" Nectar Ocean of Annamacharya " by Srimathy Ambika Ananth and Dr. Adviteeya N.Dixit , TTD Publicrtion , 2005 : Part I

[Guest guest]

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