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| Sri Seeta Rama Swamy, Bhadrachalam |
Bhadra Chala Narasimha dasu:
It is said that two men please God——he who serves Him with all his heart because he knows Him, and the other is he who seeks Him with all his heart because he knows Him not. Tumu Narasimha Dasu (1790-1833) belongs to the first category as he was imbued with piety and devotion to Lord Rama and always carried the Lord in his heart and soul. Rama was the object of his yearning, the goal of his actions, the principle of his affections and the governing power of his whole soul. He was always immersed in prayer as he believed that prayer, if not the very gate of heaven, was the key to let him into its holiness and beatitude!
Tumu Narasimha Dasu was a great saint-musician-composer. He composed many songs (Kritis) extolling the glory of Bhadradri Rama and attained salvation, thus showing a way for others to cross the hell of mundane life and attain the Bliss Eternal. Like Bhakta Ramadasu, Narasimha Dasu (who is believed to be the reincarnation of the former) strained his every nerve to develop the Bhadradri (Bhadrachala) temple and enhance its sanctity. He travelled across the Indian subcontinent, visiting ever so many pilgrim centers spreading the Bhakti cult among the people. His simple living and high thinking and his principles of human welfare are exemplary. He was a humanitarian to the core.
Born as the son of a great Sanskrit scholar Tumu Appayya Dikshit and a pious lady Venkamamba in Guntur town in the South Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, Narasimha Dasu was a precocious boy. The religious fervour of the period made a tremendous impact on his sensitive imagination. Narasimha Dasu belongs to the eminent tradition of saint-poet-musicians like Annamayya, Bhakta Ramadasu, Kshetrayya, and Tyagaraju. He was a contemporary of Tyagaraju.
Narasimha Dasu had a younger brother Krishnayya and a sister Rukmabai. His father was also a great devotee of Lord Rama. Naturally his home was suffused with an atmosphere of piety and devotion. For a long time his parents had no issue. By the grace of Mangalagiri Narasimha Swami this boy was born. Hence, he was named Narasimha Dasu. Eminent devotees and other elders, who frequently visited his house, used to bless this prodigy. He had mastered Sanskrit and Andhram languages, besides music and literature. As an extraordinarily precocious child, Narasimha Dasu began to recite poems and songs extempore and sing in a melodious tune enthralling his listeners. He had a superb sense of rhythm (Laya), and he also played on the ‘Kanjira’ (a small one-sided round drum). He had widely read in theology and theosophy.
When he was just eight, Narasimha Dasu’s literary and musical talents astounded the people. Endowed with a phenomenal memory power, he remembered most of what he read. His poetic genius manifested itself when he sang extempore at that tender age, a song on Bhadrachala Rama, “Namo Namo, Daasaradhe Namo Namo………” His language drew its basic nourishment from literature, and his literature used language as its vehicle blending devotion harmoniously.
At the age of 19 years, Narasimha Dasu’s marriage to Lakshmibai was solemnized. With the death of his father Appayya Dikshit in the very next year, his struggle for mundane existence began. He got a job in the Revenue Department as Peshkar at Ponnur in the Guntur Division. As an idealist and a man of principles, and as a diligentworker, Narasimha Dasu acquitted himself creditably in his job. He endeared himself to the people by enquiring about their needs and well-being. During this period, he accepted “Pancha Samskara Deeksha” from a god-man (a divine being in human form) by name Damodaram Kesava Dasu, as a token of embracing Vishishtadwaita (a Vedantic doctrine of Ramanujacharya which treats Brahman and Prakriti as realities, and rejects the doctrine of illusion). Such people wear the mark of Wheel (Vishnu’s Sudarshana Chakra) on the right shoulder and the Conch (Shankha) on the left shoulder; and two white vertical lines with a red streak in between on the forehead to indicate that they are the servants of Lord Vishnu.
As his devotion to Lord Srirama deepened, he found his job and its attendant responsibilities a big hindrance to his Vaishnavite ministry. Soon, he quit his job. This came as a bolt from the blue to his already poverty-stricken family. In one of his outpourings, he appealed to Lord Rama to listen to the hardships he suffered either financially or from money-lenders or godless and anti-Vaishnavite people. His mundane life was sad, broken and tragic whereas his spiritual life was blissful and filled with literary brilliance. His poverty, however, only seemed to enhance his devotion to Srirama which gladdened and inspired countless people around him.
Meticulously following the Vaishnavite tradition, and its rules and regulations, he qualified himself to be called ‘Narasimha Dasu’—a servant of Lord Vishnu (Srirama). Strengthened by his utter devotion to the Lord, coupled with his unique trait of philosophical detachment, he weathered the hardships of penury. For him, Lord Srirama was the fountain of all that is virtuous, intelligent and joyous. He spurned the idea of approaching the wealthy people saying, “Should I beg of mean men for a morsel of food, should I bear the insults hurled at me when I am piously chanting your holy name, tell me O Rama!
It is said that two men please God——he who serves Him with all his heart because he knows Him, and the other is he who seeks Him with all his heart because he knows Him not. Tumu Narasimha Dasu (1790-1833) belongs to the first category as he was imbued with piety and devotion to Lord Rama and always carried the Lord in his heart and soul. Rama was the object of his yearning, the goal of his actions, the principle of his affections and the governing power of his whole soul. He was always immersed in prayer as he believed that prayer, if not the very gate of heaven, was the key to let him into its holiness and beatitude!
Tumu Narasimha Dasu was a great saint-musician-composer. He composed many songs (Kritis) extolling the glory of Bhadradri Rama and attained salvation, thus showing a way for others to cross the hell of mundane life and attain the Bliss Eternal. Like Bhakta Ramadasu, Narasimha Dasu (who is believed to be the reincarnation of the former) strained his every nerve to develop the Bhadradri (Bhadrachala) temple and enhance its sanctity. He travelled across the Indian subcontinent, visiting ever so many pilgrim centers spreading the Bhakti cult among the people. His simple living and high thinking and his principles of human welfare are exemplary. He was a humanitarian to the core.
Born as the son of a great Sanskrit scholar Tumu Appayya Dikshit and a pious lady Venkamamba in Guntur town in the South Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, Narasimha Dasu was a precocious boy. The religious fervour of the period made a tremendous impact on his sensitive imagination. Narasimha Dasu belongs to the eminent tradition of saint-poet-musicians like Annamayya, Bhakta Ramadasu, Kshetrayya, and Tyagaraju. He was a contemporary of Tyagaraju.
Narasimha Dasu had a younger brother Krishnayya and a sister Rukmabai. His father was also a great devotee of Lord Rama. Naturally his home was suffused with an atmosphere of piety and devotion. For a long time his parents had no issue. By the grace of Mangalagiri Narasimha Swami this boy was born. Hence, he was named Narasimha Dasu. Eminent devotees and other elders, who frequently visited his house, used to bless this prodigy. He had mastered Sanskrit and Andhram languages, besides music and literature. As an extraordinarily precocious child, Narasimha Dasu began to recite poems and songs extempore and sing in a melodious tune enthralling his listeners. He had a superb sense of rhythm (Laya), and he also played on the ‘Kanjira’ (a small one-sided round drum). He had widely read in theology and theosophy.
When he was just eight, Narasimha Dasu’s literary and musical talents astounded the people. Endowed with a phenomenal memory power, he remembered most of what he read. His poetic genius manifested itself when he sang extempore at that tender age, a song on Bhadrachala Rama, “Namo Namo, Daasaradhe Namo Namo………” His language drew its basic nourishment from literature, and his literature used language as its vehicle blending devotion harmoniously.
At the age of 19 years, Narasimha Dasu’s marriage to Lakshmibai was solemnized. With the death of his father Appayya Dikshit in the very next year, his struggle for mundane existence began. He got a job in the Revenue Department as Peshkar at Ponnur in the Guntur Division. As an idealist and a man of principles, and as a diligentworker, Narasimha Dasu acquitted himself creditably in his job. He endeared himself to the people by enquiring about their needs and well-being. During this period, he accepted “Pancha Samskara Deeksha” from a god-man (a divine being in human form) by name Damodaram Kesava Dasu, as a token of embracing Vishishtadwaita (a Vedantic doctrine of Ramanujacharya which treats Brahman and Prakriti as realities, and rejects the doctrine of illusion). Such people wear the mark of Wheel (Vishnu’s Sudarshana Chakra) on the right shoulder and the Conch (Shankha) on the left shoulder; and two white vertical lines with a red streak in between on the forehead to indicate that they are the servants of Lord Vishnu.
As his devotion to Lord Srirama deepened, he found his job and its attendant responsibilities a big hindrance to his Vaishnavite ministry. Soon, he quit his job. This came as a bolt from the blue to his already poverty-stricken family. In one of his outpourings, he appealed to Lord Rama to listen to the hardships he suffered either financially or from money-lenders or godless and anti-Vaishnavite people. His mundane life was sad, broken and tragic whereas his spiritual life was blissful and filled with literary brilliance. His poverty, however, only seemed to enhance his devotion to Srirama which gladdened and inspired countless people around him.
Meticulously following the Vaishnavite tradition, and its rules and regulations, he qualified himself to be called ‘Narasimha Dasu’—a servant of Lord Vishnu (Srirama). Strengthened by his utter devotion to the Lord, coupled with his unique trait of philosophical detachment, he weathered the hardships of penury. For him, Lord Srirama was the fountain of all that is virtuous, intelligent and joyous. He spurned the idea of approaching the wealthy people saying, “Should I beg of mean men for a morsel of food, should I bear the insults hurled at me when I am piously chanting your holy name, tell me O Rama!
( Source: Andhra Bharati site)
Audio:
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Bhadradri Rama Prabhata Seva-Narasimha Dasu compositions rendered by Dr Balamuralikrishna
Well written !
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