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] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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