Bhadrachala Ramadasu

Bhadrachala Ramadasu Biography

Bhadrachala Ramadasu was a celebrated Telugu poet who lived in the 17^th century. He is also known by the names, Kancharla Gopanna and Bhakta Ramadasu. He was a devotee of Lord Rama and a composer of Carnatic music. He is one among the famous vaggeyakaras, who wrote lyrics and set them to tunes also. He lived during the period, 1620 – 1680. He has composed many songs in praise to Lord Rama. Dasarathi Shatakamu is a collection of nearly 108 poems dedicated to Lord Rama. Saint Tyagaraja learned many of his musical compositions and performed too. He owns a cultural figure among Telugu speaking people of India.

Bhadrachala Ramadasu was born into a Telugu Niyogi Brahmin family as the child of Linganna Mantri and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of present-day Khammam district of Telangana state. Madanna and Akkanna brothers who served as ministers at the court of Tana Shah were his uncles. Ramadasu was appointed as the tahsildar of 'Palvoncha Paragana' by his uncle Akkanna. Once he visited Bhadrachalam for a fair, and that single journey changed everything. Seeing the neglectance in the preservation of Rama temple, he started to raise funds for the renovation and reconstruction of the temple. In the fortnight of fixing the Sudarshana Chakra at the crest of the main temple, Lord Rama appeared in his dream who asked him to have a holy dip in the Godavari River. He did so and came out with the holy Sudarshana Chakra.

As he funded money for temple construction from revenue collections without the permission of rulers, he lost his job very soon. He was sent to jail with orders to release him only after complete payment. During this time, he started singing songs praising Lord Rama. He was imprisoned for long 12 years. It’s said that he had this kind of sufferings because of some sins he committed in the previous birth. As per legend, Lord Rama and Lakshmana presented the money in the form of gold coins and got him released. But later Sultan repented over the act and returned the entire money to the Bhadrachalam Temple.

Published: October 06, 2018

Updated: October 06, 2018