Tenali Ramakrishna

Garlapati Tenali Ramakrishna () (), popularly known as Tenali Rama and Vikata Kavi, was a court-poet of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 16th century. He was one of the Ashtadiggajas who belonged to the court of Krishnadevaraya in Vijayanagar.

Biography

He is from a Niyogi Telugu Brahmin family and had originally hailed from Tumuluru near Guntur District of Andra Pradesh. He was also known as Tenali Ramalinga, a Shaiva name. There is a conflict ongoing in between mahamantri Thimmarusu and Tenali Ramalinga as thimmarusu is vaishnava and he is shaiva.It is believed that he later converted to Vaishnavism.

Some scholars dispute whether that he was a contemporary of Krishnadeva Raya. Tenali Ramakrishna's most famous work, Panduranga Mahatyamu, is dedicated to god Panduranga (विठोबा in Marathi), a form of Vishnu, whose main temple stands at Pandharpur in Maharashtra. He was known for his wit. He died due to a snake-bite.

His story was made into a cartoon called "The Adventures of Tenali Raman" by the Cartoon Network in 2001.

His works

Scholars treat his famous work Panduranga Mahatyamu as one among the Pancha Kavyas. He has dedicated Panduranga Mahatyam to Viruri Vedadri. This book is about the Pundarika Kshetram on the banks of river Bhaimi and its legend. He also...
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