Suprabhatam

Suprabhatam (सुप्रभातम्) is a Sanskrit prayer 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 Vasantatilaka.

The most well-known Suprabhātam work is the Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam recited to awaken the deity Venkateswara. A rendition of the poem by renowned Carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi is extremely popular which is played daily in many homes and temples (especially Tirumala Tirupati) in the wee hours of morning.

History
The genre of Suprabhātakāvya traces its origin to a single verse (1.23.2) in the Bālakāṇḍa of Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa, where Viśvāmitra calls out to Rāma to wake up. O Rāma, the noble son of Kausalyā! The Sandhyā of the East commences. O! best of men (Purushottama)! Wake up, the daily duties have to be performed.

The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam begins with this very verse.

Venkatesha Suprabhatam
The Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam was composed sometime between 1420 and 1432 C.E. by Prativādibhayaṅkaram Śrī Annan (also known as Hastigirinathar Anna, and P B Annan). The poet was a disciple of Swami Manavala Mamuni, who was himself a disciple of Ramanuja.

The Venkatesha Suprabhatam consists of four sections: Suprabhatam, Sri Venkatesa Stotram, Prapatti, and Mangalasasanam.

Other Suprabhatam Works
There are many other lesser-known Suprabhātam works apart from the Veṅkaṭeśasuprabhātam. Some of these are -


 * Śrīvighneśvarasuprabhātam. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing Gaṇeśa.
 * Śrīsiddhivināyakasuprabhātam. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing Siddhivināyaka. Composed by M. Ramakrishna Bhat, retired professor of Benares Hindu University.
 * Śrīkāśīviśvanāthasuprabhātam. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing Kashi Vishwanath.
 * Śrīsītārāmasuprabhātam. A Suprabhāta poem eulogizing Sītā and Rāma. Composed by Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.
 * Vedavyasa Suprabhata written by Sudhindra Thirtha (Kashi Math) of Kashi Math samsthan.
 * Suprabhatham in Malayalam by S Balakrishnan Karippara Dharmooth