Astadiggajas

Astadiggajas (అష్టదిగ్గజులు) is the collective title given to the eight telugu poets in the court of the emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya who ruled the Vijayanagara empire from 1509 until his death in 1529. During his reign, Telugu literature and culture reached zenith. In his court, eight poets were regarded as the eight pillars of his literary assembly. The age of Astadiggajsa is called "Prabhanda Age" (1540 AD to 1600). [cite web
last =
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title = Prabhandamulu
publisher = Microsoft
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url = http://www.bhashaindia.com/Patrons/LanguageTech/Prabandham.aspx ] All of the Astadiggajalu had composed at least one "Prabandha Kavyamu" and it Astadiggajalu who gave Prabhanda its present form. [cite web
last = Adluri
first = Seshu Madhava Rao
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = aShTadiggajamulu (Introduction)
publisher = mun.ca
year = 1998
url = http://www.engr.mun.ca/~adluri/telugu/classical/prabandha/ashtadiggajalu.html ] Most of the Astadiggajas are from southern part of present day Andhra Pradesh state (Rayalaseema, Nellore) [cite web
last = Adluri
first = Seshu Madhava Rao
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = aShTadiggajamulu (Introduction)
publisher = mun.ca
year = 1998
url = http://www.engr.mun.ca/~adluri/telugu/classical/prabandha/ashtadiggajalu.html ] and Astadiggajas, Allasani Peddana, Dhurjati, Nandi Thimmana, Madayyagari Mallana and Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu are from the Rayalaseema region.

Etymology

The title "Ashtadiggajas"(Ashta + dik + gaja) means "elephants in eight directions". It refers to the old hindu belief that eight elephants hold the earth in eight directions which are namely Airaavana, Pundareeka, Vaamana, Kumuda, Anjana, Pushpadanta, Sarwabhouma, Suprateeka. whose wives are Abhra, Kapila, Pingala, Anupama, Taamraparni, Subhradanti, Angana, Anjanaavati. The court of poets were also called "Bhuvana Vijayam" (Conquest of the World). [ [http://surrealist.org/gurukula/storymatters/nrsimha.html Legened in Vaishnavites about Eight elephants. One such mentioning of elephants is that Hiranayakasipu sent eight elephants carrying earth to kill Prahlada.] ]

Members

These poets were Allasani Peddana, Nandi Thimmana, Madayyagari Mallana, Dhurjati, Ayyalaraju Ramambhadrudu, Pingali Surana, Ramarajabhushanudu, and Tenali Ramakrishnudu. The most famous being Allasani Peddana honoured with the title "Andhrakavitapitamaha" (father of Telugu poetry) and Tenali Ramakrishna, Krishnadevaraya's court jester who authored several acclaimed works. [ Like the Nine gems of King Vikramaditya's court, the Ashtadiggajas of Krishnadevara's court are famous in legend, K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, (Reprinted 2002), p372 ]

Differences in research

Though the above list of eight poets is widely regarded as the Astadiggajas, there are some differences of opinion as to who exactly constituted the Astadiggajas and if the composition of this body changed over time. Some literary works mention the name of "BhattuMurthi" in place of Ramarajabhushanudu and some accounts mention Pingali Surana and Tenali Ramakrishna also as members of the later kings. From the stone inscriptions of that time, it has been inferred that the village of Thippalur in the present-day Cuddapah district has been gifted to the Astadiggajas by the king.

Their works

Allasani Peddana wrote "Manucharitramu" and dedicated to the king Krishnadevaraya. Nandi Thimmana wrote "parijataapaharanam" and dedicated it to the king as well. Madayyagari Mallana wrote "Rajasekhara Charitramu". Dhurjati wrote "Kalahasti Mahatyamu". Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu wrote "Ramaabhyudayamu". Pingali Surana wrote "Raghavapandaveeyamu", a dual work that describes both Ramayan and Mahabharat. Ramarajabhushanudu wrote "Kavyalankarasangrahamu", "Vasucharitramu" and "Harischandranalopakhyanamu". Tenali Ramakrishna wrote "Udbhataradhya Charitramu", "Panduranga Mahatmyamu" and “Ghatikachala Mahatmyamu.”

Literary Style

Telugu literature reached its peak during their period. A new style called "Prabhanda" with added fiction and few omissions from the original stories was followed during this period. Poets in earlier century like Tikkana and Potana translated the Sanskrit books and epics without changing the stories from original. Astadiggajas usually took small, some times obscure, stories from Puranas and used them as plots for writing major kavyas. A "Prabhandam" can be of three types, viz., Prakhyatam, Utpadyam, Misramam (famous story, purely fictional story, mixed story). [cite web
last = Adluri
first = Seshu Madhava Rao
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = aShTadiggajamulu (Introduction)
publisher = mun.ca
year = 1998
url = http://www.engr.mun.ca/~adluri/telugu/classical/prabandha/ashtadiggajalu.html ] Astadiggajas have written in all the three genres during the "Prabhanda yugam".

There are also at least two dual meaning works during this time. "Ramabhyudayam" by Pingali Surana simultaneously runs the stories of Rama and Pandavas. "Harischandranalopakhyanamu" by Bhattumurthy also simultaneously tells the stories of the kings Harischandra and Nala.

ee also

* Navaratnas, the label given to the court of the kings Vikramaditya and Akbar.

References

* K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002) ISBN 0-19-560686-8
* [http://www.tlca.com/youth/golden-age.html Golden age of Telugu Literature]
* [http://www.ourkarnataka.com/states/history/historyofkarnataka47.htm Literary activity in Vijayanagara Empire]
* [http://www.samasya.com/kids/stories/ramakrishna/index.html Tenali Ramakrishna's entry into Bhuvana Vijayam]

Notes