Skip to content Annamayya
It is widely believed that Lakkamamba had delivered a baby boy by the Grace of Lord Venkateswara. Lord Venkateswara’s Holy Sword ‘Nandaka’ took human form and came to this world as the son of Narayanasuri and Lakkamamba. They christened their son as Annamayya. The boy whom they got, after their long married life, was the apple of their eyes.
They enjoyed their toddler’s tumbling steps. Fondly they used to address their child as ‘Annappa’, ‘Annaiah’, ‘Annamayya’ very affectionately they used to feed him.
When the child says enough, they say look take this morsel of food as Venkateswara’s morsel or Alamelu Manga’s morsel. After much cajoling, he used to have food with a broad smile on his face. The child used to do everything only after hearing the holy name of Lord Venkateswara. When Annamayya attained the age of five, his father arranged for his Upanayanam, a Brahminical Baptization.
After his thread marriage i.e., Upanayanam he started learning things very fast. His mother used to narrate stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Sometimes he used to put those stories in poetic form and used to sing them rhythmically. People used to surprisingly enjoy his tunes as well as his rhythmic steps.
Every song he composed, began to allure everyone in his village. Throughout the day he used to visit temples with some song or other on his lips. Narayanasuri got fed up with his sons’ slothful activities. Annamayya’s relatives also did not approve of his life of laziness. His sisters-in-law too were angry with him as he had become a good-for-nothing boy.
Narayanasuri’s family was big. As a Joint family, many people were living under one roof. There were some differences, particularly among the women folk. Daughters-in-law in the family began to shout at Annamayya for no fault of him. They were using some sharp as well as intemperate words against him. Even his cousins were angry with him as he was doing nothing.
One day his sisters-in-law gave a sickle to eight year old Annamayya and asked him to go and cut the grass from nearby fields. He started cursing the world. He felt that without much effort he could compose songs and set tunes to them.
He turned to God and said: “Look Oh! Venkata Ramana, my people do not like my singing songs in praise of you. Instead of appreciating me for my talent they have given this bull work of cutting the grass”. Suddenly he remembered the order of his sisters-in-law. They wanted him to come home quickly with sufficient grass. He started cutting the grass. As he was humming some poem, accidentally his finger got cut. He threw that sickle aside as he experienced the pain. He thought these relationships are not real relationships.
From the fields, he started looking at his village. Having disgusted with his life as well as the treatment that is being meted out to him, he joined a group of people who were heading towards Tirupati. In the bhajans that were being sung he forgot his physical pain. The people in that troupe looked at Annamayya.
Annamayya felt that they were telling him about the mortality of this mundane life and suggesting him to join them to learn about the truth. Annamayya decided then and there to follow them. He thought Lord Venkateswara is his father, mother, brother, and sister-in-law etc., He, without second thoughts followed them.
Sri Govinda Raja Swamy’s Temple
The troupe reached the downtown Tirupati. Along with others, he had village deity Gangamma’s darshan. Someone in the troupe was enquiring about the downtown Tirupati. One elderly person said: “Yes, this is downtown Tirupati. It is also known as Sripada Puri. Look at that majestic tower. It is Sri Govinda Raja Swamy’s tower. Some people call this town as Govindaraja Patnam i.e., Govinda Raja Town.
Turn that side, you will now see Seven Hills. Lord Venkateswara is dwelling on this mountain range. As He stays on the Hills He is fondly addressed as Konda Meeda Rayudu, i.e., Lord on the Hill. He is the one who fulfils all the desires of His devotees. So let us proceed towards Tirumala to have darshan of Lord Srinivasa”.
Annamayya heard these words with great attention. With greater joy and enthusiasm he started climbing the Hills. The troupe reached Alipiri, the foot of the Hills. There he worshipped the Lotus Feet of the Lord. He had the darshan of nearby Narasimha Swamy.
On his way up he came across Talayeru Gundu – Chinna Ekkudu, Pedda Ekkudu, Gali Gopuram, Muggu Bavi, Karpoora Kaluva etc. While climbing he enjoyed the scenic beauty of Hills and Valleys. Out of joy and excitement, he started singing songs. He was absorbed in the beauty of nature and innocent looking animals like rabbits, deer etc., and lovely singing birds. Thinking that the boy is following them they went ahead of him.
Annamayya was dog-tired. All alone he crossed Avvaachari Kona. He reached Mokalla Parvatham where knee-high steps were there. There he noticed that his troupe mates had gone ahead of him. He was feeling thirsty. He began to experience the pangs of hunger. He remembered his mother’s words. She had once told him about the Mokalla Parvatham and its knee-high steps. This being his first visit he thought of climbing the steps with briskness. He could not even guess the distance of the temple from that point. He was rather eager to join the troupe.
He once loudly chanted the name of Lord: Yedu Kondala Vada (Lord of seven hills) Venkata Ramana Govinda! Govinda!! Govinda!!!
With the name of the Lord on his lips, he climbed two steps. His head started reeling. He felt that somebody was pushing him down. He started saying please help! Somebody help me. He fell unconscious. After some time he felt somebody is calling him by his name. The Female Voice asked him to get up and sit down. He opened his eyes. He could not know where exactly he was. He did not know how long he was there. He thought, ‘I might have slept here. Whose voice did I hear? Who is that person who called me by my name?’
As he was trying to compose himself he heard: “Oh! My Son! Get up! Look here”. He was once again hearing that sweet consoling voice of a mother. He was much relieved to hear that voice. He forgot his exhaustion. Freshness started flowing in his veins. He looked around. He could not find anyone. Then with folded hands, he said: “Oh! Mother who are you. You are speaking like my Lakkamamba. I am only hearing your voice. I am not able to see anything. Please kindly save me. Oh! Mother help me”. Uttering these words he got up.
Annamayya then heard the twittering sound. The unseen or invisible voice said: “Oh! My son Annamayya I am Alamelu Manga. I dwell in the Heart of Lord Venkateswara. People call Me as Padmavathi. The place where you are now is Sri Venkateswara’s Hill. It is a sacred place. This place is full of Salagramams i.e., Ammonites. Not only this particular place the hill on which Sri Venkateswara’s Chief Idol is there, is also made of Salagrama stone. Please understand this. You are climbing the Sacred Hill with chappals on. You are committing a big sin. Leave your chappals and you will understand everything for yourself. You will be in a position to see everything”.
Immediately he removed his chappals. To his astonishment, he could see the wonderful glow on that hill. He could also see Alamelu Manga the universal mother. She was inviting him with open arms. He was thrilled. He told her! ‘Oh! Mother how fortunate and blessed person I am. I can have the darshan of Universal mother, Alamelu Manga’.
Uttering these words he looked around. Now in the place of rocks and boulders he could see sacred Salagramams. He saw the heep of Narasimha Salagramams. On the other side he saw Vishnu Salagramams. One side it is Ram and on the other side it is Vishnu. The total hill is filled with Salagramams. Now he repented very much. Yes I have committed a big sin by wearing chappals. But the mistakes that you commit without knowing it as mistake is not at all a mistake. Saying ‘Oh! My mother Alamelu Manga pardon me’. He prostrated before mother Alamelu Manga.
Alamelu Manga giving food to Annamayya
Blessing Annamayya, Mother Alamelu Manga said! ‘Oh, my son! Get up! You are dog-tired. I know you are hungry. Please take this food. I have specially brought it for you. This is pulihora (Tamarind Rice). Do not eat in a hurry. There is one more item. This is known as Chakkara Pongali (A kind of sweet rice).
You know your father Lord Venkateswara is very very fond of this item. Whatever is left over I have specially brought it for you. Eat slowly. The third item is called Miriyapu Pongali i.e., pepper rice. It is prepared with a lot of pure ghee. It will be very tasty.
Arre! Don’t feel shy. Have some quantity. And finally here is Dadhyodanam (curd rice). This rice with cream will be very good. Can I serve you some more quantity? Like an affectionate mother who feeds her hungry son, Alamelu Manga began to feed Annamayya.
Though Annamayya had enough food, Alamelu Manga made him eat some more food. And then she pointed her finger towards Ananda Nilayam and asked him to go there.
Now he had a stomach full of good tasty food. The tiresomeness disappeared. With renewed enthusiasm, he spontaneously composed one hundred stanzas in praise of Alamelu manga. Alamelu Manga listened to those 100 stanzas and patted him on his back. She said ‘Well done Annamayya! May Lord Venkateswara be with you always. With these blessings, Alamelu Manga holding Annamaiah’s two hands helped him get up.
Once again she pointed her finger to the Hill and said: “Look at that glittering Hill. Lord Venkateswara dwells in this Hill. Go and worship Him. Get liberated from the cycle of birth and death and help others also in their attempt to get liberated from this mundane world”. She disappeared after this. Contemplating on the all-merciful nature of Lord Venkateswara, Annamaiah reached the holy land of Tirumala.
Lord Venkateswara the dear deity of Telugu had directed His sword Nandaka to take birth as Annamayya in A.P. But look at the early life of Annamaiah. His family people considered him as mere a sickle to cut grass.
Destiny in the form of Bhajan troupe, who were Sanakadi saints indirectly conveyed to Annamayya’s relatives that he is not born to cut grass but to liberate humanity and to tell to Telugus that Lord Venkateswara is their own God and is willing to bestow very many boons and favours on them. It is the good fortune of Telugu that a person like Annamaiah is born in their midst and opens their eyes to the fact that Srinivasa is their God and He is ready to grant all boons to Telugu particularly, within no time.
Again it is the good fortune of Telugus that universal mother Alamelu manga appeared before him at the appropriate time and directed him to go to Ananda Nilaya.
With the blessings and proper guidance, Annamayya reached Ananda Nilaya. Before entering into the main temple he went straight to Swamy Pushkarini. He took a holy dip in the tank and had darshan of Adivaraha Swamy. From there he came to the main entrance of the temple and offered his salutations to the tower of main entrance. After entering into the temple through the main entrance one after the other he saw and worshipped the following: Tamarind tree of constant shadow, Garuda Gambham, Sampangi Pradakshanam etc.
Annamayya entering Bangaru Vakili for darshan
While going around the Vimana he saw Sri Varada Raja Swamy, Alamelu Manga, Yagasala, and traditional Vahanas of Lord Venkateswara. Then he prostrated before the idols of Bhashyakara Ramanuja, Yoga Narasimha Swamy, Vishwaksena and other deities. While looking at other devotees who were continuously chanting the holy name of Lord Venkateswara, Annamaiah entered into Sri Vari Mukha Mandapam.
Standing near the golden doors he had the darshan of God who was in the Ananda Nilaya. He had the darshan of life-size statue of Lord Venkateswara which was radiating with Amazing Life. In his inimitable way, he described Lord Venkateswara. He described the Lord from His Lotus Feet to His Gem Studded Crown. After this, he visited other important as well as worth seeing places in and around Tirumala.
Visiting Ananda Nilayam Daily
Daily without fail, he used to go over to Ananda Nilaya to serve and worship Lord Venkateswara. On one particular day by the time he went to Ananda Nilaya, it was closing time. The closed golden doors greeted him. He felt very much for coming late. The disappointed Annamayya with a heavy heart sat down there and started requesting Lord Venkateswara to give darshan to him. He began singing songs of appeal and request.
An unbelievable thing happened. The locked doors were opened. The Archaka’s who were present there were tongue-tied. Their lower jaw was dropped. They could come to know about Annamaiah’s devotion towards Lord Srinivasa. They honoured the boy and personally took him to the deity’s idol and gave him Theertham as well as Prasadam. During that time he spontaneously composed 100 stanzas in Telugu in praise of Lord Venkateswara.
As to bless him and at the same time to appreciate him for his poetic talent a necklace which was adoring the neck of the idol fell on the feet. The Archakas could understand the meaning of that. They presented that necklace to Annamaiah.
Ghana Vishnu Yati
There lived a great Yati i.e., saint by name Ghana Vishnu Yati in Tirumala. He was a great devotee of Lord Venkateswara. Lord Venkateswara, once appeared in this yati’s dream and asked him to initiate Annamayya into Vaishnavism. He gave a sketch of the boy who is wandering in the streets of Tirumala with songs on his lips. He left his insignia. The very next day morning Ghana Vishnu Yati went in search of Annamayya about whom Lord Venkateswara had informed him.
As per the sketch given by the Lord, he could find boy Annamaiah in the precincts of the temple. Having ascertained the fact that about this boy only Lord has given information to him, Yati took him to his place and initiated him into Vaishnavism. Thus Smartha Annamaiah became Vaishnavite Annamacharya. He directed Telugus to the Lotus Feet of Lord.
Through his devotional songs, he explained to Telugus how generous and benevolent is Lord Venkateswara. He explained the intricacies of Vaishnavism in simple Telugu. People could know more and more about the qualities of Lord Venkateswara by listening to his compositions known as Keerthanas. People conferred the title of ‘Pada Kavitha Pithamaha’ i.e., the grand old man of Pada Kavitha.
Tallapaka People Searching for Annamayya
His people at Tallapaka could not know the whereabouts of Annamayya. They could not know that the boy who had gone to a nearby field to cut grass had gone to Tirumala. They waited for him. Days passed by. But the boy never returned. Mother Lakkamamba fell sick. They made enquieries about Annamayya. They intensely searched for him. It never yielded any result. To appeal to God, they – Narayanasuri and Lakkamamba – went to Tirumala. They thought the God who had blessed them with a child would find their child.
They saw Annamaiah in the temple. He was singing songs in praise of Lord Venkateswara. They, particularly mother Lakkamamba was very happy to see her son. They profusely thanked Lord Venkateswara for taking care of their child. They were eager to take him back to Tallapaka along with them. The boy Annamayya refused to accompany them to Tallapaka.
Lakkamamba once again appealed to Lord Venkateswara to help her. On that night Lord Venkateswara appeared in the dream of Annamayya. He asked him not to give pain to his parents. It is said in the scriptures that parents are living Gods. You accompany your parents and obey their orders. Annamaiah’s sleep was disturbed. He woke up. He could recollect the orders of Lord Venkateswara. He agreed to accompany his parents. Thus he reached his native place Tallapaka.
Annamayya’s Marriage
After some time Annamayya’s marriage was arranged. He married Tirumalamma as well as Akkalamma. After marriage, he went to the famous Vaishnavite pilgrim centre Ahobilam and joined Guru Sattakopa Muni to study Vaishnavism. Sattakopa Muni could talk tete-e-tete with Nrusimha Swamy. He gave the sacred Nrusimha Mantra to Annamaiah. After taking leave from Sattakopa Muni, Annamaiah once again reached Tirumala.
Annamayya wanted to settle down in Tirumala, once and for all. But Lord Venkateswara told him. “Look Oh! Annamayya I am not merely a Tribal God Obulesu. I am God to everyone. Now onwards go around the country and enlighten people with My Ideology or Philosophy. Your effort should be to propagate My Grace”.
Enlightening people
As per the specific order of Lord Venkateswara, he started to visit every village of Andhra Desa. Some villages and towns had Rama Temple, some had Krishna Temple, and some were the worshippers of either Nrusimha or Vittala of Pandaripur. Whoever may be the deity of the village, he composed and sung songs, praising Him. Not only the temples of Andhra, visited all the famous Vaishnavite temples of South India.
He composed songs. To him, there was no difference between Venkateswara and other deities like Rama, Krishna, Nrusimha, Vittala etc. To him, all are one. He said: God is one. About Govinda Raja Swamy of Tirupati he said, “Govinda Raja the husband of Bhoodevi and Sridevi protects all those who seek shelter with Him. He has worshipped Rama who is dear to Seetha, Lakshmana and Hanuman. He visited Ahobilam and praised Nrusimha Swamy.
He visited Kadapa’s Venkateswara Swamy temple and eulogized Him as Karpurapu Navvula Kadapa Rayudu, the Smiling God of Kadapa.
He visited the following famous Vaishnavite pilgrim centres.
- Sri Veera Raghava temple of Onti Mitta (Kadapa District),
- Hanuman temple of Kalasapur and Vijaya Nagar (Hampi) Sri Rangam Temple,
- Kadiri (ATP Dist of A.P) Narasimha Swamy Temple,
- Panduranga Vittala temple,
- Chennakesava temple of Velugoti and Chukkaluru and Pela Kurati,
- Sri Rama Temple of Dasari Palle, Muddukrishna of Udayagiri etc.
On one of his tours, he visited Penugonda. The ruler Saluva Narasinga Rayulu was known to Annamayya. The ruler accepted Annamayya as his guru and requested him to stay in Penugonda. Annamaiah thought the ruler was a great devotee of Sri Venkateswara. Once he began to describe the love play of Srinivasa and Alamelu Manga. Saluva Narasinga Rayulu very much appreciated Annamaiah’s description of the Lord’s love play. He requested Annamaiah to compose one such romantic song keeping him in mind as a hero.
Annamaiah bluntly turned down the base request of Saluva Narasinga Rayalu. The king got very angry. He ordered his people to arrest Annamaiah and put him into jail. He was chained. Distressed Annamaiah offered his prayers to Lord Venkateswara. The reliever of distress of His distressed devotees heard Annamaiah’s prayer. His chains broke into pieces. King heard about broken chains. He could not believe it. He once again ordered his soldiers to put him in chains in his presence.
Once again the chains were broken into pieces. The ruler realized his mistake. He begged Annamaiah’s pardon. Annamaiah advised the ruler not to insult the devotees of God. He pardoned the ruler and left that place. He thought he should not stay with kings. He went back to Tirumala
After extensively propagating the noble qualities like relieving the distress of distress and partiality shown towards His devotees by showering favours, Annamaiah the Brand Ambassador of Venkateswara’s generosity reached Tirumala along with his two wives. He was very actively participating in all the temple rituals. He regularly used to sing the wake-up song in the morning Suprabhatam as well as the lullaby (Ekantha seva) in the night. Lord Venkateswara was so enamoured by his lullaby.
Lord Venkateswara one night during the Ekantha Seva addressed Annamaiah as Mama i.e., Father-in-law and said: “After hearing your lullaby only I get sleep. As such I don’t want to hear keerthanas composed and sung by others. Now onwards I permit only you to sing lullaby”. To this effect, He gave His word of honour. This episode was recorded by Annamacharaya’s grand son i.e., daughter’s son by name Revanoori Venkatarayudu.
To respect and honour the word of Lord Venkateswara even to this day a descendant of Annamacharya sings a wake-up song in the morning by standing near the golden gates and lullaby in the night. Every day temple Archakas honour the descendant of Annamacharya with Sandalwood paste and the traditional Thamboolam – a plate containing betel leaves, arecanuts, fruits and a coconut.
Final Word
Annamacharya the incarnation of Lord’s Nandaka Sword was a blessed person. Lord Venkateswara has preferred to address him as Father-in-law. Lord Venkateswara is the son-in-law of Saintly Annamayya.
