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Allasani Peddana

Chief Telugu poet of Krishnadeva Raya's court and first of the Ashtadiggajas (the eight court poets), called Andhrakavitapitamaha, 'grandfather of Telugu poetry'. His Svarochisha Manucharitramu, a story from the Markandeya Purana retold with rich description and dedicated to the king, became the model of the Telugu prabandha (long narrative poem). The king honoured him with the anklet of the champion poet and the village of Kokata, and Peddana mourned him in a famous verse.

Allasani Peddana was the leading poet of the court of Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagara.1 P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao called him “the Poet Laureate of Krishnadevaraya’s court, and the most illustrious and prominent of the poets of the day”.1 They wrote that the king founded the prabandha literature (long narrative poems).1 But “it was Peddana who, with his Manucharitra, deflected the course of Telugu literature and made the kavya the archetypal literary mode for centuries to come”.1

He heads the list of the Ashtadiggajas, the eight poets of the court.1 See Krishnadeva Raya and Vijayanagara.

Life

G. R. Subramiah Pantulu, writing in 1898, described Peddana as a Nandavarika Niyogi Brahman, son of Chokkana, born in the village of Doranala.2 He said that Peddana had first been court poet to “Nrisimharaya”, on whom he wrote poems of praise.2 After that Krishnaraya made him one of his Ashtadiggajas.2 Subramiah Pantulu thought that Peddana lived about five years longer than the king, and died about 1535 at Doranala.3

The Telugu Rayavachakamu names him with Mukku Timmana and Madayagari Mallana among the poets who went with the king on his campaign against the sultans.45 They wrote verses on his victory.45

The Manucharitramu

Peddana’s great work is the Svarochisha Manucharitramu, usually called Manucharitra.16 It tells the story of the birth of Svarochisha Manu, taken from the Markandeya Purana.16 A Brahman of Arunaspada flies by a magic ointment to the Himalayas, where a Gandharva maiden falls in love with him.16 A Gandharva takes his form and becomes the father of Svarochisha.16

Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao wrote that “the story … is slight, but the main interest lies in the varied descriptions of the natural beauty of the Himalayas, and the delineations of character”.6 They wrote that the poem shows the touch of Srinatha, Pillalamarri Pinavirabhadra and Marana.6 They found its unity lacking but its descriptions delightful.6

Subramiah Pantulu dated its dedication to the king between 1516 and 1520.73 He noted that its introduction celebrates the king’s victories, “chiefly over those of the Muslim faith”.73 Krishnaswami Aiyangar’s summary of the Krishnarayavijayam calls it the most important of the many works dedicated to the king.8

Peddana also wrote a Harikathasara.63 It is known only from pieces quoted in later books on the art of poetry.63 Subramiah Pantulu wrote that Peddana was the first to bring “a large influx of Muhammadan and other words” of foreign origin into serious Telugu verse.36 Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao wrote that he borrowed Kannada words when he needed them.36 Subramiah Pantulu also reported, and rejected, the view that the king’s own Amuktamalyada was really Peddana’s work.910

Honours

A verse attributed to Peddana mourns the king’s death.1112 As Krishnaswami Aiyangar summed it up, it recalls the honours Peddana had received:1112

  • the king would stop his elephant to give him a seat beside him
  • when the Manucharitra was taken in procession, the king lifted the poet’s palanquin with his own hands
  • he fastened on the poet’s ankle the anklet Kavigandapendera, the mark of the champion poet, saying “you alone of all deserve it”
  • he granted him the village of Kokatamu and whatever other villages he asked for, and called him Andhrakavitapitamaha1112

Subramiah Pantulu quoted a record from the Mackenzie collection.3 It says that Peddana gave Kokata, under a new name, to a body of Vaishnavas.3 He gave land to its temples in Saka 1440 (Saka is an Indian way of counting years) and the following year, about 1518–19.3 A second verse is addressed to a Gajapati king who invaded after Krishnadeva Raya’s death.12 It reminds him of the king’s victories over Orissa.12

Stories

Some stories told of Peddana are doubtful.1314 Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao tell one, “whether the story is true or not”.1314 In it Peddana, out of jealousy, kept the poet Sankusala Nrisimha, author of the Kavikarnarasayanamu, away from the king.1314 This lasted until the king’s daughter heard his verses being sold in the bazaar.1314

Subramiah Pantulu told the same story.1516 In one version the king punished Peddana by making him write the Amuktamalyada, and Subramiah Pantulu judged this “highly improbable”.1516 He called the tales of Tenali Ramakrishna finding fault with Peddana’s verses “far from being credible”.1516 See Tenali Ramakrishna.

Footnotes

  1. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 72 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  2. Subramiah Pantulu, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 301 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Subramiah Pantulu, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 302 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  4. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar (ed.), Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 113, extract 38, the Rayavachakamu (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  5. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 131, extract 39, the Krishnarayavijayam (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  6. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), pp. 73–74 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11

  7. G. R. Subramiah Pantulu, “Discursive Remarks on the Augustan Age of Telugu Literature”, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 296 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  8. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 132, the Krishnarayavijayam (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  9. Subramiah Pantulu, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 297 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  10. Subramiah Pantulu, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 298 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  11. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 152, extract 49, Peddana’s verses on Krishna Deva Raya (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  12. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 153 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  13. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 76 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  14. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 77 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  15. Subramiah Pantulu, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 299 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  16. Subramiah Pantulu, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 303 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

References

Sources (3)
  1. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (The Heritage of India Series) (opens in a new tab), Association Press (Y.M.C.A.), Calcutta / Oxford University Press, London, 1928, pp. 72–74, 76–77. [Public domain]
  2. Indian Antiquary, The Indian Antiquary, Vol. XXVII (1898) (opens in a new tab), Education Society's Press, Byculla, Bombay, 1898, pp. 296–303. G. R. Subramiah Pantulu, 'Discursive Remarks on the Augustan Age of Telugu Literature'. [Public domain]
  3. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (opens in a new tab), University of Madras, 1919, pp. 113, 131–132, 152–153. [Public domain]

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