Tallapaka Annamacharya (1408–1503)
Born 1408 CE, died 1503 CE.
Tallapaka Annamacharya (Telugu: తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య, romanized: Tāḷḷapāka Annamācārya; 9 May 1408 – 23 February 1503), also known as Annamayya, was a Telugu composer and Hindu saint. Born in Thallapaka, he composed devotional songs known as saṁkīrtanas in praise of Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu. Annamacharya is widely regarded as one of the earliest known composers to systematically use the devotional saṁkīrtana format in Telugu devotional music.. Traditional accounts attribute nearly 32,000 devotional compositions to Annamacharya, many of which were later recovered from copper plate manuscripts preserved at Tirumala. . His kirtanas are classified into adhyatma (spiritual) and sringara (romantic) genres and are Musicologists and cultural scholars regard Annamacharya’s compositions as foundational influences on later Carnatic devotional and lyrical traditions.
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