Thread by @jeysundhar_d

Today, I will tell you the story of Ramadasa.
"Ramadasa? Why Ramadasa? Why not Rama?", you ask?

Well, read on.

#Thread

Let's look at that famous choupai.

Na Aham Vasami Vaikunthe
Yoginam Hridaye Na Cha
Mad-Bhakta Yatra Gayanti
Tatra Tishthami Narada!

Narayana tells the parama bhagavata Narada where he can be found.

"I don't stay in Vaikunta,
Nor in the hearts of Yogis,
I am to be found wherever
My devotees sing my name, Narada!"

Ramadasa, was truly Rama's dasa.
He is known to us today as Bhadrachala Ramadasa.

But he was neither born in Bhadrachalam, nor was he named Ramadasa.

Ramadasa was born Kancherla Gopanna in Nelakondapalli in what was then the Golconda Sultanate.

During his lifetime, Golconda was ruled by Abul Hasan Tana Shah of the Qutb Shahi dynasty.

Gopanna's uncles were the famous Akkanna-Madanna duo who were ministers in the court of the Shah.

Theirs is a story worth a thread in itself. Perhaps for another day.

Back to Gopanna.
Thanks to his uncles, he was appointed as the Tehsildar of an area, by the Shah.

His job was to collect taxes and send it to the Shah.

Gopanna was a good Tehsildar, collecting taxes, and using a part of his salary to feed the poor.

But.... life had other plans for him.

One of the perks of being a Tehsildar was that Gopanna was automatically the Chief Guest in all important events in his area.

One of these events was a festival at the Rama temple in.... yes, Bhadrachalam.

The festival was at the Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple in Bhadrachalam, which was in a dilapidated condition.

As with threads that lead to more threads, the backstory of the temple, will take us to the story of Pokala Dhammakka.

But that's for another day.

Seeing the condition of the temple, Gopanna set out to rebuild it.

He collected money from the locals and devotees from elsewhere and started the task.

As with all construction, there were cost overruns. And Gopanna was also short of funds.

He decided to dip into the tax collection, hoping to refill it from donations he was confident of securing.

The construction picked up pace and was soon complete.
It had costed six lakh Varahas.

(Yes, the currency name was the same as that of the Gold coin used by the Vijayanagar. After all, this was just a 100 years after the Battle of Talaikota.)

The Shah was oblivious to what was happening.

All was well until his accountants reported that our dear Gopanna had not been depositing his collection.

Let me introduce to you the pivotal character in the story.
The Sita Ramachandraswamy temple of Bhadrachalam.

While the Shah was throwing a raging fit, Gopanna had already invited priests from Srirangam and started worship at the temple in line with the Pancharatra Agamas.

We know 'achalam' means mountain (and unmoving, as in Himachal), see how the entrance to the temple slopes up

Before the Shah could order an immediate execution, Gopanna's uncles intervened and pleaded on his behalf.

Instead of demanding his head, the Shah demanded an explanation.

But by this time, our humble tax collector had already been transformed into a Bhagavata.

His pen no longer kept track of tax collections. It was busy composing songs in praise of Rama.

So, Gopanna entered the court of the Shah as Ramadasa, singing the praise of Rama in his own words.

This is the other pivotal character in our story. Abul Hasan Tana Shah.

As Ramadasa continued singing, the Shah was fuming in anger. Ramadasa's uncles stepped in and tried their best to bring him down to ground level.

The conversation between the Shah and Ramadasa went something like this.

Shah: Where is my money?
Ramadasa: Money? What money?

S: My money! The tax collection from the Tehsil.
R: Your money, my money, how does it matter? All money is anyway Rama's! This whole world is His!

S: *looks furiously at Madanna-Akkanna*

MA: Gopanna, Gopanna! The tax collection belongs to the Shah. What have you done with it?

R: *starts another song*

MA: *shaking Ramadasa furiously* Gopanna! If you don't answer the Shah, we will all be in trouble. Do you want to see your uncles die?

R: *slowly coming to his senses* Sire! The money has been spent. Rama now resides in a beautiful temple in Bhadrachalam.

Shah: TEMPLE! You've built a temple?! With my money?

R: Don't worry, Sire! I have merely borrowed from the Treasury.

S: Is it? And how does your Excellency intend to pay it back?

*Madanna-Akkana are fidgeting in the background*

R: Rama will pay it back!

MA: Gopanna....!

R: Ok, ok! The donations from the devotees will cover your loan, Sire!

Shah: Excellent! And until that happens, will your Excellency be kind enough to stay in my humble prison?

MA: Sire! He's our nephew!

Shah: And you can join him, if you'd like to. He has 12 years to repay the money. Else, all three of you hang.

Ramadasa continues to sing as he is taken to prison.

Confined to the walls of the prison, Ramadas pined to return to the temple at Bhadrachalam.

Most of his compositions, including the Dasarathi Shatakam, come from this time, beseeching Rama to come and rescue him.

Ramadasa continues to compose.

Time continues to flow.

12 long years pass this way.

One fine morning, Tana Shah wakes up to see two young warriors, standing by his bed, holding slender bows in their powerfully built arms.

Suspecting a murder attempt, frantic with fear, the Shah calls his guards.

"Fear not! We are not here to kill you."

The Shah has pure shock on his face.

"We are here to repay the debt Gopanna owes you."

"Gopanna?! Who? What debt?"

Before the Shah could collect his thoughts, they drop a bag full of heavy coins of glistening gold.

The luster of the gold blinds the Shah. By the time he can see clearly, the two are gone.

A disembodied voice fills the air, "Your debt is paid"

The Shah yells, "Guards! Secure the gates! Catch those two. They should not leave!"

Hours pass. The guards return empty-handed. One even murmurs that the Shah has gone crazy.

Living up to the remark on his sanity, the Shah jumps off his bed and rushes to the prison to meet Gopanna.

"Gopanna! Gopanna! Who were they?! How do you know them?"

The emaciated Ramadasa, stumbled in the darkness of his cell is clueless.

"Rama, Rama, Rama!" he says.

The Shah takes it to mean that it was Rama who came.

"Yes! Your Rama came. He has repaid your debt! You are free to go!"

Ramadasa cannot believe what he is hearing.

"Rama! My Rama! You had my Rama's darshan?! And yet, he has not thought me worthy enough of it yet"

"Rama, Rama, Rama!" he continues to chant.

"You are free, Gopanna! I reinstate you as the Tehsildar!"

But by now, Ramadasa has had enough of worldly attachments.

He walks out of the prison, picks up his Tambura and departs to Bhadrachalam.

Incidentally, history says that Tana Shah himself was defeated by Aurangazeb and imprisoned for 12 years (yep, same 12 years) and died in imprisonment at the Daulatabad fort.

That was the end of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty.

Kancherla Gopanna, as Bhadrachala Ramadasa, became one of the most renowned Vagyeyakaras (composers) and Pitamaha of Carnatic music.

His compositions are sung to this day.

Thyagaraja, of the Carnatic trinity, writes a 100 years later in his famous Devagandhari kriti, Ksheera Saagara Sayana.
dhIruDau rAma dAsuni bandhamu tIrcinadi vinnAnurA

"I heard how you came to end the imprisonment of brave Ramadasa"
That line by BMK

Thyagaraja wants Rama to save him from Samsara, just like He saved Ramadasa from prison.

Let me share one of my favorite compositions by Bhadrachala Ramadasa.
Ye Teeruganannu, rendered by Balamurali Krishna.

Ramadasa asks, sitting in Tana Shah's prison.

In what way will you show me your kindness, Rama of the Suryavansha
How will I swim this ocean of worldly concerns, O lotus-eyed Rama!

I'll keep the translation of the kriti for another day, and skip to the last stanza, which has resonance now.

Praised by Indra, sustainer of Ramadasa, my vandanam to O Rama of Ayodhya
Worshipped by your devotees, please give us protection from fear, Dasarata's son,O Raghu Rama

This thread went longer than I had intended.

Thank you for reading.
May Ramadasa lead us on the path of devotion.
@threadreaderapp Please compile.