[Solved] Krishnadeva Raya, the King of Vijayanagar, was not only an accomplished scholar himself but was also a great patron of learning and literature. Discuss
Historians consider Krishnadevaraya as the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagara kingdom.His greatest
achievement is of the broad tolerance that existed during his rule in his empire.
• His reign marked a new era in Telugu literature when imitation of Sanskrit works gave way to
independent works.
• His rule was an age of prolific literature in many languages ,although it is also known as a golden
age of Telugu literature.
• He was a gifted scholar of Telugu and Sanskrit and wrote many works in these languages.
Sanskrit plays “JambavatiKalyanam”, “Ushaparinayam”, Madalasacharitha, Rasamanjari,
Satyavaduparinaya and a Telugu poem “Amuktamalyada” were written by him. This work
beautifully subscribed the agony of separation suffered by Sri Andal for her lover Lord Vishnu.
• He was fluent in many languages including his mother tongue “Tulu”.
• He extended his patronage to Telugu,Kannada and Tamil poets alike.
• He patronised many famous posts like Haridasu, Nanditimmana, Kannada poet mallanaraya etc.
• His court BhuvanaVijayamu was adorned by eight literary giants called as “Astadiggajas”. The most
celebrated of them were Allasanipeddana (father of Telugu poetry), Dhurjati, Tenali Ramakrishna.
• His munificence for scholars earned for him the title “Andhra Bhoja”.
Krishnadeva Raya who ruled the kingdom of Vijayanagara was one of the greatest statesmen which medieval South India had produced. Called variously as ‘Kannadaraya’, ‘Sri Karnata Mahisa’ and ‘Kannada Rajya Ramaramana’, his rule saw all round prosperity of South India, culturally and materialistically.
Krishnadeva Raya was a great patron of literature and was known as Abhinava Bhoja. Himself being a scholar, he wrote the Telugu work Amuktamalyada and a Sanskrit play, Jambavati Kalyana.
He had eight great scholars called Ashtadiggajas in his court. They included Allasani Peddana often described as the Andhra-kavitapitamaha. His famous work was Manucharitamu; another famous poet was Nandi Thimmanna, the author of Parijathapaharanamu.
Other eminent literary luminaries were Tenali Ramakrishna, Kumara Dhurjati and Rama Raja Bhushana.
He asked the Kannada poet Thimmanna to complete the Kannada Mahabharatha started by Kumara Vyasa.
Telugu poet Peddanna was personally honoured by him for his proficiency in Telugu and Sanskrit and Krishnadevaraya himself gave a helping hand to lift the palanquin in which the poets book ‘Manucharitamu’ was placd and taken in a procession.
It is said whenever Krishna-devaraya met the poet while riding on his elephant, he gave him a lift. According to Nidatavolu Venkata Rao, the reign of Krishnadevaraya is a glorious chapter in the South Indian literary history. The imperial court had representatives of Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil poets, who contributed largely to their respective literatures.
Literary contributions of Krishnadeva Raya
- He wrote Amuktamalyadam, a literary work in Telugu language which is considered one of the Panchakavyas of Telugu literature. He was conferred with the title Andhrabhoja for this.
- He wrote other important or notable literature such asMadalasa Charitra, Ushaparinayam, Jambavatiparinayam, Sakalakathasaram in Telugu language.
Patronization of poets and literary scholars
- He patronised AllasaniPeddana, who wrote Manucharitram in Telugu language which was in form of Prabandha. He was thus called as ‘father of Prabandha‘.
- He was responsible for developing and nurturing Carnatic musical tradition by providing shelter to musicians such as VyasaRaya, who was the propagator of Haridasa movement in Karnataka.
- He encouraged classical dance forms such like Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, which reached its height during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya.
Thus, Krishnadeva Raya’s rule can be considered as the watershed moment in South Indian literature history, which was able to emerge from the shadows of Sanskrit tradition and reach its current form.
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