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Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Madayyagari Mallana

Telugu Shaiva poet of Kondavidu, counted among the eight poets of Krishnadeva Raya's court. His Rajasekhara Charitramu, a story-poem, is dedicated to Nadindla Appa, nephew and son-in-law of the king's minister Saluva Timma, and its opening traces the minister's family. The Rayavachakamu places him with the king after the victory over the sultans.

Madayyagari Mallana was a Telugu poet of the early 16th century, from Kondavidu.1 He is counted among the Ashtadiggajas, the eight poets of the court of Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagara.23 His one known poem is the Rajasekhara Charitramu (the story of King Rajasekhara).41 Its opening is useful to historians, because it gives the family of a leading minister of the empire.5

Life

G. R. Subramiah Pantulu wrote on these poets in the Indian Antiquary in 1898.1 He described Mallana as a man of Kondavidu, the son of Madayya.1 He was a Brahmin of the Lingayat (Virashaiva) sect.1 Mallana was well educated, and wrote his poem while still a young man.1 His patron gave him rich rewards in land and other gifts.1

P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, in their history of Telugu literature (1928), explain that he was called so to tell him apart from an older poet, Praudhakavi Mallana.4 They call him “another Saivite poet of the court”.4 Subramiah Pantulu counted him with Dhurjati among the “extreme Saivas” at the court of a Vaishnava king.3

The Rajasekhara Charitramu

Mallana dedicated his poem to Nadindla Appa.15 S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar printed its opening in his Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919).5 In his summary, Appa was the nephew of Saluva Timma, Krishnadeva Raya’s chief minister.5 Appa also married Timma’s daughter Tirumalamba.5 See Saluva Timma.

The opening gives the patron’s family over several generations:5

  • Chitti Gangana, a brother of Appa’s great-grandfather, was a minister of the king Saluva Narasimha
  • Appa’s father, Timma, married Krishnamamba, the sister of Saluva Timma
  • their three sons were Kona, Appa and Gopa
  • Gopa held the fort of Gooty (then Gutti)5

K. Sitaramaiya, writing in 1943, called the poem “very interesting”.6 P. T. Raju, in 1944, wrote that Mallana was “not so well known and popular” as the other court poets.7

With the king after the victory

The Telugu Rayavachakamu, as Krishnaswami Aiyangar sums it up, describes the king holding court after his victory over the sultans on the Krishna river.8 With him were his minister Appaji and the poets Mukku Timmana, Allasani Peddana and “Madayagari Mallanna”.8 The king asked the poets to describe the day’s victory.8 See Nandi Timmana.

Footnotes

  1. Subramiah Pantulu, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 324 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 72 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  3. G. R. Subramiah Pantulu, “Discursive Remarks on the Augustan Age of Telugu Literature”, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 299 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

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

  5. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 146, extract 46, the Rajasekharacharitramu (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  6. K. Sitaramaiya, A Hand Book of Telugu Literature (1943), p. 42 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  7. P. T. Raju, Telugu Literature (1944), p. 35 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  8. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar (ed.), Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 113, extract 38, the Rayavachakamu (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

References

Sources (5)
  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, 76. [Public domain]
  2. Indian Antiquary, The Indian Antiquary, Vol. XXVII (1898) (opens in a new tab), Education Society's Press, Byculla, Bombay, 1898, pp. 299, 324. 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, 146. Extracts 38 (Rayavachakamu) and 46 (Rajasekharacharitramu). [Public domain]
  4. K. Sitaramaiya, A Hand Book of Telugu Literature (opens in a new tab), Hyderabad Telugu Academy, Hyderabad (Deccan), 1943, pp. 42. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  5. P. T. Raju, Telugu Literature (Andhra Literature) (The P. E. N. Books, The Indian Literatures, No. XV) (opens in a new tab), International Book House, Bombay, for the P. E. N. All-India Centre, 1944, pp. 35. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

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