Pingali Suranna

Pingali Surana (Telugu:పింగళి సూరన) (16th century CE) was a Telugu poet and was one of the "Astadiggajas" (literally "eight elephants") in the court of the king Krishnadevaraya.

Biography

His exact birthplace is uncertain. It is believed that his ancestors were from Pingali village in the Krishna District. According to his works, he is believed to from a village called "Nidumanuri Krishnaraya Samudramu", somewhere in the Kurnool or Nellore districts.

Surana's parents were Abbamamba (mother) and Amarana (father), scholars themselves. Surana dedicated a work to Nandyala Krishna Raju, a subject of the Vijayanagara Empire in Krishna District.It is now settled that he was from Kanala villae, near Nandyala, on Nandyala and Koilakuntla Road. There is his samadhi and also the potter community celebrates his Jayanthi year after year. There is an old orental High School in Kanala,which is said to be a legacy from Pingali Surana. Surana Sahithi Samithi, Nandyal is a literary organisation in existence for more than 25 years. Dr.Sahadevudu, a practicing doctor and Subrahmanya Sasthry, a retired teacher are, repectively the president and the secretary of the Samithi.

Works

Surana wrote "Garuda Puranam", "Prabhavatee Pradyumnamu", "Raghava Pandaveeyam" and "Kalapurnodayamu" in 1500 CE. He dedicated "Garuda Puranam" to his father and "Kalapurnodayam" to the Nandyal King.

tyle

Two of his works were revolutionary in Telugu and the first of their kind. "Kalapurnodayam" is more of a novel than poetry and "Raghava Pandaveeyam" is in "dvayarthi"(double meaning) style.

"Kalapurnodayamu" means full bloom of art. Surana used advanced literary techniques in Indian literature such as flashbacks and character transformation. Coincidentily it was produced around the same time as Shakespeare's "As You Like It" which contained many of the same literary techniques.

Each poem of "Raghava Pandaveeyam" references to the stories of Ramayanam or Mahabharatam simultaneously. Entire work is double entendre. His first work "Garuda Puranam" is in Prabandha style, popular for romantic poems.

Awards and Titles

* The critic Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy praised "Kalapunodayam" as the best original book ever written in Telugu.

External links

* [http://www.engr.mun.ca/~adluri/telugu/classical/prabandha/ashtadiggajalu1.html Pingal Surana]
* [http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_inside.asp?cat_name=cultphil&sid=9002&count1=3&cid=519 Telugu literature at bloom in 15th and 16th centuries]
* K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, "History of South India, From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar", (New Delhi: OUP, 1955, repr. 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]