Nannayya

Nannayya Bhattaraka (sometimes spelled Nannaya; c. 11th century) 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 (Adi Kavi) 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. Nannaya is the first of the three Telugu poets, called the Kavitrayam ("trinity of poets"), who wrote Andhra Mahabharatam. His work, which is rendered in the Champu style, is chaste and polished and of a high literary merit. The advanced and well-developed language used by Nannaya suggests that prior Telugu literature other than royal grants and decrees must have existed before him. However, these presumed works are now lost. Legends also credit him with writing the Sanskrit-language Andhra-sabda-chintamani, said to be the first work on Telugu grammar, but these legends are historically inaccurate, and the text is an imaginary work. Nannaya was born in a Telugu Brahmin family. He resided in Rajamahendravaram under the patronage of Eastern Chalukya king Rajaraja Narendra.