Kancherla Gopanna

• Illustration — Sri Ramanavami Kalyanam utsava at Bhadrachalam Temple, in Telangana Once, Ramadasu visited Bhadrachalam for a Jatara (fair) and was disturbed by the dilapidated state of the Rama temple there. Bhadrachalam is significant to devotees of Rama for many reasons. Lord Rama stayed near the Parnasala there with Sita and Lakshmana during his exile and also visited Shabari near Bhadrachalam (although it is believed that Shabari used to live near Kishkindha, the kingdom of Vanaras in Ramayana which is believed to be near Hampi). 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, it is believed that he found the holy Sudarshana Chakra in the river very easily.

Ramadasu is one of the bhakti movement poet-saints of Hinduism, and a revered composer in the Carnatic music tradition. His compositions are largely kirtan genre, all focused on the Hindu god Rama from the Ramayana. He is most known for his pallavi, anupallavi and caranam compositions in Telugu and some in Sanskrit. His musical mudras vary and are remembered by his name or his favorite place Bhadrachalam; for example, Ramadas, Bhadrachalavasa, Bhadradri, Bhadragiri, Bhadrasyla and others. His compositions were popular in his days, and influenced many into the modern age. This includes Tyagaraja who dedicated 5 of his own compositions in praise of Ramadasu, with one equating him to figures such as the Narada muni and bhakta Prahlada, legendary and much loved personalities in Hinduism.[11] He composed Dasarathi Satakam, a bhakti poem with didactic metric style whose lines and stanzas are often sung or shared in the regional Telugu tradition.[12] However, like the works of many poet-saints and philosophers on the Indian subcontinent, it is unclear which of the poems attributed to Ramadasu were authentically composed by him. There are six compilations named after Ramadasu, four of which are all called Ramadasu Charitra, one called Bhadrachala Ramadasu and another called Bhakta Ramadasu. These are in the form of a Yakshagana or Harikatha about Ramadasu and his songs. They are from six authors – Yadavadasu, Singaridasu, Krishnadasu, Ayyagiri Veerbhadra Rao, Balaji Dasu, and Pentapati Rao. Many contain between 100 and 108, but one has 137 songs attributed to Ramadasu. Taken together, a total of 190 different compositions have been attributed to him, with one critical edition attributing 37 songs before he was arrested by Islamic authorities, 64 while he was held in jail for 12 years, and 31 songs in the final years after his release. Thus, 132 songs are likely to have been composed by Ramadasu. Further, a notable feature of Ramadasu's compositions is his knowledge and his use of ragas from both South Indian schools (20 ragas) and North Indian schools (17 ragas), thereby uniting the two classical musical traditions.[13] In non-scholarly claims feeding the popular imagination, many more compositions are attributed to him. For example, according to the Indian newspaper The Hindu, Ramadasu composed nearly 300 songs and his works on Rama moved the Sultan.[14] The Navaratna krithis of Ramadasu are as follows: • # — Composition — Raga — Tāḷa — Language • 1 — Idigo Bhadradri — Varali — Ādi — Telugu • 2 — Sree Rama Namame — Atana — Ādi(Thisra) — Telugu • 3 — Paluke Bangaramayena — Anandabhairavi — Ādi — Telugu • 4 — Sree Ramula Divyanama — Sāvēri — Ādi — Telugu • 5 — Ramajogi Mandu — Kamas — Ādi — Telugu • 6 — Tarakamantramu — Dhanyasi — Ādi — Telugu • 7 — Hari Hari Rama — Kanada — Ādi — Telugu • 8 — Takkuvemi Manaku — Saurashtra — Ādi — Telugu • 9 — Kantinedu Maa Ramula — Nadanamakriya — Khandachapu — Telugu The above krithis are sung on the occasion of Bhadrachala Ramadasu Jayathi Utsavam, which falls in January and February of every year. Carnatic musicians and singers all over India will perform in this event. Other popular compositions of ramadasu are as follows:- • # — Composition — Raga — Tāḷa — Language • 1 — Ye teeruga — Nadanamakriya — Ādi — Telugu • 2 — Emayya rama — Kambhoji — Ādi — Telugu • 3 — Ennaganu rama bhajana — Pantuvaraali — Rūpaka — Telugu • 4 — Antha ramamayam — Anandabhairavi — Ādi — Telugu • 5 — Iskshvaku kula tilaka — Yadukulakamboji — Chapu — Telugu • 6 — Sri rama ni nama — Poorvi Kalyani — Ādi — Telugu • 7 — Ramachandrulu napai — Asaveri — Chapu — Telugu • 8 — Rama rama bhadrachala — Nilambari — Ādi — Telugu • 9 — Dorikane bhadrachala nilayudu — Kambhoji — Adi — Telugu • 10 — Bhajare sriramam — Kalyani — Ādi — Sanskrit • 11 — Rama chandrayajanka — Kurunji — Eka — Sanskrit • 12 — Dasaratha rama govindha — Shankarabharanam — Kapu — Telugu • 13 — Charanamule nammithi — Kapi — Ādi — Telugu • 14 — Pahi Rama Prabho — Madhyamavati — Jhampa — Telugu • 15 — Nanu brovamani cheppave — Kalyani — Chapu — Telugu • 16 — Thakkuvemi manaku — Suryakantham — Chapu — Telugu • 17 — Kamala nayana vasudeva — Shenjurutti — Roopakam — Sanskrit • 18 — Pavana rama — Dhanyasi — Adi — Telugu • 19 — Rama bhadra ra ra — Shankarabharanam — Tisra — Telugu • 20 — Nanda baalam — Manirangu — Adi — Sanskrit • 21 — Garuda gamana ra — Saveri — Adi — Telugu • 22 — Rama ra ra — Kamas — Adi — Telugu • 23 — Narahari deva janardhana — Yamunakalyani — Adi — Sanskrit • 24 — Palayamam sri — Sri — Adi — Sanskrit • 25 — Pahimam sri rama ante — Yadukulakamboji — Adi — Telugu • Ramachandraya Janaka Rajaaja Manohara in Kurinji • Tarakamantramu in Dhanyasi • Ye Teeruga Nanu in Nadanamakriya • Adigo Bhadradri in Varali • Anta Ramamayam in Darbari Kannada • Charanamulae Nammidhi in Kapi • Rama Ra Ra in Kamas • Dasharatha Rama Govindha in Kamas[15] • O Rama ni namamu in Poorvi Kalyani[16] • Paluke bangara mayena in Ananda Bhairavi