Chemakura Venkatakavi · Telugu History

Chemakura Venkatakavi was a Telugu poet of the 17th century.¹ He lived at the court of Raghunatha Nayaka of Thanjavur (then Tanjore).²¹ He wrote two long story-poems, the Vijayavilasamu and the Sarangadhara Charitramu.²¹ P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao called the first “perhaps, the last work of real merit in Telugu literature”.³

The Vijayavilasamu

The Vijayavilasamu (the delights of Vijaya, that is, Arjuna) tells of Arjuna’s wanderings in exile.¹ On these travels he married three women.¹ They were the Naga princess Ulupi, the Pandya princess Chitrangada, and Subhadra, Krishna’s sister.¹ Charles Philip Brown, in 1852, described it as “a poem in three books: describing the marriage of Arjuna”.⁴ He had a Telugu commentary written on it by the scholar Juluri Appayya.⁴

Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao wrote that it had been called “a heap of precious gems”.³ They praised “the polish of the language, the delicacy of sentiment, and the melody of verse”.³ His style was so much his own, they wrote, that it was named after him: Chemakura paka.³ They noted that chemakura is also the name of a tasty curry.³

K. Sitaramaiya, writing in 1943, called the Vijayavilasamu “a work of the first waters”.⁵ He put it first in his list of the great works of the southern courts.⁶ P. T. Raju, in 1944, wrote that some scholars count it among the five mahakavyas (great poems) of Telugu.⁷

The Sarangadhara Charitramu

The second poem tells the story of Prince Sarangadhara.¹ In Raju’s summary, the king’s young concubine Chitrangi fell in love with the prince, who refused her.¹ She accused him falsely, and the king had his hands and feet cut off.¹ A siddha (holy man), Matsyendranatha, healed him.¹ Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao admired it for “the vivid, tragic interest of the theme and the impressive realism of the art”.²

A poet of the southern school

After Vijayanagara fell, its governors in the south became independent rulers.²¹ Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao wrote that the first fruits of this “Southern school” of Telugu literature appeared at Raghunatha’s court.² In another chapter they grouped the Vijayavilasamu with the later poems that followed the model of the Vasucharitramu and shared its merits.⁸ See Ramarajabhushana.

Raju, Telugu Literature (1944), p. 46 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹
Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 91 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 92 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Charles Philip Brown, A Dictionary, Telugu and English (1852), p. xiv (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²
Sitaramaiya, A Hand Book of Telugu Literature (1943), p. 54 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩
K. Sitaramaiya, A Hand Book of Telugu Literature (1943), p. 51 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩
P. T. Raju, Telugu Literature (1944), p. 36 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩
P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 88 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

The Vijayavilasamu

The Sarangadhara Charitramu

A poet of the southern school

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References