And his familiarity with the intricacies of dance as evidenced by ‘Alarulu kuriyaga?’ Were there dancers offering service in the Tirumala temple at that time? Even if there were, how would he have imbibed the science of it! But where did he come by his knowledge of music? His songs are in almost a hundred different ragas. Annamayya was born into a Smartha Brahmin family so his traditional learning is not surprising.

In AC, a part is missing but the end is intact. Why isn’t there a cenotaph (Tulasi Kota) to mark the place where he was cremated or buried? Odd, as by then his family was affluent and enjoyed the patronage of the local royalty.

A song, ‘Dinamu dwadasi’ mentions the ‘tithi’ (in April, AD1503). The next question: where did he die, in Tirumala, Tirupati, Ahobilam where he lived for a period, or in Tallapaka? There is no mention of this in AC.

True, there is no mention of this either in Annamacharya Charitram (AC) but traditionally women have gone to their parents’ for first confinement and remained there for a period before returning to their husbands. I think it must have been in Madupuru, the native village of Annamayya’s mother Lakkamamba. But this is not mentioned in the biography. However, this is more open to individual interpretation.įirst question: where was Annamayya born? Yes, according to early scholars it was in Tallapaka. The other is the internal evidence embedded in the nearly 12,000 songs by the father, son Peda Tirumalacharya and grandson China Tirumalayya. This is reliable but it covers only a part of his life. One is Annamacharya’s biography by his grandson Chinnanna, Annamacharya Charitram by Tallapaka China Tiruvengalanatha. And worse they circulate fiction as fact.īefore delving into them, it must be recognised that there are only two authentic sources. At least a three-score theses, mostly humdrum, hollow and repetitive, would have been milked out of lax examiners and uncaring universities, resulting in self-serving doctorates that leave many questions about his life unanswered. Many are available off the modern cornucopia aka internet. Some thousands of songs have been recorded by singers of varied ability and appeal as lilting light music and demanding Carnatic mode. Today the name and lyrics of Tallapaka Annamacharya are well-known.

Annamayya song lyrics