A peep into “Puttadasanu nanalla” of Sri Kanakadasaru

 A peep into

“Puttadasanu nanalla” of Sri Kanakadasaru

Introduction:

Sri Kanakadasaru was born in 1509 to Biregowda and Bichchamma, a shepherd Gowda family, in Bada, a village near Bankapura. The original name of Sri Kanakadasaru was Thimmappa Nayaka. Thimmappa Nayaka learnt Tarka (Logic), Vyakarana (Grammar) and Meemamsa from Srinivasacharya, his preceptor. Although accurate details about his boyhood and adulthood are not available, according to one of his own compositions, Thimmappa Nayaka was defeated in a war and he suffered grievous injuries. However, he was miraculously saved from death. It is not certain whether he was a soldier or an army chief or a vassal, a subordinate king. According to a German writer, the first name of Thimmappa Nayaka was Veera Nayaka.

The latest information is that during some recent excavation in Baada in Shiggaon region, the ruins of a fort has been found by the Department of Archaeology and it has been identified as the one dating back to the era of Kanaka Dasaru. The Government of Karnataka has built a new fort, a palace adored with pictorial display of Kanaka Dasa’s life.

The defeat and the injuries he sustained during the war is believed to have induced Thimmappa Nayaka to discard worldly life and to embrace a life of devotion, spirituality and righteousness. He became a thick devotee of Lord Krishna.

As per a legend, Thimmappa Nayaka was yearning to have the Darshan of Lord Kirshna in Udupi. It may be recalled that the idol of Lord Krishna was consecrated my Sri Madhwacharyaru. It so happened that the priests at the temple of Lord Krishna in Udupi did not allow Thimmappa Nayaka to enter the Temple. The Nayaka was so obsessed that he waited outside the temple for days. Meanwhile, the precious stones in the garland that adored the idol of Lord Krishna in the temple started vanishing one by one, each day. The priests came to know that Thimmappa Nayaka was selling a precious each day to a nearby jeweller. The news of precious stones disappearing from the necklace of Lord Krishna’s statue and the same being found with a local jeweller and Thimmappa Nayaka being suspected to be stealing the precious stones, reached Sri Vadirajaru, the then seer of Sode Mutt. It may be recalled that Sri Vadirajaru is one of the Latavyas and is said to be the Bhavee Sameera or designated Lord Vayu in the next Kalpa or so as per the holy Scriptures. Sri Vadirajaru immediately arrived at Udupi, enquired about the whole incident, checked with the jeweller with whom the precious stones were, and were supposedly being part of the necklace of Lord Krishna. The jeweller confessed that Thimmappa Nayaka used to sell one precious stone to him every day and he used to pay Thimmappa Nayaka some gold coins. Vadirajaru enquired with Thimmappa Nayaka about it and was astonished to hear that Lord Krishna was meeting Thimmappa Nayaka every day and was giving him one precious stone so that Thimmappa Nayaka could sell it and satisfy his hunger with the proceeds. Vadirajaru also came to know that Thimmappa Nayaka was not being allowed to enter the Temple and have Darshan of Lord Krishna. Sri Vadirajaru went into the sanctum sanctorum and came out, folding his fingers to cover his palm and asked the priests what was there in his palm. The priests could not answer, while Thimmappa Nayaka instantly composed and sang “Eetaneega VAsudEvanu LOkadoDeya”, meaning Lord Vasudeva was there in his tiny form in the palm of Sri Vadirajaru. The greatness of the soul of Thimmappa Nayaka was thus revealed by Sri Vadirajaru, who renamed him as Kanakadasa. The word Kanaka in Kannada and in Sanskrit means gold. Thimmappa Nayaka was being indirectly given gold coins by Lord Vasudeva in the form of precious stones and hence the name Kanaka Dasa. According some sources, the name Kanaka Dasa was given by Sri Vyasarajaru as Thimmappa Nayaka became one of the disciples of Sri Vyasarajaru. Sri Purandhara Dasaru, the doyen of Karnataka classical music, was a contemporary of Sri Kanakadasaru. Sri Vadirajaru, besides renaming Thimmappa Nayaka as Kanaka Dasa, presented him with the Ankit “Adi Keshava”.