Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Ikshvahu kulathilaka Sree Rama - life-story of Baktha Ramadasu @ Bhadrachalam

ఇక్ష్వాకు కులతిలక ఇకనైన పలుకవే రామచంద్ర

నన్ను రక్షింప కున్నను రక్షకు లెవరింక రామచంద్ర

Ishvaku kula thilaka is a beautiful composition on Sree Rama – heard this ! .. .. on 5.11.2021 we had the fortune of visiting this temple town and had very good darshan of Lord Sree Ramachandra murthi (more of the temple and some photos of the Gopuram and temple later in a separate post!) – in front of the temple, there is slightly more than a life-size statue and we took photos in front of him – some reading on him would make us admire him more and feel very divine blessing in being nearer to him .. ..


Bhadrachalam is a  town on the banks of holy Godavari,  in Bhadradri Kothagudem district in present day Telengana.  This is a revered place and a pilgrimage town being associated with Bhagwan Sree Rama. Situate on the banks of Godavari river, it lies 312 kilometres (194 mi) from east of state capital, Hyderabad,115 kilometres (71 mi) from Khammam,192 kilometres (119 mi) from Vijayawada, 220 kilometres (137 mi), from the Andhra Pradesh State Capital Amaravathi.  The town has a documented history of Lord Sri Rama temple constructed circa 17th century CE by Kancherla Gopanna

The statue referred to is that of “Kancherla Gopanna (1620 - 1680)” – more famously known as Bhadradri Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu.   His devotional lyrics to Rama are famous in South Indian classical music as Ramadaasu Keertanalu.  The place – Bhadrachalam is called Ayodhyapuri for its association with Ithihasa purana, Sree Ramayana. 


For sure Carnatic connoisseurs have hard "Paluke Bangaramayena",  one of the famous Telugu compositions by the 17th century composer and devotee of Lord Sri Rama, Bhadrachala Ramadasu. He is known to have composed hundreds such songs however the original music is lost.  Carnatic vocalist Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna set music to these songs in the 1950s and popularized them.

Kancharla Gopanna (Bhadrachala Ramadasu)  –   is a famous Vaggeyakara (classical composer) of the Telugu classical era. He lived in the village of Nelakondapalli, near the town of Bhadrachalam, in Muslim-ruled Telugu country during the 17th century and is renowned for constructing a famous temple for Lord Sri Rama at Bhadrachalam.   Even the doyen of South Indian classical music Swami Tyagaraja learned his musical compositions. He also wrote Daasarathi Satakamu (దాశరథి శతకము) with a 'makuTamu' (మకుటము) 'Daasarathee Karunaa payonidhee' (దాశరథీ కరుణా పయోనిధీ!), a collection of nearly 108 poems dedicated to the son of Dasaratha (Lord Rama).

Sri Rama of Bhadrachalam is known as “Vaikunta Rama” as Emperuman has Conch  (Sankha) and Discuss (Chakra) in his hands.

Ramadasu was  orphaned as a teenager. He spent his later years in Bhadrachalam and 12 years in solitary confinement at the Golconda prison during the Qutb Shahi-rule.  The existence of deities at this holy place  was first revealed in the dream to one Pokala Dammakka. She was the first to come, identify and offer worship to the idols. She had been ordained to continue worshipping the Lord  until a day when one bhakta (Ramadasu) would arrive and take up the responsibility of the temple. Ramadasu realized that he had been ordained at birth and specially selected to be so – he dedicated his life to the cause.  Ramadasu   composed nearly 200 Keerthanas on Bhadrachala Rama, most of which are available to us through Bhajana sampradaya. Some of the keerthanas are available to us in the traditional tunes while some were composed recently by eminent artists like Sangeetha Kalanidhi Nedunuri Krishna Murthy, Padmabhushan Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, Malladi Suri Babu among many others.

In 1650, Gopanna traveled to Hyderabad to meet his maternal uncles, who were at that time working in the tax department of Golconda Sultanate under the minister Mirza Mohammed Sayyad. Ramadas was to be appointed as tax collector at Bhadrachalam. The lifestory of him becoming the   tehsildar and his  tax collection activities at Bhadrachalam may not be of the greatest importance when one knows about his devotion to Rama and the construction of the beautiful temple. Golconda Sultanate, was furious on his ways, arrested him and incarcerated him -  during 12 years in solitary confinement in Golconda prison, he composed poems on  Rama.  By divine intervention and the historical occurrence of Sultanate  under attack from Aurangzeb forces facing imminent collapse, opened up  a new trial, finds was found innocent and acquitted. The varying accounts are found in the records of the Dutch East India company, the temple's hagiography, and the regional Telugu oral traditions.

Once, Ramadasu visited Bhadrachalam for a Jatara (fair) and was disturbed by the dilapidated state of the Rama temple there.  Lord Rama had  stayed near the Parnasala here with Sita and Lakshmana during his exile and also visited Shabari near Bhadrachalam.  Pothana is believed to have been given direction by Rama to translate the Bhagavata Purana into Telugu here. In spite of its significance, the temple was utterly neglected. So, Ramadasu started to raise funds for the renovation and reconstruction of the temple. After he emptied his coffers and could raise no more money, the villagers appealed him to spend his revenue collections for the reconstruction and promised to repay the amount after harvesting crops. As such, Ramadas finished the reconstruction of the temple with   rupees collected from land revenues - without the permission of the Abul Hasan Qutb Shah.

After his release, returning back to Bhadrachalam, Ramadasu was to spent his life here composing keerthanas that inspired one and all including Thyagayya: -   in ksheera saagara sayana in Devagaandhaari, he says "Dhirudau Ramadasuni Bandhamu dirchinadi Vinnanura Rama?" (O Rama! I have heard how You obtained the release of the bold Ramadas from his prison life); in brindaavanalOla in tODi, in kaligiyundE gada in keeravaaNi, in Emi dova balkuma in saaranga and in Prahlaada Bhakti Vijayam he says "kaliyugamuna vara bhadra calamuna nelakonna raamacandruni pada bhaktula kella varudanandagi velasina shree raamadaasu vinutintu madin" (I praise Sri Raamadaas, who shines in this world as the supreme devotee of Sri Raamachandra, who shines forth from his seat at Bhadraachalam in this kali Yuga).

Among his other accomplishments is the creation of the whole Ramayana story in the form of a prose-poem, a Choornika. Ramadasu described himself in this way in the last verse of his Dasarathi Satakam: "Allana Linga Mantri Suthudu(son), Atreya Gothrudu, Adi Sakha, Kancherla Kulothbhavudu, Gopakavindrudu." Bhadraachala Raamadaas lived for 68 years.




One must bow their head and appreciate  Tollywood (Telegu tinseldom) for the movies based on Purana and lead actors doing full-fledged movies on faith without distortion unlike what we see in Kollywood.  The verse seen at the start is a Ramadasu keerthana that appears in movie “Sri Ramadasu” of Nagarjuna, co-starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Suman, Sneha and others.  The movie was directed by K Raghavendra Rao with pleasant music of MM Keeravani.

Ikshvaaku kula thilaka ikanaina palukave

ramachandra nanu rakshimpakunnanu

rakshakulu yevarinka ramachandra

chuttu praakaaramulu somputo gattisti ramachandra

.. .. and here is another mellifluous song from the same movie “Adigadigo Bhadragiri”  sung by  legendary SP Balasubramaniam to the music of MM Keeravani. 


om om om sreeramachandraparabrahmane namaha

adigo adigo bhadragiri andhrajatikidi ayodhyaapuri

ye vaalmeeki rayani kadhaga seetaramulu tanapai odaga

ramadasakruta ramapadamruta vaggeyaswara sampadaga

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiHZHnGaHZw


Sri Ramadasu with Nagarjuna in lead role was released in 2006.  Nagarjuna received appreciation for his portrayal in the titular role and subsequently went on to win Nandi Award for Best Actor that year. Music director M. M. Keeravani also received rave reviews for his work. Along with being critically acclaimed, the film recorded as Blockbuster hit at the box office. The film won four Nandi Awards.



Earlier in 1964 “Ramadasu”   based on the life of Kancharla Gopanna, was produced and directed by Chittor V. Nagaiah (whose statue stands forlorn in Panagal Park) – it starred Nagaiah, with NT Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sivaji Ganesan and Anjali Devi in special appearances, with music composed by Ashwathama. The blockbuster film garnered the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, and garnered several state awards too.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

10th Nov. 2021.

 

  

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