Krishnadevaraya was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the greatest rulers in Indian history. He ruled the largest empire in India after the fall of the Islamic Delhi Sultanate. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians. Krishnadevaraya earned the titles Andhra Bhoja, Telugu VallabhaKarnatakaratna Simhasanadeeshwara, Yavana Rajya Pratistapanacharya, Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana, Gaubrahmana Pratipalaka and Mooru Rayara Ganda. He became the dominant ruler of the peninsula by defeating the sultans of Bijapur, Golconda, the Bahmani Sultanate and the Gajapatis of Odisha, and was one of the most powerful Hindu rulers in India.
Gurajada Venkata Apparao was an Indian playwright, dramatist, poet, and writer known for his works in Telugu theatre. Rao wrote the play Kanyasulkam in 1892, which is considered as the greatest play in the Telugu language. One of the pioneers of Indian theatre, Rao holds the titles Kavisekhara and Abyudaya Kavitha Pithamahudu. In 1910, Rao scripted the widely known Telugu patriotic song "Desamunu Preminchumanna".
Telugu literature is the body of works written in the Telugu language. It consists of poems, short stories, novels, plays, and song lyrics, among others. There is some indication that Telugu literature dates at least to the middle of the first millennium, the first extant works are from the 11th century when the Mahabharata was first translated to Telugu from Sanskrit by Nannaya. The language experienced a golden age under the patronage of the Vijayanagara king-poet Krishnadevaraya.
The Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks, who belonged to the Telugu-speaking Balija social group, were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Emperor in the 15th century, who divided the territory into Nayak kingdoms which were Madurai, Tanjore, Gingee and Kalahasthi. In the mid-15th 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.
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.
Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana was a Carnatic musician, a classical vocalist, musicologist, author and teacher, a great administrator and motivator. He was a performer on All India Radio and Doordarshan who participated in Sangeeta Sammelans, outdoor broadcasts and national programmes innumerable times. His radio lessons and Bhakti Ranjanis were very popular. He was awarded Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India in 2010.
Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Das was a multifaceted fountainhead of talent in diverse fields of learning and forms of fine arts in Madras Presidency, British India. He was born in Ajjada village, near Bobbili, presently in Balijipeta mandal of Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, India.
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.
Saluri Rajeswara Rao was an Indian composer, multi instrumentalist, conductor, singer, and music producer known for his works predominantly in South Indian cinema. Regarded as one of the finest music composers, Rajeswara Rao's works are noted for integrating Indian classical music in Telugu cinema for over half a century.
Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju was the Maharaja of the Vizianagaram kingdom.
The culture of Andhra Pradesh is an integral part Gadwal, Venkatagiri, Pedana, Bandarulanka, Uppada and Mangalairi, the exclusive metal ware, brass, stone and wood carving from Budithi in Srikaklulam District and Veenas from Bobbili and colourful toys from Etikoppaka and Kondapalli highlight the immense talent of the Andhra Pradeshi's.
Vishwanathan Venkatachalam was an eminent Sanskrit scholar. He served as the vice-chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, India for two terms. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1989 by the Government of India for his valuable contribution to the field of Sanskrit research and education.
The Nayakas of Kalahasti were a line of rulers of Kalahasti and Vandavasi principalities. Members of the group include Damarla Chennapa Nayaka, after whom the city of Chennai is named. These Nayakas served as vassals of the late Vijayanagara Empire, then held by the Aravidu Dynasty and headquartered at Chandragiri and Vellore.
Maharajah's College, or M. R. College, established in 1879, it is an autonomous institution located in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh.
Ganti Jogi Somayaji M.A. was a linguist and teacher. He was a scholar in Sanskrit, Telugu, English and other languages.
Rambhatla Lakshminarayana Sastry(b: 9 December 1908 - d: 19 November 1995) was an eminent Indian teacher, author, playwright, translator, commentator and speaker in Telugu & Sanskrit languages. Sastry's life and notable works have been documented and covered in Telugu University under Luminaries of 20th Century.
Veyi Padagalu is an epic Telugu novel written by Viswanatha Satyanarayana. It is a critically acclaimed work of 20th century Telugu literature and has been called "a novel of Tolstoyan scope". The novel has been translated into several other Indian languages. The "hoods" in the title refer to the hoods of the thousand-hooded serpent god who serves as the divine protector of the village where the story is set.
Dr. Pullella Sriramachandrudu was an Indian scholar of Vedanta, Vyakarana and Alankara Sastra and a prolific writer of Sanskrit and Telugu literature. He was widely credited with several books in Sanskrit and Telugu and was best known for translating many difficult Sanskrit works into Telugu the seven volume Telugu edition of the Indian epic, Ramayanam by Valmiki. The Government of India has honored Pullella Srirama Chandrudu in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
The Āmuktamālyada is a Telugu epic poem composed by Krishnadevaraya, the ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, in the early 16th century. Amuktamalyada translates to "One who offered the garland after wearing it himself". Considered as a masterpiece, the Amuktamalyada describes the legendary wedding of the Hindu deity Ranganayaka, an avatar of Vishnu, and Andal, one of the poet-saints called the Alvars, at Srirangam.
Mahakavi Dasu Sriramulu (1846–1908) was an Indian scholar, poet, orator, author, astrologer, avadhani, translator, and social reformer. He was a lawyer by profession. He was a child prodigy. He had no formal tutelage in these diverse arts – his knowledge was gained through his personal studies and association with scholars and artists.
