Kancherla Gopanna
Encyclopedia
Kancherla Gopanna (c 1620 - 1680 CE), popularly known as Bhadradri Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu, was a 17th century India
n devotee of Rama
and a composer of Carnatic music
. He is one among the famous vaggeyakaras (same person being the writer and composer of a song) in the Telugu language, the others being Tyagaraja, Annamayya, Kshetryya. He lived in the village of Nelakondapalli
near Bhadrachalam
, Andhra Pradesh
during the 17th century and is renowned for constructing a famous temple for Rama at Bhadrachalam
. His devotional lyrics to Rama
are famous in South Indian classical music as Ramadaasu Keertanalu. Even the doyen of South Indian classical music Saint Thyagaraja learned and later improved the style now considered standard krithi form of music composition.He also wrote Dasarathi Shatakamu (దాసరధీ శతకము) with a 'makuTamu' (మకుటము) 'dASaradhee karuNA payOnidhI' (దాశరధీ కరుణా పయోనిధీ!), a collection of nearly 108 poems dedicated to the son of Dasaratha (Lord Rama
).
Telugu Brahmin family to Linganna Murthy and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of Khammamett Taluk (Warangal Division of erstwhile Hyderabad State)of northern Andhra Pradesh (Deccan region).
(fair) and was disturbed by the dilapidated state of the temple there. Bhadrachalam was significant to devotees of Rama for many reasons. Lord Rama is said to have stayed near the Parnasala there with Sita
and Lakshmana
during his exile and also to have visited Sabari
near Badrachalam. 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 six hundred thousand rupees collected from land revenues - without the permission of the Abul Hasan Qutb Shah
.
As the temple was nearing completion, he was perplexed one night about fixing the Sudarshana Chakra
at the crest of the main temple. On the same night, it is believed that he saw Rama in his dream and asked him to have a holy dip in the Godavari River
. When Gopanna did so the next day, he found the holy Sudarshana Chakra in the river very easily.
's revenues and was imprisoned in the Golconda Fort (near Hyderabad) with orders that he be released only after the exchequer received all the taxes in full. Ramadas implores Rama through many emotional songs that were popularized from the stanzas of 'Dasaradhi Sathakam ' and 'Keertanas' of Bhakta Ramadasa. They praise the Lord for all his mysterious ways in popularizing his devotees and Ramadasu regularly sings the Lord. The songs ended in a state of total and unconditional surrender to the will of the Almighty.
decided that his devotee's suffering had reached its pre-ordained ending (because of a certain transgression his soul had committed in a previous birth). Lord Rama
and Lakshmana
, disguised as two young warriors, entered the bed-chambers of the Sultan Tana Shah in the middle of the night. They presented themselves as Ramoji and Lakshmoji and gave the king six lakh gold coins imprinted with Rama's own seal in return for the spent six lakh silver coins. The Sultan was bewildered at the presence of these charming but strange youngsters in his inner quarters at late night irrespective of tight security. They demanded and obtained on the spot, a written receipt for the money. The receipt was shown to the jailer who released Gopanna the same night. The next day, both Gopanna and the Sultan realized what had happened. Gopanna did not care much for his release but was inconsolable at his not having seen his Lord even with all his devotion while the Sultan was visited by the Lord. The Lord then appeared to Gopanna in a dream and explained him the real reasons for his actions and promised him salvation at the end of his natural life. The king was convinced that what had happened was a miracle of Lord Sri Rama
. He returned the entire money to the Bhadracalam temple. Since then, it has been the royal custom of the Hyderabad State
(now part of Andhra Pradesh State) to send gifts to the temple on the occasion of Sree Rama navami
celebrations every year.
has made a Telugu movie. And in 2006, K.Raghavendra Rao has made another movie Sri Ramadasu
in which renowned Telugu actor Nagarjuna
played the role of Ramadasu.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n devotee of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and a composer of Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
. He is one among the famous vaggeyakaras (same person being the writer and composer of a song) in the Telugu language, the others being Tyagaraja, Annamayya, Kshetryya. He lived in the village of Nelakondapalli
Nelakondapalli
NelaKondapally is the headquarter of a mandal in Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh of India, located 21 km from Khammam.-HISTORY:Nelakondapally is a historic site encompassed by a mud fortification wall covering nearly...
near Bhadrachalam
Bhadrachalam
Bhadrachalam , a town known for the Sri Rama Temple constructed in the year 1674 A.D., is a Municipality in Khammam district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located east of state capital, Hyderabad. The Bhadrachalam Temple, where the presiding deity is Lord Rama, is an important site...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
during the 17th century and is renowned for constructing a famous temple for Rama at Bhadrachalam
Bhadrachalam
Bhadrachalam , a town known for the Sri Rama Temple constructed in the year 1674 A.D., is a Municipality in Khammam district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located east of state capital, Hyderabad. The Bhadrachalam Temple, where the presiding deity is Lord Rama, is an important site...
. His devotional lyrics to Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
are famous in South Indian classical music as Ramadaasu Keertanalu. Even the doyen of South Indian classical music Saint Thyagaraja learned and later improved the style now considered standard krithi form of music composition.He also wrote Dasarathi Shatakamu (దాసరధీ శతకము) with a 'makuTamu' (మకుటము) 'dASaradhee karuNA payOnidhI' (దాశరధీ కరుణా పయోనిధీ!), a collection of nearly 108 poems dedicated to the son of Dasaratha (Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
).
Early life and background
Ramadasu was born Kancherla Goparaju in an affluent NiyogiNiyogi
Niyogis are a sect of Hindu Brahmins who gave up priestly occupations and are predominantly Telugu language speakers, from Andhra Pradesh, India.-Theories of origin:...
Telugu Brahmin family to Linganna Murthy and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of Khammamett Taluk (Warangal Division of erstwhile Hyderabad State)of northern Andhra Pradesh (Deccan region).
Career
Ramadasu was appointed as the Tahsildar (revenue collector) of 'Palvoncha Paragana' by Akkanna, his uncle and the administrative head in the court of Qutub Shahi Sultan Abul Hassan Tana Shah. He discharged his official duties earnestly and collected revenues due to the Sultan - while continuing his unswerving service to Lord Rama by chanting his name and feeding the poor.Reconstruction of Temple
One day, he visited Bhadrachalam for a JataraFair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
(fair) and was disturbed by the dilapidated state of the temple there. Bhadrachalam was significant to devotees of Rama for many reasons. Lord Rama is said to have stayed near the Parnasala there with Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
and Lakshmana
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...
during his exile and also to have visited Sabari
Sabari
Sabari is a Kollywood film directed by A. R. Suresh. It stars Vijayakanth in the lead role and Malavika, Jyorthirmayi, Pradeep Rawat & more in supporting roles. Shooting for the film was done at various locations in India including Chennai, Pondicherry and Remeshwarm. Songs for the film were shot...
near Badrachalam. Pothana
Pothana
Bammera Potana was an Indian Telugu poet best known for his translation of the Bhagavata Purana from Sanskrit to Telugu. He was a Telugu and Sanskrit Scholar. His work, Andhra Maha Bhaagavathamu, is popularly called as Pothana Bhagavatham in Telugu.-Early life:Bammera Potanamatyulu was born into...
is believed to have been given direction by Rama to translate the Bhagavata Purana
Bhagavata purana
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
into Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
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 six hundred thousand rupees collected from land revenues - without the permission of the Abul Hasan Qutb Shah
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda in south India...
.
As the temple was nearing completion, he was perplexed one night about fixing the Sudarshana Chakra
Sudarshana Chakra
The Sudarshana Chakra is a spinning, disk-like super weapon with 108 serrated edges used by Lord Vishnu. The Sudarshana Chakra is portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu, who also holds a Shankha in his left rear hand, a Gada in his right fore hand, and a Padma in his left...
at the crest of the main temple. On the same night, it is believed that he saw Rama in his dream and asked him to have a holy dip in the Godavari River
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
. When Gopanna did so the next day, he found the holy Sudarshana Chakra in the river very easily.
Incarceration
Soon after the reconstruction though, his miseries started. He was dismissed from his job for misusing the Sultan Abul Hasan Qutb ShahAbul Hasan Qutb Shah
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda in south India...
's revenues and was imprisoned in the Golconda Fort (near Hyderabad) with orders that he be released only after the exchequer received all the taxes in full. Ramadas implores Rama through many emotional songs that were popularized from the stanzas of 'Dasaradhi Sathakam ' and 'Keertanas' of Bhakta Ramadasa. They praise the Lord for all his mysterious ways in popularizing his devotees and Ramadasu regularly sings the Lord. The songs ended in a state of total and unconditional surrender to the will of the Almighty.
Release
After 11–12 years of imprisonment, it is said that Lord RamaRama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
decided that his devotee's suffering had reached its pre-ordained ending (because of a certain transgression his soul had committed in a previous birth). Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and Lakshmana
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...
, disguised as two young warriors, entered the bed-chambers of the Sultan Tana Shah in the middle of the night. They presented themselves as Ramoji and Lakshmoji and gave the king six lakh gold coins imprinted with Rama's own seal in return for the spent six lakh silver coins. The Sultan was bewildered at the presence of these charming but strange youngsters in his inner quarters at late night irrespective of tight security. They demanded and obtained on the spot, a written receipt for the money. The receipt was shown to the jailer who released Gopanna the same night. The next day, both Gopanna and the Sultan realized what had happened. Gopanna did not care much for his release but was inconsolable at his not having seen his Lord even with all his devotion while the Sultan was visited by the Lord. The Lord then appeared to Gopanna in a dream and explained him the real reasons for his actions and promised him salvation at the end of his natural life. The king was convinced that what had happened was a miracle of Lord Sri Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
. He returned the entire money to the Bhadracalam temple. Since then, it has been the royal custom of the Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
(now part of Andhra Pradesh State) to send gifts to the temple on the occasion of Sree Rama navami
Rama Navami
Ram Navami also known as Sri Ram Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya of Ayodhya. Ram is the 7th incarnation of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. Years later Lord Rama was married to Sita on the...
celebrations every year.
Popular culture
Based on the Ramadasu story, Chittor V. NagaiahChittor V. Nagaiah
Chitturu Nagayya or Chittor V. Nagaiah birth name - Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya was an Indian actor, composer, director, producer, writer and playback singer of Telugu film industry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian film journalist and the editor of Film India, Baburao Patel, described Nagiah as ‘The...
has made a Telugu movie. And in 2006, K.Raghavendra Rao has made another movie Sri Ramadasu
Sri Ramadasu
Sri Ramadasu is an epic Telugu film released on 30 March 2006 and was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nagarjuna in the lead role and Sneha, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nassar and Nagendra Babu in the supporting roles. Music was composed by M. M. Keeravani, who composed 19 songs...
in which renowned Telugu actor Nagarjuna
Akkineni Nagarjuna
Akkineni Nagarjuna is an Indian film actor in Tollywood and Bollywood. He is a producer and one of the lead actors in Telugu cinema.- Early life :...
played the role of Ramadasu.
Carnatic compositions
Ramadasu composed nearly 300 songs- Tarakamantramu in DhanyasiDhanyasiDhanyasi is a rāgam in Carnatic music . It is a janya rāgam from the 8th melakarta scale Hanumatodi. It is a janya scale, as it does not have all the seven swaras in the ascending scale...
- Ye Teeruga Nanu in Nadanamakriya
- Adigo Bhadradri in Varali
- Anta Ramamayam in MohanamMohanamMohanam is a rāgam in Carnatic music . It is an audava rāgam . It is a janya rāgam , as it does not have all the seven swaras .The equivalent of Mohanam in Hindustani music is Bhoop Mohanam is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an audava rāgam (or...
- O Rama ni namamu in Poorvi Kalyani
- Paluke bangara mayena in Ananda BhairaviAnandabhairaviAnandabhairavi or Ananda Bhairavi is a very old melodious rāgam of Carnatic music . This rāgam has been used even in Indian folk music. Ānandam means happiness and the rāgam brings a happy mood to the listener.It is a janya rāgam of the 20th Melakarta rāgam Natabhairavi Raganidhi by P...