Editing Telugu language (section)

== Literature ==
{{Main|Telugu literature}}

=== Ancient Telugu Writings Period (300 BC {{En dash}} 500 CE) ===
==== Amaravati Stupa ====
[[Amaravati Stupa|Amarāvati Stupa]] is a ruined Buddhist stūpa at the village of [[Amaravathi]], [[Palnadu district]], Andhra Pradesh, India, probably built in phases between the third century BCE and about 250 CE. The word "nagabu" was one of the first Telugu words that was written on the Amaravati Stupa.<ref name=":72"/><ref name=":5"/>
[[File:Ancient Telugu Script displayed at Telugu Museum 3.jpg|thumb|Ancient Telugu Writing displayed at Telugu Museum]]

=== Early Medieval Telugu Writings Period (500 {{En dash}} 850 CE) ===
These writings were mostly written by the Vishnukudinas, Telugu Chodas, and the Chalukyas.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==== Kallamalla Writing (575 CE) ====
This is the first writing entirely written in Telugu. It was written by Renati Choda king Dhanunjaya. in 575 CE. It was found on the premises of Chennakesava-Siddeshwara temple at Kalamalla village in Yerraguntla Mandal of the district.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==== Indravarma Sasanam ====
This was a writing written by Indra Varma in the 6th century. Indra Varma was a Vishnukudina king in the 6th century.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
[[File:1 1149A old telugu language-Vishnu Kundi indravarma sasanam 6th century 1.jpg|thumb|Old Telugu Script – Vishnukundina Indra Varma Sasanam 6th century]]

==== Janashrayi-Chhandovichiti ====
The 6th- or 7th-century [[Sanskrit]] text ''[[Janashrayi-Chhandovichiti]]'' (or ''Janāśraya-chandas'') deals with the [[metre (poetry)|metres]] used in Telugu, including some metres that are not found in [[Sanskrit prosody]]. This indicates that Telugu poetry existed during or around the 6th century.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=G. Ramakrishna |editor2=N. Gayathri |editor3=Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya |title=An Encyclopaedia of South Indian Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIkeAAAAMAAJ |year=1983 |publisher=K.P. Bagchi |oclc=948611193 |pages=164–165 |isbn=978-0-8364-1188-1 }}</ref>

==== Vipparla and Lakshmipuram Writings ====
Vipparla Inscription of Jayasimha I and the Lakshmipuram inscription of the Mangi yuvaraja were the earliest Telugu inscriptions of Eastern chalukyas found in the 7th century AD.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Addanki 848AD Sasanamu.png|thumb]]

==== Addanki Poem ====
Addanki inscription also known as the Pandaranga inscription belongs to 848AD,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-01 |title=First anniversary of Bapatla district on April 4 |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/010423/first-anniversary-of-bapatla-district-on-april-4.html |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=www.deccanchronicle.com |language=en}}</ref> excavated near the Thousand Pillar Temple of Addanki. It is testimony to a flourishing Telugu literature much before the available literary texts. Locals believe that this is the first poem ever to be written in Telugu, also called the first Padya Sasanam(Poetic inscription) with (dvipada, with Yati and Prasa; style taruvoja)Staying with the Boya campaign, Pandaranga got victories in all military campaigns of his master Gunaga Vijayaditya III. The inscription spoke about the donation of land by the king to him for his successful military exploits.

=== Telugu Jain Literature Period (850-1020 CE) ===
==== Malliya Rechana ====
[[Malliya Rechana]] composed the first Telugu poetic prosody book [[Kavijanasrayam]] (pre-Nannayya chandassu). This was a popular one and referred by many poets. There seems to be even an earlier prosody book by Rechana's guru Vaadindra Chudamani which is not available.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.491601/2015.491601.telugu-marugulu#page/n95/mode/2up|title=Telugu Marugulu|last=Chimakurthi|first=Seshagiri Rao|publisher=Telugu Gosti|year=1992|page=87}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/Palkuriki_233/NidudavoluVENKATARAOGariRachanaluParisilana#page/n97/mode/2up|title=Nidadavolu Venkata Rao Gari Rachanalu Parisheelana|page=80}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.373092/2015.373092.Sri-Andhra#page/n19/mode/2up|title=Andhra Kavi Tarangani|last=Chaganti|first=Seshayya|publisher=Hindu dharma sastra granthalayam|year=1956}}</ref>

Veturi Prabhakara Sastry in 1900s mentioned the existence of ''Pre-Nannayya Chandassu'' in Raja Raja Narendra Pattabhisheka Sanchika.<ref name=":19" /> Accurate dating of this piece of literature happened after the 1980s discoveries in Karimnagar.<ref>{{cite book|last=Prabhakara Sastry|first=Veturi|url=http://ebooks.tirumala.org/Home/Download/?ID=614|title=Prabandha Ratnavali|publisher=Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam|year=2014|page=44|orig-date=1918}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2024}}<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MaLgBQAAQBAJ|title=Rethinking Hindu Identity|last=Jha|first=Dwijendra Narayan|year=2014|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-49033-3}}</ref> Rechana's work is variously dated from 940 CE to 12th and 13th century. Most scholars date him to post-Nannaya period.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==== Adikavi Pampa ====
[[Adikavi Pampa]] had written a Telugu work named Jinendra Puranam, a Jain work written in 941 CE.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

===The Pre-Nannaya Period (before 1020 CE)===

In the earliest period Telugu literature existed in the form of inscriptions, precisely from 575 CE onward. Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those with ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":13" /> Most scholars posit that Telugu literature existed prior to [[Nannayya|Nannaya]] (11th century), the first known Telugu poet.<ref name="WebpageNotGIF" />{{rp|page=16}} T. Vijay Kumar notes, "Since no literary texts in Telugu pre-dating 1020 C.E. have so far actually been discovered, the existence of any pre-Nannaya literature remains a matter of speculation and debate."<ref name=":13" />

===The Age of the Puranas (1020–1400 CE)===

This is the period of Kavitrayam or Trinity of Poets. Nannayya, [[Tikkana]], and [[Yerrapragada]] (or Errana) are known as the Kavitrayam.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Nannaya]]'s (Telugu: నన్నయ) ''[[Andhra Mahabharatam]]'' written in early 11th century is commonly referred to as the first Telugu literary composition (Aadi Kavyam).<ref name=":13" /> Although there is evidence of Telugu literature before Nannaya, he is given the epithet Aadi Kavi ("the first poet"). Nannaya Bhattu acknowledged the help extended to him by his friend Narayana Bhattu in his composition in fields like making choices of grammatical forms, metres, form of the book, etc. and compares it to that extended to Arjuna by God Sri Krishna in the Bharata war. Nannaya was the first to establish a formal grammar of written Telugu. This grammar followed the patterns which existed in grammatical treatises like Aṣṭādhyāyī and Vālmīkivyākaranam but unlike Pāṇini, Nannayya divided his work into five chapters, covering samjnā, sandhi, ajanta, halanta and kriya.[14] Nannaya completed the first two chapters and a part of the third chapter of the Mahabharata epic, which is rendered in the Champu style.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Tikkana Somayaji]] (1205–1288 CE): Nannaya's ''Andhra Mahabharatam'' was almost completed by Tikanna Somayaji (Telugu: తిక్కన సోమయాజి) (1205–1288) who wrote chapters 4 to 18.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Yerrapragada]]: (Telugu: ఎర్రాప్రగడ) who lived in the 14th century, finished the epic by completing the third chapter. He mimics Nannaya's style in the beginning, slowly changes tempo and finishes the chapter in the writing style of Tikkana. These three writers – Nannaya, Tikanna and Yerrapragada – are known as the Kavitraya ("three great poets") of Telugu. Other such translations like Marana's Markandeya Puranam, [[Mulaghatika Ketana|Ketana]]'s ''Dasakumara Charita'', Yerrapragada's Harivamsam followed. Many scientific works, like Ganitasarasangrahamu by Pavuluri Mallana and Prakirnaganitamu by Eluganti Peddana, were written in the 12th century.{{relevance inline|date=October 2022}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Sumati Satakam, which is a neeti ("moral"), is one of the most famous Telugu Satakams.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} Satakam is composed of more than a 100 padyalu (poems). According to many literary critics{{who|date=July 2022}} Sumati Satakam was composed by Baddena Bhupaludu (Telugu: బద్దెన భూపాల) (CE 1220–1280). He was also known as Bhadra Bhupala. He was a Chola prince and a vassal under the Kakatiya empress Rani Rudrama Devi, and a pupil of Tikkana.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} If we assume that the Sumati Satakam was indeed written by Baddena, it would rank as one of the earliest Satakams in Telugu along with the Vrushadhipa Satakam of Palkuriki Somanatha and the Sarveswara Satakam of Yathavakkula Annamayya.{{original research inline|date=April 2020}} The Sumatee Satakam is also one of the earliest Telugu works to be translated into a European language, as C. P. Brown rendered it in English in the 1840s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Palkuriki Somanatha]]: Important among his Telugu language writings are the [[Basava Purana]], Panditaradhya charitra, Malamadevipuranamu and Somanatha Stava–in dwipada metre ("couplets"); Anubhavasara, Chennamallu Sisamalu, Vrushadhipa Sataka and Cheturvedasara–in verses; Basavodharana in verses and ragale metre (rhymed couplets in blank verse); and the Basavaragada.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Gona Budda Reddy]]: His ''Ranganatha Ramayanam'' was a pioneering work in the Telugu language on the theme of the ''Ramayana'' epic. Most scholars believe he wrote it between 1300 and 1310 A.D., possibly with help from his family. The work has become part of cultural life in Andhra Pradesh and is used in puppet shows.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In the Telugu literature [[Tikkana]] was given agraasana (top position) by many famous critics.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Paravastu Chinnayya Soori]] (1807–1861) is a well-known Telugu writer who dedicated his entire life to the progress and promotion of Telugu language and literature. Sri Chinnayasoori wrote the ''Bala Vyakaranam'' in a new style after doing extensive research on Telugu grammar. Other well-known writings by Chinnayasoori are ''Neethichandrika'', ''Sootandhra Vyaakaranamu'', ''Andhra Dhatumoola'', and ''Neeti Sangrahamu''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Kandukuri Veeresalingam]] (1848–1919) is generally considered the father of modern Telugu literature.<ref>{{cite book |title=Landmarks in Telugu Literature |last=Sarma |first=Challa Radhakrishna |year=1975 |publisher=Lakshminarayana Granthamala |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rY4OAAAAYAAJ&q=Landmarks+in+Telugu+Literature |access-date=1 March 2015 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013131935/https://books.google.com/books?id=rY4OAAAAYAAJ&q=Landmarks+in+Telugu+Literature |url-status=live}}</ref> His novel ''Rajasekhara Charitamu'' was inspired by the [[Vicar of Wakefield]]. His work marked the beginning of a dynamic of socially conscious Telugu literature and its transition to the modern period, which is also part of the wider literary renaissance that took place in Indian culture during this period. Other prominent literary figures from this period are [[Gurajada Appa Rao]], [[Viswanatha Satyanarayana]], [[Gurram Jashuva]], [[Rayaprolu Subba Rao]], [[Devulapalli Krishnasastri]] and [[Srirangam Srinivasa Rao]], popularly known as ''Mahakavi'' Sri Sri. Sri Sri was instrumental in popularising free verse in spoken Telugu (''vaaduka bhasha''), as opposed to the pure form of written Telugu used by several poets in his time. Devulapalli Krishnasastri is often referred to as the [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]] of Telugu literature because of his pioneering works in Telugu Romantic poetry.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Viswanatha Satyanarayana]] won India's national literary honour, the [[Jnanpith Award]] for his magnum opus ''[[Ramayana Kalpavruksham]]u''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature |last=Datta |first=Amaresh |author2=Lal, Mohan |year=1991 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |page=3294}}</ref> [[C. Narayana Reddy]] won the [[Jnanpith Award]] in 1988 for his poetic work, [[Viswambhara|''Viswambara'']]. [[Ravuri Bharadhwaja]] won the third [[Jnanpith Award]] for Telugu literature in 2013 for ''Paakudu Raallu'', a graphic account of life behind the screen in [[film industry]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology |last=George |first=K.M. |year=1992 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |isbn=978-81-7201-324-0 |page=1121}}</ref> ''[[Bride price|Kanyasulkam]]'', the first social play in Telugu by [[Gurajada Appa Rao]], was followed by the progressive movement, the free verse movement and the Digambara style of Telugu verse. Other modern Telugu novelists include Unnava Lakshminarayana (''Maalapalli''), Bulusu Venkateswarulu (''Bharatiya Tatva Sastram''), [[Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao]] and Buchi Babu.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}