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Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Bammera Potana

Telugu poet of the fifteenth century, author of the Telugu Bhagavata. Tradition links him with Sarvajna Singa, a Recherla Velama king of Rachakonda. It says he wrote the Bhoginidandakamu in praise of the king's mistress but refused to dedicate his Bhagavata to a mortal king. No inscription confirms the story.

Bammera Potana translated the Sanskrit Bhagavata Purana into Telugu.1 In their history of Telugu literature (1928), P. Chenchiah and M. Bhujanga Rao called him “the outstanding poet of the first half of the fifteenth century”.1 They dated him about 1400 to 1475.1

They described him as a Niyogi Brahmin and a devotee of Siva.1 They noted that both Warangal and Ontimitta in the Kadapa (then Cuddapah) district claimed to be his birthplace.1 His Bhagavata is dedicated to the god Rama.2 In their day, episodes from it such as Gajendra-moksha and Rukmini-kalyana were the most widely read and recited passages of Telugu literature.2

Potana and the Velama court: the tradition

The tradition is told in several forms. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao wrote that in his early days Potana was a favourite at the court of “Rao Singhama”.2 In their account he composed there the Bhoginidandaka, a poem in praise of the king’s courtesan.2 After he turned to devotion he began the Bhagavata.2 The king wished it to be dedicated to him, but Potana, “in spite of the persecutions to which he was subjected”, refused to dedicate it to a man.2

Elsewhere they place him in the territory of Sarvajna Singama Bhupala, who persecuted him for the same refusal.3 H. H. Wilson’s catalogue of the Mackenzie manuscripts (1828) describes a palm-leaf copy of the Bhogini Dandaka.4 It calls the poem a “poetical account of the love of Sarvajna Singama or Sinha bhupa a prince of the Velmavar tribe and a damsel named Bhogini”.4 It names the author as “Bommana Potu Raja translator of the Bhagavat”.4

The family chronicles of the Velugoti Rajas of Venkatagiri (1910 and 1922) also give the Bhoginidandakamu to Potana.567 They use it to date the king, whom they place in the generation of the Vijayanagara king Praudha Devaraya.567 The census survey of the Nalgonda district (1964) says that Singama II of Rachakonda honoured Potana.8

What the record shows

The sources do not agree on the details. M. Seshagiri Sastri wrote in 1898 that Singama supported Potana.9 But he gave the Bhoginidandakamu to Srinatha.9

The chronicles and the census survey do not agree on which Singa was Potana’s patron.86 The census survey makes him Singama II, who ruled at the end of the fourteenth century.8 The 1910 chronicle makes him a Singa of the tenth generation, in the fifteenth.6 No inscription of the Recherla kings read for this site mentions Potana, and the story of his refusal rests on literary tradition. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao also recorded that the poet Praudhakavi Mallana was said to be Potana’s son, but they thought this doubtful.10 See Singabhupala and the Recherla Velamas.

Footnotes

  1. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 63 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 64 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 25 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  4. H. H. Wilson, The Mackenzie Collection, Vol. I (1828), p. 321 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. Vellala Sadasiva Sastri, Velugotivari Vamsacaritramu (1910), introduction, pp. 60–61 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Telugu; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  6. Sadasiva Sastri, Velugotivari Vamsacaritramu (1910), introduction, pp. 64–65 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Telugu; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Alladi Jagannatha Sastri, A Family History of Venkatagiri Rajas (1922), p. 30 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  8. A. Chandra Sekhar (ed.), Census of India 1961, Vol. II, Part VII-B (20): Fairs and Festivals, Nalgonda District (1964), Section I (Nalgonda taluk), entry “Rajkonda” (PDF p. 23) (censusindia.gov.in (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. M. Seshagiri Sastri, Report on a Search for Sanskrit and Tamil Manuscripts for the Year 1896-97, No. 1 (1898), p. 9 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  10. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 68 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

References

Sources (6)
  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. 25, 63–64, 68. [Public domain]
  2. H. H. Wilson, The Mackenzie Collection: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Oriental Manuscripts of the South of India, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Asiatic Press, Calcutta, 1828, pp. 321. [Public domain]
  3. M. Seshagiri Sastri, Report on a Search for Sanskrit and Tamil Manuscripts for the Year 1896-97, No. 1 (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1898, pp. 9. [Public domain]
  4. Vellala Sadasiva Sastri, Velugotivari Vamsacaritramu leka Venkatagirirajula Vamsacaritramu (వెలుగోటివారి వంశచరిత్రము) (opens in a new tab), Madras (Chennapuri), 1910, introduction 60–61, 64–65. Telugu; paraphrased. [Public domain]
  5. Alladi Jagannatha Sastri, A Family History of Venkatagiri Rajas (opens in a new tab), Addison Press, Madras, 1922, pp. 30. [Public domain]
  6. A. Chandra Sekhar (Census of India), Census of India 1961, Vol. II: Andhra Pradesh, Part VII-B (20): Fairs and Festivals, Nalgonda District (opens in a new tab), Superintendent of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, 1964, Section I, 'Rajkonda'. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]

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