Errapragada

Errapragada was the poet who completed the Telugu Mahabharata. The History of Telugu Literature of 1928 dates him to about 1280–1350.¹ It says that “fifty years after Tikkanna, Errapragada completed the portion of the Aranya Parva still remaining unfinished”.¹ He is the earliest poet known to have served the Reddis of Kondavidu.²³ His Harivamsa is one of the sources for the family of its founder.²³

Origins

According to the 1928 history, “Errapragada was a Niyogi from Gudluru in Kandukur Taluk, Nellore District”.¹ It says he “was attached to Proliah Vema Reddy, the ruler of the district”.¹ His father Surya “was a poet in two languages and a yogi who became a siddha” (a holy man with special powers).¹

M. Somasekhara Sarma traced the family’s earlier home to the Vengi country.² He held that the poet was first supported by Prolaya Vema’s younger brother Malla Reddi, who presented him to Vema.²

H. K. Narasimhaswami gave his gotra (family line) as Srivatsa.⁴ He was “a staunch Saivite, a disciple of a yogi, Sankaraswami”.⁵ His devotion “earned him the title of ‘Sambhudasa’ (Servant of Siva)”.⁵

The Mahabharata

Nannaya had left the Telugu Mahabharata unfinished in the Aranya Parva, and Tikkana had translated the books after it. The 1928 history says the belief “that the poet who touches this Parva would come to grief” was very strong.¹ So Sambhudasa “made it appear that it was Nanniah who completed it, by dedicating it to Raja-Raja-Narendra”, Nannaya’s patron.¹ The history adds that Errapragada told how Tikkana appeared to him in a dream and encouraged him to finish the work.¹

The same history praises his skill.⁵ He began his work in the style of Nannaya and passed, without the change being noticed, into that of Tikkana.⁵ It adds that “Srinatha admires his felicitous combination of phrases”.⁵

The Harivamsa and other works

His Harivamsa is a sequel to the Mahabharata that follows Krishna after the war.¹⁴ He dedicated it to Prolaya Vema.¹⁴ J. Ramayya used it in 1906 for the names of Vema and his family.³ It calls the king Vema, Komati Vema, Prolaya Vema or Annama Vema, and names only two of his sons.³

N. Ramesan, following Somasekhara Sarma, summarised its picture of the king as:⁶⁷⁸

• an expert archer⁶⁷⁸
• a pious ruler who gathered poets about him⁶⁷⁸
• a giver of villages to Brahmans⁶⁷⁸
• a builder of temples and tanks, who planted trees by the roads⁶⁷⁸

Ramesan also quoted a verse that credits Vema’s kingdom to the grace of his guru Ghoderaya-Ganga.⁶⁷⁸ The Harivamsa also speaks of Vema’s son Anavota as crown prince.⁹¹⁰

The 1928 history attributes to him a Ramayana and a Lakshmi Nrisimha Purana, “known also as Ahobala Mahatmya”.¹ Narasimhaswami notes that he dedicated the Narasimha Purana to the god Narasimha of Ahobilam.⁴⁹ Somasekhara Sarma held that the Ramayana, now known only from quotations, was written at Prolaya Vema’s request.¹¹

A later poet of Vijayanagara, Nachana Soma, wrote a Uttara Harivamsa.¹² In the 1928 history’s words, he was “probably dissatisfied with Errapragada’s achievement”.¹²

Record evidence

Narasimhaswami found in the Elliot collection a broken grant of Anavota and Anavema.⁴¹³ In it a donee named Erraya-pregada, introduced in respectful terms, received an unusually large share of land.⁴¹³ He took him to be the poet, and concluded that Errapragada was still living in the time of Prolaya Vema’s sons.⁴¹³

The 1928 history counts him, with Nannaya and Tikkana, as one of the Kavitraya, the three poets of the Telugu Mahabharata.¹¹²

Footnotes

1. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 48 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. Somasekhara Sarma, History of the Reddi Kingdoms (1948), p. 496 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. J. Ramayya, Madras Museum Plates of Vema, A.D. 1345, Epigraphia Indica VIII (1905–06), p. 10 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. H. K. Narasimhaswami, Koduru Grant of Ana-Vota-Reddi; Saka 1280, Epigraphia Indica XXV (1939–40), p. 138 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

5. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 49 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. N. Ramesan, Copper Plate Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh Government Museum, Hyderabad, Vol. I (1962), p. 166 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

7. Ramesan, Copper Plate Inscriptions, Vol. I (1962), p. 176 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

8. Ramesan, Copper Plate Inscriptions, Vol. I (1962), p. 177 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

9. Narasimhaswami, Koduru Grant of Ana-Vota-Reddi (1939–40), p. 139 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

10. M. Somasekhara Sarma, History of the Reddi Kingdoms (1948), p. 42 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

11. Somasekhara Sarma, History of the Reddi Kingdoms (1948), p. 498 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

12. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 59 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

13. Narasimhaswami, Koduru Grant of Ana-Vota-Reddi (1939–40), p. 140 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³