Dates 1608 to 1682 Genre Carnatic - Keertana Language Telugu   Profile   Compositions   Related Composers   Links

Profile

Ramadasa was born as Gopanna in a place called Nelakondapalli. He parents were Linganna & Kamalamba, very religious people. Radadasa too was influenced by the Bhakthi cult and spent all his wealth on its promotion, reducing him to poverty. His uncle, a minister of Tani Shah arranged him to be the Tahsildar of Bhadrachalam.

Even as the collector of Bhadrachalam, Ramadasa started spending money collected to renovate the Rama temple there. This was soon found out and he was promptly put in jail. Ramadasa composed many of his works from inside the prison, including the Ramayana in a prose-poem form. The legend says that, in the end Lord Rama repaid the money to Tani Shah, who set Ramadasa free.

Bhadrachala Ramadasa's compositions were in the Keertana (Pada) form, with multiple charana-s, similar to that of Shri Purandara. The theme is predominantly Bhakthi ( Devotion ). His pen names (mudra) show his devotion for the Bhadrachalam Rama temple - Bhadrachala, Bhadradri or Bhadragiri. Thyagaraja praises Ramadasa for his great Bhakthi, showing possibly he was one of the influences on Thyagaraja. Dozens of his compositions are available and are sung regularly today.

Compositions

• Emayya rama- Kambhoji - Khanda Chapu
• Nannu brovamanu - Kalyani - Adi
• Paluke bangara mayena - Anandabhairavi - Rupaka
• Rama daya judave - Dhanyasi - Rupaka

Related Composers

Teachers & Influences	Raghunatha Bhattacharya
Disciples & Followers
Similar Composers	Annamacharya, Sri Purandara, Kshetragna
Worked With

Links

• Keerthana Lyrics of Bhadrachala Ramadasa