Vemulawada Bheemakavi

Last updated
Vemulawada Bheemakavi
Native name
Born1068 (11th century) or (12th-13th centuries)
Vemulawada, Rajanna Siricilla district
Died India
Pen nameBheemakavi
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipIndian
GenrePoet

Vemulawada Bhima [1] [2] [3] [4] alias 'Vemulawada Bheemakavi' was a hugely popular Telugu poet (11th century AD) for his style of poetry and is considered to be a demi-god for his powers.[ citation needed ]

Contents

The poet's life was mentioned in the first of its kind, 1829 AD 's work- 'Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets' [1] - by Cavelly Venkata Ramaswamie.

The same poet was referred as Vemulawada, Vemulaada, Lemulawada, and Lemulaada Bheema kavi.

Early life

The poet was born at Vemula Vada, in the province of Veligandala (Karimnagar). [1] He was born to a widow who is a Lema (a young woman) with the blessings of the Vemulawada Bheemeshwara Swamy.

The poet lived in the 11th century or between 12th-13th centuries. [5]

He travelled to different foreign countries, such as Karnata, Maharatta, Sajanagar (near Peddapuram, East Godavari district which was ruled by Kalingas and Eastern Chalukyas or Vengi Chalukyas). [1]

Birth Place Controversy

First Generation scholar (1829) Cavelly Venkata Ramaswamie in his 1829 work identifies him with Lemulawada (Vemulawada, Karimnagar district). Majority of next generation scholars (1900s) such as Manavalli Ramakrishna kavi, Jayanti Ramayya Pantulu, Seshadri Ramana Kavulu too place him to be a native of Vemulawada, Karimnagar district (alias Lemulavada) due to the below majority evidences. The Kendra Sahitya Academy also opines the same. [6]

The same poet was referred as Vemulawada, Vemulaada, Lemulawada, and Lemulaada Bheema kavi. [7] The above four names are colloquial names of Vemulawada, Karimnagar district even till today.

A minority of new generation scholars probably who have no knowledge of Vemulawada, Karimnagar confused with Vemulawada, East Godavari district (originally called 'Vengulawada' [8] and not 'Vemgulawada'. In Telugu, half circle represents lost nasal 'n' and full circle represents 'm')

References to Lemulawada & Chitrakutam Ramagiri Fort :

The below references are recorded in books and works of poets.

1. Koravi Goparaju (15th century) in his 'Simhaasana Dwatrinshika' [3] praises 'Nannayya' followed by a dedicated poem of 'Lemulawada's glory and Bhima', followed by Tikkana, Errana etc.

'Lemulawadam jarinchu.. bhimudalathun'

లేములవాడక శుచియై

లేములవాడం జరించు లేమలవాడం

దా మెఱసిన భీముని నుత

భీముని బల భీము విమత భీముని దలతున్ [3]

2. Ganapavarapu Venkata Kavi's (17th century) works refer to the poet as

'lemulawada bheema bhalire kavi sekhara saarvabhoumunemani yaanatichitini... lemulawada bheemudavalilaga..'

'లేములవాడ భీమ భళిరె కవి శెఖర సార్వభౌమునెమని యానతిచితిని... [2]

లేములవాడ భీముడవలీలగ.. ' [9]

Veturi Prabhakara sastry (1918) in the Prabandha Ratnavali [2] book above also says in many other oral poems, he was referred as LemulawadaBhima.

3. Some jester poets have appended some strange things to Kavijanasrayam's appendix. Scholars suggest that the assignment of a Vaidiki to a Jain author who belong to different centuries could be one of them. Notwithstanding the dubious authenticity, the poem is worth analyzing - the poet has blessings of Bhimeshwara of Vemulawada.

'vemulawadanu velasina bhimeshwara'

వేములవాడను వెలసిన

భీమెశ్వరకరుణగల్గు భీమనకవి నే

4.The one and only Lemulawada is nothing but Vemulawada, Karimnagar district. There exists a powerful Bhimeshwara temple (complex built by Baddega in 850-900 AD) near the popular Rajeshwara Devasthanam. The place and Lord Raja Rajeshwara were alternatively referred as 'Dakshavatyam Bhima lingam' in Kshetra Mahatmyam.

5. 'I also hold, for the reasons detailed in the Telugu preface, that Bhima was a native of Vemulavada (alias Lemulavada) in the Karimnagar district of H.H. The Nizam's dominions and not, as supposed by some, of a village of that name near Draksharama in the Godavery District -' J.Ramayya Pantulu [10]

6. Other apocryphal references:

lEmulawaaDa Bhimunavaleelanu joochi kaLinga gangu taa

లేములవాడ భిమునవలీలను జూచి కళింగ గంగు తా [11]

Chitrakutam

నేనే వేములవాడ భీమ కవి నేనిం జిత్రకూటంబు లో [9]

భూన వ్యాపిత పల్లవోధ్భవ మహా పుష్పోప గుఛంబులన్

నానా పక్వ ఫలప్రదాయివగుమాయకల్ప వృక్షకృతిన్

References to Vemulawada of East Godavari district

There is an apocryphal reference to Daksharamam and Bheemeswara Temple. The same poem was amended by multiple authors. Notwithstanding the dubious authenticity, the poems points the poet to be the son of Lord Bheemeswara. Veturi Prabhakara Sastry calls out the reference to Daksharamam should not be taken in the literal sense since Palkuriki Somana calls himself as 'son of Basava' although his real parents are different.

Story of Vemulawada Bheemakavi [ citation needed ]

ఘనుఁడన్ వేములవాడ వంశజుఁడ దక్షారామ భీమేశ నం దనుడన్

దివ్య విషామృత ప్రకట నానా కావ్య ధుర్యుండ భీమన నా పేరు వినంగ చెప్పితిన్ కస్తూరికాది ఘనసారధి సుగంధ వస్తువులు వేఘన్ తెచ్చి లాలింపుమా

Nizam Andhra Sabha

In memory of this great poet, the Nizam Andhra Sabha of 1935 organized in Sircilla called the venue of the meeting as 'Bhima Kavi Nagar'. [12]

Literature

He lived after Nannayya Bhatta and prior to Tikkanna. He composed many poetic works in the Chaatuvu style. He is known to have written Raghava Pandeeveeyam, Nrusimha Puranam which are not available. He is also known for his work Kavijanasrayam, [13] [14] [15] a prosody which is now ruled out to be written by him. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nannayya</span> 11th-century Telugu-language poet

Nannayya Bhattaraka or Nannayya Bhattopadhyaya 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veturi</span> Poet

Veturi Sundararama Murthy, known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet, lyricist and journalist who is popular for writing Telugu songs. His career in Telugu cinema spanned more than four decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kavitrayam</span>

Kavitrayam is a Telugu expression for trinity of poets. Kavitrayam popularly refers to the poets who translated the great epic Mahabharata into Telugu. The group/trinity consists of Nannayya, Tikkana and Yerrapragada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tirupati Venkata Kavulu</span>

Tirupati Venkata Kavulu refers to the Telugu poet duo Divakarla Tirupati Sastry (1872–1919) and Chellapilla Venkata Sastry (1870–1950). These twin poets are acclaimed as the harbingers of modern poetry in Telugu. They have dramatised several of the Hindu epics into dramas and plays consisting of singable verses set to perfect meter. Several of their plays, especially pandavodyogavijayalu have been extremely popular with many drama clubs and audiences across Andhra Pradesh. Venkata Sastry has trained a large number of later age poets including Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Pingali Lakshmikantam and Veturi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telugu literature</span> Body of works written in the Telugu language

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 has experienced a golden age under the patronage of the Vijayanagara Emperor-Poet Krishnadevaraya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daksharamam</span> Hindu temple in India

Draksharamam or Daksharamam (దక్షారామం) is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras that are sacred to the Hindu god Shiva and also 12th of Ashtadasha Shakthi Peetams. The temple is located in Draksharamam town of Konaseema district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Bhimeswara Swamy refers to Lord Shiva in this temple. Poet Mallikarjuna Panditaradhyudu who wrote first independent work in Telugu and who spread Veerasaivism in Andhra region during medieval ages was born in this town.

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.

Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu:(Telugu: అయ్యలరాజు రామభద్రుడు), shortly Ramabhadra was a famous Telugu poet and was one among the Astadiggajas, which was the title of the group of eight poets in the court of King Krishnadevaraya, a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sripada Krishnamurty Sastry</span> Indian poet

Kaviraz Krishna Murthy Sastry, of Sripada family, a native of Devarapalli of West Godavari district, was the first poet laureate ( ) of Andhra Pradesh. He composed more than a hundred works in Telugu. He composed ‘Sri Krishnasweeyacharitam’, an autobiography in Sanskrit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veturi Prabhakara Sastri</span>

Veturi Prabhakara Sastri was a Sanskrit and Telugu scholar, editor, translator and historian. He was born in the town of Pedakallepalli in the Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh. He was known for deciphering a few thousand of Annamayya's composition during his tenure at the Devasthanam Oriental Institute. He is also recognized for his scholarship on Telugu poet Srinatha's work. Veturi was involved in researching lost texts and forgotten literature, and he is regarded for his enlightened and liberal scholarship that was free of literary or religious prejudices.

Jandhyala Papayya Sastry was an eminent Telugu writer and lyricist. He was popularly known as Karunasri because his writings expressively show compassion, one of the nine Rasas. His famous kavyas include Pushpa Vilapam and Kunthi Kumari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viswanatha Satyanarayana</span> Indian Telugu-language writer

Viswanatha Satyanarayana was a 20th-century Telugu writer. His works included poetry, novels, dramatic play, 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 the illustrious Telugu writer Chellapilla Venkata Sastry, of the Tirupati Venkata Kavulu duo. Viswanatha's wrote in both a modern and classical style, in complex modes. His popular works include Ramayana Kalpavrukshamu, Kinnersani Patalu and the novel Veyipadagalu. Among many awards, he was awarded the Jnanpith Award in 1970, the first for a Telugu writer, and Padma Bhushan in 1971.

Kokkonda Venkata Ratnam Pantulu (1842–1915) was a well-known Telugu and Sanskrit writer in the nineteenth century. As a respect word pantulu meaning scholar was added. He was known as Andhra Johnson and is remembered as the multifaceted Andhra genius, the pioneer of many movements in social reform, literature, publication, journalism.

Malliya Rechana was an 11th-century Indian poet and writer in Telugu language. He hails from the present-day Vemulawada, Telangana region of India. He wrote the first Telugu prosody (chandassu) book called Kavijanasrayam.

Kavijanasrayam, also referred to as KavijanaaSrayamKavijanaasrayamu and Kavijanaashrayam, a Jain Literature, is considered by scholars to be the earliest work detailing Telugu prosody, that is, how the basic rhythm of verses in Telugu poetry is structured. The work was authored by Malliya Rechana, a Telugu language poet and writer, who lived in the 11t century in the present-day Vemulawada, Telangana region of India.

Vaddadi Subbarayudu (1854–1938) was a popular Indian Telugu writer and translator. His writing had widespread appeal.

Abburi Ramakrishna Rao was a pioneer of modern Telugu literature. He was a progressive Telugu writer, scholar, novelist, playwright, literary critic, humanist, professor of Library Science, and the Librarian. Gurajada Apparao, Rayaprolu Subbarao, and Abburi Ramakrishna Rao were considered as the trio of modern poetry, as all their works were published in the same period.

Andhra Kavula Charitramu is a compilation of the life histories of Telugu poets by Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848-1919). It was published in three parts by Hitakarini Samajam, Rajahmundry. It is a history of Telugu literature, though the author dealt more with the lives of the poets than their poetry.

Kākunūri Appa-kavi was a Telugu language poet and grammarian from present-day southern India, noted for writing the Telugu grammar book Appakavīyamu. He claims to have written the book at the instruction of the god Vishnu, based on a purported Sanskrit language work by the earlier poet Nannaya.

Sri Suryaraya Andhra Nighantuvu is a Telugu language dictionary. It is the most comprehensive monolingual Telugu dictionary. It was published in eight volumes between 1936 and 1974. It was named after Rao Venkata Kumara Mahipati Surya Rau, the zamindar of Pitapuram Estate who sponsored the first four volumes of the dictionary.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cavelly, Venkata Ramaswamie (1829). Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets. Calcutta: Literary and Antiquarian Department. p. 114.
  2. 1 2 3 Veturi Prabhakara Sastry (1918). Prabanda Ratnavali. Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam. pp. 28–35.
  3. 1 2 3 Gadiyaram, Ramakrishna sarma (1982). Simhasana Dwatrinshika. Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy. p. 73.
  4. Suravaramu, Prathapa Reddy (1934). Golakonda Kavula Sanchika. p. 404.
  5. Indian Antiquary. Popular Prakashan. 1902.
  6. Datta, Amaresh (2003). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Academi. ISBN   9788126018031.
  7. Deepala Pichaya Sastry (1927). Padya Ratnakaram (PDF).
  8. Jonnalagadda (1938). Shri Vemulawada Bheemakavi Charitra. p. 34.
  9. 1 2 Dr Sunki Reddy Narayana Reddy (2009). Mungili.
  10. Jayanti Ramayya pantulu (1932) [1917]. Kavijanasraya Chandashastramu. Andhra Sahitya Parishat. pp.  2, 7–11.
  11. Jayanti, Ramayya Pantulu (1932). Kavijanasrayam Chandassshastramu. Andhra Sahitya Parishat. p. 18.
  12. Rajeswar Rao (1991). The Great Indian Patriots, Volume 2. Mittal Publications. ISBN   9788170992882.
  13. Association, Madras Library (1939). Publication Series. Madras Library Association.
  14. Veṅkaṭēśvararāvu, Nārla; Committee, Narla Shashtyabdapurti Celebration (1968). Studies in the history of Telugu journalism: presented to V. R. Narla on the occasion of his shashtyabdapurti. Narla Shashtyabdapurti Celebration Committee; [distributors: Andhra Pradesh Book Distributors, Secunderabad.
  15. Institute, Sri Venkatesvara University Oriental Research (1964). Sri Venkateswara University Oriental Journal.
  16. Nidadavolu Rachanala Parisheelana.