Sri Annamacharya's Krithi

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Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

A valuable acquisition during Adiyen's recent trip to India was a CD of

Sri Annamacharya Krithis

rendered by Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi. One krithi which particularly moved

Adiyen was " SarvOpayamulE " set to the Ragam Kalyani.

 

Sri Tallapakka Annamacharya was a disciple of Sri Adivan Satakopa

Yathindra Mahadesikan, the

founding father of Sri Ahobila Matham. Upon initiation into the sacred

Nrusimha Mantram and

receiving Bharanayasam from Adivan Satakopa Jeeyar, Sri Annamacharya

undertook an oath to

compose one krithi everyday of his life in praise of Lord Srinivasa.

As a result, he composed 32,000

krithis most of which are in praise of the Lord of Venkatachalam. The

remaining are in praise of

Bhagavan Nrusimha. In his Krithis, Sri Annamacharya brings out with

consummate effect the tenets of

Bhagavad Ramanuja Darshanam as practised by Swami Desikan and Adivan

Satakopa Yathi.

 

The krithi SarvOpayamulE at the outset recognizes the Lord of Seven

Hills as the

Upayam for everything. In one masterful word, Sri Annamacharya conveys

the message

of the Bhagavad Gita salutation " Vasudeva Sarvam Iti " . Sri Annamacharya

states that

all the Upayams for the entire universe can be found with ease in

the Lotus feet of Sheshadri Nayakan. In this context, it must also be

noted that

Sri Annamacharya captures the condensed essence of the Anubhavam of

Kulashekara

Azhwar " EdEnum AvEnE " , " PadiyAy Kidandu Un PavazhavAy KaNbene " , which

bear eloquent

testimony to the BrahmAnda PuraNam declaration " Venkatadri Samam

SthAnam

BrahmAnDE NAsti Kinchana I Venkatesha SamO deva na BhUtO na

Bhavaishyati " .

 

Next, Annamacharya points out that the fruit of Ganga snanam is readily

obtained by

taking a dip in the Swami Pushkarini at Venkatachalam. Here, the

incomparable

vageyyakara recognizes that four essential things for realizing Lord

Narayana, are

Gayathri, Gita, Ganga, and Govinda, the last one

lending gravitation to the other three. Adiyen will briefly dwell on

the

significance of each of these.

 

The foremost form of worshipping Lord Narayana is through the

recitation of the

Rg, Yajus, and Saama Vedams. However, not many are well versed with the

three

Vedams. It is here that Gayathri Devi plays an important role. During

the morning

Sandhya period, clad in red silk, Gayathri Devi eulogizes Lord Narayana

through the

recitation of the Rg Vedam. During the afternoon Sandhya period,

Gayathri Devi,

clad in white silk, glorifies Lord Narayana through the recitation of

the Yajur

Vedam. In the evening Sandya period, clad in black silk, Gayathri Devi

eulogizes

Lord Narayana through the recitation of the Saama Vedam. Thus,

performance of

Gayathri Manthra Japam at the appropirate Sandhya periods confers the

benefit of

worshipping Lord Narayana through the recitation of the Rg, Yajus, and

Saama Vedam.

 

The loftiness of the Bhagavad Gita stems from the fact that it is the

condensed

essence of all the Upanishads. Most importantly, it blesses us with the

sacred

32 syllabled Charma Shlokam from the mouth of Lord Krishna. This 32

syllabled

Charma Shlokam is the quintessence of the 32 Brahma Vidyas. The Charma

Shlokam

is the most forthright, unambiguous declaration of the doctrine of

unconditional,

total surrender to the Lotus feet of Lord Narayana.

 

Next, the holy Ganga has its origin in the Lotus feet of Lord Narayana.

During the

Trivikrama Avataram, Brahma performed Sripada Teertham for Lord

Narayana reciting

the Purusha Sooktam. The waters from this Sripada Teertham became the

sacred Ganges

river. Due to the association of Vishnu Padam, the Ganges river

possesses the power

to cleanse one of their sins. The cleansing is accomplished regardless

of one's

caste, creed, gender, attainments, or background.

 

The centrality of Govinda-the Lord of the earth, cows and Vedam to

Gayathri, Gita,

and Ganga have been established above. The namam Govinda also has

intimate

connections to PraNavam, the first Aksharam of the sacred Ashtakshara

Mantram.

PraNavam unequivocally declares the supremacy of Lord Narayana and

recognizes Him

as the Sarva Seshi.

 

Accordingly, Sri Annamacharya masterfully points out that

Venkatachalam-the residence of Govinda (Lord of the earth, cows, and

Vedam) is

fully capable of granting this benefit. Sri Annamacharya then proceeds

to extol the

greatness of Venkatachalam as follows:

" The fruit of residence at all Divya deshams can be obtained here

itself

( Tirupathi). In simple Kirtanams, I extol the greatness of Lord

Venkateshwara.

In the process, I convey the underlying message of all the Vedas and

Upanishads,

i.e., Lord Narayana is the Supreme Lord "

 

Next, Sri Annamacharya glorifies Bhagavatas who come in large numbers

to offer

their salutations to the Lord of Seven Hills and states that there can

be no

greater blessing than to be associated with such Bhagavatas who are

completely

immersed in thoughts of Lord Narayana. Sri Annamacharya then glorifies

the

exalted role of Piratti, who is never separated from Lord Srinivasa,

and who has

taken up eternal residence in the Lord's Vakshasthalam. Sri

Annamacharya points

out that it is imperative to obtain Thayar's Kataksham prior to

approaching the Lord.

Sri Annamacharya then asks " What do I get after being the beneficiary

of Thayar's

grace? I perform SharaNagati to the Lotus feet of Lord Venkateshwara,

who accepts

me verily like a father welcoming his son "

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan