Muddupalani

Muddupalani (fl. c. 1750) was a Telugu speaking poet and devadasi attached to the court of Pratap Singh (1739–63), the Maratha king of Tanjore. Some commentators date her life to 1739-90, and her place of birth as Nagavasram in Thanjavur district. She is noted as a poet and scholar and particularly for her erotic epic Rādhikā-sāntvanam ("Appeasing Radha"). Muddupalani was well versed in Telugu and Sanskrit literature, was an accomplished dancer, and came from a devadasi family: Muddupalani was the granddaughter of an exceptionally gifted courtesan called Tanjanayaki, who was not only a talented musician but was also adept at the nava rasas. At her soirees, where music and conversation flowed, she entertained learned scholars and aristocrats. But ... she longed to have children. She adopted a boy and a girl, children of Ayyavaya, a man she considered her brother. She raised the young boy, whom she named Muthyalu, to adulthood, and got him married to another talented and beautiful courtesan called Rama Vadhuti. A staunch devotee of Lord Subramanya Swami, Muthyalu named his first-born daughter after the temple town of Palani where stands a famous temple dedicated to the beautiful warrior son of Lord Shiva. Keeping the surname Muddu before the name, a general practice in the south, Muddupalani was thus born into an extremely talented, artistic and devout household.