Muddugare Yashoda

In this lovely song, Annamacharya describes the beauty of little Krishna, comparing him with the various precious stones like diamond, ruby, sapphire, etc.

He is the lovely toddler (pearl) of Yashoda, playing in her front yard. He is the all powerful; son of Devaki.||

He is the manikyam (ruby) of all gopikas. He is the vajrayudham (all-powerful diamond like weapon) to the evil Kamsa. He is the emerald (paccha) of the three worlds (lokas), radiating light. Dwelling in everyone, He is our little Krishna.||

He is the coral (pagadamu) of beautiful Rukmini. He is the agate (gomedhikamu) that lifted Govardhana mountain. He is the cat's eye (vydooryam) in between conch (Sankham) and discus (Chakram). He is lotus-eyed (Kamalaksha), our saviour. ||

He is like the topaz (pushyaragam) on the heads of Kaliya (serpent). He is the sapphire (Indraneelam), our protector, dwelling in Sri Venkatadri (Seshachalam). He is the divine gem in the ocean of milk. He is Padmanabha (one with lotus at navel), moving like a boy amongst us. || - Annamayya (15 Century)


"In India the mother is the center of the family and our highest ideal. She is to us the representative of God, as God is the mother of the universe.- Swami Vivekananda

P.S: "TELUGU - Italian of the East" - Niccolo Da Conti, 15th Century Italian explorer
(As all the native words in Telugu end with a vowel sound)


muddugarE yasOda
raagam: kurinji
29 shankaraabharaNam janya
Aa: S N3 S R2 G3 M1 P D2
Av: D2 P M1 G3 R2 S N3 S

taaLam:
Composer: Annamaacaarya
Language:

pallavi

MuddugAre YasodA mungiti muthyamuvidu
DidderAni mahimala Devaki suthudu

caraNam 1

Anthanintha gollethala arachethi mAnikyamu
PanthamAdey Kamsuni pAli vajramu
KAnthula moodu lokAla Garudapachapoosa
Chenthala mAlonunna Chinni Krishnudu
caraNam 2

ratikeli rukminiki rangumovi pagadamu
mithi gOvardhanapu Gomedikamu
sathamye SankhachakrAla sandula vaidooryamu
gathiyai mammu gAche KamalAkshudu
caraNam 3

kAlinguni talapye gappina pushyarAgamu
yelleti Sri VenkatAdri Indraneelamu
pAlajalanidhilona bAyani Divya ratnamu
bAluneevale dhrigi PadmanAbhudu


Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya (Telugu: శ్రీ తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య) (or Annamayya) (May 9, 1408 – February 23, 1503) was the official songmaster of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple,[1] and a Telugu composer who composed thousands of keertana songs,[2] many of which were in praise of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swami. The musical form of the keertana songs that he composed have strongly influenced the structure of Carnatic music compositions,[3] which are still popular among Carnatic music concert artists.[4] Sri Annamacharya is remembered for his saintly life, and is honoured as a great Bhakta/devotee of Bhagwaan Govinda by devotees and saintly singers.[5]

He is widely regarded as the Pada-kavita Pitaamaha (grand old man of song-writing) of the Telugu language.[6]
Annamacharya was born on Vaisakha Suddha Pournami in the year Sarwadhari (May 9, 1408) in Tallapaka, a village in current day Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, India.[7] His wife, Thimmakka,[8] had written Subhadra Kalyanam, and is considered the first female poet in Telugu literature. Their son, Pedda Tirumalacharya, and grandson, Tallapaka Chinnayya, were also composers and poets. The Tallapaka compositions are considered to have dominated and influenced the structure of Carnatic music compositions.[9] Annamacharya lived for 94 years until Phalguna Bahula Dwadasi (12th day after full moon) in the year Dhundhubhi (February 23, 1503).

Annamacharya is said to have composed as many as 32,000 sankeertanas (songs) on Bhagwaan Govinda Venkateswara,[10] of which only about 12,000 are available today.
Annamacharya considered his compositions as floral offerings to Bhagwaan Govinda. In the poems, he praises Venkateswara, describes his love for him, argues and quarrels with the Lord, confesses the devotee's failures and apprehensions, and surrenders himself to Venkateshwara. His songs are classified into the Adhyaatma (spiritual) and Sringaara (romantic) sankeertanas genres. His songs in the "Sringaara" genre worship Bhagwaan Venkateswara by describing his amorous and romantic adventures of Venkateswara and Alamel Manga, while others describe the Bhakti of his devotees.
In his later keertanas, he espouses subjects such as morality, dharma and righteousness. He was one of the first few who opposed the social stigma towards the untouchable castes in his era,[11] with his sankeertanas explaining that the relationship between God and human is the same irrespective of the latters' color, caste and financial status, in beautiful yet powerful usage of words in his song "Brahmam Okkate Parabrahmam Okkate..."

His choice of words gives a mellifluous tone to his songs, charming the listener. His prodigious literary career earned him a place among the all-time greats of Telugu literature.[12]

According to legend, Annamacharya met up with Purandara Dasa and both of them composed music and lyrics.[13] They met when Annamacharya had invited Purandara Dasa to join him in singing praise.[14]

While enjoying popularity in his own days, his compositions were forgotten for over three centuries for some inexplicable reason. They were later found engraved on copper plates, hidden for centuries inside the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala, just opposite the Hundi, concealed in a very small room.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, also known as TTD, has been endeavouring to preserve the rich heritage of his compositions. Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (born 9 November 1948) set the musical tune for more than 600 Annamacharya songs. He has been the Asthana Gayaka of the Tirumala temple at Tirupati since 1983. He is regarded as a pioneer in rendering devotional music in classical style, especially the Annamacharya sankirtanas. He composed tunes for famous keerthanas such as Vinaro Bhagyamu Vishnukatha, Bramha Kadigina Padamu, Jagadapu Chanuvula and Pidikedu Thalambralu... which became popular among the devotees. All these devotional songs are predominantly in Sanskrit and Telugu.