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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00106 Feb 2006

 
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Sri:

Dear AasthikAs :


It is my pleasure to introduce you to a most informative and well researched 
monograph of 645 pages on the Life and the Musical contributions  of Saint 
Annamacharya , one of the greatest devotees of Lord SrinivAsa of the Seven 
Hills ,
a path setting lyrical poet and "savant for all ages " . His sankeerthanAs in 
adulation of 
Lord VenkatEsa , Sri Padmavathi ThAyaar , His AchAryan Adhi VaNN SaThakOpa 
Jeeyar ,
His devotion to Bahgavath Raamaanuja SiddhAntham combine  poetic excellence ,
musical dazzle and intense emotioal content based on Bhakthi for the Lord .

Aadhi VaNN SathakOpa Jeeyar was born in the year 18th August ,1379 C.E 
( PurattAsi Kettai) at ThirunArAyaNa Puram in a well known , devout VaidshNava 
family.
He studied at Kaanchipuram and had a dream there in which the Lord commanded him
to come to Ahobilam . In those days , Ahobilam was not an easy place to travel 
to .
Lord Narasimhan of Ahobilam met the young scholar in the form of a ThridhanDi 
SanyAsi and  initiated him into the SanyAsAsramam. This blessed initiation
( PrEksha MantrOpadEsam )  by the Lord happened in  1398 C.E , when the 
young scholar from TirunArAyaNapuram was only 20 years of age  .  Lord 
Narasimhan nmaed the Young SanyAsi as "SaThakOpa Jeeyar ". Soon after ,
One of the nine Uthsava Moorthys of Ahobilam , MalOlan , jumped into the cupped 
palms of SaThakOpa Jeeyar and became his Aaraadhana Moorthy . Sri SaThakOpa 
Jeeyar  served as the First Jeeyar of Ahobila Matam
for 59 years and 7 months and ascended to Sri Vaikuntam in April 1458 C.E.

Annamayya was born on May 10 , 1408 at the village of Tallapakka in modern day 
Cudappha district . He was born as an amsam of the Nandakam , the sword of Lord 
VenkatEsa 
and showed even as a child significant marks of divinity. Propelled by his 
devotion to
Lord VenkatEsa , Annamayya left his village at the tender age of 8 to the utter 
consternation
of his parents . The tired and hungry was welcomed and blessed by AlarmEl Manga 
on arirval at Thirumala . He partook the PrasAdham from Alarmel MangA and out 
of the bliss generated by that anugraham burst forth into a Sathakam ( 100 
Poems)
on the divine Mother , which pleased the sacred  consort of Lord VenkatEsa .
With Her blessings , the child Annamayya climbed the hills and stood in great 
awe before the Lord of the Seven Hills . In front of the incredulous VaikAnasa 
ArchakAs , Annamayya's sthuthi flowed as a mountain stream . His eulogy of 
the Lord took the form of a Sankeerthana :

" I beheld the Creator of the Universe , the Supreme Most I saw !
   I saw the Real Being and was absolved of all Sins ! "

There was a pious sage by the name of Ghana VishNu at Thirumala at that time
serving the Lord . This austere stage had a dream on an ekAdasi day after 
AnnamayyA's arrival at Thirumala . In that dream , Lord VenkatEsa appeared and 
commanded Ghana VishNu to perform Pancha SamskArams for his Child devotee .
On the next day of DhvAdasi , Ghana VishNu arrived and found the child Annamayya
lost in contemplation of the sacred feet of the Lord . He approached the child 
and
passed on the message of the Lord . Annamayya was thrilled to learn about 
the Lord's command to a Parama VaishNava like Ghana VishNu  to iniitate him 
into 
Sri VaishNava fold. Annamayya was given the name of AnnamAchArya by his 
First Achaaryan identified by the Lord for recieving the blessings of Pancha 
SamskAram  .

AnnamAchArya stayed at his Guru's Aasramam for the next few years and
was involved with Bhagavath AarAdhanam and Kaimkaryam to Lord VenkatEsa.
and his Guru , Ghaana VishNu . He had  arrived now at the age of Sixteen ( 1424 
C.E).  

Adhi VaNN SathakOpa Jeeyar had reached the age of 45 now. He was 
a PeetAdhipathy for 25 years now serving the Lord of Ahobilam and Thirumala.
we will see how the worlds of Adhi VaNN SaThakOpa Jeeyar and that of
AnnamAchArya came together . 

On one Friday Morning, as AnnamAchArya was standing before the Lord
enjoying His sacred bath and had finished the singing of a song celebrating
the Lord's Thirumanjanam . When he had finished his sankeerthanam ;
he was thrilled to find suddenly the Lord of the Universe standing next to him 
and speaking to him : " Oh Annamayya ! I long to hear your divine hymns
again and again , untiringly ! They are truly divine ! Oh Annayya !  Do sing
for Me constantly with all your heart ! " . After this command , the Lord 
disappeared . 

The awe struck Annamayya climbed out of the whirlpool of Bliss he was
swirling in and performed SaraNAgathy at the sacred feet of the Lord and 
vowed to compose atleast one Sankeerthanam each day of his life .  

The scholarly Monograph of Srimathy Ambika Anaanth and 
DrAdviteeya Dixit is about the profound meanings of those
divine Sankeerthanams  of AnnamAchArya , their meanings 
and the PrEmai for the Lord and AchArya Bhakthi found in them .    

This outstanding monograph has been released by the AnnamachArya project of 
Thirumalai Tirupati DevasthAnams . Srimathy Ambika Ananth , a distinguished 
Telugu Scholar and  Dr. Adviteeya Dixit ,  a young medical Doctor  and 
VaishNavite
scholar doing post graduate work in USA are the authors of this brilliant 
monograph . 
They have provided authentic information on the life and Vaibhavam of Saint 
AnnamayyA  
( 158 pages ) from records of the Family of the divine bard and translated 200 
selected SankeerthanAs with Telugu Text , Roman script and meanings ( 487 Pages 
) . 

The celebration of SaraNAgathy at the scred feet of the dhivya dampathis 
of Thirumala and the sukham that the Saint experienced form that UpAya 
anushtAanam 
is brought out in many of these chosen krithis. The Saint was a great Sri 
VaishNava 
scholar , who recieved directly his upadEsams and benefitted from  
KaalakshEpams  
at the sacred feet of  the most blessed  AchAryA of his time , Sri Adhi VaNN 
SathakOpa 
Jeeyar , who was initiated into SanyAsAsram by Bhagavaan Narasimhan Himself at 
His dhivya dEsam of Ahobilam . Saint Annamayya had the opportunity to study Sri 
BhAshyam ,
AzhwAr's dhivya Prabhandhams , ithihAsams , PurANams and Aaagama Saasthram
under Aadhi VaNN SathakOpa Jeeyar .   

In the next posting , adiyEn will cover few Sankeerthanams 
of AnnamAchArya selected by Smt.Ambika Ananath and 
Dr.A.Dixit .

NamO Sri VenkatEsAya ,
Daasan , V.Sadagopan 

 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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