(Spouse) Janakamma B.1853 Kurada
Daughter of Kurada Lakshminarasimham and Sarvalakshmamma
Died 27-9-1927 Bezwada @ residence of Dasu Vishnurao garu.

LIFE OF DASU SREERAMULU

CHILDHOOD

The most illustrious son of Dasu Kannayya garu and Kaamamma garu was born on April 8th, 1846 at the residence of his maternal grandfather Mr. Kurada Ramachandrayya in the village of Kurada, in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, India. At the time of his birth his parents were living in a village by the name, Korraguntapalem and he grew up there for a while, till his parents moved to another village Alluru. His initiation to education (Akshara abhyasam) was performed at Korraguntapalem and his first teacher was Mr.Adivi Subbarayudu just for about six months. Later he studied under another teacher Mr.Gudlavalleti Perraju when he learnt the Sanskrit Amarakosam and Bala Ramayanam. He learnt reading , writing and arithmetic under the guidance of his father at Alluru. His father was no scholar, but was very knowledgeable and so could guide the young Sreeramulu in acquiring the basic skills. He lost no time in reading books like Maha Bharat and other great Indian epics thereby making great strides in his studies.By virtue of his intrinsic talents Sreeramulu acquired sufficient proficiency in Telugu by his own efforts. At the age of 12 the ceremony of Upanayanam (the ritual of wearing the sacred thread required for a Brahmin ) was performed in the year 1858 along with his cousin Uppaluri Krishnayya. Shortly thereafter his father felt the need of English education for the young talented Sreeramulu and took him to Bandar now known as Machilipatnam a town in the district of Krishna district, about 30miles from Alluru. He stayed with Mr.Adivi Venkatisivudu a close relative residing at Bandar.

EARLY EDUCATION:

The next stage in his education started with his admission in the school newly started by a Christian Missionary Mr. Noble at Bandar in 1843 and later known as Noble School There were some Hindu boys also studying in that school. It was the first school in that area imparting western type English education. While he was studying there, the teachers noticed the outstanding talents of the young brilliant Sreeramulu and were very affectionate and considerate towards him. During that period his parents learnt of some conversions to Christianity of some boys in the school. They were deeply concerned and alarmed over the prospects of Sreeramulu becoming a Christian, although Sreeramulu had no such intentions at all. However his father decided to move him away from the school, and so took him back to Alluru. Thus the short sojourn of young Sreeramulu's urban English education came to an end. Sreeramulu was the only son of his parents. The life at Alluru was very comfortable with nice farms and gardens with the luxury of matching dairy farm also. He spent his life in the company of his other family members and friends in the serene surroundings of Alluru. During this period he learnt Sanskrit and Telugu by his own efforts. A vivid description of his life in Alluru can be found in his epic book Devi Bhagavatam. His poetic skills started during his stay at Bandar. He wrote a lyric "Jaya Jaya Soma Linga" while still a student at Bandar. He wrote a book titled "Satrajiti Vilasam" in folklore music style while he was still 14. Though it was written at such an young age, poetic skills were very eminent.

However he suffered a serious set back in health due to serious illness in 1859. After he recovered from his illness, stage was set for his marriage. He was married to Ms.Janakamma , second daughter of his maternal uncle Mr.Kurada Lakshminarasimham, on 25th of March, 1859 in the village Kurada. While he was spending his time happily at Alluru progressing in his studies as well, he lost his maternal grandfather Mr.Kurada Ramachandrayya garu in 1860. Young Sreeramulu was growing impatient with an urge to learn more. He left home on one night in April of 1865 without telling anyone at home in pursuit of learning and knowledge. His destination was a place called Akiripalli in the feudal state of Nuzvid. The feudal lord of Nuzvid Mr. Shobhanadri Apparayaningaru, was an enthusiastic promoter of education and supported those in quest of learning and knowledge. He died in 1868. By that time Akiripalli acquired importance as an educational center and was visited by many reputed scholars and educationalists. Akiripalli was a center for vedic studies. Mr.Sreeramulu stayed at Akiripalli for ten months and studied Sanskrit language and sanskrit grammar besides acquiring other poetic and literary proficiency. During his stay at Akiripalli, he received a stipend of half a rupee per day from the zamindar of Akiripalli. After completing his stay, he returned to Alluru.

MARRIED LIFE:

As he returned home his wife Ms. Janakamma joined him. During the following period of his stay at Alluru, he spent his time improving his proficiency in Sanskrit and other intellectual skills. To mention of the intellectual skills, he performed the tests called Ashtavadhana vyastakshari. It is a test of the intellectual capabilities of a scholar. It involves performing eight different tasks simultaneously. There will be eight scholars subjecting the person performing this avadhanam or test. It requires high caliber of intelligence and scholastic abilities to successfully complete the test. Young Sreeramulu was not only having all the professional talents needed, he was also an Ekasanta grahi which means a person capable of remembering any thing instantly at the first instance. Due to his extra ordinary capabilities he received patronage from many well known zamindars and earned the respect from many scholars in Andhra Pradesh.

His first son Kesava rao was born in 1867. This was followed by the birth of his other children as in 1869-70 of Narayana rao, and in 1871 of Madhava rao. His attempt to do a business activity in 1871-72 ended up in losses. However his keen interest in literary and scholastic activities was ever on the rise. He was in continuous pursuit of such activities. By the encouragement he received from his well wishers and Mr. Panganamamula Balakrishnayya , the deputy tahsildar of Kaikaluru, he took up teaching job. He joined the high school at Gudivada as Telugu teacher, in 1872 where he continued till 1874. He then joined as teacher at another school at Kavutaram and held the job for an year. During this period he started learning English and picked up the language very fast due to his high caliber of grasp. His fourth son Govinda rao was born in 1874. He also wrote to poetic works during this period, by name Vedachala mahatyam, and Krishna arjuna samaram.

In 1875 he left Kavutaram and went to another nearby village called Dokiparru at the invitation of the residents of that village. He set up a school there. Many joined the school and he was revered by one and all in the village. He continued there till 1878. He was earning about Rs.1500 per annum. He was also writing many books in verse. But none of them are traceable now. His fifth son Vishnu rao was born in October 1876 while he was at Dokiparru. During his stay at Dokiparru he learnt English and passed the tests to practice law.

He decided to leave Dokiparru in 1878 to set up legal practice at Bandar. But the residents of the village loved and respected him. On the eve of his departure from there, they honored him by offering flowers of silver at his feet and took him in procession in a palanquin shouldered by the elders of the village. When he commenced practice of law at Bandar, he had five sons. In the early days of his stay at Bandar, he had an attack of small-pox and was taken to Alluru. He came back to Bandar after recovery and continued his legal practice. Soon he picked up in the new profession. He passed higher examinations in criminal and civil laws in English. He used to write the subjects he studied in Telugu poems and remember them. While practicing law, he never let his scholarly skills idle. Along with his legal profession, he was not only writing poetry but also commenced publishing a journal at Bandar. He was also actively associated with many social issues like widow remarriages.

In 1880 he performed the marriage of his eldest son Kesava rao garu with the eldest daughter of Kondamudi Ramachandra rao garu who was then a deputy tahsildar in Dharwad district of Bombay presidency. This marriage was celebrated at Bapatla. The last child a daughter Saradamba was born in 1881. An year later in 1882 he bought a big house and after face-lifting the house, he shifted his residence to stay there. He continued to stay there till he shifted to Eluru. He became an extremely successful lawyer and also a renowned literary figure. During this period he sailed by ship to Madras.

LIFE IN ELURU:

In 1883 he appeared for qualifying examination to be a 1st grade pleader at Rajahmundry. He passed the examination in 1884. The subcourt that was at Cuddalore was shifted to Eluru. He decided to shift to Eluru to practice in the newly set up subcourt. Accordingly he moved his family and entire set up to Eluru. His legal practice flourished there and had clientele comprising of affluent people in and around that area. Simultaneously his literary fame also was growing. He participated in the golden jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria of England, carried out at Eluru and composed several poems for the occasion. In 1889 he constructed a new house at Eluru, in a spacious plot with a big garden surrounding. He was also interested in horticulture and was a member of Botanical society at Madras. The house he built for his stay in Eluru was later sold to the Gandhi National School. In 1887 he performed the marriage of his 4th son and held a big party for the Europeans at Guntur. This was unique and unusual for a Hindu to hold a party for non-Hindu white people. This was an example to illustrate his broadminded and progressive outlook in life. In all he had six sons and a daughter.

Eversince he came to Eluru he was fully occupied with his legal activities. His literary activities were not significant. Nevertheless he wrote several books on the then current social problems like the differences between the two Brahmin subsects of Vaideekis and Niyogis; on the issue of tonsuring of widows etc. During 1893-95 there was a dispute regarding performance of rituals for the Vaisya community. The Vaisyas wished to follow the traditions and customs similar to Brahmins would conduct their daily rituals just as the Brahmins do. But the Brahmin priest would not conduct rituals in the house of vaisyas according to vaidika tradition. This conflict was resolved as a result of the enlightened interpretation by Sreeramulu. He published an exhaustive report titled " Vaisya dharma deepika" to set at rest the dispute. He was also an active social reformer. Some time in 1891 many thefts and housebreaking were taking place in Eluru with the passive support of the police. He led a deputation to the concerned government officials to put an end to the problem. After long negotiations there were mass transfers of the police staff and the thefts stopped. In 1890 he wrote a drama in Telugu and staged it. He was a lover of music ,dance, drama and arts. He wrote a book on the art of dancing titled "Abhinaya Darpanam". He also taught the art of dancing . During those days, the professionals sought his appreciation and approval of their skills. He set up a new school called "Hindu Patriotic School" to help an young teacher who lost his job from the Middle school at Eluru. He also established a Music School in Eluru to encourage music. At a time when the society put a taboo on women learning music or studying in schools, he encouraged his 7yr old daughter learning music and literature.

In 1892 he wrote the book "Telugu Naadu" which described the characteristics of the different communities of Telugu region. It is replete with humor he planned it to be a survey of the various castes and sects in the Telugu region. He completed the description of Brahmin sects and could not write about the other castes before his death. He wrote several books in prose and poetry on many social and political issues prevailing during that period. In 1895-96 he had active interest in politics and social problems. He was invited to Mysore where he addressed a public meeting at Ranga chary hall and received a public ovation. In 1900 he gave a Harikatha performance at Vizianagaram on the social problems. He was attending and participating actively in every social and literary conference. Women were not usually in attendance at such conferences in those days but Sriramulu used to take his wife too, some time the sole woman audience in such conferences. His speeches were scholarly and were spiced with a musical rendering of poems and songs. Every speech was a verily a harikatha.

In 1905-06 the movement for freedom started in Bengal. Mr.Bipinchandra pal a leader in the movement came to Bezwada, at the request of the young men attending the meeting, Sreeramulu presided over it, while the elders were hesitating to preside. In 1901 while he was in Madras he addressed a meeting of the Northern circaars progressive Union where he delivered extempore poems in Telugu on the duties and obligations of students and also on Telugu literature. He was in Madras in connection with a legal case. Since he had some spare time, he translated books like Sringara Sakuntalam, Ratnavali, Mudrarakshsam, Mahaveera charitra, Malati Madhukareeya, Kuranga Gaurisankara uttara Rama charitra. In the later half of 1899 he was in Warangal district participating in resolving some secular differences on special invitation by the local elders. While he was there his only daughter Saradamba expired in her 19th year after delivery on 26-12-1989.

Another subject in which Sriramulu was interested as thoroughly as a fully informed scholar , was astronomy. The excellence about his knowledge was that he was very often explaining even to very young people very interesting and intricate details in an easily intelligible language whose source must have been a deep understanding of the subject. His life was one of continuing study, and art of reason and a saga of dharma and goodwill. He lived as an elder of the society.

The demise of his only daughter and the death of second son Narayana rao garu shocked him immensely. He however faced the calamities bravely. Thereafter under a divine inspiration of goddess Kameswari he undertook to write the epic Devi Bhagavatam which he completed in record time . The printing was completed by 1907. In 1905 -06 he renovated the temple of Lord Someswaraswamy in Alluru. His health started deteriorating and he passed away on May 16th,1908 survived by people that can store him in their memories for generations to come. We have every reason to be happy and proud of being the descendants of such a versatile person.

Copy of the extract from Encyclopedia of the Madras Presidency and the Adjacent states (1920-1921)

Edited by V.L. Sastri, B.A., M.B.A.S.,

Editor –in-chief Assisted by

S. Krishnaswami Ayangar, M.A., M.R.A..S., F.R.Hist., S., M. Venkatarangaya., M.A. And C.S. Srinivasachari., M.A., M.R.A.S..

Compiled and published by the Oriental Encyclopaedic publishing company, Cocanada and Post Box 473, Madras. Joint Proprietors: P. Lakshminarasaiah, Dr. V. Gopalakrishna, B.A., M.D., And V.L. Sastry.,B.A., M.R.A.S., 1920-1921

All Rights Reserved.

The late Pandit Dasu Sreeramulu, poet, essayist, and orator, Ellore was born in April 1846 of a respectable Niyogi Brahmin family at Kurada a village in the Krishna District.

In his tenth year he studied Telugu and Sanskrit classical literature by his own efforts and the same time interested himself in the study of Hindu Astronomy. In his twelfth year this prodigy performed Ashtavadhanam and Vyastakshari in the Nuzvid and Vallur samastanams and received in the latter estate the first prize for poetic skill and talent. He developed his studies latter and in his twentieth year attained remarkable proficiency in Sanskrit grammer, literature and philosophy. He continued his studies for another six years and secured a teacher’s place thereafter. Two years latter he shifted to Dokiparru, close to Gudivada, and founded a school there.

Though he began his Englilsh education rather late in his life, he acquired a fair knowledge of the language by his assiduous application to it, and was able to come out successfully in the general test and the Second Grade Pleadership examinations in 1878. Immediately he set up his practice as a lawyer at Masulipatam and continued in the profession for 6years, and passed the First Grade Pleadership examination. He thereafter settled down at Ellore, where he continued in his profession for 10 years, and in 1895 he retired from the legal profession to devote himself to the arduous authorship of a number of useful works for edification of the public on literary, social and miscellaneous subjects.

Under the first head, which the late Pandit began as early as in his twelfth year, are many Sanskrit and Telugu dramas, and in 1902 his masterpieces exhibiting his skill in both the languages, Aandhra Devi Bhagvatam and Sankuntalam were written. His association with the Social Reform Movement for a long time enabled him to render meritorious services in connection with a magazine of Social Reform, in addition to his works on the subject. His miscellaneous works in Arithmetic, science of expression and Logic, written in Telugu, will amply repay perusal.

He was a fluent speaker, an able writer, a good debater and a keen controvertialist. He made extensive tours in the Northern Circars and the Nizam’s dominions for several years, delivering lectures on diverse subjects. He passed away in his sixty-second year at Ellore, in his own house.