The following are the Telugu Pancha Kaavyas, the five great books of Telugu Literature.
Telugu is the most spoken Dravidian language and is spoken predominantly in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and in the Union Territories of Puducherry (Yanam) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the Telugu people. It stands alongside Hindi and English as one of the few languages with primary official language status in more than one Indian state. Telugu is also a linguistic minority in the states of Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. It is one of six languages designated a classical language of India by the country's government.
Srinatha (1365–1441) was a well-known 15th-century Telugu poet who popularised the Prabandha style of composition.
Telugu literature or Telugu Sahityam is the body of works written in the Telugu language. It consists of poems, novels, short stories, dramas, gazals, and puranas. Telugu literature can be traced back to the early 10th century period followed by 11th century period when Mahabharata was first translated to Telugu from Sanskrit by Nannaya. It flourished under the rule of the Vijayanagara Empire, where Telugu was one of the empire's official languages.
Allasani Peddana was a famous Telugu poet and was ranked as the foremost of the Ashtadiggajalu, the title for the group of eight poets in the court of King Krishnadevaraya, a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Ashtadiggajas is the collective title given to the eight Telugu poets in the court of the emperor Krishna Deva Raya who ruled the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 until his death in 1529. During his reign, Telugu literature and culture reached its zenith. In his court, eight poets were regarded as the eight pillars of his literary assembly. The age of Ashtadiggajas is called Prabandha Age. All of the Ashtadiggajas had composed at least one Prabandha Kavyamu and it was Ashtadiggajas who gave Prabandha its present form. Most of the Ashtadiggajas are from southern part of present-day Andhra Pradesh state (Rayalaseema) and Ashtadiggajas, Allasani Peddana, Dhurjati, Nandi Thimmana, Madayyagari Mallana and Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu are from the Rayalaseema. Tenali Ramakrishna hailed from the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Ramarajabhushanudu was another Ashtadiggaja.
Ramarajabhushanudu was a Telugu poet and a notable musician; he was one of the Astadiggajas.
The Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the Telugu rulers of Thanjavur principality of Tamil Nadu in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks of the Balija social group, were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Emperor in the 14th century, who divided the Tamil country into three Nayakships viz., Madurai, Tanjore and Gingee. In the mid 16th century they became an independent kingdom, although they continued their alliance with the Vijayanagara Empire. The Thanjavur Nayaks were notable for their patronage of literature and the arts.
Telugu poetry is verse originating in the southern provinces of India, predominantly from modern Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and some corners of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Charles Philip Brown was a British official of the East India Company. He worked in what is now Andhra Pradesh, and became an important scholarly figure in Telugu language literature.
Vijayanagara literature was produced in the Vijayanagara Empire during a golden age of literature in South India in general. The rulers patronised Kannada, Telugu, Sanskrit and Tamil scholars who wrote in the Jain, Virashaiva and Vaishnava traditions. The period produced hundreds of works on all aspects of Indian culture, religion, biographies, Prabhandas (stories), music, grammar, poetics and medicine. An attempt is made in this section to list the various poets and saints and their most famous works.
Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy (1863-1940) was a Telugu writer and one of the earliest modern Telugu linguists and social visionaries during the British rule. He championed the cause of using a language comprehensible to the common man as opposed to the scholastic language.
Rao Venkata Kumara Mahipati Surya Rau (1885–1964) was Maharajah of Pithapuram. He was called by Telugu people "Abhinava Krishnadevaraya". Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda was his daughter.
The Nayaks of Kalahasti were Velugoti line of rulers of Kalahasti and Vandavasi principalities. Members of the group include Damarla Chennapa Nayakadu. These Nayaks served as vassals and loyalists to the Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire, then headquartered at Chandragiri Fort and Vellore Fort.
Viswanatha Satyanarayana was born to Sobhanadri and Parvathi in the year 1895 at Vijayawada, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh. He was a Telugu writer of the 20th century. His works included poetry, novels, drama, short stories and speeches, covering a wide range of subjects such as analysis of history, philosophy, religion, sociology, political science, linguistics, psychology and consciousness studies, epistemology, aesthetics and spiritualism. He was a student of Chellapilla Venkata Sastry. Chellapilla was familiar to be known as Tirupati Venkata Kavulu duo, Diwakarla Tirupathi Sastry and Chellapilla Venkata Sastry. Viswanatha's style of poetry was classical in nature and his popular works include Ramayana Kalpa Vrukshamu, Kinnersani patalu and Veyipadagalu.
Divakarla Venkatavadhani was a Telugu language poet and orator. He was also a Telugu scholar. He created a stage-worthy literary feature called Bhuvana Vijayam, a replay of a poetic tribute-cum-symposium in Krishnadevaraya's court, by Ashta diggajas.
Tuni Assembly constituency is a constituency in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, representing the state legislative assembly in India. It is one of the seven assembly segments of Kakinada, along with Prathipadu (SC), Pithapuram, Kakinada Rural, Peddapuram, Kakinada City and Jaggampeta. Dadisetti Raja is the present MLA of the constituency, who won the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election from YSR Congress Party. As of 25 March 2019, there a total of 212,900 electors in the constituency.
Kaikalur Assembly constituency is a constituency in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, representing the state legislative assembly in India. It is one of the seven assembly segments of Eluru, along with Unguturu, Denduluru, Eluru, Polavaram, Chintalapudi and Nuzvid. Dulam Nageswara Rao is the present MLA of the constituency, who won the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election from YSR Congress Party. As of 25 March 2019, there a total of 195,782 electors in the constituency.
Vinukonda Assembly constituency is a constituency in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, representing the state legislative assembly in India. It is one of the seven assembly segments of Narasaraopet Lok Sabha constituency, along with Pedakurapadu, Chilakaluripet, Narasaraopet, Sattenapalle Gurajala, and Macherla. Bolla Brahma Naidu is the present MLA of the constituency, who won the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election from YSR Congress Party. As of 25 March 2019, there a total of 251,677 electors in the constituency.
Amuktamalyada is an epic poem in Telugu composed by Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagar Dynasty. Amuktamalyada translates to A garland of pearls. Considered as a masterpiece, Amuktamalyada describes the story of wedding of the Hindu Lord Vishnu and Andal the Tamil Alvar poet and daughter of Periyalvar, at Srirangam.
Tirumala Devi was the senior wife and chief queen of Emperor Krishnadevaraya, who is considered to be the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire. She was also the most honoured wife of Krishnadevaraya, and the mother of his heir-apparent, Prince Tirumala, who died in his childhood.