CONTENTS :
- * A Human Document
* The Basic Material
* A Biographical Sketch
* Light from the Labyrinth of Legends
* More Authentic Information
* The Date of Veerabrahmam
* Were Vemana&Brahmam Contemporaries ?
* The Crisis
* The Political Crisis
* The Social Crisis
* A Religious Rebel and A Social Reformer
* The Dogma
* Precept and Practice
* The caste system & privilege of Learning
* The Reform of Dharma Peetham
* Religious Tolerance
* Ahead of Times
* Veerabrahmam and Vemana
* The Kalajnanam (Kalagnanam)
* The Musings of Mahayoga
* The Message
* Bibliography
Sri Madvirat Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy Biography
SWAMI SRI VEERABRAHMENDRA
A Monograph on Pothuluru Veerabrahmendra Swamy
Dozens of stage dramas have been written on Veerabrahmam, of which the earliest was one Yakshagana (Dance Drama) of Kadiyala Veepurayacharya. Even these books do not help a researcher looking forward for historical data. They are no less mythological than the Sampoorna Charitra of Javangula Nagabhushana Das.
“Rejayogi” a stage drama written by ‘Nagasri’ has done full justice to Veerabrahmam, his social reforms and philosophy of life. The drama was put on boards by vetaran actors like V. Subrahmanya Sastry, G. Ramaiah (Recipient of A.P. Govt. honorarium as an actor-director) and Rajankam. The performance includes poems of M. Govindacharya, a poet in Telugu.
Now to turn to the poetical works on the biography of Veerabrahmam, Kalyandha Koumudi of Vaddepati Niranjana Sastry, Veerabrahmendra Charitramu of Pusapati Nageswara Rao and Veerabrahma Puranamu of Mahavadi Venkataratnam are worth mentioning These authors are poets of high calibre and have written biographies of the Swamy in conventional poetry of classical style, based on the legends which gained popularity among the people of Andhra Pradesh, But to arrive at the correct historical data, these works also may not be much useful since the very in¬tention of the authors was not to throw light on the history of the Swamy but to describe at length, in the most mellifluous language, the life of the Swamy in poetic ecstasy and devotion. It may also be unwise to expect mere historical date from a poetical work of fancy and imagination. No poet, will be so inclined as to compose a poem in order to cater to the needs of a student of history alone, unless it is written for that purpose exclusively.
Veerabrahmendra Puranam of Mahavadi Venkataratnam is quite omnibus a volume running to almost 600 Pages in demi size. The author did not mince matters. He called his poetical work a ‘Puranam’ but not a ‘Charitra’. He was quite honest in his work and did full justice to Veerabrahma Puranam., He was a faithful devotee of the Swami.
Similar devotees like P. Sarabhacharya wrote stray verses on Veerabrahmam and they convey the message of the Swamy in the most melodious diction.
However, instead of relying totally on poetical works, I thought it would be wise to refer to the local records and gazetteers etc, for more authentic information.