Editing Telugu language (section)

=== Post-Ikshvaku period ===
{{Main|Early Telugu epigraphy}}The period from the 4th century CE to 1022 CE marks the second phase of Telugu history, following the [[Andhra Ikshvaku]] period. The first long inscription entirely in Telugu, dated to 575 CE, is attributed to the [[Renati Chodas|Renati Choda]] king Dhanunjaya and found in the [[Kadapa district]].<ref name=":15" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Frawley |first=William J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ftQEAAAQBAJ&dq=first+inscription+that+is+entirely+in+Telugu,+dated+575&pg=RA3-PA219 |title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics |date=1 May 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977178-3 |page=219 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=BBC_Feb2022>{{cite news |last=రెడ్డి |first=తులసీ ప్రసాద్ |date=22 February 2022 |title=కడప జిల్లాలోని కలమల్ల శాసనమే తొలి తెలుగు శాసనమా? |language=te |work=BBC News తెలుగు |url=https://www.bbc.com/telugu/india-60467482 |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

An early Telugu label inscription, "tolacuvānḍru" (తొలచువాండ్రు; {{Translation|rock carvers or quarrymen}}), is found on one of the rock-cut caves around the [[Keesaragutta Temple|Keesaragutta temple]], 35 kilometers from [[Hyderabad]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gpDAAAAYAAJ&q=Telugu+label+inscription |title=Itihas |date=1989 |publisher=Director of State Archives, Government of Andhra Pradesh. |volume=15 |page=34 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Reddy |first1=Emani Siva Nagi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lddOAAAAYAAJ&q=keesaragutta+telugu+inscription |title=Evolution of Building Technology: Early and Madieval [i.e. Medieval] in Andhradeśa |last2=Śivanāgireḍḍi |first2=Īmani |date=1998 |publisher=Bharatiya Kala Prakashan |isbn=978-81-86050-29-3 |page=315 |language=en}}</ref> This inscription is dated to the [[Vishnukundina dynasty|Vishnukundina]] period of around 400 CE<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Ancient Temples of Telangana |url=http://anyflip.com/voxm/rlzk/basic |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011122959/http://anyflip.com/voxm/rlzk/basic |archive-date=11 October 2017 |access-date=28 July 2017 |website= |publisher=Government of Telangana |page=47}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{cite web |date=10 January 2022 |title=విష్ణుకుండి రాజధాని కీసర |url=https://www.ntnews.com/editpage/editorial-article-news-5-398554 |access-date=6 April 2023 |website=[[Namasthe Telangana]] |language=te-IN}}</ref> and is the earliest known short Telugu inscription from the Telangana region.<ref name=":17" />

Several titles of [[Mahendravarman I]] in Telugu language, dated to {{Circa|600 CE}}, were inscribed on cave-inscriptions in Tamil Nadu.<ref>{{Cite web |page=323 |title=Mahendravarman I |date=1960 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.98114/page/n5}}</ref>

From the 6th century onwards, complete Telugu inscriptions began to appear in districts neighbouring Kadapa such as Prakasam and [[Palnadu district|Palnadu]].<ref name="WebpageNotGIF" />{{Rp|page=10}} Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those with ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE.<ref name=":16">{{cite book |last=Rādhākr̥ṣṇa |first=Būdarāju |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFxkAAAAMAAJ&q=Metrically+composed+ |title=Occasional Papers in Language and Literature |date=1998 |publisher=Prachee Publications |isbn=978-81-7443-007-6 |page=126 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{cite web |last=T. |first=Vijay Kumar |title=Translation as Negotiation: The Making of Telugu Language and Literature |url=https://ntm.org.in/download/ttvol/volume10-1/Translation-as-Negotiation-The%20Making-of-Telugu%20Language-and-Literature.pdf |pages=65, 67, 68}}</ref> The Madras Museum plates of Balliya Choda dated to the mid-ninth century CE, are the earliest copper plate grants in the Telugu language.<ref>{{cite book |author=D. C. Sircar |title=Indian Epigraphy |volume=10 |series=Epigraphy, Palaeography, Numismatics Series |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |year=1996 |page=50}}</ref>

During this period, Telugu was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Prakrit, corresponding to the advent of Telugu literature. Initially, Telugu literature appeared in inscriptions and poetry in the courts of rulers, and later in written works, such as [[Nannayya]]'s ''[[Andhra Mahabharatam]]'' (1022&nbsp;CE).<ref name="APOnline">{{cite web |title=Languages |url=http://www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/HIST-CULT/languages.html |work=aponline.gov.in |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208110254/http://www.aponline.gov.in/Quick%20links/HIST-CULT/languages.html |archive-date=8 February 2012}}</ref>