Nannayya Bhattaraka was a Telugu poet and the author of Andhra Mahabharatam, a Telugu retelling of the Sanskrit-language Mahabharata. Nannaya is generally considered the first poet of Telugu language. He was patronized by Rajaraja Narendra of Rajamahendravaram. Rajaraja Narendra was an admirer of Mahabharata and wanted the message of the Sanskrit epic to reach the Telugu masses in their own language and idiom. He commissioned Nannaya, a scholar well versed in Vedas, Puranas, and Itihasas for the task. Nannaya began his work in c. 1025 CE and wrote Adi Parvam, Sabaparvam, and a part of Aranyaparvam.
Yarrapragada or Erranna was a Telugu poet in the court of King Prolaya Vema Reddy (1325–1353). The surname of Erranna was Yerrapragada or Yerrana, which are epithets of the fair-skinned Lord Skanda in the Telugu language, but became attached to his paternal family due its having notable members with fair or red-skinned complexions. He was honoured with the title Prabandha-paramēśvara and Śambhudāsuḍu.
Srirangam Srinivasa Rao, popularly known as Sri Sri, was an Indian poet and lyricist who is known for his works in Telugu literature and films. Noted for his anthology Maha Prasthanam, Sri Sri is a recipient of a National Film Award, a Nandi Award and a Sahitya Akademi Award.
Gurram Jashuva was a Telugu poet. He is legendary figure in the Telugu literary world. With his immense wisdom and through the struggle he faced due to the caste-based discrimination, Jashuva wrote his poetry with a universal approach. He was called the "Poet of the Millennium" for his timeless pieces of poetry and literature.
Dravida Brahmins, or simply Dravidulu, are Hindu brahmins and a sub-caste of the Telugu Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh in South India, who migrated from Tamil-speaking regions. They are further divided into sub-sects based on the places where they have settled such as Aaraama Dravidulu, Pudur Dravidulu, Konaseema Dravidulu, Peruru Dravidulu, Tummagunta Dravidulu and Dimili Dravidulu.
Madhunapantula Satyanarayana Sastry is one of the most eminent personalities in pure Telugu literature of recent times. He lived in Rajahmundry in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh of South India. His magnum opus is Andhra Puranam. He was awarded the Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi Award for this work.
Arudra was an Indian author, poet, lyricist, translator, publisher, dramatist, playwright, and an expert on Telugu literature. He is also known for his works in Telugu cinema as a lyricist, dialogue writer, and story writer. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1987.
Śukasaptati, or Seventy tales of the parrot, is a collection of stories originally written in Sanskrit. The stories are supposed to be narrated to a woman by her pet parrot, at the rate of one story every night, in order to dissuade her from going out to meet her paramour when her husband is away. The stories frequently deal with illicit liaisons, the problems that flow from them and the way to escape those crises by using one's wits. Though the actual purpose of the parrot is to prevent its mistress from leaving, it does so without moralising. At the end of the seventy days, the woman's husband returns from his trip abroad and all is forgiven. Most of the stories are ribald and uninhibited, with some verging on the pornographic. The situations depicted in the stories not only test the bounds of marriage, some stray into taboo areas of incest and, in one case, zoophilia.
Paravastu Chinnayasuri (1806/7–1861/2) was a Telugu writer who played a prominent role in the elevation of prose to importance in Telugu literature. He was the first Telugu Pandit at the Presidency College, Madras. He also worked as a law scholar for the Supreme Court of East India Company. He was acclaimed as a profound scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit in the traditional education. More than a third of his life span was spent in teaching Telugu in schools and in the Presidency college, Madras.
Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons is a 150-year-old Indian publishing house.
Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma was a noted composer of Carnatic music, singer, Telugu litterateur, teacher and Sanskrit scholar. He was responsible for discovering, cataloguing and putting to music many forgotten compositions of Annamacharya. These compositions composed hundreds of years agearlierame back to life thanks to Sharma's efforts and successive singers like S. P. Balasubramanyam and M. S. Subbalakshmi would sing many of them, hence popularising them. Sharma authored prose works like Vemana, Natakopanyasamulu,Ganakale,Sahitya Mattu Jeevana Kale and Saraswatalokamu. Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma translated 395 Gathas from original Prakrit into Telugu language titled Shalivahana Gatha Sapta Saramu in 1931. Sharma is the recipient of Central Sangeet & Natak Academy Fellowship (1973), Gana Kala Sindhu (1961), Gana Kala Prapoorna (1969), Sangeeta Kala Ratna (1974) and Sangeeta Sahitya Asthan Vidwan honours with an Honorary Doctorate from TTD University, Andhra Pradesh.
Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastrulu (1812–1891) was a Telugu Pundit and owner of the Telugu publishing house Saraswati Mudralayamu, which was later renamed Vavilla Press. The Vavilla family in Andhra Pradesh secured a page in history as a premier publishing house owning a press.
Parijatapaharanamu (parijata+apaharanamu) is a Telugu poem composed by Nandi Thimmana. It is based on a story from Harivamsam. The story is about love quarrel between Krishna and his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama.
Chadalavada Sundararamasastri (1865–1925) was Telugu Pundit and owner of Telugu Publishing house, Saradamba Vilasa Mudraksharashala. He also authored multiple books and wrote commentaries to many Sanskrit texts in Telugu. He was also awarded a gold bracelet from the Prince of Wales in 1922 for his contribution to Telugu literature.
Andhra Mahabharathamఆంధ్ర మహాభారతం is the Telugu version of Mahabharatha written by the Kavitrayam, consisting of Nannayya, Thikkana and Yerrapragada .The three poets translated the Mahabharata from Sanskrit into Telugu over the period of the 11–14th centuries CE, and became the idols for all the following poets. More than calling "Andhra Mahabharatham" as a translation of Sanskrit Mahabharatha written by Lord Ganesha under the supervision of Veda Vyasa, this Andhra Mahabharatham was an independent translation. Thus, this translation is not a stanza by stanza translation. These three poets wrote Andhra Mahabharatham in Telugu literature style, but keeping the same exact essence as that of Sanskrit Mahabharatham
Tekumalla Achyutarao was one of a major critics in Telugu language. He known for his English work "Pingali Suranarya"(Pingali Suranna, his life and works).
Kasikhandamu is a Telugu literary work by 15th century poet Srinatha. It is composed in a poetic form of Prabandha style with strict metre. The main subject is the profile of Kasi or Varanasi, extracted mostly from Kasi Khanda of Skanda Purana.
Shaik Khaja Hassan, popularly known by his pen name Devi Priya, was an Indian Telugu-language poet and journalist known for his political satire. He was a recipient of the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Award for his work Gaali Rangu. Some of his famous works included Adhyakshaa Mannichandi, Gareebi Geetaalu, and Amma Chettu Chepa Chiluka.
Asavadi Prakasa Rao was an Indian poet, critic, translator and scholar, who is known for his poetry and prose works. He is noted for his significant contribution to Telugu and Sanskrit literature. In January 2021, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri in the Arts and Literature category. As Ashtavadhani, he has given 170 performances and has written and published 50 books across various genres. His most notable literary contribution is his performance of Avadhanam – a literary performance. He has received an honorary D Litt from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University and a Distinguished Teacher award from the Department of Higher Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Velcheru Narayana Rao is an Indian author, critic, and literary translator. He is a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the Department of South Asian Studies. His work is primarily focused on Telugu literature for which he received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by Sahitya Akademi, in February 2021.
