venkatachalapateriva bhaktisaram
Sri Tallapaka Gurudeva namo namaste
Pitvapi naiva suhita manuja bhaveyuh
Tvam Venkatachalapateriva bhaktisaram
Sri Tallapaka Gurudeva namo namaste
O Noble Annamacharya,
even after drinking deep the nectar of thy pious life,
Men will not be happy and content -
For like Lord Venkateswara,
Thou art verily the essence of
inexhaustible human devotion
To Thee, O Supreme master of Tallapaka,
we offer our most reverential salutations
Translation Copied From Soham
The raw material for Annamayya’s compositions is drawn from the Hindu tradition - Vedas. puraNaS, ltihasAs, Gita, Divya Prabandhas of Alvars, festivals, ceremonies and other social- and religious functions of the people.
The originality of Annamayya consists in using this material in a unique way resulting in the origination of the master-pieces of artistry in the form of Samkirtanas.
Like a sculptor who transforms a bare rock -into an exquisitely beautiful statue, like a musician who composes songs in the mellifluous ragas out of the Saptasvaras, like a literary genius who produces master pieces of literature out of seemingly ordinary words, Annamayya composed his SamkirtanAs from the raw materials drawn from different sources.
In his Samkirtanas we witness the harmonious blend of the sculptor, the musician and the
man of letters, apart from their significance as invocations. His Samktrtanas are the outbursts of devotional ecstasy. They are spiritually consoling. intellectually illuminating, morally ennobling and emotionally satisfying.
Dr. C. .RAMAIAH
Professor of Philosophy and Dean of Academc Affairs
“Sri Venkateshwara University"
The originality of Annamayya consists in using this material in a unique way resulting in the origination of the master-pieces of artistry in the form of Samkirtanas.
Like a sculptor who transforms a bare rock -into an exquisitely beautiful statue, like a musician who composes songs in the mellifluous ragas out of the Saptasvaras, like a literary genius who produces master pieces of literature out of seemingly ordinary words, Annamayya composed his SamkirtanAs from the raw materials drawn from different sources.
In his Samkirtanas we witness the harmonious blend of the sculptor, the musician and the
man of letters, apart from their significance as invocations. His Samktrtanas are the outbursts of devotional ecstasy. They are spiritually consoling. intellectually illuminating, morally ennobling and emotionally satisfying.
Dr. C. .RAMAIAH
Professor of Philosophy and Dean of Academc Affairs
“Sri Venkateshwara University"
The Ragas adopted by Annamacharya are those mentioned by Vidyaranya in his musical treatise sangeetha sara who lived before Annamacharya.
Vidyaranya is the first to introduce the Mela-Janya system and deals with 15 melas and 50 ragas which are all found in the Sankeertanas of Annamachrya.
Besided these ragas, Annamacharya introduced a few more ragas such as 1. Abali, 2. Ahirinata, 3. Amarasindhu, 4. Bhallari, 5. Desalam, 6. Gummakamboji, 7. Kokila panchamam 8. Konda Malahari, 9. Mangala Bauli, 10. Mukkaripantu, 11. Pratapanata, 12. Rayagoula, 13. Sokavarali, 14. Sindhukriya, 15. Gitanata, 16. Telugu Kamboji, 17. Kousi, 18. Dravida Bhairavi, 19. Dravidagurjari and 20. Sourashtragurjari.
These ragas find a place in Ramamathya’s musical treatise Swaramelakalanidhi written in 1550 A.D. Unfortunately the identity of these ragas are not known today.
Dr.S.A.K.Durga
Vidyaranya is the first to introduce the Mela-Janya system and deals with 15 melas and 50 ragas which are all found in the Sankeertanas of Annamachrya.
Besided these ragas, Annamacharya introduced a few more ragas such as 1. Abali, 2. Ahirinata, 3. Amarasindhu, 4. Bhallari, 5. Desalam, 6. Gummakamboji, 7. Kokila panchamam 8. Konda Malahari, 9. Mangala Bauli, 10. Mukkaripantu, 11. Pratapanata, 12. Rayagoula, 13. Sokavarali, 14. Sindhukriya, 15. Gitanata, 16. Telugu Kamboji, 17. Kousi, 18. Dravida Bhairavi, 19. Dravidagurjari and 20. Sourashtragurjari.
These ragas find a place in Ramamathya’s musical treatise Swaramelakalanidhi written in 1550 A.D. Unfortunately the identity of these ragas are not known today.
Dr.S.A.K.Durga
The bhakti movement by and large was indebted to Annamayya though initiated by the veera saiva poet ,particularly palkuriki somanatha in the preceeding centuries.
It was perpetuated by potana ,the creator of the most mellifluous work “Srimadbhagavatam”. If potana had blended lyricism into metrical verse (padyam), Annamayya has brought the kavya character to lyricism.
His usage of diction ,in Particular the Native telugu ,his imagination,emotion and the distinct talent in building up and absorbing mood and experimentation in blending the desi and Marga forms of expressions are all unique.
So he stands on a much higher pedestal in the history of telugu literature. But alas! The scholarly community in the past has not given the due importance to the desi literature and the lyrics
G.LaxmiNarayana in his preface to B.Rajanikanta Rao’s Annamacarya’s Sankeertana Shashti
It was perpetuated by potana ,the creator of the most mellifluous work “Srimadbhagavatam”. If potana had blended lyricism into metrical verse (padyam), Annamayya has brought the kavya character to lyricism.
His usage of diction ,in Particular the Native telugu ,his imagination,emotion and the distinct talent in building up and absorbing mood and experimentation in blending the desi and Marga forms of expressions are all unique.
So he stands on a much higher pedestal in the history of telugu literature. But alas! The scholarly community in the past has not given the due importance to the desi literature and the lyrics
G.LaxmiNarayana in his preface to B.Rajanikanta Rao’s Annamacarya’s Sankeertana Shashti
"That Annamacharya knew all the musical modes and forms of his times is obvious from
his works. But he conceived his pada, as did the earlier devotional singers, primarily as
devotional poetry. Music was mainly an aid to render them effectively."
The kritis of Tyagaraja and others, on the contrary, are conceived generally as musical
compositions; and their poetry, however impressive, is mainly a verbal scaffold for
raising a musical structure. Musical thought, rather than poetic thought, seems to
determine their structure pattern.
his works. But he conceived his pada, as did the earlier devotional singers, primarily as
devotional poetry. Music was mainly an aid to render them effectively."
The kritis of Tyagaraja and others, on the contrary, are conceived generally as musical
compositions; and their poetry, however impressive, is mainly a verbal scaffold for
raising a musical structure. Musical thought, rather than poetic thought, seems to
determine their structure pattern.
R A jayantha
rAllapalli
అసాధారణ భావన -స్వతంత్ర మధుర ధార -భావములలోని అసందిగ్ధమైన ఆర్జవము - విషయ వైవిధ్యము అన్నమయ్య కవిత లోని ప్రధాన గుణములు
Jayaprabha On Anna.
అన్నమయ్య భావుకత అనేక కోణాలలోంచి వెలుగులీనింది!
ఆయన రాయదలుచుకున్న ఏ భావానికి గాని ఎటువంటి ఆటంకమూ ... ఎటువంటి అదుపూ ఆయన పెట్టుకోలేదు.
ఎటువంటి ముసుగులూ ఆయన అక్షరాల పై కప్పలేదు
అందువల్లనే ఆయన ఎంతో వైవిధ్యమైన పదరచన చేయగలిగాడు
Annamayya pada paricayaM - Vol 2 page 311
ఆయన రాయదలుచుకున్న ఏ భావానికి గాని ఎటువంటి ఆటంకమూ ... ఎటువంటి అదుపూ ఆయన పెట్టుకోలేదు.
ఎటువంటి ముసుగులూ ఆయన అక్షరాల పై కప్పలేదు
అందువల్లనే ఆయన ఎంతో వైవిధ్యమైన పదరచన చేయగలిగాడు
Annamayya pada paricayaM - Vol 2 page 311
The music of Annamacharya is not notated which is very unfortunate.
According to Rallapalli Anantha Krishna Sharma, a well known scholar, perhaps two songs namely JO ACHUTHANANATHA and CHANDAMAMA RAVO are still sung in the same tune as he did.The copper plates having the songs only mention the raga name but not the talas.
Annamacharya‟s profound treatise “Sankeerthana Lakshanam” in Sanskrit, has the description of the characteristics of a sankeerthanam. According to him, the words in a Krithi or Sankeerthanam should be set in such a sequence that the order itself should increase the beauty and that forms the pallavi of the song. In other words, Pallavi of the song should be attractive and appealing which characteristic is immediately obvious in all Annamacharya keerthanams.
Another character he explained is that the words should be in common language so that
everybody should be able to enjoy the songs which also he followed in his songs, where in we can find the several proverbs and duets incorporated.
Annamayya adopted spoken dialect and folk meters for his songs. Hence they did not lose their freshness even after five centuries
According to Rallapalli Anantha Krishna Sharma, a well known scholar, perhaps two songs namely JO ACHUTHANANATHA and CHANDAMAMA RAVO are still sung in the same tune as he did.The copper plates having the songs only mention the raga name but not the talas.
Annamacharya‟s profound treatise “Sankeerthana Lakshanam” in Sanskrit, has the description of the characteristics of a sankeerthanam. According to him, the words in a Krithi or Sankeerthanam should be set in such a sequence that the order itself should increase the beauty and that forms the pallavi of the song. In other words, Pallavi of the song should be attractive and appealing which characteristic is immediately obvious in all Annamacharya keerthanams.
Another character he explained is that the words should be in common language so that
everybody should be able to enjoy the songs which also he followed in his songs, where in we can find the several proverbs and duets incorporated.
Annamayya adopted spoken dialect and folk meters for his songs. Hence they did not lose their freshness even after five centuries
A science of mood
http://asnic.utexas.edu/asnic/subject/te
A Science of Mood: Telugu Poems from Tirupati and Kalahasti
A Science of Mood: Telugu Poems from Tirupati and Kalahasti
-David Shulman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The 15th Century Telugu poet Annamayya or Annamacarya, left a corpus of some 14,000 padams addressed to the god Venkatesvara at Tirupati.
These poems mark a revolutionary shift in sensibility in South Indian Bhakti poetry, a shift linked to the world of "mood" - the irrecudible moment of nuanced feeling and perception in the experience of an irreducible individual.
I distinguish, here, between "mood" and "emotion", the latter exemlified by the earlier,Tamil poetry of viraha, where the love devotee longs for the usually absent deity. "Emotion" in these Tamil poems reflects a state of melting down, loss of self, and the frustation of a goal never fully acheived. By way of contrast, "mood" in the Annamayya corpus is discursive and present-oriented in the context of a deepening subjectivity - both of the poet and of the god he worships.
The historical shift in tone is probably related to a restructiring of the social and political domains in 15th century Andhra, and to a parallel reconstruction of the Tirupati ritual and puranic worlds.
Indeed, Annamayya's voice - that of a new elite active both in state-building and in the temple economy - may be said to articulate, for the first time, the ethos of a newly integrated individualism at a moment of cultural and institutional expansion.
Indeed, Annamayya's voice - that of a new elite active both in state-building and in the temple economy - may be said to articulate, for the first time, the ethos of a newly integrated individualism at a moment of cultural and institutional expansion.
"Mood" is the defining feature of this voice, which also impinges upon the Verikatesvara mythology in its late-medieval form, and which assumes ritual roles in relation to the god's subjective pressence in the temple. A new perspective on this divine presence, accessible through a kind of yoga and the exploration of meditative moods, is implied.
V.N.Rao
Annamayya's songs are normally couched in relatively simple,accessible language,a literary language he invented for this purpose.
Listening to the songs,one has the sense of a voice that is softly but insistently murmuring to us, so intimately as to be almost inside us.
At the same time,everything this voice says suggests an intimate knowledge of and an easy familiarity with the internal addressee of the poem's,the god upon the hill.
Listening to the songs,one has the sense of a voice that is softly but insistently murmuring to us, so intimately as to be almost inside us.
At the same time,everything this voice says suggests an intimate knowledge of and an easy familiarity with the internal addressee of the poem's,the god upon the hill.
Sankirtana Consists of Three(Rarely Two, Sometimes Four or more) Short Stanzas(CaraNam), Proceeded by a pallavi Opening,which also serves as a refrain,
tying together each of the stanzas and imparting a certain unity.
The Pallavi Often gives the theme,which is then extended in the caraNam's
Each stanza reconnects to the pallavi syntactically or semantically or both.
Thus ,in performance there is a tendency to sing the pallavi at the conclusion of the stanza.
The final stanza invariably refers directly to venkateswara ,the god on the hill ,this reference indicating the approaching end of the song.
Repetition of the pallavi creates a spiral-like architecture of sound and feeling,ultimately enveloping the listener in an awareness,or an experience,of the God's presence.
tying together each of the stanzas and imparting a certain unity.
The Pallavi Often gives the theme,which is then extended in the caraNam's
Each stanza reconnects to the pallavi syntactically or semantically or both.
Thus ,in performance there is a tendency to sing the pallavi at the conclusion of the stanza.
The final stanza invariably refers directly to venkateswara ,the god on the hill ,this reference indicating the approaching end of the song.
Repetition of the pallavi creates a spiral-like architecture of sound and feeling,ultimately enveloping the listener in an awareness,or an experience,of the God's presence.
In Adhyatma Sankeertana's Annamacharya seems to wish to empty himself out in order to make Room for the god.
On the Other hand ,the love poems assume the god's true nature and compelling immediacy inside the self in a sensual and playful relation.
On the Other hand ,the love poems assume the god's true nature and compelling immediacy inside the self in a sensual and playful relation.
‘వాస్తవం చాలారూపాలలో ఉంటుంది;కాని కాల్పనిక కథకి ఒక రూపమే ఉంటుంది’.‘భక్తి సాహిత్యంలో కవి చెప్పేది సగం మాత్రమే;మిగిలిన సగం పాఠకులు పూరిస్తారు, ఇది భక్తి సాహిత్యానికి ఉన్న ఒక స్పష్టమైన లక్షణం,’-V.N.Rao
If Sringara is the most poetically delineated emotive experience of Annamacharya, in Sri Rallapalli Anantakrishna Sarma's words " the great soul who has the rarest distinction of elevating it to lofty spiritual heights is Annamacharya".And that, indeed is the end of all conceits.
The padas of Annamacharya, composed in desl style are noted for their intrinsic poetic charm and liveliness.
Annamacharya's poetry in nutshell is a sublime expression of his inner vision. Devoid of all unsavoury poetic embellishments, his contemporary poetry flaunted, his Kirtanas derive much of their simplicity and grace from his absolute devotion to the Lord of Seven Hills.
It is by the simplest metaphors, by constant appeals to needs, passions, relations which all men understand ,that he drives home his intense conviction, of the reality of the soul's intercourse with the Transcendental.
As he himself explained in one of his songs with remarkable humility, they are all flowers offered at the feet of the Lord, as worship ,and himself a mere instrument ,singing His praise at His behest.
