1S39.] 



Essay on Telugu Literature, 



365 



This Rama Lingam is usually mentioned as a humourist and a pro- 

 fligate. I have not met with any complete copy of his poem, and I ob= 

 serve that the volume now extant is often attributed to another writer. 



74. Sri Natha, translator of the Naishadham, the Kasi Khan dam 

 (t) and Bhlma Khandam from the Scan da Pur an. It is also said that he 

 wrote the Marudraja Charitra, the Hara Vilasam, and the Sdlivahana 

 Sapta Sati. But I have not met with these books. 



Srinatha is also said to have written a series of songs called the 

 Vl'lhi Nataeam of which only about thirty have been preserved by oral 

 tradition. Some of these have considerable beauty: but others, written 

 perhaps by his imitators are far inferior. 



75. Pingala Su'rapaRaz, author of the R'aghava P'andavyam (c),the 

 Cala Purnodayam, the Prabhavati Pradyumnam, and the Linga Puranam. 

 This last is not now extant. 



76. Chemacura Vengal Raz, author of the Saranga Dhara Charitra 

 in Padya metre (t) and the Subhadra Parinaya/m also called Vijaya 

 Vilasam (c). 



Canuparti Abbaya, author of the-Aniruddha Charitra (c) also called 

 Usha Parinayain, and the Pururavas Cu^.ritra (t) : which is also called 

 Cavi Raja Mano Ranjanam. 



Erra Pregada — who translated part of the (Aranya Parvam) third 

 book of the Mahabharat (t) : he likewise wrote the Hari Vamsam in 

 Telugu. 



Potu Razu, the translator of the Bhagavat, (t) which has already been 

 described. The poet had two auxiliaries ; Gangaya who executed 

 the fifth book; while the sixth was written by Singanna. Poturaz 

 likewise wrote the Narayana Satacam; and having honoured Vishnu as 

 the deity, in the Bhagavat, he wrote likewise the Vira Bhadra Vijayam 

 in honour of Siva. 



77. Dharani Devula Nagaia, author of the Das Avatara Charitra (c), 

 a very popular poem ; being a highly coloured description in ten books 

 of the adventures of Vishnu, or Krishna. 



We may here observe that the great popularity of the Bhagavat or 

 Life of Krishna arises from its combining all the reveries of mysticism 

 with broad licentiousness. The poetry of the Telugu version by Potu 

 Raz and his coadjutors being disapproved* as tame, some modern Telugu 



* It is hard to reconcile the extraordinary popularity of the Telugu version of the 

 Bhagavat, with its condemnation by strict grammarians. They frequently tell us that 

 Appa Cavi entirely disapproved it, as is shewn by his never naming it. But he names 

 many other volumes with condemnation, and a more reasonable cause may be, that it 

 was written after his days. The style is very florid and undeniably beautiful, though 

 much amplified : for instance, in describing Krishna's sports with the nymphs there are 

 many huadredlin.es which the poet has added to his Sanscrit original, 



