CHAPTER
9
THE CONTRIBUTION OF PRINCIPALITIES
The growth, development and spread of the satstras have a chequered
story behind them. There is an adage in Sanskrit according to which
pundits, women and creepers cannot become resplendent without a
suitable prop.
विनाश्रया:
न
शोभन्ते पण्डिता:
वनिता:
लता:
This support was readily forthcoming for pundits from the then
ruling kings and nobility. History brought about gradual change of
authority to Moguls, and, later, the British. Patronage of pundits
continued, though at a lower key, even under some of the Mogul
rulers. In course of time there was a geographical reorganization
culminating in the constitution of what came to be known as
principalities. Even under this transition, poets and pundits were
not denied encouragement and patronage. The result : Teaching of the
Vedanta and other sastras went on untrammeled.
A word of specific activity in this regard is warranted here. The
literary programme may be divided into four categories - appointing
and\or honoring the scholars of Vedanta in their courts, getting
scholars to write books on Vedanta and publishing them; organizing
regular schools for teaching the Vedanta; organizing regular
libraries by collecting and stocking thousands of books in general
and of Vedanta in particular. A brief sketch of the contribution made
by the principalities which are also coined as estates is given
under.
Here is a synopsis of their contribution. This writer has thought
it fit to employ the Telugu alphabetical order for the estates.
Papayaradhya of Mulugu family, patronized by Amaravathi estate,
was not only a scholar of repute but also a Brahmajnani. There is an
interesting story about the power of his prayer. When he went to the
temple of Lord
Amareswaraswamy of Amaravathi, he found the doors of the temple
closed. He started a panegyric of the Goddess Chamunda and lo behold
! the doors opened themselves. Having come to know of this wonder,
the king of the estate Jagannatha Naidu invited him to be his
courtier. Papayaradhya wrote many books on different sastras. An
author of over a hundred works, he translated Devibhagavata
which was replete with Advaita thought, into Telugu.
In our alphabetical journey we now come to Bankupalli Mallayya
Sastry of Urlam estate whose achievement was translation of the
Brahmasutras, a tough task indeed. We now go to Undrajavaram
estate which patronized Vemparala. Suryanarayana Sastry, a poet and a
scholar who wrote Sankaravijayam in a singularly scholarly
Telugu. He contextually touched upon many doctrines of Advaita.
Further , in order to bring home (Telugu land) the ideas in
Sankaravijaya, he made some appropriate alterations, without,
at the same time, sacrificing the sprit of the original work.
Peri Kasinatha Sastry, who was patronized by the Urlam estate,
contributed his might by producing a monumental work in the field of
Advaita. His work Sarirakabhashyasahitapratyushaprabodhamananamu
, a translation of the Brahmasutrabhashya of Sankara , is
itself a scholarly feat.
Next comes Kalahasti (A.D.1765 - 1850). This estate patronized
Shanmukhadas of Akshintala family who translated the
Sriramavasistasamvadamu, also called the Yogavasista.
It deals with a number of philosophical thoughts and was a
marvelous work.
A scholar patronized by Kurupam estate of Srikakulam District was
Pulugurthi Narasimhamatya for authoring Mahavakyaratnavali
in which he highlighted the Mahavakyas of different Upanishads. In
addition, he drew the close attention of the devotees to the concept
of Avidya, illusoriness of the world and the uniqueness of Brahman.
Another towering personality who produced a huge amount of
literature in the field of Advaita Vedanta was Paravastu. Srinivasa
Jagannathaswami, patronized by the Gode estate. His most inspiring
book Bhagavadvishayopanishattulu , is an anthology and yet
draws the attention of the seekers of the knowledge of Brahman as the
original work does. His another work, Vaidikamatavali ,
explains not only the six systems of orthodox Indian philosophy but
also the other subsystems of Vedanta : Sakteya, Visistadvaita and
Dwaita.
Another renowned scholar whose fame is not confined to Andhradesa
but extended beyond Andhra borders to as far as Varanasi was
SubbaSastry of Akshintala family. The Jataprolu estate of
Mahaboobnagar district was lucky in having patronized him. His
Bhashyartharatnamala, in poetic format is a commentary on the
Brahmasutrabhashya of Sankara. His son Singara Sastry, like his
father, was a noted scholar and he was honored by the neighboring
estates such as Venkatagiri, Gadwal, Vanaparthi, Atmakuru. He was
the author of many works.
Here is a refreshing departure from the array of honors conferred
on well deserving scholars by various estates. We have to honour the
honorerPanuganti Parthasarathi Rayadu, the king of Panugallu estate
of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, was a great scholar himself.
He digested the essence of the Gita and translated it in
Manjaridwipada metre basing on the tradition.
Puranapanda Mallayyasastry of Pithapuram estate, of Andhra Pradesh
translated the Brahmasutrabhashya of Sankara into Telugu. It
is considered to be one of the best translations of Sutrabhashya..
Madhunapantula Satyanarayanasastry of the same estate wrote
Shaddarsanasangraha and dedicated it to Suryaraobahaddur,
head of the estate.
Mikkili Mallikarjunakavi [A.D.1805-1875] , who was the native of
the village Peddada of Godavari district, wrote Nachiketacharitam
and translated the Bhagavad-Gita into Telugu .
Dendukuri Narasimha Sastry a reputed scholar of Vedanta, was
appointed by the king in his estate as parikshadhikarin in the branch
of Advaita Vedanta and his services as parikshadhikarin were highly
appreciated by the king as well as his colleagues.
Venkatakrishna Somayaji of Kotikalapudi family was patronized by the
Bobbili estate of Srikakulam district. He translated
Prabodhachandrodayam of Krishnamisra in to chaste Telugu. His
son, Kotikalapudi Kodandaramakavi, was again a profound scholar in
Vedanta and his scholarship was recognized by his being appointed as
teacher in the estate to teach Vedanta.
Sriman Kalattur Vikrala Ramachandracharyulu [A.D.1879-1932]
flourished in Mutyalapadu of Nellore district. He was a scholar in
Vedas, Vedangas, and the six orthodox systems of Indian Philosophy.
He was also a versatile scholar in all branches of learning. He not
only preached Vedanta but defeated the scholars of other systems
whom he came across. His versatile scholarship was appreciated in the
following manner.
वेदानां
सदनं तदर्थ शरणं वेदांगविद्याधनं
षड्दर्शिन्यवधारणं
सकलविद्यारण्यपंचाननम् |
वाग्गंगाभरणं
यशोSधिकरणं
दुर्वादिनां भीषणं
विक्रालान्वयभूषणं
शुभगुणं श्रीरामचन्द्रं
भजे||
Akshintala Subbasastry who flourished in the Vanaparthi estate of
Mahaboobnagar was a native of Reparla. He wrote Bhashyaratnamala
in Arya metre.
Matukumalli Narasimhasastry who lived in Valluru estate of Krishna
and Godavari districts was a panditadhikari. He debated for about
three weeks and
defeated a scholar in Logic and Vedanta of a Sankara Mutt. While
acting as Parikshadhikari, he honoured a number of Vedanta
scholars.
Yellapeddi Raghavasastry [ A.D. 1765 - 1850] of Karampudi village
and Vankamamidi Ramasastry of Varahapura Agrahara were also of
considerable literary prowess..
Now, let us take a quick look at a few great but less- known
Pundits.
Peri KasinathaSastry of Vijayanagaram estate wrote
Bhagavadgitasaramu in Telugu.
Similarly, Gopinatham Venkatakavi of Venkatagiri estate wrote
Bhagavadgitasaramu in Telugu.
Tanikella Prakasasastry of Sangamavalasa estate which was situated
in the north of Visakhapatnam and west of Parvathipuram, wrote a
work Vedantasiddhantaprakasa which throws light on many
concepts of Advita Vedanta.
Chelekani Lacharao of Yerragudem estate composed
Bhagavadgitamritam.
Raja Kalidindi Kumaralakshminarasimharaju, head of Mogultur
estate, was a compelling scholar. In addition to becoming a great
poet by himself, he also patronized many poets. He composed a work
entitled Bhagavad-Gita in Dwipada metre.
***
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