Potuluri Veerabrahmam (, also known as Brahmamgaru), was a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

saint who lived in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. He is known for the '' Kalagnanam'', a book of predictions written in Telugu around the 16th century.

Legendary account

According to a legend, Veerabrahmam was born to a religious couple, Paripurnayacharya and Prakruthamba, near the river

Sarasvati River The Sarasvati River () is a Apotheosis, deified myth, mythological Rigvedic rivers, river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedas, Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religio ...

in Brahmandapuram. The couple abandoned him at birth and Veerambrahmam was brought up at Atri Mahamuni

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

. Later Veerabhojayacharya, Head of the Papagni Mutt, Chikballapur,

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, was on a pilgrimage with his wife. The couple visited the Sage Atri ashram, and sage Atri gave the child to the couple. They received the child as a

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

gift and returned to Papagni Mutt. The child was named 'Veeram Bhotlaiah'. Veerabrahmendra Swamy, then known as the Veeram Bhotlaiah at Papagni Mutt authored the Kalikamba Sapthashathi (the manuscript written in praise of goddess

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

) at the age of 11. A few days later, Veerabhojayacharya made a sacrifice and Veeram Bhotlaiah told his stepmother that he had refused to take homage responsibilities and started his spiritual journey. His first disciple was Dudekula Siddaiah his second disciple was Kakaiah Madiga. People started listening to Veeram Bhotlaiah's chanting and philosophical poems, and as a sign of respect they called him 'Sri Madvirat Pothuluri Veera Brahmendra Swami'. Veerabrahmendra Swamy attained Jiva Samadhi at Brahmam gari Matam, Kadapa District on Kartika Shudda Dwadasi.

Legacy

* Brahmamgari matam in Kadapa district is a pilgrimage center in

. * Editor T Ganapati Sastri of the book ''BrahmaTatwa Prakasika of Sadasivendra Saraswati'' (Trivandrum Sanskrit Series No VII), published in 1909, makes passing mention of a Tamil work called ''Acharya-Darpana'' that supposedly details his deeds. * Srimadvirat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra is a 1984 film about his life. The Late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao acted and directed the film, which became a hit in Andhra Pradesh.

References

External links

Kalagnanam (Telugu)Jeevaikya Bodha (Telugu)Govinda Vakyas (Telugu)
{{Authority control 17th-century Indian people Indian Hindu saints People from Kadapa district