OSR
Suprabhātam (Sanskrit: सुप्रभातम्), literally auspicious dawn is a Sanskrit poem of the Suprabhātakāvya genre. It is a collection of hymns or verses recited early morning to awaken the deity in Hinduism. The metre chosen for a Suprabhātam poem is usually Vasantatilakā.
The most well-known Suprabhātam work is the Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam recited at Tirupati to awaken Veṅkaṭeśa. A rendition of the poem by renowned carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi is extremely popular[1][2] which is played daily in many homes and temples of South India.
History
The idea of awakening the deity in the morning has its origins to Tamil Nadu culture and its Tamil bhakti literature.[citation needed] In Tamil Nadu these poems were called திருப்பள்ளியெழுச்சி, Thiruppalliyelucci (literally, the auspicious awakening).[citation needed] Numerous Tamil poems were composed by Tamil saints on Vishnu and Shiva, the most popular being the Tamil Thondaradippodi Alvar’s poem on Sri Ranganatha (Vishnu) and Tamil saint Manikkavacakar’s poem on Shiva.[citation needed] One of Manikkavacakar’s work comprising a collection of ten Tamil songs of Tiruppalliezhuchi on the Tirupperunturai Lord are sung all over Tamil Nadu in the holy month of Margazhi ( The 9th month of the Tamil calendar, falling in December and January).[citation needed] Acharyas who come from the lineage of Ramanuja, adapted this Tamil language form into Sanskrit language in later times. In Sanskrit, the Suprabhātakāvya finds its first (1.23.2) in the Bālakāṇḍa of Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa, where Viśvāmitra calls out to Rāma to wake up.
kausalyāsuprajā rāma pūrvā sandhyā pravartate ।
uttiṣṭha naraśārdūla karttavyaṃ daivamāhnikam ॥
“ O Rāma, the noble son of Kausalyā! The Sandhyā of the East commences. O the lion amongst men! Arise, the daily tasks are to be performed. ॥ 1.23.2 ॥ ”
The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam begins with this very verse.
Venkateshwara Suprabhatam
The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam was composed around 1430 A.D. by Prativādibhayaṅkara Śrī Anantācārya (also known as Annangaracharyar, and P B Annan), the Rāmānujācārya of Kanchipuram.[1][4] The poet was a disciple of Swami Manavala Mamuni, who composed Sri Ranganatha Suprabhatam. Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam consists of four parts: Suprabhatam, Sri Venkatesa Stothram, Prapatti, and Mangalasasanam. Lakshmi Narayana deity, Sri-Bhu Devi sametha Padmanabha Swamy deity and 12 divya salagrama silas once worshiped by him are now with Prativada Bhayankaram Raghavacharyulu 15th generation from Sri Annan Swamy. These are now being worshiped daily at Divya Salagrama Kshetram in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
